Foaling and Showing Rolled into One - The End of Day 2

Saturday afternoon it seemed like Dare was fairly quiet. The calm before the storm is what I guessed. When I'd left in the morning the mare had white icicles about an inch long hanging from each teat. I knew we must be closing in on the actual foaling.

Lady of Chaos followed me home from the show. She wanted to see the new colt and was hoping maybe we'd catch Dare giving birth. Dare wasn't co-operating but the new colt was full of himself and put on quite a show. I think that Dare was a bit relieved to have the focus off of her for a while anyway.

By early evening my b*tt was dragging. Two or three hours of sleep a night was catching up to me. By 9:30 I went onto Mare Stare and asked both on Dare's thread and in the chat for eyes to watch while I took a nap. I figured if I could sleep until about 1 I could get myself through another long night.

I got enough responses I felt safe heading off to bed. I took my usual half hour or so to finally fall asleep. Then somewhere in that deep fog that surrounds us when we sleep, I heard the ringing of a muted phone. Suddenly I sat straight up in bed as my sleep shattered into a million pieces as reality struck that sound was a real phone and something must be happening with Dare.

I grabbed the phone and heard the words "Dare is down and it looks like she is foaling." I briefly thanked the caller, grabbing for my clothes as I headed to the computer to see what was happening with my mare.

Just as I sat down, the cam crashed. I sent Dave out to the barn to check on Dare's progress while I tried to get the cam back up. If she wasn't foaling I wanted to watch from this safe distance in the house. If she was, I wanted those people who had helped have a chance to watch her foal.

I went through all the usual stuff trying to get the cam back up. I kept wondering why Dave hadn't called me to tell me status on Dare. The longer he took the more I worried that something was wrong. I finished dressing while the computer rebooted thinking as soon as it was up, I was heading to the barn.

About that time Dave returned. Even rebooting hadn't brought the cam back online. I asked him why he hadn't called me to give me status on Dare. He said he had but it had gone directly to voicemail. He'd also tried calling the house phone but that was ringing busy. Then he tried calling as he stood right next to me and the call still wouldn't go through. It looked like all our technology wasn't going to help us now.

Dave's check of the mare proved to be useless as well.He told me she was just standing there looking at him. However, he had neglected to check behind her or the stall floor to see if there was any evidence of a pending foal. I immediately headed to the barn, the cam and phones would have to wait.

When I arrived at the barn, Dare was standing there looking at me probably just like she had done with Dave. But I could tell by her face that something was happening. I gave her a cluck pointing where I wanted her to move. She turned away from me and I saw two crossed legs and part of a head twisted to the side. This foal was turned sideways. No way it was coming out without help.

I hollered at Dave to come help me as I headed into the stall. Poor Dare was still standing and pushing with all her might. The foal wasn't budging an inch. Even as I began pulling down with her contractions, the foal wasn't moving. It was going to take Dave and I both to get this foal pulled out of this mare.

As I barked instructions, Dave took a hold of a foot and the two of us began pulling. We were making little progress we were only inching that foal out. I was worried about the umbilical cord being pinched and heard the clock ticking away the seconds in my head. I was explaining to Dave the jeopardy the foal faced as we waited for another contraction.

This time there was a shift in the foal's position as we pulled. We got past the shoulders and the foal shifted. I needed Dave to stop pulling and concentrate on catching the foal so it didn't slam head first into the ground.

Just as he changed positions, the people door in the stall was jerked open. The sound of that door flying open in the middle of the night broke my concentration for just a brief instant. There stood Jessica grinning from ear to ear. "I knew it!" she exclaimed and I went back to pulling the foal while Jessica rattled off how she got here in the middle of the night.

One more good solid contraction and the foal was out. Because the mare was standing, the cord broke prematurely and the sac separated from the placenta as well. That could cause problems getting the placenta to pass but at this point it was time to tend to the foal.

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

Day 3

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Wordless Wednesday - Foal Pics

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Foaling and Showing Rolled into One - The Start of Day 2

Because Dare was a maiden mare I didn't know how much help/interference from people she would tolerate. Despite the fact that she and I are bonded BIGTIME, I didn't know if me being with her might prevent her from going into labor again. You never really know how that instinct provided by Mother Nature will affect them. Horses being horses is always a big part of the equation no matter how much we want to love and protect them.

So it was back to the safe distance of the house sitting in front of the computer watching my mare. I hoped she'd settle down quickly and go back into labor. Maybe I'd get lucky and the mare would foal before I had to show. Then I could just relax and think about showing instead of trying to juggle both things.

Richard and Rachel were at the horse show with my horses. Thankfully the horses had already been bathed but still needed to be schooled and clipped, not to mention taken care of while they were there. Rachel clipped both horses and cared for them while Richard dealt with the schooling part.

Richard does not ride Legs. He does groundwork with the horse but he has never ridden him. Angie has been on him a couple of times so I could see what he was looking like or show her something I was trying to share about him. Other than that nobody rides my horse but me.

That meant schooling the horse at the horse show would be limited to work in the long lines. Because my class was in the morning session, I'd have to get to the fairgrounds by six in the morning if I was going to get the horse schooled in that arena before I rode my class. I knew Legs had been frightened in this ring at the summer show, schooling him before I rode a class was more important than ever.

Dare, however, was not concerned about my schedule at the show. She held onto her foal throughout the night. Sine early morning hours were the next most likely opportunity she would foal, I stayed home and kept right on watching that mare. I only left for the show at the very last minute leaving me enough time to get myself dressed and my horse schooled in warm-up before riding my class.

All the time at the fairgrounds all I could really think of was the mare. Except for that time in the saddle my focus was on Dare. I've always had the uncanny ability to put every thing else aside once astride a horse. Under these circumstances it was a darn good thing because starting off in the warm-up my horse got spooked by something and my hands were full just trying to get him calmed down to ride into that class.

I suspected this was all about leftovers from the summer show. It was clear as I rode toward the ring, that my horse remembered that incident last summer very clearly. From the moment we rode through the gate the horse was on the muscle.

I had to shorten up my reins which I really hadn't wanted to do. I wanted people to know this horse was coming along and really could be the great horse I've always known. But you have to ride the horse that you've got and that meant shortening up and going with it.

As we rounded that far corner near where the woman with the stroller and naughty kids had been last summer, the horse wasn't responding to requests to turn and I could feel him tensing even more beneath me. He stayed together OK and by the time we'd almost completed that short side of the arena I thought maybe we were out of the woods.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Just before the gate at the far end Legs exploded. It wasn't quite as high as last session but an explosion none the less. The difference was how fast the horse came back to the bridle. Instead of a few strides, it was more like one or two.His reaction time was cut clearly in half. What we'd been doing to fix this thing was working. We just needed more time.

