A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop - The Injury

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

We finally got done shooting pictures of all of the Arabian horses and it was time to pack up my mares and foals to take them back home. All of them were exhausted and glad to be going back to their familiar territory, I think. Each horse loaded like it was an old pro.

I always have to laugh when I bring horses back home. Every horse in my herd has something to say about the return. Some are angry they every left in the first place. Some are glad to see old friends. Some have questions.......where ya been, what'd ya do?? It's always amazing to hear the varied discourse and try to figure out what conversations are going on.

Legs particularly has a lot to say. He doesn't like it when his mares leave and he's really glad to see they have returned. But the stallion doesn't overlook his foals. If they have left the farm, he really checks them over carefully upon their return.

Normally Legs talks playfully with his kids. He nods his head and urges them to come close to say "hello." The whole time he is checking them out to be sure that each is ok.

On this particular day, I think that Legs was concerned about Rhythm too. Normally, the stallion would face box with the red colt given the opportunity. He wouldn't be mean but he definitely played as rough with the colt as the colt liked!



But today,Rhythm was quiet and so was his dad. I glanced over to see the red colt leaning up against his father's neck, standing with his eyes closed. Legs had a concerned look on his face as he gently nuzzled the colt. I remember watching this exchange and being even more concerned about the injury to this colt's head.

It turned out the vet couldn't make it until in the morning. I got up several times during the night to check on the condition of this colt. Other than being extremely quiet, Rhythm seemed to be doing ok. He was eating hay with his mom and nursing plenty as well. I was just going to have to wait for the vet to diagnosis this injury.

When the vet did arrive, she palpated all around this ugly knot on Rhythm's face. She checked him over carefully for signs of a concussion. Since she already had experience with this colt, she was convinced judging from his quiet demeanor that he had a concussion. How severe that concussion was only time would tell.

Talk about feeling like a heel, we'd gone ahead and stressed this colt by taking pictures when he'd just suffered some kind of head injury. No wonder he had that worried or pained expression on his sweet face. If I could have taken those last 36 hours back, I'd have done it in a minute.

Concussion wasn't the vet's only concern. She was pretty sure because of the size and scope of the injury, that there were fractures involved. If that was the case, there was concern about the location of this injury. It was right near, if not on a growth plate.

I clearly remember that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach when the vet mentioned the growth plate. Without her even saying anything more I knew what we were facing. If there was a fracture through a growth plate, I was going to be losing another colt.

And not just any old colt, another "once in a lifetime" kind of horse like Image had been. The only difference to me between these two colts was that Image had been in my pocket. He hadn't been just a fantastic colt, he had been a fantastic friend. Rhythm was the kind of colt that could make Legs's name as a breeding stallion and put my little breeding farm on the Arabian show horse map.

To be continued..........

The Injury - Part 2

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!!!!!


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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop - The Photo Shoot Part 2

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

Well, we still had lots of Arabian horses to photograph so Scandalous Rhythm and his mother, were put back into their stalls so we could get on with it. The vet wasn't going to be able to come for hours anyway so it was just as well that I had something to do to keep me from worrying about this colt.

For the rest of the mare and foal pairs, I needed pictures of the mares as well as those of their foals. Eric decided it would be easier to put show halters on the mares and hold them while turning the foals loose.

We sould photograph the horses in the yard where the background would be good. The only problem with that was I had really wanted pictures of the horses turned loose. I think they are more natural looking that way and I think the odds of getting shots that do the horse justice are much better.

Unfortunately, though I was the one paying the bill, I didn't do a good job of calling the shots. I think because Eric was my boss, I backed down instead of standing up for myself. We ended up taking the pictures in the yard as Eric wanted. I was disappointed before we took a single shot.

We started with Bey Aana and her foal, Scandalous Chase. Even though the colt was about two months old by now, he still was very insecure about anything new. He stuck to his mother like glue unsure of what to think about Mary Little jumping around with her talking pony on a stick trying to get his attention. Every time that pony would whinny, Chase would duck down like he was getting ready to flee and Aana was trying to figure out a way to exit with him.

Next, we brought out Kg Phadra Rose and her colt, Scandalous Chance. This colt was much bolder and actually left his mother's side a number of times, trotting around the yard and snorting at Mary's antics. He really wanted to check out that whinny. He just didn't get it was coming from Mary's stick horse.



The only problem was photographing that white muzzle of his. The light wants to reflect off such markings and make them appear bigger than they actually are. The result can be a head that looks longer, a muzzle twice as big as it really is. Doing this colt justice as not going to be easy.

We finished up with Lilly and her filly, Scandalous Hope. The filly was not quite a month old but she handled the shoot ok. She stuck close to her mother ducking behind her butt more often than not. It seemed like every time it looked like there was a shot, the filly wheeled around and hide again. My guess is that Jeff was just as frustrated by the whole thing as I was. Hope is such a beautiful filly but the looks she gave the camera were only fleeting.

None of the mares were sure of what to think of this whole plan. Turning them loose with their foals with strange things going on around them at least gives them the option to run. Making them stand still while their foals were turned loose made all of the mares more nervous than they would have been set free.

They adapted pretty quickly. At least none of them broke into a sweat but I could tell that I wasn't getting the kind of pictures I had wanted from either the mares or the foals.



I've always been able to see the shots as they are taken. I was pretty sure this time around I didn't have anything that did my horses justice. I know that happens a lot in photo shoots. Sometimes people spend hundreds of dollars for advertising shots and get nothing suitable.

It's difficult to capture that expressiveness that sets some horses apart. But I believe when you know your horses, as well as I do, that it's easy to set them up for great photographs. Knowing their personalities and their reactions helps to create situations that will give the looks that are so special. I really blew it by not insisting on taking the kind of photos that I really wanted.

