Posts Tagged With: #2024Foals

Bright and early Monday Ben, McCall, Lane, Anna and Kade headed to Billings for the Nile. They had an uneventful trip and made good time. Toni went down to mom and dads to show some people around and saw a pole down, so she put that up. Toni worked on the two foals while Jaxsen and I did chores. Jaxsen was super excited it was down to us two. He climbed on top of the hay stack and pushed some bales down, so I had some easier loading on Tuesday since he would be at his football game. Kicker and Kaine did the cattle chores.

On Tuesday Toni went to tie up the show heifers and steers, Kaine supposedly fed grain, but luckily Toni went down because he missed a few buckets. Toni had 5 head of show cattle to tie up, including Kaine’s two. The calves were ok to catch, so it didn’t take all morning.  Toni and Kicker did some of the chores early, because they were headed to Royal City for Jaxsen’s game. The game was a tough one because although Connell played really well, they didn’t beat Royal City. Kaine and I finished up chores. Dad ran into Othello on Tuesday to pick up some meat at TLC. At the Nile Anna and Kade helped some Ellensburg people with their mini-Herefords, Kade fitting and Anna showing. Then they helped them wash after.

The crew at the Nile started showing Wednesday morning with the Charolais. Jr then the open show. Mom, Dad and Anna’s two Charolais heifers they got from Alan Alexander were Grand and Reserve Champion in their division in the Jr Show and in the open show. Mom is mad that “Anna’s” beat “Hers.”  At home Toni and Kaine did morning chores, Kaine fed grain. Then that night we got all of the evening chores done.  Knowing it would be a harder week, we just had Chick, the orphan filly, and Bailey Bug in to halter break. They were so good we never even got the donkeys in. Toni went and stayed with Grandma Wednesday night, and mom stayed with her during the day. Grandma did not sleep.

On Thursday at the Nile they had the Jr Angus Show. Kade was Bred and Owned Sr Heifer Champion with Queen. Haul, Anna’s bull, was Reserve Champion in his Division, I think Late Bull Calves? And Hazel was third in her class. They all showed really well. Morgan and Tell came and watched them show. My couch showed up on Thursday and dad went down to get it unloaded. Jaxsen was getting pretty good at dropping hay bales down from the stack, because if he does a bad job we have to pick them up from the ground. I stayed with grandma Thursday night, and I think she slept better than with Toni, but it still was not great.

Friday was the open Angus show at the Nile. McCall and Daffy were first, they were third in their class, Daffy is pretty green and did great. She is the replacement heifer of Kaine’s that we had to get in after his good heifer died unexpectedly. So Daffy is doing really well for her short time on feed and with the Nile being her first show. Hazel and Anna showed well. Queen was reserve champion Bred and Owned Sr Heifer. Haul got 2^nd in his class. They had a different judge for the open class than they did for the Jr show. Chad came out and trimmed Reina, Benelli, Glo, Star, and Sass a frass orphan foal Chick. I went up to Cashmere to watch Kaine play football. The boys played a great game. Kaine and I spent the night in Wenatchee, some other members of the team stayed too, Betsy, Andrew, Max, Cyson and Keegan.

Saturday morning Kicker came down and fed grain and Toni tied up the calves. Kaine and I drove home from Wenatchee. Ben, McCall, McKenna, Lane, Anna and Kade headed home from the Nile. Kaine and I got home mid morning, then he went to drop off his friends. Toni, Jaxsen and I then went to mom and dads and started hauling mares out to the desert. We hauled 18 mares out on Saturday. Then we weaned the three foals in Dudes pen. The Nile crew got home around 4. It was a long done for everyone. We also had a gal out to look at the foals and she fell in love with Colada.

On Sunday morning Lane and Kade both headed to FFA National convention bright and early. Anna and I ran over to Cecil and Debbie’s house and picked up Jesse, Spicy and Lord Farquaad. Lord Farquaad is the best little mini colt, if he was a filly we would keep him. Toni got the pasture in at mom’s and got them worked and sorted. She was trying a new concoction of deworming paste mixed with pellets to try to get the range mares to just eat their medicine. It was a 50/50 result. On the four mares she gave it to, 2 ate it and 2 didn’t. Then Toni and I got in circle 5 and loaded and hauled all the mares home and weaned their foals. It isn’t a long haul but the foals in circle 5 haven’t had much exposure to things. There were some real challenges, but we took it slow and easy and kept things moving forward. Once of our dry mares, Breezy, had a swollen back leg so we brought her home along with an older mare that we don’t leave out for the winter. Jaxsen and Anna worked on their show animals. Kaine washed his and Kades heifers and steers early then went to Kennewick with Cyson. 

Sunday when we were finishing up, our buddies Joe and John rolled in on their way through. John likes a running bred horse and Joe just likes a nice horse. Of interest their two favorite foals at this point are 2 of the Dude fillies- Whiskey and Zelle. John’s opinion will change as they grow but it is fun to tease him about his choices. It was a huge relief to get the weaning done and the bulk of the mares hauled out to winter pasture. Kaine brought big bales down and put out and we did our regular chores. We haltered Colada, Frappe, and Tuff Nut for the next week. Colada and Frappe are King fillies so should have some give to them. Tuff Nut is like a pet and it is never fun to halter break a pet. To quote Dale Brisby, “Let him do what he wants. This is his world guys.” Yeah, pretty sure old Tuff Nut thinks this is definitely his world and will be really fun to work with next week.