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Freeze Branding

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE March 29, 2011


As all experienced livestock owners know, branding horses or cattle is almost an art form. Whether you use a hot or freeze brand, a specific calculated amount of time for holding the iron against an animal’s skin is required. Too much time burns a brand right to the skin – too little time means you may have to try again. And “touching up” a brand isn’t an easy task. Trust me.

Freeze branding is a technique in which a supercold branding iron, properly applied to the animals hide, kills the color pigment producing cells. The result is white or colorless hair – instead of colored hair – at the brand site.

Our vet Dr. James Foley preps one of our mares for nitrogen branding.

We always get a vet to do our brands. The reason for this is because then we can have the animals  sedated in case they decide to try and move around. Our W E Quarter Circle brand goes on the left hip for our horses and on the right rib cage for our cattle. It has taken us a few years to get the brand perfected for horses, but we’re pretty happy with it now. Recently, L & H Branding irons even helped us design a smaller W E Quarter Circle brand for the horses which is approximately 2 inches high, as opposed to our old iron which was almost an inch an half taller. The W E Quarter Circle brand has been in Clay’s family for many years.

First, we clip a small patch of hair from the hindquarters, where the brand is set to go. Then our vet, Dr. James Foley sedates the mare and applies surgical lube to the area to help hold the cold in. Meanwhile, the iron has been sitting in liquid for several minutes to try and get it cold evenly throughout.

Then one person is charged with holding the horse and a second often utilized to ensure the horse doesn’t swing its hind out away from the iron. However in this case, I went for my camera instead…

According to L & H, branding times vary according to the metal in the irons (all times shown below are for L & H brass freeze branding irons) and the age, skin thickness and color of the animal. Branders should calibrate their freeze branding irons by branding the recommended times and keeping accurate records of times and results.

ANIMAL                              COOLANT                                APPLICATION TIME

Colt                                       Liquid Nitrogen                        6-12 seconds

Horse                                   Liquid Nitrogen                        8-12 seconds

Calf                                       Liquid Nitrogen                        21-24 seconds

Cow                                      Liquid Nitrogen                         25-30 seconds

(*Of course, some people choose to use dry ice and alcohol. Times vary for this type of coolant)


This is what the brand looks like immediately after application.

An hour after application, the branded area starts to swell.

For more information about branding, check out L & H Branding Irons.

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A Horse Trainer & His Babies

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE March 25, 2011

It has taken me a long time to snap a picture of Clay holding one of our babies, so I thought I better post it as soon as I could! It seems every time we go into the Neonatal unit to see our babies, we are so excited we completely forget about bringing the camera. Thank goodness my sister had the mindset to remember last week!

This past week has been an incredible roller coaster for my husband and I. And my blog today has more of a melancholic tone to it than I have probably ever posted.

In the past, our life seemed to be surrounded by so much drama at times – a frozen tractor, a flooded barn, an equine colic emergency, etc. – all those things that appeared to completely throw our schedule and plans for a loop at the time, seem so trivial now. These days, we are absolutely living day by day. And that’s because we’ve realized that life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is incredibly precious. We cherish every hour, every minute and every second we can get with our babies, because things can change in an instant.

Anyone who has had a child in NICU knows that some days are better than others. One day your child – or in our case, children – might be thriving very well and the next day, the doctors have ordered some crazy procedure because a blood test came back with surprising results. Or the tiny IVs in your baby’s body makes them swell up. Or they are not processing their feeds well (all of which are done through machines at this point).

We walked in on Wednesday, unbeknownst to us, that the doctors had ordered a PICC line for our son. This was because he continued to blow his IVs and there wasn’t a vein left in him to administer the necessary fluids he requires at this stage of his life. I cannot tell you how terrifying it was to walk in and see gowned, gloved and masked doctors overtop of my child in what appeared to be a surgical procedure, without any warning. I had phoned the twins’ nurse earlier that morning and got a full report on how Faythe and Braxton were doing and everything, she told me, was good. Of course shortly after my phone call, the doctors made their rounds and Braxton’s medical orders were changed drastically.

I fell to pieces when I walked in unprepared and saw what was happening that afternoon.

