Day to day operation of a Friesian breeding farm standing 2 Friesian stallions. We have 6-10 foals each year out of Purebred Friesian mares, Andalusian mares, Thoroughbred mares and Friesian sport mares
by Judy Sceggel
309-208-3840
www.horsemeister.com
Walking across Joan and Tim's dam this morning we see a king fisher diving into the lake. His picture was taken once he was back on the branch. Ebby found a new treat, a hoof trimming from Tyler Joos the farrier. This tulip was all by itself in the middle of the woods. The pictures above were all taken on our walk this morning. David and Stephanie are on their way to Mexico, they stopped in to say good by but we were all at work. Once all was well at the farm and the filly was nursing it was off to walmart for groceries. Mark's dinner meal was prepared and placed in the fridge as we had an appointment to pick up a buckskin mare named Frannie at 5:00pm. Mike took the truck and trailer and I followed with the car. Frannie was a bit hesitant about getting into the trailer at first but with a bit of bribing she stepped in and stood quietly. She is in season and was covered today then placed in the first pen with a new round bale and Dalia for company. EVAN has his first booking today. We planned on using him for Jewel in the fall but he now has a real customer coming, a beautiful black 4 year old Raven daughter. Once home from picking up Frannie, Mark wanted me to head right back out to the farm with another load of stuff from the garage. The stall needed to be emptied of all the wood scraps stored in it before we could start emptying the truck. We finally finished up by dark. This moving is hard work!
We are so thrilled to announce the birth of Sanna's brand new filly by Raven born at 9:40am TODAY! I arrived at the farm before 7:00am, let the horses out and cleaned the stalls finishing just about in time for the walk. After the walk, Ruth, Diane and I decided to sit around mom's table watching her eat breakfast while we visited with each other until 8:30am. As we were walking back to the car I saw both Sanna and Sangria out grazing in the field. Before heading for home had to stop at the Horsemeister office and see Sanna going into the stall but didn't think anything of that, she goes in when she is done grazing. Went home to eat breakfast when Ralph calls that there is a baby and the sack is still around it what did I want done. He was told to take the sack off, then Rachel was called to see if she would head over to in case there was anything else needed. Rachel was kind enough to bring her camera and emailed pictures of this beautiful big filly! We need another girl name! On the way home a text came from Heather of St. Louis that her bay roan mare Jackie had a BIG BLACK BOY! The first RAVEN SON of 2011. We were beginning to think he was only going to throw girls this year. Heather is thrilled, this is her second Raven baby out of her mare Jackie. The first was a beautiful blue roan filly and she believes this boy may also roan out. The picture below is of this boy's full sister.
Gradually we have been losing our children, either to spouses or the university. It wasn't that noticeable until a holiday dinner is in the planning stage and then realizing one's children now have other obligations and may not be able to attend. Funny how hard this syndrome hits and hits when not expected. Our job as parents are to bring our children up to know the Lord, Love the Lord and serve the Lord with all their hearts souls and minds, to prepare them to be on their own, then let them Go. Not able to sleep with these thoughts running through a mind that won't shut down and yes grieving a bit when the verse below comes to mind: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Even God must have felt this empty nest syndrome when He put His plan in place for our salvation. So very very thankful Jesus willingly left the riches of heaven and His Father to lay down His life for ours. How thankful I am that there is going to be a grand reunion once we are finally in our real home. So looking forward to that wonderful reunion around the Lord's banquet table. Yesterday was hard, the weather didn't help so dark, showers and thundershowers all day, the rain coming down in sheets but the sun WAS shining, and shining brightly above the dark clouds. We had a very blessed practice at choir. We got to sing all of the benefit dinner songs and they are the best of the best. Lifting voices in praise, is there any better way to end a hard day?
