WoodFinn

2012 Pa. Farm Show

2012-01-15T19:58:00.000-05:00

Holy Moly- Mother Nature usually does her best to create ugly weather for this big "state fair" held in the middle of winter. Since I now live in Pennsylvania, I'm Allowed to show my horses at the Draft Horse Show held there.

I entered Abby ( Wolf River Fashion) in the Pleasure part of the draft show..... The weather for the hitch horses was Perfection. For us entered to show in the Pleasure draft show ? Rain, cold, miserable. And then ? It cleared up a little so it turned out to be a decent day. I'm getting ahead of myself here....

The Sunday before we were slated to show, my husband n' I went to get our bi-monthly grocery shopping trip accomplished. He'd taken a Whole Week from his vacation time for the show ! We got it done, got home, put the groceries away, and at dinner, I had some of my favorite chicken salad that particular store made to sell. All was fine until mid way thorough the night when I began having severe stomach cramps. Needless to say, I spent the rest of my Monday night in the bathroom.... Food Poisoning. Tuesday found me so exhausted, I literally spent the day in bed or the bathroom. NOTHING was done in preparation for our trip to the Farm Show on Wednesday.

Wednesday afternoon, with a damp unhappy Percheron mare, we hauled out to the show grounds. Abby hauled like a dream, and finished drying in the nice cozy stall inside the building. We stayed to get the brass polished on the harness and cart - then headed home . Me- to bed.

Still dragging along but not so concerned about hitting the bathroom as much, we got to the show grounds early Thursday morning. Abby was eager for her breakfast, and had done a good job of sleeping it seemed. Notttttttttttttttt.......... I doubt she laid down at all. Breakfast was accomplished easily with just One mare to care for, and we sat around, chatting with folks, and watching the others preparing for the show that day.

We were to be the second class in that morning, and Abby was SO excited ! She didn't want to be still to be hitched, nor wait for me to even get in the cart hardly before we were Off. Where, Abby had no clue, but she was going there. Her head was up, she had no walk, but just a show "bounce" like my other Percheron mare, Dixie, used to have. We drove at a trot around the parking lot until Abby began listening to me instead of fighting to be able to GO. She's such a pleasure to drive- but This mare, I sure didn't know. This mare had Never ever shown up before !

And then our class was called. We ended up behind a slowwwwwwwwwww Belgian horse... which kept going slower & slower. Must have been a real "pleasure" to drive because it never went faster than a jog....

Belgian horses are notoriously slow in a show ring- and I ended up behind the Most Slow one. Normally this is fine but not when one is sitting behind a big black trotting machine !

Good grief ! Even the camera speed was to slow to create an unblurred picture.

Eventually it was time to line up, thank goodness. We had Not done a good drive, thanks to Abby being so forward, and my having to keep telling her to do a slow trot so we'd not run over that Belgian in front of us.

I even tried stopping to wait, but sheeesh, they only got about 25' in front of us, and that ground was covered easily by the little black 'engine that could'.

In the line up, drivers and horses are supposed to stand quietly, as the judge looks over their turnout, asks them to back and to award ribbons. When the announcer began announcing the winners- from last to first, of course, the crown applauded. Abby had never heard such a ruckus and chose to try to leave the ring . Glenn caught her and told her to stand quietly. She did, thank goodness.

We placed 3rd in that class; both Abby AND her human were glad to leave the arena .

I am Very pleased with her ! She faced a big fear, dealt with it, and did a fine job of attempting to listen to me. So now to hang out until springtime and get hitching in earnest !

Jus' Pitchers

2012-01-01T17:50:00.000-05:00

I was out n' about yesterday on the farm- and the lighting at sunset was really nice ! Here are some pics I took...

The Hemlocks are SO lovely this time of year- and the setting sun really made the branches 'shine'.

Scarlet n Sunny- both expecting me to come let them in for dinner.

My ever starving App mare, Alli....

Here she is, coming down the hill to the fence, so she can yell at me better

See ?

Making Sure I'm listening....

Sure do love this ol' sweet munchkin of a mare !

Happy New Year !

2011-12-31T16:02:00.000-05:00

Another year is fast ending..... The year to soon be past was good and awful at the same time. It was full of trials and tribulations, troubles, and tears- but we made it thru.

Now, I'm looking forward to 2012.
May it be full of more financial gain concerning the farm.
May Glenn & I both remain healthy and happy with each other.
May the dog, and cats stay with us another year.
May the horses stay happy & healthy as well.
In general, I hope / wish for a better year than this one soon past.

I wish for you, my dear reader, all the joys and prosperity available. I wish that you make all the 'right' choices and that you choose the path to becoming more of a human than you ever thought you could be.

ok- so these are not from a new year's eve celebration- but enjoy :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

Alli, our alarm clock

2011-12-17T16:17:00.000-05:00

December 17th...
I have owned "All The Best" since 1999. She is now 29 years old, pure Appaloosa, and the most dear, loving mares I have ever known. She must have a built in wrist watch because each afternoon, around 3:30 or so, she begins reminding me loudly to not forget to come feed her dinner. She stands in various places- in clear view of my office window- and whinnies in that direction. She begins standing closer to the barn, and as the minutes click away, she moves closer to our house....

Eventually moving down a little closer...

She'll even go so far as to peek thru the metal gate designed to keep her Out of the barn during the day:

Below shots were just taken today- it is cloudy out, thus Alli has been yelling for a good while now. She doesn't realize that dinner is at 4:30 PM- NOT when she says.

'A Christmas Tale'

2011-12-17T15:57:00.001-05:00

Well, actually our barn party, but that title sounded better... It all began MANY many years ago back in Maryland. I owned a very small farm then but it was in a perfect location. The barn parties began just there- in the Barn. Small, but always fun.... eventually my client list grew to the point where it wasn't wise to have the festivities in the tackroom, so it was moved to our little house. Then there were even More in the next few years! By then, I'd moved to a lovely place and a house with Lots of room- and we needed it, luckily. Many good times were had at those barn /house Christmas parties. Great folks, horse people and kids.... One has to have 'kids' around to make Christmas a little more exciting, right ?

So- here I am, living in Pennsylvania since 2002. A bigger farm, more acreage, and definately a Bigger Barn ! That leaves room for more clients, boarders, students and horse oriented friends. This year we had a housefull. Full of laughter, full of cheer, full of good will and yeah- KIDS. ( AKA- human children) We had yummy food from delicious pies, to cookies, and choices of different sandwiches to eat. Lots of presents to be opened, and some surprises too. All in all, it was a great evening - spent with friends. A perfect way to celebrate such a wonderful holiday. Below are some photos I got of some of our guests- enjoy :)

Micheala got a long sleeved tee

Oooooooooooo !

Shanna...

Barb enjoying her present

The New Pony Pals

Kelby opening her gift

Amber with her gift card

Alexa got some pretty earrings

All in all ,a wonderful evening spent with friends

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Good Bye Carlene.. 5/17/1991 - 11/17/2011

2011-11-18T12:02:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was one of the worst this year for our farm. I had my old Clydesdale mare, Carlene, put down. She was 20, and I'd owned her for 6 years. She and I had many wonderful times together, and then some of the most painful too. You see, Carlene was a show mare.... a top show mare, in the world of Clydesdales. She was born in Canada from royal bloodlines that destined her to be Great. Her owners took her to many of the largest draft shows in Canada, and she proceeded to win halter blue ribbons, and championships for them. Soon it was time for her to learn to be a driving horse, and learn -she did. Again- only the best shows for Carlene....

She began having health problems - I can tell by how the people purchased her and how quickly she was then sold once more. Three times in 1996, so I guess that is when she began developing health problems. By the time my friends purchased her in 1999, she was well on her way to falling apart physically, but they didn't know that. One day Carlene couldn't breathe- and as soon as she was taken home, a veterinarian was called in. She had Many Many allergies it seemed- which made her unable to breathe properly. That's what I was told- as well as her owners. That was when she began getting 2 shots each month- to help her breathe more easily. I *think* that the damage had already been done to her lungs, but the shots Did help her a lot.

One day I got a note telling me that my friends were going to have Carlene euthanized due to her many health problems. We talked back & forth and in-between snowstorms, she arrived here at WoodFinn and Our life together began. I got her back to as healthy and happy as I could- for a big mare. We had great times, and some terribly sad times too. There were days while soaking her hooves in warm water and epsom salt that she would be So lame with abcesses in her hooves, that it seemed we'd cry together for her pain. This went on- but she seemed to level out and remained healthy for some time.

This Fall however, her troubles began once more.... I don't know why but I was watching my beautiful mare fall apart. She was no longer healthy like before- her breathing was holding steady, but her feet began abcessing again, and her cough returned. I tried to help her feel better, enticing those abcesses locked inside her hooves cease, but then her soles got so soft I was afraid of causing yet More problems and lameness. She lost a tremendous amount of weight, and this past Sunday, I knew I had to make a decision to help her ''move on''. She let me know that SHE was ready to be pain free as well, so I made the appropriate plans.

On November 17th, and 8:16 in the morning, Carlene passed over the "Rainbow Bridge''. My vet told me that she laid down peacefully and it seemed like she just went to sleep. I had her buried up on the hill on our farm, beside Dixie so they both can watch over us left here on earth.

God speed, Carlene... and never forget how much we all loved you...

coming to meet me for dinner....

Enjoying life here...

Our one and only show.....

this photo was taken by Whimsy Portraits- thanks so much for liking my mare !

At our one and only horse show...

October.....snow ????

2011-10-30T13:23:00.002-04:00

10/30/11

Every time I think I have the weather figured out here in central PA, it changes. When I finally figured out the path of the 'terrible' thunderstorms as compared to the not so terrible ones, that was all turned around. Now ? I thought that we were safe from bad, cold weather in October- and was looking forward to a delightful Autumn.

Wrongggggggggggggg. Yesterday, it snowed. Yes- it SNOWED ! A good 3-4 inches of very wet, sloppy snow. In October ! The horses all stayed inside because no one was prepared for Snow and hadn't gotten their wintry blankets out. The Percherons were out all night on Friday as it was not supposed to start snowing until very early morning. The weather guys predicted it perfectly and by the time it actually began snowing, the Percherons were inside, happily eating their breakfast hay.

Here is a photo of our typical Autumn day :

Pretty colorful leaves on the trees, 'some' grass and nice weather, thennnnnnn on Saturday...

snowing like crazy !

the ornamental grass didn't care for it...

Poor little annuals got snow covered:

The Hemlock trees were snow covered

Sunday brought sun- but FOG !

Poor Oak Trees

Low clouds- but the sun is trying to shine - Sunday AM

ground fog made things look spooooky

Even the hens didn't want to come out

our mountain- snowy

The right side- with low clouds

Buffalo Mountain in fog

Soon, the snow was melting and the trees are back to their lovely Fall colors

Our fence line- snow and leaves ???

All in All ?

One bizzare, insane weekend

Autumn Has Arrived 10.12.11

2011-10-12T14:37:00.002-04:00

It seems that overnight, Autumn arrived. The trees that change colors are happily dressed in golds,yellows and reds.There are acorns All over our back yard, and subsequent squirrels digging little holes to bury their treasures in. It won't be long until the ground is full of small divots with acorns hidden in them.

Today the weather is dreary and rainy... On my drive to check out a possible new pony for lessons, that gold and yellow brightened things up considerably. The mountains and ridges are gorgeous in their Autumn colors, with just enough pines and hemlocks in deep green to fill in the shadows and dips.

We now are back in order with chickens, it seems. A friend of mine had been told she couldn't have her hens in her backyard , due to township regulations, so two of those hens moved in here. They're Barred Plymouth Rock hens, and are very friendly. Add those to the 6 hens already here, and I have a yard full once more. The little Widget peep that is a frizzled Cochin cross is doing SO well now. She/ he is walking about- even running, flapping those little fragile wings to get her going FAST. She / he still lives in our tack room and has become quite the pet. Lucky- the one peep that survived the horrid times when his mama was killed- is getting so very beautiful ! He's still practicing that terrible 'rooster' song he has made up.... Oh my, he sounds terrible, but he hasn't an idea of how the song goes. So, it goes like this- instead of "cockle doodle Doooooooooo", Luckys' rendition of it is " Err, err, ERRRRR !" Not real close but he's rather proud of his crow. He still loves to sit with people in the tack room, and has a wonderful time telling the chosen person of the hour All about his adventures as he sits on their laps. Due to his being able to fly quite nicely, his favorite roosting area is on the bell right outside the tack room. I'll have to try to get a photo of him one of these days.

The horses are all doing super. Busily growing in their winter coats and filling up on what little grass is left. The new stall fronts inside our barn Still are way to pretty. Sometimes when I walk into the barn now, its as though it belongs to someone else, and I'm merely working there. I love my barn now. I loved it before- but now ? WOW- Love it big time !

Below are some photos I got today of our trees, etc.

This is the creek- almost back to normal again.

This is across the creek...

The 'Sedum' has become Burgundy !

The Great Chicken Caper

2011-09-24T17:22:00.002-04:00

Well, the bantam hens and peeps have a new home now. The folks who asked to have them arrived just after evening chores were done one evening last week. They brought with them a pet carrier for taking the hens home with them. Easter did NOT think this a good idea, and prompty flew up as high as she could get in the barn rafters. We caught the mama hen, Pearl, then Starlight, and then one by one, the little peeps. Boy, they got FAST ! Finally it was time to catch Easter- I herded her back into their stall and she made a beeline for one of the empty water buckets. 'New chicken owner' caught her easily. We held the door for the pet carrier and put her gently inside. Then it was time to transfer the peeps from the storage container to the carrier. This to was done as gently as possible so no one got hysterical or TOO frightened. Mama Pearl sure was happy to have her family back and by the time the new chicken owners left, the three hens and peeps had straightened out their ruffled feathers and were being quiet. :)

The next weekend, the little gal who now owns the hens,etc told me that they had gotten two eggs and that the hens and peeps were doing great.

Happy ending to this story. Now to make friends with the New Golden Girls, and to move them into the flock .....

The horses are so used to chickens by now, that when they are in the aisle for tacking up or grooming, they pay no attention to the poultry. One evening this week, Lucky ( the one chick that survived the Great Chicken Murder a few weeks ago) was now practicing crowing- yes HE is a rooster to be. He has discovered that going into his little 'house' each evening is not what He sees as good- so it's a circus trying to corral him in the correct direction. This one particular evening, there were two of the boarders grooming their horses in the aisleway. I'd herded Lucky Almost towards his house, when he stopped. Looking up at the rather round red Hafflinger above him, he flew up High and landed on the pony's BACK! The pony was surprised as could be but handled it all great. He wriggled his skin on his shoulders and back, and Lucky flew down again. That was when he went into his night time house. Whew..... We all were laughing at the surprised pony AND that young rooster sitting on his back.

Lucky's picture is below....

The new girls n' some horses

2011-09-20T16:04:00.003-04:00

Here it is a brand new week. Yesterday, the new hens Finally arrived ! See their photos below. Their ex-owner found out that where he lived chickens were not allowed, so he had to find a new home for them. Luckily that new home was WoodFinn ! We need to find names for them- so I have asked students, boarders and Working students to think of 'girly' names for these new hens. One of the new students' parents are going to take the bantam hens and all the peeps to their house- this evening, we'll capture them, box them up and off they'll go. Stay tuned on the Great Chicken Capture. :)

The horses have really been enjoying this cooler weather here this and last week. Scarlet ( my leopard App mare) has been feeling down right silly, as are the Percherons. 60 degrees during the day is Draft Horse Weather, it seems. Little to no flys bugging them, cool days and less humidity makes for 11 happy horses.

Jasmine ( Standardbred mare) has a new home since a couple of weeks ago. She was sold to a gal I know- and I think she's going to be perfect for them, as Jazzy rides And drives. So we now have another stall to fill with someone's horse. I wasn't using Jazz as much as I'd thought I would be, and she has a wonderful new home forever, I hope.

Here are a couple of shots of the chickens and a couple of the horses from this morning :

The little Bantam hens, and the peeps, my Rhode Island Red hen, Lucy, and Silverwulf, the silver laced Wyandott hen.

The Buff Orpington gals - they're a little shy...

Scout and Scarlet

and last but not least, our newest student, Michela and her pal, Alli.

Alli was just finishing a tasty peppermint she'd gotten as a treat for being a good ride.....

Hope you all have a great week !

Hospitals and Storms, and Floods- Oh MY !

2011-09-11T14:59:00.003-04:00

There was a LOT happening this past week. Firstly, we got storm watches for a fierce tropical storm that was moving up the coast.... So I was busily preparing for that- winds, rain and perhaps a higher than normal creek. Well, it was MUCH more than just that. Little to no winds, but the rain- Oh the rain. ( we got close to 9" of rain !!) It began in earnest Tuesday evening-just as I was driving home alone from the hospital. Glenn had been not feeling well Monday (which was Labor day and a 3 day weekend for him) so we didn't do much at all. By Tuesday, he was Miserable;complaining of stomach pains again- so I called the Dr's office to get an appointment. No, the Dr was off for a few days, so we went straight to the emergency room. Turned out after a Lot of tests, he had the same problem of before. They admitted him, and that's why I got to drive home in the storm alone. By Wednesday, (thanks to Megan, I had some help that day) it had really hit us hard.... I had wet stalls in the front half of the barn, and thank goodness, that was ALL. There was rain- no thunder, no lightning- so the horses went outside as usual. I think they enjoyed the cooler temps and being soaking wet as no one acted as though they wanted to go inside. Thursday found me alone again. My poor working student had called to say she wouldn't be there because her basement had flooded. I felt SO terrible for all of their losses ! I couldn't get out of the county to go visit my husband because of the flooding. This road was closed/ flooded... that road was closed. Whew- Major flooding- when the great river running thorough this area gets full- she goes over her banks and to the houses beyond ! Harrisburg was under water in certain areas, Hershey Park was under water - so badly that they had animal deaths at their zoo america. It was BAD. I'll add some photos of some of the flooding below.
While my hubby was getting better, I had found a little peep in the horse stall where the hens were staying. ( one of Pearls' chicks) I thought it was sick, and would die, but nope- it just needed to be treated gently and be allowed to heal- and eat, and drink and Poop.... That's alright- all of that is Healthy. So now, I have TWO little best friends in chicken clothing. One in a Cosequin bucket, and one in the little dog kennel cab. Lucky is growing like mad- has almost all of her/his feathers in now, and Loves to sit in human laps. I thought I'd heard Lucky attempting a crow this morning, so I Sure hope it was NOT. Been calling the little one in the tack room bucket " Widget" which can be either hen or rooster names.
The horses all survived the storm easily- but for looking at their damp but clean stalls like they had mistakenly gone to the wrong barn. They Were all quite clean too- till the rains slowed down and the mud looked like fun to roll in. Mud is alright- when it dries, it brushes right off.
Now, today- the farm is drying out, the stalls are doing Much better, and all is well at WoodFinn once again. The little widget peep is having trouble making her/his toes/ feet work correctly- but I pray that time will heal that. Otherwise, Widget is a happy little chick. Lucky likes to visit the Percherons when they are in their stalls during the day. I think they like the company.
The other hens- Pearl, Starlight n' Easter- are outside today for the first time since they got here. The peeps ( now 8) were having the times of their lives pecking grass and finding bugs. Alli, my old Appy, had walked up to the barn to get a drink, and was standing there watching them, ears perked forward, head tilted so she could see them. I'm glad my horses are so good at getting along with all the other species living here ! Now for some photos :

This is Lucky- notice the "Shrek" ear like feathers on the sides of his/her head ?

And this is 'Widget'... the little chick living in the Cosequin bucket in our tack room.

This is our road past our house...

Below is the front of the barn-

AFTER scooping out one helluva lot of water.

Buffalo Creek- Wednesday

The creek is normally a few inches deep- by Wednesday, it was easily 6' deep

Those trees are a good 10' back from the creek banks.

These are photos I took on our drive home on Friday- of the Susquehanna River

Another shot- of City Island- from the Harrisburg Hospital.

See those small houses across the river ?

And last but hardly least- this is 322 and Clarks Ferry- almost flooded under.

Saturday was a gorgeous day- hot,but the humidity dropped some as it wore on. I hope we are going to have a taste of Autumn later on this week !

Working Student Program 9/3/2011

2011-09-03T15:15:00.000-04:00

Glenn came out of the house to snap some photos of one of our working students having an 'earned' lesson..... This is Sam, and her favorite guy " BoJangles. She's just had a very few lessons in riding- so she's still learning the many basics.

There's SO much to remember !

walk on !

A little better turn here...

getting some tips....

Much better !

She's gone :D

2011-08-28T14:20:00.000-04:00

Irene has moved on.... didn't leave anything but a stiff breeze and some showery rain. Now it's just beginning to clear up . All is fine here- nothing damaged, dry chickens and happy horses out grazing in the fields ! The new chickens - thanks Heather !!!- are doing fine. Starlight has decided perhaps being w/ her " peeps" is alot better than galvanting about the farm all by herself. I had to herd her into an empty stall in order to capture her and return her to her friends . The little peeps are ADORABLE- teeny little things , all colored differently. Lucky- Emmi's only chick is growing by leaps n' bounds- and oh wow, she is SO friendly. She follows my shoes, and loves taking dirt baths in the stalls- Yes, WITH the drafters in them too. Here's some photos I got today. Also- one of a very soggy squirrel in our barn's parking lot and one of Scarlet .

