Real Horses Weigh a Ton

Welcome Caleb

2007-05-30T18:53:00.001-04:00

Born May 8th, 2007 at 1:49AM
9lbs. 11 ozs. 21 inches

Wordless Wednesday - Autumn Splendor

2007-05-30T08:05:00.000-04:00

Aerial Assault

2007-05-29T15:41:00.000-04:00

horse fly

The aerial assault of deer and horse flies has begun in earnest here on the farm. Today the mares trotted outside from their morning feed to immerse their muzzles in the fresh water of the pasture trough, wander over to the green leafy hay I put out and then ran to the barn like the devil himself was after them. Of course he was, in the form of a biting fly. From what I’ve been told there is no good way to eliminate these blood thirsty pests from an area. The only thing that can help is using Permethrin-based sprays and keeping the horses in during the heat of the day. Seems that when its windy or a tad bit cool the buggers arnt as much of a problem. They also are not known to be as much a problem at night. So I guess I’m going to have to let the horses tell me if they would prefer to be in or out after their breakfast. This morning there was no doubt that they in no way wanted to be out there with those monsters. I’m also going to make a trip to the elevator to see about getting some Permethrin sprays to put on them for night time use. Summer is on its way here!

Further info on these pest can be found on the Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet for Horse and Deer Flies as well as The University of Kentucky Entomology sites College of Agriculture’s Horse and Deer Flies fact sheet .

Equine Veterans Part 4 - BLACK JACK

2007-05-28T11:45:00.000-04:00

The last and most well known horse in the Equine Veterans Series is Black Jack.

Black Jack served in the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment's Caisson Platoon. He was a coal black Morgan/Quarter Horse cross with loads of spirit. He was used as the riderless horse in over 1,000 Military Funerals, which mostly took place at the Arlington National Cemetery. Black Jack was most famous for his participation in the funeral procession of Presidents John. F. Kennedy in 1963. Black Jack died in 1976 from old age. He was cremated and laid to rest at Fort Myer, Virginia 200 feet northeast of the flagpole in the southeast corner of the parade field. He was the 2nd and last horse to ever have been buried with Full Military Honors.

Equine Veterans Part 3 - COMANCHE

2007-05-27T11:05:00.000-04:00

On June 25, 1876, Comanche, a Morgan/Mustang, was rode into the Battle of Little Bighorn. Comanche was found two days after the battle, badly wounded and the only military survivor. After being transported by steamboat to Fort Lincoln where he was slowly nursed back to health. Comanche died in 1890 and he is one of only two horses to ever have been buried with Full Military Honors.

Equine Veterans Part 2 - OLD BALDY

2007-05-26T11:46:00.000-04:00

Old Baldy was Union General George C. Meade's horse. He was purchased in 1861 and was named so because of the horse's bald white face. Meade became quite devoted to him and rode him in all of his battles through 1862 and the spring of 1863. Baldy was wounded at least five times during the Civil War. Only once did he refuse Meade, when he was hit in the stomach by a bullet. In 1864 Baldy was injured by a shell in the Siege of Petersburg, he was retired to Meadow Bank Farm near Philadelphia and was only used one last time for military duty in Meade's funeral in 1872. In 1882 the horse was euthanasia, his head was taken to a taxidermist and mounted on a special plaque and is still today on display in a glass case in the Meade Room of the Civil War Library in Philadelphia.

Equine Veterans Part 1 - TRAVELLER

2007-05-25T11:36:00.000-04:00

This Memorial Weekend is a tribute to four of the most famous equine veterans to ever serve our country.

Traveller was the famous horse of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Lee purchased him in 1862. He was a grey Kentucky Saddle horse (precursor to the American Saddlebred) and had a long black mane and tail. Traveller and Lee were together till Lee's death in 1870. Traveller passed a year later in 1871 and is currently in his final resting place outside the Lee Chapel at the University a few feet away from the Lee family crypt, where his master's body rests.

Pampered Percherons

2007-05-21T22:33:00.000-04:00

Since moving to the new farm last August I have been going through all the equipment and inventorying what I have and what I'm missing. How is it that you accumulate so much junk and then cant find a darn thing when you want it? Such was the case with fans last summer. I know that I had a full set of fans for the old barn and had enough in the horse trailer for shows so that I could mount the fans and leave them up in the barn all summer. Yet here I am digging some out of the horse trailer because I cant seem to find them all. Of course we added 2 horses over the winter so I knew I'd have to buy a couple for them and then again there is the issue of barn conditions being less than ideal with dirt, grain and slobber always finding its way into the inner workings. 2 or 3 years usage is about all I seem to get out of them and I had 2 old ones that happened to fit that category. So today I threw up my hands and counted all the fans I had onsite. Put the right number of ones needed for showing on the trailer and headed for Meijer to get replacements 8 in all. I knew I would need at least 4 and maybe 6 if we ended up taking the yearlings to the shows this summer but the number 8 really seems over kill. These horses better REALLY love me for all my pains in making them comfortable. The fella in the hardware department asked me what the heck I needed that many fans for and had quite a chuckle when I told him they were for my pampered Percherons. Upon returning home I schlepped the fans to the barn, all 8 of them, and begin to mount them on the stalls. The first two went up fine, got plugged in and went to work right away. Then I ran into a problem. The outlets were not spaced the same through out the barn and I couldn’t plug in 5 of my 8 fans in the end. UGHH!!!!! After digging out a couple extension cords I now have 3 fans needing an outlet in the barn. I’m now awaiting a call back from my electrician to come out and move the outlets so that I don’t have to worry about the blasted extension cords. I don’t even want to think about the cost. And all because I just had to have fans on the horses to help keep them cool as well as keep the bugs off them.

Future Teamster

2007-05-19T17:03:00.000-04:00

I give you the latest edition and future teamster - Caleb.

Wordless Wednesday - My Photoshop Project

2007-05-16T07:36:00.000-04:00

The End Product

The Original Photo

Riding Helmets Part 2 - Finding the Right One

2007-05-12T15:12:00.000-04:00

So now I know all about the standards and why we should make sure to always use a certified helmet when riding. Next is to actually start looking for just the right one. My first stop was Ebay, which had a wide variety of choices in new, used, certified, non-certified with sizes and colors galore and prices ranging all over the place. The online tack shops were just about the same with too many options and features that made my head spin. At least now I had an idea of the range of prices out there and what to expect so my next stop would be the local tack shops.

I also took some time to look up fitting guidelines to make sure that what ever we ended up choosing would work as it was designed to. I found that the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs had the best advise for finding just the right helmet. Some of the best suggestion they made were:

Put the helmet on and wear it around the tack shop for several minutes.
It should fit snugly from front to back and from side to side, but not so tightly that it gives you a headache.

After wearing the helmet for about five minutes, take it off and look in a mirror. In addition to checking your hair, look for marks on your forehead. If there are marks, try the next bigger size.

With a print out in hand of the names, sizes and prices of the various helmets that I thought would work we jumped in the truck and off we went. Our goal was a schooling helmet for everyday use. We choose to look at both Troxel and the International brand helmets due to the pricing and pretty colors they carry. Finding the right fit really was a task. Sizing was all over the place and the sizes in one model varied from another model even though the same company made them. Of course that makes sense because no one person has the same size or shaped head. We really liked the International because the “dial” fit mechanism on that brand was tucked up near the nape of the neck while the same feature in the Troxel seemed to ride lower and irritate the wearers neck when she imitated the 2 point position required in jumping. We also really liked the Troxel Capriole helmet which had a different type of “dial” mechanism which was positioned much better and didn’t actually dial but rather was pinched together and was a smaller item in general and laid much flatter against the wearers head. Of course that helmet was a bit more expensive and had velveteen flocking which was something we really didn’t want so we ended up with the International Equi-Lite in bright purple.

Over all our adventure buying a helmet really was a trying experience and required us traveling to 3 different shops to find just the right one. We ended up going back to our first stop the next day to pick up the one that fit the best. My advise to you if you are in the market for a new helmet is to remember that helmets vary in size and shape, several helmets will need to be tried so plan on spending quite a bit of time. You will end up having "a bad hair day" but should be able to find a great helmet.

Riding Helmets Part 1 - Demystifying the Standards

2007-05-11T17:35:00.000-04:00

I’ve recently been on a helmet-buying excursion for the young lady of the house. Her old helmet no longer fit properly and she really wanted to begin to work on speed events at the 4-H meetings which require the rider to wear a ASTM/SEI certified helmet. I have heard that term floating around the last couple of years but never really took the time to know exactly just what it is, after all we mostly drive our horses and when we do ride its just trail riding at a walk because going "fast" on a 2000lb horse isnt really somthing that interests us.

So I began my search to look at the possibilities and prices from home via the trusty computer and Internet connection. I first checked out just what this certification was so that I understood just what it was that I needed. In my search I came across a number of safety websites that published facts about head related injuries in the horse industry. Some of the ones that really caught my attention were on the University of Connecticut’s Co-op extension for their college of agriculture. Did you know that horseback riding carries a higher injury rate per hour of exposure than downhill ski racing, football, hang-gliding and motorcycle racing? Researchers found that Medical Examiner reports show that 60% or more of horse-related deaths are caused by head injuries and it is believed that each year approximately 70,000 people are treated in emergency rooms because of equestrian related activities. The American Medical Equestrian Association calculates that ASTM/SEI approved helmets have reduced all riding-related head injuries by 30% and severe head injuries by 50%. The information that really caught my attention was the fact that head injuries are responsible for more than 60% of horse-related deaths and head injuries are the most common reason for horse-related hospital admissions. Those are some pretty hefty numbers coming from a reliable source.

So just what is this ASTM certification that is supposed to help us keep as safe as possible while we enjoy our horses?
ASTM stands for the American Society for Testing and Materials and it is an organization of volunteers that includes doctors, engineers and physicists. The ASTM sets standards for many types of safety equipment. The standard for horseback riding helmets is ASTM F 1163 , which was published in 1990. Basically in a nut shell the ASTM document requires that all helmets that carry the certification are made to absorb an impact thru partial destruction of the headgear like the impact absorbing bumpers we now have on our cars. So any impact that a helmet takes should in fact damage the structure of the helmet and require you to replace it.

We now know what the ASTM is but what is the SEI? The SEI, The Safety Equipment Institute, is a private, non-profit organization established to administer non-governmental, third party certification programs to test and certify a broad range of safety and protective products which is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. They were established in 1981 to administer certification programs and to test a broad range of safety equipment products. You can visit their website to see if your helmet is currently on the approved model list which is updated by them on a regular basis to make sure that it is up to date with the most current information. The most recent approved publication is ASTM F1163-04a.

Wordless Wednesday - A Drive in the Country

2007-05-09T09:25:00.000-04:00

A Drive in the Country

Bills Bills Bills...

2007-05-06T17:41:00.000-04:00

Just yesterday I received the bill for the normal spring horse requirements. It was the big one for the year. 7 horses needed coggins, two needed health papers & fecals done for sending to the Saginaw Childrens Zoo and I ordered all the vaccinations necessary for getting everyone up to date on those. Out of the 8 horses here, 4 of them will be requiring boosters because they are new to us since the first of the year. At least I'm done with buying necessary things for them for the year. Well almost done, I know I'll need to get some additional scotch bottom show shoes for some of the new horses but last years show shoes will fit the ones that we had them on so at least thats a little bit of savings.

The fellas are home this weekend (hubby and step-son). They work as movers and are gone during the week 1/2 of the time and sometimes are gone on weekends too. With them home we got a good bit of spring yard work done and got to work with the very green broke 3 yr olds. One of our 4 yr olds didnt see any real work last year because she was growing so fast and just seemed to be unquardented so we gave her the year off to grow up. I'm glad we did because she grew 3 inches over the last year as a 3 yr old and is now just shy of 18 hands. She is still on the narrow side and looks to have more growing to do so it will be interesting to see how big she ends up. She is pretty green as well and needs some hours between the shafts to get with the program. Pearl is great to ride but for some reason is really worried about driving. I think time working her will get her going right.

Starting a show foot

2007-05-04T14:10:00.000-04:00

Well the training plates are on and my pocket is substancially lighter. We use plates that are a modified scotch bottom show, rather a hybred between a typical light horse shoe and the square toe of a scotch shoe. Our horses are barefoot for at least 4 months out of a year, during the winter, and it takes 2 complete resets for them to be ready to fill out a scotch shoe because of the length of toe necessary to fill out the corners. I think that the down time helps them to be better horses when we are working and showing them in the summer. I know that by the end of the summer I am ready for some serious down time so whey shouldnt they get some. Now the real fun begins, getting them working and fit. I really enjoy being out driving my horses. Its so peacefull but it sure is a lot of work to clean, harness and then cool off two teams of these big guys. But then again I wouldnt have it any other way.

Wordless Wednestay - Almost a horse

2007-05-02T07:12:00.000-04:00

The grandaughter on Toby the Toggenburg goat

She is almost a real cowgirl. The goat was more her size and from the smile on her face I think she is well on her way to moving up to a real equine in the not so distant future. For now we will just let her go on being a goatgirl;-} Toby dosent seem to mind and she sure loves him.

A New Era for Horse Racing

2007-04-30T11:29:00.000-04:00

Its almost time for the Kentucky Derby. This year it seems is the year for change and perhaps even the beginning of a new era for horse racing. The 133rd run for the roses will be the first triple crown race to be run on a synthetic surface. I dont know what suprises me more, the new surface or the way the trainers are conditioning their horses for this years event. Recent reports are that a number of trainers are bringing horses to the big race with 4 to 6 weeks elapsed time from their last start and a couple of the horses have little or no experience running as a 2 yr olds. Its a huge shift in paradime but it seems we have a new breed of trainer on the scene. Perhaps Michael Matz, trainer of Barbaro and also well known on the jumper circut as a top rider, may have started a trend. Everyone sure thought he was a bit nuts for giving his horse so much time off prior to the Derby last year. It will be interesting to see how things unfold and if this recent change will make a lasting impression on the horse racing world.

I LOVE PANCAKES

2007-04-28T19:51:00.000-04:00

CHETT ~ 1 yr old Walker Coon Hound

Chett showing us one of his favorite foods - PANCAKES. Of course any type of meat, grease or sweet is good too.