As usual Legs was rattled but he settled much more quickly than before. By the time we reversed and went the second way of the arena my horse had come back to me. He was listening to me and not looking for the boogie man. I couldn't have asked for more. Not having ridden the horse in this arena before the class had really set him up and he'd come through it not too bad.

I had planned on leaving right after my class to return to my foal watch. With this incident in the ring I felt I should school Legs in the arena at the lunch break. I wanted to be sure the horse had a clean go in that arena before I would ride my championship class the next day.

The horse and I were among the first back into the arena at the break. He started off cautiously and tensed as we got farther down the rail. Each time we circled the arena he'd relax at the one end and tense at the other. I decided the best way to deal with this was to just ride around in a circle at the far end.

I kept the horse working until he finally relaxed. When I heard him sighing, I reversed and worked some more. Eventually the horse let down and sighed big deep sighs over and over. With each sigh the horse got softer and softer. When I finally had the horse I knew, I dismounted and we walked out of the ring. Then it was back to the stalls to untack him and put him away so I could head back home to my foal watch again.

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

The End of Day 2

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Foaling and Showing Rolled into One - The Story Begins

I think to avoid a mutiny of my blog readers I should probably post about the foaling and leave the issues about the show for another day. However, these stories are intertwined because they happened simultaneously. I was there for both events, hopping back and forth trying to be at the right place at the right time. It's really hard to separate them out from each other so I'm going to go with the flow and see what we get.

While I was posting about my secret, another drama was unfolding here. My pregnant mare, Scandalous Dare, was due to foal on April 26. However, she showed absolutely no signs of imminent foaling until April 21. Then the mare went from nary a symptom to nearly all of them overnight.




The watch was on immediately. Being a maiden mare meant she could be unpredictable. There were no guarantees that she would go by the book and get milk before her foal was born.

Watching the mare wasn't my only stress. The live webcam was having issues of it's own. That cam was the only assistance I had in watching this mare, it was important to resolve those issues if I was to get any sleep or make the horse show.

I can't even tell you how many crashes there were to this cam. Along with those we were picking up static interference beginning in early evening and lasting for hours sometimes even through the entire night. Each time we thought we'd found the source and fixed it, something else would happen. The end result was my chances to sleep were disappearing working on the cam.




By the time I'd posted Foaling and Showing Rolled into One I had probably had a total of 10 hours of sleep in a five day period.
I was running on empty and the mare was still pregnant.

We'd moved in at the horse show on Friday but in reality we were one day late. I had screwed up our schedule thinking we didn't show until Saturday. Angie and Richard realized Thursday night that Rachel actually had a class on Friday afternoon. Grandma had made a big mistake and we needed to hustle to get moved in and set-up in enough time for Rachel to school her horse at the lunch break and ride her class in the afternoon.

The only problem with this was by this time Dare's milk had come in. I needed to be home mare watching but I also needed to be hauling horses and all the stuff involving getting horses shown. I gave the idea of having Dave do the hauling a brief thought but rejected it knowing half the needed stuff would end up still left on the trailer back at home instead of down at the show. To get the job done right, I needed to do it myself.





I had the Mare Stare cam to rely on for eyes on the mare so I figured I could haul the horses and get stuff moved in, maybe watch Rachel's class, if I was lucky and then get my b*tt back home.

I went into the chat room and posted on the forum asking for eyes telling them I'd come back as soon as things were unloaded. I gave them phone numbers and told them not to be dissuaded if they saw Dave or Lindsay, neither knew enough to help if a mare got into trouble. If they thought the mare was going to foal to call me immediately.

Half way through the moving in process I got a phone call from my Arabian horse breeder friend, Bev. She'd been watching Dare and she really thought the mare was about to foal. It didn't take but that word from Bev for me to be tossing stuff out of my trailer onto the ground while giving instructions about what I needed done. I'll bet it took me all of five minutes to get on my way out of the fairgrounds and headed home.

I called Dave to see how the mare was doing. He said she was fine, just standing there. Then I got a call from Laurie from Mare Stare. She and I go back a ways and I respect her opinion as much as Bev's. If both these woman believed the mare was foaling that must be the case.

I did all I could to drive the speed limit going home. The last thing I needed was to get pulled over and spend a half hour getting written up. Over and over in my head I kept telling myself that Dare would wait for me, Dare would wait for me.......

It was a relief when I rounded to the corner to my farm. As I pulled into the yard, I saw Dave was putting horses out. It was late in the day for that and the horses were all in an uproar. If Dare had been in the first stage of labor, my guess was it had stopped. No way a mare's going to foal with this kind of upheaval going on around her.

I headed for the mare's stall and my suspicions were confirmed. Dare was frantic. I can't even tell you when I have ever seen her in such a state. If she had indeed been in labor, it was most definitely stopped. As upset at the mare had been I didn't know if she'd calm down enough to foal soon or maybe it might even take days. It was back to more watching on the computer.

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

The Start of Day 2

I debated about posting the first two pics since they're not the most poetic with the foal still in the sack and the blood. But I found this first instant where Dare reached out to see what this new creature in her stall was so touching it out weighed the aesthetic issue. What do you think?

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Foaling and Showing Rolled into One - Update

Sorry about the quality of this pic, for now, it's the best I can do but thought you would appeciate a glimpse of Dare's foal. Details to follow on this entire weekend, and lots and lots of pics. For now, I'm off to bed to catch up on some much needed sleep.


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Foaling and Showing Rolled into One

Between a prolonged foal watch with a webcam trying to die and the Daffodil Arabian Spring Show at which I am supposed to be showing, I'm too tired to know which end is up, let alone write a post so I thought I'd post a brief update........how brief will tell you how truly tired I am.

The mare is still pregnant and the show is still going. I'm not sure which place I'm supposed to be when. Richard has been getting video done of the classes so I'll have those to post. Also have Mare Stare buds hoping to get video of the foaling so maybe that will be available too for those who would like to see. Currently I have eyes on Dare so I am off to bed for a short nap. Hope tomorrow night to do a real post about the name I chose for the colt. It's written but not edited, so there's hope I might actually get it done.

In the meantime the live webcam is here. The bad static has finally been fixed and the big event looks to be very soon with white icicles hanging off the mare's udder.

The above picture is last year's foal, Scandalous MizScarlet in all her glory coming into this world. Hope the next time I post a foal pic it will be of the new wonder Dare is bestowing on us.


Hope you all are having a great weekend!

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I've Got a Secret............... Down Time

As some of you may remember, I was out of commission for a while due to a surgery. During the time immediately after I didn't dare touch this colt. I wasn't supposed to be lifting anything over 25 pounds so hands on work was definitely out of the question. Getting banged around by the horse was probably way over my 25 pound limit. You can't even imagine how difficult it was to stay hands off when a whole new world of dreams was opening right before my eyes.