The next thing I knew, the PICC line procedure was unsuccessful and therefore, Braxton had gone a couple of hours without his IV. Getting fluids into his body was becoming an extremely time sensitive matter. The doctors and nurses were now calling for a real surgical procedure to insert a central line into his system so his fluids could continue to be administered. Clay and I had to wrap our heads around everything that had already happened and now, we were being asked for our consent for our tiny baby boy to undergo surgery. There was no time to think, let alone cry. Somehow, I managed to do both.

As it turned out, the surgical procedure went very well and Braxton is now having some very good days. And that’s why some days are definitely better than others. Meanwhile, life at the farm hasn’t slowed down at all. There are horses to be rode, fed, turned out and primed for the upcoming show season. There are broodmares who are getting close to foaling out – although some of them are really giving us a run for our money by going way over their due dates. There are pasture horses who are kicking at each other and require veterinary care. There is straw to pick up, feed to be unloaded, shavings to be ordered. But luckily, we currently have some amazing staff to help Clay and I get through.

Lacey McKelvie, Cory Wiebe and David Olivares: we are so thankful to have you.

Clay and I also find strength in the little improvements the nurses note of our babies every day: a weight gain here or there, a good night’s sleep without any fluctuations in heart rate or breathing, a report of a good feed. We hold dear the friends we have made with the other parents in the NICU and others who have come forward sharing the same experience. Thank-you to Rolanda Kerkhoff for sending us all the great preemie, twin clothing! And good luck to my friend Nissa Oliver who is next in line to deliver her set of twins.

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Our Babies

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE March 23, 2011

Well, they’ve made their grand entrance into the world. And as my husband so eloquently put it – they are pure joy. Real happiness.

I believe this will be the single most powerful blog I have ever had the privilege to post, as our lives will be forever changed… And yet, I cannot find words that are euphoric enough to explain what I’m feeling. So please just allow me to introduce the newest additions to the Webster family.

This is Faythe Nicole Webster, born March 16, 2011 at 10:37 am:

And this is Braxton Jason Webster, born March 16, 2011 at 10:38 am:

I’m sorry My Stable Life went MIA for a few days, but I’m sure you can all understand. The twin babies my husband and I weren’t expecting for at least another month had their own schedule and as such, we had to oblige. However their birth, wasn’t without a great set of challenges.

You see, on March 16 our twins were only 32 weeks old at that point. All along, Clay and I were very aware that we had a high risk pregnancy going, but the hope was to make it at least to 36-37 weeks of gestation. That was the plan. Things had been going along fairly smoothly right from the beginning, so we had no reason to suspect anything would change our plans. A few more weeks – we’d have time to finish up the nursery, get things in place on the farm to prepare for my complete absence and then we’d settle in and wait for them.

However, nothing about last Tuesday went according to our plans.

There I was on Tuesday, March 15, eating my lunch at our kitchen table – one minute. And in the next minute – placental abruption began to occur. Scary moment #1. There was no changing the situation – you can never plan or prepare for things like that. All you can do is deal with them the best you can.

In a flash, my husband was racing me to the hospital since we didn’t feel we had time to wait for an ambulance. Of course, we hit every red light on the way there. And then as Clay proceeded to stop our car right at the doors of the Emergency Room, my husband was met instantly by three burly security guards who insisted he “couldn’t park there.” Understandably so. Our vehicle could have blocked an ambulance. Still, we had an emergency of our own going on.

After I was finally registered and Clay made a mad dash to properly park and run back across to the ER, he had me in a wheelchair and was rushing me up to the labour & birth unit. Clay was faster than the porters. (The below photo was not taken during our initial frantic trip to the hospital, March 15. Clay was not so smiley at that point.)

In the next couple of minutes, a team of nurses and doctors were assessing me and I finally started to breath a sigh of relief. I thought that now that I was actually in the right place, in the hospital, things would start to improve. Perhaps I could get some medicine that would stop what was happening… Give me a little time to keep the babies in my belly… Get them to 37 weeks of gestation…

Despite all of my wishing and praying – my hopes couldn’t have been further from the truth. My situation was becoming dire for both the babies and I. And as it turned out, the Regina General Hospital didn’t have room for us or any more premature babies in their Neonatal unit. We were now seriously trying to wrap our heads around the fact that we were going to be airlifted to another city. And the nurses couldn’t tell us where. Scary moment #2.

