Nancy's 50th

Today is Nancy's 50th birthday and she got to celebrate it with the group in Gulf Shores, AL

In the picture above it kind of looks like mom is trying to take the cake. Probably thinks it's half hers as her birthday was yesterday. I noticed they didn't invite Spark down to Gulf Shores. He shares a birthday with mom and there is NO WAY they want to share the cake with HIM! Then Karin sits down to grab the cake, I guess since her birthday was the 28th she may as well share too.

Nancy is really enjoying the vacation, walking on the beach, finding shells and carrying them around for hours.

It sounds like everyone is having a great time together. Although in the pictures they are wearing jackets so it might be just a tad cool. We had a nice day here, cloudy and warm with the temps in the low 60s until the wind picked up. Sustained winds of 24 miles an hour with gusts near 40 were howling and roaring so loud one could almost believe it was the sound of waves crashing on the shore. 

Emma was taken over to Evan today and wouldn't you know she was out! Now I"m regretting giving Evan the day off yesterday. I thought for sure she would still be in so not only did I guess wrong on Jenis I also guessed wrong on Emma too. I really need an ultrasound machine and knowledge to use it. 

Jamie came with me today to Big R's to pick up another 2 bags of shredded beet pulp. Jamie is the owner of Myrrhcedees a beautiful Raven daughter out of Paris. She emailed 2 pictures of Myrrhcedees taken today.

The rider is Brock, owner of B&B Reinebach Brock and his wife Brittney train horses in Princeville, IL. His website is: B&B Reinebach  

After supper Mark and I worked on the 2007 Kiefer Built trailer. He is removing the cupboards and wood from the inside so we can straighten out the dent. 

And last but not least Anna posted this picture on facebook:

She writes: The girls are practicing for October when they will become big sisters. Congratulations Phil and Anna!

62

We had a beautiful day, a high of 62 and sunny. After church I sat out on the patio reading and just may have gotten too much sun. Indy was teased early, as soon as it became light enough to see but she is now out. I should have bred her yesterday instead of Emma. I gave Evan the day off today.
We had a really good day in church.
Mom, Nancy, Ruth and Fede finally made it down to the Gulf. Below is Nancy enjoying the beautiful weather on mom's balcony. She turns 50 years old tomorrow.

A very nice email came in from Vicki who owns a 4 year old Raven son named Rohan and best of all she included pictures. She writes: Baby Rohan is sooo handsome, My boy is growing up!  Isn't he Pretty!!! Turns 4 this summer. And so amicable and willing.  Raven threw so nice babies. 

I have to agree, Rohan is just gorgeous. Thank you so much Vicki for remembering us.
Prissy will be going to her new owner Kim once she is confirmed in foal. Kim lives in the Galesburg area and has her own Friesian stallion.

We really need to thin the herd to those that can be ridden and Prissy has never been trained to ride.
Mark worked on the living quarter trailer today repairing the 2 drawers that needed to be fixed then started on the new trailer taking down the wood work inside to see what we needed to have repaired. The 2003 Keifer Built all aluminum living quarter will be for sale as soon as it is cleaned up. It is a 2 horse with collapsible back tack. It can easily haul 3. It has a sink, fridge, shower that has been only used for storage a hot water system (never been used) a brand new easy open awning, queen size bed and is in great shape. We are asking $13,500.00 for it. Pictures will be placed on the blog soon.
Below is Mark working on the dressing room of the 2007 Keifer Built 4 horse trailer we purchased earlier this month.

Fish Kill

It wasn't that the cold was so bitter and lasted so long, it wasn't even that the ice was so thick, the experts believe it was a combination of the record amount of snow, the bitter cold and the length of time of snow cover that cut off the oxygen killing the fish. The lake is ringed with dead fish.

Spark spent most of the day fishing for dead fish, loading them into the Kabota bucket then bringing them over here to bury. We had a nice day, sunshine with temperatures in the 40s but that caused the dead fish to start stinking. Spark said he sure didn't want to work down wind.
Emma was covered this afternoon. Indy is still in so I'll try her tomorrow morning before church. Dave and Stef are serving lunch and we want to go early to help with the trays.
This evening we had 10 stall mats delivered here. The lady selling them has closed down a boarding barn and moved her own horses to Ruths. While we were unloaded mom called to report the van broke down on their way to Gulf Shores. They are stuck in Meridian, MS at a Holiday Inn.