Pouring down rain, lightning flashing and thunder crashing at the farm this morning while Wynne was brought to the breeding stand and Raven taken over. Paris was in season and flirting over the fence trying to get Raven's attention while we are standing in the rain trying to get Raven interested in Wynne. With Mike's help we finally got the job accomplished but all of us got a bit muddy. Why did I wait until this morning? If we would have gone to the farm last night we could have skipped this morning but somehow I was just too lazy and tired last night. At least Wynne was successfully covered and we will mark her down. The mares were fed and Middle Grove discussed with Mike and Diane. We decided Paris will stay in Hanna City, Ribbon MUST stay in Hanna City, Bunni, Sally, Izadora, Mika, Dalia, Ciera, Ayanna, Jewel, and Heathcliff will get to go to this horse paradise for at least a month before the riding horses will be needed back in Hanna City. Now if it would just stop raining long enough to get them out there. Mike was out yesterday checking over the fields and fences there. The grass is coming up GREAT! Once home from work, Dalia's video was reworked, the last video of her youtube took the sound off, this time a song was picked that was left on.
Dalia is a very nice young registered branded Oldenburg. We will breed her to Raven unless someone out there is looking to purchase a quiet young green mare and will give us lots of money for her.:o)Take a look at her video, she really does have the want to please disposition and the dressage movement to move right up the levels. The last round hay bale here at Bridlewood will need to be moved into the paddock soon, the tractor is leaving for Hanna City next week. The bad news about the boys becoming men happened this afternoon. Paris is in the paddock right across the drive from Valiant and Evan. Both boys today could not stand it, jumped the fence making it almost all the way over and knocking boards down to get out of their paddock, then jumping into her paddock. Valiant was most persistent trying to cover her while Mike is trying to get both OUT of THERE! Mike was able to stop them before it went too far. We just don't want Paris bred and he said once he had a lead rope around their necks they were very respectful and minded. They never tried to kick or were dangerous, just determined. Paris will be moved and electric fence will be placed around the boy's paddock. Even though it is STILL pouring down rain Mike took 4 horses out to Middle Grove tonight. Mika, Jewel, Sally and Izadora are now on their way. Those horses will be so glad to be back to their green lush summer pastures.
Hi, Anyone interested in attending the Friesian Heritage Horse inspections this fall please go to: http://www.ipshr.com/FEIT_INSPECTION_Info_1.htm fill out the form. This is not a sign up but an information gathering. We need at least 12 horses signed up in order to host the inspections in our area. This is a great opportunity to prove to yourself and others that YES, your horse REALLY is as good as you believe it to be. Farm news is FINALLY Wynne is in season and was covered by Raven. No drama just willingly stood. Steven was out working at the farm for a few hours and got the job accomplished. Today will be considered a clean-out and Wynne will hopefully be covered again tomorrow morning. Steven brought Raven into a stall and groomed him up beautifully, even his very thick long mane and tail were combed out. The other news is that both boys have now dropped both, they have officially become MEN. We were thinking of taking them to Middle Grove for a month but now they will no longer be welcomed there.
Ebby joined us this morning bringing her favorite dried out deer skin, of course Emma could hardly wait to get it away from the little monster but had to wait until Ebby found something better. We had just finished the first loop, laughing hard listening to Diane tell about what happened to her father-in-law when Rachel looks down and finds the FIRST morel mushroom of the season. We feel Diane's story should be told as surely there is someone else today needing a laugh. A bunch of the kids showed up at the lake last evening for volley ball around 4:00pm. Diane took 5 of the young ones over to feed them some dinner, walked in the door with these 5 wide eyed kids and there was her father-in-law standing in the middle of the kitchen dripping wet with just a blanket around him. John decided to put out a bunch of fishing lines in their pond to catch some of the small bass. He went out into the pond in the little paddle boat and was catching fish as fast as he could pull them in, reached over and tipped the boat going completely under. He came into her house, and was sheepishly trying to figure out how to run her washer and dryer. Diane found him some old swimming trunks to wear while his clothes dried. He told her "if I could have figured out how to use your machines you would have never known." Diane went on to tell how the rest of the evening went with that start. The more she talked the harder we laughed! And people wonder why we don't want to miss these walks! On the second loop, Rachel finds ANOTHER mushroom. so the moral of the story is keep your eyes open and perhaps you will be blessed with a morel. Steven is going to the farm today to meet a man wanting 6 to 8 loads of manure. While he is there he will tease Lily and Wynne. Sangria is definitely more bagged up today, perhaps we will test her tonight. She is a few days overdue. Both mares were let out and their stalls cleaned. Our goblets are to be delivered today at the fellowship hall around 2:00pm. Mark is coming with me and will help Myrna Hoerr and I run them through the dishwasher before putting them away.
