Dry No More

We are having a gentle soaking rain all day thanks to Patricia. Who would have thought this category 5 hurricane that hit Mexico from the Pacific, would travel up the gulf all the way to Illinois. The ground was so dry that even though it is a cold rain we are grateful.
I had to take the truck in to Meister's today so Mark could bring Bibles to the Berean office. He gave me his van to take to Berean where a surprise was waiting. If you would like to see pictures and read about this big surprise click HERE.
We had a really fun productive day there. A big thank you to those wonderful volunteers who show up and start working.
We were done by 1:00 pm. I drove the van back down to the shop then followed Mark to Byerline Garage to get the truck wiring looked at. The right blinker wasn't working. Mom picked me up at the shop to give me a ride home.
This afternoon was Darcy's doctor appointment to draw more blood and find out if the fluids we were giving her was helping her kidney's to start working. Rhoda met us there.

Darcy is always glad to see her even if it is at the dreaded vet's office. Above she is actually trying to sit on Rhoda's lap. Darcy had lost 3 pounds since last week, not a good sign, and the blood work came back a little discouraging. The numbers were down a bit but not by as much as hoped for. She was taken home and given 5000 units of IV fluids this evening. Tonight's not going to be a good sleeping night, this dog is going to have to go outside numerous times with all that fluid slowly being absorbed. As soon as the urine culture comes back we will know what kind of antibiotic to start her on.

Update on Helen

Helen, now named Fathom was the filly born with cataracts so severe she was diagnosed as completely blind. She is now 4 years old. Her owner sent this video of her out on the trails of Colorado and writes: Hi Judy! I thought I'd send you a this video of me riding Fathom. This was her first big ride and she did AWESOME! She encountered a lot of new things! A tree blow over 50 feet in front of us. She crossed 6 creeks, almost got snapped by a small sapling, and got tangled up in some branches. Each time she was calm and handled it like a seasoned trail horse! I am so thankful for such an amazing horse! Thanks again for blessing me with her!!

She did great! There were some steep rocky hills and she went right up no trouble or tripping. She trusts me and I trust her!! She is incredibly smart! I am going to save my money this winter and hopefully breed her to Evan in May.

When Helen was born we were thrilled with her beauty, she quickly found Lily's teats and was nursing fine. It wasn't until Amy Koch arrived the next day that the cataracts were discovered. Amy noticed that her eyes were reflecting the light wrong. When Dr. Hoerr arrived for the well baby check up he gave us the bad news that the filly was blind. We made an appointment with the UofI ophthalmologist in hopes we could have the cataracts removed but after they checked her over reported she was not a candidate for surgery and recommended putting her down. I just couldn't do it. She was such a vibrant happy beautiful filly. Her full sister Ayanna who was just one year older was an amazing baby sitter. If Helen got too far from Lily she would neigh, Ayanna would trot right up to her and let her follow her back to her mom. Both Dr. Hoerr and the UofI vets told us at her followup visits that it was amazing how well she was coping. We asked if there was any reason she should not be bred later in life and the answer was "no" she is doing so well with her other senses that they felt she would make a fine brood mare. I am thrilled about Cortney wanting to breed her and hope that works out. Notice in the video how Cortney is riding with just a halter and lead, notice how a slight tug and Fathom instantly turns. These 2 have a special bond that if Fathom is lucky will never be broken. The prayers that went up for this filly have all been realized and more!

Rosaleigh & Roxanne

Emily brought these 2 lovely girls home last night. They are actually closer related than half sisters as their dams were mother and daughter. They were born a week apart and have always been together. Roxanne was born March 30th, 2013. She has a nice long mane, an amazing thick long tail and very nice feather. She was a 1st premie at her FPZV Keuring.

Her dam is Iris ut de Finnen(Anton 343) her sire is 17 hand Othello de Berthonval. She should end up around 16 hands, She has an amazing ground covering trot and will make quite a show horse once trained.  We will probably breed her to Valiant once she is old enough as he throws height on his foals. 

The next mare is Rosaleigh. She is also by Othello de Berthonval. Rosaleigh was born April 6th, 2013. Her dam is Zinnia (Goffert 369), Zinnia also happens to be Iris's daughter, same as Roxanne. So Roxanne is Rosaleigh's aunt on the dam's side but Roxanne is also a half sister as they share the same sire. Wow this gets confusing. No matter what though neither mare is related to Evan OR Valiant giving us a lot of options. Rosaleigh is taller than Roxanne and has a longer thicker mane. She was just a point away from making first premie, the handler didn't trot her out but we found her movement was just amazing, it was jaw dropping amazing!

She has what we call lift. We were shocked at how high she gets off the ground, why this mare thinks she can fly.

We would probably choose Evan for her. The movement would be unbeatable and the hair...need I say more. The picture above really isn't that flattering. She is really a pretty mare with her long thick mane and tail flying in the wind.

Anna dropped off the girls today. They love to go to great grandma Meister's house. Kensley finds the chair that just fits her. This was mom's chair when she turned 1 year old. I bet it would be considered an antique, if it was new when she was given it it would be 82 years old. 

Braelyn immediately goes for the rocking horse. Mom found that at an auction and it is a real favorite with the great grand kids.

Taegan knows exactly where to find a doll to play with. Great grandma has a huge toy room.