Scott ~ the new horse

2007-04-27T21:43:00.000-04:00

SCOTT ~ 4 yr old Tennesse Walker Gelding

Just got the pictures back. His coat is a bit shaggy but he shows potential.

Drunken Man Parks Horse in Bank Foyer

2007-04-25T14:24:00.001-04:00

An early-morning German bank customer had a bit of a shock when he found a horse already in line at the automatic teller machine in front of him.
It seems the horse's owner, identified only as Wolfgang H., had a bit too much to drink the night before and decided to sleep it off inside the bank's heated foyer, police said Tuesday.

The 40-year-old machinist told Bild newspaper he had had "a few beers" with a friend in Wiesenburg, southwest of Berlin, and decided to hit the hay in the bank on his way home.

"It was late, it was already dark and cold," he was quoted as saying.

Confronted with the lack of a hitching-post, he brought the 6-year-old horse, named Sammy, in along with him.When a customer came across the horse and sleeping rider in the bank at 4:15 a.m. Monday, he called police, who then came and woke the owner up and sent him on his way.

No charges were filed, but there might be some cleanup needed: Apparently Sammy made his own after-hours deposit on the carpet.

Wordless Wednesday

2007-04-25T07:13:00.000-04:00

Jack and Lauren

The new horse

2007-04-23T09:42:00.000-04:00

It’s settled. The horse is bought, paid for and standing in our barn as I type this. We settled on Scott the 4 yr old gelding. It really was a very tough decision for me because there were 2 things that I was worried about more than anything else. One was his age and lack of experience and the other was how narrow he is. We actually got Scott in on Sunday afternoon and Lauren has rode him at home 2 times now. He was exposed to cars, kids, dogs, dirt bikes, sheep and ducks and nothing fazed him. He just checked out what was going on as we rode on by. He is exactly 15 hands tall, very elegant looking overall and is a deep grey color. I do wish that he would fill out more. Being 4 and being a crossbred there is no telling what will happen there but he should put a bit more weight on through the body. Lauren is tickled pink with him and to be honest so am I. He has all the makings of one heck of a nice child’s hunter. I just love the way he goes engaging his haunch and he moves so free and relaxed through his neck and back. He is so quiet on the bit and has a super headset and it seems like his ears are always up with the most pleasing expression on his face. It was a joy to be out riding with my daughter the last 2 days. Both of us enjoying the time spent with our horses and each other. I am looking forward to many more rides in the future. Cheers to Scott!

At the Horse Sale

2007-04-21T16:27:00.000-04:00

Friday and Saturday I spent most of my time at the Yoder Brothers Auction enjoying the horses, people and good food. It was interesting to watch the drafts go thru on Friday. Most sold reasonably well as good working farm teams. I didn’t see any horses that look like show ring potential but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t nice animals. Like with all sales there were some real old and young which didn’t fair well in the auction ring. I always hate to see the really old ones go thru. It makes me wonder what their life had been like and why they weren’t valuable to their previous owner and due a retirement with them instead of being passed off like worn out shoes. Saturday was the riding horse sale and there were some really nice horses that went through and brought low but ok bids, however, I did see one thing that I personally have never seen before at an auction and I have been going to horse auctions for over 20 years. I like the rest of the crowd was stunned to silence when I witnessed a couple horses go through the ring that would not bring one solitary bid, not even at $25. It was eerie to see, the whole place got quiet as the auctioneer did his best to try to find any interest in the horses. They were not sick, lame or old just young and untrained with a fair bit of attitude. They were both nice looking, one was a 5 yr old gelding and the other a 7 yr old mare. I only watched horses go for about 2 hours and I know they were selling for at least 4 hours prior to when I got there so I’m not sure if I missed others that this happened to. Were not talking about a no-sale here. These were horses that no one wanted. I wonder what happened to them and where they will go. Its sad to see animals that have an entire life ahead of them not be of any value to anyone. Is this the beginning of what we will be seeing due to the slaughter market being shut down? Will it get worse? I would imagine so or at least until the horse market adjusts to the demand for better and fewer horses. Given a horse’s life span I foresee 20 years of neglecting horses far worse then we have ever seen in the past. It’s a grim outlook and I hope that I’m wrong on this one.

You know your a horse addict if.....

2007-04-18T17:12:00.000-04:00

Heres my top 5 list which identifys if you are a horse addict. Enjoy!

1. You get all starry eyed over the new Millers catalogue instead of Victoria's Secret.

2. You start using baling twine to repair things.

3. You get a little whiff of the smell of leather and breath deeper to get the full impact.

4. You hate shopping, but will drive 60 miles to check out a new tack shop.

5. You spend an hour combing and trimming your horses main and tail but wear a baseball cap to keep from having to brush your own hair.

The Greenie

2007-04-17T09:42:00.000-04:00

We went to see the 4 year old gelding again. I do really like this fella and keep thinking of him often and Lauren seems to have taken a shine to him but he is so very green and has about ½ the training that I would like to have on a horse for her. I do need to take into account that she has been riding our 4 yr old draft mares that have no saddle training at all and a little over a year in harness. She isn’t thrilled about riding them but does do well under supervision putting the training into them. So do I take a chance on this horse? The one thing that really keeps drawing me in to him is his kindness and wanting to please attitude and the little training he does have is top notch. On the flip side he is a Tennessee walker cross and looks to have some gait and that narrow frame they tend to have. Lauren wants to be able to use him in 4-H and equestrian team as well as trail riding. I'm not sure if his way of going will have any impact on rail classes and he isnt as big bodied as I prefer but then again I dont have to ride him. I do worry that she might out grow him in 3 or 4 years if she continues to grow like she has the last couple years. He could fill out some as well since he is only 4. So many factors come into play when you get into a young green horse.

I’m going to sleep on it for a few more nights

Seeking the Perfect Youth Horse

2007-04-14T19:19:00.000-04:00

Last week was a total washout for finding the perfect youth horse. The kids were out of school on spring break and I had done a couple weeks of homework chatting with folks on the phone about horses they had for sale and had come up with about 8 horses that I thought would be our best bet. Boy was I in for a tough week. I never imagined in my wildest dreams how big a mission this would become. I didn’t think my criteria was that hard to fill but it seems that I want something that is just not out there or at least not in my price range. My 13 year old has been riding a number of our Percherons for the last 5 years but then again we are talking draft horses and they were finished geldings that had all been shown more than a couple years on the circuit so they pretty much had seen it all but could at times be head strong so I figured the gal would be pretty easy to buy for. All I want is a light breed horse that is:

1. A Gelding or an extraordianary Mare
2. Between 15 and 16 hands tall
3. Between 7 and 15 years old
4. Sound of mind and body
5. Kind and Willing with some solid exposure to trails, roads and shows or parades

and of course keep it below $2500

I'm not talking about a finished show horse here. Just something that will be safe for my intermediate level daughter to safely ride and enjoy, not just able to go in circles in an enclosed arena. I thought that my check list was pretty fair opening up age, breed and gender. Just a plain jane usable horse. Do I ask too much?

So far we have seen lame, barn sour, infested, mean/aggressive, head strong and dangerous. I am stunned that some of these horses owners actually had me come to take a look at their animals. They all knew well and good the level of rider my girl was and exactly what I was looking for yet only 1 was even remotly close to the goal and he was a very green 4 year old with great potential. But green is green and something like that could go south pretty quickly if not under heavy supervision which I am starting to believe will unfortunately be the way to go because there don’t seem to be many other options out there that I’m happy with yet.

I'm glad that I'm sticking with the Draft Horses!

Carriage Accident

2007-04-10T10:54:00.000-04:00

I was reading some headlines and came across the horse drawn carriage accident that happened in Indianapolis on Easter Sunday. My husband and I at one time operated a carriage company to help supplement our horse addiction. I really enjoyed working with our horses and we were very fortunate to not have any accidents. Most people that do this type of work will tell you that its usually not a horse or drivers fault when accidents happen. Kids have no problem with setting off firecrackers or shooting a slingshot at you and adults aren’t very courteous to a horse and carriage on a public road when they are in their automobiles. Add to that the cost of insurance, which tripled over 4 years. When we got the last premium increase we choose to quit rather than continue. Even now when we go to parades and shows it is becoming more common for a event organizer to require a rider on a minimum 1.5 million dollar insurance liability policy which just goes to show you why we see fewer and fewer horses at fairs, shows and parades across the country. It’s a shame but that’s unfortunately the facts.

The Snots

2007-04-09T12:07:00.000-04:00

Its snowing again, yesterday was easter and I can only recall a couple of Easters where there was a dusting of snow on the ground and this year will be added to that list. Then again it is spring and anything can happen in spring. Along with the lovely spring temperature changes come the ever-dreaded snotty noses in the barn. I had a couple of youngsters with a mild cough and Jazzy, a yearling filly, developed a case of the yellow snots. So we started the horses on some antibiotic crumbles in their feed to combat the respiratory bug. I really hate to use antibiotics on my animals but having had a horse come down with a nasty respiratory infection and even once dealing with pneumonia in a weanling I have become a firm believer in paying attention to the animals, especially the youngsters, listing for coughing and looking for snotty noses that are more then clear or slightly white runny goop and treating it ASAP. It just seems to me that when you have young animals this type of thing can spread like wild fire and if they share a water trough, well then you can bet that those others have a good chance of getting sick even if your keeping the sick one indoors at the onset of symptoms because by then the bug has had a chance to visit everyone when the horses were not showing signs of any illness. I’m glad to report that Jazzy after 3 days of treatment has no cough and while her nose is still running a bit it is clear. No one else seemed to have come down with it but we did treat the rest of the 6 horses just in case. That ounce of protection really helps me to sleep better at night. I do so worry about the horses when they are not right. It seems to me that I have had my fair share of problems with the horses this winter. Perhaps its mostly to do with the stress of moving and we did add 3 new ones and sold one so the herd dynamics are a tad bit off. I’ll be glad when the warm late spring season is fully upon us.

I have a tummy ach

2007-04-04T11:30:00.000-04:00

What happened to spring? There is snow on the ground and we actually had to keep horses in for 3 nights because of temps dipping way below freezing. That nice weather sure was a teaser. All of the horses except for our yearling filly started to do the heavy shedding routine so I never imagined that we would get the freeze we did. I know spring is unpredictable with temps fluctuating but as I sit here tapping away on my computer keys I’m looking at near white out conditions outside with snow everywhere. The temp changed so quickly that it really bothered one of the yearlings that came in last night with a tummy ach. I wonder if he wasn’t drinking as much water as he should have. Poor guy came in and was looking at his belly and laid down rather then eating his dinner – Huston we have a problem was ringing loudly in my brain. After 15 mins he still was doing the sick horse routine with getting up, looking at his belly and then laying down. He had passed some manure, which looked normal and did urinate so I wasn’t in emergency mode yet but that can change at the drop of a hat. So off to the house I went to get my Banimine and 20 mins after injecting him with the recommended dose he was up and walking the barn isle looking for some trouble to get into. He passed some gas and seemed to be much more comfortable. Much to his chagrin, he didn’t get any grain that night but did have a flake of hay, which he finished off by midnight. It was a pretty sleepless night for me because I worry excessively about a colicky horse and was out in the barn every couple hours to check on him thru the night. I have lost one gelding to a twisted gut and lost another young mare to a sand colic a number of years ago when I was boarding my horses. Its not an easy thing to deal with, you always wonder if you could have done something different that would have made a difference in the outcome. I guess all sickness/injuries are like that when you care for children or animals. They trust and depend on you wholly for their every need. This morning was a bright sunny and cold morning and while I was groggy from lack of sleep because of checking on my youngster it was also fulfilling because I had 7 bright and shining eyes looking for me to come feed them and 7 happy horses were turned out to romp, play and munch on a hay pile like nothing had ever happened.

The Green Fuel Debacle

2007-03-30T08:06:00.000-04:00

Todays topic isnt about horses but it effects them and all of us. I Live in a rural area where there are a bunch of minimum paying jobs and few career choices other than farm/livestock. There are a few factory type shops and recently an ethanol plant has begun production. When the ethanol plant was proposed I just sat and scratched my head. I mean its crazy that the world hasn’t woke up to the fact that you still need to buy the Arab or domestic oil, refine it and have it added to the ethanol to be able to use it in your car and add to that the fact that your engine needs to be modified to handle the fuel. What gets me is the dirty process necessary for producing the ethanol and it is making out livestock feed bill increasingly higher and higher so much so that this fall and winter beef providers were barely making enough on their cattle sales to actually cover the cost it took to raise the animal let along make a profit so they themselves could afford to pay the bills to continue. Of course on the flip side of that, farmers raising corn finally begun to see some real profit. Then there is the cost and green effect downside to the equation (you still have to add refined fossil oil to make it work) and it sure makes Ethanol not look nearly as good at pure bio diesel. Now diesel engines were developed by Rudolph Diesel in 1892 and he later displayed his engine in 1898, which was run on peanut oil. That’s what those engines were developed to use originally and making a move back to that with our vehicles is one of the best possible choices I believe we have. Can someone please enlighten me as to why that is so hard to see? It’s a very easy technology with a huge green upside running pure vegetable oil. Another upside to that is the easy maintenance and longevity of the diesel engine especially when you run pure oil. The oil lubricates the engine and actually increases efficiency of the motor. I say pull the plug on all the corn subsidies, put that government cash to work getting pure biodiesel out there and force the auto manufactures to give us an engine that is good for our environment and sustainable. It’s a shame that we are only now pushing for the Biodiesel to be 20% oil and even Cummings announced that they will be offering an engine that will run on that product. Willie Nelson proved it can work and it’s a step in the right direction but going to pure vegetable oil should be the goal. It’s a team effort but one worth undertaking. That’s just my 2 cents!

A dying breed?

