Bringing home a **winner**

All my horses are at home now....for a bit at least, as we hopefully will be taking HeartBreaker up to Trainer Mike for a late summer/fall training and showing season. We gathered up the foals that were out away from the ranch,Hattie had been staying with a babysitter, while I took a few days off, and I also brought Legacy home from Trainer Mike after our show last Saturday. Trainer Mike rode her in an Intro A test, and then we switched to the next step up and rode her in a Training Level 1 test..... That second ride of the day produced BLUE for Legacy and Mike, winning the TL 1 test class....Trainer Mike had been working on Legacy's canter, they handled it just fine for a young horse. The judge also had time to add a few pointers and Mike had the option of riding the test again. He opted for schooling the canter instead, and with the judge encouraging him to let her open up, they rode the canter much better....Trainer Mike tends to be a bit conservative, we both realize that our young horses have years and years to develope, we don't not want to push too hard..... but the judge really encouraged him to let her go more forward , accept contact, as she totally trusts him, and it was lovely. I brought Legacy home after the show, and put her to babysitting youngsters. We also confirmed yesterday that she is in foal to HeartBreaker for a spring 2010 foal. That is exciting news, both the parents of this foal are dressage winners! Proving their potential out in the public, in open shows against all sorts of other breeds.....We are very excited about this young filly's talent, our very first homebred to hit the show ring, and a huge future in the world of dressage. Legacy also has a whole lot of growing left to do, at 15.2HH as a 3 year old, we are excited about what she can do for our program. The judge also commented on her gaits, her MIND and her potential, when she grows into her gangly body as she matures.....This is one very awesome curly filly.

Tales of skunks and ponies.....

In early July we had some very special visitors to the ranch....My niece from Missouri came with her family, ages 3 weeks ( yes, weeks!) to 12 years...her three oldest kids are bonus kids, and she has 2 youngins aged 2 1/2 and 3 weeks.....Cassie, came with a plan in mind...find something to love and ride ;-) We made use again, of our nurse mare, pony mare, "Addy" tacked her up in a halter and lead rope and sent Cassie off riding...they stand at the fence, wondering what adventures could happen outside that wall......Cassie had a blast, trotting around on Addy, finding her own legs sored pretty easy, and dreaming of cantering down the trail in the future. We had a wonderful time with all our family members, the older kids are gracious and kind and love their new siblings.....!
While the boys were exploring in the hay barn, they came across some of the local young skunks....we had been having trouble with skunks in our barn, dinning on our cat food...so, this trip for the family was filled with tales of skunks and ponies...you can not get any truer to farm life than that!

Happy 4 th of July.....our independance day !!!

Ralph August Meiling....somewhere in Europe....1943

woohooo !!! It is the 4 th of July...a time that America celebrates and remembers our past.....and a time that we are so very thankful of our military troops that help to keep us free. My Dad was a WWII vet...he spent 4 years overseas, first in Africa, then in Italy......after he passed away in 2007, I found his war picture album...all those places in pics.....he looked so young, he must have been amazingly brave to travel the world and defend our freedom. His pic album is a real treasure, he had told me of those pics often, but could not remember where he had put the album, so we never got to look through it together....and sadly, not ONE single pic, had a place or date on it....some pics are obvious....Africa is pretty easy to spot, as is Rome.....but I surely wish I knew where some of the other photos were taken....

Photos are a legacy that we leave behind for our heirs and the next generations.....a treasure to share for certain....

Enjoy your day, remember that because of soldiers of wars past...we are all free !!! and Happy 4th of July !!!

Hey, hey, HAY !

Anyone out there remember "Fat Albert?" ....I do not suppose it is even politically correct to say that title anymore.....Fat Albert was a cartoon about a rather plump, but cheery kid...who always said...."hey,hey,hey!" so, I am just quoting him on this topic.

Monday and Tuesday, we hauled in our hay....18 ton of round bales this year...we use round bales late in the summer, and then early in the spring, when we have mare in for foaling and breeding season. We still have a good supply of alfalfa left for our broodmares in the winter....our weanlings will come off pasture in the late summer, and they will spend their days in our pasture here by the house, with a round bale, and supplemental grain....

It is always a chess game here, seems no matter how many pastures or stalls I have, I could use more....but...hey, hey, hay....that is life!

Hattie's diary

I have always wanted to write from one of my horse's perspective...so, here it goes!

Hi, My name is Hattie...here is an excerpt from my diary.

Dear Diary....

I am 3 weeks old now....Mom says it has been a long 3 weeks, I think it has gone rather fast. I would like to share some of the things I have learned in my 3 weeks.

1. The Mom who gave birth to you, may or may not be the Mom caring for you. I think my brother, learned this too.
2. Mom's love comes in all sizes and smells...My Mom is not so tall, and a little round, and probably does not smell like me, but she is my Mom, and loves me dearly.
3. Some Moms have to work....my Mom can not be with me 24/7 like some Moms, but I am well cared for, lack for nothing and am happy....just goes to show a working Mom can have it all.
4. A halter and a lead rope will take you wonderful places! Just be sure and walk by your Mom, instead of out front and behind...it is a whole lot easier on her, and the proper way to go for a walk.
5. The world is NOT flat....when my Mom expected me to cross a ditch and walk up a small hill, I was so scared my legs got like jello....but...she promised I would be OK, and I was! and I understand now, the world is not flat.
6. Moms worry when you cough....OK, I had a little cough and you would have thought I was dying on the spot....Mom got out the antibiotics, made sure I had plenty of rest ( no problem! ) and a sunny place to play in. She really got worried when I slowed down my milk intake, it is almost back to normal now.
7. Moms insist on manners every day of the week..OK, it seems like a little overkill to me..but I guess walking nice beside my Mom, not bucking at her while I play, and not scratching my fanny on her is probably a good idea...at least she thinks so!
8. Moms are a wonderful thing, and I am thankful to have mine...no matter her size/smell or insistence on manners.



Thank you Hattie !!!

a note from MOM
Hattie continues to do well, though she has had an upper respitory issue this week. We have her on antibiotics and she is feeling better and eating better. Hattie gets to spend part of each day on grass, she is curious about that odd looking stuff....She picks at her grain and hay, but is most interested in her milk bucket....another week ought to be helpful in her eating ability and desire.

Legacy's first show

On Saturday, the 13th of June, our homebred keeper filly "Legacy" stepped into the show ring for the very first time. Legacy is under the training guidance of Mike Kincella, a well known trainer, who has a special love for the Spanish horses and horses of this style.....Mike and Legacy trotted their way to placings in both their test rides. I knew that the classes were large, but we were mighty pleased with a second placing in the Intro B test.....there were a few horse eating monster objects in Legacy's mind...a couple of trash cans, and even the judge! but she is a youngster, and each and every time out and about will help mature her mind. I also suspect that the breeding to our ranch stallion "Shadow's Hawk Spirit....aka..HeartBreaker" did indeed take...I don't know of many horses in training that keep increasing their girth size...we will have her preg checked later in the summer, but I suspect I know the answer anyway. Way to go Trainer Mike and Legacy, you both deserve a pat on the back!

*C-C Hattie arrives!

On June 5th at 5am, our last mare due "Izzy" foaled...what seemed like a very normal and easy foaling was soon to present a real challenge...Izzy foaled, never looked back and walked off leaving her newborn alone and hungry. I made attempts to get Izzy to acknowledge her foal, but the mare acted as if the foal did not even exist...only when I led Izzy close, did she then react, and it was in a violent/non mothering way...I was afraid we were in for a very long haul.

I have know folks that had mares that did not let their newborns nurse..I suppose it is not all that uncommon, though we ourselves, have never had this happen in our herd. We did help some friends once, and it was a fairly easy operation. You simply restrain the mare so she can not kick, and once the foal nurses, the mare understands that the foal is her way to relief from a very full milk bag. Problem solved..once that happens, the mare accepts the foal, and you are off and running.

I had an odd feeling though, this was not to be the case....I quickly called my horseman friend, and mentor "Virgil" and had him help restrain Izzy so that the foal could nurse. After several nursings in this manner, it was apparent that Izzy was not going to accept her foal....we stalled the two horses next to each other, and I made my plans...we would give Izzy some time. Izzy certainly deserved some time to figure this out, I have even heard of this taking several days...

For the next 4 days, and 3 nights, 24 hours a day, I restrained Izzy while the foal could nurse. It was not a pretty situation..Izzy nearly bit the foals ear off at one point, once she kicked and caught her foot in the foals blanket, and slammed the baby to the ground. On day 4, I gave up....tired and hopeless, I headed to plan 2...find a nurse mare for this darling little foal. By this time, the new foal was not looking the best, she was guant and thin...we loaded up the foal, and headed to the vet clinic...it took several times of tubing milk down the baby, but we finally got her strength up. We tried a couple of potential nurse mares, but alas, this time, no luck....so, we were headed to plan 3.....I brought the foal home, and attempted to teach her to suck out of a bottle, or drink from a bucket...after 12 hours of trying, she took her first milk out of a syringe that I held for her..at least we were getting some nutrituion in her....we kept at that for another day, and she finally, after what has seemed like an eternity, took her first sip out of a bucket....

Now, we were headed in the right direction....2 more nights at the barn, the new foal waking me when she got hungry, but preparing milk and putting it in a bucket, is alot easier than loading syringes to have her suck out of....

We got more good news when we talked to that mentor of mine, Virgil. One of his lesson folks has used the method of preparing some milk, freezing it as huge ice cubes and then during the night, putting out the milk, with the ice cubes...this method works well. The foal can drink at will, but you don't have to be there for constant refills. We even took it a step further, and now freeze one serving of milk in the bottom of a small bucket. We give our foal her dinner, and then hang the partially frozen bucket beside the dinner bucket....we find that in the morning, almost every drop is gone! OK, I cheated and had to check in the middle of the night to make sure it was working....twice..LOL...

A couple weeks ago, my oldest son James was out here..he told me he did not like my choice of names this year...so, I asked...what would YOU name the next foal? When I told him it had to be an "H" name...he came up with "Hattie"....now, if you look at her picture, and see that obvious hat, do you wonder how things like this happen? so, Hattie it is...Micro curly/pinto/filly named *C-C Hattie !!!

Hattie is doing well, today I added "Krinkle Clown" in with her, I am hoping she will buddy up and Krinkles can teach her all about how to be a horse. Hattie continues to gain weight, she has LOADS of energy, she loves making laps around our indoor arena that is her home for the time being. She runs and bucks and plays and thinks this old world is an alright place to be...even without a biological mom...