Instead I stood outside his stall and talked to him always making sure my voice had a low, soothing tone. When I could no longer stand doing nothing, I worked up to just inside the door, the way I had started stall work with him. But nothing is what I did inside the stall too. I didn't want any kind of confrontation that I wouldn't be equipped to deal with. Instead I just talked and let him listen. He even walked up to me a few times.

While my recuperation was going on, I was spending some of my inside time making plans for this colt. The first issue was his name. Part of the pending deal with Richard's client had been that she would be able to pick his registered name. When his six month birthday approached with no sale,Dan and Chris went ahead and picked one of their own.

Those who know me know I take naming horses seriously. I think a name can say a lot about a horse. Show horses need to have names fit for show horses. Extra special horses need to have names that set them apart. Ones that stand out in people's minds and say "I'm a one of a kind, all original, real deal kind of horse."

The name that Dan and Chris had picked didn't do that for me even though that had been their intention. They had remembered being told long ago a special horse needs an original name. To their way of thinking that's what they had done. To my way of thinking, not so much.

I spoke to Chris about changing his name. The first thing out of her mouth was "NO." Then she asked what I wanted to use instead and I think she didn't really like it much. Later she decided he was my horse I could name him whatever I wanted but they wanted me to either end it or start it with the initials LA for Lelli Arabians.

I talked to a friend whose opinion I trust regarding what to do about this colt's name. She advised me what I'd already been thinking. This colt needed something original and distinctive. Also, adding initials implies the name has been used before. If I really wanted a name that conveyed the message this horse is really something special, he needed to have his very own, original, never used or look like it had been used name. There would have to be another way to recognize Dan and Chris as the breeders.

These people are my friends, I didn't want to offend them. I thought long and hard about changing his name. My biggest issue about his name was I didn't think it fit the horse. Eragon LA brought up images of medieval horses, big bulky things (no offense intended really!) big enough to carry those darn knights in all their shining clunky armour. Not really the picture I see when I think of a spectacular Arabian stallion.

Thrown in for me the fact there's nothing original about naming a horse after a movie. Maybe if it's the hottest movie on the planet but Eragon wasn't one of those. Just an ordinary movie, with ordinary sales and ordinary reviews, yet there's nothing ordinary about this horse. Ordinary was not the picture I wanted to convey.

My guess was Dan and Chris were not the only ones to think that Eragon was a special name. Putting initials either end, as Dan and Chris had done would make it possible for there to be more than one Eragon. That kind of ammunition could help me justify my decision to chose another name.

With nothing better to do than heal, I took the time to do some research. I signed up for the AHA Datasource and began my search. First off I found not one or two colts named Eragon. There were a total of eight colts that had been named Eragon with an assortment of initials in a two year period. Then there was another passel of colts with names with similar spelling.

That pretty much clinched it for me there was no way I was leaving this colt with a name that common. I knew that the breeders would see this too. Names of registered Arabians can only be changed if the horse has not been shown or has progeny. That meant I had to get on the stick and find another name keeping before I could even show this colt. Since I was sworn to secrecy until the horse hit the ring, I needed to get this done and done quick.

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

The Name
Dare is getting even closer to foaling. Her milk is finally in. I have the Daffodil Show this weekend, hopefully she will have popped by then.

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I've Got a Secret............... Stall Work

Lindsay and Dave also had to deal with this colt to do their jobs of feeding, watering and cleaning stalls. To start off both, too, had trouble entering the stall. The colt would fly to the back and climb the wall trying to escape.

Both know that talking in a soothing voice is help to a scared horse so that was their way to deal with this colt. It only took a couple of days for him to realize that neither of them had plans for him except to clean around him or feed. As long as they left him alone, he left them alone. Within a couple of weeks he was comfortable, at least, with the door opening as long as it wasn't me.

When I did try to put the halter on this colt, I had to be really careful not to touch him around the poll or on the top part of his face. Anything in that general area would cause him to lose it. The colt even banged his head into the wall sometimes in a desperate effort to get away from me if I even brushed those areas with the halter or my hand.

Once I'd get the halter on I worked at teaching him to drop his head. I knew the endorphins released by lowering his head would help to quiet the horse and help him relax. Getting him to loosen up around me would help him to trust me. Then I could build on that.

It wasn't easy. Most of my horses learn to drop their heads in one brief session. It is not unusual for me to get their head to their knees in just a few minutes. This colt was different. He braced against the pressure on the halter locked in to defeating me. I had to resort to pressure to the side to teach him to "give" to the pressure at all. I spent an entire hour working just on that.

From there it was back to trying to get him to lower his head. Another hour session he'd learned to drop his head about four inches from that extreme upright position. I could get him to drop it and leave it there but only if I didn't move. He was, however, letting me scratch him on the whither as a reward. We were making progress.

Once we'd finally accomplished the colt dropping his head to about the chest, I moved on to teaching him to lead. Those same issues of throwing his head to the outside while popping his shoulder in followed by swinging his butt around jumped at every turn. Any time the colt felt pressured, he pressured back in a big big way.

My plan of attack against this tactic was to teach him to bend towards me instead. He couldn't be shoving his shoulder at me if he was flexed to the inside. The problem would be getting this horse out of this reversed arch he assumed so easily.

I accomplished that by starting off in the stall with the colt pushed up to the wall so I could use it for a barrier. Since he'd already learned about giving his head towards me just a bit before learning to drop his head I could use that to teach him to bend his entire body.

The confines of the stall restricted some of his counter moves as well but not all. The colt was not against throwing his head right into the wall to get away from me if he felt he must. He took some pretty hard knocks over the course of this lesson.

Since by now he was learning to give to pressure on the halter, I put my hand on his shoulder pushing into it while pulling his head in towards me. More hour long sessions before I'd make any progress. I wasn't trying to teach him everything at once. All I was looking for was one part, one lick. one chew, a little less tension from this horse.

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

Down Time



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I've Got a Secret............... Now What? part 2

Part 1

I decided I wasn't going to take the colt back to Richard's until he knew how to lead properly. I couldn't see wasting Richard's time, and my trailer space hauling a horse that was a monster just getting to and from the arena. I might just as well spend my time and energy teaching him his place at home.

This endeavor wasn't going to be easy. The colt had a way of throwing his head to the outside bowing his long snakey neck as he shoved his shoulder into me striking in the process. Then he'd swing his butt around trying to catch me with that hind foot. The young horse really didn't think much of being told where he could go and what he could do.

That wasn't his only issue. The colt really didn't think much of being caught even in his stall. He'd throw that head to the outside and whirl his butt into me the minute I stepped into the stall. Everything this colt did was defensive. Convincing him his new life wasn't really that bad wasn't going to be easy. But I knew it was going to be worth it so I kept working.

Mostly he'd been living outside, only coming in at night to be fed. Then the door was opened ( just like I'd seen when we'd gone to look at him) and he was allowed to run out into the pasture. If he did wear a halter it was only briefly to be clipped, trimmed or bathed.