At church today we heard about being a servant and having a servant heart. Dave Obergfel had the morning service and spoke of the the thousands of years that have gone by since that first palm Sunday and yet we are still reading and thinking about the owner of the ass and colt of an ass that was willingly lent for Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. What can we lend, what can we give? This set a somber tone for the afternoon communion service. There was much time for reflection of the sacrifice Jesus would make just a few days later. On the way home sadness started creeping into my heart of the ones missing. Why does there need to be a separation? How long before we reach our REAL home? Once home from church just had time to change when Rhoda called with the news that Ciera was sick and maybe colicking. Rhoda was told where the banamine was and that I would leave NOW. Didn't even get a block before Rhoda called back to tell me she was wrong, Ciera was fine, just having a good roll. With both Sangria and Lily having colic surgery in the past I think we just panic sometimes. Rhoda, Sarah, Karin and Mike were getting ready to go trail riding and after the ride the girls had some fun in the field. The video camera was in the car so we had some fun taping.
By 6:00pm it was time to put everyone back for the night. Mark showed up with one more load of tools from the garage along with some gutter extenders. Once those were up I headed home for dinner.
Tara, Spark and Rhonda's daughter had a home birth this morning a little after 6:00am, a big bouncing beautiful nine pound baby girl. Rhonda got to be there and all is well. Great grandma reports that the baby is CUTE! We can't wait to meet our new little grand niece. I think her name is Jane but we will get more details later. Mark and I arrived at the farm with another pickup load of tools from Pleasant Home around 7:00am. We see this ARGHHH: Evan had climbed to the top of the hay bale and somehow taken down a board. He is VERY proud of himself. The work on a horse farm is NEVER done. How they did this is a mystery. Sangria is starting to bag up this morning. She was very anxious to be fed and let out. Sanna was about the same as yesterday. Mark unloaded but with our only wheelbarrow so the stalls were done once the truck was empty. That wheelbarrow was a gift from Karin and it was the best gift given last year. No mares were teased but Lily may be coming in. We will need to move in 2 round bales this afternoon, one for the herd and one for Lily and Wynne.
We would never know this is April, the weather is cold and gray with spatters of rain. If it wasn't for the green grass coming up we would think this was a typical November day. After dinner we took a load out to the farm. Mark emptied the truck while I cleaned stalls and teased Wynne. If she doesn't come in soon we will spend the money for a sonagram. We will start teasing Lily soon. Sanna was very bagged up this afternoon but no calcium is showing up on the mare predictor test. By the time Sanna and Sangria were turned out the sun peeked out for just a bit. They were glad to get out on the pasture. While we were unloading we noticed a huge snake skin. It must have come out of hibernation and shed. This snake must have been really fat, probably the abundance of mice for food. We don't mind snakes, they really help with the rodent problem. By the time we were ready to leave the farm both Sanna and Sangria had come back on their own into their stalls. The are finally figuring out it is much more comfortable inside than out on a day like today. Mom called to give us an update on the 9 month old baby boy Michelle and Dave are adopting. Sally, Greg's sister arranged for this adoption. She has now placed 6 dogs and 1 human child. We will learn more tomorrow. They should be back in Peoria tomorrow afternoon. It was a nightmare trip getting down to New Orleans and back because of the extreme weather conditions at the airports. Rhoda came home for the evening and looked for a Mastiff stud for Emma now in her third season. Emma was measured and she is 28 inches at the shoulders and weighs 144 pounds so easily makes the minimum requirements for breeding. We found one breeder in Tremont, IL with a nice Mastiff named Tank, but the owner is not sure she wants to stud him out.