I will always regret that decision. When the proofs came, my suspicions were confirmed. I had some photos that others would probably kill for but I had nothing that showed how special each of these horses are. And those babies are growing and changing all the time, you just can't go back and do it over. That look has long since gone and a new one has taken its place.

To be continued..........

The Injury

These pictures are in the order we took them. The top picture is Bey Aana with Scandalous Chase, The middle picture is KG Phadra Rose with Scandalous Chance. The bottom picture is Lilly (Ballyhoohoo) with Scandalous Hope.

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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop - The Photo Shoot

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

For me, photo shoots with Arabian horses have always been chaotic things. It's not really as much to do with the horses as it has to do with the weather, the lighting and the photographer. A photo shoot just isn't one of those things you can schedule on a calendar for 9 am in the morning and expect it to go off as planned.

If it rains, you can forget it if you've planned on shooting outside. (And everyone wants to shoot outside because the background is more desirable.) If it's raining at the photographer's house, he's not even going to leave until he's sure it's not raining at the shoot site. That can set the whole thing back his commute time which in the case of Jeff Little is a couple of hours. So rain is definitely public enemy number one when it comes to a photo session.

Then there's always location. Just because you have this great background over here doesn't mean that it will work if the sun is out. Shadows are another big enemy in a photo session. Another problem with location is containing the horse.

Certainly Arabian horses are at their most beautiful when they are trotting that floating trot of theirs with tails over their backs and nostrils flared. Getting this accomplished and still keeping within the structure the photographer needs takes some skill and manpower. For this particular shoot, I'm not sure we really had either.



Even though I had tried to speak to the trainer, Eric Krichten, about the logistics, I don't think he really understood what it entailed from the creative perspective. He just thought the yard should work great without really thinking about the what it would take to contain the horses in relationship to the camera.

Jeff LIttle had done many photo shoots at this location over the years. Eric was convinced that it would all go just fine, Jeff would know what to do. I should have known right there we were in trouble. I know from working with Jeff in the past, he can only shoot with the camera what the horse gives him. It's up to the people controlling the horse to get those shoots set up. Our options were limited.

On this particular day, we started off late because it was raining at the photographer's house. The weather forecast called for more of the same. Yet at the training facility, it was dry as a bone, overcast, but dry. It took a little persuading to convince Jeff Little that the weather would hold.

Once he had arrived we talked about locations. I knew immediately I'd be lucky if I got the kind of pictures I was looking for. With the horses are bathed and clipped, it was worth it to give it a try but I worried from the start I was just throwing money away.

We started off with one of the training horses. Once I had the horse prepared Eric took the horse out onto the lawn. They were going to do stand-up halter shots while I worked on getting a foal ready to go.

The first one I started with was Scandalous Rhythm. I'd already had pictures taken of his mother a couple or years before so I only needed shots of him. We were going to turn him out into the presentation ring and keep the mare right outside.



As I lead the red colt out of the barn, Eric shouted "What's with his face?" I remember being started by the question, "What was he talking about?" I looked over a Rhythm to see a large bump a little off center just down from his right eye. My heart sank as I placed my hand on ta lump the size of a goose egg. There was definitely heat.

After checking the colt over thoroughly, we decided to go ahead and take pictures. Later in the day the vet would come to see if we could figure out what had happened to him. But in the meantime, I turned him loose in the ring.

We had trouble keeping the colt moving away from his mother. The usually confident Rhythm was just not his usual self. Looking back I can see the worry in his eyes but strangely enough you can't see the injury unless you really know what you're looking for.

To be continued..............

The Photo Shoot - Part 2

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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop Part 10

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

For this photo shoot, we needed to haul all eight Arabian horses over to the training barn where I worked. I own a three horse slant load trailer so we adjusted one of the partitions to divide the space up into just two slots. That way we could transport two sets of mares and foals at a time taking only two trips to get all eight Arabian horses moved.

Transporting the mares with the foals turned out to be an easier task than we had first expected. Even though none of these foals had seen the inside of a horse trailer before and the mares had little experience, all walked right into the trailer like they were old veterans. Their ride went just as well, with all horses standing quietly.

Arriving at the "new" facility, all of the horses were wide eyed and snorting as they got off the horse trailer. The mares quieted quickly but the foals weren't sure what to think. They didn't even want to step off the trailer with nothing familiar outside. We had to move each mare off a bit to encourage the foal to join her.

Each foal snorted and pranced all the way into the barn, down the aisle and into their assigned stall. We couldn't help but laugh as they rolled their tails up over their backs and their eyes bulged. This was a really big adventure for them.

Once we had the horses all moved in it was time to do show clipping followed by bathing. Even though the barn was strange the mares all knew the routine so I decided we would first do a mare followed by her foal. That way the foals would have a chance to get used to the sights and sounds happening to mom before actually having to deal with it themselves.

Clipping and bathing for the mares went easily as long as their foals were close by. The foals, on the other hand, weren't used to any of this stuff, the barn, the clippers nor water splashing around during the bathing process. That meant I needed someone who had a clue holding the foals as I dealt with the mares in the cross ties. Neither Dave nor Lindsay really fit that criteria so we really just limped along. Sometimes it took Dave and Lindsay both to keep a foal in place in front of the mare and the time was ticking away.

One of the great things about the Legs babies is that they are all very brave. It doesn't take them long with things that are scary to stop and look at them. Once they've done that, they usually will settle right down to whatever you need from them. Fortunately that was the case as I worked on the mares.

