Ella In Foal by Evan

The equine manager of Therapeutic Horsemanship, Steven Marchal, called to report Ella is pregnant.

Ella pictured above Evan below

Together these 2 made a beautiful baby! Ella is due July 31st, 2014, hope this foal is as gorgeous as Scarlet.

 The picture below was sent yesterday by Scarlet's new owner.

 She writes: Scarlet is absolutely a joy!  I believe we are going to nickname her Bella.  One, because it means "beautiful", and two because it rhymes with her mom's name. She learns so quickly!

How happy we are for updates and pictures. Thank you Mavis!

Update On Bonnie

 

Julie writes: Becca had such a successful day today. She was able to get Bonnie to cantor and to step onto the blocks! She loves that pony. 
Thank you Julie, we love hearing how Becca cantered Bonnie. Now for those that don't know Bonnie was a driving pony, she was taught to trot only not canter. She needed a child with gumption, one that can stick just about anything as sometimes she would try to buck. Watch out world, this little girl is going to be a great trainer when she grows up.
Mom is on her way to Gulf Shores with Beth. Our big news here is that it rained last night, not just a wimpy few sprinkles, this was a downpour. The ground has been so dry it is like powder. Just maybe the grass will start to grow in the pastures and we will be able to let the horses graze again.

Head Cold

I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic, no air was getting through the nostrils and for some reason when sleeping can't breath through the mouth. Everything and I mean every little thing was a big effort today. My head feels like it is ready to explode.
Anna the new mare was teased and she showed. She was covered by Valiant then taken to the outdoor arena for a photo shoot for the website. Below are a few of the pictures the rest were uploaded and posted on the horsemeister website.

She was turned out with Jenis, Bunni, Eliza and Eliza's colt by Raven. He was so curious about her. He sure is a gorgeous example of a Friesian foal.

I needed to go to Sams for dog food and a new truck tire but just couldn't face working that hard. Instead I went down to Meisters and paid bills, then to Aldi's for groceries. When I arrived home there was a small dog sitting in the yard by the barn drive. At first I thought it was Ebby but soon realized it was the wrong color. Thinking it must be Joan and Tim's new renter's dog and it would go home I came inside, put the groceries away and started downloading books on the kindle for our upcoming trip to Gulf Shores. Quite a bit later I went out to move Anna and saw the dog still sitting in the same spot. He was a cute Yorkie, polite but a little skittish. I drove the car up to it, opened the door and told him to get in then drove him over to where I thought he belonged. Nope it wasn't their dog. This dog had a rabies tag so PAWS was called and they told me the name and number of the owner plus the name of the dog, Max. The owner asked if I would keep him for them for a couple of hours until they could get back from Farmington. Max was picked up tonight and will for sure need a bath and a good groom. He had been running through a pond and thistles.

They Made It Home

After spending 32 hours on the road, the girls pulled up at 11:20pm exhausted. They will be skipping their first class this morning. Anna the new mare was put in a paddock instead of a stall so she would have room to move around in after that long, long drive. I'll post pictures later today.
Steven emailed the pictures of Easter Lilly and Ella. Below is Easter Lilly taking care of a student.

When he called to update us on Easter Lilly and Ella he asked permission to turn them out in the field, Ella with the ponies and EL with a few other horses. Below is Ella with her new companions.

Prayer Requests

In the earlier blog post I asked for prayers for Rhoda and Emily as they are driving home from Pennsylvania, then in church tonight Bill Schick asked for prayers for one of his daughters, then Tim Funk got up after the service and asked for prayers for his sister. Tonight we were reminded to pray for one another. Bill had the service opening to Acts where Peter was miraculously released from prison while the church fervently prayed for him. Thankful to be there and thankful to be reminded of what really is important.
 Rhoda sent a text through at 8:30pm they had just crossed into Illinois giving them at least 3 more hours of driving if all goes well.
Jenis and Emma were teased today and both are still saying, "no" thank goodness. As long as Emma was out, she was taken into the outdoor arena for a few updated pictures for the website.

We are still waiting for one more mare to foal this year. Bunni is due Sept 21st. just 3 days away. She is looking pretty uncomfortable but is not bagged up enough to believe that birth is eminent.
Steven called with an update on Easter Lilly and Ella pony. Ella has been used in demonstrations and lessons. They would love to be able to buy her but we just don't sell our gifts from God (which Ella is). Easter Lilly is used regularly for lessons. She is doing everything right except doesn't stand well at the mounting block. Steven is going to have to work with her on that. He sent through some picture texts one with EL working and a few of Ella. I was not able to figure out how to get a picture text from the phone to the computer. These smart phones are much smarter than I am.

Traveling Mercies

Rhoda and Emily are on their way home from Pennsylvania. They arrived at the farm where Anna the new mare was by noon. Both Rhoda and Emily were very impressed with her quality. She is baroque, exactly what we wanted with a good amount of feather, mane and tail.  She loaded with no issues and the girls started home. At 2:30pm right after going through construction in Ohio the truck developed a flat tire. Thank goodness for AAA and a good spare. Our truck is 10 years old and the man that came to change the tire could not get the spare off, the wire had rusted so much it had to be cut but at least the spare was in good condition. The girls called at 4:00pm to let me know they were back on the road. They have a long haul in front of them.
Please join me in praying for traveling mercies for them. This is when we that are left home feel helpless to help.