Mama hiding her peeps

Getting some brunch...

back to scratching for bugs,etc

this pretty girl is named Starlight- with Easter behind her

The hen below is Easter- one of the other hens.

closer shot of the teeniest little peepy

Low clouds over our mountain- Irene is leaving the area !

This is the only survivor of Emmi's little family- Lucky

More of Pearl & her chicks

Scarlet outside, enjoying the cool temperatures

Our soggy squirrel....

Hello Irene !

2011-08-27T15:20:00.000-04:00

We're awaiting our first hurricane of the season... She is right on schedule, according to all the weather maps... LOTS of rain, LOTS of wind and Luckily we are on the outer skirts of it all. Back where I grew up is going to get more than here, so I am Glad to be living here now !
Right now, all we have are dark threatening clouds, and every once in a while, rain.... She's not supposed to arrive here in PA til tonight.... stay tuned.

Sad Times ...

2011-08-21T19:36:00.000-04:00

8.21.2011

I walked to the barn yesterday morning to feed the chickens and see if all the horses were okay. I had some helpers doing all the horsey chores, so I could have an actual day OFF. It was oddly quiet.... no hens bustling about to be fed, no Emmi and her peeps. No one.

I looked up at the hen house, and there was one lone chick, standing outside kind of like it was lost. That was weird- Emmi Never left one peepy alone like that. So I called my hens to come out for breakfast. I'd left the side door on their house opened the night before because it had been do humid, and figured they might be inside still . (Odd for them to do that even) Nothing.... no hens, no Emmi and her peeps- but for that one little one standing up there peeping its' fool head off. WAY to quiet.

I asked my two helpers if they'd seen the hens or the peeps this AM, and one said that one red hen had been around, but that was all. I am the one who cares for the chickens, most times the kids never hardly pay any attention to them when they are here. Lucy, and Silverwulf were down at the manure pile- and I started to get worried. Where were the others ?????? I caught the one lost peepy, and put her in the little kennel cab I'd fixed up for Emmi and her peeps to use at night. NO sign of the other 4 hens and the little ones. It was so quiet, it was eerie. So, I figured 'something' had stolen my hens- no feathers, no big signs of dead chickens, nothing at all but dead quiet. I cuddled the little peepy who was so lonely and lost, and cried for my dead hens. I kept thinking of their terror as what ever it was killed them. Poor Emmi- all she wanted to do was be a good mama to her little brood. They're gone..... all but two hens and one little lonely peepy.

Later on, Sadie n' I went for a walk and behind the row barn, in the tall grass there, I found signs of a chicken being held down, and another one on the back of the manure pile.

I know about predators- and most likely this was a mother fox teaching her young how to hunt. Well it wasn't hunting- these poor chickens were in their coop, asleep. I understand ALL to well about the survival of the fittest, and how nature runs it's course, and when one has a farm, things are going to be killed or die. It STILL makes me want to cry for those chickens though- it was My responsibility to keep them safe, and in being kind, I let them be killed in the most terrible manner.

Rest in Peace, Emmi, the'littles', Skarlet, Devon and Roxie.... never forget you were loved.

Fun and Fotos 8/7/11

2011-08-07T14:56:00.001-04:00

I have some cute photos of kids n' horses and other animals around here that I think need to be here.
Sooooo- enjoy !

This is BoJangles- VERY VERY Dirty !!!

From this spring- thanx Shanna. That's Jaide, Shannas' daughter holding Bo for me 2011

One more... ugh

BoJangles getting a wonderful massage from Dianne Schoenfelt-he loved it 2011

A little dandelion ready the shed it's seeds... 2011

Queen Anne's Lace spring 2011

A SUPER Full moon ! 2011

Rainbow over WoodFinn 2011

Kelby riding Scout in the ring... 2011

Abby waiting for breakfast 2011

Kissa coming under the gate... she's one of our Barn Kitties 2011

Our American Bulldog,Sadie, playing chase with her leash- it's an odd game to humans,

but is wonderful for bulldogs ! 2011

Shanna after giving her best buddy a bath ! 2011

Mmmmmmmmm, treats ! Bo n' Shanna 2011

hey- gimme that hay, kid ! Bo n' Jaide 2011

A little gal all dressed up and goin' the county fair with her dad n' mom. 2011

BoJangles trying to convince AJ and Jaide to let him go into the barn 2011

Awwwwww, come on, kids !

Pondering the Past....

2011-07-30T11:00:00.002-04:00

Boarders I have known have been sometimes wonderful, kind people, and then some ? Amazingly odd- and their horses were almost as odd. I find that horses tend to pattern themselves after whomever they see as "boss"- and so often it's a human. In this day of highly domesticated equines- they turn to us as an example of what is 'normal' in their lives. Sometimes they are absolutely nutty- like their owners are.

Being high 'flight or fight' instinct ruled, horses will look to someone else to 'see' a monster coming.Or they'll rely on themselves to see 'danger' coming. Be it a wild goose, or Heron flying over, a baby bunny or a piece of paper fluttering across a trail... the horse is ever on the alert. 40 million years of being 'meals' for predators have created a very watchful animal.

Thus horses, when being ridden or handled by us, look to us for guidance. If a human is lacking confidence, the horse will be too. If their human is confident and knowledgeable, then the horse attempts that too. Ever see a horse who's scared of his own shadow when being led by one person- yet, relaxed and easy going when led by another ?

A prime example...was one person who boarded at my barn one year. She was scared of the horse she owned.As a result, her horse, when being handled by it's owner, looked for things to be scared of. What the owner Didn't realize was that her horse was feeding off her emotions. He didn't know it was He that she was frightened of, only that she was frightened, so he was being ever watchful . And oh boy, did he ever find some scary things around the farm !

I have seen scared, spooky horses handled by confident trainers eventually behave as their humans do. It takes time to build that inner confidence in a horse, and you have to know HOW to correctly- but I have seen it happen over and over again. I have one mare living here now who came here scared of anything she didn't understand. She would run/ kick/ bite and ask questions later. Just last night, I was letting her pasturemate go into her stall, and this mare stopped to visit with one of my Percheron mares while waiting to enter her stall. Well, this big mare was eating her dinner, and we All know how important FOOD is. The Percheron mare squealed, stomped her foot- ears back,etc.... General negative posturing : " Get outta here ! THIS is MY dinner !!" The little bay mare squealed right back in surprise and fear-- and threw a Big kick out behind her. I had to yell at her for reacting as she did and that next time, NONE of that behavior.
Will it happen again ? Sure will because this bay mare was used to being low horse on the pecking order of her former herd. She had to fight to protect her hay, and was so thin when she moved here. She's getting better with each mishap, and she's learning that I (being the Boss Mare here) won't tolerate that kind of thing.

So we have to try to have confident animals who are learning to not rely so much on those 40 million years of ingrained instinct, but to stop and consider if that bunny really IS going to attack them......

Peeps outside...

2011-07-30T10:44:00.000-04:00

They had their first day out, and have been out ever since. Mind you- in a small enclosure so the horses don't step on them and the cats don't have tasty little snacks, but out just the same. These little chicks are incredibly small- being Bantam chickens... so I'm protecting them till they get a little larger.

Below are some pics I took:

So far, they're all healthy, happy little babies and Emmi is doing a SUPER mama job !

Peep Patrol

2011-07-26T19:43:00.000-04:00

Today I was unloading a truck ( chick feed/ rat poison) when I heard a loud
'PEEEEEPPPPP!!!' Coming from the hen house. I dashed up there, well as fast as one can dash in 95 degree sunshine, and found that Emmi had chosen today to take her family for a walk. It was working real well. There were peeps in other nests ( lord knows how they got There) , peeps on the floor of the hen house and one peep sitting quietly , waiting for it's mama to decide what is happening.... I didn't quite know What to do. If they went outside, horses might squish them, or something ( barn catz) could have chicks for dinner. That's when Emmi decided it was to crowded in the hen house, and stepped through the small side exit.
Peeps panic all Over the place !
" omg- mama has disappeared- NOW what do we do !?!?!" Emmi sticks her head back in , clucking to them. I never knew little teeny 2 day old chicks could leap as these did. They all ( peeping all the while) climbed up to the big step, and hopped down to be with their mama. Now there were 7 chickens wandering about under wild violets, in tall grass, and one of them didn't quite know how to be a chicken mom.

I began trying to scoop up little bantam chicks, trying NOT to squish any under a blade of grass.. Emmi was all upset, and kept clucking to her babies, who peeped back Loudly ! Finally we all ended up in the front of the hen house. They all settled down as mama took a dirt bath. < whew>

Got some small holed chicken wire, fastened it to the chick pen I had originally used for Emmi and the hens when they were a week old. BIG difference between 2 day old Bantam chicks n' week old ' fat farm hen' breeds. The little buggars slipped right through the big holes where I hadn't hadn't had time to attach the smaller wire to. Finally got That done just as Emmi was getting done with her bath in the dirt. The little baby pen was looped around the front of the hen house, and all was well with mama and her babes. Got them a teeny waterer, and some chick feed ( remember- I was just taking that into the tack room ?) and tossed it out for them to eat. Little teeny chicks sure are super fast at copying what mama hen does. It wasn't long til they were all tuckered out , all but falling asleep in the chick starter.....

This evening, I took the small dog crate up, filled with fresh hay. I added the old nest where they had all hatched on top. ( No clue if that made a bit of difference at all, but dogs like that. ;) With a plastic square, I herded the babies out of their corner ( scared babies- I must look like a Giant to them) and held them down to Emmi's height, so she'd see where they were being put. Not a problem at all- she walked over, checked out the four already in there, and stepped in, turned around to wait for me to place the other two in with her.

Now they're safe and secure, and nothing will bother the little ones . Tomorrow- they can once again go outside in their little "playpen" and explore. Emmi might enjoy some cucumber skin, as the rest of my hens will, I am sure.

This is the first time I've done this with hens- and don't plan on doing it again. Whew.... Lots of work being an Gramma.

A new family at WoodFinn

2011-07-24T20:16:00.000-04:00

Emmi's eggs have hatched ! All but one is now a fluffy little bantam easter egger. Healthy and happy- full of peeps and staggering about. I went up to check on Emmi this AM when I was feeding the horses, and there was a chick. I almost couldn't believe it ! But there it was.... I checked the rest and there was another one " pipping" ( working it's way out of the shell)

So by this evening, all but one are done. The last one is still working on getting born. Emmi's being a wonderful mama hen. It amazes me time and time again, how living creatures seem to Know what to do. Instinct is a great thing to have- and use. Humans so often don't.... but chickens ? Sure enough, THEY do.

Be prepared for lots more updates on Emmi & her new family. In the meantime- here's a couple of photos I took this evening. But first- this is the very first chick that hatched this AM :

Emmi and her new family....

A New Road.... or Tar n' Chips ! 7.21.2011

2011-07-21T13:53:00.001-04:00

Our little road that goes past our house has been in need of serious repair over the years. Patching has happened, but it got to the point where it simply needed to be fixed. Bumpy, sloped in odd places and just looking like some kind of old cow path it was. In fact, I thought to myself just earlier this week how the road really needed some proper care.

Yesterday- lo' and behold, I heard some truck noises outside. It was So hot that I had been keeping the front curtains closed to help keep it cooler inside. I peered out the window and felt like a crazy person doing it. You know- the kind in the scary movies ? She peers out of her room upstairs to see who has arrived, and to plot terrible things happening to them ? Well, I did peer, but so far, I'm not crazy :)

This is what was happening :Tar and chips were being laid down !!!

So ''YAYYYYYYYYYYY''

for the township guys in taking good care of this little road !!

You rock, guys !

7/10/2011 Emmi & her Eggs

2011-07-10T13:25:00.001-04:00

I got a photo of Emmi setting on her eggs-thanks to my pal, Shanna ! Here's Emmi- she has 8 'bantam easter egger' eggs to care for. Tonight I'll make my first attempt at 'candling' them to see if they're fertile or not.

This little hen is doing a superb job with being a brand new mama-to-be. She only gets off her nest one time daily. She takes a healthy dirt bath, gets something to eat, and drink, catches some tasty bugs, and she's back on her nest. Mother Nature sure created some wonderful instincts in these chickens !
Here's Emmi:

I imagine I'll have to begin putting a small dish of water / food in a corner so she can have something to drink all day long. It's supposed to be HOT the next few days here, so she'll appreciate that.

Emmi wants to be a Mommy

2011-07-03T14:03:00.000-04:00

7.3.2011

It seems I now have a hen who wants to sit on eggs in order that they hatch and she will have babies to care for.... only trouble is that we have only Non-fertile eggs here now. Aiden, the Dominique rooster, got very bad natured and jumped at some of the kids who come to visit here at our farm. THAT was against ALL rules, so he got three chances to behave- and didn't. So Aiden found a new home, and there are 6 hens here . This is actually what I wanted in the first place... six fat farm type hens. After a LOT of roosters finding homes, and loosing a couple, I am now to where I want.

Emmi, my little Light Brahma hen, how ever has chosen to go 'broody'. She's been trying to sit on some eggs, but none are ever going to become anything but rotten. So, I sent a plea out to a friend of mine who has many different types of chickens- AND Roosters! Ahhhhhhhh- fertile eggs for my little hen to' set ' on. So tomorrow, they will arrive here and we'll see what Emmi thinks of her future chicks to be. I'll try to get a picture of Emmi in her nest- sans fertile eggs this afternoon.....

Almost All Done !

2011-06-18T12:35:00.001-04:00

The past few weeks , there's been quite a few changes here... FINALLY the stall front guys arrived, and got busy tearing my barn apart. Luckily I'd figured out a way to have All of the horses out of the barn for a couple of days to make it easier for them to get done. I'll add some pics of how it Now looks as I already added photos of how it looked " before". After they were done making a mess, and finished, we had a barn painting day , combined with a clean up day. Lots of folks showed up ( THANK YOU ALL !!) and we got a lot accomplished. Painters painted the barn stall front boards red, and we trimmed in a deep blue. I think it looks alright ,but am considering painting all those boards a deep red. After looking at the pix, What do You think ?

This is most of the stall fronts torn off, but it shows how pretty the newly painted ceilings are.

Another shot of the barn.

First door has been hung !

now we're getting somewhere....

Carlene got to be in her stall for dinner !

one side is Almost done

Now to add some fresh paint !

I chose a deep red and a deep blue as trim for the barn...

This is the left side of the barn- new windows that open & close easily, and fresh paint

Voila ! We're getting there

Still waiting for painters to come:

Painting has begun

Sample stall front...

There's still more to get done, but you have the idea of how it will look....

We even got the soffitt painted !

Happy Clyde mare- in her new stall....

A Tribute to Barn Catz.

2011-05-28T12:48:00.001-04:00

As many horse people know, a barn cat is of the utmost importance in ones' barn. They hunt for mice, and sometimes, rats, they help keep birds from nesting in the barn rafters, and they're generally good company to anyone who comes along . These girls are my barn catz.... Moxie , the tabby , and Kiisa, the calico. They were apartment raised and never felt fresh air until they came here to live. They're superior mousers, and keep us all but 'mice free'. They're polite to those humans who come here, and keep a close eye on everything.

Below is Moxie- she is a little timid ,but once you are her friend, it's forever ( keep reading)

Moxie takin' it easy in the shade.

Kiisa sleeping

Kiisa again- she Loves boxes to sleep in

Lounging in the barn aisle after breakfast- Kiisa

Kiisa heading out to the pasture...and mice :)

Doing what she does best- watching the activities at the barn

I found this video on youtube, and thought to share it with you. This is for all those wonderful barn cats- especially the two who live here- Kiisa & Moxie. Thanks for the good times, girls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSaZ9jkgMPA

enjoy, and big thanks to MaryAnne Kennedy for creating it !
**********************************************************************************
And a cute poem by Sue Millard about MICE.

The mice had been out drinking.
Their tails wove in and out.
They staggered up the piping,
and fell off down the spout.
They reached the airing-cupboard
and nested in the sheets,
they peed upon the bedspreads,
on towels wiped their feets.
Then leaving several pellets
of shit upon shelves (upper)
they hiccuped, belched and farted
and went to look for supper,
for as you know when drinking,
though lager fills your belly,
it also makes you feel as though
you'd eat a docker's welly!
They fancied Ruby Murray,
but nothing could they find,
for in a decent bathroom
a curry's naught but wi-ind.
So gnashing sharp incisors
and scraping needled paws,
they set about a drunken search
to find that bedtime course.
And when I rose at seven,
and flicked electric power
to heat the flowing water
and give a nice hot shower,
I found the mice had feasted
behind the cupboard door.
They'd shredded paper wrappings
and dropped them on the floor:
they'd punctured all the toothpaste
and then to top their tope
they'd guzzled anti-frizz shampoo
and eaten half the soap.
Then finally, hung over,
they'd made themselves at home
and sprawling bloated fast asleep
were snoring shaving foam.

5/22/2011

2011-05-22T14:44:00.004-04:00

Updates on the barn restorations.... The carpenter got finished last week- after accomplishing all he had to get done. We now have brand new steps going to the hayloft ( YAY- no more ladders!), all of the stall windows have been re-worked, and now open & close easily, and there are firring strips on each of the ceiling seams , making it look oh so nice. He also repaired the kicked in concrete blocks ( yes- those horses really wanted to be free !!) and now the back stall walls all need to be scrubbed clean. But those holes are filled in and more safe.

This past week, our painter showed up. They painted the stall ceilings in the same cream color that our new over head door is. This coming week, we HOPE the rain holds off enough so they can get the two eaves on each end of the barn painted and all of the windows as well.

This poor barn- it was built in the mid '60s and hadn't really been maintained properly until we bought the place in 2002. Sure the guys working here had done their best, and big repairs that were needed were done, but little else. When the former owners moved on, the barn was left empty and barns, like houses, NEED to be lived in. So the decay had continued. I'll add a few photos of how the stall boards looked and still look today.

Unpainted:

Painted ! We're STILL waiting for the stall front company to arrive...

Inside the stall fronts now-

BAD cribbers lived in this barn before our horses.

This horse was trying to chew his way to freedom....

They even chewed the TOPS of each stall and the heavy wood uprights

Big dents in the old boards made by neurotic horses wanting to be OUTside.

Windows repaired and now ready to be re-painted ! This is our tack room...

This week ahead , the stall front company is Supposed to show up to have the whole barn torn apart and re-done correctly.

Then we can have our ''Barn Clean Up Day !''

May 2011

2011-05-03T19:29:00.000-04:00

It's May.... The "april showers" should be done with by now, flowers are blooming like mad, the grass has Already been mowed twice, and needs it again. And STILL it rains. Most horse folk are totally tired of the rain and will whine at any given moment about not being able to ride, use their rings to train in, or in my case, drive my horses. If the sunshine is out, the ring is muck. So the sun leaves behind heavy rain clouds and it rains on us.

I am so far behind in conditioning my mares that it is just plain sad. I'll try to remember to add some pictures of our RAIN . I think there was one or two very pleasant spring days in April- but only from one's ankles , Up. The rest of the time there were high temperatures of 80 degrees, and the humidity was about as bad. Sometimes its as though Mother Nature is trying to tell me to just give it up, and go eat bon-bons in the house.

Here are some of the flooding photos from this past month :
This is BoJangles. I don't believe he was clean much at all last month...

We had flooding in the creek... HIGH water

Abby in the muck... Yuck

Wicked bad storm clouds this evening along with tornado watches/ warnings:

See my ring ? Lovely, ehhhhhh ?

this is the Other side of it....

A closer shot of it- this water was a good foot deep :

Another one of our creek... at one point, it had to be a good 5' deep.

Hoppy Easter & a Garbage Truck ???

2011-04-23T13:46:00.000-04:00

Over the years up here in PA,we have gotten an interesting
"Easter bunnies" showing up.

One year, we had Easter Geese. Some actual bunnies,some ducks, and who knows who will show for this Easter.

This garbage truck showed up on Thursday-
perhaps THIS is our " easter bunny" for this year ??

And a shot of one of our barn kitties,'Kissa',doing what she does best :

More New Things at WoodFinn 4/23/2011

2011-04-23T13:37:00.001-04:00

This past week,Brad Reisinger came out to add some firring strips to our stall ceilings, and oh joy- a stairway to our loft !

Here's a photo of his tools , all set to get busy building...