Of course, the mares helped the foals whenever they would get worried by talking to them softly in reassurance. Even Chase with his panic reactions settled in fairly quickly while his mother was being clipped and bathed. All of the foals were pretty cute with the little ears locked forward studying me intently as I clipped and bathed their mothers.

But once it was time for the foals, things changed dramatically. Since I couldn't use the cross ties, I needed someone to hold the foal as I worked and I also needed someone to hold the mare close by. With Dave and Lindsay lacking in experience holding resistant foals, it was a stressful experience for everyone, including the horses.

Thankfully most of the foals settled down pretty quickly once they realized they were caught. Or should I say once we managed to make them feel caught! But I think in the process both Dave and Lindsay got stepped on a number of times.

For show clipping the foals, I only clipped their faces and ears. I avoided doing the usual foal clip that includes clear down the neck to the shoulder. I think that clip makes it hard to see the line of the shoulder even though it makes the neck look finer and the throat latch cleaner. Since all of these foals have wonderful laid back shoulders I didn't want that feature to get lost.

After clipping it was on to bathing. None of the foals wanted anything to do with the wash rack and it's slick wet floor. Just getting them into the darn thing took something short of an Act of Congress. Keeping them there took even more.

But again, once they realized that they were caught things seemed to go pretty well except that is with Rhythm. The red colt exploded somewhere in the middle of his bath and bounced off of walls. The water was flying and it seemed like people were scattering everywhere.

The slick wet floor didn't help. Not being able to get his feet back underneath him only panicked the horse worse than he already was. I don't even know how many times he hit the ground or the walls before I was finally able to get him cornered and on his feet. My glasses had gone flying and I couldn't see a thing but I had the little monster caught.

Thankfully, my glasses didn't get broken. I checked the colt over closely looking for any sign of injury. Much to my disbelief, I didn't find a cut or a scrape, I thought we were home free. Then we went ahead and finished the red colt's bath.

I swear it must have been near midnight by the time the horses were finally all clipped, bathed and dried. Even by then a couple of the foals weren't totally dry but dry enough we felt it was ok to go home and get some rest before the photo shoot in the morning.

To be continued..............

Horses pictured are KG Phadra Rose with her foal Scandalous Chance

The Photo Shoot


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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop Part 9

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

The real problems with the young Arabian horse didn't show themselves until it was time to teach him to lead. Putting the halter on had been a piece of cake next to getting the colt to take a step forward. Scandalous Rhythm was convinced that he didn't want to go anywhere I was inclined to take him.

When I clucked to him and took a step forward, the colt planted his feet like he knew exactly what I was asking and he had no intentions of going along with that request. Boy I wish I had had Harvey Jacobs around then. Even John Lyons "Leading and Loading" tape playing in my head was no help in getting this nearly newborn foal to take a step forward.

Thinking back to those days, I still want to play it over in my head. I keep trying to figure out what I missed or what I did wrong that I couldn't get this colt to co-operate. I don't know if I missed the signs of him wanting to try or they never came. All I know for sure is that he didn't move.



The colt just plain didn't want to go forward. Pulling him off balance to one side or the other to get him to move a foot didn't help either. I was really stumped and frustrated. Tapping the colt from behind just wasn't working, he just tuned me out. Eventually I ended up doing a lot more than tapping and that was working much either.

I totally understood John Lyons words (and later those of other well known trainers as well) that you can't train a horse that won't move. Movement is the key to everything. Rhythm had no intention of moving anything and I finally just used all of my muscle and pulled him off of his feet.

The young horse's response was to come after me. It totally caught me off guard. But John Lyons played in my head, any act of aggression must be met with no hold barred for five seconds and I unloaded on that poor colt.

Rhythm fought back and it ended up in a knock down drag out fight that I will never forget. Before it was over both of us were a sweaty steaming mess but the horse was no longer kicking or striking or biting or rearing for that matter AND I finally had the first stages of leading. It had taken me forty long minutes to get two steps out of this colt and a whole lot of stuff I didn't even want to think about again.

I remember going into the house and crying my eyes out. I was so upset. There had to be a better way. There was no way this is how I wanted to be dealing with my young horses, "a foal, no less", kept running through my mind. How could a foal be so darn aggressive? And yet Dave. Lindsay, Colleen and Rachel all loved this colt and had no problems with him. I just didn't know what I was going to do.

The next day leading the colt wasn't much better. It didn't last nearly as long but it got just as aggressive. It was clear that Rhythm hadn't given up on the idea of being in charge. Again I went to the house afterwards and cried my eyes out!

It was probably a week before Rhythm was finally leading. From that day on, the colt led just fine but it was clear he was afraid of me.

I didn't have any problems with the other colts or with the filly, Hope. Each of them were so easy, it made me feel like I lived in two different worlds, one with Rhythm and another with the rest of my horses.

Besides not want to "turn it over" to training Rhythm also showed other stud like behavior. At a week old he was talking low to the mares and dropping. If they were in heat, he was even trying to mount them. Oh, yes, there was one other thing..........his testicles were huge!




There was never any doubt that I had my hands full with this colt. I knew from the start I was going to pay for any time off from his training. Daily re enforcement was the only way I was ever going to stay ahead of this game.

While all of this was going on, I still was dealing with the horses at work. There I was dealing with a rank stallion. He was a constant reminder of why I didn't want to let things get out of hand with this red colt of mine.

Eric set up a photo shoot with Jeff and Mary Little. I decided that it would be a good chance for me to get pictures of these four new Legs' babies. So I signed them up for pictures as well.

The hard part was going to be getting all of the bathing and clipping done in time for the pictures. I had a total of four training horses that were having pictures and my eight horses (four mares and four foals). I was going to transport my mares and foals over to the training facility the night before. I could do my clipping and bathing there that evening and in the morning we could start shooting pictures as soon as the photographer arrived. This was going to be some kind of adventure...........

