Sam update

Sam is now 4 and a half months! Have I had her 10 weeks - hard to believe. She is divine and adored.



Naughty when the mood strikes - will go chasing chooks and running amok with horses and luckily my horses are sooooo good as Elle tells them how to behave and she seems to tap into my anxiety and just stands and looks despairingly at this madcap. But I do not let it happen often - hopefully soon she will not fit through the pool fence.

She is the sweetest pup I have ever met - jsut loves to cuddle and snuggle. Also loves to "swim" on the grass as I think she just loves her acres of grass and the coolness on her belly.


A second later and we are 2 metres away in swimming mode


She knows sit and is learning "shake" (paw/ hand) and I thought was toilet trained but 'forgot' this morning and made a puddle. Was mortified when I yelled and ran for her life but it was mostly my fault as I let her in from outside where she was asleep and she could not get out.



I simply adore her and she is devoted to me. A great success. Still scared of being in the car and water. This will change. A great wimp if she meets big dogs and runs for her life with tail down. ON that score, Lachie is going for a holiday to learn about life, first with 4 geldings in a paddock but a herd of 37 geldings including a few stallions over the fence and then when he has settled down, maybe in with the herd. He will be so tiny he can fit under their tummies as I went out there today. But it will be very good for him. I have to teach him to float first and so far so good. His mum and Aunt Elle are so indulgent with him (and his human mum, me) that he is becoming spoilt and needs a holiday. Oh but I am scared for him. But I trust the humans where he is going. But it is a risk. Poor little baby.

Lachie is very interested in her and each morning he runs to the fence as I come up to feed the horses and he and Sam have a hello through the fence. Elle is at least now looking at her. Chooks are rightly fearful of her as she chases them but then does little. I thought she might be their protector. Laugh!

Awwwwwwwww Pamela, she is going into such a great looking dog, and look at her ears they are getting ponytails, how sweet I am so pleased she is a joy for you as well as all of us here to get to see her grow up

Love that first photo of Sam, Pamela. Sooo sweet! You know, if she does anything naughty or silly she does have the excuse that she's a blonde. LOL. We call Gemma, our pale sable Sheltie, our blonde bimbo, or the ditzy blonde. Meant in the nicest way of course.

Can't help wondering what reason you'd have for putting your Lachie out with a herd of bigger horses, especially if there are stallions involved. Many years ago I saw a gelding dead in a paddock, killed by a stallion it had fought with. I'd be scared he'd get booted in the head if he's a nice kickable size, or hurt by something cannoning into or knocking him too hard, without the risk of him being bullied. But he's your pony and obviously your friend has no qualms, so best to just wish you lots of luck. We lost a superb grey filly in a herd situation where a big mare bullied her. She was chasing this lovely filly, who didn't have an ounce of nastiness in her by the way, and was just about to bite her on the rump, so the grey spun to avoid that, slipped, fell,and broke a leg. A real tragedy.

She certainly has grown Pamela,looking good

And your lawn is also looking much better than 2 months ago also.

Sam is growing so quick... she's a cutie It is funny how some dogs are nervous in the car and some not. All the dogs I've ever had love the car and going out... except for Kito. I have no idea why, she has been in the car since she was a pup and hasn't had a bad experience. I don't take her out as much anymore, if she prefers to stay home, she can. Sara is the opposite... hates staying home, she has always suffered from some separation anxiety which we have been slowly working through.

Wow what a difference, she has grown so much Pamela.

We have a chocolate lab who has just turned 2. I wouldn't trust her at all for a second not to dig up my vegies. My gardens are like a fortress, but we love Rosie and she certainly has the best temperment and personality. I'll take a photo and post it.

Thanks for that advice Betty. It is a place that a friend does trail rides. He has only geldings and stallions.

Maybe I will rethink? I would hate a situation where Lachie cannot be taken away from his mum or Elle and so I thought a holiday would be good.