And for those local folks who are following our blog, a photo of his van- " Free advertisement" ! We highly recommend him :)

More exciting things happening here

2011-04-06T15:01:00.000-04:00

Today was the day for Fencing! Mr Fisher ( Of Fisher's Fencing in Richfield, PA) called last night to make sure it was still alright to come work on the pasture fencing. They arrived just as I was turning horses out this AM. I got out of their way, and they got started tearing the old ugly wire fence down, and rolling it up. I was cleaning stalls, and getting morning chores done as they were chugging along doing that. They had it all down and Alan started putting up the new wire. Its small squares of high tensile quality wire and gets smaller as it goes down. The top squares are approximately 3x2" and at the bottom- very small. Very SAFE fence for the horses who live here. We are getting this new fence to replace the disgusting hi-tensile strands of wire that was here when we bought this farm AND the cheap crap that I hired some guys put up right after we moved in. It was all stretched, and torn in areas- and NOT safe at all. Plus it looked horrid. Then as soon as the ground firms up, we'll have them come back and re-place the hi-tensile wire along the road front , up one side past the neighbors' houses, and to the far corner of the farm. That way, we'll have no loose dogs in our fields, and no kids either. The horses will be much safer as well.

They ran out of wire fencing before they got one pasture done- the one around the ring & plans are to return tomorrow to get that accomplished, plus begin tearing out wire in the other pasture.

Below is the front pasture , minus the old stuff, waiting for new.

Again- waiting for new wire fence !

And this is how it looks when done-

running up the lane towards the barn :

This is SO thrilling to me..... To others, it might not be so, but to a horsewoman ? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhyeah.... new fence !

Happy April and what's happening

2011-04-03T11:29:00.000-04:00

It's April! FINALLY Spring is on that way. We had a rough start to April, with some rain and snow in other areas near our farm. We just got rain, luckily. Rain, in turn, creates mud which has been prevalent here lately. Everyone I speak to is in agreement- Spring can't arrive Soon Enough ! The horses are shedding their winter coats like mad, and my daffodils have bloomed at the house. Those at the barn are still waiting for it to get warm enough up there. It's cooler at the barn than at the house.

The chickens have started laying eggs like mad ! I get 6 one day, then 4-5 the next- and this is from Five Hens. Someone is really doing a super job at laying eggs, it seems.

This morning my husband had an appointment with a "handy man". They discussed things that Glenn wanted done concerning the barn. So far, we're getting all of the stall windows repaired, and new plexi-glass in them if needed, the big ends of the barn are going to be painted- to match our hen house- and the ceilings in all of the stalls repaired. The BEST surprise to me was a stairway up to the hay loft !!!! I'll have steps to walk up instead of climbing up a ladder- that was a Grand surprise for me.

Things are being accomplished around here- and I'm 100 % amazed at it all. This is better than a kazillion Christmas' to a horse woman and I am so blessed.

I have to get a photo of the hen house ( yes, finally got it all done being painted last Fall) so you can see the colors chosen for the main barn.

Yes- April is a most wonderful month here at our farm !

March ... SNOW ????

2011-03-07T15:25:00.003-05:00

Yep- it snowed. Last night, around bedtime, I checked to see how much sleet we'd gotten, and lo' & behold- it was Snowing ! This morning, I got up, dressed, and looked out a window. No, I hadn't been dreaming- there was snow on the ground. About 3" worth- wet, heavy snow- perfect for making snow people.(no sexists here!)
I grabbed my camera on my way out to the barn and snapped a few 'snowy' pics which I'll add below. The horses had All stayed in their barn last night because of sleet, rain predicted. Well, the weather forecasters were Wrong once again. Oh well, such is an early spring ! The snow is busily melting now due to the fact that it has warmed up Quite a bit. It should be creating some scrumptious MUD for us to struggle thru.

Once again- a snowy walk to the barn

My Yucca plant- looking decidedly yucky :

Hemlocks along the creek...

my Dogwood...

poor ring- it was flooded AND iced , then snowed on:

Once again- the infamous Buffalo Mtn !

Betcha can't tell which way the winds were blowing :

Our creek was flooded as well...

It'll be worse now with the snow melting.

By tomorrow, it will all be gone but was pretty while it lasted.

Wonderful Weather creates a Clean Carpet

2011-03-02T14:23:00.000-05:00

I walked up to the barn early this morning..... my new side kick, Devon wasn't going to be here for a few weeks because she'd been in an accident last week. All the morning chores were left for me to accomplish. I was greeted by 3 tons of Percherons saying " g'morning to you !" and then Kiisa, one of the 2 barn kitties as she waited for me to bring her breakfast out. I opened up the tack room door leading into the barn, and fed her. As I did, there was a loud group of whinnies from those horses in their stalls. ( oh joy- they'd been pooping ALL night long too) I recognized Alli, Scarlet, Sunny, and one really deep chortle from Adele. Jazz, the new girl on the block was looking out of her stall to see when I was bringing FOOD. After everyone had quieted down, she decided to ask 'how long till breakfast' in her little girl whinny.

Got everyone breakfast, and walked out to let the drafters in for the day - And their breakfast. Abby was well behaved - a nice surprise- and BoJangles took his time walking into the barn. Evie cantered in as usual, while Lynn waited for me. We walked to the barn together... Those three horses know exactly what stalls they live in, and I trust them to choose the correct ones.

The sunshine felt SO good this morning ! All the "little horses" were turned out for the day with some hay to eat and I got to work. Taking a Big chance that March wouldn't toss us any more harsh freezing weather or snow, I removed all the wonderful heated water buckets out of all the stalls, and replaced them with 11 freshly scrubbed, and disinfected water buckets that are used during the warm months. Filled those with fresh water and felt good that my horses all would have nice clean water. After getting the 7 dirty stalls cleaned, and checked out each to be sure there was no ammonia smells in them, I raked them all smooth with the clean bedding. Raked out the aisle and went to mix dinner feed in the tack room. I'd been letting the carpeting on the floor go pretty much all winter. Its' so frustrating to have it covered in dirt/ mud again,after spending time sweeping it all out. I dumped their dinner feed in the feed tubs, and decided to try to get that floor neatened up some more. Junk , plastic bags, winter gloves, and blanket bags were all over the place..... leg straps from blankets, and lots of dirt / dust. UGH....

So I got busy.... swept the crud into small piles, and then got the barn vac out to slurp those up. I then swept Under saddle racks, tack trunks, and got the bathroom neat n' tidy too. Vacuumed all of that up and then went over the floor again with the shop vac. I was making progress. Then I got out my 'webster' and got the cobbies down and off the walls, and took a glance at ALL of the 'stuff' stuffed in corners. < sigh> Winter had been hard on our tack room. Took a lot of items off and out of corners, and found proper places for them, and found I had a couple more items for a Pony Club tack swap a friend n' I were going to . By now I was running on empty , big time. Tired, I sat down in the wonderfully comfy chair that is in the tack room, and enjoyed the fact that I had certainly made at least a dent in the mess.

Yep, I had run out of energy for the day..... so I called it quits for cleaning. Walked up to the hens coop to check for eggs, and there were 4 fresh eggs waiting ! Emmi must have just layed an egg, because she was in one of the nesting boxes... Turned off all the lights, shut the tack room door, and headed down to the house for some lunch. What a good day- it felt good to not be freezing cold, and having to be bundled up like an eskimo.....

Tomorrow ? The big table in the tack room is going to be cleaned !

Jasmine Arrives 2 19 2011

2011-02-20T14:04:00.001-05:00

She's here- FINALLY. After waiting for 3 days, she was delivered around noon. I'll add some pictures here of her upon her arrival and today when she got to go outside for the first time . We led her to her stall, and she was softly blowing in fear of what she might find down that long barn aisle. Once in her stall, Jasmine did a cursory explore and made a fine nervous pooh pile. I guess she wanted to 'claim' it as hers. We left her alone as she was happily scarfing up her yummy hay. After the seller left, I went back to her stall to say hello and inspect her more closely. She is THIN under all of that awful long raggedy winter coat. Where she had been living, she was on 24/7 turnout with a lot of other horses. They only got grass hay in a round bale- no grain.

Today Jasmine got turned out for her first time here. She took a mouthful of hay, and began exploring her new digs. Up the hill, and across, checked out the neighbors across the way, and then back down again...

She looked at Scout n' Adele who were busy eating their morning hay. After inspecting all her small area until she is friends with our horses, she came back down to have some more hay of her own.

So Jasmine has arrived. We'll give her some time to 'unpack' and settle in . Then she'll get to be groomed by some students who've been waiting to meet her. I hope this mare fits in here perfectly..... Stay tuned

New Help

2011-02-15T15:31:00.002-05:00

I have been running an ad on the local Craigs' List for some folks who would like to learn more about horses in exchange for their labor. I got a few responses, but some wanted to come and have all the fun- with none of the work. Some wanted to come later in the evening and skip the stall cleaning,etc.... Some didn't know one thing about horses, but wanted to learn- then got intimidated , I suppose. Only a couple actually showed up for a visit- and one actually is going to be a BIG help here . She's done a fine job so far- one morning- and I hope she hangs around until we get thorough winter and this farm gets pretty again.

The weather has been nice but had High winds yesterday and today it is colder. The temps are "supposed" to hit nearly 60 degrees by Friday... YAY ! I realize this is a mere tease of nice weather from Mother Nature, so I'm enjoying it to the fullest and Then will go back into 'super care' mode for this farm.

Jasmine !

2011-02-13T11:45:00.004-05:00

It seems I have purchased a new horse this past week. I'd been looking around just slightly for another lesson horse due to losing our Suzi this past December. I want to bring in more students for lessons because there doesn't seem to be anyone wanting to board " way up here".

Her name is Jasmine, she is 6 yrs old, and is a very large pony size at 14.1 hands tall. She is a blood bay color with one white sock on her left hind leg. She's a non-registered Standardbred and is touted to be a fine trail horse. When I went to see her last week, she had never been to the farm where I was told to meet the owner. I got to see how she dealt with new things and she passed that test with flying colors ! I watched her get ridden, and found her to be just 'okay' with it all. Jasmine needs some more ring miles to become a better, well trained horse .The most positive item is her wonderful sweet personality. She is adorable and in my barn- she will become More so. I have a very happy barn with happy horses in it- so Jazz will blossom here.
Here is a photo of her looking oh so pretty last summer:

She rides and knows how to drive as well, so Now I have another lesson horse for those who want to drive too. I can' t wait till she is here !!

Wow- Warm Weather & Glenn's birthday

2011-02-11T19:00:00.002-05:00

2/11/2011

Today, my dear husband turns 62. HE says he is " old " now, I say that is nonsense. His body may be, but his quick wit, great sense of humor and more is Very well intact and working just fine. We are planning to celebrate tomorrow ( Saturday) and go out to dinner at Pizza Hut this evening....

Our area is being blessed with a tease from Mother Nature for a few days. Usually in February, one expects snow storms, ice storms and more, but THIS week is supposed to be Gloriously WARM. I actually did horse chores this morning with out 3 layers of clothing on ! This week is going to be wonderful....... from one's knees , up. Soon the snow will melt, and that will create much mud, which will in turn be ground up by big and small horse hooves. < sigh> We are on the down hill slide towards Spring now- and I , for one, will be VERY happy to bask in warm sunshine once again.

More Icy pictures...

2011-02-02T13:09:00.000-05:00

I went outside to snap a few more pix and it sounded like it was raining ice. Very odd !

Turns out it was ice melting off of the forest trees.... and doing it quickly. I couldn't quite catch the full impact, but here's what I tried... If you look VERY closely and see what looks like flying ice- that's the ice melting from the trees. The bottom one is a little easier to see it.

Ice Storm 2/2/2011

2011-02-02T12:51:00.001-05:00

So far Ol' Man Winter has tossed some miserable weather at us this year. No blizzards yet, thank goodness. It's early yet. This AM we woke up to ice.... ALL over the place outside. Tree branches were coated, the hemlocks were coated, as well as our deck, and vehicles. Ice all Over the place !

Here are some pictures of it :

Aidens x 2 !

2011-01-24T20:45:00.000-05:00

Glenn & I went to the Pa. Farm Show a couple of weeks ago. As we were waiting for the shuttle busses to come along, I noticed a little fella in a red winter coat, talking to his mom. He was very excited about going to see "Cowwwwwwwwws" . He'd ask his mom over n' over again about those cows. I asked him if he liked cows, and he smiled and grinned at me. Then I asked him what his name was, and he looked at his mom as if to see if it was okay.
She smiled and said " well, what's your name , Aiden?"

That was when he grinned at me again and told me his name was Aiden.
It turns out that we have a Dominique rooster who's name is Aiden also. He used to be "Ada" before he began crowing- thus letting me know that Ada wasn't a wise name choice any longer.

So- here's a couple of photos of Aiden ( the kid ) and Aiden ( the rooster:

Farm Show Aiden:

This one's Our Aiden....

Pleasure Show 1/13/2011

2011-01-18T18:29:00.000-05:00

Am busily catching up on blogs, as you can tell.... The Farm Show Pleasure Draft show was held on a Thursday, from 3-6 PM. A stupid time to have a show but the seats were pretty filled up with people watching ! Again- a few friends showed, and I got some photos. Still learning with this camera and new lens..... I can see it's going to take some time . :( The guy below drove a Shire X stallion, and they did really well !

This is called a Tandem Hitch....

And a dear little springwagon made to look like a covered wagon in the commercial driving class below...

This was one of the gals in Lady's Cart...

Farm Show- PA. 1.8.2011

2011-01-18T18:21:00.000-05:00

Today we went to see the hitch horses - cart classes at the Farm Show. Basically this is a Giant winter time State Fair for Pennsylvania, and they include the Draft horses . It was great seeing so many long time friends, even though I no longer choose to compete with those high stepping, fancy giant Percherons - my horses look like Percheron ponies next to them ! I'll add a few photos of the classes....

1-18-2011 Ugh

2011-01-18T18:11:00.004-05:00

Well, snow arrived, and then we got ice as a topping on it..... made for a very slippery walk to our barn. My husband had gone to work early due to most probably slippery conditions, and he Hates being late.

I hauled water to the outside tubs with my little JD tractor After plowing a path with Moses, our ancient tractor. Then, I got the stalls done after turning the light horses out for the day. I Thought it was going to be a nasty day but it turned out that that cold front moved out of PA faster than expected. The weather was cloudy, but warm compared to the last few weeks. The draft horses were quite full of themselves having been in all night long, and they insisted I give them hay FIRST, please. Not being one to ignore one ton horses pleading for hay, they got fed before anyone else. I was so pleased to get the other horses turned out for the day- Less work for ME and they enjoy doing "horse things" out in their pastures.

Side Bar :
A few days ago I was walking home when I saw a weird looking spot in the snow..... Turns out my Clydesdale mare, Carli, had made a BIG horsey 'snow angel' ! I went to the house, grabbed my camera and here it is ... See how it's "horse shaped "

I kept trying to get a photo of it, and the camera Just wouldn't take one ! I tried All the settings, and then came to find out, I'd still had the lens cover on the camera.DUHHHH.
But alls' well that ends well- and I have a photo of a Clydesdale sized snow angel. :)

Back to the blog. As I was finishing up, I noticed that Glenns' car was in the drive..... Hmmmm... It was a good 30 minutes later that I finally got inside that he told me he'd "T-Boned" some woman on his way to work . 'You WHAT ?????' Then he explained that on his way to work,some gal had lost control of her car while passing him on the icy highway. She slid back n' forth, and did a couple of full circles in front of him. He said he thought maybe he was going to miss her, when all of a sudden, here she comes again, over steering - right out in front of him. He hit the mid section of the passenger side, and they both ended up sliding onto the median strip. She had her cell phone, and called the police. Thank God neither of them were hurt- her car was though. Glenn's little Pacifica has a small amount of damage that'll have to be repaired but not much at all compared to the other car. Thanks to Chrysler and Mercedes Benz for creating one helluva wonderful little car , my dear hubby only wrenched his back a little more than normal. He'll be feeling much worse tomorrow, I know !

The rest of the day went alright - and we are all done for the day. Inside to curl up with Sadie and enjoy the evening. I WAS going to head to Harrisburg ( Farm Show Complex) to the Pa. Draft horse sale, but I've opted to not bother driving . As the temps go down tonight, those roadways will become a skating rink again. Below is a photo I took of a gorgeous sunrise at WoodFinn...

Anddddddddddd, a couple of photos of my husbands' little car after his accident today .

Not to terrible, thank you, God...

12/13/2010

2011-01-10T15:56:00.001-05:00

Today our ancient pony crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.... Suzi was soon to be 48 years old . She got a colic on December 9th, and try as we might- our vet & I could not get her past it. Suzi's intestines had impacted and she was to old to get things 'moving' again. She was put down at 1PM, and the vet told me that as Suzi was passing, Alli and Scarlet ( her two pasture pals) came galloping up the hill to say goodbye. I had Suzi buried on top of the pasture hill where she and Alli used to enjoy standing on hot summer days.

" If love could have saved you, you'd have lived forever".... God speed, Suzi.

1963- 2010

Dead>>>>???? Mouse

2011-01-01T20:11:00.000-05:00

I was sound asleep one morning when I was awakened by a loud slapping noise in the dining room. I wondered what in the world it could be when it stopped. Only half awake , I fell back to sleep. There was nothing out of place when I got up an hour later, and promptly forgot about it.

Glenn got home from work in the evening to tell me of his Great Adventure of the Morning. It seems that Shadow, our house cat, had caught himself a mouse .Glenn figured he would just leave him alone with it until he finally killed it. He kept checking on Shadow to see if the poor mouse was dead yet, but Shadow had in mind to simply torture it a LOT.I'm sure you all are aware of how a cat will treat a mouse that has been dumb enough to be caught.....

It was then almost time for Glenn to leave for work, and the danged mouse was STILL there. He decided to do it in, but with what ? AH! The Broom. He said he whacked it and whacked it , then whacked it some more.... Mouse was still alive. He whacked it a few more times, then swept it into the dust pan and dumped it outside. I hadn't seen a mouse anywhere out there,but I hadn't looked to hard either.

We both went out to where he'd chucked it and it was gone. Now- either one of the barn cats found it or Glenn didn't really kill it as he thought he had. A great mystery neither of us was going to worry about much at all.

Happy New Year !!

2011-01-01T19:57:00.002-05:00

It is the first day of 2011. Many have resolutions made that will never be fulfilled, others ? Perhaps. Mine are as follows:
Get out there and hitch Abby so that we can possibly enter the Carriage Driving Class at Devon in May
Begin walking again….either behind my mare Eve, or with Sadie
Eat Healthy !
That is about it…. not to big but plenty big enough, I think. I Also want to build up the lesson area of this business so it pays for another horse. I had to have Suzi put down the 13th of December, due to a impaction colic. I have lost a piece of my heart ……
Not much else today but Glenn n’ I cooked a delicious New Years ‘ Day dinner. :)
YUMMMMM

Merry Christmas !!! December 25 2010

2010-12-26T18:46:00.003-05:00

If the dates don't coincide with these blogs, its because I'm catching up. Sorry ! We woke up to a peaceful Non Snowy Christmas morning. Turns out that my two barn rats came to help do morning chores on Christmas ! I was so pleased, I just wanted to hug them Both in thanks. We got done in record time and Glenn brought us all some nice warm cappucino to drink. Once I landed back in the house, the gift exchanging began. I had two Secret Santa gifts to open, and a couple from my brother n' sister, plus Glenns' gifts for me. Glenn had a TON of gifts from me as I'd been shopping all year long for this day. Sadie got her favorite gift - a real bone with yummy filling in it, and Shadow got a fabric "cave" which he is scare of. < oh well >

Glenn got me a telephoto lens as my 'big' gift !! I was Floored- and have taken some pictures with the camera and it. I'll add them here soon. We relaxed some, I did some reading online, and it was soon time to start our Christmas dinner. We had a standing rib roast, some mashed potatoes and some applesauce. Not nearly like holiday feasts in our pasts, but plenty for just us...
Once the horses (*AGAIN) had their dinners, we collapsed on the sofa to watch some tv and then to bed. All in all a wonderfully peaceful Christmas Day. :) Below is of our creek.... I loved that old branch with ice on it...

Then one of three horses taken from our Deck ! That's quite some distance...

Then one of my favorites I had to take fast because Glenn was in a hurry for some reason.... this one is of Carlene & Glenn talking..

Our Annual Christmas Party

2010-12-26T18:35:00.000-05:00

December 19th was the chosen day..... the weather turned out Perfect and it was to begin at 3 in the afternoon. People showed up early and I'd decorated the barn so they got to see it earlier than the other guests. I used to go all out in barn / house decorations but as the years passed, they got less and less. Seems once its' all decorated, its' time to take it all down.... sooooooooooo I didn't go overboard. Here's how it looked- and that is my friend at the end of the aisle being goofy.

The party went well, everyone brought a dish to share and we offered a huge deli tray of luncheon meats/ cheeses and the extras that one might enjoy on a sandwich. Then I had to go up to the barn and feed horses for the evening ( duh- don't plan a party with horse chores in the middle of it !) Everyone who wanted to , came to 'help' and we got done in record time. Horses were all snuggled in their stalls, and we took a few minutes to say good bye to our Suzi. This was mostly for Jaide who loved Suzi so much. We did a short prayer for God to keep good care of her, and that we all loved her very much. I gave Jaide a small decoration from Suzi's "necklace" and she carried it with her the rest of the evening. Soon everyone was sitting around like stuffed whales - me TOO- and chatting happily. What a good time was had, gifts were exchanged and everyone left in great Christmas spirit.

