New Addyson Video

Mark came along this morning, he to work on the electrical plates in the apartment while the horses were fed, Sanna's wound cared for and Wynne & Dalia teased. The only mare in season is Izadora and we keep telling her NO. She needs to gain a lot more weight before we consider breeding her again. She just gives her all to her foals and loses weight until they are weaned. The man wanting to come down tomorrow to see Lily's filly was called to tell him not to come as the filly is now sold. He was so disappointed! In this business it really is the first person willing to put down the deposit is the winner. He may be coming down to look at Izadora's colt but they really wanted a filly.
Ben put a new Addyson video up and we couldn't wait to see it. She is so funny the girls and I had to watch it twice.

Rhoda came home with a special gift for Emma, a new COACH collar. One of the vet's she worked with bought it for her. WOW, our dogs are now high class and can live in high society!
Trying to get a picture of this very special collar wasn't easy. Emma kept sticking her nose in the camera and fogging it up.

Our second try wasn't much better but at least one can see the collar.

And just in case you can't read it we had to get a close up.

SOLD!

Wynne, Kenzie and Keira are now sold. More later but they will be going to a fantastic home!

Co-Incindent?

One of the small worries about moving out to the farm is there is no cable internet service. In the horse business the internet service is very important, in fact there would be no Horsemeister, Inc. If it wasn't for cable internet so this is something I've been worried about. Finally thought, "this is stupid, I should just pray about this."
A phone call came today from Comcast and thinking Mark must have called to see what was available I explained to the man on the phone what we wanted. Comcast does not service Hanna City but the salesman kept wanting to sign us up for a bundle. I'm not too bright but finally figured out that this was just a sales call but at least I got a phone number of Mediacom which services Hanna City and Glasford. Now Diane and Rachel have both tried to get cable internet and were both told "nope it can't be done in that area". Mark was given the number, he called it tonight and is explaining to the person that answered the phone what we want, the man that answers the phone gets the supervisor she gets on the phone, Mark tells her that we want it back at the Horsemeister office. That person replies "I know exactly where that is, I bought a horse from you." It was Sue Martin on the phone and she was the person that bought Sanna's filly.
NOW What a small world, and what a coincident to call the night she is at work and have HER be the supervisor that night and the one to get on the phone. She will do her best to get us cable internet. She is sending someone out on the 15th, between 1:00 and 5:00. Any of you lake people interested in cable internet let me know so the tech that shows up can be shown all properties interested.

Tyden & Shaeya

Today was Shaeya's lucky day. Tyden her brother got to come along for the ride and also enjoyed the day but not like Shaeya. Now Shaeya is not my grand daughter, she is Beth's grand daughter but really should belong to ME. Shaeya is a TRUE horse lover. She is going to be a horse trainer, cowgirl, owner and anything else there is to do with horses. Karin and Rebekah with Shaeya and Tyden's help brought in Bunni and Sally, tacked them up and rode double on a nice long trail ride riding all the way to Rebekah's house. Karin told how when they arrived back at the barn Shaeya brought the mares into the stalls, helped untack them, grained them, and groomed them. Tyden was more impressed with the change in Karen's car, her car ash tray is stuffed full of change. Tyden told Karin that they would come work for her every Saturday at the barn, then she could pay him out of all the money she has in her car. It was a great day for a ride and the mares were well behaved. These 2 mares were not bred back as they, along with Paris are in such demand as riding horses.
Karin has put out an email about horse camping at Wolf Creek State Park and the response coming back is YES a lot of the family wants to come. We are planning on the last weekend in July. This is at Lake Shelbyville and Dan will bring a boat for wake boarding.
Last year we camped at a horse campground in Farmington, IA. We took 10 horses and later realized that of the 10 horses that got to come represented 10 different breeds. Below is the video of that trip.

This year we will be missing quite of few of our regulars. Duke is sold, Sangria and Wynne will have a foal by their side so won't go.