There is another place I could send him to, where his sire used to live, where he would be put in electrified smaller paddocks with other Welsh ponies and maybe a different mare or two or whatever the stud owner thinks. I may get her to mouth and ride him when the time comes as she is doing that now on the small Welshies. Maybe this would be more protected?

I know he might get some cuts and bruises but I do not want him killed and he is so small that he would fit under the belly of many of the boys out at the other place.

Your rose is doing well Betty - will mail it as soon as it turns cold and they get a bit dormant. The other one is also growing on Harry's grave - tough rose Dark Lady!

heres a photo of rosie

She is a cutie as well

That look would melt any heart! I love chocolate labs. I bet she is energetic???

Much better if the little guy was put out with ponies of a similar size, Pamela. And if she can mouth and/or break him in that'd be great. How old is he now? I would really worry about him in with a herd of bigger horses. If they got galloping, or crowding each other trying to get at feed, he could be hurt. We had a TB mare whose filly foal was badly hurt just by being in the wrong place when she got up. As she got to her feet she crashed into the filly. When we called the vet the poor foal was standing and only pivoting on the hind legs, not taking a step forward, and salivating madly because of the pain. Vet said it's a broken hip, put her down, but thank heaven we knew of a good horse chiropractor. Two treatments and she was fine. Obviously NOT a broken hip. The idea that Lachie must be able to be taken away from your others is a very sound one of course.
Great news about The Dark Lady ,I might just pot her up and take care of her till next year - what do you think?

Rosie is beautiful, Tony. I think that's my favorite colour in Lab's.

She loves her walk morning and afternoon. We are lucky that we have a huge dog community that meets down at the local cemetery each afternoon so all the dogs pretty much self exercise. She love the water, can't keep her out.
But all in all she very laid back labby, doesn't scoff food and is nearly over her need to dig to china!

Ican't believe how sam has grown ,really stretched out now ,so beautiful

Tony I just Rosie .look at those knowing eyes

We used to have a dog just like Rosie.We got her from the dog pound and she was one of the most faithful dog we ever had.Idon't have a pic of a black dog to add.

Thanks Gwen sooooo much. I think I will tell my friend that I will send Lachie for a holiday with other ponies first and then not worry about it for quite a while. He doesn't have to go off with the big horses although their owner is just great with horses and managing them. But I think you are right - he just has to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. His place is large - 100 acres with grass and he also feeds them and because there are no mares, it is all very calm. But you are right, who knows what could happen. I love little Lachie so much. He is always the first to come up and greet me. Adores boss mare Elle and spends most of his time glued to her side. He is the smartest of my three on the basis of putting food into a place that requires thinking to negotiate gates and to walk away from the direction of the food. Smart as a tack. His mum is not - I have to give in and walk her to her food as she cannot work it out. But she is the greatest mum and childrens' pony so she doesn't have to be smart too.



Here's one of Sam not 'swimming' on the grass

Betty re the rose "Probably Dark Lady" - I would stick her in the ground and I will send you some Seamungus with her to put in the hole. Put a short length of ag drain in the hole so that when you water her next summer, the water will go to her roots and hopefully deeper. She is tough and is NOT a rose for a pot. She will only need a watering can now and again if you mulch her well. Lucerne is the best if you have any.

Judging by the background in your photo, it's a beautiful place you have there. Pamela, I got serious lectures when I got into shelties about not putting shelties in with big dogs, and ponies in with horses is the same really. There is not much of little Lachie yet, imagine if he even got a hard kick from a gelding of Elle's height. I looked after a grey showjumper a long time ago that had got a nasty kick in the chest which lifted a big flap of skin. You could lift it and put your fist inside the wound, though what we were doing was lifting it and chucking a handful of Limil into it. It healed very nicely. But if a kick like that connected with bone, or Lachie's head ...!
Re the rose. I think I will put ag pipe under every rose I plant from now on. This summer taught me heaps. I lost my beautiful Duet, which had been flowering superbly, but any rose out in the orchard in full sun is obviously going to need some TLC. I don't have any lucerne hay but plenty of pea straw and ordinary oaten straw.