2007-03-28T09:38:00.000-04:00

While chatting with my best friend we somehow got around to the subject of how we don’t see many kids really involved with horses anymore and that it seems that a fair amount of those that are just don’t have the dedication we did as a youngster. Today we have an abundance of riders but very few horsemen coming up thru the ranks. Big stables cater to people who have busy lives and just want to come out to ride once or twice a week and leave it up to the trainer to manage their horses well being. They don’t know much about vaccinations, general health, nutrition, training and you can forget about husbandry. It seems that those of us that eat, sleep and live horses are either a dying breed or just very rare. Perhaps it’s the minimal pay and long hours of strenuous work. Then again it could be the cost of running a facility, feed is skyrocketing, taxes are up and insurance is just plain crazy.

I can remember my childhood as a horse crazy girl like it was yesterday. My mom or grandma would drop me off at the barn in the summer in the cool morning and pick me up before dinner. My family always said that horses were a passing phase and that one-day I would discover boys and forget about horses, I can’t imagine how much farther from the truth that could have possibly been. I would come home from the barn sweaty, dirty and smelling like a horse but it was the happiest time of my life when I could forget the rest of the world and be in harmony with horses. I particularly loved the quiet early mornings in the barn. Horses would be munching on their breakfast, pushing it around in the buckets to find the best morsels. The sweet lingering smell of the alfalfa and grass mixed hay in the dark and cool barn isle that had just been cut open and was waiting to be distributed to the occupants. I loved to hear the soft and quiet deep muffled nickers of the horses greeting me when I would open their stall door and give them a couple flakes. I grew up in the city yet somehow I just instinctively knew how to brush a horse, take apart a bridle to clean it and pick feet. Things that I didn’t know I learned fast because I wanted to and I would listen intently to those helping teach me and refine my skills. Nothing in the barn was too much to ask as long as I got to be close to the animals that I loved so much. I would dream in Bay, Chestnut, Black and Grey, delighted to be galloping in some far away field with tall grasses and wild flowers and wake up wishing that one day I would have a horse of my own to love.
Today I’m fortunate enough that I don’t have to dream about my horses, I have them right out side. I still enjoy going to the barn, which is now my barn, to feed, groom, care for as well as ride and drive them. It’s a lot of work hauling grain, putting up hay, maintaining the buildings as well as the fences but I wouldn’t trade it for all the tea in China. I still love horses just as much, if not more, then I did as a child and I cant imagine my life without them.

Welcome Spring

2007-03-20T10:02:00.000-04:00

With the coming of spring is St. Patrick’s Day. Usually there is snow on the ground in our part of the country this time of year but we happened to have a reprieve this year with warmer weather and virtually all the snow has melted away which has accounted for some areas being flooded. Along with the snow being absent comes the presence of the bare earth, read that mud. So while I’m happy to see the winter recede I’m not so happy to see the returning of the wet and heavy muck and mire that my fields are becoming.

Since The Bob, my parade horse for the last two year was recently sold I decided to used our two 4-yr old Percheron mares, Lynn and Pearl in the St. Patrick’s Day parade this year. Lynn worked with Bob last year doing 4 parades; she has a level head and has some experience in the bedlam that ensues at parades. I’m grateful that I had Bob to show her the ropes last year. For Pearl this was to be her parade debut. I worked the mares as a team for the last 2 weeks trying to get them back in some type of shape and I have lived as a wet muddy fur ball due to my efforts. I can’t begin to tell you how nauseating it is to curry a 17.2 hand horse that is muddy and shedding out. These drafts really hold the crud on those wide flat backs and with every stroke of the curry more of that filthy hair covered my head and body. I did clip faces, bridle paths and such but hate to so more then that since the weather can turn quite cold at the drop of a hat and there is no way I’m going to deal with blankest out in those fields. The mares did a fine job at the parade. It took the first ¼ of the parade for them to really settle in but the last ½ of the parade was excellent. We even encountered a local “Bumpkin” who thought it would be fun to spook the horses on the parade route and lit off a brick of firecrackers. Thank goodness we take the time to desensitize our horses. I am lucky that I have had a couple years working on the Sheriffs mounted patrol and had knowledge of the type of training they go thru with their horses. It proved to be a valuable asset during the parade. The Friday prior to the parade the mares got a good wash job with warm water. They looked so nice and clean with their show harness on and hoofs polished. I’m sure you know exactly what they did the moment they were turned out after the parade….. of course, they rolled and rolled and rolled. So as I look out today in my pasture I see those mares full of mud like the other horses. They resumed their therapeutic mud bathing routine and are happy to be lady’s of leisure till we begin getting them ready for the show season. They might as well enjoy the down time because in May the real work begins.

Farewell Bob

2007-02-08T13:01:00.000-05:00

I bid farewell to the great horse Bob yesterday. He left the sale in a trailer headed for southern Michigan and I hope that his new owner will enjoy and love him as much as I have. Sale day was total chaos with horses selling far below what they would have a couple years ago. It seems that last year I noticed a decline in the draft horse industry, maybe its linked to the slaughter legislation with horses flooding the market that would have gone for meat. I’m a realist and while I wouldn’t eat horsemeat, we as a nation have to face the fact that we do slaughter animals to eat. What’s the difference in a cow, chicken, pig, goat, lamb or a horse when its all going to a licensed slaughter house that has USDA inspectors? I know that I would much rather see a horse put down then starve or be neglected in some pasture. It’s not a popular opinion but it is a fact of rural life and people that live in cities seem to forget where that tender t-bone or cut of veal came from.
Anyway, Bob appears to be going to a good home with a family that had a good number of grandchildren. He loves to be the center of attention and is very good with kids so he will be in his element. Bob was the 7th highest selling gelding which included all breeds so I’m happy about that. He sure will be missed here.

Looming Sale

2007-01-18T09:41:00.000-05:00

The Great Lakes Draft Horse Sale is looming ever nearer as the days pass. I’m really at a cross road about selling The Bob. Duane and I agreed that we needed to stick with a plan and that plan happens to be showing mares. With that in mind we decided to sell off 2 of the geldings that we currently have and only keep one, which has earned the right to stay on as a permanent fixture. The problem is that my daughter has a connection with The Bob. At 11 she has claimed him as her horse and rides him when it strikes her fancy. Unfortunately her fancy was about 6 times in the last 3 months which isn’t enough to justify him being kept just on the merit of her usage. I know she loves the horses but she just doesn’t appear to have the same drive and passion that Duane and I do. It’s disheartening at times because she likes to ride and has a fantastic seat but forget about much help cleaning tack, feeding and doing a good job grooming. As far as I’m concerned if you want to ride you have to help out with the other stuff.

Its always hard selling a good horse, one that you actually like to ride/drive and in general be around. The Bob has been an excellent parade horse too and that makes it even harder for me because he always has been a horse that I knew I could trust for that kind of thing. He has many outstanding qualities but he is not a mare and its mares that we are working on showing and we hope to put together a 4 up so that means that a couple need to go or Duane will have to build another barn to house the overflow and then hire someone to keep up with the work because I just cant keep up with all that’s necessary to condition, train and show the number of horses we currently have. I sure do miss the days of caring for 5 head of horses. At that number I could work with each horse on a very regular basis and still do all the normal stuff associated with keeping horses. The eight we have right now are just too much and even though its only 3 more it sure is a heck of a lot more work. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

Visitors

2006-12-23T18:59:00.000-05:00

Today we had some visitors to the barn. Kodi's breeders came by to pay us a visit and to see how he was looking now that he is a coming 3 yr old. Of course we think he looks smashing and cant wait for the summer show season to start so that we can hook him. He sure is a nice looking young gelding. His full brother is headed to the Lansing sale so it will be interesting to see just exactly how much he goes for. Kodi's big sister is headed for Colorado in January where she is participating in the Classic 6 horse hitch championship. Belle is a wheel horse for the All-Star Farm mare hitch. Our best wishes go out to that hitch for a smashing show.

The Bob

2006-12-13T18:27:00.000-05:00

The Bob, other wise known as Bomber Bob and D & D's Bobby is one heck of a horse. I am getting him ready for the Lansing Sale where he will be heading to a new home. So I rode him today to give him some work. I'd rather drive him but since I'm home alone most of the time and don't have a single horse forcart I'd rather ride him. So we headed out on the road that was freshly grated. He walked out like a champion and even did a nice relaxed warm up trot then I asked him for a road trot like I would in harness. Jeeze can that boy move. I had one heck of a time staying on top of him balanced and ended up just grabbing a handful of mane and letting him rock on. Boy was it fun but my hips are killing me now from the stretch bouncing around on that WIDE boys back;-}

A Creature of Habit

2006-12-12T15:41:00.000-05:00

Its been a year since I last posted and I can hardly believe it. Where has all the time gone? 2006 has been one of the most daunting years to date for our family. A new farm, job, horses, injuries and the addition of Duane's son Lance has made this year one to put in the record books. I guess I'm just like my beloved horses, a creature of habit and being so I prefer things to be staus quo. All the change knocked me off my normally even keel but I finally feel that I'm beginning to get back to a groove that feels comfortable. Barney my steadfast steed was the biggest blow to my equilibrium with is stifle injury. When ever I have been uncertain, blue or just out of sorts going to the barn to scratch his chest and wither and feel his warm breath on my neck would bring me back to a quiet and familiar place that took all my worries away. Having nearly lost him was unbearable. Today he is back to being nearly his former self. I don't know if he will ever be a show horse again but he will always be my horse and I'm just happy to have him around. He can be such a pain in the butt with his bigger than life personality but that's what makes him the horse that he is. I swear he has a bit of the devil in him with his antics and he knows exactly what I'm thinking. How can one animal be so good, he is easily the best trained and gifted horse that I have ever owned yet be such a problem child. I'm sure there are some horse or dog owners out there that know exactly what I'm talking about. Yet he is the horse that I adore, just don't tell the others.

The Last Holiday Event

2005-12-21T20:18:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture I thought you might enjoy. Its one from the Saginaw Childrens Zoo and its the last day of work for the boys and us.
Thank goodness we are finished for the year. We get 3 months of down time which will not really be down time because horses still need to be fed and cared for and I have 2 coming three year old mares and 1 coming 2 yr old gelding to break to harness. Our Sponsor, Stevens World Wide Van Lines, is on board for 2006 and we are very happy to have them along again. 2006 is really going to be quite an ambitious year for us with the young horses and the Percheron World Congress. But thats in October so we have time to figure things out.

The Great Lakes International

2005-10-27T16:09:00.000-04:00

Sam with Barney
Winning the Youth Cart Class
Congratulations Sam!

October was an excellent end to the show season for us. We have a number of Holiday events to do but the showing is over so the horses have had their shoes pulled and they are enjoying getting muddy in the pasture. Here are the results:

Men's Cart - Barney, 8th Place

Ladies Cart - Doug, 5th Place

Team - Doug & Bobby, 8th Place

Unicorn - Barney, Bobby & Doug, 5th Place

Youth Cart - Sam w/Barney, 1st Place

Youth Team - Sam w/Bobby& Doug, 5th Place

Draft Western Saddle - Sam w/Doug, 3rd Place

Best Exhibitor - 4th Place

Geeze Louise

2005-09-27T08:34:00.000-04:00

The coast of Louisiana and Texas is pummeled yet again. It makes my events of the past week trivial compared to what is happening there. In fact I cant think of anything that I accomplished this past week at all other than getting the daily chores done and working on a couple articles. The weather has been crisp and enjoyable. I’m working with Jupiter to get him tuned up for the riding classes at the Great Lakes show. Midnight did really well 2 years ago and Doug did ok last year. What is interesting is that Midnight was extremely well trained to ride and had a flawless go in both the English and Western class yet she placed middle of the pack against a variety of horses, some of those that placed high were very big hitchy horses and Midnight was in no way a big hitch horse. Then you look at Doug, a huge strapping hitchy gelding who blew his leads bad and he placed middle of the pack. I’m confused and have no idea what the heck they are looking for in that ring. So Jupiter will give it a go. He is more along the lines of Midnight so we will see how this works out. It should be interesting.

Back To Business As Usual

2005-09-21T11:17:00.000-04:00

I was spent yesterday. I didn’t do much here at home other than what was necessary. I jotted down a draft for an article I’m writing about the trip while its fresh in my head. I will have lots of revisions to do at a later date once I can look more objectively at what I wrote. It’s all still to fresh and raw to be coherent about. Lauren went back to school and Duane is off to work at Stevens. Its already Wednesday and I can hardly believe that a week ago today I was packing for our trip. It seems like a lifetime ago now. We received our entry info for the Great Lakes Draft Horse Show in Lansing, which is less than 3 weeks away now. Even though I knew it was approaching it has snuck up on me. I have to get my butt in gear getting stuff ready for the last and greatest hurrah of the show season. This will be the biggest show that we will attend this year so I’m very excited and anxious all at the same time to get things taken care of on my end so that we are properly prepared. We will get a month of down time after that show till the beginning of the holiday work, which begins just prior to Thanksgiving. So off I must go to get busy since I’m burning daylight sitting here at the computer.

Just A Jaunt Away

2005-09-19T21:04:00.000-04:00

We ended up making it as far as Elizabeth Town KY last night. It was not a restful sleep. I think that the anticipation of getting home makes it hard to sleep. I find my mind wandering and replaying the events that unfolded over the last couple days. I’m looking forward to being in my own bed tonight and I really miss the horses. There is something reassuring about their massive bodies, warm breath and inquisitive quiet nature that seems to make the worlds woes not quite so close to home with I’m with them. I am so thankful that my family and I are safe and that we have a home to return to. I’m ever more thankful of all that we have after witnessing the tragedy and turmoil that the hurricane left behind. The reality of the situation in Louisiana is still with us and weighs heavy on our minds and will be forever etched in our memory. The gratitude that was shown to us for our efforts in getting the aid to Baton Rouge was ill deserved. We only did what we could which was made possible by the great people in our community and the generosity of the businesses that put this trip together. We only played a small part in the grand scheme of things delivering the goods. The last day of our trip was as uneventful as the first day and we arrived home to a news crew from WNEM at the Saginaw yard. Duane had a phone interview for the 5 o’clock news and then a live interview at 6:30 when we arrived. Poor guy was a bit of a deer in the headlights for the live interview. We all have a hard time putting words to what we witnessed… well I don’t have a problem with typing it but being quizzed about it with a microphone in my face is quite another story. We got home finally at close to 7:30. Our neighbor was there waiting for us, he had fed the horses in our absence and wanted to chat about our trip. Thank you so much Dwight and Janet for helping with the boys. We couldn’t have gone on this adventure without your help at home. Our life goes back to normal for us now but I cant help but think about what I saw and the tragedy of it. I’ll say a prayer tonight for those who are not as blessed as I am.