Huffing & Puffing

Arrived at the farm early enough to take care of Sanna's wound and tease Wynne & Dalia before meeting Ruth, Rebekah, and Rachel for the walk. Now there is a real blessing when Ruth attends the walk, she can usually slow Rachel down a bit. Rachel and Rebekah are just walking along in front of us at such a fast pace that Ruth and I could hardly visit trying to keep up. We are huffing and puffing and the other 2 look like they are leisurely strolling. It may have looked like that but Ruth can attest that looks are deceiving, those two were booking it. We finished both loops before 8:00am.
Mark had the car loaded with light fixtures that all needed to be unloaded before heading home.
We received over an inch of rain last night in Hanna City. We are grateful even if now we are dealing with mud. The grass is growing and the fields are turning green. If the Middle Grove farm received the same amount those fields should take off quickly. Gary Unsicker planted orchard grass on top of the Middle Grove alfalfa field to help with the weeds, all that field needed was a good drenching rain and a bit of warmth.

Mocha

By the time I arrived at the farm, Steven had the breeding shelter cleaned out and a new base of road mix put down in preparation of breeding season. He also had the small paddock cleaned up with road mix placed up against the shed to help with the drainage. The rain started coming down steady so Lily & Keira and Wynne & Kenzie were moved into stalls so the man coming to look at them could do so without getting soaked. We decided as long as we had time we would bring in Ayanna and Indy for some grain and grooming. Our company walked in while they were getting worked over. He really liked both fillies and was having a hard time deciding what should be done. He told us he would have an answer by Saturday as Sunday we have someone else coming down to look at Keira.
On the way home we were delayed by an accident. It must have happened right before we got to airport road as the ambulances had not yet arrived. While we were waiting to be waved on the first response vehicle arrived, 4 firemen got out and started figuring out how to get the driver out of the pickup.


Amy brought her mini Mocha over to stay for a week while they are in Gulf Shores. Meanwhile Taunya brought Addyson over for sister day and we have a match made in heaven or perhaps a match made at Bridlewood. This was one happy little girl. It was not a nice day, cold and spitting a bit of rain and we could not convince her even though she was shivering, to get off the pony.



Addyson LOVES Mocha. Thanks Amy for bringing her in to Bridlewood for the week. Just maybe I'll get to see more of Addyson this week because of Mocha being here.

Kenzie Keira

Kenzie and Keira will be shown today to a man looking for a couple of Friesian foals for a special birthday surprise. He is coming up around 1:00pm, hope the rain holds off, it is suppose to start this afternoon and as much as we need the rain it is easier to show off the foals when we can turn them loose in the field.
Sunday afternoon another person wants to come down from Chicago to look at Keira, if she ends up selling they will need to be called to cancel.
All is going well at the farm except neither mare we are teasing is showing any signs of coming in. We need to get these mares covered to open up room for the outside mares that are booked for May.
Sanna's cut is healing well, she has now been off bute for 48 hours and is walking very well. She is still on Sulpha and will continue that for another week.
Sangria is not bagged up, she is due April 16th but usually goes a bit late. IF she has a colt it is pretty much sold, there is more than one person wanting a colt out of her by Raven so the first one to come up with the money will win. Too bad one wasn't interested in a filly.

Earl the Speaker

Peoria was blessed tonight to have Earl Ringger from Gridley, IL come speak on end time prophecies and he had everyone sitting on the edge of the seat, um bench.
Just think it was predicted 2500 years ago that Israel would be scattered and their land desolate but they would be brought back and be a nation in one day and the desert would bloom as a rose and now Israel is either the top or near the top exporter of ROSES! That was just one of the amazing facts Earl brought to us. This is a sermon that must be downloaded so we can listen to it again.
A text came from Jamie that Kenzie was out of her paddock trying to get back in to be with Wynne. This is the second time this has happened. She lays down to sleep too close to the gate, then rolls the wrong way to get up and finds herself on the outside. We will need to figure out how to either lower the gate or put up a barrier there.
Mark ordered the washer and dryer today for the apartment, now all of our appliances are ordered and he is working on the light fixtures. We MUST finish this SOON.
This afternoon the Post Office approved new Berean business reply envelope was emailed to Wayne Printing and 10,000 of the ordered. The other job that was put off until today was the renewing of my drivers license. That's always a treat, sitting in the crowded room watching people take the test and then argue when they fail, the many people getting frustrated by the long lines then the fun reaction of a kid that just received his first license.