Well it wasn't easy to drag ourselves out of bed this morning. If it wasn't for the dogs asking politely, or perhaps not so politely, with their cold noses in our faces, to be let outside both of us would have stayed put for at least another few minutes. Still both Sangria who is officially due today and Sanna who is due in May were locked in stalls and needed to be cared for. They were both very glad to see us coming with food! Silly mares want out but there is such a cold rain still coming down they were left in. Sanna is bagged up and actually had some waxing so she will be tested tonight. Sangria is as flat as a pancake. She did the same thing 2 years ago, just didn't bag up until the baby came so we are not concerned. I don't know whether she will be tested today she went a week late last time. Knight was out again and instead of walking through the rain to put him in we just left him out. Mark worked on cleaning out the hay stall so he can start storing boxes of tools we are moving. As small as the apartment is I'm still taking my popcorn machine, snowcone machine and cotton candy machine. I always wanted to be a carney and with these three machines I have a good start. In my mind they are the most important pieces of equipment to move, now for some reason Mark doesn't think that, he wants me to take the kitchen items like our mixmaster and all the pots and pans.
This morning it was rush back from the walk and start cleaning as fast as possible. The washer and dryer were suppose to be delivered between 8:00am and noon, then the cable guy was suppose to be here between 1:00pm and 5:00pm and the potluck guests were to arrive at 6:00pm. I was just not sure how this would work out but somehow it all did. Lowes was delivering the machines and they were great, they called as they left Peoria. Mom was asked if she could go meet the truck and it was a good thing she did. Lowes parked at Ralph and Jamies and started unloading. Mom had to run down the lane in the rain to tell them to stop and show them where to bring them. Now I didn't have anyone to wait for the cable people for the first couple of hours so tried calling them but no luck. This meant someone MUST be at the farm waiting. The potatoes were peeled and placed in salt water to hold, then the pork loin roast was put in the oven around 12:45 at a low 220 degrees and off to the farm getting there at 1:03pm. Felt pretty secure that even if they showed up at 1:00pm they would not have left at 1:03pm surely there would be a 5 minute grace period. While there Sangria was put back in the barn out of the rain. She had let herself out and was standing in a driving rain with the temps in the 40s brrrr. Sanna was the smart one, she went into her stall and was napping quietly. Once the mares were cared for my car was parked at the top of the hill with a good view of the road and my book taken out. Karin relieved me at 3:45pm and she stayed watching until 5:40pm and no one from the cable company showed up. This was so disappointing to everyone out at the Meister compound. It doesn't make sense to us why the cable company would not want to service that neighborhood. There are 7 houses all ready to sign up and we know the cable runs right past the drive. Everyone of our guests showed up on time or early. Dinner was great, by the time we were finished there was no food left. We had 14 people around the table. We had such a great time it was a while before we retreated to the living room and then our company asked to see the dogs. Emma and Darcy were brought down to meet our guests, did a few tricks then Darcy laid down in the middle of the living room and took a nap. This would have been fine except she started snoring. We really had a great time visiting with everyone. This will be our last official rotating potluck at Pleasant Home. We are leaving the table for the Waibels as there is no way to fit it in the small apartment and besides that it fits perfectly in the dining room here.
What a surprise this morning after the first loop of the walk mom invites me to breakfast. Once I walk in the house I see the table is set for 7 people with mom's GOOD china. Mom, Diane and Rachel finished cooking the delicious breakfast while I just sat. Besides the perfectly done crisp bacon, the savory sausage, the farm fresh eggs, toast and cinnamon rolls, mom even peeled fresh red ripe tomatoes. The food was absolutely delicious but the conversation even better. How I love my family! Once that was over it was time for work. Dalia was brought in to Bridlewood for the video. That was funny, Rhoda brought Darcy and Emma out, Cathie showed up with Tulia, her dog and Poppy, Amy's dog and they are running around the arena during the taping. I was actually shocked at how quiet Dalia was. Below is a brief video of her, this is the first time she has been here, she must wonder what in the world IS THIS PLACE.