Minot, ND, Saskatoon, SK, and Fargo, ND, were all tossed around as the top 3 list of places we would likely be transferred to. None of which I wanted to go to. If we couldn’t get to Calgary or Edmonton where family was, I really didn’t want to go anywhere. And as it turned out, there wasn’t time enough to go anywhere anyways. Scary moment #3.

With the help of medicine and a dose of steroids to speed the babies’ lung development up, we made it to the morning. And as soon as dawn broke, my doctors had to make a critical decision. I had lost a lot of blood by this time. I was prepped immediately for surgery.

Our doula, Sonya Duffee.

My C-section was over fairly quickly and for the first time in my life, I got a glance at the two beautiful babes I had only seen through ultrasound images up to this point. Then, they were whisked away to the Neonatal unit and I was sent to recovery. Both babes had swallowed a lot of blood during the delivery and I had lost even more. With Clay and our doula, Sonya Duffee by my side, several hours passed. Those hours turned into 2 days where I required 2 lifesaving blood transfusions to get my hemoglobin back to normal parameters. I was unable to visit my babies during this time, let alone hold them, because I was too weak to get out of bed.

But finally as things started to improve, Clay was able to wheel me down to Neonatal in a wheelchair so together, we could start the bonding process of our new family. As I look at the pictures over the past week, I barely recognize myself. I am swollen, weak and but a shadow of myself in some of them. But none of that matters, because I can now call myself a Mommy.

• Thank-you to our family and friends and the hundreds of people who have contacted us in the last little while with your kind words and congratulation wishes.

• Thank-you to the complete stranger who held my hand at the Emergency registration desk, while I waited for Clay to park the car. I will never know your name but your kindness in that terrifying moment of my life will never be forgotten.

• Thank-you to all the doctors and nurses who took care of me in the last week and especially to the nurses in the Neonatal unit for your continued round-the-clock care of our children.

• Thank-you to Sonya Duffee for all your wisdom, kindness and support to both Clay and I.

My sister.

• Thank-you to my sister, Nicole, for everything you did to help us in the last few days.

• And thank-you most of all, to my husband for your unwavering love, strength and support in such a critical moment in time. I so look forward to the next phase of our lives as parents.

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Health Records

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE March 21, 2011

Whether you have one horse or 40, maintaining health records on your animals is the easiest way to stay on top of their annual vaccinations, dental upkeep and any injuries or diseases they may experience throughout their lives. A health record gives you easy access to past annual dates, thus giving you a better idea when this year’s annual shots need to be done. It eliminates the guessing game – because trust me, having a place to record everything is much easier than trying to remember what your horses had done three months ago.

Detailed information on your horse(s) can be valuable information for your veterinarian in times of illness or to potential buyers. The files might also come in handy if you have to leave the care of your horses in someone else’s hands temporarily.

Organizing an system that works for you is the first hurdle to overcome. We simply use a couple of file drawers down at the barn with separate files for every horse. Then when a vaccine is administered or something notable occurs, it’s easy to write that information into an individual file while it’s still fresh in our minds.

Health records should contain precautions specific to the individual animal, detailing any allergies or past negative history to certain drugs.

Parts of an individual horse’s records should include:

1. The horse’s identification - Owner’s name and contact information, alternative emergency contact info, horse’s registered name and barn name and registration numbers, age, brand or tattoo info, color and markings, breed, and gender.

2. Precautions – This information is very good for a vet to know before any work is done on a specific horse. It includes allergies, behavioral issues like cribbing or horse that kicks, etc., and if the animal is prone to anything, for instance Rompin aggression (reaction to Xylazine).

3. Deworming Record – Basically this just keeps track of the date a product was given and the type of product used.

4. Vaccination Record - This part keeps track of vaccines administered, the dates they were given, any possible booster due dates, plus adverse reactions a horse had experienced to specific vaccines.

5. Dental Care - This part details any dental treatments done, the dates they were done and specific teeth or issues that were dealt with on that day.

6. Illness / Injuries / and Veterinary Care – This part includes any injuries or disease that may have occurred and the dates of which they were first noticed. It also includes the type and care administered by you and your staff.

Veterinary Care then generally details wounds or lamenesses, diagnosis, prognoses (in how long an expected improvement should be seen), what treatment was given and any complications seen during the healing time.

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Is It Spring Yet?