To be continued.............


Part 10


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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop Part 8

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

By the time that Scandalous Hope was finally on the ground, the Arabian horse show season was in full swing. Between getting horses ready to go to shows and being out of town, I wasn't really getting much time to work with my foals at home.Usually that's OK even though I breed horses with a lot of attitude.

Scandalous Rhythm was different than the others, however. I'd never quite seen a foal like him before or since for that matter. Even as a newborn, that colt was the studdiest thing I'd ever seen. Trying to stay on top of his training with my uncooperative schedule was next to impossible.



Even the simple act of putting a halter on this foal felt like taking my life in my hands. There was no way that colt wanted to be caught or taught anything. His mother, Solidare, seemed to understand her son was a delinquent. The mare headed for the corner with food and just stayed out of my way as I tried to catch the little brat!

This was long before my work with Harvey Jacobs but I did have some John Lyons under my belt. But round pen reasoning - MiKael's style wasn't all that impressive to this red colt. He was pretty sure that he was controlling my feet more than I was his. And maybe he could have been right.

I don't know when I've ever chased a foal around the stall like I chased Rhythm. But I did finally catch him and he finally did wear that halter. In the process I'm pretty sure that he tried to bite, kick and strike at me and he must have reared at least a half dozen times, all in the confines of that twelve by twelve stall. It was not my prettiest work........but it was effective.

Rhythm learned how to get that halter on without any fuss at all. It only took about two weeks to accomplish but at least I got it done. Try as I did to get more time with him, it just didn't happen but it was clear to me this was a horse that needed to be handled and worked with every single day.

Dave and Lindsay had no problems with the colt, but then Dave and Lindsay don't have any problems with any of the horses. They never ask them to do anything they don't already know how to do. Both are great for loving on the horses, especially the foals.

Rhythm had no qualms about walking right up to either one of them. He was getting a reputation as a bit of a character almost from the day he was born. The colt loved to play with them as they cleaned out the stall. He'd pull on their clothes, push on the wheel barrow or bite at the rake, anything to get their attention so they'd play with him.

Between Dave and Lindsay and any visitors to the farm Rhythm was quickly building up a fan base. It didn't matter if the colt was outside or inside he could put on quite a show. Inside he'd walk directly up to any visitor and put his head up over the door. That horse would do anything for a scratch, anything for anyone but me that is.

To be continued................

The Third Foal Crop - Part 9


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Believe in Santa Claus and Arabian Horses, of course......

I've gotten behind trying to get everything ready for my family to arrive today, so didn't really get the post prepared today that I was planning on. So instead I'm going to post some pictures of Scandalous Rhythm playing in the snow. He was the first chestnut born on my Arabian horse breeding farm and was also the first colt born in our third season of foals by my stallion, Scandalous Legacy. In coming posts I'll be sharing Rhythm's story.

Also in this post, I'm going to include a touching story I received in an email early this week. This is what Santa Claus has always meant to me.

In addition to the story, I'm including my recipe for bran mash. It's a great treat for Arabian horses (or any other horses as well) at Christmas time, or cold winter nights or just plain for a treat! I use this mash for my mares after they have foaled.





BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she
snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been
going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars.

That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby
Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.

Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."

The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it.

Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were -- ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.

May you always have LOVE to share, HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care...

And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!




The bran mash is pretty simple. I like it to be a bit on the soupy side so keep that in mind when adding water. I put a feed scoop of bran and a feed scoop of whole or crimped oats into a very large pan. If you don't have a pan large enough to accommodate this, you can cut down the portions of bran and oats but keep them equal. Add two big apples chopped, four to six chopped carrots and 3/4 cup of molasses ( I do not measure, I glug!) . Cover with water and heat. Stirring constantly until hot.

Serve hot!!!!

Sometimes when a horse is first introduced to this mash, they'll wait for it to completely cool before eating, but once they've learned what a treat this is, they love it hot.

Merry Christmas everyone!

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A Christmas Memory - An Arabian Horse Meets Rosey the Reindeer

Back in the days when I was working as a groom at Feature Farm, Shannon Armstrong decided one Christmas season that they would have a Christmas party complete with stall decorations. Each owner was to deck their Arabian horse's stall with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la! Or whatever other Christmas fashion they saw fit.

This was my first Christmas owning a horse (although I still had a huge contract to pay! lol). I was really excited about the prospects of stall decorating. Being a professional crafter at the time and always a bit on the unconventional side, I had a particular craft item of mine that I was convinced would be perfect to decorate Scandalous's stall.

The day came for the party and we all arrived at the appointed hour with our decorating items. The barn was abuzz with Christmas cheer. With hot cider and hot chocolate, every kind of Christmas cookie under the sun, we partied and made merry as we decorated those stalls.

The barn aisle was such a sight with all of Santa's little helpers happily sharing their Christmas cheer with their Arabian horse buddies! Scurrying to and fro, laughing and giggling and spreading good cheer as they hung garlands and bows and placed baskets of horsey treats near the doors.

Many of the stalls were adorned with some sort of wreath or swag that was hung on the door. There were wreaths and swags of fir boughs and holly and even a couple wreaths cleverly made of carrots decorated with apples.

Scandalous did get one of those wreaths made of the kinds of things horses eat. Nope instead Scandalous got a calico swag with a big soft sculpture reindeer "trophy" hanging right in the center. Rosey the Reindeer, complete with red micro dotted antlers, a hurken set of eyelashes, and heart shaped lips! Rosey was the hit of the barn.....