Once done, Dalia was taken back and the chores which were not done because of the birthday surprise were finished, it was off to Sam's club for the potluck groceries and the all important dog food. Barely had time to unload before we needed to leave for Ben and Taunya's for the big party. Ben planned on grilling hamburgers out on his deck. The smoke was thick as the ground beef started dripping onto the charcoal. The next thing we hear is the smoke alarm, first in Ben's house then in the house behind Ben's. Then we start to hear sirens. Not just one fire engine showed up, 2 fire engines and an ambulance all pull into the neighborhood. After all the excitement was over we sat down for another wonderful meal. Finally it was time for Addyson to blow out her candles and open her presents. She got some dress up high heels and we were laughing so hard at her attempts to run in them. Left for home at 8:30 and made it by 9:10pm. We are both tired, too much partying!
This morning the truck will be taken out to the farm and Dalia brought in to Bridlewood for a video. Rhoda has agreed to ride her for the video and Philip has agreed to bring the camera back this morning. We will be on a tight schedule so hopefully this will go as planned. Rhoda and Sarah are taking off for Bloomington, IL for sister day at Taunya's. We are heading to Ben and Taunya's tonight to celebrate Addyson's 2nd birthday. Today is not her birthday but it she is too young to know we are cheating on the day. Sam's MUST be visited today. We are hosting potluck tomorrow and will have 13 people around our table. This is the last potluck I will hold at Pleasant Home so I want it nice. Mom is coming to help and bringing vegetables. Our guests are Howard and Nancy, Herb and Nancy, Eva Jean, Irma, Jill and Frank, Bill, and Rich. The etiquette books say never to have 13 people but the table will fit 13 comfortably. I'm going to miss this table and yes in some ways I'm going to miss Pleasant Home but living at the farm will be GREAT!
Mom had a fall on our walk yesterday a hard fall, so hard the thud was audible from a distance. She said she was fine, just landed on her side and face. Her lip was cut and bleeding but she finished the walk and said she was fine. So her ribs are sore this morning but she was the first again to be ready for the walk. When Mike walked up he told her she needed to take up skateboarding as anyone that can fall that hard and is ok would be a great skateboarder. Mom quickly replies, "No, I tried that once, went down a hill and fell and decided that wasn't for me." Now I can just see my 79 year old mother flying down the hills on a skateboard. Any other old lady we may question their sanity but mom is up to try anything. She is an amazing women. There were no dead animals found on the walk today, Heidi and Ebby must have quit patrolling the roads. Ebby just had to find something disgusting, afterall she is a lapdog and loves to sleep on Mike's pillow. This morning she found a great big fresh pile of warm steaming horse manure to dig into. Every night before bedtime this poor sweet little puppy gets a bath. Yesterdays bath just didn't cut the awful smell and Mike ended up using Lysol on her and when that didn't work Ebby was banned to the garage for the night.
Such a beautiful day, bright sunshine and low 70s, a perfect spring day. Steven got to the farm early, let all the mares out to graze and started cleaning paddocks. What a blessing he has been to the Horsemeister farm this year. He also moved in a new bale in the kids paddock and one in the boys paddock. Sanna is starting to bag up and that was cause for worry until Steven tested her milk. The result of the testing showed there was no cause for alarm, the calcium level didn't show at all. She is not due for a month but we would feel comfortable if she would hold off for a couple weeks. Work today didn't seem to be hard until Eva Jean started opening the mail. Somehow that pile just grew and grew. We were late getting to lunch and after lunch needed to head to the post office to buy 1200 more first class stamps. Then back down to Berean to keep entering the letters. The weather was so beautiful as soon as possible I headed out to the farm. Diane invited me over for a refreshing glass of ice tea out on her deck. We started visiting and somehow the time just flew from 2:30pm to 5:00pm. How that happens is a mystery. Before heading home to make dinner Sanna needed to be called in. Choir tonight was different. Denny Virkler came to record some Zion Harps songs. We were pretty tired by the time we finished. Crystal and Kathleen prepared a wonderful lunch again starring my favorite vegetable pizza! The rest of the evening was spent eating and visiting and visiting and eating.