On Our Way Home

2005-09-18T02:53:00.000-04:00

We arrived in Greenville, AL at my grandparents home last night at midnight. I’m just in a state of shock over what we witnessed yesterday. People with no homes, clothes, missing loved ones, grieving over those they lost in the hurricane, no food, no way to cook any food, no bathrooms, showers, medicine and the list goes on and on. Some of those neighborhoods only had the Red Cross and National Guard make their way into the area just last week. Can you imagine them fending for themselves for 2 weeks with nothing and when I say nothing I mean NOTHING. There was raw sewage everywhere, parts of peoples houses, furniture, boats, cars, appliances all over the place where the flood water had washed them. We saw first hand Slidell, Gulfport and Biloxi where there had been a flood of up to 20 feet from the storm surge. While the water had receded right after the storm the devastation that it wreaked remained. There were billboard sign’s that were twisted like pretzels, washed out bridges that had been battered by both the storm and boats that had broke free of their moorings and trees snapped off and littered everywhere like they were tinker toys. Cleaning up the area and getting the community back on its feet will be a huge task that will take a massive effort, one that will not happen over night. We are now back on the road to drop off the trailer we have in Pelham, AL then we begin the final leg of our trip home. I don’t see how we could possibly get home today because we didn’t get started on the road till 11am. At least we are headed in the right direction NORTH.

Distribution Begins

2005-09-17T19:59:00.000-04:00

We got to the church at midnight local time. We really pushed it hard to get there. It was a long day and a longer night. When we arrived we were greeted by Pastor Greenlee of the Cross of Glory Church and Pastor Wernecki of the WELS Committee Relief and close to 30 volunteers. We worked long into the night to get the trucks unloaded finally getting the last boxes off the truck at 4am local time. We headed off to bed which was provided to us by the Church and ABC Trailer Sales out of Anchorage Alaska, who provided a number of RV’s to house relief workers. At that point I really didn’t care where I was sleeping. We all got a shower and crashed hard to get 4 hours of sleep. We got up at 8am so that we could get some video of the distribution and we also were able to get a couple interviews of evacuees. We only were able to get 2 trucks unloaded and the church lot was full so we had a long day ahead of us to get the remaining 2 trucks unloaded. We were told that Slidell LA was in need and that the Church set up for us to take our 2 remaining loads to that community so we sent off the Gainey drivers and followed them after presenting Pastor Greenlee and Wernecki with the cash donations. That’s when our day became a saga. We arrived in Slidell around noon on Saturday at the parish’s offices. We had been told that the National Guard would be there to receive the aid and that they would unload it. That was not the case. We were rerouted to the 1st Baptist Church down near lake Ponchatrain and they were struggling there to keep up with the aid coming in and the people. That area was hit very hard and it was complete devastation there. They had no place to unload us and there was nowhere for us to get the truck into. It was sad because they needed the load but it was impossible to get it to them. So we were rerouted to another church in Slidell where we thought we would get to drop our load. It was a Red Cross site and they really had it going on there. There were hot meals, showers, porta potty’s, clothes, food and all sorts of items for those that needed it. I can remember thinking that the Red Cross was mostly just a non-profit that distributed aid like what we brought but boy was I wrong. They were the only outfit out there that had it all together. They were very short on manpower but they had the necessary equipment and goods to do what was necessary. It was amazing to see. In getting the 1st truck to unload we blew out a sidewall of a tire on the trailer. It seemed like we were doomed in our efforts because when we called for mobile service to fix the tire we were greeted with a “we will get to you when we can”. Remember we are under marshal law there and services are extremely limited if not almost non-existent. So by 4pm we still had not gotten the tire fixed so we made an executive decision to limp to the nearest truck stop with the trailer still loaded to get the tire fixed. In the mean time the Church we were at had another load come in and told us they would not be able to take either of our loads due to manpower and space limitations. My heart sank. So we got back on the phone to call over to the Cross of Glory Church back in Baton Rouge to see if they had any help for us. Its funny how things work out because when we talked to the Pastor he told us to bring both of those trucks back to him because they had given away all of the aid we had left only 7 hours ago. So after we made sure that the 2 last trucks were safely on their way back to Baton Rouge we headed off for Alabama and our last stop on the way home.

The Cross of Glory Church

2005-09-16T17:06:00.000-04:00

There seemed to be a mix up in communications between the powers that put this together and the church. Turns out that we were supposed to be there today to unload the goods and that the distribution to the needy people was to happen tomorrow at 8am. I can see how that might have happened easily in the haste to get this show on the road. Everyone thought that we were scheduled to be there at 8am on Saturday morning – tomorrow. Duane and Brad are putting the “hammer down” to get there as quickly as possible. These guys with their trucker talk are so funny and the fella’s that are on the CB are quite a hoot - It a whole different lingo. So we are really pushing it today to try to get there as soon as possible to give the church time to unload and prepare for Saturday. I know we can get our 2 trucks there sometime between 11pm and 1am but the Gainey drivers are about 5 hours behind us so I’m not sure how that is all going to work out. I still dont know what to expect when we get there.

On The Road

2005-09-15T23:30:00.000-04:00

We left Saginaw at 9am this morning for Baton Rouge with another Stevens local driver, Brad Binder. There are 2 more drivers on their way from Gainey Transportation out of Grand Rapids who are picking up 2 of the Stevens trailers in Saginaw this afternoon. The plan is for them to catch up with us sometime tomorrow. So in all 4 trucks are heading down and I think the total food and supplies comes to around 100,000lbs. It’s hard to believe that our community has banded together to donate the amount of goods that they did. I’m so proud of my home area for their compassion and generosity. Duane was interviewed by WNEM Channel 5, which is our local CBS affiliate, and we were given one of their camcorders to record the trip, I hope that I am able to get what they are looking for. WNEM, Miles Petrolium, Gainey Transportation and Stevens all partnered together to get this effort off the ground. We anticipate being to Baton Rouge late Friday or early Saturday. We all went on this trip; I’m the glorified navigator (they didn’t need me but Duane gave me that title anyway), Duane who is driving and our daughter Lauren. I really didn’t like the thought of pulling her out of school for 4 or 5 days but thought that this would be an educational trip for her. I’m hoping that I’m right. We are ½ way to Baton Rouge stopping at 10:30 tonight in Bowling Green KY. It was a long day and we had dinner in Elizabeth Town KY with Brad’s family. It turns out Brad’s sister lives there and as luck would have it (well maybe not luck), his niece and her husband, who were visiting actually were a victim of Hurricane Katrina. Her and her husband have been living in New Orleans and lost everything. So it was ironic that we were sitting there with trucks full of aid eating with someone who only had the clothes and items they packed when they left New Orleans 2 weeks ago the day prior to the hurricane hitting. Tomorrow we arrive in Baton Rouge.

Destination Baton Rouge

2005-09-13T19:56:00.000-04:00

Its official now. We are leaving for Baton Rouge Thursday morning with a convoy of 4 trucks provided by Stevens Worldwide Van Lines. Duane will be driving one and of course I wanted to see the area and we are also bringing along Lauren so that she can be able to see and learn about natural disasters and humanity. We should be gone for 4 days in all returning home late on Sunday if all goes well. The Red Cross is our destination point in Baton Rouge. Our local CBS network, WNEM Channel 5, is a partner with Stevens for this trip and they are sending along a camera for us to capture images of our trip. Tomorrow we make ready for our road trip.

Not your average Saturday

2005-09-10T23:26:00.000-04:00

Saturday is typically a day of working horses and catching up with odd jobs around the farm that don't get done thru the week or when we are off showing. But not this Saturday. We were supposed to have been taking 4 horses to a wagon train for an enjoyable afternoon with our horse friends. As luck would have it Bobby got stung by a bee on Friday, Barney threw a shoe sometime between Wednesday and Saturday morning and that put us 2 horses down. So we scrapped the day to stay home till Duane got a call from the dispatcher at Stevens. Linda asked if he could come in to move trailers that were begin loaded for the hurricane relief effort at the local malls. Of course he said he would come so off he went and what started as just moving trailer turned into a 14 hour event. Duane came by the farm to pick me up for the final run of pickups so that I could first hand see what was going on. I have to admit that I was bowled over by the generosity of my community. There was a huge turnout and many people bringing and loading the huge 53 foot semi trailers. By the end of the night Duane ended up bringing in 4 semi trailers and a straight truck loaded with just under 100,000 pounds of food, water and clothes. Not bad for a rural community if you ask me. It makes me proud that my neighbors banded together for such a good cause

Lending a Helping Hand

2005-09-08T18:19:00.000-04:00

Since being back from the busy show season and from NARHA certification things have been slow here. Of course others have not been as fortunate as we are. The poor folks in the hurricane stricken area are devastated with destruction. Family's missing loved ones, no food, water and other necessities that we take for granted. Duanes employer, Stevens Worldwide Van Lines, has partnered with some local media and the Red Cross to collect food and other necessary items for the people that have lost everything. Today he dropped off trailers at 3 of the regional malls to be filled with donations. I sure hope they are able to get them filled up.

As for the horses, they got a week off since I was at the NARHA Driving Certification and Duane had a run to make to South Carolina. Next week we begin getting ready for the Great Lakes show which begins October 13th.

Back from Beekman

2005-09-02T16:41:00.000-04:00

I just got back from the Beekman Center in Lansing Michigan. I was there for the whole week to get my Certification as a therapeutic driving instructor so that I can teach driving horses at the Oats Center in Clarkston Michigan to handicapped adults and kids. I learned a ton and it was so nice to meet others who have the same interest. I'm very tired from all the stress of being under an instructors supervision all day and taking a test at the end of every day, yet I have a weekend of work in front of me doing carriage rides at the Saginaw Zoo so no rest for me at this time. At least I can relax and enjoy the afternoon with my own horse. After the holiday I'm pulling the horses and carriage from the zoo so I'm done working there till next summer. I will be going back to the zoo for their Christmas open house but other than that I'm done there. Our next event is the Great Lakes show in Lansing then its quickly into the holiday work. I'm looking forward to a little down time next week.

Results from Michigan State Fair

2005-08-23T08:17:00.000-04:00

It sure was a great show. Lauren was the big winner and I was as proud as a peacock. Our Unicorn hitch was also unbelievable. I want to take this time to give our sponsor Stevens Worldwide Van Lines a huge thank you for being behind us this year. We have had an outstanding year with showing and doing parades for them. While at the fair we also participated in the daily parades with Stevens Lorry. People sure do enjoy seeing the horses and we are very proud to have the chance to put them on display for people who aren't able to have horses. It brings much joy to my soul to be able to share the joy my horses bring to me with others. The inner city kids touched me the most with they way they stared up at the horses and how they were in awe of how gentle and soft these big fellas noses are. The results are as follows:

Gelding 5th Place - Barney

Mens Cart 2nd Place - Duane & Barney

Ladies Cart 7th Place - Chris & Bobby

Youth Cart 1st Place - Lauren & Barney

Team Class 4th Place - Duane with Bobby & Barney

Youth Team 1st Place - Lauren with Bobby & Barney

Unicorn 2nd Place - Barney leading with Bobby and Doug at the wheel

Between Shows

2005-08-14T22:08:00.000-04:00

OMG I am exhausted. We just got home from the Huron County Fair in Bad Axe Michigan and are home for one night to wash clothes and restock the camper and we are off to the Michigan State Fair. We had a totally excellent Showing in Bad Axe. Barney and Bobby both were Reserve Champions with Barney taking Reserve Sr. Champion Gelding and Bobby being Reserve Grand Champion Percheron. I'm going to make this a short post so I can get back to work and try to get some sleep tonight so here are the results:

Gelding 3 & 4 yr olds 1st Place - Bobby

Gelding 5 & over 2nd Place - Barney

Sr.Gelding Reserve Champion Barney

Reserve Grand Champion Bobby

Youth Showmanship 2nd Place - Lauren with Barney

Mens Cart 1st Place - Duane & Barney

Ladies Cart 1st Place - Chris & Bobby

Team Class 1st Place - Duane with Bobby & Barney

One down, bring on the next

2005-08-07T16:08:00.000-04:00

The first show is over and we just got back from the Saginaw County Fair. We got a late start this year but it was worth waiting for. This year we had a new challenge, to compete in the Gay 90's classes which are historical turnout. We used the Stevens Lorry and really enjoyed the added chance to do something different. This was Bobbys debut in the show ring and he handled himself better than I expected. He showed maturity beyond his 3 years, then again he is a draft horse and they are the best on the planet. Ya think I'm biased? You bet ya! Here are the results from Saginaw:

Gay 90's (Monday)Carriages 3rd Place

Gay 90's (Monday)Cart 2nd Place

Gay 90's (Tuesday)Carriages 1st Place

Gay 90's (Monday)Cart 1st Place

Gelding 3 & 4 yr olds 1st Place - Bobby

Gelding 5 & over 2nd Place - Barney

Gelding 5 & over 4th Place - Doug

Reserve Champion Gelding - Barney

Matched Pair 2nd Place - Bobby & Barney

Youth Showmanship 1st Place - Lauren w/Barney

Mens Cart 1st Place - Barney

Ladies Cart 1st Place - Bobby

Youth Cart 1st Place - Barney

Team 2nd Place - Barney & Bobby

Put your money where your mouth is

2005-07-30T23:30:00.000-04:00

The work has all been done, the horses were shod today in preparation for the first show which is on Monday. We conditioned, clipped and bathed the beasts. The camper is packed and the Stevens Semi is loaded with all the hay, straw, harness, wagons and the on going list of gear necessary to show. If we did our job right we will be able to enjoy our time in the show ring. Showing is so much physical work but make no mistake it is a labor of love. I cant think of anything I would rather do than pack up and hit the road to show the horses. Its so much more than the actual showing. Its the friends we have made with other horse folks, its the people that we meet who are in awe of the gentle giants and its the kids who get to see horse that they typically never would have a chance to see up close. This will be the first horse show for us with our sponsor Stevens Worldwide Van Lines. They have been fabulous to us and we have enjoyed the parades we have participated in on their behalf which has given us a chance to bring them into the show ring with us. I hope we can do them proud and put our best foot forward. I'll post as I'm able to but its going to be quite a busy month for us in August.