Road Trip

Eva Jean, Diane and I had a very busy day today at Berean. There just doesn't seem to be any way to keep up with the amount of mail that comes in. Diane kept the copier going the entire time we were down there while Eva Jean opened and processed the mail. Dan picked us up for lunch, his van fit us all but Diane and she wanted to drive separate anyway so she could hit some garage sales in Morton.
After lunch it was back down to finish up the letters. I made it home by 2:00pm, just enough time to fill the truck up with gas for the scheduled road trip today. Rhoda and Emily are driving to Pennsylvania to pick up a Friesian mare for us. They left this afternoon right after they got out of class about 3:40pm. Rhoda wanted to take Darcy and placed her new bed in the trailer thinking Darcy would be content to travel in the trailer if she had her bed.

But Darcy didn't want to ride in the trailer she wanted in the truck. It was too hard to lift her into the truck and Emma launched herself into the trailer so she got to go on the trip instead. Darcy got a ride on the golf cart back to the house. The girls are getting ready to head out in the picture below:

and off they go.

Ruth, Diane, Spark and I car pooled to choir tonight. We had another big turnout and learned 5 new songs. All of us are enjoying going again. A text came in from Rhoda with a picture of Emma in the truck. She wrote: At the first stop they checked on Emma and she was laying up on the counter with her feet in the sink. They moved her to the truck and she is much happier now. The problem with traveling with an English Mastiff is that the dog takes up the entire back seat of the truck. They will put well over 1000 miles on the truck by the time they get home tomorrow night if all goes well. We are praying for a safe trip for them.

Israel

Israel stayed with me today, he is learning who his grandma is with smiling, cooing and snuggling. It was a great day to have to sit and rock a baby. The weekend was exhausting.
Mikayla came to visit Emily yesterday after church and even though it was raining those girls drove out to Middle Grove and went on 2 trail rides. Mikayla tried out Lola but her colt is so independent he wouldn't come along so Lola didn't go very well. This morning they took Eliza and Jenis on the death trails here. Emily reported Eliza did very well and her colt kept right up. After those mares were put away they decided to head back to Middle Grove for another trail ride this time taking Indy and Killian. They also checked on the new foals out there reporting everyone looks good.
Stephanie got here to pick up Israel just about the time we had 25 round bales delivered. It took almost an hour to stack them in the barn.
Rhoda decided Darcy needed a better bed, her's is just so flat and doesn't really fit her. She found a brand new Sealy crib mattress on Craigs list, bought it and brought it home this evening. It is so comfortable Emily had to try it out. She reports it is very comfortable. Now we need crib sheets. I'll have to ask people to look at garage sales, there is no way we want to buy new!

Jenis was teased today and no sign of her coming in. We are crossing our fingers and our toes that she settled. Not really, just praying hard on this one.  I'll probably get her sonagrammed when Emma can be done at the same time. Rhoda and Emily are leaving tomorrow for Pennsylvania to pick up a mare for us. The living quarter trailer was hooked up, lights checked and cleaned out to get ready for their trip. Mark is going to check over the tires and truck fluids.
The next morning the picture below was added at 5:40am

Darcy loved her bed so much so that she stayed on it ALL NIGHT LONG. We got an uninterrupted night sleep for the first time in weeks. If anyone has an old crib sheet or 2 they want to sell please email or call.

Lunch for a Bunch

It was Mark and my turn to serve lunch at church today. This turns out to be a real group effort. We had plenty of help in the morning for set up, lots of help during lunch and plenty for clean up afterwards. Karin was put to work as one of the waitresses were missing. She didn't have to work long before the missing waitress got there. The food was ordered early week, shopped for on Friday and Saturday with the donuts picked up on Sunday. The only problem came from Dunkin Donuts on University street. They sent 6 dozen of plain cake donuts instead of the sour creme old fashioned donuts. Out of those 6 dozen less than 2 dozen of those were eaten. Luckily some of the help didn't mind that kind, we only got stuck with a few. We went through 25 pounds of chicken salad, 22 loaves of bread, 24 pounds of Bavarian ham, 22 pounds of shaved turkey, 22 pounds of Munster cheese, 14 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, 8 dozen donuts from Dunkin Donuts, 12 dozen cookies, 14 dozen brownies, 14 dozen pumpkin muffins, 14 dozen cinnamon rolls, 14 dozen cream cheese pastries, 24 pounds of grapes, 10 pounds of honey roasted peanuts and 10 bags of vegetable chips. There was enough for all but not huge amounts to distribute after everyone had eaten.  So the ordering was just about right. We were done in time for the afternoon service but had to sit up in the balcony, the back seats were all filled in the sanctuary by the time all the work was done. Dave Obgerfel had the service opening to Jude and reading the entire book.
After church we met at Logan's steak house for David's birthday dinner then over to Phil and Anna's for pie and ice cream. All 6 of the grand children were there but I was too tired to even think of bringing the camera.