Ebby's Prize

This prize of Ebby's takes the cake. She cannot carry it, it is almost larger than she is but she doesn't want to leave this wonderful dead wood chuck.
and just in case the teeth of this woodchuck are not visible we needed a close-up.

WHERE does she come up with these dead animals. We think she stakes out the road and is quick to claim and carry off the roadkill, although that doesn't explain a cow leg.
Sanna's leg was hosed off while she was being fed then she knows the next step in the healing process is to head out into the field. She would prefer to be with another mare and once let loose looks over to see if I'm going to turn anyone else out.

The picture below shows how nice her feather is on 3 of her legs, the back left leg is shaved almost bare in order to be able to keep the wound clean.

Sanna is a wonderful Friesian mare, always willing to do what ever is asked of her even if it hurts. She stands very patiently each morning as her wound is cleaned, hosed, then medicated.
Steven showed up at the farm and helped tease both Wynne and Dalia. Today is the 12th day since we started teasing. Raven is ever hopeful for the work and each day disappointed.
Lily had knocked down a railing during the night so Steven got out the hammer and nails and fixed it. He is a great guy to have around, he sees the work and does it without being asked.
Today Aldi will need to be visited and laundry started.

Work then Play

This morning Rachel's dog Sasha was crouched down about half way on the dam, Rachel yelled at her to go home but Sasha really didn't want to move. Rachel made the remark, I think she is guarding something. Meanwhile Ebby is not listening to us and keeps trotting right up to Sasha, we were sure Ebby was going to be dead meat but Sasha reluctantly headed home, Ebby ran to where she had been laying and picked up the rotting cow hoof. When she was proudly carrying it back over the dam both Emma and Heidi gave her wide berth, as Ebby was growling like a ferocious miniature BEAR.
As office work was waiting Sanna was given her meds and her leg hosed before the walk and put in the paddock. Steven came a bit later, moved in a round bale then put Sangria in with her as Sangria is due April 16th and should be moved out of the middle paddock. He teased Wynne and Dalia and again no luck.
Eva Jean and I worked efficiently today and was done by 11:40pm leaving us plenty of time to enjoy lunch with Phil and Mark.
At choir tonight the benefit dinner notes were handed off to Crystal our new leader. We were practicing the Zion Harp songs so didn't have a big group. Bill Chaffer served lunch and he went all out. Cucumber sandwiches, home made chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, chips, vegetables, gondolas and chocolate cake. All was delicious and so colorful a few pictures needed to be posted.


Dee Lehman was telling me that one of the doctors she works with bought a horse from us. When I was asking who that could be she told me it was Anni. The best part of this conversation was Dee knows they LOVE Anni and Anni's colt by Raven is WONDERFUL, she told me he is just a year old but so tall and so well behaved, yes this sounds just like another fantastic Raven son. Dee is going to ask them to email pictures to us, as we have never seen this colt. While we were speaking of this one of the ladies told us she saw the video of Lily giving birth, Karl was so sure it was a great video he is giving it 2 thumbs up. Yeah like he's really seen it!


We really have a great time at choir anyone that wants to join us is welcome.

Ugh

During the night the hip pain was enough to wake the dead. Trying to figure out why I'm so crippled up this morning and then I remember yesterday.
Bending over cleaning up Sanna's leg, bending over hosing her for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Bending down cleaning up the house and walking in the morning with only Rachel who walks at such a great pace one cannot walk and talk. YEP there are only so many bendovers in life and probably a good third of mine were used up yesterday.
Today is a new day, the sun is rising and even though it is only 34 degrees outside we are suppose to reach a high of 55. All you family members down in Gulf Shores enjoy the warmth down there then bring some back when you come home.
Sanna will be moved today into the only empty paddock left and a round bale will be put in for her. Paris will be moved in with her for company. As long as the weather is dry and sunny Sanna should be out so she can move around. We are getting anxious for the grass to start growing, the herd would love to be out at Middle Grove but it has been so cold and dry not much is coming up. They will have stay on hay for at least a few more weeks.

