Friday Favourite: Soft, silky foals...

So! Those of you who are on the Facebook Fanpage are aware of this already, but the horse, Robin, that we bought from Wyoming in the fall foaled this week! She was a little bit early (a few weeks) and there was some touch and go time at the beginning where she just COULD NOT figure out the nursing thing but she is slurping and sassy as ever, now.

She is truly a blessing. We have called her "Serenity" - my mother wanted to call her Patience but I think Serenity is a little more suitable, and it will be hilarious when she's a grown up "red mare" type of spitfire with a name like Serenity.

So without further ado, because I know that all you come here for is pictures... welcome Serenity - out of Perpetualized Kid and by Hot Scotch Te Go.




There will be better pictures after this weekend when she takes her first trip out into the pasture, I expect! Happy weekend, everyone - I have another blog post coming soon!

Friday Favourites: Spanish Norman Horses

I don't think it's any secret that I am drawn to the "war horse" archetype when it comes to horses - I mean... look at mine!



I have also always been a fan of the Baroque breeds, with Andalusians topping the list. You can see where this is going, right?

If money were no issue, I would have a barn full of these:

(okay, so I can't imbed the image, but follow the link below to see the gallery)

(You can see the full gallery here. Get a tissue ready for drool wiping!)

Seriously. If any of you loyal readers out there ever win the lottery, think of me. :)

Friday Favourites: Standardbred Placement

Guess what! It's Friday again!

The last month or so has been crazy busy in my world. We hit two big trade fairs with my mom's show clothing booth. I got to meet and visit with some blog readers/forum posters, got a home visit from a blog reader (!), and saw some gorgeous horses, bought a few neat things, and really got bit by the horse bug again. This time of year always does it to me!

But at one of the trade fairs, I was sitting across the aisle from a really great group. There was a table for the Maritime Standardbred Pleasure Horse Association, a group that acts as a middle man to bring standardbreds from the tracks and farms and into homes with people that will use them as (obviously) pleasure horses.

This particular group really appeals to be for a couple of reasons. They're making "use" of a breed that traditionally only has ONE use... and versatility is the name of the game for me - and also because I have a huge soft spot for standardbreds.

I can't remember if I have ever talked about it on the blog before, but right after graduation, I skipped town with stars in my eyes for Ontario. I couldn't wait to be out of Hicksville, Canada and figured that the "city" would satisfy me (long story short, it didn't, but....). I spent several months working for a standardbred racehorse owner. My mom's first horse was a standardbred pony type horse - but they had never occured to me as a horse of much value, to be quite honest.

I learned SO MUCH in the short time that I was there, and most of it was direct from the horse's mouth, so to speak. In the end, I came away a much richer person, knowledge and passionwise. The standardbreds I met made me think outside the box more than any horses had to that point (Bronwyn holds that title now) - I learned how to wrap well and quickly (because EVERYONE wears wraps there!), I laughed more than should be allowed (particularly at the hands of a mare named Noble Sami who was extremely demanding when it came to attention!) - I proved boys wrong (by having no problems at all harnessing and handling the "man eating colt" that I was not even allowed to muck a stall for when I first arrived) - I helped halter break and put in the jog cart for the first time a now-record holding pacer, Gold Dust Beach - I learned patience and quietness (a great horse named Potamos taught me this one).

It warms my heart to know that these little (and big!) horses with so much try, so much heart, and so much BIG PERSONALITY are being moved to pleasure horse homes where people who are not in the "industry" will have the time to appreciate them for their individual awesomeness.

We have two of these organizations in the Maritimes - the above mentioned MSPHA is a middle man to get horses from the tracks into homes, and Morningstar Acres which actually brings them in and does the necessary rehab and training to get them moved out into pleasure homes. Particularly with a recent development within the government that has pulled funding for the popular Atlantic Sires Stakes in the Maritimes, these two organizations are going to have their hands full and will need all of the support that they can get. Consider a standardbred today. :)

Fears that don't relate to not being good enough for my horse.

Earlier today, I posted the link to this story about two horses being lifted by a tornado and deposited into a pool on the blog Facebook fanpage. It is kind of "oh, haha" funny in retrospect, but I can't even imagine the sick feeling of seeing my horses gone from my pasture following destruction like that, or having to leave them somewhere when I was forced into an emergency evacuation.

I am really fortunate where I live - we are on the East Coast of Canada:



As a general rule, nature is not our enemy. We don't live near any bodies of water, so no flooding. Not living on any major fault lines - the most recent earthquake that we could feel was perhaps a million years ago. My dad remembers one small tornado when he was a kid that knocked down the neighbour's shed and (according to my dad) sucked all the water out of the duck pond and then put it down in the same place. We're not right on the coast so most hurricanes are blown out by the time they get to us... we get some wicked winter storms but as a general rule, are very lucky when it comes to natural disasters.

A lot of what has been going on in the last little while - the tornadoes, massive earthquakes... have made me consider - what is my "emergency plan"? I take a lot for granted because we have been so lucky in the past... but I shouldn't always rest on my luck like that!