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE March 15, 2011

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today appears to be such a delightful day. As you can probably tell, my spirits have risen drastically in the last 24 hours. Spring seems like it’s in the air and I can tell because of the melting snow on my back porch, the birds chirping outside my window and the warm scent of horses that are just little warm underneath their winter blankets.

Maybe we’ll be able to do away with those heavy blankets soon…? Who knows.

However, the best indication of spring being right around the corner, for me, is always the arrival of the first foal of the season. And last night, she made her grand entrance!

At approximately 10:30 pm, this darling little sorrel with an L-shaped star on her forehead and a small snip on her muzzle happily made her way to the outside world.

The funny thing was, my husband Clay had just finished checking on her mother “Spook” at 10:00 pm and although Spook was waxing, she didn’t appear to doing anything out of the norm. She wasn’t sweating and didn’t even look like she was uncomfortable, so Clay definitely didn’t think she was in first stage labor. He left the foaling barn and went to check on things in the show barn.

Not even 10 minutes later, Clay’s assistants, Corey and Lacey, walked into the foaling barn to discover that Spook’s water had broke and one tiny foot was already starting to come through the pelvic canal.

Spook had been waiting for Clay to leave.

She just didn’t count on anyone coming into the barn only a few minutes later.

Regardless, the mare had a fairly uneventful delivery and after their bonding period, Spook stood up easily and detached the placental cord. Clay and Lacey then moved in to disinfect the baby’s naval (and at this time, discovered she was a girl). Within a half hour or less, the filly was up and trying to figure out how to nurse.

I swear, she has got to be one of the fastest foals I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch to stand and nurse! And it’s good thing too, because my legs prevent me from doing too much standing anymore… Now if only I could have as quick and easy a delivery as Spook –

(Not that I’d want to carry a pregnancy for 11 months, however…)

The baby nursed her first drink of colostrum relatively quickly after that and everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. By this time, she had passed her meconium and things were looking fairly good for a decent night’s sleep.

For me, that is.

Not my husband, on the other hand.

Clay woke up every couple of hours through the night to check on the mare and foal and ensure everything was as it should be (for instance, the mare still needed to pass the placenta and he wanted to keep an eye on her general health.)

As such, it made for a fairly sleepless night for the both of us and today, I’m behind on my daily chores again. The dishes are piled high in the sink again and the groceries are getting scarce. But guess what?

Our friend, Kim Rose must have been reading our minds because she dropped by with a care package!

Dinner, pre-made and complete with paper plates – so I don’t have to do anything!

And my other friend, Coleen Labatt, popped in to tackle some of the baby laundry – you know, pre-washing all the blankets and garments of clothing that needs to be done before babies can wear them or have them touching their skin.

I don’t know what I’d do without great friends. Sometimes, their kindness and generosity just absolutely blows me away. Thank-you ladies for all your help – words cannot express my gratitude!

And Clay’s pretty happy that we’ll be eating well tonight too!!! <grin>

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Kings of Their Castle

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE March 14, 2011

So, the above picture doesn’t have much to do with what I’m about to tell you initially, but I promise – I will circle back to it! I do have a point, I promise! <grin>

Life is starting to get away from me a bit these days. I’ll admit it. The dishes are piled up in the sink and I’m not keeping up with the laundry like I should be. Sigh.

I hit 32 weeks of pregnancy yesterday and while I’m happy about that milestone, I’m now starting to feel the crunch of things that need to get done before the D-Day for these babies arrives. (With a twin pregnancy, 37-38 weeks is the big goal…)

People ask me a lot these days what it’s like to have 2 little buns in the oven. Well, honestly I never knew what to expect and I couldn’t tell you the difference between having one or two at a time. It’s not in my experience… but some days, it’s like having little soccer matches inside my belly. Or maybe they’re training to become MMA fighters – I don’t know. But when both babies decide to engage in such an activity just before my bedtime, it makes getting to sleep fairly difficult.

Then there’s the whole “mountain of pillows” issue. With a complete body formation of pillows around me – including the special body pillows, the wedge pillows and an ergonomic pillow for my neck – I literally have to “fall into place” every night. I get everything set up perfectly and then do my best to plunk myself between them in an optimum position. And heaven forbid, I miss the target because then there’s a whole lot of tossing and turning that goes on until I can settle down.

My poor husband.

