Farrier Visit

The farrier was scheduled to come this morning and Robin, from Berean came along to help. We brought Sangria, Serenity, Roxanne and Dublin into the stalls. Dublin and Serenity were haltered and tied first then Robin was given grooming tools and given the job of grooming. Below she is grooming Serenity.

At 2 months of age Serenity is getting tall. Behind Robin in the other stall is Dublin. Both foals were good for haltering and being tied. Chuck Milburn our farrier arrived shortly after 10:00 am. As he was coming to the stall area we stopped to admire Sally and Eli. Chuck had not heard about Eliza's death and both Chuck and Robin were impressed with how well Sally did as a foster mother to Eli. Below Robin is petting Sally.

Sangria was first for a trim. Her hooves weren't too bad and she didn't take very long. Below Chuck has just finished with her.

Roxanne was not so well behaved and I was not able to take any pictures of her getting trimmed as she needed to be held and reminded to stand still. Thankful Chuck was willing to take the time and get her done. Her colt stood tied quietly waiting, not at all as impatient as Serenity. It helped that he is 2 months older than her. 

After Chuck left Robin and I headed to lunch at the Hog Trough. The meals there are always good. Robin and I had a good visit before she left for the day.
Karin arrived after work and today she was kept busy. She only had a short amount of time and needed to work with 4 horses. We had an assembly line going to get them done before dark. First out was Jenis. She is working on walk canter departs with Jenis and today Jenis was getting them perfectly. Karin finished with her within 10 minutes. She is keeping the training short and sweet.

 Jenis is just so smart and very talented. 

 Next out was Zalena. With Zalena Karin is trying to teach her that she does not have to rush or be anxious as soon as she is mounted. 

 Studly loves it when Karin trains horses, he thinks he is helping. 

 Below Zalena is cantering with a loose rein and not at all anxious. 

 Next out was Indy and Envy. Karin took Indy in the barn to tack up but Envy decided she wanted to gallop around the area showing off to the other foals. 

 Below she is heading back to the paddock. This filly takes off with her tail flagged almost straight up when she is showing off. 

 Below Ebby and Studly are waiting for Karin to finish with Indy. Ebby wants to jump on the golf cart for a ride but Studly wants to play. 

 Below Karin is working with Indy on slowing down the canter and stopping quickly when asked. Indy loves to race and explodes into the canter and can take the bit and bolt. She is learning when Karin says whoa to stop. It is important for the mares to learn to go off voice along with the bit. 

 Below Envy is waiting to be put back in the paddock with Sangria and Serenity.

 The last mare worked was Rosalie. She is so huge she makes Karin look small. 

Rosalie is such a talented mare that Karin said it is easy to rush her training, but at only 4 years old it is important to keep things slow and sweet. Each of these 4 mares are so very different and yet all of them are Friesians, love people, love attention and want to please.
We had another beautiful day and the forecast for the next few days are looking great. Hard to believe tomorrow is December 1st.

AC Central

Mark got the car working last night and went the second step this morning to make sure it would start this morning. Right after breakfast he went out to start moving bales. He was still moving bales while we were on our walk finishing about the same time we did. I have 76 round bales left to make it through until next May. It will be close.  Today at the Berean office we had a pallet of Bibles delivered and I was pleased to be able to help unload them without too much discomfort. No more excuses, I really am pretty much all the way back to work. The Berean November newsletter came out. Click HERE if you would like to read it, it is posted it on the Berean blog along with our work there this morning.

This afternoon AC Central was turned on and I listened to Fred Witzig's message on Ezekiel at the Roanoke church. Fred has such a good way of describing and illustrating word pictures, it is like we are THERE watching Ezekiel trying to get through to the people. I tried to post the message here but could not figure out how. If you would like to hear this message, look to the right of this blog layout where it shows favorite websites then click on AC Central then do a search up at the top of Fred Witzig. He spoke in Roanoke on Oct 25th, 2017.

This evening Mark drove Diane, mom and me to church. David Obergfel had the message. That one should be posted in a few days on AC Central and well worth listening too again. We were not in a hurry to leave for home, so many people to visit with. 

Dead, Really Dead

We had another warm day. I was so organized this morning loading my car with everything that was needed at the Berean office before the walk. Diane brought Ruth, Joan and I all bags of pine cones from Gulf Shores. We looked at them and asked her, "what are we suppose to DO with them?"  Diane replied, "use them for decorating your house for Christmas." We stopped at Rhonda's house to drop off a bag for her and noticed Diane didn't give Rhonda any instructions for the use of the pinecones like she did Ruth, Joan and I. We all laughed when Diane told us, Rhonda doesn't need instructions on decorating. After the first round I quit to head to the Berean office except the car was dead, really dead. Mom was also going this morning so we car pooled and took her car. If you would like to read about our morning there click HERE.
On the way home mom wanted to stop at the CU 24 to transfer from her savings to her checking and after getting that done she made the comment, "now the only thing I'm waiting to get my Christmas cards out is the mailing labels but Diane is so swamped at work I really shouldn't push her to get them done." What she didn't know was Diane had sent a text earlier that I should stop by her office on the way home from Berean to pick up mom's mailing labels. So just as mom finished making that comment I pulled into the parking lot at Mike and Diane's office. Mom asked, "what are we doing here?" and was shocked when I told her, "picking up your mailing labels."  We had a good laugh.
Rhoda came late today and when Karin arrived after work the two of them took Jenis and Roxanne out on the trails again followed by 3 dogs, Ruby, Bo and Ebby.