Well, almost the hit of the barn, evidently Scandalous didn't think much of Rosey the Reindeer living hung on her stall. The mare tolerated the intrusion for a few days. We really had no clue the mare wasn't smitten like the rest of us with Rosey the Reindeer. Until right before Christmas the always opinionated Arabian horse expressed her displeasure by attacking poor Rosey the Reindeer.

I arrived at work one morning to find Shannon most distressed. She'd had to rescue poor Rosey the Reindeer from the floor of the ornery mare's stall. Poor Rosey not only had attained a new aroma, she was injured!!!!

Scandalous had rudely grabbed Rosey the Reindeer with none other than her teeth and pulled that reindeer right through the bars of the stall. Then the Arabian mare had assaulted Rosey the Reindeer no less! She shook that poor Rosey the Reindeer by one soft sculptured antler. Then shook her some more. She shook her and shook her and then tossed her aside into a pile of you know what, poo.........and wet stuff too!!!!

That antler wasn't tough enough to withstand biting and shaking by the mouth of a HORSE!! The poor antler lost it's very top point!! Shredded with stuffing protruding all over the place, Rosey the Reindeer looked sad and mishandled indeed. Shannon was convinced that poor Rosey the Reindeer was ruined!



Being the unconentional crafter I am, I was undaunted and went into doctor elf mode. I trimmed off the shredded part of poor Rosey the Reindeer's wound. Then stuffed back the stuffing right down into the antler. From there I whip stitched the rude opening closed. On top of the stitches, I applied but a band-aid of course. Rosey the Reindeer wasn't ruined. She was just personalized!! Personalized by my horse!!

Many years have passed since this one fateful Christmas. Like most of us, poor Rosey the Reindeer may be showing her age. The holly of her swag has grown a mind of its own and goes every which way. Her left ear wants to sag and her eyelashes droop. Her colors have faded and her lips aren't nearly so appealing or bright. Even her band aid has yellowed with age. But her stitches hold firmly and that's what's important. Right??




Now Scandalous is gone but never forgotten, especially at Christmas time. How could this remarkable mare ever be forgotten? Rosey the Reindeer can still spread good cheer as she's proudly displayed ....my specially personalized gift from my beloved very first Arabian horse!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop Part 7

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

Once the horse show was out of the way, the next thing I had to worry about was the last mare I had at home yet to foal. That mare was Lilly, the mother of the foal I had lost the year before I was really not looking forward to this foaling. Even though many longtime breeders will tell you that a mare's first foal is usually smaller and not a quality as the rest of her foals will be, I didn't even dare to hope that Lilly could produce such a foal again.

So the closer Lilly got to foaling, the more distressed I became. Edgy would be a good description of me during that time. I did ok away from my farm working with other people's Arabian horses but at home with mine, I was a wreck. It was like some inner clock was ticking away and my dream lay in the balance.

Lilly is one of the sweetest mares that anyone will ever meet. She is quiet and unassuming to be around although she still has plenty of that good ole' Arabian attitude. During this time she put up with my lack of finesse in checking out her foaling status. The mare also didn't take on my uneasiness. Looking at Lilly you would have thought everything was right with the world.

Right after the horse show, I found the mare was bagged up and breaking down around her tail head. She had been as big as a house for weeks. But now it was clear that Lilly's body was preparing for impending foaling. So again, I moved into the barn at night so I could watch more closely over the mare. During the day, I would call from work several times to check on her status.

Finally on May 8, 2001 Lilly decided it was time. The mare quietly laid down with me in attendance and easily pushed out a beautiful foal. Everything went exactly by the book. There were no problems with constipation or low IgG scores and any of the other things that had marked the earlier foalings.

This foal was not nearly as large as the colt from last year had been but a beautiful foal none the less. As dark as the foal was at the points, I expected it would mature out as a gray. Drying the foal, I took my time and examined the foal from head to toe. From what I could tell with it still laying down, this foal was more than I could have hoped for. Not only that, this time it was a filly.

She had just as big an attitude at the colt had, maybe bigger. There is definitely a difference between Legs's colts and fillies. While the colts think that they are the coolest thing on earth, the fillies know they are. This filly was no exception. While she was not as brazen as Dare, she was just as bold. Then there was a quiet confidence about her, just like her mother.

This filly didn't need help when I encouraged her to rise. She just jumped up onto her long spindly legs and stood there confidently looking at me. I could see the wheels turning as she thought about that first step and then the second and third. Before I knew it she was over nursing just like she'd done it a dozen times before.

Lilly was as attentive with this foal as she had been with the colt. It was clear it didn't matter to the mare whether she had boys or girls, as long as she could have babies, she was a happy mare. Mothering is definitely what Lilly does best.

It didn't take long after the birth of this filly for me to begin to come around. While my heart still ached for Image, it was finally clear to me that my dream was still safe and secure. Even though I had been convinced that the cards were stacked against me, this filly who was definitely more than I had dared to hope for was exactly that, the hope for the future of my breeding farm. There was no better name for her than Scandalous Hope.

To be continued............

The Third Foal Crop - Part 8
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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop Part 6

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

In just next couple of weeks, we had the Daffodil Arabian Spring Show at the Puyallup Fairgrounds . Eric Krichten was going to show Legs in the Stallion Halter division and we were taking several other horses as well. I also was still on foal watch with one more mare to foal. Thankfully Lilly didn't do much to make me think that she was serious about foaling until after the horse show.

Working as a groom at that show, I didn't have much time to focus on my own horse, I had several others to deal with as well.

Because I was working for halter trainer, Eric Krichten, at the time, all of the horses we took to the show were showing in classes one right after the other. It was a blast of an hour and a half of classes and then everything was over for the entire show except for the Championships which were shown on Saturday evening. If a horse didn't place first or second, it didn't show in the championship. With all of the horses showing that quickly it makes a groom's life pretty hectic and stress filled.