Just the zoo

2005-07-22T21:51:00.000-04:00

This week I have just been working at the Saginaw Zoo doing carriage rides. It sure has been hot. At least I have a nice tree to park under. Jupiter and Bobby have been working for the majority of the summer there and its been really great training for them. Duane has been putting in hours on the road driving for Stevens so its been mostly me putting in the hours working horses at home to condition them for the show season that is looming ever closer. I have to get to some finish trimming on the boys. Everyone’s mane needs to be cleaned up with thinning and shortening. Bridle paths and tails need clipping. Legs, fetlocks, ankles and feet need to be trimmed up as well. Shane comes on the 30th for the final reset on our show shoes which will hold us thru the 3 shows we are planning on doing over the summer months. I shudder at the thought of what the bill will amount to but its necessary. I also will be busy next week with packing the camper and making sure the semi gets loaded with all the gear.

Founders Festival Recap

2005-07-17T19:49:00.000-04:00

We just got back from doing the Farmington Founders Festival. This is our 5th year with them and we always enjoy being there. We worked with Brian Golden of Pastways, Inc providing horse drawn wagon rides thru the historical district with narration by some of the local historians. Stevens Worldwide Van Lines was our sponsor for this event. They provided the horses for the public rides and also participated in the parade with the Lorry. It did rain on parade day but we were lucky that it didn’t begin to downpour till after we had completed the parade route. We were able to give rides to over 460 people on the history tour so I would have to say it was a smashing success. The Farmington community always goes out of their way to provide a safe environment for us with the horses. Thanks Stevens for supporting the festival.

The same old thing

2005-07-15T15:44:00.000-04:00

This past week it has been HOT and things have been slow here. I’ve just been working the horses and doing carriage rides at the Saginaw Zoo. So I have been busy but it’s not much to talk about. Lauren is off visiting her grandparents and Duane has been busy with work at Stevens so I have been pretty much left to my own devices. I’m amazed at how much Lauren really helps me out both at home and at the zoo. I have had a zoo crew person help me out doing rides at the zoo. They are volunteer youth that the zoo has and they really are some great kids but they are mostly city kids and don’t know squat about horses which really makes me appreciate Lauren all the more. I vow now to never take her for granted ever again. In fact I will make sure that she receives pay from here on out because she does do a very good job working in the public even though she is only 10.

I need a holiday from the holiday

2005-07-05T09:08:00.000-04:00

I am always busy on holidays doing carriage/wagon rides with the horses. Independence weekend was no different. I worked all weekend and am so looking forward to a couple days off this week. Mind you that a day off for me still means farm work and usually working horses at home but at least I don’t have to put on makeup and be anywhere. My friends know to expect me dirty and covered with horse slobbers and it is not a pretty picture. When I’m doing chores at home they know to call ahead to let me know they will be popping in to visit so that I can get cleaned up a bit and finish up with the barn work. I have found that not everyone enjoys the smell of a barn full of horses. They don’t know what there missing. I had a pretty good weekend doing rides. I do have to start getting horses and harness ready for the Founders Festival and soon after that will be our first show so I really should get busy pulling out the heavy leather show harness and giving it a good cleaning. Then again maybe I’ll really take a day off and play hooky, but just for a day.

NARHA Driving Certification

2005-06-25T12:02:00.000-04:00

I have great news. I sent in my application for the NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association) Driving Instructor Certification and was approved for the Certification that will take place at the Beekman Center located in Lansing Michigan in late August. I have been working with the Oats center to get a driving program off the ground at their center. We got the horse, Bess who is a 15 yr old Belgian/Percheron cross mare. She is so excellent and is perfect for this type of work. The kids all are pretty excited about the new horse so we cant wait to get this off the ground. I have a harness and easy entry cart ordered specifically for this application. Now it’s just a matter of time till I can get certified so that we can get to teaching in the center. I have lots to learn about disabilities and handicaps but that will come with time. I really am looking forward to sharing my love of driving draft horses with the people that have not been able to participate in the riding program at Oats. Typically people who are wheelchair bound, too over weight to ride or don’t have enough trunk control are candidates for driving programs so this will open up the horse experience to a whole new group of people that had been previously turned away. I’m really excited!

Will someone please turn off the oven

2005-06-14T15:43:00.000-04:00

Geeze Louise it’s freaking HOT. We were at the Bavarian festival over the weekend with the horses. We were there with Stevens Worldwide Van Lines and pulled their Lorry in the parade. I think I looked like I had just got out of the shower from all the sweating I did. Did I mention it was HOT! Not only hot but it was humid as well. I sure am glad that it was just a parade and nothing more. We had one heck of a turnout of Stevens Employees and Morrie even came out to ride in the Lorry with Duane. What a great bunch of people to work with. I can’t say enough good things about the Stevens crew. They brought a cooler full of water and it really was appreciated. Our next parade is the Farmington Founders Festival.

What the heck is a Bugaloo?

2005-06-09T22:23:00.000-04:00

Well if you knew anything about the Saginaw Childrens Zoo you would know exactly what a Bugaloo was. It was an event to kick off the opening of the new exhibit, The Crawl Space, which houses all types of creepy crawling creatures. The zoo had one heck of a good turnout and they even had edible bugs along with a full meal catered in of “normal” fare. It was a pretty fun evening for me. I had the carriage out giving rides for a little while and Lauren and I of course had some food, the normal stuff not the bugs. The summer is in full swing now with carriage rides at the zoo daily. Lauren is going to be leaving me to visit with her grandparents so I will left without my helper for a month. I have been told that the zoo’s volunteer zoo crew will be able to help me out so it looks like I have some training to do to get those kids up to speed so that we can do rides safely. I have been also working horses more seriously at home getting them conditioned for the impending show season.

Summer is officially here

2005-05-31T19:15:00.000-04:00

We made it thru the Memorial Day weekend and actually the first weekend of carriage rides at the Saginaw Children’s Zoo this past holiday weekend. The zoo is such a nice place to do rides. The patrons of the zoo have supported us fully and seem to really like having the horses and of course carriage rides there. I worked pretty steady all weekend despite a bit of showers. It always seems to rain on Memorial weekend every year at least on one day. This will be our first season at the zoo so it will be interesting to see how this all pans out. We are working with the zoo staff to take this on a week-by-week basis to see how it all pans out. I am hoping that we will have enough interest to be able to maintain rides thru the summer. The interactive learning experience was a big hit so I hope to bring that back next year for the school field trips.

They have draft horses at the zoo

2005-05-22T16:53:00.000-04:00

I took Doug and Jupiter out to the Saginaw Children’s Zoo this weekend. I plan on being out there all week with the horses to let the school kids that come on field trips have access to the big horses. I am doing an interactive learning experience with the kids, which is something new for the zoo. They do educational activities all the time but this will be a new animal for them. They use to have ponies at the zoo for rides but no longer have them. There is a nice large paddock set up for the horses and an enclosed area for me to set up pictures and horse related items. I took out a harness, feed and grooming tools and plan on teaching the kids general facts specifically about draft horses. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.

Wagons HO!

2005-05-09T21:39:00.000-04:00

We belong to the Thumb Draft Horse Association, which of course is a club, which caters to draft horses and draft horse type of events. Every year they put on 2 wagon trains. This past weekend was the spring wagon train and it was held just a scant 10 miles from our farm. Duane had taken the wagon over to the staging area last week so we didn’t have to worry about that. On Saturday we cleaned up 4 horses, harness a team and loaded them up in the trailer and headed out for the days events. What a turnout. There were 11 wagons and 70 out riders. I rode Doug, Lauren rode Jupiter and Duane drove Barney and Bobby. We covered 11 miles that morning and ate lunch on the road. When we got back from the trip we arrived to a huge roasted pig and potluck dinner. Boy was that a great meal. The TDHA put on a super event, just like they always do. I cant wait till the fall ride now.

Trying to Plan

2005-03-02T17:33:00.000-05:00

I have been so busy with personal stuff that it seems everything else has been put on hold including this blog. Duane, Lauren and I have all had our birthdays since my last post. Life has been good, we have our health and dreams. I was laid off from my last job and am seeking full time employment that will allow me to take some time off to continue to show our horses. Its difficult at best to find an understanding employers. I'm sure something will come to light, it always does. I'm also amidst planning our events for 2005. So far we have 7 parades, 4 shows and some weddings in the mix. That is more than enough to keep us busy. Its really great to be working with Stevens Worldwide Van Lines to help them celebrate their 100th year in business. Here is a picture of us at the Saginaw Christmas parade with their wagon.

We are also expecting a Belgian to join us for our showing adventures this year. That will be a first for us. We are looking forward to him arriving and getting him ready for the show ring. Both Duane and I have high hopes for his performance in the ring.

The weather here in Michigan has been horrible at best over the last week. Lots of snow on the ground and no reprieve from the downpour as of yet. How many days till spring?

Back at it

2004-12-10T22:53:00.000-05:00

Well its been 2 monts and it seems like just yesterday. Whats happened since the last post? Lots! The Great Lakes Internationl was in mid October and Barney was fantastic taking home a 5th place out of well over 20 entries. Doug and I didnt fair as well and Duane was excused in the team class, but we already knew that Doug and Barney didnt match very well. Since thats all we have, thats what we show. Sam was stellar in the youth classes taking home a 4th in team and a 3rd in cart as well as a 7th in Western. It was one heck of a show.

We also participated in the Saginaw Christmas Pride Parade and took home the Judges Choice award for Stevens Van Lines. We also have been busy beyond belief with holiday wagon and carriage rides. I'm looking forward to the holiday being over so that we can have some down time. More later.

Christmas Thoughs Already

2004-10-12T16:45:00.000-04:00

Egads….. where does all the time go to? It just seems like yesterday when I set this blog up and now is mid October. I haven’t paid much attention to this site since we haven’t had much going on other than catching up from the chaos of summer shows and now its time for the Great Lakes show. They are calling for rain which isn’t a good sign since we have to line up for the classes outside BLAHHH! Doug and Barney are cocked, locked and ready to rock so I’m very excited about this years show. It looks like we will have one sponsor for the 2005 season. It sure has been an uphill battle and we still have to find one or 2 further sponsors to make this thing really fly so we are still working hard at getting that accomplished. Were also starting to get Christmas bookings for the carriage – mostly parades and party rides. Hard to believe that people are thinking about Christmas at this time of the year.

Fall Riding

2004-10-04T15:15:00.000-04:00

It sure has been nice outside weather wise. The crisp cool mornings and evenings and temperate afternoons make for ideal riding weather. Saturday we joined a number of other like minded people for a trail ride in our local county trail system. There were 13 of us and we had a great time. There was such a wide variety of horses ranging from an Islandic pony to our Percherons with Paints, QH’s, Appy’s and Morgans filling out the remainder. We rode for close to 3 hours enjoying each others company. All the horses were on their best behavior as well which really put the icing on the cake. Afterwards we had a filling pot luck dinner and chatted till it was time to go. Our boys were just great and handled the tight spots on the trail with grace. They never cease to amaze me with how careful they can be despite their size. When we headed back over to the trailer after dinner we found our geldings fast asleep tied to the trailer. Lauren was of a similar opinion and she crashed on the drive home and didn’t wake up till Sunday morning. Poor kid sure was tuckered out from all the excitement. Her and Hank really did well on the trail. He was kind and considerate with her and did his best to keep her out of any trouble. She of course did well guiding him. I was very proud of her. It sure was nice to do something fun with the horses. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoy showing very much but there is nothing more fun then a relaxing trail ride with good friends. I think the horses enjoyed the change. They seemed to be really interested in what we were doing. Sunday we went back to work and took everyone up to the fairgrounds arena to gauge where we were in our training since we had given the boys some time off after the State Fair. Barney is 100% on mark for the Great Lakes show October 14th. Doug is a bit behind in his training, this whole year has been trying on him. It just seems that his injury (superficial but requiring stitches and time off) really put him behind in his training and we have not really gotten ahead of it. Hank is doing much better then I would have imagined. He is only going to this show for the draft under saddle class and I have been working very lightly with him on his canter leads. He has only been under saddle for a year and at 12 it’s been interesting teaching this old dog new tricks. Even harder yet because I don’t have a ring to work him in so all the ground work has been in fields and on the side roads. He is finally getting it and I was amazed at how well he worked for me in the arena yesterday. I don’t anticipate Hank doing well in the saddle classes since he is only 16hh but you never know. Seems that the judges like the big “hitch” horses even out of harness. At least I will know that my horse is trained as a saddle horse and has impeccable manners. Unfortunately, most of the other horses in these classes are not trained saddle horses and things can get a bit screwy with some bolting horses at the “canter” (or should I say attempted canter) so who’s to say. I’m hoping for a decent finish like last year when I rode my old mare Midnight. We got a 6th in Western and a 7th in English so that’s my goal this year – to at least stay close to last years finish. Of course Midnight was 17hh and she had 4 years of solid saddle training so I had a BIG advantage over my current situation. Time will tell and regardless of our finish I think the world of my little guy who's heart is a big, if not bigger, then most horses.

The Classic 6-horse Series Championships

2004-09-30T13:31:00.000-04:00

Boy do I wish that I was at the The Big E Draft horse show this week. Its also the Championship for the Classic 6-horse hitch series. Ohh boy is there a lot of very nice horseflesh there. The Keystone Classic show is also going on this week. Seems that the east coast is loaded with fancy show hitches. Perhaps next year we can get our act together to go to one of those shows. I sure would like to but time and expenses come into play since we are only a small operation. We are working our horses getting them ready for the Great Lakes show so at least we will be able to do one last big show. I cant wait to see the results.