Those things didn't happen often. He'd had clippers run over his face and ears the first week his was born. Then every now and then he was clipped up again. The bathing happened when the big name trainer came to see him and when Richard and I looked at him for that buyer. How they did those things without teaching him to respect their space and lead is beyond me. From his manners when he got here, it's clear this colt had no idea anyone but him was in charge of his feet. He intended to move those things only when and where he wanted. In other words, this colt really believed that HE was in charge of everything.

Considering this colt was pretty sure he was God's gift to the world, attitude was a big part of the issue. I happen to love horses with attitude but I also know you have to get them under control quickly or that attitude can get you hurt. This colt was a handful............a dangerous handful. Getting the colt to be obedient without harming that attitude was going to be a challenge.

I might have thought twice about my decision except I knew this colt's siblings and what kind of horses they'd grown into. I was going to have to get a handle on things quickly but do it in a manner that made sense to the horse. It was obvious he was very sensitive. Strong arm tactics would easily ruin a colt like this. Yet I had to make sure he was safe for Lindsay and Dave to work around too. I decided the best place to start was working on his manners in the stall, leading could come later.

It was clear from the start that subtle was the way to go with this colt in the stall. Any large movement would result in him climbing the walls. Just opening the door was enough to cause his eyes to bulge, his head to rise straight up and his butt to whirl. Talking in a low soothing voice and convincing him he had no reason to be defensive was the way I would go.

I started off stepping just inside the door and closing it behind me cutting off his only real escape. Then I just planted my feet and clucked softly. I didn't quit clucking until the colt finally looked at me to see what the heck I wanted. When his head began to turn my direction the clucking stopped and I spoke in a low, slow voice, "Gooooood." Then I'd just stand and let him think.

The minute he'd start to turn away, I'd repeat this process. I didn't move towards him at all even though I really like to touch my horses to reward them. For now the sound of my voice and the lack of "pressure" from the cluck would have to be it. The last thing this colt wanted was to be touched by me. You'd have thought I was trying to touch a wild mustang. Little baby steps were exactly what this colt needed.

It took a week before I could actually touch the horse without him trying to run from me. I still had to trap him to put a halter on but he wasn't climbing the walls any longer. I'd get my arms around his neck as he was up against the wall to "capture" him. Trying to put the halter on he'd throw his head the opposite direction with his nose up in the air. It's a good thing I have long arms because that's what it took to get the halter in place.

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

Stall Work

Dare is getting closer to foaling. live webcam

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I've Got a Secret............... Now What?

Part 1

I knew when I picked him up this colt was going to be a handful. His mother is aloof and distant with people and this colt acts much like his mother.Another important thing abpit was his BIG attitude. When I say big, believe me I mean big. One of the biggest, aside from Rhythm, I've ever seen on a colt. That's one of the reason's that big name halter boy liked him as well as he did. He not only had great conformation, quality, beauty and type but a super halter horse attitude............hotter than a firecracker!

I also knew that my friend was intimidated by him, but then she's intimidated by colts in general. Fillies are her thing. That meant this colt had not had much hands on training. The times I'd seen him, she'd opened the barn door and let the colt run down the aisle and out on his own, no halter, no rules, just "whoppee, I'm out!" Not the best way to handle a colt you want to keep intact.

The day I picked the colt up, he was nearly a perfect gentleman. He was a little pushy about leading to my trailer but he loaded onto it like he'd been doing it all his life. Then once at my farm the colt got off the trailer as nicely as he'd gotten on. He was a pushier about leading than he'd been at the trainers but nothing particularly bad. I was beginning to wonder where the fire breathing dragon I'd seen those weeks before had gone. I knew it couldn't last.

The next day I loaded the colt back into the trailer and took him over to Richard and Angie's. I knew if the colt was to be conditioned to show halter it would have to be done at their covered arena. Not much chance I could work the horse on their place without telling them I had him, that's for sure. So Angie and Richard were told and sworn to silence.

The colt got on the trailer just like he had the day before. He was quiet and thoughtful and did just what I asked. Once at Opus Arabians he got off the trailer breathing fire. The dragon was back and the darn sucker was dangerous. I thanked my lucky stars I hadn't gotten him any older and bigger than this because I really had my hands full.

Getting him down to the arena was like wrestling a gorilla. I was exhausted and a sweaty mess and so was the colt. Well, let me that that back, the colt was a sweaty mess but he was far from exhausted. The fight for control had just begun.

Richard asked if he could work with him and I gladly relinquished the lead. The Richard spent over an hour wrestling with the colt trying to teach the young horse his space and keep him out of Richard's.

While Richard is a really good hand with a horse, I can't say this colt was impressed. Richard did make some progress here and there but it disappeared in an instant. It looked like an exercise in futility but the colt finally tired and gave Richard an inch. Believe me it wasn't any more than an inch.

The minute I took the lead that inch was gone. The colt was back to trying to drag me up the hill and through the barn. Every step of the way I was shanking the horse trying to get him to slow up and keep with me. I also used the end of my long lead to get him on the end of his nose. Each time he pulled through the pressure on the lead, I whacked him sharply.

The colt wasn't happy but he was giving a bit.....no more than the inch he'd given to Richard. A step or two and he'd be back to trying again to run through the lead. It took all the force I had to even get him to listen to a correction. The trip back up to the horse trailer must have lengthened my arm at least a foot. It was obvious whatever I accomplished with this colt I was going to work for.....and work hard.

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

Now What? part 2

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I've Got a Secret............... Details

Part 1

Details........did I promise you details? Well, then I guess I better get on with it. But you know I can't do this with starting at the beginning of the story. It's just who I am, the way I'm built, I don't know what. I can't tell just details, I must tell the story. So here it is.........the story behind my secret.

If you didn't check out the links on yesterday's post, you might want to check this one Selling Horses................. The events of this whole series is really where this whole story started. The effect that this type of unethical behavior can have on a breeder can be quite devastating both emotionally and monetarily. Many a small breeder has been done in by situations similar to this. This particular betrayal took a devastating toll.

The owner of that colt was so distraught by what her friend (the stallion owner) of over thirty years had done she was beside herself. As the days wore on, the plot thickened and the stallion owner really showed her true colors. Friendships (several of them) were annihilated and amidst all of this the buyer drug her feet. The deal for the colt hung pending for weeks and weeks somehow acting like a knife in the wound twisting and turning.

Hanging on a ledge waiting for the other shoe to drop, the breeder got over saturated with "stuff." All things bad in the horse industry seemed to be dogging her. Every time my friend looked at that colt or had to deal with his coltish behavior she was reminded of the heartbreak he represented. Finally she'd had enough.

Despite this colt's superior quality, the breeder decided the best course of action was to geld him. The very thought of rendering such an outstanding individual useless in the breeding shed was more than I could bear. Granted there are way too many stallions out there, but that's no excuse for gelding a great horse for something that people did. It just didn't seem fair so I stepped up and pled this colt's case.

