Step 2 of Baby Boot Camp

This is young Reno, whose good nature got the best of him tonight. I was bound and determined to get these babies vaccinated, Barry or no Barry. So Madison and I did it.

This required a refresher on leading, standing still for attention, general baby skills that we just started teaching in stage one of baby boot camp. Because Reno is such a doll, he was the first guinea pig....instead of shuttling the babies from their paddock to their stalls, Madison fetched him up in his paddock. He may never do that again, as it meant he got more action tonight than anyone else did. He not only demonstrated that he is an easy going laid back sort of dude, but he was a lot of fun.

Like most baby boys though, he took issue with his vaccines. Has anyone else ever noticed this about foals? It is almost always the boys that have problems with that. I just do not get that. I have had so few colts compared to fillies lately ( hallelujah Jesus, but I probably just jinxed myself), that the differences kind of stick out. I have 2 colts and 6 fillies this year, and 8 fillies, and one colt last year---and inevitably, it is the boys that have been sissies about ouches and veterinary care.

Anyway, Reno got some new pics and he has the craziest marks on his legs. White splatters of hair on his front legs, and I have no idea where they came from. When he was done, he got his shots, and the first one really pissed him off. I did not want Madison to get hurt--heck she is only 12 and handles these babies better than most adults, but I have to remind myself that she is not mine to beat up on and that she simply does not have the bulk that Barry does to handle them if a problem arises. We had to stick him somewhere until Barry got home to help me with that last shot--so we tied him at the baby training station.

I could not have been more proud of him. He wandered around a little, but it was not long before he decided to just stand there. We got busy doctoring all the others, and he ended up standing there for close to two hours. What a class act that colt is. None of the others got the tying lesson, as we were so busy doing pics and getting them vaccinated, but this one seems to have stuck with this child. That is so exciting to me, it is the little things that turn me on--and when a baby takes care of himself like that it is a good sign of things to come.

So tomorrow, someone else will get it. And we will work our way through them like that,

Speaking of which, we had an even bigger success with Echo. This one is a handful as are all of her maternal siblings. Tonight though, she was a lady, across the board. It seems to me that the ones that are the biggest pains in the ass early on are the ones that have the most talent, so it is a bit of a mixed blessing to get them like this. I really feel like I did something tonight having a breakthrough with her.

When Barry finally did get home, we ran out to the back and got all of the PK1 shots done. Some days are just like that--yesterday it was like shooting pool to catch these silly broodmares, and tonight, they were lined up like grown folk to do right. We not only knocked out every single shot that was due, including Melody who is always the one to put on the chase, but we got Foxy moved up to the middle pasture for her upgrade. Days like this do not happen very often around here.

And to top it off, Mojo and I made friends again. We did not get the trailer arrangement set up but we did get it designed and will put it into effect tomorrow nite.

All is good here at Malfunction Junction tonight