Up until last summer, we didn't have a trailer, either. For where we are located, if there were ever an emergency evacuation, the closest trailer I can think of is over 30 minutes away and they would be likely to have to evacuate, too. I have long felt uncomfortable with not having a trailer, and feel a lot better now - if I have to make emergency trips to the vet, if we have to evacuate, if we need to help somebody do the above... With that said, though - all told, we have nearly 200 head of livestock here on the farm and 1 piddly 2-horse trailer won't move everything in nearly a short enough time if we ever had to evacuate!

People say that animals are unpredictable, and I agree. However, one thing that I like about animals, as a general rule, is that they can often be reasoned with. There's a motivation - food, water, dominance, reproduction, relief of pain or threat - behind the majority of their behaviour and you can make life easier for yourself if you can provide it or at least get out of its path. Weather and nature don't have those motivations - you can't reason with it, if a tornado is coming for your town, you get out of Dodge, no questions asked, because you're not going to provide a tsunami with the food that it requires to mold the behaviour into something you desire.

My heart truly goes out to all of those who are living with the aftermath of natural disasters right now - or living in the common path of them. I think I speak for all of my readers who are more fortunate in saying that we are hoping for the best for all of you, that you stay safe and secure with no losses.

Friday Favourite: Jane Savoie

I know, quite technically, where I live, it's past midnight so it's not Friday anymore, but I have been going non stop since I left the office, and hey... it's the thought that counts!

As a motivator to get me writing more, even when there is not anything going on with Bronwyn and I, I want to start a weekly favourite feature... a product, website, concept, horse, person, etc... something that I LOVE. It was really convenient that someone on the forum brought this over from Facebook today (or maybe it was yesterday, the days are blurring together!). It takes many points that I try to make on a regular basis and sums them up in one nice, easy to read commentary... So without further ado... from Jane Savoie's Facebook Fanpage... something for all of you ladies out there who aren't riding right now, or are second guessing yourselves at every turn - a letter from Moshi, the horse:

Weight. There, I said it. Human society is incredibly obsessed with body size. How many people don’t ride or stopped riding because they think they are too fat? How many people hide their talents and abilities behind a wall of shame because of their BMI (Body Mass Index)?

When I hear people talking about weight issues, it makes me so glad I’m a horse! We are expected to have a big, round “hip” and be well fleshed. Unless you’re a racehorse, it’s perfectly okay to be plump. In fact, we are “fattened up” for halter classes and viewed as healthier when we have some meat on our bones. Why aren’t people like that? I hear it’s mostly because of movies, TV, and magazines. Back when food was scarce and only the rich were plump, “Rubenesque” women were all the rage. But now that food is abundant for almost all people, you’re expected to be waif thin and wrinkle free if you want to be “in.” The media perpetuates this ideal simply by glorifying the skinny and the young.

I understand there are health ramifications for being obese, but that’s not the point here. Plump is normal for a lot of people. Your hormones, genetics, age, and body structure have a whole lot to do with what is normal and healthy for YOU as an individual. You can be very fit and still look “fat” based on what you’ve been conditioned to believe. Are you one of those who stopped doing what you love in life because you don’t fit the Hollywood ideal?

Horses are incredibly strong. Light riding has a lot more to do with balance and technique than what a bathroom scale says about you. You can be overweight by today’s standards and still be very comfortable for your horse to carry.

If you want to make some changes, decide to be as fit as you can so you can ride well. Decide you’re going to be strong and healthy, no matter what you weigh. Exercise with the idea of being fit, not simply with the goal of being thin, and you will find a different kind of inspiration to keep going. If you’re one of those whose nerves I’ve just agitated, please know that I do understand how painful this issue might be. You just have to put your focus on your successes and not concentrate on the mental feedback loop that says you’re not okay. You ARE okay, just as you are! If anyone says anything different, it’s their problem, not yours.

I realize this is a very prickly subject for many people, but I want you to know that the “Scarlet F” need not stop you from living life to the fullest. Take a deep breath, recognize your worth, and realize that extra pounds do NOT decide you who you are. Get out there and ride your horse! He can carry you!

Love, Moshi

With that said, I am going to take a snooze. It's been a long week, and I have a full day ahead tomorrow. Topping that list would be dislodging the resident pig from my horse trailer and combing the summer paddock for the halter that Bronwyn has already lost twice! Have a great long weekend, everybody. :)

Slippery, Sickly SPRING!

I think I have said before (if not on the blog, then definitely on the Facebook fan page) that shedding season is THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEEEEEEEAR (yes, in the Christmas song themed tune!). I think when I was delirious with the excitement of the hair lifting off of my horses in giant gobs and beginning to reveal their slick summer coats underneath, I forgot that SPRING follows shedding and that I dislike spring. Immensely.