It wasn't hard to do. I've been enamored of this colt since the day I first saw him. I rarely get excited about horses of "fad" breeding, but then this colt is different. His dam I have loved since the first day I laid eyes on her. His grand sire, while THE current hot property in halter, is really a nice individual, a great horse with a great mind. The dam of his sire is one of my all time favorite mares. Based on pedigree and looks this colt is my kind of horse.

This wasn't just fad breeding but a whole lot of good solid pedigree and great phenotype as well. It was easy to argue the case of a horse I would love to breed my Legs' daughters to. In all honesty this horse IS the first one I've seen that I could get excited about crossing on my second generation mares. So yes, arguing his value as a breeding horse was not difficult. The thought of losing that option.........that was what was difficult.

Knowing that he was way more horse than my friend was equipped to manage, I also tried to help her find alternative ways to deal with him. Colts have never been favored by this friend and naughty ones even less. Some kind of plan, anything to help her keep him intact to get her a fair price for him was important.

In the end his behavior really wasn't the issue. It was about the heartache he represented. One day I got a call from my breeder friend saying if I was convinced this colt should stay a colt then I should come and get him. She just didn't want to look at him anymore. She didn't want to deal with him anymore. She was done! She wanted him gone!

Not a good reason to make a rash decision about such a fine individual but it was where she was. I didn't argue even though I had 27 horses and not enough stalls. I asked for a couple of days to make arrangements for a place to put this colt. Then I scrambled figuring out how to make it work. Three days later I went and collected him.

After the fact we made a private treaty for the purchase of this colt. The terms of which are to remain private so let's just leave it at this. The price negotiated was fair to the breeder. The terms to pay it were fair to me. AND I couldn't tell anyone I even had this colt until he hit the show ring. Don't ask me why this was important to her because I don't really know but it was...........so I tried to stick to it...........even though it sucked!

I've been keeping that secret since October and swallowing down the excitement of a lifetime. Having this colt as a junior sire in my herd is absolutely unbelievable to me. I never could have imagined nor did I even dream of such an thing............but you can believe I'm dreaming now.


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

Now What?

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I've Got a Secret............... part two

Part 1

Oh.....my, you have made me chuckle on this one and I think I really needed that! For some reason this impending foaling is really taking a toll on me. I have been so preoccupied with worry (probably unnecessarily so) that my brain was plugged up with writer's block.

That's right, I couldn't make the words come........well, except that post. It just rolled out but then the flow immediately stopped. I actually worried last night after posting that the words wouldn't come to actually TELL the secret. Believe me that's a pretty bad block when the words won't flow from my fingers to disclose the details of something that's been hounding me since............well, October. Can you believe it?

I worried I ,ight be leaving you hanging out there on a limb because I couldn't find the words to get you off! But (thankfully there's a "but" here. It's nice to appreciat a "but" now and then) when your comments began to roll in, inspirtation rolled right in with them. And here we are with true direction in the telling of that secret..........so here goes.

First off, I thought maybe that direction should go pointing toward some of those clues I've left. The most obvious of which were hidden in T'was the night before Christmas which was the first time I breathed a word on this blog. I couldn't help myself. It just came out. Then again in writing New Year's ....What to Post & of course, Arabian Horses that urge to "tell all" grabbed me and I choked it off pretty much.... but not completely.

After that more subtle signs might have been noticed in such posts as
The Second Shift of Arabian Horses in the Snow although I really had to bite my tongue.........umm sit on my hands to stop the truth from spilling there. Other times I did tell......kinda....in a round about sort of way. Saturday..........Finally Working Horses

Tired of hints? Actually, believe it or not, this tale all began with events covered in a post about ethics or lack there of. How a series on Selling Horses................. could translate into me having a big secret may not be obvious to the naked eye. BUT the course of these events played a huge role in this secret for me. The questions is who in this cast of characters or what in the chain of events led to me having a secret at all.


Details to follow..............

I own a print of this artwork. The artist is Anne-Hatchett-Sprague

Update: 21016: I no longer own this artwork. It was lost along with everything else in the fire on March 12, 2015. I had a beautiful collection of Arabian Horse artwork in addition to this piece that was lost, Those and my personal photographs are the most devastating losses.

I've Got a Secret................

There used to be an old TV show with the name I've Got a Secret . The panel of stars was to guess what the secret of the guest was. I don't know why that old show keeps running around in my brain, but maybe it's because I've been keeping a secret of my own for a while and it's begging to get out.

Having never been one who could easily keep my mouth shut about new and exciting things, there have been little clues on this blog that this secret existed almost from the start. Luckily for me only a reader or two even noticed the "discrepancies" created by my references. I avoided answering their questions trying to keep the treaty I had made.

But as money can burn a hole in one's pockets, this secret has been burning to be set free. Many a time I have had to toss aside posts with references not subtle enough to be missed. Unwilling to break a promise, I've continued in silence but hating every minute of it. Temptation has been hiding at every turn.

Granted I have shared details to a select few. As you will see after disclosure this was not something that could be kept totally hidden. Necessity prompted some assistance in my collusion. And, to be honest, I shared with a couple of blogging friends who were sworn to secrecy.

Mostly I have kept this secret to myself just as I agreed in the first place. It looks, however, that the time has come that am released from my promise. I can finally share this secret. But then there's that old TV show playing in my head. I can't help but think I should be having a bit of fun with this. Maybe playing a little game of I've Got a Secret of my own is now in order.

So what do you think, do you want to guess? Or do you want me to spill the beans?

PS. I'm trusting that those who DO KNOW will allow this to run its course. Although you are free to identify yourselves if you chose. LOL

Part two

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Horse Shows, Foalings, What to Choose!

It's a crazy week around here Richard and Angie are off to a show in Salem, Oregon with Eclipse and Storm. Angie is showing Eclipse but Storm just went along for the experience. Angie has decided she won't show him until he is flawless. I've heard he's being a good citizen but I wouldn't expect anything less.

Both Angie and Richard really wanted me to go along but with Dare looking like she might foal that was definitely out. They made me promise if the mare foaled I would join them. Instead Richard took a passel of kids with him. Three teenagers and none of them with a horse to show sounds like a good reason for me to stay home.

Richard left yesterday so he could video the sport horse in hand classes. Angie is wanting him to show Eclipse sport horse to get his final halter points for the Legion of Excellence award. I'm thinking if Richard shows Eclipse in hand, he might as well show Reflection in the stallion class. I think Richard is tempted. He really loves that horse. Doesn't want to give him up and send him home to me so who knows, Richard might just finally make his appearance in the show ring.

While Richard was gone I had plans to work all of my horses from home plus the two that are over at their place. But the best laid plans of mice and men can go awry fast when a mare is due to foal. I spent most of my night watching Dare on the live webcam. She was just uncomfortable enough to keep me hooked most of the night.