ANOTHER RAVEN filly born last night. Sophie's owner emailed this: She's beautiful and strong and big.We'll send pictures soon. The vet just left because Sophie doesn't have much, if any, milk He gave her some shots andsuggested some minimal supplement for the foal and hopes her milk will kick in. She seems to have some colostrum but there is so little that he gave the filly a bottle of prepared colostrum just in case. She's nursing but we can't tell how much she's getting because her bag is as shrunken and flat as an unpregnant mare. We'll keep you posted. I'm just glad she's here and both are healthy. All the best, Berta
Anyone out there have this happen? The only mare we were ever concerned about was Sangria as she doesn't start to bag up until just before the foal is born but once the foal is on the ground there is plenty. Hopefully Berta will send updates with pictures.
An email came today with a couple of horse pictures. Just glancing at them my first thought was Rachel must have been taking pictures of the boys, Evan and Valiant. But then a closer look reveals it is HER FILLY Xena. This filly looks so much like a purebred Friesian filly. The Sauder's named her Xena Princess Warrior, she is such a spitfire but also a royal princess to go along with her spirit. A mere $3000.00 will get you THIS PRIZE as Xena is for sale and now ready to be weaned. She leads, loads and has a brand new up to date coggins. That is an unbelievable price for a quality black RAVEN daughter and she comes with 30 days of training from Steven Marchal AND a reduced stud fee of $500.00 to EVAN at age 3. Talk about a way to actually make money on horses, Her first foal will more than pay for Xena.
Arrived at the farm before 7:00am and see this: This is Duke's son, Knight who belongs to the Reinhards. One of the reasons we sold Duke was he would not stay inside the fences. Knight feels that he must take his dad's place, you know the place that drives us crazy! These ponies, if they can't find a way under the fence they just jump over the fence. He was left loose while the chores were done. When I reached the meeting place at the dumpster there was only mom using her few remaining bendovers trying to clean up the storm damage from last night. As we were heading past Sparks a red headed woodpecker landed and started his knocking noise. My camera isn't the best for clear wildlife pictures it does much better with the dead animals Ebby drags around. With Diane, Rachel and mom's help the flooring has been picked out for the office. We rented the samples of laminate from Lowes and as soon as they are returned we can get our $50.00 back. Today the laundry that didn't get finished over the weekend, like washing the sheets, was finally finished and it was off to walmart for some much needed groceries. This was so necessary we were ALMOST out of coffee. Mark and I are hosting potluck on Friday and still need to come up with a menue. The dogs will need food soon which means a trip to Sams, perhaps tomorrow I'll look around Sams and see if anything looks good. One more trip to the farm will need to be made today. Sanna will need to be put away for the night, she was left out to graze for the day.