Inside vs Outside

Remember the pictures of the volcano being built on the Herman Lake in the Sky at Norris, IL? Well below are a few pictures of INSIDE the volcano.

 The first picture looks like a family room with the men watching football and the kids playing games with grandma until you look at the second picture. There is Greg fishing through the hole in the floor. This is actually a glass bottom for fish viewing that will lift up for fishing.

Ah...supper

In the picture below is the outside of the volcano all lit up at night. Thanks Nate for posting these pictures.

Pretty cool place to spend the weekend.

So which is better the inside of the volcano or the outside?

Perfect Weather for Company

We had a big group come out today for horseback riding and a picnic. Below are a few pictures of the day the rest are posted on the Horsemeister, Inc Facebook page.

 After lunch they all came over to the outdoor arena where Emily and Evan put on a small show.

 Below Emily is teaching one of our visitors how to ask Evan to bow.

As soon as that company pulled away we loaded up Mika, Zalena, Indy and Killian. Karin and Emily drove them out to Middle Grove as our next company arrived. They came to see Valiant, Eliza, her 2013 colt and Rocky. We went first to the cabin and after oohing and aahing they realized their camera's were left in the car. Back we drove to the farm to get the camera then over to Rachel's to see Rocky. This colt loves little kids. He walked away from us at first then when he saw Arriana he went right to her for some petting.

After that he was willing for all of us to pet him. Uncle Sunny was such a pest we locked him in the paddock until finished. Then it was back to the cabin for more pictures.
Karin and Emily arrived back for the second load so Arriana went with Emily to the cabin to get Cookie and Missy while Karin and I loaded up Sally and Sangria and their 2 foals.
By this time it was late afternoon. Diane picked mom and me up and drove in to church to set up for lunch tomorrow. We finished around 5:30pm and were very hungry so drove to Culvers for dinner. We had just about finished our meal when we started feeling guilty about the husbands and workers left at home. Mark didn't answer his phone so Emily was called to find out what they would like for dinner. Just as that got delivered and we were ready to leave Karin called for more food. We only had to wait a few more minutes but it was pretty funny. The same server brought out our food each of the 3 times we ordered. We are tired tonight!

No Power No Cooking

Well somehow when Mark was working on the outdoor lighting we lost  power to the kitchen AND the stove. Too bad, there will be no cooking until that gets fixed. I just feel terrible about that. Thankfully we still have power to the coffee maker.
A very nice email came in from Melody. Melody bought Sally's very first foal, a filly born on the 4th of July we named Liberty. Below is what she writes:
Hey Judy I thought you would enjoy new pics of Liberty.  She is a very calm trail horse and so loving...as you can see she is a BIG GIRL...16.3  Thank you for my sweet Liberty...Melody Miller

Isn't she beautiful. Thanks so much Melody for the pictures. Sally's colt this year will be just as gorgeous. Who ever buys him will be so pleased. Below he is pictured right after birth.

Funny how something this small can grow to 16.3!

We have a busy day planned today. The Esther House ladies are coming around 10:00am for horseback riding and a picnic. At 12:30pm a lady is coming to look at Eliza and Valiant. She would like to purchase Eliza's next year foal. We don't sell in-utero any more but I will put her on the list. She can have first option next year. 

UPDATE When Mark heard the stove and oven didn't work he was determined to find the problem and soon fixed the power to the kitchen. Hmmm wonder what that says about Mark? He wasn't willing to work on the power problem when he thought it was just the kitchen lights. 

Diane sent the picture below, they are camping at Middle Grove. She and her grand daughter Willow took the 4 wheeler and found the horses. Lola's colt was quick to come up for some attention.

Gorgeous Weather

It was cool this morning so much so that I almost needed a sweat shirt during the morning feeding. After the walk Rhoda and Emily loaded up Killian and Indy and headed to Jubilee State Park for Killian's very first trail ride off the farm.

Both horses did very well, Killian was actually amazingly calm even passing other horses on the trails. After the girls made it back it was just too nice of a day to sit around inside. Jenis was brought over to tease. Thankfully she said, "no!" Below Rhoda is taking her back to the cabin. 

We will need to tease her for the next few days. Rhoda brought back Zalena for some schooling.

Emily decided to take Zalena and Indy to the PRC show tonight. She had Indy practice trotting along side her as last show Indy would only walk.

Both mares did very well today.

 Above is Emily cantering Indy and Below Rhoda is cantering Zalena. 

They were put in stalls to keep clean until this evening. Karin and I drove separate to the show so we could leave when the sun went down. Below are a few pictures of the evening. The rest of the show pictures are posted on the Horsemeister, Inc Facebook page.

 Above is Emily riding Indy bringing Zalena over for Mikayla to ride and below is Alicia holding Zalena.

 Above is Emily on Indy in the practice ring. Below Karin hopped on Indy to work on lateral work.

By the time I arrived home Mark had 3 outdoor lights installed and working. But... the kitchen light no longer works. He will have to work on that tomorrow. It's late and we are tired from playing all day outside.