These little parties mean so much to me- Its my way of saying thank you for all of the help in the past year to everyone who has anything to do with my barn.

Merry Christmas Everyone !!

December 13th, 2010- Suzi is gone.

2010-12-26T18:23:00.001-05:00

Our pony, Suzi, had developed a slight colic Thursday evening, the 9th of December. I called our vet to come check on her, and Suzi got a shot to slow her digestive system down and then once it wore off ( a few minutes later), to start it moving again. Suzi felt much better, but by Saturday I was sure she had 'impacted' ( similar to a clogged pipe in one's house- Nothing moves past it). Becky came back again, and Suzi got dosed with a pony sized amount of oil and warmed water. By Sunday evening, once Suzi's pain killers wore off, she was in great pain. I kept giving her shots to keep her comfortable and praying that she would pass some manure. That would mean that Maybe her impaction was clearing up. She did not, and on Monday morning, our dear ancient pony passed over the Rainbow Bridge. Her students were so sad, as was her best equine pal, Alli. They had been best friends for 12 years.

That week was terribly hard to get thru, and Alli moped around a lot. I was beginning to be very worried about her because she too is OLD.... The next Monday however, when I walked into the barn to give all the horses breakfast, Alli was the first to call to me to " Hurry, Please !! We are Hungry !"

Suzi is out of pain now, and everyone seems to have adjusted as I write this blog. I miss her terribly, but know it was for the best..... Below is a photo of she and Alli waiting to come in for FOOD, as usual... from September, 2010

Rest in Peace, Suzi......

1963---2010

Tis Almost Christmas !

2010-12-12T13:04:00.000-05:00

12.12.2010

Just a little while until Christmas Eve , then Christmas Day ! I have been busily shopping for all those who have been kind enough to help here at my barn , and family and The Husband too.

The weather has been Cold the last week or so. Much rain, and a little dusting of snow the other day.Today we are in a rainy pattern and I'm so happy it is not a big snow storm. The horses have been wearing their blankets and all but Suzi are doing great. She is dealing with a colic that has moved into an impaction we believe. Since Thursday evening.... I hope she makes it thru and begins passing manure again. Suzi is 48 this year and one ancient pony !

All barn repairs have gone on hold til spring. It's to cold to paint now, so we'll just wait til warmer weather arrives. :)

Evie's wound is looking pretty awesome after healing since June. Its Slowly closing up but no hair is growing there yet. Let's hope she doesn't end up with a bald patch !

I hope everyone out there has gotten most of their Christmas shopping accomplished and are looking forward to a great holiday season !

Happy Thanksgiving !

2010-11-25T19:04:00.001-05:00

Well , Thanksgiving dinner has been cooked, served and eaten.... dishes are washed and placed back to their proper places. It was deemed " Good" by Glenn & Sadie, our American Bulldog. She got to have a small taste of the "potato filling" we had prepared.

Earlier,the day dawned cold, with sleet -- a pretty miserable start to a good day. The horses got to stay inside their stalls today, and seemed quite happy to do so. We got to try out the "new overhead" door and it worked perfectly. The barn is going to stay nice and cozy , thanks to those two overheads being half way closed. Kiisa and Moxie even had a nice dinner of kitty food. I gave the chickens a treat of some cracked corn this evening . The egg count is falling off as winter moves in .... I'll get 3 one day and two the next. Before when it was warm out, I'd get 4 one day and 5 the next from 5 hens I knew were laying. The two Barred Plymouth Rock hens have begun laying off and on, but most likely will be good layers next spring.

I have been 'winterizing their coop by nailing boards over their windows. The glass was broken when I bought it, so that will have to do for now. I still need to buy a bale of straw for their nests and the floor.

Got the winter blankets out for the horses- Alli & Scarlet will no doubt need stable blankets too. Those two mares figure they are 'show horses' and need to be treated as such. Suzi looks like a wooly little thing...her winter coat is So heavy now. I'll have to be sure to get some recent photos of them all. Perhaps Saturday when the sunshine returns !

The New Door - October 31,2010

2010-10-31T18:18:00.000-04:00

The new overhead barn door is here and installed ! It works like a dream- soooooooo simple to lift up. Its designed to look like a carriage house door, but it slides up , out of the way. The folks who did the work And ordered it for me were Wonderful ! Gotta plug their business: "Garage Doors Plus" Lisa & Ron Short, from Enola, PA. They were so helpful in letting me know what my choices were, and the costs as well, up front. No hidden fees or surprises. I'd called a few other garage door installers, and they all had to " get back to me". Lisa was on a job, and asked if she could call me back in a few minutes. I figured she'd call later on when they'd gotten home. No- she DID call me back and With some suggestions, AND prices. Then they both came to see what work was involved and we ordered the door.It arrived faster than I thought and they were here that Monday to install it ! Here are some photos of how it all went. Ron was great about answering my 'stupid human' questions as he worked and I learned a lot about garage doors .

Lisa and Ron kind of posing !

This is their information....

Lisa doing something important- the door is Almost up ...

The finished product (:)

I love how it looks- now to get the Rest of the barn looking as grand ! Things always look crooked here because the whole farm is on a slope doing dowwwwwwwwwwwwn. The barn really IS straight though.

'Henny Pennys's' Hen House

2010-10-13T15:40:00.001-04:00

My hens have been laying eggs for about a month now. I get four eggs one day, and three the next...this from 5 hens that are laying. Pretty good , I think ! I've been saving them by the dozen to give to our chicken sponsors, and so far the eggs are getting rave reviews. The hens and Aiden have been "free range" for quite some time, and meet me at their little gate in the mornings, waiting to go out for the day. Lately they have been heading up to their little hen house in the evenings when I am there to do evening feeds/ turnouts for the horses. They're learning the routine . All but for the two new babies I bought- the " Little's". They aren't so little any more though ! These are Barred Plymouth Rock hens and they're growing up fast. Roxie n' Annie..... I shall have to get a photo of them.

I finally got around to buying some paint for the coop too.... Have been working on it in between rainy days. I ran out of the deep red paint, so in the picture, you can still see the yellow it was when I bought it. Here's a couple of photos of it as it got painted.... I need to get some more red, but it is supposed to be chilly & rainy again tomorrow. There's no rush then. This shot is a little crooked but you get the idea !

The next is with the trim on,but not done because I wasn't tall enough to reach the top! We still need to get some plexi-glass to cover the openings for winter. I really like the way its going to look :) This one is crooked TOO

Of course, one has to add a couple of the chickens.... Glenn took these last Sunday:

This weekend, I HOPE to get it all finished !

October 13th, 2010

2010-10-13T15:25:00.000-04:00

Things have been moving along it seems. We now have a super safe fence that travels the distance of the whole farm, width-wise. Its a no climb horse fence- and seems to have been Perfectly designed for idiot Percheron mares who insist its alright to Roll into wire fencing. Once I got to talk to the fellow who owns the fencing ( Fisher's Fencing) company, and he came out to take a look at what was needed, things really happened. They returned the Next Day and the new safe fence was done in a day and a half. Turns out they had a lull in-between another job and could fit this fence in easily. I love it, and here are some photos of it installed :
This is standing at the gate, lookin' down the fence line. The guys are still working....

This view is up the hill from the gate. See the unpainted hen house ? Its' almost all re-painted by now !

I have ordered a new overhead door that will go on the front of the barn . It looks similar to a carriage house door, but is an over head one. I can't WAIT to see what its' going to look like.

We chose to not have the upper part of the barn covered in anything. Instead- and to save money, I'm trying to find someone with scaffolding to paint it. Deep red with deep, dark blue trim. It should look very colonial once its done.

Now to find someone to remove the old stall windows and put in new awning types for a small amount. Ha- small ??? I will be sure to sit down when I hear the quotes !

September 13 2010

2010-09-13T15:32:00.000-04:00

There hasn't been much happening around here other than the normal items needed accomplishing on a farm. I'm impatiently waiting for the return of my lawn tractor so I can get the yard ( AKA: the jungle ) mowed. The grass is close to a foot tall by now. The hens are happily laying small to medium sized eggs - I get 4 one day and 3 the next. Considering there are 5 hens laying- that's not bad !

Things Are going to be picking up here though..... I have a fencer coming tomorrow ( Tuesday) to see what I want done and then to work up a price. I HOPE its not going to be a lot - but what ever the price- it will be worth the expense to keep my horses safe.

Then this coming Friday, I have an appointment with a company that does vinyl siding. I want to get the top part on the front of the barn redone..... Here's what it looks like now.

I would like to have the top replaced with a brick or dark red color in vinyl and then a new over-head door there too. Get some good paint in a dark blue and paint the trim that color. It'll look nice, I Hope :)

Soon I want to contact PP&L about moving the electric box on To the house and from the sorry looking pole it is on now. Its not safe and we want the wires from the corner pole to come underground to the house. I see this as being much more safe.

Sadie has been growing and filling out like mad. She is just about all grown up by now as she's a little over one year old. She's been a great friend - but not a barn buddy like Petey used to be. She's allergic to shavings and sawdust; Sooooooooooooooo she won't be up at the barn very often.

Evie's leg is healing up well. Here is a recent photo of it:

It is still inflamed but is looking SO much better !

Glenn has been doing fine since his bout in the hospital, but he gets tired faster it seems now. His new job is hectic but he says he likes working there. I just wish there was a financial way he could retire soon !

More news on farm improvements and pictures to come - stay tuned.

Summers’ End…

2010-09-03T14:31:00.001-04:00

9/3/2010

Summer will soon be over here in central Pennsylvania. The acorns have been dropping from the oak trees since mid July and I’ve seen some squirrels running all over attempting to bury some they find. I imagine that will be the last time they find those buried acorns ! As Sadie and I were going on her morning pee walk about the yard, there was one who was very surprised to see us. I didn’t know that squirrels could jump quite so far . Sadie didn’t know What it was and watched that squirrel climb the electric pole in amazement.

Most of the horses have light winter coats by now. The ponies especially ! During these left over hot/humid days of summer, they get all sweaty during the day. The drafters get the most sweaty it seems.

I love the up coming season- Autumn. The weather is cooler, the days are crisp and is a warning of pending winter…… Below is a photo of a setting winter sun… one of my favorites.

Winter Preparations....

2010-08-16T16:09:00.000-04:00

8/16/2010-

This is August- the last of the summer months for many, including horse folk. Ever since I was 11, I had to learn all about getting ready for winter. Especially when a horse was added to my life. It has been that way from then on..... Now I have 11 horses to care for, and the amounts if items needed hasn't really changed to much- just MORE of each of them.

Just a few days ago, I ordered a big load of some fine grass hay from our hay man, Ivan. Its' first cutting of a variety of grasses and is fresh smelling. Not as nice as some when it comes to a sweet smell but it is great to have. Eight thousand pounds of it in 800 pound giant square bales. It cost a pretty penny but if I'm careful and there's no mold, then it should last until its time to restock for the worst months of winter here in PA.

The plans for September are to finish painting the stall doors, and to find some pretty paint for the chickens' coop. Yellow n' light blue just don't get it- especially when some kid spray painted misc. stuff all over it. So I need to choose a pretty shade of burgundy I think..... Then to get the manure pile piled up more so, and all these weeds mowed down . I'm Far behind on that thanks to about 5 days of rainy weather. They're growing taller with each passing hour I think !

There's quite a long list of things to get accomplished before winter sets in, and I need to get busy !

Just One Rooster 8 3.2010

2010-08-03T15:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I gave a mini riding lesson to a friend's daughter. She was visiting her dad and was simply dying to come see "Suzi" and for a ride. While I was busily showing her how to brush Suzi once again, the silly roosters kept crowing and crowing ! They were Noisy ! Our farrier- Kurt - was there finishing up putting on Carli's "sneakers" as well. We had a busy barn ..... One of the gals was saying how she Loved to hear roosters crowing, and Kurt said jokingly " if you talk to that lady, I bet she'll GIVE you one " . I didn't say anything , just smiled and went on w/ the lesson for Lisa. We all got done, Lisa's extended family left , and Kurt was done putting Carlene's sneakers on her front feet.

Later on that evening, the phone rang. We had just come inside, and missed answering it. It was Lisa's step mom.... she wanted to know if we were still offering a rooster for free. I called her back to say 'sure was'. Patrick drove over and chose Skylar- the Light Brahma rooster. So now Skylar has a new home.

I am keeping the other rooster, Aiden, and bought two little Barred Rock Hens. These girls will be turned out into our " flock" as soon as they are a little bigger. So, now WoodFinn has 8 chickens, and even though I keep looking at photos of some really cool breeds, I tell myself, ''NO- No more !"
Below are a few photos I took this morning of them outside.
The two little gals are inside still.

This is Aiden crowing- something he does a LOT !

Here he is watching Skarlet and Emmie taking a dust bath....

Below is Silverwulf with Devon behind her inside their coop

This was taken from outside to the interior of their coop- Devon, left, Silver , right

My favorite - Lucy !

Suzi's Story

2010-07-22T18:54:00.000-04:00

WoodFinn's Summer Storm ( Aka- Suzi) arrived at my barn one cold December Monday afternoon. My good friend and I took a Monday 'off' to go to a nearby horse auction sale. We were going to make a day of it ; enjoy watching horses get sold, shopping at the vendor's stands and having a nice yummy lunch. I also went because I needed another pony for my riding lesson program. I needed one around 13-14 hands tall, and QUIET.

We arrived early and took our time looking at all the horses, deciding that IF we were seriously looking to purchase, which ones' we would buy. There simply were No ponies in the right size, and those who were acted like they were terrified of humans. Not good for beginner students to learn with..... We walked to the stands and took a seat to relax for a while. Horses were being sold hot n' heavy- about one a minute. We had a hard time listening for the bids that were offered. We saw some great looking horses sold, and some very sad looking horses as well. Since there had been no ponies to interest me enough to bid on, I was having fun Not paying close attention, until the auctioneer said that the sale was over- no more horses were for sale.

Then a small white pony was ridden into the ring by a tall Amish fella. One more pony for sale ! My friend took one look and said " YOU need to buy that pony !" Then she raised her hand and bid on it. We didn't even know if it was a mare or What. Turns out after a few questions that said pony rode and could be driven , was 12 years old and a mare. She was to small though ! And it turned out MUCH older than 12 years......

I bought the no name pony and hauled her home..... We had a 'Name the Pony' contest amongst all the kids who rode there and "Suzette" won. ' Suzi' around the barn.

Suzi was scared of being hit, she walked Way to fast when being led for short little kid legs to keep up with her, and as we all got to know her, we realized Suzi had been mentally abused prior to living at this barn. I remembered talking to the dealer who'd purchased her at an Ohio sale and he'd told me that some Amish kids had driven her the whole time before she'd been sold, and then one had ridden her into the sales ring.

We had a meeting of all those who were going to work with Suzi and as I explained what her life was before, those students started coming up with ideas about making her feel better and not be so scared. She had bitten most anyone but me if they tried to catch her in the fields -Suzi chased kids out of "her" pasture, she'd threaten to bite them, if they didn't run away in fear..... she was generally a Baaaaaaaaaad Pony.

The students ( and this was a big surprise) felt sorry for her. We decided that I would be the one to go bring her in for each riding lesson. And that if she was good, she would be praised and if she made mistakes, we would simply try to get her to do it again. Not to cause More fear, but to help her understand that at This barn , mistakes were alright. If Suzi was bad and acted nasty, THEN she would get yelled at loudly.

It worked.... but it took a Long time. Suzi learned that not all young people were cruel, and she began trusting in that once again. She still couldn't be trusted 100 % if one of them went out to get her from a pasture, but she was much better.

Suzi is now a wonderful flea-bitten 47 yr old pony who is semi-retired. She's still territorial but so much better. Under all that gruff exterior lived a very sweet , kind pony. She's been in the play " The Wizard of Oz" that was presented at a community theater in Maryland. Suzi has taught SO many youngsters to ride ,how to be patient and show something other than parents love. She taught them compassion and to be understanding too.

But mostly Suzi has taught us All that once wounded mentally, a little grey pony Can return to being kind in return.

Below are a couple of photos of Jaide learning to groom Suzi..... in 2009.

Chicken Story .....

2010-07-15T13:25:00.001-04:00

The other day I was in the stall where the chickens are staying until I can get an electrified fence up around their yard and house.... they were a little alarmed at my raking the feathers and pooh up into piles. Plus it had stormed so badly that there was a damp/ wet area along the back wall that I wanted to get up too. There I was raking as quietly as I could.... they all moved out of the way - walking to the next corner and watching me closely. That was fine-after I had slid the stall door closed, I walked up the aisle to get the wheelbarrow to put it all in.

When I came back, you'd have thought I placed an atomic bomb in there or something worse. Omg- chickens scattered all over the place,almost screeching like mad. Obviously they were sure it was having them for a snack. They settled down some, and started moving from one side to the next, as I scooped up the little piles I had made...... Moved the scary wheelbarrow back into the aisle, and went back in to spread the now cleaned sawdust back out. I didn't realize that three of them had moved to another corner, and flicked a big rake full of sawdust on them. Well that caused havoc like I've not seen in chickens before. The 3 flew onto the other 4 and caused them to panic too. ( Poor Emmie- she's already traumatized from when I dropped their brooder on the tack room floor when they were peeps)

It all happened so fast, I didn't see it happen- but I ended up with a hen Outside the stall- in the barn aisle ! It was Lucy and she was Most amazed at being out there. Quickly I got the door open, and closed because the others were acting like they were all going to have heart attacks or worse. Lucy ( my only Rhode Island Red hen) was pacing back and forth, looking for a way back to her pals, and clucking in most dismayed sounds. I sat down and she came right up to me, and then walked off. Hmmmmmmmmmm- maybe this wasn't such a bad place After All..... So I followed her around a little , scooped her up in my arms and we went back into the stall together. Boy, was She glad to be back- and immediatly started telling the others of her great adventure.

It was so funny- and the Only thing I can think happened was that she got landed on, tried to fly out of the way and ended up going thru the little feeder hole in the wall ..... I felt SO bad at having scared them that much, but hey- ya gotta clean out pens sometimes.

Alli, My Food-Faced Appaloosa 2008

2010-06-24T12:50:00.002-04:00

2008

‘Alli, the Food-faced Appaloosa’

There is an ancient Appaloosa mare living at our farm right now. She’s 26 years old and is one of the most kind, dear mares I believe I have ever been blessed to own. “All The Best” is from regal breeding, with her father and grandfather both being national and world champions. Alli, herself has been shown at the World Appaloosa shows. She’s only 14.1 hands tall and has white spots all over her reddish brown body. She has some small deep brown ones too, making her coat pattern most interesting to see. Now she is old, and not as healthy as before. Her stamina is fading and I no longer ask her to give many riding lessons; just one or two a week for those special riders who come to learn.

Alli is blind in one eye, but no one would ever notice unless they looked at her face. She’s well adapted to not being able to see on that side, and so long as she knows a person is there, she is relaxed and content. Her front legs have become crooked from many miles and great age, so Alli requires special front shoes to keep her happy. Luckily the farriers who care for my horses know this and work hard to keep this kind mare moving with out pain any longer. A good farrier is a wonderful thing to have found here on this new farm!

I bought Alli back in 1999 from some folks out in the Midwest. She was thin, sore footed and certainly Not the 15 hand tall horse I had been told about. But she was very kind, and did anything asked of her. We bought her and Alli came to live with me. Its been a long and good friendship between the two of us. Alli helping me teach beginners to become horsemen and women, all the while offering us a sampling of her great sense of humor as well.

The one thing she does ‘bad’ was to toss her feed out of her feed tub- all over the stall floor. It was funny to hear from the other end of the barn, but I knew that Alli needed all the grain she could get and shoving it out of her dish was not good. I went the next day to buy a protective ring that would hang over top of her dish, so when she did try to toss her feed out, it would land right back in that dish. Alli was going to be getting All of her feed this way. Oh what a clatter she made while eating! Smack, shove, plastic hitting wooden walls, and that poor feed ring being pushed all over, as Alli tried to do the grain toss she adored doing. I couldn’t understand why, but I guess She figured it was an okay thing to do. Alli was one exuberant eater; that was for sure. In doing so, Alli would end up with feed slimed on the bridge of her speckled nose. It was sticky from the molasses in her hi-fat feed, and a bother to remove too. Each day- there it was showing me her feed was going into her tummy where it was most needed.