Emma In

Mom and I were the only walkers this cold wet morning. Diane and Mike already left for Gulf Shores and Rachel and Dave & family were getting ready to leave. Phil dropped off Taegan for the morning. Emily and Sarah left here at 11:00 am and took Taegan with them, they are meeting at Phil and Anna's then leaving for Gulf Shores around noon. Rhoda drove to Bloomington to meet up with Ben and Taunya and they were also leaving around noon. Mom, Ruth, Fede, Karin, Ryan, Steven and Nancy are leaving at 5:00 am tomorrow.
They are leaving me to do all the work around here..yep they are going to owe me big time!
Indy was teased and covered by Evan. Emma also started showing but we need to use Evan on her as she is related to Valiant and Killian is at Middle Grove so she will be covered tomorrow.

As soon as she is confirmed in foal she will be for sale for only $12,000.00. This will be a 2/1 package, a foal to keep or sell and young Emma to breed again. We are only considering selling her as she can't be ridden, she had an injury as a 3 month old filly and her right hind legs turns in. This is not congenital and Emma is a proven brood mare throwing a beautiful correct colt in 2013. Emma is out of a Star mare named Lara and by the approved FHANA stallion Wander 352.
Lilypony is another we are placing for sale. She is 4 years old, registered with the Pinto Assoc, stands around 13.1, green broke to ride and very fancy with her 4 high whites and her flaxen mane and tail.

I posted her for sale on the Horsemeister Inc Facebook page and have 2 people very interested but I can't show her until after everyone gets back from Gulf Shores.
We still need to bring Jewel home to see if she settled. The picture below is Jewel's back end. I thought it was funny. This was taken last fall at Middle Grove.

Jenis and Indy were moved into the middle paddock, Emma and Paris moved out of the breeding shed paddock into the paddock across the drive. I was going to move Anna in with Jenis but she walked away from the gate and the paddock is muddy. I didn't have my boots on so left her in with Valiant. She keeps him in line anyway.
Karin came over bringing a home baked banana cream pie from one of her co-workers. We sliced off a piece for Mark for dinner.
After supper mom and Nancy came over for a short visit and to say good-by.

Cold Rainy Thursday

I left the house before 6:00 am to drive up to the barn first and check on Holly and Zalena before heading out to pick up Israel. A cold rain was falling and I was relieved to see that both mares were still pregnant.
Emily had the morning free to help move Sissy and her filly Raven's Heart out to Middle Grove now that she is no longer in season. Israel was loaded into the back seat of the truck, the horses loaded right up and off we drove through the rain to the wildlands.
Sissy was thrilled when we arrived, as soon as she was turned loose she took off at a gallop to meet up with the other horses which were at the top of the hill.

When we arrived home there was a crew at the farm house installing our new heat pump and furnace so Israel and I stayed up at the apartment until the workers finished up. Emily spent the afternoon fixing fences and filling pot holes in the rain. After Israel's nice long nap in the very quiet apartment we went back to the house to find the new furnace had been installed and working but set at a very cold 62 degrees. In this drafty house without the wood burner fired up or a space heater glowing 62 is uncomfortably cold especially for a baby. The thermostat was set to 70 and within minutes that new furnace worked so well the house reached temperature. Of course as soon as Mark came home we had to set it back down but for a few minutes that sure felt good. Israel is just fascinated with the dogs, he even noticed the picture of the dog on the treat box.

After supper Mark and Emily went back out into the rain to work on filling more pot holes with gravel working until dark. We are down to 11 horses here, the rest are at Middle Grove for at least another month. Karin called to report Sangria is now in season along with Lilypony and most disappointing Prissy. We may need to find a home for Prissy as this is the second time she has come up open after a hard winter. Her previous owner suggested using a caslick on her. Prissy is a beautiful mare, tall, black and white paint with a very thick long mane and she would be a great cross with a Friesian but she is going to have to be pampered, more than we want to pamper a horse. She gets pregnant with no problem and is registered.

We will breed Prissy to Valiant and once she is sonagramed in foal place her for sale but will want to know she is going to a good home.
Holly and Zalena are spending the night inside. Even though neither mare is due yet I just don't want to take a chance on a foal born outside in this kind of weather.

Brrrr

We must be stuck in that Frozen Movie, it was freezing out there today. We walked but only one round. After the walk the Bibles were dropped off at the Bartonville post office then as long as I was in Peoria I caught up on letters and lessons finishing around 2:40 pm.
It had warmed up into the upper 30s making it a bit more pleasant for the next job, moving bales. The short shelter needed a bale then Zalena and Holly were moved into that. They are both due around the same time, mid April, and that is the foal safe paddock.

The middle paddock was given a bale and Sissy and her filly were put in that. The filly had a grand time running around bucking and kicking. They will go to Middle Grove tomorrow as Sissy is now out.

She was so glad to get out of the stall. Emma and Paris were put in the breeding shed paddock as both of them need shredded beet pulp and grain for weight. Indy was teased and covered by Evan. 