On top of that, my absent-mindedness and clumsiness is really starting to bother me! I will spare you the details – but my husband is more than happy to share them. He thinks some of these episodes are pretty funny. It’s a good thing he doesn’t have his own blog…

At any rate, when the frustration kicks in reminding me of all the things I need to set up / prepare / read / learn in a short while, I like to look outside my window. Currently we have a group of geldings on the property that is always good for a laugh.

Whether they are all standing high on snowbanks like Kings of their castle:

Or rough housing as all boys do:

Or careening wildly around the pasture because somebody just had their blanket ripped from all the rough housing and now looks like some funky looking camel as the wind billows out the torn remnants:

These guys are always good for a laugh.

And yesterday, we even had a bit of a winter rainbow. It was a nice reminder of things to come.

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Breeding the Older Mare, PT 4

MY STABLE LIFE March 9, 2011

Alrighty! We’re down to our last segment in our Breeding the Older Mare series. Parts One, Two & Three discussed some of the challenges breeders face with aging broodmares. These include uterine health, contamination and infection, past foaling history and / or traumas, infertility and keeping your older mare in foal, once she is confirmed pregnant.

So with all these considerations, what if you, as a breeder, decide that the pros absolutely do not outweigh the cons when it comes to breeding your older mare this year? The good news is, if you’d still like a foal from her, you do have options.

Dr. Chris Berezowski DVM, DACT, DABVP (Equine) of Moore Equine Veterinary Centre in Calgary, AB, helps My Stable Life out today with some Q & A insight into the world of embryo transfer regarding older mares.

Credit: PS Video

Q – At what age can a breeder no longer obtain embryos from a mare?

A – It can be variable depending on the total reproductive health of the mare.  In a lot of cases, we are able to get embryos from mares into their mid-twenties.

Q. Do her aging eggs become a concern/challenge at any point for embryo transfer?

A – The fact that the eggs (oocytes) are older can lower the overall pregnancy rate, as these older oocytes have a higher chance of having damaged DNA.

Q. At what age should a breeder consider embryo transfer from a mare? (If you have a good one you want to continue getting foals from)

A – Usually the deciding factor is when the mare is not able to carry pregnancies on her own anymore.  Either because of poor uterine health or other physical ailment. As long as the mare can still become pregnant and maintain it for the first seven days, then an embryo transfer can be successful.

Another reason for doing embryo transfer in an older mare is to maximize the number of foals from a valuable mare as she gets near the end of her reproductive life.

Q. What are some things an owner can do to ensure optimum health in the older broodmare?

A – Probably the biggest factor is just overall health.  Good nutrition, deworming, teeth, etc…

Luckily with the advent of new technology and tools (for instance embryo transfer and oocyte / embryo freezing to retain genetic material,) your old broodmare can be what she used to be.

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Breeding the Older Mare, PT 3

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE March 8, 2011


Welcome back to our series on breeding the Older Mare! If you had a chance to catch MSL’s blog on February 26, we discussed contamination and infection during breeding, endometritis, poor anatomical conformation and past foaling traumas, plus other circumstances that may plague the older broodmare.

It takes a lot for a broodmare to gain matriarch status in the performance horse breeding world. Firstly, many owners today want horses that come from proven lines – both on the top and bottom sides of their pedigrees. Secondly, many owners would like to see the dam side with credentials: for instance, has the dam showed and won money or titles herself? And what about the granddam? Has the granddam also proved herself in the showpen? Lastly, is the dam also a “proven producer”? Meaning that her foals are additionally winning money and proving themselves in the show pen.

Once a breeder has this golden combination in a specific mare, I certainly can understand why they would want to continue breeding her – even if she is getting up there in age. After all, Somethingroyal, the dam of Secretariat, was 18 when she foaled Secretariat. Penny Chenery, her owner, continued to have her bred until she was 24, probably in the hopes that she would produce another amazing racer. And Natalma, the dam of Northern Dancer (Kentucky Derby winner and leading sire), had her last foal at age 24.

So today, let’s talk about the natural process of aging in the mare and what can be done to help her maintain a pregnancy.

As it is with Mother Nature, infertility is another of the challenges that can plague older mares. As a mare enters her late teens and early 20s, her reproductive chances begin to decline and this may partly be because of the older eggs/oocytes she is producing. Older eggs may be unable to undergo fertilization or may develop abnormally. Or they may tend to undergo early embryonic death because the chromosomes may have defects in them and the embryo does not form naturally. So you get a reduction in fertility even if the mare does conceive.