Time passed, and Alli proved herself to be a grand riding lesson horse. She was smart, but gentle- stopping when ever she thought one of her small beginner riders was off balance. She’d put her neck up so they could balance on her, and not fall to the ground. One time, a little gal toppled off and Alli couldn’t help her re-gain her balance. She fell off to Alli’s right side… her blind side. Alli stopped immediately, and began looking about for her small rider. Not moving a hoof, she looked all around to her left side, then swung her head to her right. THERE she was and she was fine. Alli lowered her head down to her little toppled rider, nickering softly as if to ask “ are you Alright ?? I was so scared”. This is the sort of horse ‘All The Best’ is…

By now, Alli is older and her joints creak and snap with age and arthritis. She gets some joint supplements to help those joints stay sound for a few more years and they seem to be helping her. The horses and I have moved to a new farm and its got great long hills to gallop up or down. Because of these hills they all have gotten more fit here. Alli is so happy now as she has another job: To be an Auntie to my two year old Percheron filly, Evie. She has been teaching Evie how to be a proper young horse ; how to mind her elders and have good manners in a herd of horses. Alli loves being Boss.

One evening while we were at a horse show, our helper called to let me know that Alli hadn’t been interested in her dinner, nor her hay, and that her manure was very runny. I said I’d check on her when we got home that evening. I did check on Alli, and she just didn’t feel good. I got no welcome nicker from her, not even even much of a look. Her temperature was fine, she was alert but definitely was not feeling good at all. No signs of a stomach ache (called Colic to horse folks) nor any thing else to alarm me. I thought to leave her alone – perhaps she’d work thru what ever it was bothering her by morning.

The next morning, Alli didn’t want her breakfast. She picked thru her breakfast hay and stood quietly in her stall. Her manure was very runny and that was alarming to me. I called our vet to let her know what was going on and that I was going to try to give my mare some probiotics to help her deal with this problem. The vet agreed, and to call her if anything changed. Well, it changed- Alli stopped eating anything more than a few handfuls of feed a day! She didn’t want to eat. Her manure was slowing down because there was not enough going thru her system to make any. Some good friends who had horses of their own suggested many things, but nothing tempted Alli. She didn’t want steamed, crimped ( and very expensive !) oats, she like alfalfa cubes though. For one day. She didn’t like Aloe juice, didn’t want anything topped with sweet things horses like- but only maybe for a few more handfuls than normal. Alli was loosing weight like crazy and there wasn’t much I could do about it.

The vet gave me some antibiotics to help with horses who had Colitis…and I had to give it to Alli by a big syringe as there was no way SHE was eating it on her own. I learned it tasted horribly, and mixed it with rich maple syrup. Still she wasn’t hungry…. And ate hardly enough to keep her going. She lost More weight, and was looking terrible. Alli was weak, and had no energy at all. I thought I was watching my good friend die. I gave her that antibiotic for a week, twice a day. Each time it was a struggle to convince my little 800 pound mare that it really was good for her. That hopefully it would help her heal and feel better. There was one evening during all of this that I checked on her late one night. She was laying down, and like most horses would have, didn’t even offer to get up. I stroked her thin neck , sitting with her in the stall. I told her that if she was to weak, that it was alright to ‘move on’ – but I’d miss her terribly. The next morning, there she was :up and wanting something to eat. She only gave it a taste and was done eating.

This went on for two weeks. Alli now had lost around 250 pounds and was so weak she could hardly walk around outside in the sunshine. I know that horses Need to be moving or more troubles are caused, so I let her out during the night where it was cooler. Summer days in Pennsylvania can be so hot. During the heat of the day, she got to be in her stall with a fan for some fresh air pointed in on her. She could move off to one side if she chose to be out of the breezes.

I noticed that no more was there sticky old feed on Allis’ nose nor any noise in my barn. No welcoming loud whinny in the mornings, and nothing welcoming me in the evenings. No more anything from her. The rest of the horses were all fine- but Alli always was the loud one- always whinnying, “ Hello ! Is it Food Time ?.” I felt so sad – there wasn’t much more I could offer her in order to tempt her to eat. It didn’t seem as though the medicine she was getting was helping very much either. It seemed as though I was watching her die and feeling totally helpless.

This is a photo of her.... its hard to tell how terribly thin she is, but she looked horrid in real life. I thought I was loosing her, and snapped this last picture.

One evening after letting Alli loose around the barn, I was watching her. She seemed to be searching for something only she knew about. She wasn’t finding it, because she kept going from weed patch to weed patch, sniffing each weed or grass carefully before moving on. I thought it was odd, so I followed along, watching her. When she would find what she thought she wanted, she would graze it down to the roots, and move on, searching. She ate two different types of weeds and then grazed on some grasses.

My friend did some searching on the internet for what those weeds were and discovered that one kind helped settle upset stomachs. It's called Pennsylvania Smart Weed--I found that the other one did the same and added more help in balancing the flora in a horses’ digestive system. Alli Knew! She knew what she needed to continue getting better, and had been hunting for it around my barn. What an amazing creature these horses are to me. So the hunt continued most of the evening, and the next morning, I was greeted with a small whinny of welcoming. Alli felt better…. We walked down the barn aisle together- slowly- and she ate half of her breakfast. Two days before, she’d nibble at it, maybe eating a handful. Could it be that she might live after all? That evening, she ate another half of her dinner, and went out to search for more of those weeds. It was incredible to see her hunting, sniffing certain weeds, or grasses. She knew what she needed to help her get better, And the antibiotic was no doubt helping her as well. She was all done with that week of syringes full of syrup and medicines. We were on our own now. Would her troubles return? The blood work showed only that she had a severe bowel inflammation. Would we need to have another week of antibiotics? I know I hoped not- and I had a good feeling my mare didn’t want to go thru that again too.

The next morning, a warm Sunday morning, I was greeted by a hearty loud whinny from her. She met me at the barn gate and we walked down to her stall together again. She kept whinnying from her stall for me to hurry up with her breakfast. She ate every single grain of feed in her dish this time, and wanted More. Knowing better than to let her eat all she wanted, I began offering her many very small meals that day. She ate each one with pure happiness. She began to get stronger and gained a little amount of weight with each day. Alli was getting fed a LOT of feed, but she wanted it, and couldn’t wait until her next ‘snack’. Her appetite had returned, and the day she made her first manure pile in her stall in two weeks, I wanted to celebrate.

Only another horse person could understand the significance of a small manure pile in that stall…. It had been a little over 3 weels, and my mare was going to Live. Her digestive system was beginning to work again, and while we never have figured out what went wrong, it was alright.

One day, just this week, Alli was being groomed by one of her riders. She was being her normal pesky self, and I commented on how wonderful it was to be hearing her calling to me whenever she saw me. That it was a sign she was returning to normal. Also- that she had a messy,sticky face again. The student nodded in agreement. Alli had molasses all over the bridge of her nose once again, and that was GOOD. Alli was going to pull thru and we were all pleased with that. She truly IS “all the best”.

Cc Kristales 8 2008

June 23 2010

2010-06-23T11:55:00.000-04:00

Its HOT !!!! Good grief- the humidity was higher than the temperature yesterday evening. I don't like it so humid- but thats' the weather on the east coast, so one would think I'd have gotten used to it Years ago.

This morning, there were two gals here - working students- to help. We got done in record time- by 9:15 AM ! Wow- if this continues, I'll be able to get Abby out when its still a little cool . YAY !

Carlene, the Clydesdale mare is now staying in during the days and out at night. Perhaps it will be a little cooler for Her.... and help with her COPD which is getting worse all the time. She is getting Ventipulim almost daily now to help her lungs work more easily..... She has been here for 5 years now and basically happy. She was to be put down a few weeks before I said I'd take her and her problems on. Inevitably she'll get so bad, that I'll have to possibly make a big choice For her..... I hope she has a few more years though. She is a very beloved part of our farm.

The little horses ( Old Ladies, Scarlet, Scout n Sunny) are doing fine in the heat. They are drinking a ton of water and I've been keeping those outside tubs freshened up almost daily. Tomorrow is 'wash the tubs w/ soapy water and spray clean'' day. The to refill w/ nice cool fresh water for them.

The Working Students are GREAT to have around ! What good company they are and I enjoy them being here each day. I count myself as lucky to have such wonderful horsey folks here, wanting to learn, learn, learn. Oh- and ride TOO. :)

Evie and the wire Fence.

2010-06-22T14:32:00.007-04:00

6/11/2020

This evening, as I was saying goodbye to my last riding student of the day- around 7:30 , we saw my 4 year old Percheron mare Evie, rolling. She not only chose a dumb place to roll, but then to make matters the worst possible- she rolled Over and into the hi-tensile wire fencing that was here when we bought this farm. I HATE the fact that I cannot afford to have Proper horse fencing and as soon as I can- the whole middle section is coming down and will be replaced.

It was like watching her in slow motion trying to destroy herself. I was at the gate and thru it before she could get up, and walked in GIANT steps down the pasture. I didn't want to run because most likely it would have scared the two mares who were Already upset. Evie was holding her left hind leg up high under her belly, and I was praying that nothing to horrid had happened to it. Once I got there, and could see the front of her hock, I wanted to cry. She had a HUGE laceration there, with odds and ends of skin hanging from it. It was about 4" wide from side to side on her hock and 3" from top to bottom. And it was Deep. I slipped a halter on that I had been holding, and asked her to walk that long hike back to the barn. I watched her limping and that her toe did work properly, and by the time we got to the gate, she was barely limping. I KNEW it hurt terribly and she was adjusting to her intense pain already. I was SO glad to see her leg walking properly though !

By the time our farm vet could get to the farm, it was two hours later. I'd put a makeshift but clean bandage on Evie's leg and led her to her stall so she could stand quietly. She was being SO good. It turns out that she totally destroyed one extensor tendon, and cut her self pretty badly, but Not as badly as Becky had first thought. Once she had tranquilized Eve and got things cleaned up some, she said that if all goes well, that there will be a slight scar. Finding that to be hard to believe, I smiled and said something stupid in return. Becky wrapped it, and we added a standing wrap beneath it, to help keep it placed properly.

I was supposed to give her antibiotics for 10 days, and keep her on bute for 2-3 days. And Evie was to be stalled so things could begin healing well. Below is a photo of it 3 days later...

Her hock was still pretty swollen, as well as her lower leg, but she walks on it - carefully.

UPDATE: 6/22/2010

Evie is all done with her meds, and I now have a cream from the vet to fight the proud flesh. Evie has been Wonderful through all of this treatment, and daily bandaging too. I'm So proud of my young mare once again. I know it hurts so badly, and the worst she does is pick her leg up in pain. She waits happily for her favorite treat- a peppermint after we are all done.

Here is a photo from today :

I am hoping that she heals fine and that our vet is correct- that she'll only have a small scar from all of this trauma.

And from the front:

Update: 7 17 2010:

Evie has been healing very nicely so far, and has handled her stall rest perfectly. This past week, our vet, Becky, told me that I could now turn Herself out for the night- so long as she stayed quiet. I'm going to turn her out tomorrow morning ( Sunday) while we clean stalls , so she can get some sunshine and GRASSSSSS !! I have a bit of tranquilizer to give her so she Will be wanting to graze as opposed to leaping and running about like a ninny. Below are a couple of photos from this week. It is still Quite ugly but in a "healthy/ healing'' way !

I have high hopes for this horrid thing to be behind us and we can get Evie driving this Fall !

UPDATE: 7/28/2010

Evie has been turned out at night- ALL night - with her pals in the pasture close by ,for almost a week now . She's doin great! Here are a couple of photos I took of her wound on the 20th of July :

It really hurts now when I try to clean it off. Tis like trying to rinse a moving target, but Still this young mare is very kind . It just Hurts !

Sorry , I got a bit of the crossties in the bottom shot..... More updates to come !

UPDATE: 8/3/2010

Got some photos today. There are very soft scabs trying to protect her wound and I try hard to not wash them off, but some do. Warm water, gentle rinsing to keep it clean, and washing off the surrounding hair where I put Swat daily..... She canters, but no bucking as of yet. This morning both Lynn & Evie came trotting up to their gate to come inside for breakfast. No sign of lameness at All. Here are the pix from this AM:
From the inside...

From the front....

from the outside, and then of her whole leg from a distance....

It Still looks horrid, but if you look carefully- there is healthy 'new' skin all around the border of it now. She's doing fine- but I'm still very concerned about her being sound once all of this is over with.

Condensing !

2010-06-06T15:44:00.001-04:00

I had three blogs going at one time- and had added the same info on each one. One was Horsetales and this one - plus one more. So what I did was condense all the stories to this one blog ! If you are reading them, I have them all dated when they happened- NOT when I added them here. Now to go back later on and add the photos .

The weather here has been weird.... Tornado watches all afternoon, grey skies, and an odd kind of breeze blowing. No tornadoes. thank goodness- but we did have some Thunder Storms travel thru- mostly around us. Now ? It is clearing up and is becoming one grand early summer afternoon !

Last week a big nasty summer storm went around us and afterwards, a most wonderful rainbow ! Here's the photo I got of it :

Ellie is Here 5 1 2007

2010-06-06T15:29:00.002-04:00

It all began because I needed another quiet lesson horse. I asked around some, read some ads in tack shops, and even asked Amber to ask around school for cheap priced horses. Nothing to ancient, nothing nutty, etc.... we had The List. Amber has learned a TON of things since she's been helping here and knew what to ask and What I was looking for.

Soooooooooooooo, she found an ancient App who was free- no, to old at 25.... Then she mentioned two horses that her friend's sister had for sale. Oh ?? She asked her friend more questions. This went on for like a week.... Found out she was a mare that Amber had ridden quite some time ago and said she was a nice horse. Well, that was a while before she knew much about horses like she knows now. Her friend said that the one mare had a foal who was for sale too. Just not enough time to have 3 horses as her older sis was going to college now. The mare had something wrong w/ her eye, and Amber knew enough to ask about it- wow, this kid has learned ! Amber would then report things to me. The mare sounded alright enough to go see at least. I told Amber that unless she would fit in here, we'd might not buy her- so Amber was prepared to go SEE her......

Well we made an appt w/ the sister and got there late due to getting stuck in traffic, but got there ! :) Just when one needs to drive straight thru..... whew. Anyway, the sister had her 'cleaned up' and saddled but not bridled. Odd I thought. Ha- one thump under that heavy saddle blanket and I knew WHY she was saddled. Rail thin w/ ribs popped BIG time, thin neck, thin head, everything was thin- her mane, and tail even ! I just sighed and thought ''you Poor thing , you, life has been tough hasn't it ?" We watched the gal ride her, mare seemed to have a nice soft mouth, responded to lightness too. Amber rode her, and she was fine w/ a new rider too. Bucked and played on the longe line- so that was positive. I know she will have double the energy once she's up to weight, but its that sensibility about her that I liked too. Her legs showed no sign of being raced and used up. The only thing was her cataract, but we're used to seeing from one eye only horses around here.... so it was no big deal. No breathing troubles either, which I'm shy about now.... I KNEW Carli had troubles before I got her- I certainly didn't want to ADD more horses like that. Pretty much she was A-okay just terribly thin. So I asked how little would this gal take for a half starved, blind in one eye, older mare ?? Hmmmmmmmm, talk about an ego come down. ( yeah, I DO know horses pretty well, kiddo <>) I got her for a song, and due to knowing how to build up thin horses and how to properly love a TB horse, she was sold. Amber was quietly pleased as she chattered the whole way home about her. We got her papers, some splint boots ( in purple- kinda neat ) two ratty bridles and one alright nylon one plus a show saddle blanket -western. So it was a pretty good deal I think ! <> So, she's registered, a proven broodmare, never raced, sound and is 14 yrs old, 15.1 hands tall. Solid bay, no white at all. I don't know how well bred she is but she has this "royal air" about her - if that makes sense.

Glenn n' I went to get her yesterday and well,. you know the rest of the tale. Stay tuned :)

Holly Lightfoot 9.2007

2010-06-06T15:27:00.005-04:00

I used to own an ex top gaming mare. Way back when - I think it was around 1974-5. I got her for almost nothing due to her having totally lost her mind over her four years in being gamed. I mean this mare was Toast, mentally. The way I found out about her was via her owners' son when she finally flipped out in the ring, sending his dad to the emergency room. His dad had turned down $25K back in the late 60s', so she was somethin' else ! Big cream colored AQHA mare- I'll never forget her name : "Holly Lightfoot". And oh my was she lightfooted ! Especially those fronts. I bought a very $$$$ mare for just $500.00 and a threat to NEVER bring her back, or they were shooting her.

That poor thing... she had these freaky green eyes and was cream colored from ear to hoof... But she was built, my lord she was built. Power, power and more power... the kind of mare who could spin on a dime n' give ya a nickle change. She was smart and fast as well. JUST what a person wanted for games, right ? Nope- not any more. She wasn't registered due to the AQHA not accepting that color horse.

Holly spent the first 3 months hiding in her stall. No energy or 'want to' at all. Just stood in there w/ her head in the darkest corner she could find. I had to go get her to turn her out- she was so depressed. Her lips had been sliced repeatedly, her tongue had a cut on it ; she was ear and head shy. 'Hmmmmmm, wonder Why ?' I knew the life of a gaming horse back then All to well and Holly had lived it.

I had just about given up on her, mentally, when one day I was greeted " G'morning - is it breakfast yet ? " in a nicker from her. Those eyes had some life back and I thought 'well its about time, mare". After she'd been w/ me for about 6 months. I thought its time to find out how bad she was / is. All I did was get my old
Textan western saddle out and by the time I had gotten her bridle, she was sweating and shaking . Omg..... what had happened to this mare before she came here ? Took the western back inside the tack room, and she got better. So, lets try my Pariani english saddle. Now that was something Holly hadn't seen before and looked at it w/ interest. ''Okay then, we shall go English, Holly Lightfoot !'' She wore a big soft snaffle bit and a running martingale because I knew she'd throw her head back and knock a person silly w/ ease. Off we went to the ring. Got on her and she stood there, shaking still.

Now this mare was HUGE .... 15.3 hands tall and 16 hands wide it seemed. I asked her to walk on, which she did and WHAM ! She threw her head backwards towards my face so fast I hardly saw it move. I felt the air though. I screamed at her like I was going to cook her for dinner, with ALL sorts of foul language added for effect. She was shocked and stopped it for a bit...she'd also punished herself when she hit that martingale yoke. That first ride consisted of joggin/ bouncing, threats to rear ( she did twice) and that ever present threat to smack me w/ the top of her head. Each time she'd do it, she then would duck all the way down out of the way- I think to avoid retribution ? It was not a good ride at ALL. By the time we got done a reasonable trot/ bounce/ head toss around the ring, she was soaking wet, and I was about to give it all up.

Time passed, and we kept at it. I'd take her for long walks thru the woods, letting her relax and get her brain back some what, but HOW much would she re-gain from all of that stress and tension ? I didn't know. I learned to respect her and to love her a lot. Never did care much for cream colored horses, nor AQHA horses, but this one stole my heart. I was showing Apps then and had a ton of students arriving daily so Holly got to graze in the front yard n' watch all this. She did learn to relax again. It took her TWO years of my patience and not killing her like I swore I would one day. Her name now was 'Alpo Holly'. The kids thought that was great fun and would call her 'Ms Alpo'. I guess she saw little humor in it all.. It all went the same way, each ride. Holly bouncing up n' down, hitting that martingale, and then dodging the bat she believed was going to hit her head if she didn't drop it and fast.

One day I tried another bit... One where I had a little more "control" over what her face did. I have hands that are as 'light as butter' and a seat with Super Glue on it almost, so I was Not going to hurt her, unless she did it to herself. Nor was I going off. Off we went that evening, with a " if I'm not back in 30 minutes, come get me! " to my now ex husband. Holly tried to throw her head back- wham, she got punched by the bit. All I did was sit there. She tried to rear, well she got punched again. I asked for a little collection from her, and omg- I got it ! She got softer and softer in that big powerful bit, and I could ride her w/ my little fingers, she was so light. One more time Holly had to try hitting me w/ her face and to rear : she got hit again from the bit. Soon she'd figured out that it wasn't lucrative to keep doing those things. She settled into a mile eating trot from hell, and I was in Heaven ! Wow, this mare could move. I asked for a lope/ canter- what ever she offered, and I got either one. I could slow her down w/ ease or ask for some extension and got it immediately. All the while, Holly was soft in that bit as could be. No more threats, no more near black eyes, or broken noses.. just a very nice mare.

Whewwwww, Two years ! She had been offering to get softer and slower, but never before such response from her. Holly had found "her niche" and she stayed there for a good many years. I showed her in open shows - both western and english but she just exceled in those english classes. One day, we'd just about finished up our classes, and I rode over to talk to a friend who was starting a new horse at barrels. She asked if THAT was Tim's mare , Holly Lightfoot... I said yeah, it was and she was Amazed ! They'd told everyone she'd gone bonkers and they put her down. Nope, here she was in all her glory- and winning in english flat classes now. Then a horse did a run for barrels, and guess who started shaking ? Yep, they Never forget. I swung my mare around and we jogged off to our horse trailer. When I'd dismounted, Holly ever so softly rubbed her lips on my cheek.... saying 'thanks' perhaps ? Or something more ? I'll never know as Holly never did have much to say.