Nice Updates

Vicki sent the pictures below of her Raven son now almost a year old. Didn't he turn out GORGEOUS!


We so much appreciate seeing how these babies grow up. Alicia Cooksey tells me that her 2 year old filly by Raven out of her Arabian mare is like a golden retriever, she follows her around and wants to be with her people even more than with the other horses.
Jenny who has Big Sally and Glory sent the email below tonight:
I have to lodge a complaint about Glory. I think her breeding must be flawed and something missed somewhere. I believe that her sire could NOT have possibly been Raven, but an elephant must have snuck into the family tree somewhere instead! ROFL!!! Judy, she is going to be well over 17 hh I believe! I've never seen such a tall youngster! She turns a year old at the end of this month and it is almost to the point that I can't see over her back while grooming her. There are times, if Sally's belly wasn't so large, that I could mistake them for one another in the pasture. She is very tall, very thick and VERY elegant. Couldn't be happier with her! lol! We had the vet out last month for them all to receive shots and have coggins drawn. I was a little concerned how Glory would react, but she stood like a perfect lady, not moving a hair, til the vet was done. To say I was proud would be an understatement. Just goes to show what wonderful breeding and handling her often can do. :0)

Notice the HAIR on that filly, remember she is not even a YEAR OLD YET. She makes her dam, who we called BIG Sally, look small.
I'm very thankful for both updates. Just had to post a couple of the pictures sent today on the photogallery.

The Change

What a change in weather from yesterday to today. A storm moved in during the night with lightning and wind but not much rain. It is a cold damp 42 degrees today after our record breaking high of 83 degrees of yesterday its kind of a shock to the system. At the farm we got less than a quarter of an inch rain, a bit disappointing. Sanna was given her meds then taken out, her leg hosed, then let out on pasture. She is improving each day.
Lily and Wynne's paddock needed hay so they were let out also to graze until a new bale could be moved in. By the time the mares were out it was time to meet Rachel for the walk. Heidi was glad to join us but Ebby wouldn't leave this:

Somehow the dogs brought home a COW leg, a rotting cow leg and Ebby was so proud of it she would not let any other dog near her. The leg weighed more than she did and she could not carry it far, so stayed behind guarding the smelly thing with her life. The toys she gets when her owners are gone.
The skid steer was fired up and I started moving in round bales. One for the herd, one for Lily's paddock, and one for the middle paddock. I was pretty pleased to be able to not just move in the bales but remove the net wrap without help. Usually we plan on having 2 people move in bales, one to lift the bale with the help of the skid steer while the other person removes the wrap. The skid steer door wont open if the bale is up off the ground so it is a bit tricky.
When the mares were ready to be called in I snapped the pictures below. The tower in the background is now all ready for the wind generator Spark is putting up for the lake compound. Sure wish we could tie into this but maybe some day we can get our own at the farm.



Wynne has on the red halter, Lily has no halter but she is always easy to identify even in a herd, she had colic surgery and her belly hangs a bit low.

Spontaneous Reunion

We had a really wonderful day in church. Ken Hoerr had the morning service and Tim Funk the afternoon which was also the communion exhortation. It was so good to have Tim Funk home, Peoria really missed him these last 2 weeks.
We walked out of church around 1:30pm and was shocked at how warm the weather was, it was easily 78 degrees but soon climbed up to 82 degrees. We thanked Rachel for bringing the heat with her as she came home from Gulf Shores today.
Mark grilled hamburgers for the first time since last fall and they were delicious. Then it was off to the farm to care for Sanna and tease Dalia and Wynne.
Sanna's leg was hosed for about 15 minutes then she was let out to graze, she is moving much better and some of the swelling has gone down. I hated to stall her but her leg needed to be bandaged and kept dry and it is suppose to rain tonight.
By the time all the farm work was done I could tell there was a lot of people over at the play ground. A lot of the family showed up for volley ball. There were kids and parents everywhere. Hard to believe over half of the family was missing. Rhoda brought Paris over for the up and coming horse lovers so the camera was taken out for pictures of the evening.