I was dragging so badly this morning, I only took one load of horses to work. Then I found a lump on Scarlet's knee so I didn't even work her. I have no idea what she did to itThe plan was to come home and take a long nap so I'd be up for tonight's watch. Sleeping in the daylight just isn't my thing, that nap never happened. Of course it would have helped if the phone would quit ringing. There must have been some kind of signal out there that said I was home.

I only got two loads of horses worked yesterday. So all the big plans I had to Wow! Richard when he got home are fast dissipating. Although I must say I was really pleased with Percy yesterday. He is getting the idea of going into the bridle, I think. He's not ready to show yet by any means, but he's definitely catching up with his brothers. Louie on the other hand thought seemed to think going into the bridle isn't necessary when mom is the one on his back. Baby horses.........you just never know.

Dare has been looking uncomfortable all day long. Even now in her stall there is lots of tail swishing going on. She's not eating her dinner with her usual relish so it looks like it'll be another long night.

Oh, ya, in all of this did I mention that Dave wrecked my truck? Not that there's not enough going on, Dave "slipped" into a corner post of the barn while taking straw out for Dare. The fiberglass fender on my dually literally blew up. They want my truck for an entire week to fix it. How can I live without a truck for a week? Life just keeps rolling along................who knows what's next.

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The Continued Skinny on Delilah

The next part of Delilah's training has been what Holly calls Couch Training 101. I have to admit that couch training is probably the only kind of training that Dave is going to get. He is a TV junky and the only time he's conscious is during commercials. Holly's couch training works nicely right in with Dave's idea of paying attention to the dog. He's there during commercial breaks only.

The first thing Holly wanted me to work on in this series was the "down" command. Delilah can't be jumping on the furniture and climbing the walls if she is down. It makes perfect sense to me but sometimes I wish I could just whisper in her ear what I need from her. It'd be soooooooo much easier.

We started off with me throwing a treat for Delilah to retrieve every time she laid down. I have to admit I had to coax her down to even throw a treat to try this approach in the first place. But we got it figured out and Delilah was soon laying down even to eat her treat once she located it. Before long she was coming to me and laying down to get me to toss another treat. She is just so darn smart..........

By the time we get finished with a session, Delilah is exhausted. It doesn't take nearly as long to wear her out when she's working that little brain of hers as it does with sheer physical play of some kind or another. Delilah loves a challenge! She plays hard and then crashes in a heap sleeping for hours.

We have no more night time hysteria but it's still very obvious she must have the stimulation of a game like this to reach this restful period where we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Delilah is down for the count and we have a respite from being hyper vigilant.

Obviously this is not a full time thing, this beware of what the dog is up to vigilance. When we are working outside the puppy goes with us. She is getting chained for the time being but she is right there in the middle of things. She has her own jolly ball, which she loves and she has the horses to interact with her as well.

Both Tag and Percy are stalled where she is tied. Both horses love to reach down and sniff at Delilah. At first she was frightened of them but now she likes to play with them. She's already learned that playing with the jolly ball attracts both horses to watch. There's nothing that Delilah likes more than being the center of attention........and attention from her Arabian horse friends is a desirable part of her afternoon barn play.

Although she loves the horses reaching over the wall to play, and she even likes going into their stalls to investigate, she's pretty sure that the horses walking her direction is NOT a good thing. Whenever I unload the horse trailer, Delilah sits closely against the door of the barn out of the way. No way this puppy wants to be stepped on by a horse.

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

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Foal Watch 2009 on the Arabian Horse Farm

This year's victim........err, I mean pregnant mare would be Scandalous Dare. She is a ten year old maiden and one of my very first Scandalous Legacy daughters. Dare was bred last season to a AQHA reining stallion, The Mighty Oak for our first ever half-Arabian foal.

Anyone wondering why I happened to chose this particular mating, I'm really hoping for a ride n slide kinda horse that will be big enough for me. Dare has the talent to do reining but with me nearly 6 feet tall and the mare 14.2 h, my legs interfere with hers for spins. I definitely need a bigger horse. Oak is a talented reiner and also a bigger horse at 15.2 h so I'm hoping he'll add some size without losing any of the talent this mare has. I do have some concerns about the size foal this cross could produce, however. I'm hoping Mother Nature keeps that in check and my mare stays safe.

Dare's due date is April 26 based on 345 days gestation. With that time fast approaching it was time to get our live webcam up and running. That feat is sometimes easier said than done and this year happened to be one of those times.

It took two sessions with a tech from MareStare before I even had a picture, let alone got the thing up on the web. Seems I had corrupted drivers and fixing them just wasn't going by the book. Despite lots of error messages we did eventually get the driver issue resolved. From there it was a piece of cake getting the cam up and on the web.

This resolution was just in time. My maiden mare, who had been showing absolutely no signs what so ever of imminent foaling, made some dramatic changes in the last twenty-four hours. The mare's udder is developing pretty rapidly but that's not what really jumped out at me. Seeing her totally broken down around the tail with her hind end so relaxed it squishes when she walks is what really got my attention. That and some changes in her belly which suggest the foal is moving into the birthing position.

Like all maiden mares, I'm sure that Dare is going to make people crazy watching her progression. The unpredictability of maiden mares is world renowned and very frustrating. Even though mares in general don't always go "by the book," maidens in general have an aptitude for annihilating the darn thing. The only thing one can count on with a maiden is you can't count on anything.

I know that I'm particularly stressed over this foaling because this mare has a special place in my heart. From her first hours on earth
this filly has given me what for more times than I can count. In the process of teaching her survival skills in MY herd, I've become her personal human. I can hardly wait to see what surprise she has in store for me in this latest episode in our lives.

For those interested in following this ride, here's the live webcam and this is the thread on MareStare for updates on her condition and notes from those tracking her progress.

This picture is Dare, obviously before the last trimester of her pregnancy.

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The Skinny on Delilah

I've gotten so many questions about Delilah, I figured it's probably best to post the specifics on what happened, what we're doing and how it's going from here. I'll be the first to tell you WE were the problem, not sweet lovable Delilah.

Just like with horses, dogs do what they do on instinct. Delilah is definitely a high energy dog and very, very smart. We were not being consistent nor did we understand Delilah's interpretation of some of our discipline. A puppy with these kinds of issues and owners with little experience with them go together like oil and water. We ended up with a mess.

Not Delilah's fault that we gave her the opportunity to exploit our lack of understanding about her issues. She was getting attention the only way she knew how........by being a rowdy puppy! She had no way of knowing that behavior was "bad" in our book. We weren't communicating in a way she could understand. Instead of thinking we wanted her to stop, Delilah thought we wanted to play more and harder. When we upped the ante, so did Delilah. Things just escalated from there. We had no tools to quiet the highly excitable Delilah.