More Drives w/ Abby 6/19/2007

2010-06-06T15:26:00.002-04:00

Thursday, September 20, 2007

More drives w/ Abby 6 19 2007

After a week off due to a puffy spot on Abby's right hock, she seems to be fine ; swelling is gone, and she no longer "acts" like its sore. She never was lame, but I'm paranoid about something happening to all the horses I own . So after a week of rest and good stable management, Abby wanted to know, once again "When are we doing things again ?" Yes, foolish as it may seem to some non believers, my horses do communicate w/ me and they have since I was three years old. So I told her that 'soon' we would do things....this means being hitched, ground driving, and lots of "fun" things for Abby n' Me.

This morning was supposed to be horrid w/ heat n humidity of early summer, so I hurried thru the barn chores (stalls, turnouts, fly masks,fly spray, feed/ hay/ water, etc ! ) and after Abby was done w/ her morning hay, she was curried like mad, ( working on that mirror finish show coat ) vacuumed off and carefully harnessed. Abby used to threaten to rear, and was Very scared about all this harnessing stuff, due to her past not-so-good training. Its taken me almost 3 yrs to get her to this point, so I'm proud of her each time she's brave in trusting that I am NOT going to slam a big heavy work harness on her , thus clanking her w/ buckles, pieces of heavy leather ,etc. Not to mention with each piece of harness that she stands quietly for, Abby gets a treat. I normally do not do this sort of thing, but I had to think of someway to make being harnessed Positive. Thus the horse cookies- if she's not perfect, she gets nothing, so Abby learned Fast ! :)

I harnessed her alone while Glenn finished up scrubbing/refilling the outside water tubs ( this man is a Keeper !!). She was wonderful- more interested in those cookies, than the harness- this is Exactly what I wanted. Something for Abby to look forward to , instead of trembling in fear and standing as far away from that harness as possible. NOW, she's a mooch ! This is alright though and the cookies won't last for long now. Just in her feed tub like the rest who get worked :) Hahaha- I slipped her bridle on , quickly seeing it was the Wrong one. Got the right bridle, and changed it all- Abby didn't have a problem w/ humans being stupid at all. She was in crossties,( halter under her bridle) and I hitched her to the cart. She stood like a big statue, looking back to be sure I was doing it all correctly. She loves to see what is going on behind her and I encourage my horses to SEE that cart, or what ever is going on behind them. By then Glenn was done, and he headed her Just in case she chose to walk off alone. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooot a good thing. She stood quietly for me to clambor in that cart and get seated. Again- she turned her head to make sure all was alright. Merely interested.... which is good again :)

Off we went, down the lane to the ring, a nice step Gee, and into the ring thru the gate. She was quiet and light into her bit as we walked about some. There was some work going on at the neighbors place, so we had to stop and check that out. Lots of hammering and items coming out thru upstairs windows too. That would have gotten my attention TOO. She wasn't upset in the least, because I'd let her check out where the sounds were and to See them too. Off we went again at a nice walk. I have made the mistake of asking for a trot at a certain place in my ring all the time- and Guess WHO has learned where ? We were trotting and I'd not asked for that, so we had to begin again... Walkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk, Abby, And walkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. She listened perfectly but sure did want to keep that trot going. I let her walk along for a few more yards then asked her for a trot. Well, the words "walk on " and Trot! don't compute some mornings w/ her. There's been SO much to work on and she does go from a kiss sound, so I've been incorportaing both. This AM, Abby picked up a nice working trot. I'm still not used to her rhythm yet, so I check her feet, making sure they are tracking correctly and am trying to learn Her speed. Its tough as I've not had to deal with this for some time, being spoiled in knowing my other seasoned mare to a "T" ! I'll get it though. We did a slooooooooooooooooow trot and wow, this mare put on the slower speed really well. She's not got much of a clue about collection yet as she's SO green, but she's trying to understand . So we held that for about once 'round the ring ( its a 1/8 th mile jog track) and I was very pleased with her. Hahaa- seems Abby's idea of a strong trot ( we don't get much extension yet, but again, its coming as she gets more balanced/ stronger) is a canter-y/ trot-y item now . She asked to go faster than a strong trot, but I said no, that a good strong powered trot is all I needed today. Happily she complied. What a grand mare she is going to be !!

We have Only been hitching in a steady manner for about 5 weeks now, intermitantly due to weather, and "life" for me. We did some real nicely balanced figure 8s- for ME mostly so I do them RIGHT, and not sloppy.I Don't want Abby to learn that some things are to be ignored.... She was so good in those, that I thought for the first time, I'd ask for a stop in the middle of one. I warned her, and said " Abby, HO" . WOW, she came to a complete stop in about 3-4 strides. Abby stood quietly, sometimes looking back at me as though to say

" Abby thinks mom is nuts". It wasn't perfect, but danged near for a mare who two weeks ago threatened to rear each time some pressure was put on her. She stopped with just my ''pinkies'' asking her to, and stood for me. Abby got a lot of " GOOOD GIRL'S" for THAT. We trotted some more, and did the cone pattern - a simple serpentine in between them in line.... and did a back/ step up like one needs to do when in a show. I figured things were going well, so I asked her to 'fan' for me. Its a drafter thang and is basically a roll back in a cart. I gave her as clear a signal as I could and helped her step over by tapping her breeching straps w/ the whip, and told her to Step Haw... Well she tried real hard to understand and follow the directions, but again, it sure was Far from perfect. But she DID a 1/4 fan to the left, and then stepped Back over to face Glenn again ! Now that was an accomplishment for Miss " I wanna show folks my belly button !!" . We stopped with that - again after Tons of butt rubs, and praise for herself.

Drove back to the barn front, stopped, Abby waited while I got out of that cart ( I love it, but boy, its got rough entry/ exits !). She knows to wait for me too. By the time Glenn arrived, I had her partially unhitched and she was happily mooching cookies. None then, but she got hers when she was put back in her stall afterwards. Abby was hosed off and her sweaty face sponged, excess water ( now warm)was scraped off her, and she got to graze outside til she was cool enough to be in her stall. Not one drink from her water bucket, so I knew she was fine. :)

All in all, it was one perfect drive for me and Abby. I love this little black mare so incredibly and am on Cloud Nine at how good she's coming along after a few years of panic and my considering selling her as she was never going to be a safe hitch mare. But she IS - and is going to continue being good. I HOPE. Our first hitched show is on June 30th- we have a LOT to practice just so we don't look TOO foolish in the ring !

Off to watch our video of the World Percheron Congress from last October :D

Not Giving up on Abby 9/20/2007

2010-06-06T15:25:00.001-04:00

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Again..... sorry folks- I'm not giving up on her. She was/ is to expensive to own and I've put to much time in her to quit. (:) Unless I am Forced to, and I don't see that happening.

Abby IS THREATENING to rear due to evasion- I know that. First it was fear, now if she even threatens its because SHE thinks its time to go in and that was because she had not wanted to listen to any one else ( hahaha- those who might have different thoughts towards driving or going to the barn). Wow, she had a lot of training holes as per many drafters who are started incorrectly, and we have " filled those in " with more knowledge. She was just disaster bound from the beginning of her driving career.

She was Just 18 months old the only time I saw her go up.... This was at her very first auction. ( She was being sold because her owner realised she wasn't going to end up 18 hands tall, even though Abby is of top quality and they were moving to another smaller farm.) She had been driven on snowy lanes in Maine a few times so she'd be " Broke to drive by sale time". I had decided she was the one I wanted for my belated Christmas gift from my husband. ( he told me I could own any show filly I chose, that he was prepared to buy her for me ) I knew her from her show career in New England, and had seen her photo in magazines,etc. I Knew she was a good mare but young.

Not to worry, I'd started plenty of horses under saddle and the same w/ driving. Never had one who caused trouble at all because I know what I'm doing. ( Been hitching horses for 17 yrs now, training saddle horses for 39 yrs) I dont' rush those who need more time to mature, nor am I in a hurry w/ those who are mentally/ physically ready. There's plenty of time to have a " Made Horse" -to ME anywho. Abby reared twice in being hitched there. Both times the surrounding arena was over dose loud, with horses working all over the place ( I don't know how many of you have been to a draft sale, but the day of hitching tends to be mass panic in some arenas) - it was a cart she'd not ever been hitched too and she was scared ! Who wouldn't be at just 18 months ?? It was nerve racking to me .

Once she was hitched, she drove off really well ! She got " stuck'' one time and began backing up. Her owner/ driver just sat there....Took out a standing gate, but she wasn't scared when it crashed to the ground. She was just soooooooooooooooooo green - and it showed. Afterwards,I talked to her owner who told me she'd only been driven abt 7-8 times because it had been so snowy. Well, that explained a LOT of her behavior to me at least, but I wasn't sure I could deal with a mare who'd go up when she was scared. I visited her in the stall and she was so incredibly sweet, I Knew there had to be more to it. Took her for a walk around the stalls,etc. and she was quiet as can be, but so curious and a little unsure of what was going on. It sure wasn't like that at the shows she'd been to. So Glenn bought her for me :D

When we got her home, she was aloof and ignored me a lot. Abby was good, but not bonding. She HATED having her mane combed out, and I quickly understood why- if you'd had your thick mane thinned repeatedly since weaning, had it shortened, and then thinned by pulling hair out some more so it would lay over nicely, wouldn't you Too get real tired of being in pain when someone else ( as you think) is going to do it AGAIN ?? Her forelock had been shaved on the sides so it could have a thin braid for the halter classes as well..... it looked real dumb to me, but that's the life of a halter horse in some instances. I told her never again would she be so coiffed. Abby has a wonderful thick wavy mane and forelock, so there would have been a LOT of pain to have her mane thin enough to lay over like some TB's might. She had on scotch bottom shoes that fit really well, but wow, once they came off, I found out how heavy they were...she had the side flares on her hind feet as well. This filly was not quite 18 months old, again. She'd been clipped and blanketed- again, the life of a show horse, so I couldn't turn her out w/out a couple of blankets to keep her warm. Abby has opinions and they are Very well founded. She hardly understood what it was like to be outside ALL day long and wanted to come in only after a couple of hours. That winter she was pampered some - more than the other horses here who know what its like to BE a normal horse. Now ? She Loves being outside all night long and happily meets us at the gate each morning to come in for breakfast.

As time passed, I learned how sweet and kind this filly really was. She has Never offered to kick, strike or bite. Always listened well and tried to be a good girl. That spring when she was two, I thought I'd ground drive her some and wait til she was older to actually hitch her. I carried the first part of the harness out ( Mine comes in three pieces :) and she immediately got scared. When Abby is scared, her lips tremble..... and boy she was trembling then. Her muscles were shaking on her shoulders, and thighs too. FEAR. I quickly realised she had been harnessed w/ a big old work harness.I remembered seeing it at the sale. No doubt it had been thrown over on her all in one big mass- basis for fear. We worked on that, and to this day, if I catch her unaware, she steps sideways looking at me in fear. My poor filly was very upset at this harnessing stuff. I didn't work w/ her much due to her being immature and needing to grow up some, that first year. ( her two year old year) We worked on the harness, and some ground driving. She didn't care for her thick snaffle bit so I changed it to some different ones, and she stopped throwing her head , mouthing the bit to much w/ a mullen mouthed liverpool. THAT one Abby liked a lot...had her teeth checked by Two folks- one professional horse dentist and a vet up here. Both said she had a fine set of teeth and nothing to cause trouble. We did have her wolf teeth pulled when she was younger. It was that bit she just didn't feel right with. Ever since I changed it to a solid mouthpiece, she's happy as a clam. :)

Fast forward a couple of years. I admit, I put off hitching her because I was not Sure she'd keep her feet on the ground...... So we worked on desensitations a bunch - from the ground. Last April I decided it was time or I needed to send her out to get trained or do SOMEthing with her. Now, I AM a horse trainer...have been for some time- so that whole idea bothered me. " stop being a sissy, Kris" is what I told myself, but I have discovered that when I hit the ground now, It HURTS !! No more bounces now. I thought I'd work w/ her some and then decide what to do... sell or send her to my friend who trains drafters.

Last April, It was finally The Day of Abby's first hitch here. I asked a couple of horsey friends I'd met up here who'd be a big help thru all this. We worked forward in careful increments, watching her reactions to each one. Nothing. Abby was ready to "DO Things !!" and she showed it. NO threats, no nothing and I was so proud of her , I was almost in tears. ALL of that careful slow work had paid off. Abby had been hitched w/ not one problem. So because I was busy showing my older mare ( the one who won for me so many times- and I trained her also ) that Abby kind of got put on the back burner. Also I had a younger filly to work with too- one has so many hours in a day it seems. We hitched her a few more times and each time she was great, til one day she kept stopping and tossing her face like it was a threat. Front feet bouncing off the ground a little bit. Not being positive as to why, I did what I did w/ my other Very Hot tempered mare, Dixie, and let her work thru it. Easier than causing a HUGE fight- which is what Abby was looking for. No response to her temper confused her- gave her no reason to have a hissy fit, and we had a pretty good time. I really wanted her to learn that driving was great fun .

This spring, it was the year to get Abby moving forward and to try some shows. She has been shown a LOT in halter, and is great, but pulling a cart in a class ? Ha..... After I got to the point where I could trust my strength and most of the back pain had gone, I tripped in the barn and blew out an elbow.. MORE time off as I couldn't even straighten the danged thing ! Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Finally this April , we began work w/ Abby- dabby again. She still tried to evade being harnessed, but was much better. She just had so many negatives and bad treatment memories from before. We've been trying to drive every other day or so to get her muscled up some more, and lightly at that. The last three- four drives, Abby has done NO threats, no instantaneous stops, w/ ears back, listening to me. She's moving forward, giving to the bit softly, she's paying attention to where she is being asked to go, and is JUST beginning to collect properly. I don't ask for much as I don't want her to be sore- and add more negatives to her list she already has. ' One day at a time' We have a good time and only work for maybe 30 minutes or so. She's doing this happily, and loves doing a kinda /sorta extended trot. Yesterday, she asked if she could canter, but I said nooooooooooo- we'lll wait to do that. Today she gave me a teeny fuss about going past the OPEN gate out of the ring, and was so good. She collected properly for the sweetest little slow trot I'd seen her do. Light, soft, flexing her poll and jaw for me, and was fingertip control... boy I was ear to ear grins. No threats, not a bit of temper, just a lot of forward Fire outta this mare. I am thinking we're on the way back from Abby's hell, and we're Both liking it a Lot :)

Abby loves getting her apple pieces too for being such a good girl.... She has for a few years now, let me brush all the tangles from her thick mane, and lets me shorten it too - she just stands there dozing, in fact. She is wonderful to get trimmed by my farrier now, and she gets a rub on the neck from him as he knows how awful she was before. This mare is So smart and is so sensitive, that she could have been very very dangerous, but I HOPE we are now moving forward in this driving stuff. :)

Hope this explains my Abby a little better. She is NOT a bad mare, just has had a tough time in some instances. If I thought she was dangerous I'd not have taken all this time to help her past her 'demons'.

Lynns Story of her trip to the Farm Show in PA

2010-06-06T15:24:00.003-04:00

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Lyndas' Description of her adventure to the Pa. Farm Show 1 2-07

I "over heard' this as Lynn was telling BoJangles of her long weekend away from home. We just got her back home from the Farm Show, and they were busily 'chatting' as she ate her hay. Lynda is my best horse friend, it seems. We have been together since 1992 and she has never failed me. We let a student of mine show her at the PA Farm Show in 2007, and this is how Lynn saw it all....

Seems that she was telling him all about it, and that first, she got to this big ( picture of a BIG barn like structure) place and mom put her in a stall - yellow stuff that wasn't so good to eat, but the 'green' ( hay) was pretty good. They gave her a bucket w/ water in it and left. Then they came back with 'stuff'- images of all kinds of brushes, washing things, tack. She didn't get all of her green eaten but the 'short human' ( my student) took her to another place with water all over the place. Lynn got wet, but the water wasn't cold like before, and then the 'short one' put foam all over her !Lynn didn't understand that much, but then mom got out the smelly good stuff ( a whitening shampoo- smells like grape soda) and washed her really good. Lynn that is, not Tina !! Then back to her yellow house (stall) and more good hay. Mom put her pretty cover ( a wool cooler ) on her, which made her feel warm and comfy. Then after a while, they both came to put that black horrid thing on her ( image of my saddle and pain between her shoulders) which is not wide enough since Lynn grew her winter coat.

Then the bit, and Lynn tells Bo about how SHE gets the bit in her mouth as Bo is always a little scared to be bridled. ( shes' trying to let him know its a good thing ;) So she has to leave her hay, and go thru this low tunnel like place with pieces of wood on the ground...then into a HUGE dirt pasture !! She was telling Bo about how HUGE it was... the show arena that is. The short human is riding her, and the saddle isn't comfortable but Lynn knows it won't last for long because her mom knows it hurts Lynn, too. Around they go and she tries hard to be perfect for the short human who sends So many messages that Lynn sometimes gets confused about them all. She guesses which one is right. Most time she nails that perfectly. After a little while some short horses come in the pasture and they are going all over the place ! ( these were the roping horses used in the rodeo the next day- the riders were giving them some much needed exercise ) They were laughing at her because she is SO tall and pure white- Lynn doesn't let it bother her due to her knowing that if any of them give her a tough time, SHE Is BIGGER, and can kick pretty good. Around they go, hearing that laughter, and Lynn getting tons of messsages and signals she has to guess at. Thank goodness the short human doesn't bang on her back like she did at home.

Then its back to the yellow place (her stall) and that awful tack is removed. She gets some water to drink and mom n' dad stay outside her stall for a few minutes, then they leave her all alone there. She's alright because they always return- Lynn is confident in that I'll never leave her anywhere by herself. The short one brings her breakfast the next morning and it is Exactly like what she gets at home ! Imagine THAT- food that is the same ! So she has breakfast and thinks that her place is a little small for a Draft Mare of Great Size. She watches all the other horses get pretty, and then she has her forelock braided in pink / navy colors, and some kid human braids her tail up . Lynn realizes that its going to be a very important day when That happens. ( Bo interjects here that he knows those things TOO- as does Carli, who is listening) They go to one of those pastures in her white pretty dress up halter and Lynn has to stand around for a long time- boringgggggggggggggggggg. Back to her stall again-

She waits and mom / dad come to see her. Lynn nickers real softly in that special '' mom, I love you'' whisper- and she sees her mom smiling and saying happy things back to her. All is good in Lynns life again; Even Dad smiled at her ! Its time to go do that important thing- but instead of mom going, the short human sits on her.

????????????????????????????? Lynn accepts this as mom says she must. Its off around all these cars n' trucks ( parking lot) that aren't moving- she has no clue what is going on as this isnt' like a normal " important" time.... then into that big dirt pasture again. She walks around and around, bored to tears, then is told to whoa. Lynn listens to the person on her, and all of a sudden the 'sky' ( aka- show announcer) says something and ALL THOSE PEOPLE Act like they are going to JUMP on her !!!! ( standing up for the Nat'l Anthem....and the arena was Packed ) Lynn tried to move away fast so they wouldn't get her but the short one said 'no- stay here'. Oooooooooooo- it was scary !The scary people didn't get her. they were Singing ! Hmmmmmmmmmmm, might this human be smart TOO? Then the people sat down again and Lynn felt better right away. The 'sky' said to trot, so before her human told her, Lynn Trotted. She didn't like the thump on her back when she started and the human wasn't expecting it either.

All of a sudden the voice from the sky said something else, and her human told her to go faster- but with one foot ! WHaaaaaaaaaaaaa??????????????? OH- canter, that's the signal for canter. Lynn did, and it was going really good- no thumping from the human and the other horses were going fast too- it was kinda fun. All of a sudden there was a black horse in front of her and Lynn could see that this horse from her other trip ''to do important things w/ mom'' ( this mare was also at the Worlds .... right across from us ). Then she tripped and stumbled - right in front of Lynn!!! Lynn didn't know What to do- but she jumped out of the way as fast as she could and all of a sudden her short person was GONE. She didn't know what to do and was scared a little. So she trotted to the first person she saw w/ grey hair ( like Glenn n' I have)- surely HE would save her.

That was the ring steward, that Lynn went right to. That one said she 'was alright and had been a good horse'...Lynn liked that and he made her feel better. There was the short human again- only on the ground. Lynn didn't know how she got THERE and she was walking a little weird, but Lynn was glad to see her. The humans talked for a few seconds and Lynn was led out of the pasture. At this point Bo is all but scratching his head wondering what had happened... Carlene told them that humans sometimes just fall off of horses' backs. No reason, they just do... And if you buck a little some will go off faster. It was kind of fun, Carlene said....

