Mame' and her quads are all doing fine.  The first born and last born are the most lively of the bunch, and are already bouncing around on their siblings and dam.  

Try as I might I just can't get a picture of all four of them facing the same way.

Although the  kids are all about the same size the two boys will be removed from Mame' in another day or two and become bottle babies so that they won't keep their sisters from getting a full share of the milk.  The two boys and the darker of the two doe kids have a pending sale, and I am still deciding if I will retain or sell the white doe kid. 

Shortly after noon today Mame' presented us with QUADS!  Two does kids - one with blue eyes, and two buck kids - one with blue eyes.

After being up all night listening to her "talking" about it this was a very quiet and quick delivery.   The first born doe kid looks to be pure white and has blue eyes.  The second born was the gold & white buck kid who also has blue eyes.  He was followed by the darker gold doe kid and finally the tri-colored buck kid.  Momma and babies are all doing well.

"A record 4.25 inches of snow was logged in the 24 hours ending at 8 a.m. today at OSU's Hyslop weather station on Highway 20 between Albany and Corvallis. No snow has ever been recorded on this date since 1889 when records were first kept. And there has never been that much snow this late in the year, according to George Taylor with Applied Climate Services. The most snow ever recorded in March was 4 inches on March 3, 1960." ~ Albany Democrat-Herald.

It snowed pretty much non-stop all day yesterday.   Today the sun is out and the 6-8" we got up here on the ridge is slowly melting away.   

Yesterday the dogs, especially Izzy, were loving playing in the snow, the does didn't want to do more than peek out of the barn and we couldn't convince Curious to go into her barn and stay there no matter what we tried. 

Today with the sunshine even the does that are due next week were venturing forth to check out the white stuff.  And for some unexplained reason, Millie and Rita decided that snow was delicious. 

Curious is going to go back to the rescue when she is healed up - sadly she is just more than I can handle. Plus I've learned that my limited mobility means even getting up on a 14.2 horse is very difficult at best.

So my daughter and I will be getting a mother-daughter pair of modern Tarpan ponies*. These two have had some training but are pretty rusty, however their temperaments are calm and they seem to have a natural affinity for children. And I have found a trainer that will come work with us at a very reasonable rate, to make sure we stay on track.

Since they were both used primarily as brood mares they don't really have names. (They were micro-chipped for ID) They look very much alike and are both about 12.3h. I would love to have some name suggestions that will reflect their Spanish mustang heritage.

There have been three attempts to recreate the extinct Tarpan.  The Heck Horse, and the Konik Horses were developed in eastern Europe and the Stoebel's Horse here in the United States from Spanish Mustang lines.

Less than two weeks until Mame's due date of April 1st.  And Rita who is due on the 5th, is looking like she just might beat Mame' to the punch.  Both of them look to be carrying at least triplets and we are praying for a whole lot of doe kids!

Maple, is so long bodied that she only looks pregnant when you look at her from the rear, but we know from the ultrasound that she is carrying at least twins.

In other news, we sold Bekah's horse Emma on Friday.  In an arena setting Bekah was fine with Emma's height but it became too intimidating for her out in the open pasture.  And since we don't have a riding arena or round-pen  something smaller will be better.   And the "something smaller" just may end up being a rare modern Tarpan pony.   Curious, who is healing up nicely, will probably be going back to the rescue in exchange for a bred Tarpan mare that is a little calmer and tamer.  The calmer temperaments, and shorter heights should suit both Bekah and I better.   But believe me, we will be researching things pretty closely before making a final decision.

It's been five days since Curious was stitched up.  She seems to be healing well and is letting me groom that side and even apply Neosporin around the open drain section but she will not lot me get anywhere close to her if I have Vaseline on my fingers.  In fact the minute the cap comes off, even she can't see it she starts backing up and laying her ears back.  My theory is she associates the smell of it with being stitched up since we applied it liberally below the wound so that she wouldn't end up with serum scald.   She does have a bit of scald now,  but I did manage today to get some Neosporin on it which should help it heal and help prevent further problems.

Sunday morning I went out to do chores and discovered Curious had a gash on her shoulder.   At first glance I suspected she had been kicked by Emma.

It looked a little deeper than skin deep, but not so bad that it couldn't be managed as an open wound if I could just get it cleaned.  However, Curious was less than compliant with letting anyone close to that part of her right shoulder.

So we called Dr. Doerr and had her come out today.  Turns out the wound was not caused by a kick, so Bekah's horse Emma is off the hook.  It also was deeper than it appeared and went through a couple of muscle layers and a nerve was clipped too.  

The vet did a standing sedation, and Curious used me to lean her head on and seemed to take some measure of comfort in my presence.   It took about 14 stitches to close up most of the wound, and about an inch at the lowest point was left open for drainage.

Curious and Emma won't be back together until the stitches are out in another 2-3 weeks.  A separation they are not going to be at all happy about.   And I don't like having to leave Emma without a barn, even if she does have some large evergreens to take shelter under.   Plus half the time Curious will stand out in the rain just so she won't be too far away from Emma.