We had a quiet day around here. Not much work got done but a lot of fun playing out in the warm sunshine on the patio. I think this might have been our last warm day for a while, rain is predicted then cold weather. It is time for summer to end but I sure hate to see it go. Karin worked horses at Middle Grove this afternoon but the days are getting so short it is hard to get a lot of horses trained. She said that the other Rosalie (Lily's daughter by Raven) is softening in the bridle and starting to bend when asked. She has the bow down pat and will soon start on the lay down. Funny we ended up with 2 Rosies both the same age, although Lily's daughter is WAY taller. 

Birthday Party

We had another really wonderful day in Peoria. I really do think we are a most blessed people. We have ministers that preach the truth and such a wonderful fellowship. After church we headed over to Phil and Anna's to celebrate Kensley's 1st birthday and Taegan's 3rd birthday. Below are a few pictures of the evening.

 The favorite gift of the evening was from Rhoda and Lee. Rhoda found this fancy children's piano on the side of the road, took it home, cleaned it up, put new batteries in it and it worked! The kids loved it. Not sure how long Phil and Anna will.

Emily sent a text through that she would be back at the farm around 7:30 pm bringing Rosaleigh and Roxanne with her. They are beautiful mares. Rhoda came over, so we turned the lights on to the outdoor arena and worked each one in the round pen a bit to see their movement. Tomorrow I'll try to get some pictures and video. They are downright amazing for 2 year olds. Neither mare has any training and not much handling but nothing the famous Horsemeister Trainers can't fix. Rhoda spent about 10 minutes with each mare this evening and each responded well.

Busy Saturday

Our morning started reasonably warm, probably around 67 degrees outside. Mark and Tim got right to work on the new shelter Tim is putting up in the paddock next to Evan's.

 Below it was still warm enough for the kids to come over in shorts. They are standing in the shelter Tim built last Saturday. This one just needs a gate.

 They came in pretty excited to tell me Bethany was in labor. Mackenson was playing with Emma while the rest of them were happily talking about the new coming baby.

 We went back out to help Tim a bit.

 Not sure exactly how much 'help' he needed.

 Mike was working with Ripper's tricks.

 He throws his wallet on the ground and Ripper will pick it up and bring it to him. 

 Karin took Joan's kids on a trail ride with Eliza and Ribbon. I had to take the picture below of Eliza leading Mackenson into the barn. 

 Mark finished spreading all the manure then was power washing all the machines while the weather was still decent. 

 Below is Faith warming up Ribbon for the trail ride.

 Berlica wanted to practice a few vaulting moves so Jessica offered to help.

 With Jenis now at Middle Grove, Karin needed Eliza to go double. Well Eliza wasn't sure she liked Mackenson back there and tried to buck him off. Karin stopped her from bucking then decided Mackenson needed to switch horses and took Faith instead. 

 Below Hannah is 'driving' Ribbon while Berlica and Mackenson ride with her while Karin and Faith ride Eliza. 

It was just shortly before the ride that we heard Bethany had already had Joshua Alan. Joan didn't make it to Bluffton in time for the birth but was able to help with the coaching on speaker phone while driving.  Mom and I had to leave for Willie and Kirsten's reception. They were married in Kansas but of course we Peorians felt strongly we wanted to celebrate their wedding here too.

 Rhoda and Lee were there before us. The reception was very well attended. Karen did a fantastic job on the food. We really enjoyed the afternoon there.

 We were surprised when we got home though the weather had changed. It was no longer warm but overcast with a stiff cold wind making it miserable to be working outside. Tim was on his own working on the shelter in his winter coat.

Rhonda was hosting the Esther House ladies this afternoon and evening and had asked Karin to give them horse rides. Thankfully Ribbon was still here for that. Below are a few pictures of the afternoon. It was so cold the riding was all done inside which makes it hard to get decent pictures.

 After the horse back riding Tim took them on a hay rack ride.

 They ended up at the playground for volley ball, games and a meal.

 Spark gave rides on his whateveryoucallit machine.

 The fire was exactly what was needed this chilly afternoon.

The rest of the pictures from the Esther House visit were placed on the Horsemeister, Inc Facebook page. If you would like to see them click HERE
A nice message came from Diane M, the lady that brought her mare Monet up to breed to Evan a few years ago. She writes: Hi Judy, hope all is well, Catalina is already 17 months old (Evan and Monet) I am not sure where she gets all the hair. Yesterday we played with tarps and winter plan take her to horse shows to get used being around all noise. She is a very smart girl and such a thinker. Attached pics her hair. Her mane falls on both sides it's so thick;) pic of both sides;)

Thanks Diane! We love that Evan throws the mega hair on his foals. He also throws that amazing movement. He truly is magnificent!

Saying a Hard Good-by

Killian is on his way to the Vermont to the very same farm he was conceived, Friesians of Majesty.

His new owner will have him trained to drive both single or double so she can take him out driving with her older Friesian mare. Her reaction when she first saw him was..."He is HUGE!" She was very impressed with his gentle, loving disposition. She was shown his cues for the bow and lay down and Killian performed them perfectly. Emily is going to miss this boy. Sometimes it's really hard to say good-by but it helps knowing the new owner has promised to email lots of pictures and is more than willing to keep us updated on his training.

We bought Killian as a weanling from a farm in Glastonbury, CT which just happens to be where Mark was born and raised, it is fitting that he will be going home to his roots, there in the East. Killian has been a joy to raise and a blast for Emily to train. Sometimes we have to make hard choices and when we knew we only wanted 2 stallions we really struggled which one should be sold. As Valiant is Raven's son, Mike felt there was no way we could sell him. Evan has amazing movement and the mega hair and even better throws this in his offspring so I felt there was no way we could ever sell him... so I guess Emily's boy lost out. Life will get easier with just 2 stallions to manage. So sorry Emily!