She was then placed with Jenis in the paddock across from the breeding shed.

 Anna was teased, she kind of showed then kicked out at Valiant. 

She is a good mare for keeping Valiant in line so was put in his paddock. When she comes in for real she will be moved out of there and teased daily so we can know the day she goes out.  She is for sale now for $15,000.00 but once confirmed in foal we will for sure want to keep her. She was imported from the Netherlands, is a delightful mare, calm, willing and very baroque. Emily and Rhoda are planning on training her to drive this summer. 

Mom sent out a general invite for dinner tonight. Mark, Diane and I were the only ones that took her up on it. Rachel was picking Bethany up from Indiana. Mom made hash, that sounds kind of gross but is a very tasty dish made from her left over roast, potatoes, onions and spices all ground up together. 

Mark spent the evening working on pot holes getting all the way up to mom's finished. At church tonight we had a visitor from Gridley speak on Revelation 20. Everyone needs to read this chapter, please don't miss the boat, the ramifications of missing out are eternal.

Happy Birthday Darcy

Today is Darcy's 9th birthday and she didn't get a single card, no cake, nor any ice cream.
Poor Darcy. She looks pretty good for an old dog.

Diane came late to work showing up around 11:00 am but she brought a helper with her, mom came to read letters and help process the Bibles. We broke for lunch at noon then after lunch I needed to put 2 boxes of Bibles in Eva Jean's white car along with the studies she gives out for grading. I took my car down to the warehouse, loaded the Bibles into my car drove up to the front lot, parked next to a white car and promptly loaded everything into the back seat of the car.  Back into Meisters to tell Eva Jean her car was loaded and I couldn't find her. Walked all around looking in each office then finally Mark looked out the window and saw Eva Jean sitting in her car. I was wondering why she wasn't leaving so went out to tell her I'd already loaded her car and she could go, looked inside and there were no Bibles or studies in her back seat. I'd loaded everything into the WRONG white car. At the time of loading them I noticed a man's coat in the car along with a few tools, that should have been my first clue it was the wrong car.
Mom, Diane and I worked for a few hours more to finish up. The processed Bibles are now loaded in the back seat of my car, tomorrow they will have to be taken to the post office, it was too late by the time we finally got done, the post office wants them there before noon. I was thankful that Diane brought mom, by having an extra pair of good reading eyes we got all those letters read, the studies entered, and the Bibles stamped and boxed up all before 3:00 pm.
Diane drove to choir with her new van. It has heated seats and they were needed, the high today only got to 32 degrees. We are back into winter, tonight the temperature is dropping quickly suppose to bottom out at 15 degrees then slowly rise above freezing. Choir was a blessing. What a wonderful way to end the day by singing hymns with  a great group of talented people.

Pot Holes

After the walk today I drove to Pekin to visit the Big R store. Emily said the Big R she shops at has the big bags of shredded beat pulp for under $14.00 a bag and we had just run out this morning. I bought 2 bags plus a container of dog treats. When Emily got home from school she helped get Indy covered by Evan.

 Indy is really getting tall. She is now well over 16 hands. Emily thinks she is at least 16.2, she is even taller than Jenis. Raven sure did make tall babies!
Emma was also teased but not interested. Sissy was teased and covered by Valiant. I was hoping she would be out so we could take her to Middle Grove but now that trip will have to wait until Wednesday.
Eliza is doing very well at Middle Grove. The guests that rode there on Saturday reported she is magnificent with her mega main and tail.

 Above is Rhoda cantering Eliza and below is Karin schooling her. Check out that mane!

After supper Emily and Mark worked on filling pot holes on the drives. They got most of them filled all the way to the dumpster but ran out of gravel. More is suppose to be delivered this week so they can finish the drives then. That job is such a necessary one but labor intensive.
Paris now has a dentist appointment but not until April 9th. Between Dr. Hoerr's schedule and my schedule that was the first available day.

Another Blessed Sunday

Emily got up early this morning to get the chores done before cooking breakfast for her guests from Kansas. She even teased Sissy then got her covered by Valiant all before breakfast.
We had another wonderful Sunday from the first service by Mike Rieker, lunch, the second service was Tim giving us Communion exhortation then after church dinner at mom's, finally finishing up the day at the Old School Center to Worship the only One worthy of Worship.

Lost Vehicles

Emily had 2 visitors from Kansas come this weekend for a little bit of horse back riding. Let's make that a LOT of horse back riding. They went first to Middle Grove where they rode for hours on the TN Walkers then back at the Hanna City farm to ride the Friesians.
They took the trailer to Middle Grove to bring Paris home. She dropped weight there and desperately needs her teeth floated. I'll have to schedule that Monday.
Braelyn's 3rd birthday party was scheduled for 12:30 pm today at Phil and Anna's. She is so grown up for just 3 years of age.