After that, no one rode her or paid to much attention to her. Lynn figured she'd let them down- but hadn't she done a good thing to save herself from a bad fall ? Hadn't she helped her human not get hurt ? Then mom led her back outside, and the short person was getting on her back again. Whaaaaaaaaaaa???? They had to walk up n' down where all those cars were again- didn't make any sense to her. Her rider was scared though, and was very very sad.... once her short human got off again, Lynn had a big warm hug from her, and she knew her short human understood that SHE had been a good horse, and hadn't been bad somehow. Her little human thanked Lynna for 'saving' them from a bad fall.... ( Lynn is boasting here big time)

So it was back to the yellow place again, she got groomed some by mom ( who's back was hurting too- but she never did have saddles on her, so Lynn wasn't to sure about the 'why') and got a piece of carrot to eat. Mom / Dad left and she was there alone. She slept some, ate some more green stuff, drank the water that tasted 'green' too, and slept some more. She made friends w/ the brown horse on the other side ( A clyde named Sandy...) and they told some stories too. Finally it was time for more feed and some hay. Lynn got to go for a walk outside which was fun, and the sunshine felt good on her back and ears.

She waited and waited for her mom to come, but she didn't. Not for a Long time ! All of a sudden there they were and Lynn was whispering her "mom whispers" to her, and got the smile again. All was good in Lynns life again- mom was there. After a few minutes of moving stuff - that black thing was taken away- YAY! - she got her halter on, and went with mom to the outside again. Wow- another walk she though- but then she saw her BOX !! The gold one that takes you places w'/out walking there. Oh Lynn was SO happy, she took Mom to the walk-up, ( ramp to go in the trailer) and went on all by herself ! After all, she had done it many times before - why not just go by yourself. Mom didn't really need to go too. But mom hurried along with her, laughing at her. Lynn expected some green in there but there was none, so she just wanted to GO- NOW. She pawed and got yelled at to stop, so she figured she might do that. The ride home was boring w/ no green but then they were HOME. Lynn called and called- so happy to be home again, and now she was tired of telling everyone about her time away, and was going to take a nap.

Bo n' Carli discussed their times ''away''- one time seeing a grey thing with a long tube out its face( an elephant at the Great Circus Parade in WI) that kind of smelled bad, and of the time when the round clouds came to land on the ground, ( Hot air balloons- Carlene's story ) only to stay there going up n' down. They both thought those a little weird. Lynn piped up to say that the worst things were the RR tracks- Bo agreed, and that you had to beware of those because Sometimes the long pipes jumped up to trip you.

And that was about the end of the whole conversation ! At least for me as my head hurt from it all .

Evie update and other Misc Items 1/3/07

2010-06-06T15:23:00.003-04:00

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Evie update & other misc items 1 3 2007

Hi all,

Here we go again. Evie has grown ! She's now a smidgeon under 15.2 and is level on her top line for the first time in ages. She's going to turn 9 months old this coming Friday ( Jan 5th) and isn't learning much at all. Just re-hashing the old things, and getting more practiced at them all.

Glenn was out w/ his camera and got some up to date photos of her. She had been laying down in the greasy mud, which got my attention. So I'd gone out to check her out. Seems she just wanted to lay on her hay and was fine. I Think Alli may have connected with one of her kicks from last night - stupid ol' mare had a grumpy stick up her butt- and Evie learned to back OFF, when her auntie is grumpy.'Nother lesson learned....

She's brown, thanks to the sun, but looks real dark, like dark chocolate. She has learned 'go to your dish" very well, but tests me to see if I do mean what I say. She has learned to use kisses as a way to get out of doing something..... Not good. <> She is fascinated by Bob the Belgian. She'll stand there gazing over the fence at him as though she's trying to figure out just WHAT he is doing here. She doesn't act grumpy, just more interested in him. He looks back and she walks off. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

She still looks at the farrier like he is going to beat her or something . I didn't know Bill was that frightening . She leads real well for Glenn now- no more testing on that idea. He had to yell at her one time and wriggle her lead - voila ! Perfect filly. Evie has decided to find something to scare herself about every time we go up the barn aisle or towards her stall. She looks real hard at the kitty hut w/ blankets in it- one day it might just Jump to get her, so it must be watched. Then , oh my, the 2x6's standing up against the aisle wall are dangerous as well. The big white carriage ? Nope, nothing scary about it, nor the show cart with the naugahyde cover, nor the old show cart covered in white plastic. Nope.... Just that kitty hut and those boards ! Go figure. We have to pay close attention to her while leading her in or out, due to these monsterous items. According to Evie, anywho. I sure don't want to get blasted sideways by a filly who mentally is so young but as big and heavy as a mature riding horse.

Soon, we'll learn more about towels, plastic bags n' more- as I get better that is. Right now, I'm on "horsey leave'' till my back heals a bit more...Haaaaaa- like a flippin MONTH. Sheeeeeeeeesh.... BUT I will listen to the Dr, because as my older brother reminds me, I'm not 30 anymore, and don't bounce back like before. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, sit I shall. But I'll complain every chance I get too !

1st Trailer Ride and a Wedding 1/1/2006

2010-06-06T15:19:00.003-04:00

Thursday, September 20, 2006

Evie's 1st trailer ride , wedding 1- 1 2006

This has been an eventful weekend for Evie and us too. Due to the fact that she has to go into the trailer and on a 30 minute trip to the Horse Show this coming Thursday morning, we decided to have a trial run first. Aunt Alli went along too. I think SHE was more nervous than the filly ! Alli loaded well, and was a little confused about backing into her stall, so once Glenn got that accomplished ( Whatttt a good job he did too )- Evie was MORE than happy to walk right up that ramp into the trailer. Hahaha- we STILL don't understand that backing stuff, but she's trying. Glenn decided to just take a little cruise around town- it has a LOT of bumpy areas, turns , stops, etc... Plus THINGS TO SEE OUTSIDE ! My pal, T, came along to help too- one of those 'just in case' things ? We gals rode in the back with the horse girls.

So,off we went... Evie was mystified and a little scared as we bumped long the road from the house.... She did accept some hay from my hand, but was to busy tryin to figure out why the world was suddenly so bouncy/ trouncy. Then we stopped- she braced for it... off we went again- up hills, along noisy bumpy roads, past a family picnic- THAT got a look out of her window !! Then into town, around some turns/ stops, and back towards the farm . She got a little scared w/ the NOISE in that trailer ( WOW, I didn't like it either - will have to fix them) but as she got used to them, and saw that Auntie Alli wasn't concerned, she relaxed into learning how to stay upright in her big stall. She has WAY to much room in it, as its built for mature drafters of huge heights. Evie is teeny still, so she had a lot on her plate so far as understanding things went.

By the time we were on our way home, she'd relaxed enough to dip her head to get some hay, and still stay upright. I do so love this little gal ! So we're on our way to becoming a good hauler :D

**************************************************************************

WE did NOT get wet on Saturday for the wedding !! When we arrived at the chosen spot,it was cloudy, and rained the whole way down there. The rain had been spotty in showers all morning too. The pick up time for the bride n' her dad was around 3:15 and they weren't on time, of course. The clouds held off on the rain and I think the' keeper of the rain clouds' might have been helping us out as it didn't Rain - NOT a drop ! Lynn was perfect as usual, but the down hill slope for dropping off the bride n' her dad surprised her a little.

Hahaaha- those two folks IN the carriage were clowning around big time. We just laughed the whole time during our drive.

First Show Clip - Eve 10/3/2007

2010-06-06T15:18:00.002-04:00

She did GREAT !!!!
For a youngster who's Never been clipped before, and only " met" the clippers one time earlier, I'm again, So proud of my filly. We loaded in the trailer Again, this time w/ no hesitation, she backed into "her" stall better than before and immediately looked for HER hay bag. Which of course I held open for her to snack on. Then we practiced trotting on line once we were outside again.. She's got this down pretty well, but thinks it a little stupid to trot to nowhere then come back again. Go figure, right ? She's learning exactly what I want her to ... that most humans are crazy and must be Humored ! { :) The older horses just sigh and say- " Ok- where are we trotting again, ya stupid human ? "

Yesterday, I worked on getting her a little bridle path, Welllllllllllllllllllllll, she kept shaking her head, trying to get rid of those FLYS buzzing around and its a littttttle longer than I'd planned. But its there ! Each time I turned the clippers on and off, she'd bug her eyes out at the noise- but then would settle right down. So it was on / off... on/ off.... on, raise the clippers in the air above her line of sight, and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down to her knee level.... letting the sound change . She got so this was pretty dull, so I raised them faster and dropped them down faster. She wasn't impressed, so I rubbed the cord on her neck- THAT got a look, but not to worry. Then I rubbed the clippers up n' down- trying to NOT clip hair - which is tough.... After she was cool w/ that, I ran them up on her crest between her ears- where I wanted to clip, but didn't. She was really good- the A-5's were just humming along and she thought they were flys once again. In dodging her shaking head, I actually got her bridle path clipped pretty well.. She was not scared, but just didn't care for being "bugged" by the noise. I was so impressed... a filly who THINKS.

Then I tried her ears. When she was teeny, I would turn them inside out practically, and make buzzzing noises while I ran my hand all over them She had remembered but this was Much more annoying. So rather than botch them up ( yanno- the longer you clip, the shorter the hair ...;) and have her looking really stupid for this show day after tomorrow, I stopped and praised her to the high heavens. I got her muzzle clipped- she was cracking me up w/ her nose/ lips moving ! " Evie, go like this " And she stood so still for me to get those long uggy jawline/ lower face hairs gone too. Remember- this was all done on a loose lead and no fear- just baby 'questions', which were answered by me :)

This evening, I'd asked Glenn if he'd hold her lead while I got her ears neat n' tidy. She's got such pretty well shaped ears- they look like big araby ones, all pointed and classy looking. She was not feeling on top of the world due to being de-wormed this AM ( don't want to get behind in that )- so she was nice n' quiet. Also- being outside all day helped . Got the clippers out, let her see them and turned them on. Not much reaction at ALL. So I went thru the whole thing again, and we moved along right fast. Not a bit of trouble other than " ewwwww, make that NOISE go away - BIG FLYS !!!" from Evie. She didn't understand the 'whys' again, but she'll learn that its not a bug, but just those troublesome clippers again. She wasn't scared - but for one time when I tapped her by mistake w/ the blades - DUH. She was going down w/ her face as I was coming up. That was done with quickly though. All in all she was very very patient w/ all this new stuff and those Flys too.. <> She's grown some more- her shoulders/ chest area is really opening up but her behind still looks like a AQHA's.... Half Percheron filly, and half who knows ! <>

Lets hope in the next day, she rounds out again ?? Instead of looking like all these misc. pieces of horses stuck together ..... I'm so lovin' this marvelous filly.

Tomorrow afternoon, we get our first BATH.

Oh dread.... I'm glad it is warmer for a couple of days as we will both be soaked !

Percheron World Congress 10/29/2006 Lexington,VA

2010-06-06T15:17:00.001-04:00

10/29/2006

Oooooooooooooook..... now that the trailer is unpacked , all the stalls are clean n' fresh, the normal barn work is all done, and Kris ( me) needs a break, I'll let ya know about the World Congress Show. It was a LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG Week !

Glenn n' I went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant for our anniversary on Sunday evening...we were so full of anticipation of actually MAYBE getting a look from the judge and having a horse worthy (maybe) of being shown at the Worlds !

We got there Monday afternoon, and Glenn had to pick his way around the area with the truck/ trailer once we checked in & found our barn . BIG RIGS- Semi's full of drop dead Gorgeous Percherons , all slicked up, still in short summer coats that were gleaming in the little bit of sun we had. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr- it was COLD there in Lexington, Va !

Huge trailers behind, filled with big hitch wagons, shining patent leather harnesses, hay, straw, feed enough for the week there. Lots of help from well trained teams there, unpacking it all, setting up house. Slowly the Va Horse Center became a small Percheron City . We unloaded our things into our tack stall, disinfected Lynn's stall, bedded it and let her settle in w/ some hay while we finished unloading the millions of things needed for a week long show ( well- actually 5 days, but we traveled the other two). Turns out that the little red wagon we bought back when we first moved here to move weeds, tree branches, and general Junk really proved it's worth !! What a great buy that was..

We got done, then fed Lynn some dinner- she was whispering to me on the other side of the stall wall - she'd heard what sounded like dinner being poured into her bucket. I kept her on low doses of bute due to her side bone flare up. No need to be in pain while we wait for it to ossify .This container is apple flavored but, she figured it out pretty fast- so I added some vegie oil and that did the trick. Next time I'll be sure to get the vanilla flavored bute . She's been getting BL Solution and it works great here at home, but I wanted to be sure she had a good time Too. My vet said it'd be fine for a week of bute, just keep it as low dosage as possible. Then we went to look around. There wasn't much going on as the actual show would not begin until Wed. morning w/ the gelding halter classes.

Our neighbors were great- turns out we knew the folks stabled across the aisle from us, and the gal beside us with the Percheron stallion ( ridden dressage is his forte`) was the one who was carrying the American flag for the opening ceremonies each evening. The guys on the far end had some massive hitch geldings- and we got to be friends w/ all of them too.I met an online pal, Carol, and she's as great in person as via emails ! GOOD to have seen ya there , Carol. I Finally found my long time pal, Kathy from California- her horses were beautiful to see, but we caught them in the middle of having some snacks so we didn't visit for long. I saw Jill Malone again- she and her hubby had some grand looking horses there too. Her stallion, Charles, looked simply marvelous- I was so happy to see him there. He was acting so proud of himself too. We met some other people who drove and showed in pleasure classes too- which was wonderful .( they loved our new Gig !) The Percheron breed is so versatile and it was good to see so many under saddle
( western And English ) as well as those "workin' boys'' pulling farm implements and plowing the earth. Not to forget the Huge hitch horses with fire in them as they trotted along side their handlers. It was a sight to behold for me again. It made me so very proud to be one of a group of owners of such calibre horses.

Tuesday was fun ; It was very cold n' windy with the temps not getting out of the 40's. Luckily I didn't body clip Lynn as I'd thought to do earlier ! The mid weight blanket I bought from a gal on Ebay worked perfectly. Lynn got a Much needed bath- with the both of us shivering and complaining ( Me, more apologizing to Lynn while SHE complained )- but my mare was back to WHITE again. Letting her dry in her stall w/ two coolers on to help her stay warm, we went exploring.

There were Percherons Every Where ! White, greys, blacks, babies, mature stallions, weanlings , mares, and geldings- everywhere we looked, there were world class animals about . I told Glenn it made me realise how small-time we really were. That's where I choose to be now, having been showing horses at national levels for so many years... its fun to kick back w/ just one mare and one insignificant class (to the big time hitches anyways). WE could have fun there, and not have to work our behinds off like so many who brought in 10 - 18 horses to show. Some big farms had up to 18 horses.... Windermere had , I think, 14 ?? All world class animals- who didn't look any different than my Lynna standing there feeding their big ol' faces in their stalls. It wasn't til later when those blankets came off, horses got baths, manes rolled, tails done up and hooves shined that the difference became VERY apparent. Our neighbors were the Blacks / Ryanday folks. They had HUGE Geldings - OMG- no lie, those wheelers were 19 hands tall !!! I was amazed at how sweet they were- but SO BIG. One time, when it was time to harness their hitch, there were 6 black geldings tied to stalls, and one of those wheelers was tied to Lynn's stall front. I tossed a flake of hay in for her to munch on, and this big boy thought perhaps HE should get some too, so he stood there from WAY above my head, begging for a handful. In the meantime, Lynn was trying to impress on this horse that her hay was HER hay, pinning her ears back, postering, and generally looking Wicked. She looked like some Welsh pony standing there in front of that huge gelding !! I moved her hay so she could eat in peace, and all was well.
She's such a pro at this showing thang :D

We Did get to the coliseum to see the stallions on Wed morning- missed the one horse I'd wanted to see, but that was alright- I saw him in the barns up close n' personal. We are Considering breeding a mare to him next year.... IF there's the money to do so.It is SO expensive to breed mares anymore and the fees alone knock me simple. Then there's mare care, foaling, and raising that baby to be safe n' sound.... so when I Do breed, I breed the best to the best possible. Its a TON of work having foals around when things are done correctly, so we want to have show quality foals hitting the ground when we choose a mare to be a mommy.

Wednesday was show day for us... Glenn and I polished brass on the harness, shined up the patent leather and that was set to go. Keeping DUST off things was a major undertaking due to the dry conditions and that winddddddddddddddddddd. Covered it all back up, and then got the Gig out to get it sparkling clean as well. I'd cleaned it all the week before but had not done brass fittings, so it was pretty easy. We made it to the ringside to see the stallions get pinned/ placed - I have a photo of Blue Ribbon Farms' Prince ( now owned n' shown by Windermere Farms)- who went Grand ( and World) Champion Stallion that day. Gerald was SO happy, he jumped in the air when it was announced.

Wednesday night was Show night for us . Pleasure Driving/ Cart... with breast plate harness only. We buffed n' polished all one more time, I found all my fancy driving clothes and felt Myself being oh-so nervous about this whole thing one more time. I've Never shown at world level and wished a little that I'd just stayed home. I kept telling myself that IF the class was judged as it should be, I would place somewhere down the line . If not ? We'd be one of those who were asked to leave " In no particular order" . THEN the winners would be awarded their winning ribbons. The judge placed up to tenth place, and there were supposed to be 15 entered - so I was nervous. ALL this work, to be asked to leave as we were not good enough for the World Percheron Congress.....

Glenn was so great, he ignored my being scared to death, and sniping at way to many trivial things ( Kris was getting in 'show mode' ). He just kept grinning ( I wonder if he was gritting his teeth ??) and telling me to go get ready, where was my whip, did I have my white gloves for under the seat ( Ladies always have some ready, once they are set to get off their vehicle ) and where was my driving apron ?? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- this was TOO much to think of , And then to get Lynn harnessed Too ! Glenn got battered by Lynn tossing her head, and therefore hitting him w/ her bit, as I adjusted her harness and then the cart to Perfection. We were ready. My stomach was totally butterflys and I really felt like this was all a dream. It was almost surreal. Gorgeous black slick horses prancing along, wonderful clothing their drivers were wearing, harnesses, and then there were the gelding teams waiting to go in the ring before us as well. It Was like a dream come true for me n' Lynn. In all actuality, Lynn acted like this was Just Another Show. She was calm, and right on the bit for me, nothing fazed her - not the big hitch wagons rumbling by, not the dark shadows waiting to enter the classes, not people popping out from darkness, nothing . As before- Lynn is a PRO- I am too- BUT, neverrrrrrrrrrrrrrr at the World Congress !! We drove around the warm up ring and checked out our competition, trying not to run in to anyone else. Its amazing how small a big warm up ring gets with 12 other carts in there.

It was time..........................Up til now, I was had been nervous about doing everything correctly and not embarrassing myself, or my fine mare who'd won so many first place ribbons for me during our life together. Glenn looked so grand in his " header" attire too. He was excited at all this too... I was just Nervous and scared to even be trying this. I knew my mare, knew that if the class was judged correctly we might place, but still, ''What IF" ??

The ring man called our class, and off we all went, one at a time. When I got to the 'in gate' - it hit me.... I was showing at the WORLD CONGRESS !!! Me.... and my little ol' white mare. One class, one horse - in a world of beautiful tall, dancing on air animals when they moved-- it was like it was seemingly make believe.

We trotted into the arena - wow, it seemed Much bigger now. I told Lynn, " we're here- so lets go have some FUN " I'd already figured that we were not going to do well, so why not have a blast doing it ?? We were asked to walk, then trot, then I heard something said but it was muffled... The other horses all were stopping and we, being at the far end of the ring, had not heard the announcer say to STOP. Once I realised it, we did- a perfect four point stop- w/ no movement afterwards. I asked Lynn to stay in dressage frame and ready to trot on- which she did happily. The mare was perfection- she popped right back to 1998 when we were winning in driven dressage classes against the light horses. I could not believe how she turned it on- I do love this special mare. Anything I asked for, I got - tenfold.

The announcer asked us to trot again- from a stop- which we did easily. Then to reverse ( I don't remember that real well- I was in a fog of excitement ) and work in the other direction. Then to line up. We ended WAY up at the far end of the ring, which meant poor Glenn had to walk the entire length of the ring to get to us. He'd joked before hand that when I lined up to pulllllease be down at the gate end so his poor knees wouldn't ache so much w/ the long walk..... Oh well :)

At long last, after working his way down the line of gorgeous horses, the judge hardly asked me to back, never checked out my harnessing job - or anything ! That meant I wasn't getting placed.... at least in most shows it did. The announcer began calling numbers of the winners . She released a couple who didn't place at all, but never called my number. She began at the 10th placing, and worked her way up. Never calling my number ! Right about then, I thought perhaps we hadn't been judged- but that we'd been forgotten. It got to where there were three left in the ring- and they still hadn't called my number, down to two- that's when I thought " OMG- we might be second at the Worlds !" But nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo- we won the class !! I was in tears as Lynn n' I did our winning drive around the arena- there were a ton of people cheering and clapping- some even standing up and cheering for us- we had WON. WE had become World Champions. My little ol white mare with no show shoes on, barefooted behind and me had cleaned their clocks at the World Congress ! As I took my first place ribbon, I was still in tears, and had to stop outside to wipe my eyes so I could see. From all over, there were calls of congratulations for our win- from whom, I don't know as it was dark. I got back to the barn and everyone outside wanted to know how we'd done- and when I told them, there were more cheers and clapping for us. Draft horse people ( Most of them) are so kind that way- light horse folks would have been griping behind backs about it all- but the drafter folks were all so pleased. Of course my ear to ear grins and tear streaked face helped them realise how much this win meant to us. Lynn was cooled out, given some hay, and all over the barn, folks were teasing me about sleeping w/ that ribbon, and saying congrats !