The weather is SO nice and I want to ride SO badly. Unfortunately, the ground isn't co operating yet. If I had a nice arena with sand (which is my "project" for this summer!), it might not be so bad. On Sunday, I was tempted by some bare patches at the top of the driveway in the paddock... reasonably flat (little bit of a grade to it) and quite a few bare spots. Once I actually got up there, I discovered that it was so slippery that there wasn't much that could be done - Bronwyn slipped a few times and was completely blowing me off (flipped her tongue over the bit) and I had a brief thought of "it would serve you right to fall!" but then remembered that I would likely be crushed by the expansive bulk that she developed over the winter!

The big truth is that we both need to get in shape! I was awfully sore after that short ride on Sunday, which isn't good. She's sooo round, like a butterball turkey with fur. And filthy! Holy dust on her. That's what happens when they sit all winter doing mostly nothing. Once she sheds out, all those gorgeous dapples will show and I will again agonize over a few white hairs here and there and think to myself "OMG, is she going grey?!".. granted that she is 6 this year, the likelihood of her going grey now is quite slim, I do believe, but I do hold out hope.

This time last week, the ground looked like this:



With any luck, soon, there will be absolutely NO traces of this snow, including the wet muckiness!

Spring Cleaning!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I think we've got winter just about beat here in Atlantic Canada. It has been increasingly frustrating for me because my riding ring (and by ring, I mean the relatively flat space that is unfenced that I use to ride in - though this is my summer project this year!) is still under snow but the weather is SO NICE that I am itching to ride! My options are a very small circle in our muddy dooryard, up our driveway and down the road where the shoulders are getting nice and bare, and none of those are very satisfactory for someone who enjoys schooling or 2-4 hour long trail rides with friends as much as Bronwyn and I do! Furthermore, I am DYING to get some REAL WORK in with my new saddle!

The last month has been busy, filled with joy and also disappointment, panic, health issues, but today, the 31st, I think I can safely say that I have survived March and am looking forward to the springtime promise of April! I haven't written much because I haven't felt that I have had much to say about Bronwyn and I, but I've since made the decision that I don't always have to write an awe inspiring post or about an outing that Bronwyn and I have made - I think I have some interesting "other" things to say and I'm going to say them!

I will fill you in on what March held for me, though! As many of you know, I was scheduled to go to Arizona from March 22nd to 30th to ride my favourite suffolk punch mare in the world and visit with my best gal, Carina... that didn't happen. On March 11th, I went to outpatients with severe deep pain in my left calf. They detained me for blood tests and my d dimer score (which is supposed to be 200) was 3000 - they immediately put me on blood thinners and I spent the weekend presenting at a hospital every 12 hours for a shot of Lovenox (did I mention that the two hospitals I had the choice of are each an hour from my home?). I went back for an ultrasound on Monday but the tech told me, more or less, that since it was below the knee, they probably wouldn't do anything. When the ultrasound results came back, the doctor told me that the ultrasound was negative and I was fine...

I was still in pain for 4-5 days afterward, and had an unrelated doctor's appointment on Monday, the 21st. My doctor had acquired my test results/report from the hospital that I went to on the 11th and she was so alarmed by my test results that she sent me back to the hospital for a shot of Tinseparin (spelling?), a different blood thinner, which left me with a baseball sized BLACK bruise (which is still there after over a week!) that night as well as more blood. She told me in no uncertain terms that I was not to fly the next day, and had me back in the hospital for another ultrasound on Tuesday, the 22nd - the day I was meant to fly. I spent THE ENTIRE DAY in the outpatients waiting room, and three hours alone after I had already had the ultrasound to talk to a doctor who told me that the ultrasound was negative and that he didn't believe that I had had a blood clot at all. His reasoning? Because I had no family history of it! At the same time, he would not give me a firm "yes" or "no" to being able to fly, work out, ride, etc, and said instead "you are of average risk". Talk about unsatisfying!

I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, so... there was a reason I didn't get to go to Arizona this time, which may or may not become clear to me in the near future. I am satisfied with that now, though still disappointed. I decided I'd try to get some other things done, like hauling Bronwyn out to an indoor. At the end of things, I went back to work a week early, and couldn't get the wiring straightened out on my trailer soon enough to get her to an indoor. More disappointment there.

I did, however, get the opportunity to spend lots of time with the guy I've been dating since November, which was nice (and almost rare since we live an hour apart and don't get to see each other TOO much), and I got to spend some time with my father, which also seems to be getting rare... I started clicker training with Bronwyn again... I spent a lot of time using a shedding blade on the horses!

Poor Rex, I lobbed off his mane (thick, tangled, and he (and I both!) hates his mane being pulled, so I just cut it off... stopped short of a roach but it's not far off! I took almost a whole horse off of him. I'd like to put 50 or 75 extra pounds on him and start him this spring.

I guess the important thing is that spring is here... new life starts... our lambs and goat kids are coming soon (we do have one early set of goat kids on the ground), clinics and trade fairs are right around the corner so I'll get to see all my horsey friends again (and spend too much shopping for new things!)... my draft-riding friends are antsy to get back out on the trails, and I have a renewed thirst for instruction and learning on horseback. Overall, though March didn't treat me too well, I still have a sense of excited anticipation for what is to come. :)