With Arabian halter horses they want them coming up to the ring as fresh as possible. It's not good to have them standing around ahead of time because the horses get bored.

The trainer only wants a few minutes to school the horse right before the class. Other than those couple of minutes, the trainer doesn't even want to be near the horse until it's time to go into the class. So the trick is to get the timing right so the horse is groomed up and at the ring just those few minutes before the class for the trainer to school.




To accomplish this,I had all of my show clipping and bathing done the night before the show. I'd also done some preliminary sanding of hooves ahead of time. The day we showed, I came in early before breakfast and polished horses' feet. Once those were dry, I turned the horses back into their stalls to eat their breakfast. That way when it was time to show, all I needed to do was brush the horses off, untangle their manes and tails and apply face make-up.

At the time of this show, I had that process down to about five minutes a horse and my timing was great. It actually took me longer to walk the horses up to the ring than to get them groomed up. Some of the classes were small so for a couple of the horses I had to have runners to take the horse up for it's class and bring back the hand off while I got the next one ready.

The purebred stallion class was at the end of the session of halter classes. They also had the classes split by age with the oldest horses being last. That put my horse's class the last one of the session. That meant I actually got to see a class, and better yet, it was mine!



Legs won his age division so later showed back in the championship class. A client really wanted Eric not to show my horse in that championship and show his instead. One Halter Trainer with Integrity and Class addresses that conflict over the championship. You'll have to read the other post to see how this whole thing went down.

As for the championship itself, Legs was named the Daffodil Arabian Spring Show Stallion Champion. The really exciting part of this for me was that he beat a horse by the name of Baywatch V http://www.danaarabians.com/stallions/BaywatchV/ who has gone on to be a Canadian National Champion Futurity Champion. Baywatch foals are selling all over the world for some pretty big bucks!

to be continued..............

The Third Foal Crop - Part 7

The middle picture is the client's stallion. The last picture is me walking Legs across the courtyard up to his class. I can't tell you how proud I am of this horse to have him go to horse shows and behave so quietly like this!! In the halter class, he was a snorting blowing thing with his tail over his back showing them all how cool he can be!



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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop Part 5

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

In a seven day period, we had had three colts born on this Arabian horse farm with all of the usual stresses and some not so usual. Despite the fact that I was lacking in my normal enthusiasm, Dave and Lindsay had enough to make up for me. The colts were all welcomed with open arms and plenty of loving but probably not nearly enough structure for colts with attitudes like these.

Because I was working, it was easy to explain not getting out to the barn to handle these boys daily like I should have been. Dave and Lindsay thought they were taking up the slack just fine but time would tell a different story.

In the meantime we had a brief reprieve from foaling. The fourth and final foal was not due until May so I focused my attention of getting Legs ready to show and in finding names for the newest additions to our herd.

Names for me are always a big deal. They need to be "show horse" names and I like them to reflect something about the horse. In other words, I think that the names should "fit."

The first colt out of Solidare was easy to name. I looked at those four irregular leg markings and it seemed so obvious to me. After all the times I'd heard from trainers that irregular legs markings can make a horse look lame as it's traveling down the rail, Scandalous Rhythm seemed like a perfect fit to me. Not only did it speak to those four irregular markings but there was also something different about this horse to me besides the fact that he was chestnut. He marched to a different drummer. Even at day one, that was quite clear to me.

The second colt out of Bey Aana had been a difficult foal to get. With two years and a lot of weird things we had gone through even to get this mare in foal, it seemed a viable pregnancy had led us a merry chase. So Scandalous Chase it was for this beautiful bay colt with that big dose of insecurity.

Next was the third colt out of KG Phadra Rose. This one was another bay with the most beautiful bedroom eyes I have even seen. He had the most amazing way of moving. Never in my life have I seen a foal move with such animation. But with all of that I still couldn't get past that marking. Those first words I'd heard in my head upon seeing that nose influenced his name, Scandalous Chance.

Right from the start, the colts were intrigued by each other, even though the mothers wanted to keep them separated. It was easy to see the wheels were turning. The colts were scoping each other out and begging to play.



Rhythm was in charge, not only of the other colts, but the entire world around him. Just the way he stood out in the field shouted that he was king. His head always held high and proud. His eyes wide and expressive commanding attention from all who passed. If you happened to walk by and didn't acknowledge this colt, he would scold with his voice. Then charge!



Chase was confident with his mother but not so sure of the world otherwise. Lindsay was fast winning his heart, just like she had won over his mother. So as long as Lindsay or Aana were in view, Chase would act like he wanted to challenge Rhythm for rule of their little world. BUT he only did that from a distance. The truth be told, his mother or Lindsay were always in between Rhythm and Chase anytime that Chase looked Rhythm's way.

But the elegant bay colt would study the chestnut wonder and then copy his ever move. Not quite so high, nor so bold, but copy him none the less. There was no doubt in my mind that sometime down the road, Chase was going to attempt a coupe.



Last but not least was the dark bay colt with the wild white marking on his face. The horse with the amazing thoughtful eyes that could capture any one's heart. He knew what he had going for him too. Smart enough not to test Rhythm, Chance just did his own thing. He took on the world like he owned it. The interesting part was he was always intrigued by a different part of the world that Rhythm. There was no way they would ever butt heads, they weren't interested in the same things.


So it was that Rising Rainbow Arabians had it's own set of the three musketeers. Chase, Rhythm and Chance rolled off my tongue like poetry. There was something magical about them. Although over the years, I've misspoke the bookend names more times than I can count and I suppose I will forever be intermixing Chase and Chance. Those three Arabian colts and their antics were the beginnings of putting me back on a road to healing over the loss of Image.