The next company came all the way from Oklahoma to put down a deposit on a Valiant filly now named Raven's Heart. The name came easy to them once they saw the heart stamped on her hip.

After checking her out of course they wanted to see her dad, Valiant. He had to show off a bit running and bucking around the arena. He finally settled down for a good roll in the sand. We were walking back to put him away when Emily, Leigha and Jody who were riding Indy, Anna and Jenis around the lake arrived back. DeAnna and her daughter were kind enough to ride the mares so I could get a few pictures.

 Above is DeAnna on Jenis and below is her daughter on Anna.

Of course more than a few pictures were taken and placed on the Horsemeister Inc Facebook page.
Emily's company had a good time with the mares too.

 Above is Leigha on Indy and below is Jody on Anna.

Leigha and Jenis went flying around the arena. After the mares were put away the foals were worked with, both Rhiannon and Promise tied up and handled. They are both doing very well. I want to get a video of them soon, their movement is amazing.
A funny phone call came today from Diane. She asked, "do you know where our cars could be?" Why that was so funny is they made fun of me because I forgot the golf cart at the dumpster. Turns out they left the van at their office and the car at Meisters and were down to just the truck when Diane called looking for their vehicles. Mark was the hero, he remembered seeing Mike's car down at Meisters for a few days. He knew it was Mikes because of the cowboy hat in the front seat.

Big Cat Attack?

Sissy was teased and still in so covered this morning. When we were putting her back in the stall Emily remarked she hadn't eaten much hay last night and didn't touch her grain. She didn't seem to be in distress but needed to be watched. She has lost some weight nursing her big filly so we started giving her the 4th cutting fine stemmed hay and my first thought was maybe it was too rich. I had to leave to run down to the shop and load boxes of Bibles and all the supplies for wrapping into the car and drive them to Ruth's as she was hosting the young group to get them wrapped.
When I arrived home Emily and Rhoda had pulled Holly out to take her trail riding at Sandridge and discovered that Holly somehow got a huge gash on her shoulder that would have to be stitched. Dr. Hoerr was called and he promised to be out in a couple of hours. The girls loaded up Anna and Indy for the ride and left. While I was waiting for him Dan showed up with his 5 month old Great Dane puppy Diesel. He played so cute with Emma's last puppy which  was scheduled to be picked up today by her owner.

She is such a bossy thing! Dragging poor Diesel all over.
Dr. Hoerr arrived shortly after 1:00 pm. Sissy still wasn't feeling well so I asked him to check her out too after he stitched up poor Holly. Now for the record we don't think it was a big cat attack but sure looks like the result of one. We couldn't find anything in the paddock that would have caused this.

 Diana, the last puppy's owner arrived as he was working on her so got to watch first that and then watch Dr. Hoerr stick his arm in where the sun doesn't shine all the way up to his shoulder checking for a twisted colon. Sissy was given a shot of banimine then tubed through her nose into her stomach then pumped full of his magic solution. She was very well behaved for both procedures.
The girls made it back from Sandridge with some funny stories. This is Anna getting out of the trailer.

She looks like that because after they rode the 5 mile trail they let both mares have a good roll. There were other riders there, when Emily brought Indy up she asked her to bow first, then lay down and just shocked the other riders. I guess you don't see that very often on the trails.
After the mares were unloaded Emily looked over and noticed Promise stuck under the fence.

 I guess the grass or hay is always greener on the other side of the fence. 

Notice she kept eating the entire time they were putting her back under the fence.

Emily then work with Rhiannon in that paddock while Rhoda took Promise to the indoor arena. Both girls got round penned then tied.

 Above is Promise, below is Rhiannon

Both fillies have a very thick winter coat and it was really needed this winter. They both did very well. Rhonda and Tara showed up with 3 of Tara's girls and they wanted to go see the babies. Dancing Ember, Sissy's filly was glad for the attention.

 Notice that white spot on her rump? Rhoda pointed out that it is shaped like a heart. 

Holly wanted to meet the girls too. When the stall door was opened she came right up to them.

Emily and Rhoda just got back from Ruth's house where they were wrapping Bibles. They had a good sized group there and were just about able to finish all the boxes until they ran out of the letters and lessons we stuff inside. My bad, I should have made sure there was enough. Anni Davidovic said she would finish wrapping them later. Emily checked on Sissy and reported she doesn't seem to be in distress, there was one pile of manure in the stall and it was obvious she had eaten some hay. Sure hope she is on the mend.