Blackberry Knoll Farm

08/16/2026

Apparently the hay at the top of the roll tastes the best

06/15/2026

Learning to lead! Complicated by Jana's desire to chew on the lead. Once I finally get it wrapped around her hindquarters, we walk all around the stall. By putting the pressure there, we avoid pulling on her head and neck.

05/29/2026

Foals can change color pretty dramatically after they're born. It's not unusual when people ask about the baby's color for the owner to have to say, "I don't know yet." Which usually confuses the person who asked. The foal is right there, can't you look at it and see? Well, we can look at the foal and tell you what color it is today. (Except for Holly. He made up his own newborn color, and I still don't know what to call it.) We knew Jana would be a bay, because of her parents' color genetics. She had the black mane and tail at birth, and now that she's shedding her newborn coat, the rest of the black points are starting to show. And I was pretty sure she would have white markings on 3 legs, but now we can see how high they'll go. Jana is a bay with a star, stripe, and 3 socks.

05/21/2026

05/11/2026

The horses were amazed by the 2 rat snakes in their paddock yesterday evening. Alder, who is a very brave boy, was the first to get close to check this out. Toran wanted no part of this. At. All. Moon's reaction could best be described as horrified fascination. And Mango? Yes, she was in the paddock, too. She stood halfway across the paddock and watched the others, with a look that said, "Sure, you guys go ahead and check out the snakes. I'll just stay out of your way, let me know when they're gone."

05/07/2026

Getting to know the big kids

04/27/2026

When you want to eat the grain that the other horses dropped, but your legs are really, really long, and your neck is still short

04/27/2026

I got the halter all the way on today, for the first time. And boy, was Jana grumpy about it!

04/22/2026

I got behind on posting pictures. Star hasn't been able to produce enough milk to keep up with her huge foal's appetite, so Jana has had to go on supplemental milk replacer. At 3 days old, she had to learn how to drink out of a bucket. With Star's supervision, of course!

04/02/2026

I think someone is a little jealous of the new baby. Toran has been turning up in some very silly places.