To be continued..................

The Third Foal Crop - Part 6
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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop Part 4

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

While I was working on resolving the issue with Bey Aana kicking at her foal, I also was still on foal watch. The first three mares due to foal had dues dates that stretched out evenly over a month's time. Yet all three mares began showing signs of foaling imminence in the same week!

The watch was on with Faye so I was still sleeping in the barn at nights, checking in from work during the day, trying to make sure I was available for the delivery. I hadn't caught the mare foaling with her first foal, last year. She had foaled in the early morning when I went to the house for a potty break.

The Arabian horse did the same thing this time. On April 10, 2001 at about 6 am the mare dropped her foal about the same time I dropped my pants in the house. I caught her down with the newborn foal about three minutes later.

The membrane was still over the foal's nose and the newborn was just beginning to stir. I crept in quietly and removed the slimy tissue from the foal's nostrils. Then I grabbed its two front feet and pulled it free of the mare. Faye was already talking to it and licking it so I left her briefly to get my "stuff." (towels and iodine)

It was another colt and from the first moment I saw him, I was concerned. Not about his health, but about this great huge white marking that seemed to cover his entire face. I know that foal's grow into their markings, but looking at the white on this nose, I remember thinking: "Oh my, some one's really going to have to take a chance on this one."

It's really the first emotional reaction I remember having after the death of the other colt. Odd, I know, but feelings can be weird sometimes. I guess I'm glad that I was feeling anything at all other than over whelming grief.

Despite being put off by the marking, I went in and dried this colt off. He didn't much like the towel on his face but running it down his neck, he almost purred. He arched that neck up high and pretty pressing back hard into my hands. His eyes opened wide and he blew. The attitude of the Legs boys was definitely there!

I cleaned the stall and blanketed the colt giving the mare some time to bond with her foal before I tried to help him stand and nurse. The colt was showing no indications of having any inclination to get up on his own.

By the time I finished the cleaning and cooked the mare a bran mash, the foal still was making no attempts to get up. With those trademark long legs, I knew it was going to be a chore.

The colt not only wasn't interested in getting himself up, he wasn't much interested in me getting him up either. As I tried to put his front legs into position, the little varmint struck at me and snorted a time or two. I actually laughed out loud at his antics.

The sound of that laugh almost scared me. I hadn't laughed in so long, I'd forgotten what my own laugh sounded like. But that wasn't going to be the last time I laughed. This colt turned out to be something of a character and there was no way I could help myself. I did a lot of laughing that day and for the days after.

But laughing wasn't the only thing I did. I finally managed to get him on his feet but no way could I get him to nurse. After four hours, I ended up calling the vet. I was worried about getting that valuable colostrum down this foal in time.

When the vet arrived, it wasn't my usual vet but someone who worked for him. A young woman who wasn't long out of vet school. It turned out not to be a pleasant experience.

Three different times we held that foal down so she could put a tube up his nose and down into his stomach. And three different times she told me she couldn't tell if it was in the right position or not.

The only places that tube can go are the stomach or the lung. Putting liquid into the lung is deadly. You can't be making any mistakes. To say I was frustrated would be kind.

So we pulled the tube out, yet again, and decided to give the colt a break before trying to insert it a fourth time. My mind was reeling trying to figure out what my options were. When suddenly, the colt rose to his feet and went straight over to the mare to nurse.

I couldn't believe my eyes after all of that. The foal was up and nursing on his own with no assistance. Just like he'd known how to do it all along. But talk about relief. I paid my $450 vet bill for something she couldn't even do. Then I couldn't get her off my place fast enough. Thank God! the foal had nursed and I didn't have to deal with that vet anymore.

Today, I never would have even called the vet. Over the years, I've learned if I'm having problems getting a foal to nurse, I milk the mare. Put it into a large dose syringe and hand feed the foal. That way I don't have to worry about colostrum getting ingested on time. It takes off some pressure and saves the foal going through a risky procedure.

Now, why don't the vets just tell owners to do that instead of putting a vulnerable foal through such a risky procedure?

To be continued..............

The Third Foal Crop - Part 5

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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop Part 3

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

It wasn't until it came time to put the Arabian horse and her new foal out for the first time, that I even realized that I had a problem. The mare wanted to run, glad to finally be outside. The colt, following his instinct wanted to run right at the mare's hip. Aana didn't know what to think of that thing running next to her and the mare began kicking at her colt.

Fortunately, the horse was easy to catch and we were able to put a stop to the behavior before the colt was hurt. But it was clear, the mare had perceived the colt as a predator and had tried to defend herself from her own baby. This was a big problem.

Talking to my vet, his idea was to sedate her. He wasn't going to be in the area anytime soon so I decided to ask the vet who was coming to my work for drugs. In the meantime the mare and foal would have to stay inside the stall where the foal was safe.

The old Indian vet (I can say that, it is how he refers to himself!!) didn't think that drugs were the answer. The problem was the sedation would not last long. Once it wore off the foal would again be vulnerable to attacks by the mare. This vet is quite a hand with natural horsemanship. He thought I should hobble the mare. It was his prediction that hobbling the mare would result in the mare bonding with the foal and ending the problem.

So the next step was getting hobbles. Eric Krichten (my boss) asked the OIV if hock hobbles would do the job. The response was any kind of hobbles would do. So Eric borrowed a set of hock hobbles for me to try on the mare.

If you never seen hock hobbles, they're a rather interesting device designed to help the horse get underneath itself better, or so they say. I think they cause a horse to move mechanically and I think they can be dangerous if not used correctly. They aren't in my training bag of tricks.