Sending the puppy back to Colleen's gave some here a reality check. We weren't going to be able to keep this puppy and NOT consistently discipline her. No "Oh isn't she a cute puppy" rewards for bad behavior. Just like baby horses are learning their place in the herd from day one, puppies are doing the same thing. The only ones thinking the behavior was exclusive to a baby were the humans. The puppy was learning how to be a grown-up dog!

With Colleen Delilah also got a chance to learn some manners as well as to experience some true pack order. It's not Delilah's fault her first time mother didn't ever correct her and none of her litter mates dared! Or that having two litters at once for a total of 14 puppies cut into what one on one time with humans she would have had under "normal" circumstances. The fact that Delilah thought she should call all the shots made perfect sense to her given her history. Given our lack of skills we didn't know how to teach her otherwise and that's where the problems started.

Her brief stint in puppy boot camp also gave me some time to figure out how to deal with Delilah's needs in ways that would work for all of us. I could tell you exactly how I would deal with these issues with a horse but for a puppy like Delilah I had absolutely no frame of reference, not even a starting point to build on. I felt very powerless over the whole situation.

At first I had asked if Rachel could come stay with us for the first few days that Delilah was back. I thought by having someone with experience with Siberian Husky puppies we might have a smooth transition. However, if we had waited for Rachel, we would still probably be waiting and neither Dave, nor Lindsay, nor I were happy with that so I moved on to plan two which was contacting Holly.

I've done some reading, although not nearly enough, and have much more to do. But I didn't bring Delilah home until I knew I had a much clearer understanding of what had happened here...........that turned out to be pretty simple. Delilah wanted to play and we allowed her to play on her terms. Our human scolding didn't equate in her puppy brain, some because of lack of consistency between the three of us humans, but mostly because we didn't really have good puppy skills.

Dog training has changed dramatically since I was a kid, just like horse training has. Getting inside the puppy's head and understanding where she's coming from has been a big part of understanding what it takes to communicate what we need from her.

To start off with Holly suggested we get a chain lead for Delilah and leave it on her in the house.. The reason for the chain was so this very smart puppy could not chew off a very important tool.

Whenever Delilah is asking for attention in a destructive manner, we can stop her by grabbing or stepping on that chain thus restricting her movement. That way we can curb the behavior without rewarding her with the physical contact she was seeking in the first place. We don't touch her until she settles and is quiet like we want. Then we can touch her and direct her into a more desirable form of play.

Some would leave a lead, or a shortened version of, on a horse they couldn't catch. Having Delilah drag this lead around the house has accomplished the same thing. It sure took all the power out of her running games and is teaching her that she won't get attention until she behaves the way WE want her to. Sightings of the Devil Dog are few and far between.

To be continued...............
The Continued Skinny on Delilah
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Sunday Stills Challenge - Red

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge was "Red." OF course, there are lots of shades of red and that is true in the equine industry as well. Those who are into horses know that genetically there are two basic coat colors in horses, black and red, with red being recessive. There are lots of reasons why a true black coat is not often seen and there are lots of other color coats that we do see. That all has to do with modifiers. But for the purpose of this challenge the horse in the picture has what is considered to be a RED coat color.

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Life When Lindsay Leaves..........

There's been a lot going on on this Arabian horse breeding farm this week. Delilah returning home is not the only thing important happening. My daughter, Lindsay, is on vacation. Gone to her annual NorWesCon convention.

Someone was lined up to clean stalls during the time that Lindsay was gone. I was ok with this arrangement as long as Dave would be here to monitor things. Then Dave got called for a job interview. Since I was off working horses, the kids cleaning the stalls were on their own.

By the time I returned with my first trailer load of horses, the stalls cleaners were gone. A brief inspection of the barns confirmed my initial thoughts. This wasn't going to work without someone here to keep track of things. Some of the stalls looked great, some were so so, and others were just plain bad. Not only that but none of the horses had been watered nor where the aisles swept., all of which was part of what these kids were hired to do.

When confronted about this the response was they had some place to be. There's not anything that makes my blood boil faster than someone not taking responsibility for their actions. I probably could have dealt with things if they had stepped up and agreed to make it right, but shrugging it off like there was nothing else they could do just wasn't cutting it for me. By the end of the day, the original crew was fired.

There was no way I could leave horses standing in such filthy stalls. I went home, after working three loads of horses, and cleaned some of the stalls. I also showed around the next kid wanting to make a few bucks cleaning our stalls.

It was 9:30 pm before I got into the house for dinner. Dave was gone on his night out playing Texas Hold em and I waited up hoping not to have to crate Delilah. I gave up around midnight and put Delilah in a crate. She howled most of the night until Dave arrived home sometime around 4:30 AM. His car had broken down on the way home and he hadn't called not wanting to wake me........what a laugh that was. I hadn't been to sleep yet.

The following day was smoother but still rocky. The new stall cleaner did a nice job but had some problems with the horses. At least Dave was there to show him how to deal with them. It was interesting the horses that were problems because they weren't the ones one might think. All we can figure is he was unsure and the horses were equally unsure and the two feed off each other leaving both feeling insecure. It didn't take much to get things worked out but the fact it happened just added to the stress.

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

This picture is Lindsay with Delilah at 5 weeks old......and yes, she's grown a bunch since then. It's hard to believe she's was once that little.

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Delilah...........the Devil Dog????????

I guess after my yesterday's Wordless Wednesday post and the resulting questions from Leah Fry from Barn Door Tagz and Andrea from Swamp Suburbia it would be cruel of me to just bait you with the picture and a tweet on twitter now and then and Not post an update on Delilah..........formerly (I hope) known as the Devil Dog.

Yes, Delilah is home. We couldn't stand it without her. Despite her antics, all three of us found we really missed her. Not to mention one very upset puddy tat who has moped the entire time that Delilah has been gone.

Daily reports about Delilah's progress just were not enough. Partly because the reports themselves were way to sparse in content to tell us much about how this whole doggy boot camp thing was progressing, let alone how long it was going to take.

Dave managed several trips to check in on the little princess. His reports back to me didn't fill the ever growing void either. It was time to take matters into our own hands and find some way to bring Delilah home.

I contacted Holly from dogsnhorses and asked if I could call on her for help with my mischievious mutt since training high energy dogs happens to be her area of expertise. Holly, thankfully, stepped right up with websites to read AND individual instructions. That was all it took. Dave immediately went and retrieved Delilah.



That was Tuesday night while I was gone to the Daffodil Arabian Horse Association board meeting. When I arrived home, I was greeted by the new and improved Delilah.

The Siberian Husky puppy bounded up to meet me and promptly parked her cute little puppy butt on the floor at my feet and gazed longingly up at me for a pat. When I reached down to stroke her she licked, not chewed, my hand and totally contained herself despite her excitement. I could hardly believe my eyes. Could this be my Delilah.............the Devil Dog? Or had someone taken my puppy and replaced her with this much more demure dog.