Some Trail Riding

2004-09-27T08:40:00.000-04:00

We decided that work could be put on hold and that we would take a day off and enjoy ourselves on Sunday. So we packed some ham and cheese sandwiches, pepsi, rootbeer and some chips and headed off for the Cummings Center for some relaxing trail riding. I thought about taking the camera but couldnt for the life of me find the case to keep it safly attached to my saddle. Boy do I wish that I hadnt been in such a hurry to leave the house because the afternoon was so grand that it deserved to be recorded in some way. Lauren rode Hank who was a super nice guy for her. It was so funny to see this little girl on such a big horse. He is only 16hh but weights 1600lbs so her little legs only make it 1/2 way down on him. Duane rode Barney who seemed to enjoy being out on the trails and I rode Doug who is not my first choice in mounts because at a whopping 18.1 hh and just under 2000lbs he is a monster to get on and off of. I have resigned myself to the fact that he and I are going to have to become good buddies because I feel that we are lacking a bit in the showring and not totally in touch with each other so he has become "My" horse now. Doug was originally purchased for Duane to Show 3 years ago and he did well with him. At the end of last year at the Great Lakes show, Duane handed over the lines to me and took on the madman Barney. Barney is by no means a madman but his action is insane which is more suited to a men's horse instead of a ladies horse thus the switch. So this summer Doug and I have had our high and low moments. When we got it together we did excellent but when we didnt it was a mess. It has been a struggle to make that bond/connection when he has been Duanes horse for the last 2 years and of course he is still Duanes horse being used in the team, tandem and unicorn class. Hopefull my putting some one on one miles on him will sync us up better.

Far Fetched Dream?

2004-09-21T15:32:00.000-04:00

Life sure is funny. It throws ya some curves and sometimes it seems that it’s an uphill battle but the reasons come out in the wash so to speak. The story behind this comment is a long one that is still a work in progress going on for close to 2 years now. Its about both Duane and I in regards to out lifestyle and career. I started out in the high tech field but since 9/11 have been laid off and have yet to find a job in my former career. I work now but don’t make nearly as much, nor am I in the tech field – then again I have significantly less responsibility and my life in general is much easier with regards to having free time and being able to take time off. I no longer need blood pressure medicine nor am taking pills to control my acid belly because it’s no longer that way. Strange how fate works. Duane has been struggling in his field as well. He is a Machinist by trade and since we live in Michigan the auto industry drives this vertical market - need I say more? He has been laid off many times after short employment stints at a number of shops. Then again so have many others. We have operated a wedding carriage company as a side business for the last 5 years which thankfully has kept our horse hobby in tact. Things have been tight to say the least. Both Duane and I have enjoyed showing and working our Percheron draft horses. So with that in mind we sat down to try to figure out how to go about making these magnificent animals our career going forward. So with Duane and I closing in on our 40th birthdays we made a pact, we are going to pursue our dream and somehow make this a full time business. The plan is simple, get a sponsor. Yea right, easier said then done. So we fine tune our goals to get to the end result. 1. Show our horses at some national shows and place in the top five. 2. Be able to fit and show our horses in all regards from Shoeing, thru training and hitching. 3. Put together documentation about us and our skills/abilities for a dog and pony show. So far we have nearly accomplished all of the goals we set out to meet nearly a year ago. We have one more show to go to see if we met our goal there (it’s a big one, biggest so far) so that one is almost checked off. Duane is finishing up an apprenticeship with a master farrier to enable him to meet our horses unique shoeing needs – it has also become a new career for him which is very good news and we have a good start on our goal of being able to manage our horses better. We also have a good start on our documentation. Now we just have to get someone to give us a chance and have confidence in us. So with that said we are now beginning to endeavor on the 2nd phase of our goal which will be the toughest one. We need to research companies to pitch them our show hitch and get them on board. I’m overwhelmed at this point on how to do that but that is what I must do. I have yet to get things down in writing on how to accomplish this but am diligently working on it at this moment. More to come on this.

SAGINAW PICTURES

2004-09-13T08:49:00.000-04:00

Pictures removed - problems with server

Blasted Computers

2004-09-07T08:54:00.000-04:00

I haven’t posted in a bit because

1, I have been so busy getting things back in order and
2, my computer has been down.

I was promised it back last week but we all know how that works. Seems that my computer, which is over 5 years old now, is having hardware issues and not cooperating in the least. I’m going to have to break down and get a new one – perhaps for Christmas. So while that is going on there will be no photos or updates to our website. It’s just too much to bring into work and upload from there – and I’m sure my employer wouldn’t appreciate it either. The Memorial weekend is now behind us. The official ending of summer in my book! Reflecting back over the summer it sure was fun but boy was it a ton of work. I’m going to have to figure out a way to take some extra time off because this working 4 days a week then hauling in horses, setting up, showing and then hauling out on my 3 days off killed me. The no down time is the real issue. I don’t seem to spring back as easily as I use to after the stress and effort of showing horses.

Goals
We have discussed at length on the farm what our goal for next summer is going to be. More time between shows is a necessity but how that will work out is at the heart of the issue. I believe a mix of larger shows with a couple county fairs will be the route to take but that’s pure speculation on my part at this early stage of the game. We have one more show – the grand daddy of them in our regional area. The Great Lakes International in October will be the show that will put things in perspective for us as to what our goals should be for the next season. Last year we were very pleased with just getting a ribbon with the outstanding competition. This year I have heard that the competition is even deeper. Our goal is to place in the top 5 for our classes. It’s a very tall order to fill. I believe that Duane and Barney have an outstanding shot of doing so. Doug and I have had some ups & downs so I’m not certain what is realistic for us. If he is on then we should be in the top 10 IMHO. The team class is the big question. Last year we placed 9th and the boys are doing better then ever but we didn’t get a chance to compete in the team class at the State fair because of loosing a shoe on Doug so I’m not sure where to gage our progress in that class. Duane is feeling good about the team and thinks that placing in the top 5 is within his grasp if he has a perfect go. One can hope ;-}

Home At Last

2004-08-23T14:36:00.000-04:00

Where do I begin? I’m tired, happy, overworked and justified. What a combination. The whole month up to now is a blur which ended with a huge bang! The Michigan State Fair sure was awesome. We had a great time but were so busy with the horses that we didn’t get a chance to do anything there. I will get the results of our last 3 fairs out soon. We have really been happy with our results. We did get an interesting call while at the state fair from our neighbor. Seems that someones horse got loose and was hit by a car – my greatest fear. It happened right in front of our house and everyone thought it was our horse but alias it wasn’t. Thank goodness for that! I feel bad for the horse owners who not only lost a horse but in this day and age I’m afraid that they might risk a nasty legal battle over damage to the car as well and for that matter, I don’t know if anyone was hurt. It’s a sad day that we live in with all the law suits going on. While at the state fair we caught up with photographer Jim Finton who does is a regular on the county fair and horse show circuit. Poor guy was also in a terrible horse related accident in July when a wheel horse of a 4-up tried to mount the lead horse and all hell broke loose. Poor guy sure was beat up and is so lucky to be alive after all that. He tried to help out but got trampled instead. I hope that he heals up soon and is able to get back to taking those outstanding shots that we enjoy so much.

Still at Home

2004-08-12T08:37:00.000-04:00

Duane and Lauren are gone and I’m home all alone. I had planned on taking some time off work both this week and next but I’m so buried with work at the office that I chose to work all this week and take care of the remaining animals at home. I will be taking 3 days off next week for the State Fair. For now it’s just me, the dogs, cats, fowl, my old horse Hawk and mini donkey Jules. Hawk is beside himself since his filly went to the show as well. This will be the first show for our home bred yearling filly and I’m very anxious to see how things go for her both in how she behaves as well as how well she places. I of course think the world of her but she is my “kid” and we all know how a “mother” views her children. She got a clip job the other day and was great…. With the twitch on. Didn’t move an inch so it was a positive experience. Hopefully there will be a time when she won’t need the twitch but for now it’s a start. She looks so mature all cleaned up with her mane pulled, ears and face clipped.

I really am depressed about not being there with everyone. I will meet up with my family Friday nite but will have missed the halter classes. At least I’ll be there to hitch and drive Ladies Cart. I didn’t sleep hardly at all last night. Woke up at 4am and couldn’t get back to sleep so I got up and headed in to work at 5. At least I’ll get home early tonight thanks to flex time. I’m gonna stop by a fabric store on my way home today. Yesterday I saw a 50% to 70% off sign out there – they are moving the store so I’m hoping for some deals on purple, grey or white fabric. It always seems like I need more of that for odd and ends – like the new display table that Duane built. He painted it purple so it looks nice but I would like to see it with a table skirt and our new logo. The stall drapes will be making their debut at this show. A big hug and many thanks go out to the Prill ladies for their efforts in hemming these for us. Still a whole bunch of work to be done on those, putting on our farm name, logo and stripes – it never ends. Duane is going to be making a type of awning for the valance so it can be back lit. Big dreams on a small time budget, I think that I will finally acquire all that is needed and be satisfied with our efforts when we are ready to retire ;-}. I’m going to get some silkscreen paint/ink to do the logo and farm name on our drapes next week and that will be our next project once we get home from the State Fair.

SAGINAW COUNTY FAIR - Results

2004-08-08T22:43:00.000-04:00

It was interesting being in a circus type tent but it worked out alright. Since the fair moved (see further info about this in my prior post), this is the first time that we have gone back and I'm glad we did. We finally got to hook the unicorn and we couldnt be prouder of how well they worked at the first real go in the show ring. Hank was an absolutly perfect lead horse and is a total gem (Huge bear hug for the little guy that has more heart then a lion).

HALTER RESULTS
Sr. Gelding Halter - Barney, 2nd Place
Sr. Gelding Halter - Doug, 3rd Place
Matched Pair - Doug & Barney, 2nd Place
Youth Showmanship - Lauren w/Doug, 1st Place

HITCH RESULTS
Mens Cart - Barney, 2nd Place
Ladies Cart - Doug, 4th Place
Youth Cart - Lauren with Hank, 2nd Place
Team - Doug & Barney, 2th Place
Unicorn - Doug, Barney & in the lead Hank, 3rd Place

On to Huron, Bad Axe Michigan. Just stopping home to catch up on messages, care for livestock and replenish our feed. Halter on Friday and Hitching on Saturday. I heard that there will be 4 good Percheron hitches there in addition to the 2 or 3 local boys. It's gonna be quite a show.

Horse show madness

2004-08-04T11:18:00.000-04:00

Its official, it begins tomorrow. 24 days straight away from home showing at 4 different shows. We actually paid entry fees for this abuse ;-} Note to self – have head examined. Lauren comes home tomorrow afternoon to hit the shows with us. I will be very happy to have an extra pair of hands and she loves the horses. I am blessed! We did a couple warm up shows so I’m hoping that things will go smoother now. It seemed that the last show was a bit smoother for us, but then again it was hitching only and not overnight. It seems that we have to take everything but the kitchen sink when we go overnight and for this run we will be gone many nights. At least we will be close enough to be able to make trips home to pick up supplies (horse feed and such) and check on the animals remaining at home between each show. Thank goodness there are a couple down days at the show grounds for each show. On the good side, we won’t need to work the horses since they will be worked for the judges. I must admit that I am concerned about the conditions at the Saginaw fair. Turns out that there are no wash racks and that if you wash your horse or equipment you must do so from a bucket for both the wash and the rinse. How the heck is that possible to rinse from a bucket. So everyone will be in the same boat at least but that will suck. Guess I’m going to have to give the boys a wash job at home tonight or Duane will need to do so tomorrow before he takes them over to the fairgrounds. I also understand that the horses are housed under a “circus” tent, which under normal circumstances would not be a problem but we have had a huge amount of rain the last couple days which make me concerned about the stalls being dry – rather the drainage or lack of drainage in the area. I’m sure that the fairgrounds will be very nice when they are done. They were moved from being actually in Saginaw to Chesaning because of a number of gun fights and abductions that happened in Saginaw during the fair. This will be the 3rd year for the fair being held in Chesaning so I look forward to them getting better with each year.

SANALAC COUNTY FAIR - Results

2004-08-01T13:59:00.000-04:00

Like last year, the Sanalac Fair in Sandusky Michigan is a Hitch only day show. The weather was very pleasant with over cast sky's and sprinkles on and off most of the day. The rain was just enough to keep everyone cool. The competition was great and a fun time was had by all.

HITCH RESULTS
Mens Cart - Barney, 2nd Place
Ladies Cart - Doug, 3rd Place
Team - Doug & Barney 4th Place

Sanalac County Fair Tomorrow - Bummer

2004-07-29T17:22:00.000-04:00

I’m totally bummed because Duane is going with a helper to the show without me. I had originally taken the day off but recently was bumped because the other office girl had last minute eye surgery today and she most likely wont be in tomorrow. So I’m coming in to work and will be wondering all day about how Duane and the boys are doing. On the filp side of that at least it’s just a one day haul in/out show a ½ hour from our house so he should be home before I get home from work. At least I know they are in good hands, I know Duane cant braid a mane or drive the ladies cart class – now that would be interesting;-}, so Eve of Mischief Mannor Clydes is going to go with Duane to be his groom as well as drive the ladies cart class. Thank goodness for her being there, I think I would have a heart attack if he was going to try to braid on his own. I am taking time off for the remaining shows but only on show days so I know I’m going to be totally spent after this month. Well…. I am working on taking the entire week of the State Fair off so I can have some fun as well as show at that event. So anyway, I get to do a bunch of the work and then go to work the next day UGH. Talk about getting the wrong end of that bargain. I’m washing horses then wrapping legs as soon as I get home, then I have to make sure everything is in order equipment wise (everything but the wagon and cart). That’s my part of the deal with Duane; he is responsible for all the bedding, barn work and getting stuff to the shows as well as showing while I’m responsible for all the detail stuff. It usually works out well with him getting the heavy grunt work but this time I’m on the loosing end. Such is life. The Saginaw County show is around the corner and I will be taking time off for that one. Lauren will be home by then too so she will be going to the show to do the junior classes as well. I sure do miss her and look forward to her being home soon.

