Cabinwood Farm Blog

We all waited a long time for this foal since Gypsy, his dam, has never been able to conceive till now! Well, he finally arrived mid-evening May 4, 2010 and he now holds the distinction of being Cabinwood’s smallest born foal! Measured still with his rubber hoof booties on he was a whopping 18 3/4″ tall! He’s as cute as he can be but we are still not sure of his color…first he looked dark, then as he dried off he was more of  a gray/lbrown/sorrel color with some stripes on his legs here and there! Despite his small and wobbly stature, he was up in a flash and nursing great in a very short time!

J. Marlowe is named after the John Wayne character Col. John Marlowe from his 1959 movie The Horse Soldiers.

My Granddaughter Alexandria came to visit for a few days over her spring break. Alex has always been a great help to me here at Cabinwood, and she loves the donkeys! Here she is pictured with one of my most favorite little weanling jacks…Cabinwood’s J. Higgins. I’m not sure who liked who better…Alex or Higgins! We all had a great visit!

Cabinwood’s John Henry, originally uploaded by cabinwoodfarm.

He may have arrived a little earlier then we were expecting him, but Cabinwood’s John Henry has already made himself at home in the barn and he’s itching to get outside with the other donkeys to play!!!

John Henry arrived around 7:40am today in a model delivery by his Mom Olivia. Olivia is a poster donkey on how to get pregnant, how to carry the foal, how to deliver it with ease and then nurse it like a pro!

This little guy was full of energy and curiosity right from the beginning as he hopped right up to nurse then went all over the barn sniffing and hopping on everything (including me!) trying to make his discoveries! He looks to be a very nice little fellow all the way around!

With warmer temperatures coming into NEOhio now, John Henry hopes to venture outside for more discoveries very soon and meet up with his foalmates Tessa and Nicholass!

It definitely must be Spring now at Cabinwood Farm!
For more pictures of John Henry and his foalmates check out the Foal Page on our website!

When it rains it pours babies at Cabinwood Farm!! Meet Cabinwood’s first foals of the season Cabinwood’s Tessa and Cabinwood’s Nicholass! Tessa arrived around 11:15pm on March 23rd and Nicholass came the very next day around 2:30pm on March 24th!  Tessa’s mom Celina had some confusion at first and wouldn’t let her nurse but after spending the night in our barn in 28 degree temperatures, I was able to convince her that it was a good idea not to kick her baby away but to let that little girl nurse. Finally she got the hang of it and just as I thought it was safe to go in the house….I look over and see Nicoal is in labor! It’s so sweet that Celina and Nicoal would foal together like this. They arrived here at Cabinwood both as weanlings all fresh and new and have been best friends ever since. Now their babies will grow and play together, too!                                                                                                                                     

Summer’s first Puppy Match!, originally uploaded by cabinwoodfarm.

Today Summer the Afghan Hound made her debut at her first puppy match at the Youngstown All Breed training Club! We never had any intentions of showing her due to all her challenges just to grow and stay alive but she has done so well we thought we’d see how she got along at the match.

We were so impressed with how relaxed she was and how well she presented herself even though she has not had any practice at being a show dog! An Afghan Hound did take Best in Show there today but alas, Summer wasn’t the big winner although she did take Best of breed in her Senior Puppy class! Way to go Summer and thanks to Ms Pat Ray, our favorite dog lady who handled her!

Now these are some CUTE little boys!

Originally uploaded by cabinwoodfarm

Here are our 2009 weanling boys Higgins, Shadow and Stryker! All three of these boys are so sweet and looking very good. Just like everyone else, they REALLY want spring to come soon since they are now outside of the big barn and into their own jack house and exercise area. Higgins and Shadow are still on our for sale page and looking for some nice homes either together as a pair or alone. Neither of these boys are actually pet quality but because of space restrictions here at Cabinwood, we are always forced to sell good looking boys for less.

If you’d be interested in either or both of these little guys…..give us a call. You won’t be sorry!

Signs of spring are hard to come by these days but a sure way to tell it’s on the way is to take a look at the wood pile on the front porch! The pile is down to two rows and going fast as the temperatures go up to 40 degrees some days but then dip down to the teens at night!! One day it is pouring down rain and the next (like today) has snow squalls with flakes as big as quarters!

Our birthing barn is currently full with four jennets due between now and the end of April and once again… love is in the air at Cabinwood as we now have four breeding jacks all with new girls for spring frolics!! Two of our boys (Painter and Joker) are just beginning their breeding careers and we are hoping that the pairings we’ve selected result in some exciting new foals this time next year!!

We’ll let everyone know as soon as our first foals arrive!!!

Here are some very nice donkeys for sale that will help support the Walking With Donkeys Sanctuary in Crete.  http://www.walkwithdonkeys.com/index.html

BEAUTIFUL KNITTED DONKEYS FOR SALE!!!

http://www.walkwithdonkeys.com/our-shop.html

February at Cabinwood Farm is the shortest and yet longest month of the year! The weather can be brutal in both temperature and snowfall or sometimes it is mild but it is always one thing…dreary and it’s hard to get through! Winter seems to never end and spring still seems so far away. Today we post 2 neat things that are going on here at Cabinwood.

 One is our Afghan puppy Summer and the other is our donkey jennet Hauenstein’s Black Satin Gypsy. After months of not knowing if this puppy would survive, Summer is now 6 months old and growing into a real beauty! She was given a clean bill of health by the vet and we were told to continue doing for her whatever it is we’ve been doing. All of us, including our Sheltie Sasha shown playing with Summer above, just love this puppy!

The second good thing is we believe that Gypsy is in foal by our herdsire Red Sierra for this spring! Gypsy has never been able to conceive and carry a foal before so although she has not been officially tested for pregnancy, we are very hopeful that she can have a healthy foal sometime in April!!!

Hopefully, too, February will go fast and be mild in both snows and temperatures this year! We need some green grass and warm breezes for our new foals that are coming soon!

It’s been snowing and snowing here at Cabinwood! Despite the bad weather and cold temperatures, the dogs and donkeys always seem to get through it easier then us people! Sure hope the days go fast and spring comes early!!!