Ron Kipfer from Bluffton country was in Peoria today. We are always so glad to see him. He had a few stories that were true and funny. The first was of his grandson. He was just a little guy of maybe 4 years old when he ran into a table and got a cut near his eye. When grandpa Ron asked his daughter about it he was told this story. He ran into the table and was crying, I tried to comfort him and asked him if we should ask Jesus to come heal the owie and was told NO, I asked again, let's pray and ask Jesus to help with the pain and again was told no. By this time Ron's daughter was thinking what is the matter with my son, Why would he not want to pray so I finally asked him, "honey why don't you want us to ask Jesus to heal your owie?" "Mom" he replies, "Jesus lives in my heart, I don't want him to come out just to look at my little owie." Ahh the faith of a child! The second story actually started when Ron said there was something he was convicted about. He stopped, then told the story of the girl that started coming to Bluffton Country. This girl had never been to any church and had lived a pretty rough life. She heard the minister talk about being convicted, she heard others in the congregation talk of being convicted and finally asked someone, "just what is it with this church? Why have they all gone to jail?" We walked out of afternoon church and couldn't believe how hot it was outside. On the way home from church our car thermometer was reading 89 degrees. We decided to pick up 5 pizzas from Sams club and take them to the lake at 5:00pm before the scheduled 6:00pm volley ball started up. The group that showed up was larger than last week. The wind was blowing pretty hard so Diane opened up her house for the meal. Mom very discretely slips a bill into my hand to help pay for the pizza, I look at the bill and see it is a HUNDRED! "mom, the pizza didn't even cost that much" she was told, but she said no she wanted to help. I finally asked her if she was aware of what she had given me then showed her the bill. She was SHOCKED, she thought she was giving me a twenty. The camera was left back at the house so no pictures but it really was a hundred dollar bill Spark gave her to help pay for gas for their drive home from Gulf Shores yesterday. The kids finished eating and headed over to the volley ball court while Mark and I drove over to the farm. The mares were let out and Sanna's leg hosed before we started on the real reason we were there. Lily's paddock needed a new round bale, the middle paddock needed one and Raven's paddock needed one. With Mark's help that went quickly. He worked on the lighting at the apartment while I headed over to the playground to watch the volley ball and visit with the many family members there. The games were entertaining to watch, the volleys went on for minutes at a time, the kids rarely let the ball hit the ground and the slams were awesome but the returns even more impressive. And we use to think we were good! The mares needed to be put away and Rebekah helped with that before tacking Larry up for the ride home. Sanna was stalled as there are strong storms predicted tonight. After volley ball Rachel brought over a couple of guitars and the praise singing started. Mark and I needed to get Nancy back to Morton as it was already after 8:00pm but we hated to leave. The singing and the evening sky was just beautiful. The storms have now started with the distant sound of thunder and the roar of the wind driven rain.
My phone was left inside on the charger while I was outside enjoying the beautiful warm sunny day when Mark brings the phone to me saying someone has been trying to call you. There were 4 missed calls meaning emergency. Sangria decided to roll, got too close to the fence and was cast (stuck) with her head through the railings and her legs through the gate. Ralph finally called Mike, Mike called Rachel and Rachel and David ran over to help Ralph pull her away from the fence. By the time I arrived all was fine but they were a little concerned she may have hurt her back leg. She was taken out, hosed down to clean the mud off and taken out into the field to watch her move. Of course with Sangria the first thing she does is ROLL. She is SO huge, the baby is due April 16th but she is not at all bagged up. Even upright the baby is sticking out on both sides. She wasn't content in the field by herself, Sanna was let out with her but Sangria took off running and ran straight to Lily's paddock asking if Lily could come out too. How can I turn a pregnant mare down? Wynne and Lily with their fillies were also let out. The camera was taken out for some pictures. Below is Wynne and Kenzie. Kenzie was so funny, she also flopped down and had a good roll. The picture below should be titled, Help, I've fallen and can't get up! That Kenzie is such a show off. She is special and knows it. I started putting horses back when Rhoda and Karin drove up with Dalia and Bunni. They spent the afternoon at Jubilee State Park trail riding. Karin gave a very nice report on Dalia. They really enjoyed their afternoon, both mares were well behaved on the trails. They loaded nicely and unloaded nicely. The only problem with Dalia, Karin feels, is she will never be a beginner horse. Her movement is HUGE. Her trot has so much suspension a beginner will not be able to sit it. Karin had Rhoda ride her so she could watch how she moved. Dalia's Hanoverian sire Landkoenig really throws the huge dressage movement and Dalia inherited it. She is a nice mare it is almost a shame to breed her, she should be in full time dressage training. She could easily go up the levels.