Rhoda wanted to canter Roxanne in the big field instead of just the round pen or arena.

 They do this exercise of having one horse stand in the middle while the other canters around first one direction then the other. It is good for both the mare that needs to stand quietly and for the mare that is expected to canter without bolting home. 

 Below they are coming up toward the barn after a very successful ride. 

Next out was big Rosalie and Indy.

 Rosalie at 4 years old is now taller than Indy who used to be our tallest Friesian mare. 

What Rosalie didn't like was arena work. She was not happy and both Rhoda and Karin were thinking maybe the saddle was pinching her or the girth. Rosalie kept swishing her tail and kicking out. Karin got off and checked the saddle but all seemed well. They finally just decided to take the horses out on the trails and see if she would still act up. Nope Rosalie was PERFECT on the trails. The last time in the outdoor arena Karin was working on leg yields with her and she did not like it. She remembered that and decided she doesn't want to work in that place any more. Karin is going to change up her training plans for Rosalie. We want to keep her sweet. Below are a few pictures from the trail ride.

 They had to make this a short ride as they were running out of daylight. Below Valiant heard them coming from the cabin lane and came trotting up to greet the mares. 

They took Indy and Rosalie out behind the outdoor for a little canter work but it was now too dark for the camera to focus. Thankful the weather is holding for all of this outdoor training of the horses but the short days really cut into the training time.  If you would like to see the rest of the pictures from today click HERE. 

Mark got home from work and put a charger on the car. Hopefully tomorrow it will work. We had the last of the turkey, dressing and cranberry salad for dinner tonight. 

62 In November

We just can't get over this amazing weather. We had another beautiful warm sunny day with the high hitting 62 degrees. Rhoda arrived to work horses and the first mare out today was Sangria. She has been off on her left hind ever since she got cast in the stall before delivering her filly in Sept and Rhoda wanted to do some chiropractor work on her. Sangria and Serenity were taken to the outdoor arena where of course Sangria has to roll before doing anything else.

 She has a good roll but then struggles to stand. While Rhoda was working with her moving each joint I snapped a few pictures of Serenity for her 2 month old album. 

 She is black under that brown foal coat. 

Hopefully Rhoda's treatment will help Sangria. Next out was Roxanne. Today Rhoda wanted to try cantering her for the very first time. That went well. We kind of expected Roxanne to kick or buck but she was perfect.

 Rhoda had her canter both directions a few times then quit. 

 Rhoda finished this session with asking Roxanne to bow. 

As soon as Roxanne was put away, we pulled out the tractor to give Evan a new round bale. By this time it was warm enough to shed both our jackets and our sweat shirts and we were working in t-shirts. All was going well until I went to flip the bale into the shelter. The log splitter had been removed from the back of the tractor and when the bale went up the back of the tractor started going up and then sideways. There is a small incline and Rhoda was on the downhill side. Thankfully I dropped the bale quickly before the tractor flipped over on top of Rhoda. We were able to get the bale upright by using the spear but that was really scary. After that we were too shook up to work and went inside. Sarah had arrived with baby Zion so the 3 of us had lunch while discussing our near miss. Rhoda wanted to wait for Karin to get off work today to take Roxanne out on the trails. Jenis was used as the lead with Karin riding her and ponying Rhoda on Roxanne until after the first creek crossing. This trail ride we let Dublin go too.

 Above they are heading down the trails and below Dublin is getting ready to cross the creek. 

 He did very well, even climbing the bank with no problem. 

 As they were coming around these trails Studly jumped out of the creek to the right of Rhoda, Roxanne spooked and ran right into Dublin. Rhoda was able to stop her and they finished the ride with no other issues. 

To see the rest of the trail ride pictures click HERE. 

 Karin wanted to work with Zalena before she needed to leave for the night but Rhoda and I went with Diane to pick up a new trampoline for the playground. 

This was a sad situation, the entire yard was filled with lots and lots of stuff. The lady selling the stuff told us she and her children were being evicted and everything was for sale. Rhoda, Diane and the owner went to work taking the trampoline apart. I tried to help but just wasn't strong enough to take the springs off. We each bought some things to help her out.
We got home just before dark and helped Mark put the cover on the camper. The camper will be stored inside for the winter but the cover will help with dust.

