Another Middle Grove Pickup

We had a blustery cloudy COLD morning and the day didn't improve as far as the weather. It was just plain nasty outside. Rhoda arrived with her darling puppies. She took them out to potty in the grass and I just had to take pictures. They really are that cute and that much fun to play with.

If you would like to see the rest of the puppy pictures click HERE.  Rhoda met Karin at Middle Grove once Karin got off work.  They had a problem again with a foal not wanting to load. Oksana's filly Darla was more than happy to just jump in the trailer but Roxanne's colt Dublin decided he wanted to stay and would not get in the trailer. Rhoda ended up having to pin him against the trailer door and Roxanne then put a halter in him and both she and Karin had to encourage him to get in. We have someone coming tomorrow to look at the foals and we wanted Rosaleigh home so Rhoda can keep training her. As soon as they got back the 3 mares and 2 foals were taken right into the stalls and the mares de-wormed with Strongid. As soon as Oksana was done, Karin took her and Darla out to be with the other fat mares. Below Darla is heading out of the barn. This filly is such a sweetie.

Rosaleigh and Roxanne were put in their own paddock so they can be grained as both of those mares need extra calories.
We also gave Dublin a half dose of Strongid as he is now 3 months old. He and Roxanne were taken to the outdoor arena for some pictures for the website before sticking them in with Rosaleigh. This colt is maturing nicely and will really make someone's dream come true.

 Studley went running in to play with him but this colt did not want to play. 

He kicked Studley and that just shocked the poor dog who went crying to Karin. His feelings were hurt more than the kick hurt. He just couldn't figure out why he got kicked, all the other foals like to play with him. If you would like to see the rest of Dublin's pictures click HERE. Both Rhoda and Karin were pretty frozen by the time we were done. The dark is coming way too soon.   Karin went over to mom's to warm up but Rhoda decided to keep working, cleaning the back garage of the stall barn. 

As soon as Mark got home tonight a fire was started in the wood burner. Thankful for that warmth today. Mark grilled steak tonight for steak tacos for our dinner. After dinner Ruth, Karin, mom and I played Mexican Train. We had a good time. So thankful Karin and Rhoda were willing to face that cold damp wind and found a way to get Dublin in the trailer. 

Normal

We had a good group on the walk today. Sarah joined us. We love it when the young enjoy being with us slightly older women. She can help us with our phones and computers! Today though was just spent walking and talking. She is a delightful niece.
Tom Meister went to Bridlewood today and finally got the new pressure reducing valve installed. When he turned the water back on though, he went over to the barn to make sure they had enough pressure and found a leak. Thankfully he had the time this evening to dig it up and get it fixed right then and there. Turns out the old pressure reducing valve failed, the water company sends over 100 pounds of pressure through those lines which are not rated for that high of pressure. No wonder we started springing leaks.
Karin arrived to work horses late afternoon but thankfully the sun was still out. Glad our time change has been put off and we still have daylight.   I wanted her to bring Sangria out first so Serenity's temperature could be taken. She has been off antibiotics for over 6 days. She remembered all of our handling from earlier and stood pretty well for haltering and taking her temp. She is again right at 101.5, perfect for a foal. While she was in and tied Karin picked up all her hooves and we gave her a quick groom. When we were ready to take her out, Studly who had been playing with that red cup, saw the horses coming and backed up. Serenity was curious but not afraid.

I still needed to see Serenity move so we took her to the outdoor arena. 

They were put back so Karin could start training. Ayanna was the first mare out.

The wind was blowing about 20-30 miles an hour with gusts around 35 mph. We weren't sure how this very reactive mare would respond but she actually did very well. I didn't see any spooks. Next out was 4 year old Rosalie. She was a different story, she was taken first into the round pen. The wind was blowing the tarp around and she was sure that big white thing was dangerous. Within a few minutes though, Karin had her convinced it really wasn't anything to worry about, even when it was blowing on her legs.

 Karin took her to the outdoor and she was a little more nervous than Ayanna but still did very well. 

Last was Indy. this time her filly was left inside. Envy went right over to Rosalie and stood next to her quietly the entire time Karin was riding Indy. Rosalie is so kind to the young ones. 

Mark came  home early and was willing to help with all the peeling, chopping, mincing, and mashing of the meal tonight, so I wasn't nearly as resentful as yesterday. The meal was also better than last nights. The only problem was garlic was used both in the squash dish and in the chicken, but I will say both were tasty. I really don't like spending 45 minutes to prepare just 2 meals but the benefit of these, I'm getting some excellent recipes I'll be able to use later. We have one more meal for tomorrow plus the 3 ordered for next week and then I think we are done with this. 

After supper Mark helped me move a round bale into the middle paddock. He took a walk afterward to throw away the net wrap and I went in the get the dishes done. We had a beautiful day, sunny and 69 degrees. According to the news this IS the last nice day. I'm thankful I got to spend most of today outside and very thankful that Bridlewood has a brand new pressure reducing valve. 

Senior Lunch Bunch

Mom and I were determined to go to the Senior Lunch Bunch today. First mom said she would drive but for sure I didn't want that to happen, she only has 1 working eye. I told her I would drive as long as it was my car since we have a Prius and I only have to push buttons. I don't have much use of my right arm. We thought that would work out since I can use my left arm and she can use her right eye and between the two of us we could get to the restaurant. Diane and Joan found out what we were planning and had a fit. They determined one of them would take us. Now we know they have busy lives and sure felt bad about them offering. It turned out Diane must have drawn the short straw as she is the one that showed up at 11:00 am to take us. She told us (probably so we didn't feel bad) that she was just going to take a long lunch hour and join us and the group. We thoroughly enjoyed getting out and really enjoyed the company. What a great group of people. The sun came out this afternoon. Karin arrived after work to train horses. By the time I got up to the barn she was already out in the outdoor riding Ayanna.

Rosalie was next

She took Indy in the barn to halter Envy and give her a tying lesson. While she was tied we groomed her up and picked up all 4 of her hooves. She is doing better with us handling them. When they were taken to the round pen, Envy decided to have a ball galloping around the place. 

For dinner tonight Mark had ordered three meals from Home Chef. Tonight we decided to cook the Glazed pork tenderloin meal.  This gourmet meal came with all the ingredients and the instructions. The prep time was 45 minutes and it really did take ALL of that time to prepare and cook it. The meat was delicious but the green beans were not at all to our liking. They were roasted with shallots and fresh chopped rosemary but honestly would have been better cooked in chicken broth. Roasting them just dried the green beans out. The meal was not worth the 45 minutes to prepare. Hope the other two are easier and tastier.
Ruth came over tonight for a ride to church. Willis Ehnle had the service. We are so thankful Willis is still willing to preach. He sure tells it like it is. I'm so thankful to be back at church and under the sound of the Word.

Eclipse

Right after the walk today Rhoda and I left for a long trip down to Southern Illinois to buy a 2 horse trailer. We have considered buying a 2 horse for all those times Rhoda or Emily are delivering just 1 foal or picking up just 1 horse.  Or when they go to a show and just take 2 horses.  It is a shame to drive those big honking 4 horse trailers when only taking 1 foal. Yesterday Rhoda found exactly what we were looking for on Craigslist, a tall, all aluminum 2 horse. Besides being all aluminum and  strong, this two horse is 7ft6in tall, 7 ft wide and 16 feet long including the hitch and has a small dressing room with a spare tire and saddle racks. The unusual thing about this trailer is the wall to the dressing room can be moved and latched against the wall opening the trailer up to a stock that will easily accommodate 3 horses. This trailer is a 2008 model and comes with just a few problems as we found out later. Well actually we may have caused the problem but nether-the-less it is good to know for the future.

The back door has a slider on one side but is attached to the main door so when the door is open it is all the way open. Once the horse is inside with a handler and the door shut, the slider is opened for the person to get out. Rhoda tried out the slider and it slid very easily with just one hand. We bought the trailer, hooked it up to the truck and started that long 300 mile trip home. We stopped just once for gas as we had been gone all day. When we arrived back at the farm, I jumped out to direct Rhoda who was backing the trailer, looked at the back of the trailer and groaned. We were missing a door. I exclaimed, "the back door is missing!" Rhoda thought I was crazy, got out of the truck looked at the trailer and sure enough the slider door was gone. Thankfully it had fallen INTO the trailer instead of out on one of the interstates. We were both horrified. Why what if this would have happened while hauling horses? We will have to figure out what happened in the morning, it is just too dark tonight but we are thinking when Rhoda tried the slider it did not click back in place.  We will have to make sure this can NEVER happen when a horse is inside so have to figure out how to install a safety feature to lock or clip the slider in place. 

Other than that the trailer pulled like it wasn't even there. It is short enough to easily fit into gas stations and back into small areas. As it is all aluminum it will keep it's value. The lights all worked well, it has a brand new spare and the seller made sure all the tires were full and ready for the trip. Rhoda drove 700 miles today while I only rode along for 600 of those. Mark had supper waiting when we arrived home and did that ever taste good. 

Thankful to be home and really thankful we brought home a trailer with all the parts. Now to just put them together. 

That WINNING Moment

A very nice update came in from Anna B, she owns a Raven son and wanted to share how well this big gelding has been doing. They actually named him Raven. His dam was a small Saddlebred mare but Anna's Raven turned out WELL over 16 hands.   She writes:  Raven came in first at the Heart of Illinois arena in open trail class against professional trail quarter horses with their trainers. He also took first in halter and another first in trail. He took 3rd in Western Pleasure and another 3rd in Light Breed Pleasure.

Anna has now started jumping him over small jumps and wanted to make sure it would be ok for his joints. She said Raven loves it.  I can't remember when he was born but he is at least 10 or 11 years old so Anna was told to, "GO for it!"

It is so encouraging to hear from people that own and love an offspring from one of our stallions. We think the stallions are pretty special and the foals they produce quality.  Each time we get an update like this it reaffirms our belief that our stallions really were GIFTS FROM GOD! We sure can't take any credit.

Envy at 3 Months Old

We had a damp dreary morning, the kind of morning that makes the bones ache, especially broken sternum bones. When Rhoda arrived to start working on Mark's back garage, I just couldn't make myself leave the house and go out. At least she brought her puppies so I had something to play with.

Sarah arrived before noon with a meal for Mark, me and mom. It was a very good sweet potato shepherds pie. I took some over for mom for her lunch except Joan had just arrived and prepared a meal for her first. Mom tasted Sarah's and said  "put it in the fridge, I will have it for dinner."
By 2:30 pm the sun broke through the clouds and felt wonderful. That energized me enough to head up to the barn to see how Rhoda was doing on the garage. She was just loading a bunch of garbage into the car to take over to the dumpster.

Karin arrived after she got off work to start training horses. Just before Rhoda was ready to leave for the day, Karin was riding Rosalie and having a ball.

Rhoda kept remarking how beautiful Rosalie was going and it didn't take much for Karin to talk Rhoda into hopping on and giving her a whirl.

This last Raven daughter is so very talented. At 4 years of age she is almost considered beginner safe. She is steady and has a very balanced canter.  After Rhoda left Karin brought Indy and her filly Envy into the stall, haltered Envy, tied her, picked up all 4 of her hooves and gave her a quick groom. They were then taken into the big barn and Indy saddled. Below are a few pictures of Envy. She is exactly 3 months old today.

She is very tall for a 3 month old filly but then her mom Indy is HUGE. Karin finished up with Indy then put them both away. She did not have time to work with Easter Lilly today but that mare did so well at Jubilee on Saturday she probably deserves a couple days off. 

Mark got home from work bringing our new coffee maker. We cleaned it up, filled it once with water and ran that through. It works!  Now I'm looking forward to morning. 

Flynn Leaves

We awoke to rain. At 7:00 am Karin drove over to help move the horses inside as Flynn was getting picked up today and he needed to be dry for the trip. The owners weren't due until around noon so Karin just moved Indy and Envy into the paddock with Sangria and said she would be back before noon to bring him in and dry him up. By 8:15 am it was pouring rain and the owners sent a text that they had just crossed into Illinois. That meant they would be here by 11:00 am which meant Flynn had to come inside.