The horses are training extremely well at this point. We are attempting to peak them for the State Fair and it looks like we are dead on schedule. Barney is really coming together and Doug is finally making some progress in his fitness level. It has been very slow going getting him physically right since his time off earlier this spring. He was a whole month behind Barney in his training level and because of that we pulled him out of 2 performance classes at the Fowlerville Fair which was our last show. It kind of sucked not having him ready as our go to horse for the junior and ladies cart classes but it was the right thing to do and I don’t regret it in the least. Doug will only see 2 performance classes at the Sanalac Fair so that will be fine. They don’t have any junior classes so we don’t have to worry about the extra work load for him. He should be starting to fire on all cylinders for the Saginaw Fair where he will see 3 performance classes and a halter class. That should be perfect scheduling wise for him then its Hell week… actually 2 weeks with 3 shows back to back with the last one being the State Fair. I’m looking very forward to it but it will be a daunting task.

Babys got new pair of shoes

2004-07-27T17:08:00.000-04:00

Its time to reset our boys and it always is quite the production and I’m always amazed at the size of everything drafty which brings me to thinking about how draft horses often get a bad wrap due to the size of their shoes. A number of light horse people consider the way a draft horse is shod as cruel and outrageous because of the size of shoes our guys take. I get a number of people who come to fairs asking about the large feet that our horses have and the shoes that are used. Our horses don’t wear “large” shoes, they wear shoes that are correctly sized for their foot. Remember we are talking about 2000lbs of horse here and they would be cripple in no time if they had small petite feet. Draft horse breeders actually breed for large wide heels, and I’m glad it’s that way, I want my horses to be sound with good feet. There has been much controversy on the topic since you will commonly see what might be considered an oversized foot and it is assumed that this is a scotch bottom. INCORRECT! A scotch bottom shoe is a type of shoe (a type of horseshoe with an outer edge that is sloped down and outward from the hoof, at an angle to match the hoof) nothing more or less which can be used as designed or abused. Like with any breed you will see people take things to extreme and others that will do what’s best for their horse long term. This is nothing new in the world of competition and its seen world wide in every sport out there. From my vantage point the scotch bottom shoe is an excellent shoe and was way ahead of its time. Take a look at a new style of shoe called a “natural balance shoe”. It is amazingly similar to the shape of a scotch bottom and is extremely close in resemblance to what is considered a draft parade shoe.

Natural Balance Shoe

Draft Parade Shoe

Draft Scotch Bottom Shoe

The goal in using this type of shoe is to better support the horse and to correctly balance a horse regardless of if it is a draft or light horse. Current research (late 1990’s) proved again that it’s most beneficial for a horse to have a somewhat squared off toe which goes against what farriers have been taught for the last 50 years. Interesting that draft horse farriers have been using this type of a foot/shoe on their horses for the last 100 years. Horses back then needed to be sound to pull the delivery/freight wagons. This squared off toe shape didn’t happen by mistake but was arrived at by trial and error and should be considered a tried and true method to caring for horse’s feet. While I’m sure that there is a place for what is considered the normal rounded horse shoe, it isn’t on a draft horse used for carriage, parade or show ring work. Using our drafts in this manner requires a very supportive shoe that will help maintain a balanced food and prolong soundness by distributing the weight evenly across a wide base which is exactly what a scotch bottom shoe will do. Just thought I’d share with you that interesting tidbit.

I Wish I Was There

2004-07-22T11:46:00.000-04:00

Where you might ask, but if you really knew me you would know that it’s the 2004 World Percheron Congress in Brandon Manatoba. I wanted to go so much but alias I have to work a day job to pay for my horse habit. We so wanted to have Barney compete in the Men’s cart class there because we truly feel that he has the ability to compete with the big guys. I just couldn’t let my boy go, its so far and if something would have happened to him I would have been heart broken. So he’s out in the pasture enjoying the afternoon with his good buddy Doug. No regrets here, we know he’s a “big” horse – but it would have been nice to see him go head to head with the best in the world to see if he is really as good as we think he is. I think that we will get a good indicator of his ability at the Michigan State Fair and the Great Lakes International later this year so till then he’s just our little biscuit.

In looking over their website it appears to me that the Manitoba Percheron-Belgian Club really has gone out of their way to put on one heck of a World Congress which makes me even more remorsefull that I can not physically attend. I have visited their web site a numerious amout of times checking out the updates and most recently the results. They sure have their act together to get all that information out there. Kudos to them for a job well done!

I am looking forward to the 2006 Congress which is to be held in Lexington Kentucky at the Kentucky Horse Park which will be great. I have always wanted to visit the park but as of yet have not been able to make the time. I’m going to go to this one come hell or high-water even if it means just as a spectator.

Drawing to an end

2004-07-19T21:10:00.000-04:00

Life is full of ups and downs. Caring and tending to animals that depend on you for their care and welfare can sure force a person make some hard choices. A number of years ago I had a draft cross mare that colicked. I could afford colic surgery at the time so that’s what I did. The mare ended up living thru the procedure but developing a huge hernia and after a years worth of care we ended up putting her down at the recommendation of our regular vet and a top vet with Michigan State University. The mare was only 5 and it was devastating to me to lose her after raising her from a yearling. Bailey was miserable and would never be comfortable even in a pasture as a pet. I think I cried for a whole week for my friend that I had chosen to destroy in her best interest. So many hope and dreams of future years together I had envisioned all swept away. I know in my heart it was the right thing to do but it was one of the hardest decisions that I have personally ever had to make.

I now am faced with a similar situation and again my heart aches as I recall the last 20 some years I have had with my faithful Arabian, Hawk. I found Hawk at a barn where I went to look at a good-sized white ½ Arabian gelding. He was in a paddock all by himself after being recently castrated. He had a terrible sunburn on his nose and the back of his pasterns that had crater sized cracks with puss oozing out of them. I was told that he was nutty and too much for a teenager to handle but there was something about him that drew me to him. His eyes followed me wary of what I might do but waiting to decide if I posed a threat to him. He had been a Champion in Halter and Western Pleasure classes not many years before. How he had dropped from grace was beyond me but there he was looking sad and distrusting at us. I picked him up the following week and after many months of working with him he emerged into a confident playful and even humorous friend. He has been with me ever since and he has taken many a beginner for a pleasant after noon trail ride, taught many youngsters to ride correctly and instilled respect for horses in all that have had the good fortune to have known him. He taught me the finer points of horsemanship and its Hawk that has made me the horsewoman that I am today. I write this entry cherishing many fine things about my friend and my sorrow that he appears to be declining this year. Hawk is 34 years old this summer, in human years he would be 102. He did not make it thru the past winter as effortlessly has he has in the past and we are fighting to get weight on him. His life with us is winding down and we are faced with the prospect of putting him down before the next winter hits if he doesn’t put sufficient weight back on to make it thru the impending winter. I don’t wish to see him suffer and shiver out on the cold Michigan nights so I am faced with a decision in the not so far future. Time is on my side at this moment and I am cherishing every moment I can with my buddy and am so thankful to have had him in my life. As I’m loosing one great horse another is emerging and I think to myself that I am the richest woman on the earth having been fortunate enough to have both of them in my life. To the past I salute Hawk and all that he has taught me, to the future I embrace my time with Barney and while he will never fill Hawks shoes he in his own way will make a significant mark on my life as we blaze a new trail together.

The wind of heaven is that whichblows between a horse's ears. -Arabian Proverb

Ahhhh Relief.........

2004-07-16T14:14:00.000-04:00

It’s finally cooled down a bit here. That near 90 degree weather with 100% humidity was killing me and the horses as well for that matter. We are currently at a balmy 75 degrees with a very nice breeze. We are working the horses at a festival this weekend then its a couple days down time and then back to the grind. Doug is still out of condition – looks good but is short winded so we will work on cardio for him prior to Sandusky which is looming in the near future – 2 weeks off. Our house it totally trashed and we have a ton of washing to do on everything under the sun ranging from clothes to harness.

On another note, it took us 3 trips (actually 2 trips with 2 trucks) to get all our crap to the Fowlerville show. That sucks for a couple reasons. First off it takes up a ton of time. The second is that the horses are crammed in the stock trailer with the harness boxes and all the other crap that has to go and the wagon is on a flat bed trailer which is reason number 3. We have to break down and buy a semi to house all our show equipment as well as make it easier on us to travel to the shows. We have been putting it off but now that we have a nice show wagon, cart and harness we really need to make a switch and soon. So that will be our next purchase! Never in a million years did I ever think that I would hear myself say that I want a semi truck and trailer. What have I become?

Fowlerville Fair Results

2004-07-14T08:39:00.000-04:00

Here is Doug in all his glory posing for Grand Champion Gelding at the Fowlerville Fair. I cant thank enough the people that helped us at Fowlerville and those that gave us our start. Nancy, Robin and Jim at Sunshine Farm, Les and Sandi at Lesansha Percherons, Jim and Sharon at Crawfords Belgians, Ralph at Warby Belgians and those that have supported us as ground crew - Sam, Barb & Joe. With out all those people there is no way we could have even entered the ring let alone finish in the ribbons. Our complete placings at the fair are as follows:

Sr. Gelding 1st Place - Doug

Sr. Gelding 3rd Place - Barney

Grand Champion Gelding - Doug

Mens Cart 1st Place - Duane & Barney

Ladies Cart 5th Place - Chris & Hank

Youth Cart 2nd Place - Sam & Hank

Team Class 5th Place - Duane with Doug & Barney

Youth Team 1st Place - Sam with Doug & Barney

Unicorn - Scratched

Here are a few pictures of the days events Barney in Full Flight in the Mens Cart Class, Hank and Chris in Ladies Cart, Doug nd Barney in the Team Class moving in unison, Doug and Barney in the Team Class lined up, Sam and Hank in the Youth Cart Class lined up and Sam at the lines with the Unicorn Hitch prior to entering the ring.

All Settled in

2004-07-11T21:05:00.000-04:00

The geldings are all settled in at the Fair. It sure is HOT! The Michigan Percheron Breeders Futurity was today and there was also a pot luck dinner and fund raising auction. It was a great afternoon visiting with people that we don’t get to see all that often. We got to work the boys in the ring after the show and it sure was a good thing. Hank really didn’t like the people in the breezeway and it took him a few laps to settle in but he did and worked great. We knew that he didn’t have much experience in the show ring so this was new to him. Barney impressed the heck out of us with his maturity in the ring. Last year he was a nut case with people on the rail and looking into every isle way off the ring but this year he is all business. I'm so proud of that boy and feel so lucky to have him. We washed both Doug and Barney after working them lightly in the ring, that water sure felt good. Got to head back to the fair to wrap legs - its halter tomorrow and then hitching on Tuesday!

Off to Fowlerville

2004-07-09T10:25:00.000-04:00

Its time! Were packed, or as well packed as we can be prior to a show. Got the hay, straw, grain, equipment and the camper all packed. Whew, load off my mind. Seems that I keep thinking of further things that need to go – you just never know what your gonna need. We will be there from Saturday thru the end of the day on Tuesday/Wednesday morning. They sure are putting pressure on us to get out by 9am on Wednesday so we will be hustling to say the least. I’m going to try to get as many pictures as possible. Speaking of pictures. My employer brought in a really nice scrapbook of their trip to Italy and I think that is what I’m going to do… make a scrapbook of our shows. It will be fun to look back in the years to come so that’s on my agenda now too. For anyone interested, here’s the link to the Fowlerville Fair.

Time to get back to work

2004-07-05T16:04:00.000-04:00

The holiday weekend is closing now. Back to work tomorrow. It sure was nice having an extra day off over the weekend. We sure have been busy working horses. Today’s task was getting all of our show equipment into the trailer so that we don’t have to worry about it later in the week. Getting the camper ready to go has proved to be the biggest chore. Saturday morning we haul out for the Fowlerville show and will be there all week. I'm getting excited because all of our stuff is finally beginning to come together. I will have the stall drapes finished by mid week. I don’t think that I will be able to get our logo or farm name on the valance but it could happen. Duane is busy all week shoeing horses so not much else will happen on the farm other then the usual, which means today is the last full day we have to get "ready". Thank goodness the move in date is a Saturday and we have till 3pm to have the horses in which means that we can move in the camper after that if necessary. I’m sure this week will fly by now that its already begun.

To all the Great Horses

2004-07-02T10:42:00.000-04:00

I was reflecting the other day on our horse Barney as he munched contently on the hay in the pasture and thinking about what a pleasure it is to own a horse as great as him. It occurred to me that I would consider Barney to be a once in a lifetime horse for us. I remembered as a youngster my grandfather sitting me on his knee telling me about his "Brian" horse and how he was a once in a lifetime horse. Grandpa loved that horse and would tell me stories about their adventures together while living on his parent’s farm in New Brunswick Canada. His eyes lit up and there was a softness that came over his face as he retold stories about life on the farm and working with the horses. Brian was a great horse to grandpa, it wasn’t that he was a top athlete, had outstanding bloodlines or was the smartest horse ever. In fact I believe that he was a draft cross of undetermined blood out of his dads favorite grade draft mare June. Grandpa was given Brian as a gift on his 10th birthday as a very green 2 yr old. There were many stories told about training Brian and his exploits running away, bucking and breaking tie ropes and there were many more stories about first dates with Brian pulling the sleigh or cart, adventures of going to town riding him and working him in the fields. Which brings me to Barney.

Barney came to us as a 3 yr old when we purchased him at auction. He was a small and scruffy looking youngster but he had a real sparkle in his eye and a kind inquisitive nature about him. There were a number of people who wondered what the heck we were doing buying such a plain and small gelding. I debated very hard on actually bidding on him but am so glad that I did. He was 16.3hh when we got him and looked more like a warmblood then a Percheron. Over the last two years he has really bloomed and far surpassed all expectations we had for him. His skill and animation in harness are a sight to behold as he stomps proudly around the ring. Barney has so many more qualities then I can even begin to write about. He is so many things to each member of our family. We all love him and are rewarded with his trust in us and his genuine will to do our bidding to the best of his ability regardless of the task asked. He is an amazing horse and one that will have a home with us for his lifetime on earth.