A gal from Canada who happened to be a photographer got these shots of us -and was kind enough to email them to me. Here we are in the line up, waiting..... Then me hearing our name being announced that we had WON. Then Lynn and I leaving to get our ribbon...And me looking at it in tears as I see its' Real.

Wintertime Evie.... 12 3,2006

2010-06-06T15:14:00.002-04:00

Thought while I had some extra time today, I'd catch you up on the ''goin's on in the barn" and what's been happening w/ HERSELF. Today is Eve's 8th month birthday. ( Happy Month-day, Eve !!) She's a smidgeon shorter (1/4" under)than 15.1 hands at her withers ( little over 5' tall at the top of her shoulders) and is almost 15.3 hands tall at the top of her butt ! I guesstimated her weight at close to 900 pounds . The weight tape is right at 890, and I add a little for her BIG bones. So this filly is a Big Girl. Her body is still so baby like, but those Legs !! OMG, they are like mile long stilts. She knows how to use them still too.. canters up hills to see her 'aunties'' in the mornings, and races about like some Thoroughbred race horse . She's almost faster than Alli, but doesn't realise its alright to Pass her on these up hill gallops.

She calls to me now in the mornings before I feed, and as I finally get to her stall wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down at the end of the barn, she's whispering sweet nothings to me- she gives me eye contact, so I Know all that sweetness is directed at me. Some just want that danged food, but Eve is talking to her people. She is learning to do " Heads UP, Evie!" when we are leading out to the pasture. She's Kinda sorta learning to set herself up, but whew, that takes Thought and Eve hasn't much time for THAT. She's learning to listen and try though... it all takes time and patience to learn how to Learn.... All four feet are able to be picked up and that big gold horse trailer isn't so scary now as we walk past it... but the Truck is a different story ! <> Oh- her stall keeping is getting MUCH better - Finalllllllllllllly. Whew, what a piggie she's been since weaning !

Evie has a temper and is getting to be a bit of a bully in the pasture. She isn't very polite to our Suzi pony, so I imagine if she keeps it up ( WHY Suzi doesn't just pound on her some is beyond me !) I shall just take Suz' out and into another pasture where she'll have more peace n' quiet. When one is 44 yrs old, one doesn't need to be beat up on by some dumb kid.... Used to be Suzi would wallop anyone doing that sort of thing, but not now. I'm thinkin' our Suzi is getting old. Alli still puts the fear of the Horse God into Evie should she act a ninny around HER. Ears back, nostrils wrinkled, eyes glowering and neck snaking about - looking Oh So Evil... And Evie backs off fast. So far so good with the "proper baby" manners needed so desperately to be a Proper Draft MARE in a few years. She's going to be flippin Huge and I want her to know how to be nice to her friends. No one likes a bully.

So far, she is good at :

Where she lives in the barn ( Heaven forbid, I change her stall location !)

Picking up all four feet for cleaning,etc

Leading is wonderful.

Going where her person heads to also

Stopping when asked- no matter what speed ( mostly trot / walks)

Standing in the aisle to be groomed

Kind of being in crossties- more practice needed

Clipping is getting so much better

Loading in the trailer- she tries to aim her butt towards "Evie's Stall" even.

OFF loading. This used to be a mad run down the ramp to 'safety'. Lol - NOT fun.

Eating.. she's ALWAYS done this well, but now she eats ALL of her breakfast n' vitas

Learning the phrase " Go to your dish,Evie"- this is when she's fed and she has to put her face / body in that direction so I can fit in to dump her feed.

I tried to have her walk over plastic tarps, but we'll have to work at that.

Stuffing her face IN plastic buckets, mooshing it about IN a plastic tarp, but oh don't put your Feet on it !!

Being handled ALL over, including her tail, little udder ( which gets crud in it sometimes) and showing no signs of " don't do that" to me.

Being trustful...... a progress still in the working. A life long job for a horse owner / horse.

And she STILL offers the side of her muzzle to get some "Evie Kisses" from me n' Glenn- AND those who know what she is doing.

I'm so loving having this marvelous filly in my life ! Everyday she makes me chuckle over something or another. This AM, I was finishing stalls and Glenn told me that for some odd reason, she had her neck/ head lifted WAY HIGH into the apple trees in the neighbors yard. To get what, I don't know. She thinks, does stupid baby horse things but manages to get herself out of trouble like she got there in the first place. If she doesn't stop 'twanging" my wire fence I'm gonna duct tape her lips ...... Our little filly is growing up so gracefully in knowledge - just not physically yet. Physically she looks like she's been raiding a body parts shop and got the wrong pieces ! Or that all those pieces are growing and don't want to all be coordinated. I'm off to get a couple of photos of her, but you won't be able to tell much due to that heavy winter coat she's got now. Just that she's kinda brown/ black and when you pet her, her coat is like petting soft expensive silk.

Evie Updates 3/26/2007

2010-06-06T15:08:00.003-04:00

Here we go again! Evie has been a good girl but has had some changes in her life, it seems. Her dam, Kate, was sold yesterday, much to my sadness in missing her, but Evie ? Did she miss her mama at all ? No Way. She was out in the field w/ her Aunt Allie, busily searching for bits of green grass to nibble. March is tough on us in central Pa- leaving the ground soft n' gooey- making the most Wonderful mud to wallow about in if one is a 4- legger. So Allie and Eve have been coming in FILTHY with dried mud. This time of year, I'm sad to tell folks that my once white/ grey horses are now painted Percherons. Not the pretty light grey or white they USED to beeeee....noooo, they look horrid. The Good thing is that all are shedding like mad ( even Bob the Belgian at long last) and it comes right off with the use of a shedding blade . I like this ! Anyways, back to Ms Independance.... Evie's mom loaded like a dream and Evie never even turned an ear. So this proves how strong a weaning it was.... Neither was concerned at all.

Stats on herself : she is an honest to gosh 16 hands now, still looking SO baby like . I'd guess her weight to be right around 1000 pounds, but am not positive. Her first true birthday (yearling) is on April 5th, so we'll have to get her some kind of gift and add some sweet apples to her birthday 'dinner'. She's just so odd looking for one SO TALL. Some days all those big parts seem to fit and others ? Oh dear- she looks like someone hit the "extra horse part'' area of the local junk yard and went to gluing parts to create some semblance of a Percheron. But she's getting it all together and sometimes If I look with my eyes squinted almost shut, I can imagine the mare she is Going to be one day ! We have a LONG ways to go though ......

Back to Evies' new life as a Percheron..... w/out mama around at all. Because of the mass destruction team being stabled together ( side by side in stalls), we Finally got tired of re-building stall partition walls over n' over again. BoJangles was being REAL BAD about pawing and simply knocking boards loose . Lynda was getting oh so tired of living in a stall with loose boards ( and NAILS) hanging in her stall and had begun 'helping' Bo do these things. BAD HORSESSSS !!!! So, I got tired of it, and told Glenn that this was going to be stopped. I learned Years ago, that sometimes separating two destructive horses works great- but ehhh, sometimes not too. Evie needed to be up in the front half of the barn so she could see more of what goes on... horses being groomed/ crosstied/ taught misc. things, etc,etc. She had become WAY to aware of another horse being next door to her and then of " omg- someone is OUTSIDE MY WINDOW !!!" I didn't understand her panic at any sounds outside her stall.... but ! That'd be Carlene peeking in on "her filly" STILL. I was in Eves' stall one morning- Carlene was out supposedly eating her breakfast hay. Nottttttttt... I heard a clomping about outside Eve's stall window, looked up to see a BIG white nose w/ black polky dots on it peeking IN at Me ! <> So I tapped on the window saying " Hello, Carlene !" and the nose disappeared. Soon it was back again though. Anywho- Evie must have thought a demon from hades had appeared - all she could see was a chin and nostrils !! We cleaned those two stalls real well, and Bo was moved down the aisle to be neighbors w/ Bob the Belgian and Evie was moved into the second stall between Carli n' Lynn. NOW she would be able to see/ hear Everything. Even when hay is delivered or feed was being brought in. First evening, she cried and called to Aunt Alli who went on down the aisle to her stall sort of across from Evie's old stall. Well that was not to be allowed- so Evie yelled like a banshee untill food appeared, then that was more consoling. Food is always good for a lost filly, it seems. Not much more panic from Evie and Alli coulda cared less. Hahaha- SHE knew where Evie was- so why call back ?? So that's been going on for about a week now. Oddly enough ... NO more broken stall boards, no more damage to that poor wall, or even in BoJangles' New stall beside Bob. Those two are quiet and peaceful too. Evie has some new "friends'' to be with and Lynn is SO pleased that her stall is once again her 'haven of poop' and no boards attacking her at night. All is peacefull in my barn again, and I was right : breaking up the duo of destruction worked ! So now when Evie goes into her stall at nights, she runs to her feed tub to check for dinner, and if its not there, she yells for Alli- and gets no answer. She's cool with all the horses going past her stall too, when they get turned out or brought in at night. First off, even that was a little scary ! Now, she'll do these soft whispers to them all. And wow, is she happy to see her Auntie each AM ! All's well with that big change. Nothing huge in the realm of our lives, but for Evie, it was.

Alli has this very very bad habit of deciding WHAT Time she should come in for feeding. Now, if its sunny n' warm on her old body, she's fine to stay out ALL day long and more. But let it be cloudy- or heaven forbid- Rainy, she has a fit and is ready to come in just a few hours later. She walks the fence, looking and yelling to the house the Whole time. Grinding up the earth. This might begin at 1 PM or at around 3, depending on how 'dark/ cloudy' it is. And omg- if she has to be WET !!! That's worse than anything. Sometimes I give in ,and let them come in early on those miserable days, but SHE begins it all. Because of this fence pacing, we have a Bog up the side of the long pasture..... thanks to Alli's fretting about coming in. Eve also helps w/ that as she has not realised that she doesn't HAVE to follow her herd leader yet. It's beginning to dawn on her that If she stands at the bottom, near the gate, guess who comes right back down that long hill ? Yep, Aunt Alli. This realization is Just beginning to hit Evie's little filly brain. I have seen her do it a couple of times recently, but its slow in coming. Eve is getting more independant. I'm sure Lisi, Pams filly, didn't have this problem much but its hard work, this learning ''to be your own horse" and have some independance about yourself. I figured it might dawn on Evie around a yearling and it is... slowly. Percherons are basically lazy critters out in the pastures, and Eve will learn too. Well, MOST of the time, they are but not this morning. The greys must have hit haul-ass mode three times during a riding lesson. They went full tilt up that long hilll and wow, it Was Impressive !

But I keep getting off track here. What we did was to switch fields... Evie and Alli into the pasture around the ring, and the greys into the long pasture. The grass is trying to make a showing and will be better as the weather/ temps hold to warm. We were still breaking ice from outside tubs just last week. The greys are usually more quiet and will not cut up the land so badly- like Alli does. So they are there, and Eve n' Alli are in the 'sacrifice pasture". Now, to explain things- we have a one eighth of a mile track that has a vinyl fence around it making it my ring. See ? Here's a photo of it Before the fencing was installed....

All else around it is fenced in to make a pasture area. That is where Evie n' Alli are. Its not real big, but is alright to chop up as its a small area. The greys had a wonderful morning, nibbling grass and Galloping from the bottom ALL the way to the top of this long hill pasture to the right side of the photo. Bucking and leaping about- oh it was a glorious sight to see ! Due to the ring being built to drain off properly, we end up with big deep, puddles. Evie is the one who loves pawing in the water tubs, so She was filly heaven when she discovered these big " tubs" !! If Blanche is reading this , remember how she Loved those puddles when she was teeny ? I think you took a photo of her in them Here she is.... and she STILL loves pawing and playing in these puddles. She'll miss them once they dry up I am sure. This new puddle is around 12'' deep and Evie was having a most wonderful time playing. Of course that meant she was soaking wet from her tummy, down ! I got a photo of her in it this AM, but it didn't turn out well at all. Seems we have a water baby here, Big time.

That's about it so far as changes go for our filly. She's accepted all new things w/ grace ( well, but for screaming bloody murder when her Auntie wasn't there ) and has settled in just fine to being on her own a little bit more.

I just looked up the hill to their new pasture, and it seems Evie has discovered that she can stick her head thru the fence n' the sight wire with out being shocked. Hmmm, I hope our new solar charger battery arrives SOON !!!. Or we will have a loose baddddddddddd filly.

Evei's New "Chews" 5 31 2007

2010-06-06T15:06:00.003-04:00

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Evies new "chews" 5 31 2007

Hi all,

It seems that since I'm going to be promoting Herself this year in some bigger shows, that we need Shoes. No, not those big wide buggar ones that cause splints and horses stepping on their own feet, but small " Baby/ training" shoes. Right now, Eve is in size 3 saddle horse shoes and she's not real sure about how to move her feet ! Bill the farrier was here this AM to do trims, pull shoes from Carlene and Alli. We 're TRYING them barefoot to see how they do as Alli's on rest and Carlene isn't going to be going any place this summer. Its good for feet to go barefooted and I HOPE this works well. This way, Alli can wear off her hooves as she wants to ( needs to) in order to be more comfortable and Carlene won't be costing me $75.00 every 6 weeks. BUT if they don't do well, I'll have Bill return and put those shoes Back on. Alli will be the one as she's VERY tender footed on the fronts. I Hope its mostly due to having shoes for so long..... stay tuned.

Abby, BB n' Suzi all got trimmed, same w/ Lynda. I put no shoes on her this time due to her not being used as much, and her feet are more healthy barefooted any how. BoJangles got his hinds correctly trimmed due to his dilemma- I hope he feels more comfy now. Turns out Lynn has some DEEP thrush in both front feet.... She grows these tremendous frogs ( big n' healthy) and by the time its trim time, I can't get that deep down to clean them. So we're treating that , along with painting the bottoms of Alli n/ Carlene's hooves now too.

Evie was Wonderful !!! She has been trimmed since she was 3 weeks old ( going thru the motions mostly that time) and had gotten so Bill the Farrier wasn't so bad After All. Remember how Terrified she was of him ? Well, turns out that when one is a LOT taller than the feared thing, the feared thing isn't quite so scary ! So now, she's cool w/ him holding her legs,etc. I just got fronts on her, and she was very, very good with that hammering, sound of hammer hitting steel, etc. She was even great in holding her leg up for such a Long time ! Wow, I'm SO happy with how this filly responds to things.... Side note- turns out that Box Fans sitting on benches are Terrifying !!!!! OMG- she all but fainted from surprise when she came from her stall to see them sitting there ...... She was all crouched down, body tense, ready to Leave Town, and eyes all but popping outta her face. <> I didn't even think that those monsterous items would be noticed, but Eve did . Whew. In about 30 seconds of "shopping'' she was fine that they were sitting there... I moved them to the floor Just in Case she might back into them and they'd fall off. NOT smart !! Talk about a 16.2 hand Explosion ??!!! Thaaaat'd be one. First Bill gave her front feet the normal trim, and Eve figured that was it- back to her stall, right ? Noooooooooooooo.... gotta wait here some more, Evie. So she got Evie kisses, got brushed off some, and her hind legs scratched too. I found one great itchy spot right on top of her spine, and thought I'd save that til when Bill was nailing her shoes on. She got bored with mooshing thru his tool box on the floor and realised it Moved ! So she was shoving it all over- as much as I'd let her. Then she wanted the nails in the boxes to no longer BE in the boxes; that was stopped too. She took the rasps off their holders and almost smacked me w/ one- so that was returned... Then it was " lets' chase the lead" - nooooooooooooo, you gotta just Stand here ! <> Big sigh, and she did, til a fly found her tummy. Then we started all over again. She paid real close attention to all the noise Bill was making outside, and found that pretty fascinating- especially when he dunked the HOT shoes into the water bucket. Steam !! Wooooooooooooooooooooo- head up, ears pointed, eyes taking all in. Her head moved up n' down as Bill dunked that shoe, she was studying it all so closely. Its like I can SEE her thinking / learning- she's so Open about everything. Bill just smiled and shook his head when she all but fell down in surprise from the fans. ( he's got AQHA's and I guess they don't see scary thangs !) He doesn't have much patience w/ bad behaved horses as he's been hurt very BADLY by some in the past, so I go further in teaching the heavy horses to REALLY be good- I don't want Bill loosing his temper or being shoved around by a one ton of bad behaviors. And I don't want them thinking its alright Anyways. So the deal is here, that IF they misbehave, I do the screaming bloody murder at them and he drops the hoof and gets outta the way. Didn't have to talk to Evie but twice this time. .. mostly She n' I just stand there, thinking about "things" . This was a little different- took more patience on her behalf in standing there keeping her balance and being out of the stall for silly things. ( or so She thinks)

So , Evie has front plates on, and is on her way to learning to use her legs w/ a teeny more weight on now. Eventually- IFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF she does some winning, we'll consider hinds for the one A-rated show this Fall. Otherwise, her fronts will have to do :)

Am going to get some photos soon, and will send them along in another email . :) I Hope she stayed Clean !!

2010-06-06T15:05:00.000-04:00

Thursday, September 20, 2007

3rd Longe Lesson.... Eve 7 20 2006

It seems my precious little filly is growing up and has formed yet More opinions on her own. She's decided that now she understands " walk on" on the longe line that she knows it all. So when pressed for a little "Trot"- she has a hissy fit and rears up. HIGH. At first I thought she might be confused and reacted as such. But when I asked her to merely walk on ( Which she knows by now)- she went up. Temper temper temper ! Baddddddddddddddddddddddddd Filly . I yelled at her and she went along well for a bit, but got bored, and angry at me for insisting she pay attention to ME, not Suzi or Carli. SO she squealed and went up again. Another good yelling at and a couple of jerks on the line. That's when I realised it WAS temper and not misunderstanding. She walked along with her beautiful ears way back but not pinned... just mad at her 'mom' for making her listen to HER. Then I asked for a lttle teeny Trot, which she picked up pretty well, back to a walk after about 10 strides at a trot ( lordy, she can Move !!). She stopped and pawed. No, Walk on.... Up she went AGAIN. This time I tilted her head a little and she ended up sitting down on the ground . Surprise ! No more rearing after that. I didn't want to push the issue and get her pissy again. She did what was asked and stopped perfectly- and we stopped there. We practiced some backing- perfect- and setting up - not so perfect- but she tried. Ellie had the nerve to trot up her fence line as we were leaving the ring, and Eve whirled to see her.' No, WALK ON, Eve.'.... <> 'OK !' So it seems she has developed a temper and I sure don't care for it one bit. She MUST learn to pay attention to her person and Not the other horses.... this too shall pass. I Hope. <> She's my baby, and I Hate yelling at her and giving her a much needed discipline but I have to remember how big she is going to be and that I won't stand for temper tantrums of the young n' foolish.

Above is a photo of her. (glenn photos) 16.2 hh and GORGEOUS. I tried to make them small... I hope I DID.
A very dark bay- not black any more.( damned sunshine) Oddly enough, she's getting grey hairs all thru her body... might she go grey ? I certainly don't mind in the least - I Love the greys. Just don't wanna have to change those papers any time soon, so I'll wait a few years to be Sure. (;)

Tantrums of the Young & Foolish..... 2 06 2007

2010-06-06T15:03:00.001-04:00

Oh wow, She and I had a ''go 'round'' this AM. We are keeping some horses in mornings, and putting others out mornings. Then we switch those horses and put the other's out for the afternoon untill this Horrid cold snap LEAVES. Evie is an 'afternoon' horse- when its a little less freezing and the winds are not so awful. Along w/ her Auntie Alli.

Ha- she just about has a filly heartattack over all this !!! Screaming bloody murder, RUNNING around her stall / bucking , knocking what's left of her water from her bucket so it splashes all over with her butt/ shoulders, and kicking at her feed tub. The 'straw to break the camel's back " here this AM was her Rearing at the door ! So, Miss Evie got her nose smacked each time it showed up on the other side of her stall w/ "Mr.Whippy" ( Aka- my old dressage whip) . I had stood there ever so quietly, waiting for her to think she had the Upper hand. Well, she Didn't like THAT one bit, so she got reeaaaaaal mad. When a baby Percheron has a temper tantrum, its TOOOOOOOOOOOOOO funny ! She stomped her feet,pinned her ears back, looking her MOST horrid - but yanno ? She didn't crash into her stall door any longer. She's smart, but Holy-moly- WHAT a temper she's got.

Then I had the Gall to give her her breakfast hay..... HA! She tore into that, shaking it ALL over her now very poopy stall (all that running about, see ?). As much as I wanted to let her have it verbally, I just walked away, letting HER see that she's not " ALL THAT" in the barn. Only GOOD horses get nice attention,not bad screechy spoiled ones.

A BAD morning for 'Miss Independence' !