Great Betty,

Any mulch is good. Newspaper under the straw works well. I had no dramas with roses this hot summer because of the mulch - apart from a few roses I neglected.

Pamela.. Elle looks fantastic.
As does Keva and dear little Lachie, not little any more what a joy all your pets are to you

With the white-winged choughs, the blackbirds, the crows and the Grey Currawong(a temporary visitor from the fire stricken areas), my newspaper doesn't stay under the straw I'm afraid. Messy darn birds, but I do like them all. I agree with MA by the way, uyour equine family look great. I really like your pony mare, if you lived nearby I'd have given you a free service to my WM stallion(if you liked him of course.)

Thanks Mary Anne and Betty.

Thanks for your offer Betty re the stallion but there is a major problem - me! I bred Lachie to sell and here I am 18 months later in love with him and unable to sell him. It is also that I am not a stud and so people are not going to buy an untrained pony from me and so that's when I decided to keep him and train him myself and then sell him ... and now I am sure I do not want to sell him :-) I htink in a few years he will be an ideal childrens' pony, like his mum. That's why I want to start sending him on a few holidays if I only have to pay adjistment costs to help develop his temperament.

I would LOVE Kev to have another foal as it was magic for my business and I adored it (even the three weeks of no sleep longer than 90 minutes) but I would end up with another foal that is not easy to sell and then I can't sell.

Kevarose, the pony mare, is pretty unique. A family wanted to buy her (but probably not for what she is worth ~ $5000 min) six months ago and I thought about it and said no. She is my marketing manager. Many families that come to my business book in to please 3-9 year old daughters who simply love to have her and her buddies outside their living room windows (careful fencing of course) and then if desired, we bring Kev to a paddock on her own, or the front garden table and chairs, and she gets fed, brushed and fussed over. And occasionally a Dad and I will let a little one sit on her. She is just about bomb proof now and moreso since she had Lachie. She simply adores children and it is the only time she invades my space to tell me by rubbing her head on my arm how happy she is. Across the fence she gets pushed out by Elle and Lachie (she is the bottom of the pecking order now) and so on her own she really has a lovely time with visiting children. I lunge her but she is not being ridden at the moment - wish I could find a little child to want to take her to Pony Club which is across the road. But she is a darling and gets on so well with Elle my horse - the two mares are like best girl friends and share Lachie with no jealousy. She is an angel in disguise :-) I have never met such a devoted mother - she still oozes motherly love to Lachie.

They are hard to part with, I must admit. Ian has said that if he'd only known how sweet a good welshie could be, he'd have had more of them many years ago. Well, we had Angie for 31 years, but it was Beauty and her sire, Digby, that makes him say that. I can understand what a bonus it must be to have Kev there, and in future Lachie might be as big an asset too. He really needs to be in a show home for a while, or somewhere he could be ridden, under supervision, by kids, but if you can't do that then join the club. A couple of friends who bred them had no kids to ride their ponies either. I was so smitten by horses of any shape or size as far back as I can remember that I'd have thought I was in heaven to be loaned something as nice as those you and I have now, but it is so much harder and more expensive to keep them nowadays, and not so safe for children. They call it progress. (sigh) You couldn't ride horses in most of the areas I could when I was young.

I live in hope that there will be a little girl for her one day to ride her regularly. She is only 9 now so lots of years ahead of her. I have had her for 5 years.

She has won a place in everything she has ever been entered in local shows and I still remember the day she stood for something like 4 hours while she was dressed as an Arabian Princess and no drama - even with all these gold baubles through her mane and diaphonous mauve sheets of 'dres' billowing around her. Her and the little girl who was dressed to match won first prize of course.

She has Coed Coch bloodlines Betty and while this may have something to do with her prettiness, it is her temperament that is the most outstanding feature.

It will break her heart for me to send her boy away but it has to be done and I can just hear her squeals of elation when I bring him back as I have heard before - she is devoted to her herd and emotional when they reappear.

Aww that is just a nice story Pamela, any pic ??