He was good though, came right to the gate and led like a champ inside. Of course he was given his grain. Since the weather was also turning cold Sangria and Serenity were also brought inside. Mark and I went to church this morning, my first time back. Wow have I missed being there. Mike Reiker had the service reading 1st Samuel 10 and some of 11, the anointing of Saul, then all of 17. The story of David and Goliath. Yes David only had to fight Goliath but Goliath had to fight David AND God.
Mark and I left after the first service. Karin had arrived around 10:00 am, had already met Flynn's owner and they were already gone by the time we made it home. We got home and I got Peoria on line so I could listen to the next service except I just couldn't seem to stay awake. I heard some of Greg's message so will have to wait until it is posted to hear the rest. Amazing how tiring it is the first time out.
This afternoon there was a big party going on at mom's house. The entire parking lot was full of cars. Seems like everyone ended up there because of the rain. Joan cooked so mom had a decent supper. Joan took the picture below of the bubble in mom's eye. That bubble is what is suppose to be holding the retina in place and that is why mom needs to lay on her right side for days, so the bubble goes to the top left. It is right where it belongs. Mom does think she is starting to have vision out of the eye. We are praying this works.

Mark split some logs into kindling for this coming week. The temperature is suppose to drop and I like a warm house. Mike moved the golf cart into the stock trailer. Mark is going to drop that off at Meister's tomorrow. Hopefully they can get the drive shaft and lights fixed. It would be nice to have that tool again.
Thankful for a husband that chops kindling to make it easy for me to start the wood burners. Thankful for LOTS of logs and really really thankful for the warmth they provide.

Work from Sunrise to Sunset

Did you know the sun doesn't come up until almost 7:00 am now? I actually drove over to mom's a few minutes before 7:00 and not only was it dark outside, there were no lights on inside. Why those sluggards were still sleeping and already half the morning was gone. Actually mom had woken up around 6:00 am, took her shower, dressed the laid back down following doctors orders. Karin got in around midnight last night. Breakfast was cooked for these two then back I went to get going on a few chores here.
Mark hauled the tractor and log splitter over to the back field and was joined by Joan and 3 of her children and everyone of them worked hard for HOURS.

If you would like to see the rest of the log splitting pictures click HERE. Meanwhile Karin brought out a group for the first trail ride of the day. The morning riders were Anni Davidovics, Hannah Reinhard, Kayla Bragdon and Karin Meister. Ebby was most impatient for the ride to start.

 Bo and Emma were fine with watching the group mount up.

To see the rest of the morning trail ride pictures click HERE. After the trail ride Flynn was haltered and taken to the round pen for a refresher course. He leaves for his new home tomorrow afternoon.

Karin took his halter on and off at least 5 times then practiced loading and unloading from the side door of the trailer. He did almost perfect. Next out was Ethan who was being picked up today. He also was haltered numerous times, led around and then loaded and unloaded.

Rhoda arrived just as Karin was finishing up with him. The second ride of the day was scheduled for Jubilee State Forest. This ride Anni was taking Ayanna, Rhoda riding Rosalie and Karin again on Easter Lilly. Karin took a few pictures and sent them to me. They had a good time.

Ethan's owner arrived just before the trail riders got back. Rhoda was quick to jump out of the trailer and lead Ethan over to his new trailer even before unloading our trailer. The owner was thrilled with him. They have a long trip home though, Ethan will be living in North Carolina.
Nolan dropped off Ari and her puppies this afternoon. Joan's girls and grand daughters came over to play with Ari's puppies.

Karin offered to give them a riding lesson on Indy today. Indy's filly was let out with her mom but she did not stay with her mom, she kept running back to Sangria who would pin her ears and tell her to scram.

The riding lesson went great. The horse was well behaved and by the end of the lesson all 4 were easily trotting Indy around and sitting the trot well. To see the riding lesson pictures click HERE. Below Indy is loaded up ready to head back to the barn.

We almost had a problem though. Just as they were walking into the barn Mark started the power washer. Indy spooked but none of the kids fell off. Mark finished power washing the skid steer and was heading out to power wash the manure spreader. We had a perfect day for washing the equipment. Summer is over and the manure spreader won't be used again until next summer.

Rhoda cleaned all the stalls, swept the barn aisles then hauled garbage to the dumpster. Mark grilled steak and that was taken to mom's along with sweet potato, sauteed onions and buttery mushrooms. Sarah and Nolan brought over Phil and Anna's kids and got pizza for them for dinner. Thankful for sons and daughters that help each other out.