Hock hobbles consist of two leather devices with straps that enclose around the hock. The straps fasten above and below the hocks in the back. Each has a ring attached at the front of the hock. Then there is a cord with snaps at both ends that runs from the ring at one hock, up and through the bottom ring on a sircingle and back to the ring on the other hock. The length of that cord can be adjusted.

I put the surcingle on Aana and the hock hobbles at first by themselves and I walked her around at bit for her to get used to the feel. Then I attached the cord leaving it long so it didn't restrict her movement at all. Once she was used to that I shortened up the cord in increments so that the mare could gradually get used to being confined. The final degree of tightness allowed the mare to move, even run but she was unable to kick. If she tried to kick, the cord would put pressure on the other hock forcing her to move forward instead of kick.

Once it was all set up and I was sure that the mare could not kick at her foal, we turned the mare and foal loose. They ran off with the mare a bit stiff legged but there was no kicking.

Don't ask me why because I haven't a clue, but the mare thought the colt had something to do with her not being able to kick at him. By the time we brought them both in, she not only wasn't kicking him anymore, she had accepted him as part of her "herd."

I put the contraption on the mare again the next day just to be on the safe side. Even though the old Indian vet was convinced the mare would now be subservient to the foal, I wasn't taking any chances. But that was it for me, two days of turnout with the hock hobbles and Aana's first foal was now safe and Aana was figuring out what it was like to be a mother.

The only problem was that this colt had the first few days of his life without motherly reassurance. His first reaction to new scary things has always been that "Blahhhhhhhhhh!" climbing the wall reaction. Once he is reassured, he settles down immediately but I can't help but wonder had his mother bonded with him in the beginning if he wouldn't have turned out just as confident as the other Leg's babies.

To be continued.........

Sorry I didn't take any pictures of this. And sadly, I didn't take many pictures of these foals. With my loss of Image, my head really wasn't into babies. This is the one an only year I took few baby pictures.

The Third Foal Crop - Part 4


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A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - The Third Foal Crop Part 2

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

The Third Foal Crop Part 1

When my friend, Chris, asked me if this new colt was a chestnut, my wheels began to turn. I had never seen a newborn chestnut foal before. I had never experienced the lack of pigment they are born with. I had heard about the pink skin around the eyes, muzzle and inside the ears but knowing and seeing are just NOT the same things. Yes, this colt was chestnut. I knew immediately that she was right.

Actually, it was amazing to me how quickly this colt began picking up pigment. Even within a few hours he didn't look nearly so anemic. Looking him over closely, more out of curiousity about the chestnut than interest for the foal, I realized that this also was a very special colt. He was absolutely huge, very athletic and had a very exotic head. His large eyes stood out very prominately away from his head and the area under the eyse scooped out deeply making them appear all the more dramatic. His muzzle was about the size of a fine bone china English tea cup.

But even with that, I found it hard to get excited about this colt. My heart was still lost somewhere greiving over the loss of Image. I didn't have much time to get focused on him anyway. Before I could blink I had another mare ready to foal.

This time it was Aana that was grabbing my attention. She was the only maiden mare I had to foal out that year. With her being an older maiden, I knew I had to be extra cautious. There could be issues with her body being older that might cause a difficult delivery or she could even get frightened not understanding what was happening to her. Because she didn't have a lot of trust with me, helping her could be a challenge. Then her lack of herd experience could affect her acceptance of a foal. There was a lot to be concerned about.

On April 5, 2007 Aana gave birth to an average sized bay colt. As closely as I watched this mare, she still managed to have this foal without me in attendance. Her instincts to be alone were much stronger than my determination to catch her foaling. I made a trip to the restroom and she popped out the foal while I was gone.

When I got back to the barn, the mare jumped up because of my presence. I looked in the stall to find the foal laying in the corner just beginning to stir. The mare was off in an opposing corner looking at me. She was definitely more concerned with what I might be up to than she was the foal.

The colt was strong and healthy. He looked like a nice horse. He had very little white on him, an almost faint star and sparse white markings on two feet. Conformationally the colt looked like he had a better shoulder than his mother. His neck was set on high, but he had what I think is a typical Bey Shah type throatlatch. The foal also had big pretty eyes, dishy face, a little tiny muzzle and very cute tight tippy ears.

We went through all of the usual motions, drying off the foal, blanketing him, cleaning out the wet straw, putting down fresh dry bedding,. helping it rise and nurse.

The mare wanted to keep turning to see what the colt was doing. To teach him to nurse, we had to halter the mare to keep her standing still. She was good about letting us guide the colt towards her udder. She tolerated all the repositioning it took. But Aana really didn't get it. She watched me working with the colt but never did bond with him.

While the mare didn't reject her foal, she really didn't accept him either. She allowed him to nurse but she didn't nurture him at all.
If something scared the colt, he would pratically climb the walls trying to escape. Aana didn't talk to him or nuzzle him to tell him that it was safe. He was bouncing off the walls at the slightest noise or movement. The poor little guy had no idea what the world was about and his mother was no help at all. Neither was I.

I don't know if my distraction over Image was the cause or my lack of experience but I didn't realize that she was neglecting him emotionally until days later. I watched to see that she was allowing him to nurse and that all seemed to be going fine. I kept track of his weight gain and pooping and peeing but it never occurred to me that there was an issue with his psychological needs.

Through all of this, I was working for a halter trainer, Eric Krichten, at a farm a few miles away. I was gone during the days grooming and conditioning horses and working on show entries and such. Trying to keep track of mares getting ready to foal and newborns needs were a lot to juggle. Add into that getting Legs ready to show in stallion halter at the end of the month. I had a lot on my plate.

To be continued...........

The Third Foal Crop Part 3

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