WARM

Spring is really coming, the calendar told us it was suppose to be spring over 2 weeks ago but this morning it FEELS like spring. Mark and I were not the only ones exhausted last night. The dogs slept until almost 7:00am. We still need to get out to the farm before church to care for Sanna. Mark has offered to come with me.
Sophie's owner emailed this morning a bit concerned Sophie was due March 27th and hasn't delivered yet. How well I remember waiting for Grace to deliver the first time we bred her and with every day that went over her due date we worried a bit more. On average the gestation of a mare is 11 months and 11 days but there are many mares that go almost 12 months and then mares like Lily that go in less than 11 months. Sophie's owner was told not to worry it will happen. She also has a 21 year old very nice mare half Tennessee Walker and half Percheron and wanted to know if there were any risks to breeding her.
We always suggest having a vet look over your mare and ultrasound her, just to make sure she has good uterine tone and the ovaries are ok but as far as risk 21 is not at all too old.
Time for us to get a moving!

Loooong Day

Mark came along to the farm and helped hooked up the trailer, then started on the tree lines with the saw attachment hooked up to the skid steer. Sanna's leg was unwrapped, scrubbed off, then hosed for about 15 minutes. She was let into the field for her leg to dry. She was so glad for the grass she almost forgot about her sore leg. When it came time to put her back she went straight to the mare paddock asking to be put there instead of a stall but back into the newly cleaned stall she went so the medicine and new bandage could be applied.
Rhoda showed up to ride Jenis at the perfect time. She helped put Kenzie into the trailer. It didn't take much she wanted to follow her mom, she just had to figure how to jump the 2 feet up into it.
Mark was left at the farm and I headed to Bridlewood for the fun day.
Wynne and Kenzie were put in the paddock, then the cotton candy supplies taken to the barn for later.
Cathie had the kids divide into different groups and each group was given 10 to 15 minutes at each station. Below are some of the pictures of the day.

Amy Koch brought in her mini for the grooming session. We were laughing because Mocha is as wide as she is tall.





This was a huge success but even with the many many hands it was still a lot of work. After all the riding was finished and the ponies put away it was time for the yummy sweet cotton candy on a stick for each person, then we started bagging cotton candy for the kids to take home with them.
The machine was left in the barn while Wynne and Kenzie were loaded and taken back to the farm. They were so glad to be home. Sanna was given her bute, then brought out and put in an empty paddock that has an automatic waterer, given food and left for the night. I'll be back early tomorrow morning to check on her. As long as the weather holds she is much happier outside plus it is good for her to walk around on her leg.
Mark helped unhook the trailer and we headed home both exhausted. We were invited to Ben and Taunya's for dinner and all the kids were going to be there but called and cancelled, driving to Bloomington and back when both of us are tired isn't very wise. We picked up Chinese for dinner and will have an early night.

Website Down

This morning the website was going to be updated but not only was that job not accomplished the entire website vanished off the internet. I was trying to follow Philip's instructions and may have erased the entire website content off. Amateurs really shouldn't be turned loose with important things! I've emailed the expert (Philip) but think he is in some kind of marathon today.
Since I've done enough damage here at home, I'm heading out to the farm where most of the time I don't wreck things, just fix them.
8:00am: At the farm Sanna was standing, thank goodness, I was worried she would be down and without help there was no way to get her up. Her hay was almost all gone but she did not clean up her grain meaning she got little or no bute. That was dumped and this time I tried mixing it with her grain and a bit of cracked corn but no luck, there is no way she is going to eat it willingly so 2 grams of the powder was mixed with water in a syringe and administered by mouth like a worming. She was also given her 40 cc's of sulpha by mouth. Her grain was taken out to give Raven but he wouldn't eat it either. So even though it is sweetened and presented as a top dressing for grain don't think you can use it that way.
Her bandage will be changed later after we come back from the Bridlewood fund raiser scheduled today from 2:00pm to 4:00pm.
Wynne and Dalia are still not showing any signs of coming in.