Actually, in answer to that question, Dave swears that an exorcism was done on the Devil Dog because we have not seen hide nor hair of THAT Delilah since the puppy was returned to us. However, we're not taking any chances. I have been following Holly's suggestions to a T..........and all of us are much happier now!

I will admit in all of this I have made one concession. Delilah seems to have an affinity for that darn ottoman. I've decided if she loves it that much, I can find another place to rest my feet....... And just for the record, last night's picture of a sleeping Delilah and tonight's were taken on two separate nights. I would have a similar pic for the third night IF I had remembered to take one. Delilah did her part!


And Leah.........yes...........Delilah really has gotten that big already.............and Holly, you bet that's a lead......if my trainer tells me to let the puppy carry a lead in the house, that's exactly what I do! ;-)

You can bet there'll be more to this story about Delilah......and maybe she'll be joined by a boxer puppy before too long. Keep your fingers crossed......Dakota is being bred as we speak.
The Skinny on Delilah

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Wordless Wednesday

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An Odds and Ends Kind of Day..............

It was an odd day today. I had an appointment to get my haircut in Tacoma at 1:15 pm. That meant I could squeeze in working only one load of horses before I had to leave here.

Having an appointment at this time really breaks up my day but it's the earliest slot available with my friend, Vicki, who does a good job of cutting my wild hair. A later appointment would mean I could work more horses before I leave but then I have to deal with rush hour traffic in Tacoma...............and for me with double vision, that's just NOT good.

So I have to settle for this goofy split up day for something that's really not high on my list of priorities. I swear I'd be perfectly happy to never get a hair cut if the stuff would just stay out of my face. When it comes to style, I really don't care as long as it's wash and wear. I've not got the time to be messing with such. I'd much rather spend my time playing with the horses's hair than ever touching mine.

I'd already rescheduled this appointment once and I didn't dare do it again. Show season is coming and I to be somewhat presentable. No tufts of hair sticking out from under my cowboy hat in odd places. That's the only reason I kept this appointment.........

While I was getting this "stylish" haircut (sorry Vicki, I know it's stylish to you but to me all that counts is easy and neat.) the vet's office called wanting to reschedule my appointment for Vee from tomorrow to today.
Making that change meant I wouldn't have another broken day tomorrow so I jumped at the chance. When I got home from the haircut, I made a quick pit stop. Then loaded up Vee and headed off for the vet.

Once there he examined a large lump on Vee's right jowl. Not entirely certain what was causing the lump, he aspirated it with a needle hoping to find an easy solution to the problem. An mass of unknown origin could be tricky to remove because the location was right next to a "hub" of nerves and an artery making the possibility of complications highly likely.

Thankfully, the aspiration produced clear serum. The offending lump is none other than a bruise. Whatever Vee did to cause such a thing, we'll probably never know, but at least it is something that should go away. Hot packs four times a day were recommended to aid the healing. Whodda thunk, $133 for nothing but a bruise? However, I'm really glad that surgery was not required. The last one of those for this mare's face was over $500 so I'm going to count myself lucky all around this time.

Now tonight, I off to a Daffodil Arabian Horse Association Board of Directors meeting turning this day into one of those that feels like I got absolutely nothing done when I really ran myself silly. I hate days like this.......glad I don't have too many of them.

The only fun part of this day was sneaking in a quick stop at Watson's Nursery on my way home for the haircut. I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket and I could just drive right by Watson's on my way home from the haircut.........I just couldn't!!!!!!!!! without stopping in to see if they had something special I might use this card for........

Watson's is one of my favorite nurseries. I can hardly afford to go there because I am always sooooooooo tempted. Today was no different, I spent way more than my gift card allowed but at least now I have a little motivation to clean up my flower beds after this nasty, mean winter. Something pretty and blooming in my gardens will definitely be appreciated.

This pic is my friend, Bev, and her half-Arabian gelding by Legs. I think he's a yearling in this pic. I meant to post it long before now but keep forgetting. He's a reall pretty boy and very talented too. Also He has the same disposition of the other Legs' babies, very friendly and kind of a goof ball. Always getting into mischief with his abundant curiousity. (If I didn't get this right Bev, please let me know.)

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The Mares Are BACK!!

Finally, Dave got the new addition to the barn finished at the end of last week. Despite lots of snow, sleet and high winds, the final pieces of tin were put on the roof. The doors were hung and new latches added. The mats were put in place, the lights are up and even the water buckets filled so I could retrieve my mares.

So early Sunday morning I arose and headed off to Boulder Knolls to collect my missing broodmares. It's been months since they graced my pastures and I've really missed these girls.

Not only that but I've worried about these horses too. No one takes the kind of care of my horses that I do. You know how that goes. We have an idea in our mind what proper care is and we think that others feel the same only to find out that their ideas of "good care" and ours just aren't the same. But sometimes we're committed or even stuck (as in my case with no stalls) and the best we can do is wait it out hoping it will all be OK in the end.

The first mare I retrieved from her stall was Heiress. She came running in from her paddock at the sound of my voice. The mare was clearly telling me off for taking so long.......either that or she was upset that I didn't have breakfast........but I prefer to think she was complaining about her stall that hadn't been cleaned in probably a week and how that kind of care just doesn't suit a princess like her.

Heiress sure didn't look back once we headed out the door. Although she wasn't sure she wanted to be the first one in the trailer either. She was definitely calling to her buddy, Aana, telling her we were heading for home.

Dave brought his favorite mare, Faye, up to the trailer. The horses didn't give getting in a second thought. As a matter of fact she beat me into the trailer despite the ruckus Heiress was making for Aana still back in her stall. Faye stood there looking at me, "Come on, Mom, tie me up and let's go!"

Then I went to collect Aana who by this time was beginning to sweat. I think she thought she was being left behind. There was no way that's what she wanted. She practically drug me to the trailer which is not her usual style. Since that vehicle is NOT her favorite place, I'll have to read that she was more than ready to see the green fields of home again........even if they are brown with mud this time of year.

The mares rode quietly home until I rounded the corner onto our street. Then the trailer because to rock n roll as the mares began to prance in excitement. At the same time a deafening roar went up as all three mares called out to the waiting herd. It was not stop bedlam in that trailer, I swear.

From the barns, those calls were returned by each and every member of the herd. You'd think after six months they'd forget........but they don't. The whole farm was a buzz with the excitement of the homecoming. I'll bet the neighbors were not expecting this kind of wake up call on a Sunday morning.

Heiress was NOT happy to be the last one off the trailer. Again, I heard what a princess she is and why she should have been first! But she did settle down once she realized her new digs were right next to her buddy, Aana.

Oh yes............and Legs is really glad to see his mares are home just in time for breeding season.

I can't even tell you what a relief it is to finally have my horses back in my care. I hope I never have to have them split up again. There's just no place like home for my horses!

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