Then of course, the next hurdle to get

over is keeping your older mare pregnant once she has been confirmed “in foal.” If an embryo leaves the oviduct and enters the uterus around Day 6 or 7, it needs a healthy environment in which to survive. Therefore, a poor uterine environment or poor uterine defense mechanisms (as can happen in the older mare due to wear and tear to the uterine lining) will affect good placental attachment.

Hormones also play a huge role in maintaining pregnancy. As ovulation occurs, the estrogen level begins falls and the remains of the ovulated follicle are converted to form a corpus luteum (CL). The luteal cells then are responsible for secreting the hormone progesterone. And progesterone’s “job” is to shut down the estrus-stimulating hormones and to set the stage for maintaining a pregnancy. This includes subduing the actively contracting reproductive tract and to tighten and close the relaxed and open cervix. It also prohibits the secretion of Follicle Stimulating Hormone and luteinizing hormone from the pituitary gland, and puts the mare “out of heat.”

Unfortunately, in some mares (and often, older mares) the correct amount of progesterone cannot be secreted and when that happens the other hormones swing into action to terminate the pregnancy and bring the mare back into heat. Luckily, progesterone therapy can be administered to the mare throughout the pregnancy to help her maintain it. However, this is another economic factor breeders will have to take into consideration.

The next period of concern is around Days 35 to 40 post-ovulation, when the placental formation and attachment begin. If the uterine lining (endometrium) has significant pathology, the placenta may not form enough of an attachment to allow the fetus to survive. But the good news is, once the mare gets to her halfway point in the pregnancy, she will likely carry to term because the placenta/endometrial unit has a capability for compensating for slight abnormalities.


Tomorrow, in our last installment of Breeding the Older Mare, My Stable Life will talk about optimum care for aging broodmares and possible solutions for pregnancy. See ya then!

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Spa Day

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE March 3, 2011

Since I have been unable to reach my toes for 3 consecutive months now, pedicures are mandatory. Not that I’m upset about that fact <smile> As such, it is necessary for this country girl to get a healthy dose of urban life every once in a while.

One of my favorite places in the city of Regina, SK, is the Hotel Saskatchewan (where the Queen stays when she comes to visit!).

This hotel is full of history and the buffets it puts together for Sunday brunches are out of this world! Plus, let’s not forget about the Essence Organic Day Spa, located just inside the hotel’s wings. The spa has catered to the likes of Charlize Theron, Howie Mandel and President Clinton.

I love it here. I could stay all day long – you know, if security would allow it. But today, I’m only popping in for a couple of hours to visit with my pedicurist, Amy, and seek out some much needed pampering.

The pedicure station.

Amy and I have had some good laughs together. I tell her about life with horses on the farm and love to watch her reaction when she learns about my husband getting run over by a cow, or the four pairs of rubber much boots we each own, or the containers of shipped semen we have to drop everything for and make a run to the airport.

“You say those things as though they are normal occurrences…?” she chuckles.

The truth is – they kind of are… but I forget how odd they sound when you talk about them to someone else.

Amy is awesome because she’s always honest with me about my nail polish choices. At one appointment, I picked “High Gloss Pink” and when you have swollen feet – the combination is calamitous.

High Gloss Pink + Swollen Feet = Toes that look like little piglets…

Amy doesn’t let me make that mistake any more.

And the one thing Amy can certainly relate to is the snow build up we have been experiencing this winter. I guess the white stuff has piled up just as badly inside the city as it has for us in the great wide open.

The drifts have honestly gotten so high that my husband had to dig out “corridors” within the pastures, so the horses can get around.

When it happens, it’s pretty funny to watch the youngsters race up and down between the walls of snow. For some reason, they get a real kick out of it.

Anyways, once back at home I learned that my friend, Jaime, had sent me a special package:

And upon opening it, discovered that she went to the trouble to go to my favorite bakery in the city of Calgary and purchased a bag of frozen cheese buns. Then she expedited the whole thing to Regina and Voilà! Clay and I had our favorite Glamorgan Bakery cheese buns, thawed and ready to snack on – in Saskatchewan.

Meanwhile in the barn, the broodmares were having their own “spa” day as well…

And on that note, My Stable Life will return next with more installments on our Breeding the Older Broodmare series. See ya then!

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