To all those out there that have a Barney in their barn… cherish that horse and enjoy your time with them. They don’t come along too often!

Updates

2004-06-29T10:04:00.000-04:00

Well we didn't go to the Marion show, that was detailed in another post "Murphy's Law" now we just realized that we missed the entry deadline by 2 days for the Ingham show. GRRRR... We thought that the entry's deadlines were July 1st, everyone else's was but of course not Inghams. So we will be skipping that show which is a good thing I think. Looking at the calendar and the schedule we would have been toasted going from show to show starting August 1st. So now we will only be doing 3 in a row in August but that will be tough as well. Were shipping right from one show to the next, the horses wont see home till after the Michigan State Fair. That's going to be 3 long weeks for everyone. I am looking forward to it even if it will be taxing on us.

Barney and Hank have been training excellent and they are very much so on top of their game. Doug is a bit behind on his conditioning due to his accident posted about under I zigged when I should have zagged. He is healthy and almost 100% healed up from that adventure. His conditioning is the most important factor now.

Another Friday

2004-06-25T09:39:00.000-04:00

Well Friday is here. Duane, who has been working 3rd shift, is going to be working with Shane(our blacksmith) today and tomorrow trimming horses feet. It will be great experience for him to do so under Shanes supervision. Trimming our horses over the winter and just doing our riding horses at home is fine and dandy for us but this will make him take it a step farther and a chance to hone his skill... that is if he can handle it after working all week. I believe the goal is to get good enought to be able to shoe a show foot on our geldings and be comfortable doing so. That sure would save a ton of money a year... like around $2,000 minimally. Hmmmm what can I buy with that saved cash ;-}

Haying is in full swing and we were finally able to get a "good" bail of hay from our supplier today. We have been getting decient but corse bails for the last 2 months. Unfortunatly we didnt budget our hay requirements good enough and ran out of the stuff that we usually feed. We were able to get hay that at least met minimal needs but it sure wasnt somthing the horses were happy about. The good news is that we just got our 1st bail of the good stuff so we are back on track. The horses sure are happy about it to. By the way they swarmed the truck when it brought in the new bail you would think that they had been starved or eating straw.

Another Chore

2004-06-23T09:33:00.000-04:00

Having horses on our property and caring for them ourselves has really been an eye opening experience. The work that goes into maintaining horse facilities is a never ending job. Combine that with having to provide for all your horses physical needs can make for an interesting life. I work at an office and they are floored when I might say that I’m tired from being up late shoeing my horses (we have 5) or when asked what I’m doing for the weekend and I respond by saying I’m getting hay in. I get the usual blank look and then the question comes…. So that takes all weekend. Well, Yea! Putting up hay for the entire year accounts for 2 or 3 weekends. I mean were talking about 400 small 70lb square bales and just under 100 large 800lb round bales. I never in a million years would have thought 15 years ago that I would be so concerned about the weather and crops. But I do now because it effects how much I have to pay for feed and the quality of that feed. It’s amazing to me how obvious we can be when we have horses in boarding situations. Did you know that Legumes (leafy plants such as alfalfa, clover and lespedeza) hays are considered to be better for your horses due to higher nutritional value than grass(fescue, blue grass, orchard grass, timothy, and Bermuda grass) hays. Did you know that the leaves contain two-thirds of the protein found in hay? Outside factors like when a field is cut and the weather conditions can greatly impact the quality of hay. So many farmers wait till late June to take off 1st cutting and they are loosing so much in quality of their hay by doing so. It further effects 2nd cuttings value as well because now your talking about a very stemmy hay which reduces the number of leaves further. The following is a widely accepted method of grading hay. If you use the numbers as a ranking system the lower the total number the higher quality the hay is.

Stage of Harvest

1. Before heading or bloom 0-5% of leaves are old and brown
2. Early heading or bloom 6-15% of leaves are old and brown
3. Mid-to late-heading or bloom 16-30% of leaves are old and brown
4. Seed stage (stemmy) >30% of leaves are old and brown

Leafiness

1. Very leafy
2. Leafy
3. Not leafy
4. Few leaves

Steminess

1. None or only small diameter stems
2. Few or medium diameter stems
3. Many or large diameter stems
4. Mostly stems or very coarse diameter stems

Color

1. Natural green color of crop
2. Light green to slightly brownish
3. Yellow to straw to brownish
4. Brown or black

Odor

1. Clean
2. Dusty
3. Moldy - Musty
4. Burnt

Softness

1. Very soft and pliable
2. Soft
3. Slightly harsh
4. Harsh and brittle

Also remember to penalize hay with foreign objects and insects.

New Layout & Todays Events

2004-06-20T19:39:00.000-04:00

Finally got it done. Wish that I had a picture that was was based in purple and silver to match our show colors but I didnt and I liked this one.

We worked the geldings today as per usual and its obvious that Doug is very unfit. His injury sure has us at a dissadvantage right now. Its going to be slow going getting him up to speed. Lots of slower conditioning. Duane is going to ride him to strengthin his back and encourage him to step under himself. He gets so excited in harness that the riding should be more benificial at this point since he will relax.

Barney was Unfreaking believable in cart. Our blacksmith has him shod perfectly and his condition/training level is right on the money. Hank is sitting right there with Barney as well but he just isnt as great a mover naturally. He is moving the best that he ever has so I'm estatic about that.

Last but not least Happy Fathers Day to all the Dad's out there

The Wagon Ride

2004-06-18T20:21:00.000-04:00

Here is everyone who came out on Thursday. Doug and Barney pulled the wagon with all the kids loaded up and of course grandma on Hank.

Go Granny Go

2004-06-18T20:18:00.000-04:00

This is grandma on Hank on Thursday. I think she looks great up there on that big white beast!

Murphy’s Law

2004-06-18T13:10:00.000-04:00

This whole week has been total chaos. Seems like we have been a day behind from the get go and just cant make up the difference. Yesterday was supposed to be the first show of the season for us. Notice I said “was supposed to be” instead of just plain ole “was”. We didn’t make it. We were late getting out and then had a couple flats on the trailer and with only one spare and time not in our favor we ended up staying home. Of course the tire problem was found out the morning of the show after we had busted our butts all week long and had got our sorry butts out of bed at 6am to feed the horses and wash the white one (Hank). Of course its easy to place blame but darn it Duane – that stuff is your domain and I cant believe that you didn’t get the truck and trailer checked out a couple days prior to the blasted show, because it could have been avoided. Then again, looking back the whole week was a series of mishaps so it just wasn’t meant to be.

The day was not lost even though we missed the show. Grandma came to get our youngin for a summer visit and she brought some other youngsters over with her to enjoy the horses. We went for a wagon ride and grandma even had enough gumption to ride Hank while the rest of us went along in the wagon. Go Granny Go!!! The kids all got to ride Hank a bit too so they really enjoyed the down time to be able to mess around with our big guys.

While it was nice to take things slower and relax from the crazy week, it was a crush to see the boys work so well while on our wagon ride. They were so perfectly prancing and I had been so worried about Doug due to the cut on his ankle a month ago but it didn’t bother him one bit and he moved out enjoying being out on the road. It’s a shame that they didn’t get the chance to show off in front of a judge.

Crunch Time

2004-06-16T08:06:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is show day and there still is so much left to do. The horse’s feet were reset last night. Didn’t get done till midnight and I’m pooped. I didn’t get to finish trim anyone because of that. Their feet were supposed to be done in the morning but Duane changed it to afternoon, which became evening. Boy did that throw a wrench into things for me. So tonight I have a meeting after work which will get me home at between 7 and 8pm and then I have the task of getting everyone’s show clothes, grooming supplies and meals into the truck and trailer as well as finish trim the boys. I can see a long night ahead of me and I’m not looking forward to it. We were in good shape till yesterday, funny how one day going awry can really mess up the best laid plans. It’s always a struggle getting into the groove for shows the first show of the season but this time it feels like a battle.

Countdown – 3 days

2004-06-14T08:48:00.000-04:00

3 more days to the first show of the season. We are taking 3 horses to Marion county fair show on Thursday. Its disappointing to me because we will not be able to do out best since Doug is not 100%. The cut on his ankle really has hurt his conditioning (he was off for almost 3 weeks) and while we could push him to do all 3 harness classes I don’t think that it is the right thing to do. Then again on the other hand we are showing another horse that is new to us and I’m confident that he is new to showing as well so perhaps its all for the best because he will be getting all of Doug’s scratched classes. It kind of bums me out because I know that Hank isn’t ½ the horse that Doug is and I can’t see him placing as well but it will be excellent experience for Hank to get the ring time prior to the larger shows.

Our little (not so little anymore) Barney sure has grown up and we had to make a trip to the harness makers this weekend to get him a larger collar. He is 5 now and it’s hard to imagine him as the small mud caked 3 yr old we purchased 2 years ago. He sure has come round full circle. We purchased him purely on his kind eye and inquisitive nature never imaging that he would be our star cart horse. I would have been happy with him as a plain jane trail horse and to date he is everyone’s favorite mount for trail riding. He loves the show ring and is a totally different animal in the ring then on the trail. He really has versatility and is a joy to own and work with. We are fortunate to have him.

We sure have been busy around the farm with getting all the equipment spit shined and ready to show. There still is a bunch of work to do in getting the camper and its related equipment ready for the overnight shows but at least we have another 4 weeks to get that in order. It seems like a mad scramble at this point. I’m sure that once we get into the season we will get more into our routine which will make things so much smoother. The first show always seems to be a mad dash getting things in order.

Just Relax!

2004-06-08T08:31:00.000-04:00

People just amaze me. Always in such a hurry and aggravated, at least that’s how it appears to me. I base my opinion on events that occur to me on my daily one and a half hour drive into the city to work my day job that supports my horse “habit”. Yesterday on my way home I reached my boiling point with the chaos that these hurry up and wait people cause. For reference, I work in a very busy city area and the traffic during rush is stop and go. There are a large number of corporate offices and the majority of the traffic is white collar workers. As I left yesterday a plain jane Toyota midsized car with a 40ish well dressed woman driving it, pulled up behind me. Traffic was typical for the time of day and traffic was moving along but it was slow. What’s interesting is that the woman behind me kept pulling out to the left of the lane edging into the turn lane, trying to see past me in my large 4X4 ¾ ton truck. Then the antics began. This woman laid on her horn 3 times in a 4 mile stretch for no apparent reason. We were all in rush hour grid lock with no where to go and an accident ahead that blocked ½ of the road had us all down to a crawl. The third time she did it I lost it as we pulled up to a light and stopped, she laid on her horn again and as I was watching her in my rear view mirror threw her arms up in the air. I now know what provokes road rage and never before would have thought that I would be such a position. I saw red! I threw the truck into park and stepped out of the truck. Panic was visible on her face as I pointed at her and bellowed a stream of obscenities about her horn blowing antics. As luck would have it, the light turned green and I scurried into my truck to move forward another ½ mile and at least the woman stopped laying on the horn. I just don’t get what drives people to be so inconsiderate. I’m sure if this woman would have had a tank she would flattened us all in her attempt to race to her destination. What I don’t understand is what’s the hurry? Everyone who lives and works in the area knows and has to live with the traffic situation. It’s a choice we all made of our own free will. This is no new situation. Then again I guess there is always someone that has to act like a fool, it makes the world go round and it makes me cherish even more my time in my rural community where things don’t move at the city pace.

So what’s the draw with hitching horses?

2004-06-04T22:38:00.000-04:00

I'm writing this tonight because its 2 weeks out to our first show of the season. As I'm sitting here winding down for the evening I am reflecting on all the chaos that has been going on around here while we scurry to get all the unending equipment out, repaired and cleaned. I'm so exhausted that I ask myself, why am I doing this? Even as I think it, I know the answer all to well....It’s all about family, good friends and of course draft horses.

I use to show light horses in my younger years. Showing light horses was very competitive both in and out of the ring. Having the latest fashions, equipment or horse in vogue played a roll in doing well there. You wont find that holding true with drafts. Clean, safe equipment and well-trained quality animals are what counts in the draft horse ring. But thats not the reason behind all the work required to get to the show ring.

I much prefer draft horses because of their power, grace and kindness which is reflected in the people that love them. The comradely between draft horse competitors is one that I frankly have not ever come across in light horse competitions. It’s all business in the ring but outside it’s a different story. Families gathering around campers (some with 3 generations representing their clan), sharing dinner while chatting about horses, showing and catching up in general. It’s a relaxed environment that feels more like camping then showing. Everyone is friendly and all the kids play and enjoy the company of other draft horse family’s kids. Good hearted teasing and boasting about ones animals and respective placings are common. Then there is the tomfoolery that runs ramped as one day turns into the next. Draft horse people in general are outgoing, generous and caring people. The good friends that I have made by being involved with draft horses are people that I am proud to call friends. I value their friendship and cherish the time that we are able to spend together sharing our love of horses. The wholesome environment has made a significant impact on our family by keeping our child busy enjoying the outdoors and engaged with caring for the horses and helping out in the barn. It has also taught her that hard work put in training and working with the horses at home is required to be able to do good at shows. I can’t imagine our lives without our draft horses and I look forward to the impending show season as it draws closer even if it means that I'm exhausted at the end of the day. The hard work put in is well worth the return that is received by the enrichment that it brings to our lives and thats what hitching horses is all about.

Its the Show Season...again

2004-06-03T09:24:00.000-04:00

Its hard to believe that it is already upon us. Just 2 weeks till our first show and our August and September show schedule is still not confirmed but the following is our schedule at this point.

Marion County Fair
Marion, MI
June 17, 2004

Livingston County Fair
Fowlerville, MI
July 10 - 14, 2004

Sanilac County Fair
Sandusky, MI
July 30, 2004

Ingham County Fair
Mason, MI
August 1st - 4th, 2004

Saginaw County Fair
Chesaning, MI
August 5th - 7th, 2004

Huron County Fair
Bad Axe, MI
August 11th - 14th, 2004

Michigan State Fair
Detroit, MI
August 19th - 22nd

Saline Fair
Saline, MI
September 7th - 8th

Michigan Great Lakes International
Lansing, MI
October 14th - 17th, 2004