Bright Jewel in the Sky

Rachel posted pictures!! She had some beautiful sunrise pictures from sunny Gulf Shores, AL. Below are a few of her more intriguing ones.


They have had beautiful weather down in Gulf Shores, AL. She had pictures of dolphins jumping and playing in the gulf, she had lots of pictures of her children playing in the surf and She posted the one below of her daughter Jessica holding my beautiful grand daughter Addyson. Sure makes me a bit jealous. This is the first year I haven't joined the family all down at that little bit of paradise on earth.

Rhoda came over tonight after work and went with us to the Burger Barge. That was an interesting place with HUGE hamburgers. From there we stopped in at Phil and Anna's for a quick visit with our newest grand daughter. Poor Anna didn't get the message from Phil we were coming but she didn't seem to mind being dropped in on.
Rhoda then drove us to the GARAGE which is not a garage but a room above a coffee shop where there was a group of people all singing together praising our Lord. We stayed for about a half hour before heading to Lowes to pick out samples of laminate for the office floor. YES WE ARE NOT going to have to stand on concrete!! We also purchased a stove and dishwasher that will be delivered in May. Hopefully by that time the floor will be laid and the cupboards installed.
By the time we left Lowes it was close to 10:00pm and as Rhoda was driving she took the car through Culvers drive through for a scoop of vanilla frozen custard. That was the first time Mark and I had that delicious treat. It was really GOOD!
After this cold windy day I have to finish this post of Rachel's 2 youngest boys playing in the warm Gulf waters.

Sanna's Leg

Dr. Hoerr made it to the farm around 1:00pm. Mika and Jewel were sharing a stall, Sally was in her own stall, Sanna was in one of the foaling stalls, Bunni was crossed tied in the aisle way, and Paris was tied also in the aisle. Five of the horses needed blood drawn for the coggins and Sanna had to have her leg looked at. First on the list was to get the horses for routine work done and out of the barn so we could focus on Sanna. Her hoof was tested first to see if it was an abscess but that came back fine. It wasn't until Dr. Hoerr started shaving off all of her feathers did we find the problem. She had a cut that got infected but Sanna's feathers are so thick and long we couldn't see this until her leg was bald. Poor Sanna! Her leg needed to be scrubbed, treated and wrapped, then she was given an antibiotic IV, 40 ccs of sulpha by mouth and 2 grams of bute mixed with some grain. She will need her leg cleaned once a day, sulpha once a day and bute twice a day until Wednesday when Dr. Hoerr will check her over again.

She was fed plenty of hay and given 3 full buckets of water before I left for the day. Hopefully she will be more comfortable soon.
Mike and Diane are now in Gulf Shores, mom, Spark and Rhonda leave at 4:30am tomorrow for Gulf Shores which means I'll be driving out twice a day to care for Sanna for at least a week.
Now Karin sent this for the chuckle of the week. Thanks Karin, I ROARED with laughter at some of their statements.

Sanna

Yesterday I could tell Sanna was not comfortable and her hind leg was swelling up. She usually has an outbreak of this skin condition when it is wet muddy weather or when she doesn't move around. She is usually NOT lame with this condition so this morning when she didn't want to put weight on that leg it was a real concern. Dr. Hoerr was called to ask him to come today, not wait until Wednesday. We believe she may have an abscess in that foot, causing her to not move around which caused the leg to swell. She was moved into a stall and given hay and water and Dr. Hoerr should be here by 11:00am. She is due in a month we sure don't want to do anything to jeopardize this foal.