Traditions

We had another beautiful November day, with sunshine and highs in the 50s. How amazing is that for the end of November?  Mark was still coughing badly so didn't go to church today. Instead it was just mom and me for the drive in. Tim Funk announced our new minister today, the church was asked to pray and fast and without talking to anyone write down and mail in a ballot and Mike Kaisner was chosen. We will for sure be praying for Mike and Mindy and thankful they are willing to serve.
Karin picked up Nancy this afternoon, and had Nancy help bring Sally and Eli into the stall, fed them then groomed both up. Eli's owner said they were coming to look at him today but never made it. I took them both out around 3:00 pm after trying to contact them but not getting any answer. This evening was the Sauder's traditional Christmas singing around the manger scene. Nancy LOVED this, she knows all the words to most of the Christmas carols and sings them at full volume.

 See that hand sticking up, that's Nancy's hand, she knows all the moves.

Rachel always serves lots and lots of goodies afterwards. We had a few Christmas cookies, a buckeye or two, some delicious eggnog then took Nancy home to Morton. On the way home took a call from a lady wanting to buy Envy. She is from Washington State, right near the border of Oregon. 

She is mailing the check this week but Envy won't be leaving until January 2018. I won't actually mark her sold until the check comes. Mike and Diane made it home tonight from Gulf Shores, Alabama. Diane called for us to send Ebby home but she wasn't here. Ebby is probably over visiting at mom's.

Worried About Anna

Last night going through the pictures from the trip to Middle Grove yesterday I realized there were no pictures of Anna. I was pretty sure we didn't see her when we were out there so today I was determined to go back and look for her. First though Karin and Kayla arrived to work mares. Below Kayla is grooming Rosalie, Rosalie is so tall that Kayla had to stand on her tip toes in order for me to see her face.

 I brought Easter Lilly in to groom her up before Brandee came. Brandee is the lady that bought Ribbon's orphaned colt Titan and she is interested in seeing if Easter Lilly would be a good fit for their small herd. Karin took Easter Lily in the round pen and showed Brandee how we have been training her. Then rode her in the outdoor arena.

 Above Karin is cantering Easter Lilly and below Brandee is trying her out. 

She decided to take her for a trial and all was fine until Brandee went to load her into the trailer. Easter Lily took one look and dragged her to the paddock. She didn't want to leave. I was shocked and so was Karin and Rhoda when I told them about Easter Lilly's behavior. On Wednesday Rhoda and I took her to Hoerr Vet clinic and had her load in the small side door of the stock trailer both going and coming and she never even thought of not getting in. These mares! It took a couple minutes to remind her that she needed to mind and get in the trailer. Brandee sent an email once she got home to say all went well and Easter Lilly was being good with her geldings. We want both Brandee and Easter Lilly to be happy so this is just a trial for a month.  Next today was the 12:30 pm trail ride. Rhoda wanted to pony Roxanne on the 'death trails', Karin put Nolan on Indy again, she rode big Rosalie, Rhoda rode Jenis and Lee rode Zalena.

If you would like to see the rest of the trail ride pictures click HERE. 

After the ride it was time to work. Nolan was put on the 4 wheeler and told to grade the outdoor arena and round pen while Karin watered the indoor.

 Lee went to work repairing broken boards in the outdoor while Rhoda worked on fixing fence in the paddocks and fields. 

Nolan got the indoor done as soon as Karin finished watering. 

Mark moved the manure spreader into the breeding shed shelter. We will not be using that for horses this year. We didn't use it at all last winter so figured it was the perfect place for the manure spreader to make more room in the indoor arena. Below he is backing it in while Karin blocked off the wheels on the right side and Rhoda blocked off the left side. 

 Below Karin and Nolan are working on detaching the manure spreader from the tractor. 

As soon as those jobs were finished Rhoda, Lee and I drove out to Middle Grove to look for Anna. The herd was not in the usual spot so we had a good hike to find them. The good news is Anna was with the herd and just fine, Rhoda found her right away. The bad news was Easter Bonnet was on the WRONG side of the fence. We hadn't taken a halter or lead rope out with us but she followed Rhoda to the gate and went right in running to her mom. That was probably why the horses were up in this area. They wouldn't have left her by herself. 

 She is such a sweet filly. We think she climbed into the summer pasture but then couldn't figure out how to get back in with the herd. 

The late afternoon sun was just too bright to get good pictures and since I took a bunch yesterday I just snapped these few while out there.

 We saw Spark and Rhonda driving Spark's police jeep out there and stopped to visit a bit. 

On the way home from Middle Grove I happened to look in the rearview mirror and noticed I was being followed by a police car. Of course I made sure I was going the speed limit until I got a text from Rhonda asking, "could you even drive any slower?" Yep it was them again. I guess this happens quite a lot to them. We had a beautiful day today, not quite as warm as yesterday but it was 55 degrees out on our way home from Middle Grove. Thankful for warm weather the end of November. 

Below is a hymn that is one of my favorites. Each time number 55 is given out of the Hymns of Zion I can't help but feel thankful and blessed. Listen to the words and enjoy the music: