In the spring of 2004, we were expecting two foals. Messenger of Light aka "leia" was in foal to Waquoit, due in late March and Street Dasher aka "Bunny" was in foal to Land's End the Colonel's Fox, due in late May. Leia's foal would be apurebred Thoroughbred, hopefully destined for the race track and Bunny, an Anglo-Arabian, was carrying a foal by a Welsh Pony, hopefully destined for the top as a hunter pony.
As Leia's due date approached, I kept a close watch on her. I set up the camera in the foaling stall, ran the cables to the house, so that I could watch her from the comfort of my den. I knew she was getting close and started to stay up at night, sleeping in a recliner that was next to the small TV that I had hooked up to the camera. Finally, I knew she was definitely close, probably within 24 hours. I watched her all night, barely getting any sleep. My husband got up about 7 or so and I told him that I thought she was close, but I desperately needed some sleep. He promised to keep a watch on Leia for me. He even offered to clean her stall. So, i told him that when he cleaned her stall that he could let her out, but she would need to come back in as soon as he was done.
So, I laid down about 8 AM and slept for several hours. I knew he would come to get me if Leia went into labor. When i woke up, I went to the den and saw him sitting in his recliner and there was no Leia on the TV screen. He told me he had decided to keep Leia out a little longer and would go out to bring her back inside in a few minutes. I said, "OK, but don't wait too long." I was starving, so I went to get something to eat.
I sat down and started to eat and I asked if he could look out the window to check on Leia, because of my vision, I can't see that far. So, he got up and looked out the kitchen window and suddenly started yelling, "Red Alert! Leia's having her foal!"
I lept up, leaving my food on the table, threw on my barn boots, grabbed the foaling bag kit and raced out the door, with him behind me. I raced to the paddock and found Leia down and a foal laying a few feet away. Leia had luckily laid down where a round bale had been, so it was one of the cleaner spots in the paddock. As I assessed the situation, Gordon rushed to get Bunny and another mare, Shadow, out of the paddock. Bunny didn't want to leave her friend, but reluctantly left when Gordon opened up the gate leading to the large back field.
Gordon then came back to help me. The foal was up on it's chest and Leia was working on delivering the placenta. I checked the foal quickly and discovered that it was a filly and she was large and appeared healthy. Leia stood up and delivered the placenta. Gordon and I then picked up the filly and moved them to the foaling stall.
I dried the filly off and we put betadine on her umbilical stump. She was quickly to her feet and looking for her mother's milk. As with Luke, Leia was an excellent mother and we decided to call the long legged dark bay filly, Princess. She had a few white hairs, so we guessed she would be turning grey, just like her sire, Waquoit.
I was a little upset with Gordon for not putting Leia back in the stall, after cleaning it, like I had asked, but since everything turned out alright, I got over it quickly, as he learned his lesson.
A few weeks later, Leia and Princess left for Leia to go be bred to Zillionair, a rare colored cremello Thoroughbred.
Bunny was not due until late May, but as April turned into May, I started to think that there was a chance she would carry this foal shorter than the last two. She had carried Tell A Tale for 361 days and Belle for 350 days. On day 332, I checked her in themorning and she had a decent size udder and I talked to her and said, "Tonight you start staying inside for me to watch you."
After breakfast, I turned her out in the back field with Shadow and Belle. Belle loved being back with her mother. Belle was almost 15 months old and was so beautiful.
That afternoon Gordon and I sat down to watch the Black Eyed Suson Stakes from Pimlico and enjoyed the race. After the race, I was preparing to head out to feed the horses and bring Bunny in for the night. Gordon went into the kitchen to put something away and the next thing I heard was him yelling, "Red Alert! I think Bunny's had her foal!"
I lept up so fast and almost ran into the back door, I couldn't believe it. I shoved my boots on and ran as fast I could to the back field. They were in the far back, but were slowly making their way towards me. As they got closer, I saw Bunny and Belle walking side by side and Shadow was circling them at about a 30 to 40 foot distance. Inbetween Bunny and Belle I saw an extra head and got them to stop and Bunny, trusting me, let me get inbetween her and Belle to see the new foal.
It was still soaking wet, but since it was up, it was obviously strong. But we were still quite some distance from the barn, so I scooped up the foal into my arms and started carrying it. Gordon finally made it out to us and offered to help, but I was doing okay. I just told him to open gates and stall doors, on the way and to make sure that Belle and Shadow didn't follow Bunny and I.
Bunny and Belle kept right with me as I carried the foal, who weighed around 60 pounds. As we exited the back field, heading into the paddock to the right of the barn, Gordon was able to get Belle to back off enough to shut the gate. This made Belle very upset, she wanted to be with her mother and the foal.
Once we got into the foaling stall, I set the foal down and checked it over, "Another filly!" I called out, with excitement. She was so cute, had a huge star on her face, a white snip on her nose, and 3 white pasterns. But, like Princess, we could tell that it looked like she would be turning grey, as Bunny was grey.
It took some effort, but the filly eventually nursed and was totally healthy, despite the early foaling date and surprise of being born in the pasture. Because she was born about the time that the Black Eyed Susan was being run, we decided to call her Suzy.
When Suzy was strong enough, I reunited her with her big sister, Belle and Bunny was perfectly content for Belle to help out with Suzy's care. It was so sweet to watch the three of them interacting. I had heard of this kind of behavior in wild horses, where a mare's older daughter helped with a younger sibling, but it was the first time I had truly witnessed it first hand. A lot of times people don't allow this kind of interaction amongst their herd, for fear of the older sibling hurting the younger one, but Belle was so gentle and loving, she'd do nothing to hurt Suzy.
Leia and Princess returned, when Leia was confirmed pregnant to Zillionair and shortly after that Bunny was confirmed in foal to Farnley Belshazzar, who had been the sire of Tell A Tale, born in 1999.
I registered Princess as Quoit Blessed and she was eventually sold to a client, as a racing prospect, when she was a yearling. She was given a chance to race, but due to some bad training, running her the wrong distances, and some bad luck, which caused a tendon injury, she never won, 4th being her best finish. Princess is now the dam of two beautiful Jazil fillies. I look forward to them racing. They were born in 2010 and 2011, so I still have to wait a bit longer to see them race.
Suzy was registered as a Half Welsh Pony as Perfect Peace What a Blessing, sometimes seen with no space between "what a" to make it "whata". I sent her to be trained by Sarah Warmack at Hilltop Farm VA, when she was 3 years old. Sarah did a wonderful job with Suzy and started her show career. Despite the starting of the decline in horse sales, we were able to get close to our asking price for Suzy, as she was so nice. Suzy is a super nice mover and is always winning her hack classes and winning or getting top ribbons in her over fences classes as a Hunter Pony. She was sold when she was 4 years to Kristin Mangum. Suzy competes up and down the East Coast at A Circuit level shows, winning ribbons at HITS, Warrenton, Culpeper, Deep Run, Upperville, etc. We could not be prouder of her success and look forward to hearing even more of her success as she continues to mature and develop.
Showing posts with label Leia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leia. Show all posts
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Messenger of Light and Feel the Force
A few months before Gordon and I got married, I was looking at a website for a farm that I had worked at, a few years before, and I was just curious what they had for sale, when I saw they were selling a mare, for a client, named Messenger of Light. She was a gorgeous mare, foaled in 1988, sired by Halo, and out of the Chieftain mare, Tribal Envoy.
At the time, she had 4 foals of racing age, but all of them were sired by low level Texas stallions, a fairly well known pedigree expert actually told me to through those out, as they were "Texas trash". None of these had raced and the lady selling the mare claimed that she had been told by the lady she bought the mare from, that the foals were being shown, instead of racing. The mare was so nice looking, it was easy to believe such a story.
Messenger of Light, then had changed hands, after Texas, and was bred to Announce and Jules, quite a bit better than what she had been bred to. One was an early 2 year old and the other was a yearling, at the time. The current owner had bred Messenger of Light to Genuine Risk's son, Genuine Reward. So, again, not to a very promishing stallion.
Gordon and I discussed it, the mare was very nice, came from a nice female family, as her 2nd dam was also the 2nd dam to champion Skywalker. We were not interested in the foal she was carrying and we knew the lady who was selling her, was not happy about selling the mare, as she really wanted the foal, so I devised a plan to offer the lady the foal, if she would come down in the price. I got her to reduce the price by almost half, so we decided to go ahead and buy her, upon my personal inspection and a vet checck.
So, Gordon and I went out to see her. She was in the field and was so sweet. She was just as pretty and perfect in conformation, as her pictures had shown. She then passed her vet examination and so we bought her.
Because her cousin, if you think of it in human terms, was Skywalker, and Gordon and I are big sci-fi fans, and love "Star Wars", we decided to call her Leia.
The farm wasn't ready yet for horses, so we kept her at the boarding farm a bit longer and then a new neighbor of ours offered me a stall, so she could be just down the road. I paid them board and I went out to see Leia as much as I could for the few weeks she was with them.
Once the barn and fencing were up, she joined Baron, Bunny, and Angel, at the new location for Perfect Peace Farm.
I tried to have the four horses out together, but for some unknown reason, Baron did not like Leia and would chase her. So, I had no choice but to separate the group. Bunny, who was pregnant with Belle, was kept with Leia, so the two pregnant mares were together, and Baron and Angel were paired up.
Leia was due about 6 weeks after Bunny, but since Bunny carried 10 days late, Leia foaled just a month after Bunny.
Leia delivered a nice looking colt that was a bit weak, at first. He seemed fine the first 12 hours, so passed his first vet check, but when he was about 30 hours old I started to worry about him. It was a Saturday morning, of course, and only one vet at the pracitce I used was on call. I called her and told her my concerns, but since she was a new vet and not that experienced with foals, she was not concerned. I was pretty upset with her lack of knowledge and concern and I did not like being treated like I was over reacting.
Luke was breathing heavily, his heart rate was high, and he was starting to develop a fever.
Still being new to the area, I did not know all the vets in the area, so I called the people down the road, that I had kept Leia with the previous summer, to ask for another vet recommendation. They gave me their vet's number and she agreed that Luke sounded like he needed help.
I called this vet, told him what was going on and he said, "I'll be there in a half hour!" So, that showed experience and concern, that I wasn't just over reacting.
Once he got here, he said that I had acted quickly and praised me for being aware of what was going on with the colt. He said that if I had waited any longer, that Luke would have developed pnuemonia. Since it was borderline, we went ahead and treated him as if he had it, just to be safe. He got a catheter put in his neck, so we could give him the antibiotics straight into his bloodstream. We had to flush it out several times a day and give him the meds after flushing it.
Luke was a good patient and he quickly gained strength and soon was a healthy thriving colt. His owner was very pleased with him. We sent her pictures quite often.
Leia was then sent up to Northview Stallion Station in Maryland, to be bred to Waquoit, a son of Relaunch. Relaunch had sired Skywalker, and Waquoit had a reputation of crossing extremely well with daughters of Halo, so we were very excited about this mating.
Leia got in foal quickly and was soon back home. Luke grea a lot while theyw ere gone. I'm always amazed at how fast foals grow.
Since Belle was now in the stall, due to her fractured pelvis, Luke had no one to play with, until Belle was finally cleared to go out that July. They became quick friends and loved playing with each other. Leia and Bunny were great co-moms, they'd let the other foal come near them, if their foal was at their side. They helped each other out and took turns babysitting.
Belle and Luke were weaned in late August and in September, Hurricane Isabel hit us. Belle and Luke shared a stall and were perfectly content. All the horses were very calm during the storm.
We were without power for a week, after Isabel, and shortly after that, Luke left us to go to his owner's farm in Pennsylvania. Luke was registered as Feel The Force, because I could feel his strength as he fought, those first few days and you could tell he was a fighter. It just came to me, and yes, it has a "Star Wars" sound to it, too. I suggested it to his owner and she loved it.
I usually try to register the horses I breed with religious sounding names, but as I said, this name just came to me, so I figured it was just meant to be his name.
His owner said she planned to train him herself and race him, but I have not heard anything from her since Luke was a 2 year old. I do not know what happened, we had a wonderful relationship, had become email friends, so I worry that something happened to Luke and she just didn't have the heart to tell me. I stay in touch with just about everyone who gets a horse from my breeding program, as I try to keep track of what I breed or what I have even just owned, not bred, for a short time, so I know they are safe and I let everyone know that if they ever need to give the horse away, it needs a retirement home, etc, that I want to be the first person they call and I will take the horse or pony, if I have the space. And if I can't take the horse or pony, I will do all I can to help them find it a good home.
So, if anyone out there ever hears of a Thoroughbred by the name of Feel the Force, born in 2003, sired by Genuine Reward and out of Messenger of Light, please contact me, so I know where he is.
At the time, she had 4 foals of racing age, but all of them were sired by low level Texas stallions, a fairly well known pedigree expert actually told me to through those out, as they were "Texas trash". None of these had raced and the lady selling the mare claimed that she had been told by the lady she bought the mare from, that the foals were being shown, instead of racing. The mare was so nice looking, it was easy to believe such a story.
Messenger of Light, then had changed hands, after Texas, and was bred to Announce and Jules, quite a bit better than what she had been bred to. One was an early 2 year old and the other was a yearling, at the time. The current owner had bred Messenger of Light to Genuine Risk's son, Genuine Reward. So, again, not to a very promishing stallion.
Gordon and I discussed it, the mare was very nice, came from a nice female family, as her 2nd dam was also the 2nd dam to champion Skywalker. We were not interested in the foal she was carrying and we knew the lady who was selling her, was not happy about selling the mare, as she really wanted the foal, so I devised a plan to offer the lady the foal, if she would come down in the price. I got her to reduce the price by almost half, so we decided to go ahead and buy her, upon my personal inspection and a vet checck.
So, Gordon and I went out to see her. She was in the field and was so sweet. She was just as pretty and perfect in conformation, as her pictures had shown. She then passed her vet examination and so we bought her.
Because her cousin, if you think of it in human terms, was Skywalker, and Gordon and I are big sci-fi fans, and love "Star Wars", we decided to call her Leia.
The farm wasn't ready yet for horses, so we kept her at the boarding farm a bit longer and then a new neighbor of ours offered me a stall, so she could be just down the road. I paid them board and I went out to see Leia as much as I could for the few weeks she was with them.
Once the barn and fencing were up, she joined Baron, Bunny, and Angel, at the new location for Perfect Peace Farm.
I tried to have the four horses out together, but for some unknown reason, Baron did not like Leia and would chase her. So, I had no choice but to separate the group. Bunny, who was pregnant with Belle, was kept with Leia, so the two pregnant mares were together, and Baron and Angel were paired up.
Leia was due about 6 weeks after Bunny, but since Bunny carried 10 days late, Leia foaled just a month after Bunny.
Leia delivered a nice looking colt that was a bit weak, at first. He seemed fine the first 12 hours, so passed his first vet check, but when he was about 30 hours old I started to worry about him. It was a Saturday morning, of course, and only one vet at the pracitce I used was on call. I called her and told her my concerns, but since she was a new vet and not that experienced with foals, she was not concerned. I was pretty upset with her lack of knowledge and concern and I did not like being treated like I was over reacting.
Luke was breathing heavily, his heart rate was high, and he was starting to develop a fever.
Still being new to the area, I did not know all the vets in the area, so I called the people down the road, that I had kept Leia with the previous summer, to ask for another vet recommendation. They gave me their vet's number and she agreed that Luke sounded like he needed help.
I called this vet, told him what was going on and he said, "I'll be there in a half hour!" So, that showed experience and concern, that I wasn't just over reacting.
Once he got here, he said that I had acted quickly and praised me for being aware of what was going on with the colt. He said that if I had waited any longer, that Luke would have developed pnuemonia. Since it was borderline, we went ahead and treated him as if he had it, just to be safe. He got a catheter put in his neck, so we could give him the antibiotics straight into his bloodstream. We had to flush it out several times a day and give him the meds after flushing it.
Luke was a good patient and he quickly gained strength and soon was a healthy thriving colt. His owner was very pleased with him. We sent her pictures quite often.
Leia was then sent up to Northview Stallion Station in Maryland, to be bred to Waquoit, a son of Relaunch. Relaunch had sired Skywalker, and Waquoit had a reputation of crossing extremely well with daughters of Halo, so we were very excited about this mating.
Leia got in foal quickly and was soon back home. Luke grea a lot while theyw ere gone. I'm always amazed at how fast foals grow.
Since Belle was now in the stall, due to her fractured pelvis, Luke had no one to play with, until Belle was finally cleared to go out that July. They became quick friends and loved playing with each other. Leia and Bunny were great co-moms, they'd let the other foal come near them, if their foal was at their side. They helped each other out and took turns babysitting.
Belle and Luke were weaned in late August and in September, Hurricane Isabel hit us. Belle and Luke shared a stall and were perfectly content. All the horses were very calm during the storm.
We were without power for a week, after Isabel, and shortly after that, Luke left us to go to his owner's farm in Pennsylvania. Luke was registered as Feel The Force, because I could feel his strength as he fought, those first few days and you could tell he was a fighter. It just came to me, and yes, it has a "Star Wars" sound to it, too. I suggested it to his owner and she loved it.
I usually try to register the horses I breed with religious sounding names, but as I said, this name just came to me, so I figured it was just meant to be his name.
His owner said she planned to train him herself and race him, but I have not heard anything from her since Luke was a 2 year old. I do not know what happened, we had a wonderful relationship, had become email friends, so I worry that something happened to Luke and she just didn't have the heart to tell me. I stay in touch with just about everyone who gets a horse from my breeding program, as I try to keep track of what I breed or what I have even just owned, not bred, for a short time, so I know they are safe and I let everyone know that if they ever need to give the horse away, it needs a retirement home, etc, that I want to be the first person they call and I will take the horse or pony, if I have the space. And if I can't take the horse or pony, I will do all I can to help them find it a good home.
So, if anyone out there ever hears of a Thoroughbred by the name of Feel the Force, born in 2003, sired by Genuine Reward and out of Messenger of Light, please contact me, so I know where he is.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Angel of Perfect Peace Farm
I emailed out updates of my horse exploits and other news to family and friends on a regular basis, sometimes including photos. In the late winter of 2002, after seeing one of these updates, I got an unexpected reply from an email friend.
He lived in California and had been really impressed by the latest pictures, which had shown me turning Bunny loose in her pasture, and then she proceeded to follow me around with no halter or lead rope, she just walked right beside me, head low, content look on her face, etc and Gordon had caught several pictures of her doing this with me. It was one of those very special memories that I have of my Bunny.
I had been friends with this man since 1997, so he was very familiar with my experience with horses, my history with Bunny and all that I had gone through with Bunny, Mayo, and Baron. I had sold Mayo in April 2001, so he knew I was down to just 2 horses, due to being out of work, but now I was engaged to Gordon, so things were a bit different. We had found a house with land, that we had bought in December 2001, to become our farm, planning our wedding, etc.
This friend told me about his mare, Big City Miss, who was boarded at a farm in Kentucky. The farm was going out of business and she would have to find another place to be boarded. The problem was her fertility was not the best. She had not had a foal in a few years and the vets in Kentucky were at a loss as to what was causing her not to ovulate properly. He knew it was a longshot that she'd ever get pregnant again, but he also wanted her to have a nice home and be safe. So, he offered her to me.
I looked up her pedigree and produce report and was in shock that I was being offered such a nice mare. She was by Kris S. and was a full sister to several stakes winners. She had also already produced one stakes winner, herself, and several of her full and half sisters were also stakes producers. If she had been fertile, she was easily worth over $100,000, I would imagine, but her fertility issues put her into the situation of needing a safe place, in case she truly was no longer fertile. He felt I was that safe place. He told me I was welcome to try to breed her, if my vet thought there was a chance.
Gordon and I discussed this opportunity and though we knew it was a long shot, we just couldn't pass up the opportunity. So, I made arrangements for her to come from Kentucky to the boarding stable that I was still having to use.
A month or so after the first email from my friend, Big City Miss arrived and this gorgeous big chestnut mare, with a small white star, stepped off the trailer. She was at least 16 hands and was so sweet and gentle. We toyed with two names for her, Angel and April. The barn owner thought I should call her April, but Gordon and I just kept thinking of her as Angel. Everyone told me that horses nicknamed Angel, were usually not very nice, but I knew different, so we settled on Angel.
After letting Angel settle in for a few days, I introduced her to Bunny and they instantly became friends.
A few months later I sent her to a breeding farm to try breeding her to Secret Hello. But, it was just not meant to be. Her ovaries were small and hard and she was not producing viable follicles. The vet that saw her, a reproduction specialist, was at a loss. She was tried on several drugs, one finally sent her into heat, but she ovulated a follicle at about half the size it should have been. They tried breeding her, but she did not get pregnant, so I had her brought home and told her she was retired from breeding and was safe.
In August 2002, when the farm was ready, Bunny and Angel were brought to Perfect Peace Farm, where they were introduced to Leia and met back up with Baron. Since Baron didn't seem to care for Leia, for some odd reason, we separated the 4 horse herd and kept Leia and Bunny together, as they both were pregnant, and then Angel had to buddy up with Baron, who looked just like her, both bright red chestnuts with stars, Angel was just a little bit bigger than Baron.
Angel and Baron became friends and though Angel was the alpha, they could sometimes be found standing next to each other. They'd share a hay pile, with no problem or a big round bale. They got along great.
That fall, I got Admiral, a large Mini colt and he was put out with Angel and Baron. The three of them really enjoyed playing.
As winter came, it soon became apparent that Angel suffered from arthritis in her front legs. I tried supplements, pain relievers, and the like, but every morning she was so stiff, I felt so bad for her, as that winter was so cold. She started to drop weight, so I added a high fat supplement to her diet, but she just maintained weight, wouldn't gain. I kept hay infront of her constantly. Nothing really seemed to work in putting wieght on her or to help relieve her arthritis pain and stiffness.
As spring turned to summer, I came to the hard decision that I didn't think it was fair for Angel to go through another Virginia winter. I talked to her previous owner about the situation and he said it was okay for me to try and find her another safe home, further south.
I had contacts with some horse rescues and started talking to them. In July, a home was found for her in Texas. So, we made arrangements for her to head to her new home. She left on August 3rd and arrived very late on August 4th. The transport company had known about her arthritis and took excellent care of her. They gave her breaks, had an air ride trailer, etc.
I knew it had been after 10 PM when she had arrived, so the next day, August 5th, my Birthday, I awaited for word on how she was settling in at her new home. It seemed like forever, but finally around 2 PM I got the phone call.
I could tell there was something wrong by the tone of the lady's voice. She started to tell me about how Angel had arrived. She said she was put in the paddock that was basically her backyard, so she could keep a watch on Angel. She checked on her at midnight, at she was fine, but when she went to check on her around 2:30 AM, she found Angel down. She thought that maybe her arthritis was bothering her, so she turned to go to the house to get some pain reliever. She heard Angel get up behind her, so she turned to watch, and Angel struggled to get to her, almost made it and then Angel collapsed on the ground.
Angel died quickly, we are not sure if it was a heart attack or some kind of annurism. She had been completely and thoroughly checked out by my vet before she had left. i'd even asked specifically, "Do you think she can make the trip to Texas, safely?" My vet listened to her heart, checked pulses, checked gum color, and more, she got a very thorough exam, and he really thought it would be okay.
When I talked to the hauling company, the report from the drivers was that she travelled fine, was fine at the rest barns, never showed any sign of distress, etc. The owner of the company called me a bit later to express his condolences. They felt really bad, too, as they knew it had been a rescue type situation, knowing I was trying to get her to a warmer climate with less harsh winters.
If I had known this was going to happen, I would have just kept her here. Some have told me, over the years, that Angel wanted it this way. That she had bonded so much with me that she did not want to die infront of me. She knew she was leaving and held on to make it to her new home, where she knew she'd die with dignity and be buried properly.
The lady she went to buried her and planted a bunch of wild flowers over the grave.
Angel will always be remembered here at Perfect Peace Farm. She had a place she loved to stand and dig in the mud. She dug a hole so deep that it was past her knees. Through time, it has started to fill in a bit, but there is still a low spot there, by the 2nd fence post to the right of the barn.
Continue to Rest In Peace sweet Angel.
He lived in California and had been really impressed by the latest pictures, which had shown me turning Bunny loose in her pasture, and then she proceeded to follow me around with no halter or lead rope, she just walked right beside me, head low, content look on her face, etc and Gordon had caught several pictures of her doing this with me. It was one of those very special memories that I have of my Bunny.
I had been friends with this man since 1997, so he was very familiar with my experience with horses, my history with Bunny and all that I had gone through with Bunny, Mayo, and Baron. I had sold Mayo in April 2001, so he knew I was down to just 2 horses, due to being out of work, but now I was engaged to Gordon, so things were a bit different. We had found a house with land, that we had bought in December 2001, to become our farm, planning our wedding, etc.
This friend told me about his mare, Big City Miss, who was boarded at a farm in Kentucky. The farm was going out of business and she would have to find another place to be boarded. The problem was her fertility was not the best. She had not had a foal in a few years and the vets in Kentucky were at a loss as to what was causing her not to ovulate properly. He knew it was a longshot that she'd ever get pregnant again, but he also wanted her to have a nice home and be safe. So, he offered her to me.
I looked up her pedigree and produce report and was in shock that I was being offered such a nice mare. She was by Kris S. and was a full sister to several stakes winners. She had also already produced one stakes winner, herself, and several of her full and half sisters were also stakes producers. If she had been fertile, she was easily worth over $100,000, I would imagine, but her fertility issues put her into the situation of needing a safe place, in case she truly was no longer fertile. He felt I was that safe place. He told me I was welcome to try to breed her, if my vet thought there was a chance.
Gordon and I discussed this opportunity and though we knew it was a long shot, we just couldn't pass up the opportunity. So, I made arrangements for her to come from Kentucky to the boarding stable that I was still having to use.
A month or so after the first email from my friend, Big City Miss arrived and this gorgeous big chestnut mare, with a small white star, stepped off the trailer. She was at least 16 hands and was so sweet and gentle. We toyed with two names for her, Angel and April. The barn owner thought I should call her April, but Gordon and I just kept thinking of her as Angel. Everyone told me that horses nicknamed Angel, were usually not very nice, but I knew different, so we settled on Angel.
After letting Angel settle in for a few days, I introduced her to Bunny and they instantly became friends.
A few months later I sent her to a breeding farm to try breeding her to Secret Hello. But, it was just not meant to be. Her ovaries were small and hard and she was not producing viable follicles. The vet that saw her, a reproduction specialist, was at a loss. She was tried on several drugs, one finally sent her into heat, but she ovulated a follicle at about half the size it should have been. They tried breeding her, but she did not get pregnant, so I had her brought home and told her she was retired from breeding and was safe.
In August 2002, when the farm was ready, Bunny and Angel were brought to Perfect Peace Farm, where they were introduced to Leia and met back up with Baron. Since Baron didn't seem to care for Leia, for some odd reason, we separated the 4 horse herd and kept Leia and Bunny together, as they both were pregnant, and then Angel had to buddy up with Baron, who looked just like her, both bright red chestnuts with stars, Angel was just a little bit bigger than Baron.
Angel and Baron became friends and though Angel was the alpha, they could sometimes be found standing next to each other. They'd share a hay pile, with no problem or a big round bale. They got along great.
That fall, I got Admiral, a large Mini colt and he was put out with Angel and Baron. The three of them really enjoyed playing.
As winter came, it soon became apparent that Angel suffered from arthritis in her front legs. I tried supplements, pain relievers, and the like, but every morning she was so stiff, I felt so bad for her, as that winter was so cold. She started to drop weight, so I added a high fat supplement to her diet, but she just maintained weight, wouldn't gain. I kept hay infront of her constantly. Nothing really seemed to work in putting wieght on her or to help relieve her arthritis pain and stiffness.
As spring turned to summer, I came to the hard decision that I didn't think it was fair for Angel to go through another Virginia winter. I talked to her previous owner about the situation and he said it was okay for me to try and find her another safe home, further south.
I had contacts with some horse rescues and started talking to them. In July, a home was found for her in Texas. So, we made arrangements for her to head to her new home. She left on August 3rd and arrived very late on August 4th. The transport company had known about her arthritis and took excellent care of her. They gave her breaks, had an air ride trailer, etc.
I knew it had been after 10 PM when she had arrived, so the next day, August 5th, my Birthday, I awaited for word on how she was settling in at her new home. It seemed like forever, but finally around 2 PM I got the phone call.
I could tell there was something wrong by the tone of the lady's voice. She started to tell me about how Angel had arrived. She said she was put in the paddock that was basically her backyard, so she could keep a watch on Angel. She checked on her at midnight, at she was fine, but when she went to check on her around 2:30 AM, she found Angel down. She thought that maybe her arthritis was bothering her, so she turned to go to the house to get some pain reliever. She heard Angel get up behind her, so she turned to watch, and Angel struggled to get to her, almost made it and then Angel collapsed on the ground.
Angel died quickly, we are not sure if it was a heart attack or some kind of annurism. She had been completely and thoroughly checked out by my vet before she had left. i'd even asked specifically, "Do you think she can make the trip to Texas, safely?" My vet listened to her heart, checked pulses, checked gum color, and more, she got a very thorough exam, and he really thought it would be okay.
When I talked to the hauling company, the report from the drivers was that she travelled fine, was fine at the rest barns, never showed any sign of distress, etc. The owner of the company called me a bit later to express his condolences. They felt really bad, too, as they knew it had been a rescue type situation, knowing I was trying to get her to a warmer climate with less harsh winters.
If I had known this was going to happen, I would have just kept her here. Some have told me, over the years, that Angel wanted it this way. That she had bonded so much with me that she did not want to die infront of me. She knew she was leaving and held on to make it to her new home, where she knew she'd die with dignity and be buried properly.
The lady she went to buried her and planted a bunch of wild flowers over the grave.
Angel will always be remembered here at Perfect Peace Farm. She had a place she loved to stand and dig in the mud. She dug a hole so deep that it was past her knees. Through time, it has started to fill in a bit, but there is still a low spot there, by the 2nd fence post to the right of the barn.
Continue to Rest In Peace sweet Angel.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Baron's Early Training
As Baron healed from his leg wound I started to begin light work with him, on my visits to the boarding stable. I still only got out to see my horses about once a week to once every two weeks, depending on Gordon's schedule or if I could get a ride out with someone else, which was pretty rare.
At first, I just worked more on his ground manners, which didn't take me long, as he always had excellent manners.
He was so small, for his age, only about 14.1 hands at his 2nd Birthday, that I didn't want to do a whole lot to stress his bones, joints, etc, so I just had fun with him. One of the first extra things I taught him was to bow.
After he was gelded in April 2001, right before his 2nd Birthday is about when I started doing this, I think. I would use a carrot, which he loved, as his reward. I started out saying the words "Baron bow." Then I'd put the carrot just below his nose, starting to work on him learning to lower his head. As he caught on, I put the carrot lower and lower, eventually I had it placed between his knees and he'd flex his neck to get to it.
After that, i started working with him on moving his legs so he could reach even further back and lower. He would put one leg forward and move the other back, eventually having them about two feet apart or more and I'd put the carrot down around ankle level. He was so smart that all of this didn't take long and he learned it with very infrequent training sessions, due to my lack of transpartation to the barn.
After he mastered bowing, to my satisfaction, he had grown a bit and I thought it would be okay to start putting him in the really big round pen that the barn owner had. I started teaching him to lunge, just with a lead rope, at first, going in circles in both directions, around me and around the roundpen.
Again, he learned quickly and I soon was using a regular lunge line and also working with him on free lunging. I knew not to do a lot of trotting with him and no cantering, at first, until he was closer to his mature height.
As I worked with him he grew and learned quickly. I started adding a circingle and then the side reins that, at first, I just attached loosely to his halter, so he could get used to a girth like piece of tack around him and the sensation of reins next to his neck.
I did what I could to work with him through his two year old summer and into fall, but when winter came, it was just too muddy to do much in the roundpen, so when I got to go visit, I just spent a lot of time grooming him and Bunny.
As it started to warm up and Baron approached his 3rd Birthday, he was now almost 15.1 hands, so when I started him back in the roundpen, I was able to do a lot more with him. I was amazed, we picked up just about where we had left off months before. I had always known he was a smart horse, but this truly solidified it.
He quickly progressed the spring of 2002 and by June it was time for me to start getting on his back.
I had been given a nice senthetic western saddle that I had been putting him. I mostly ride english, but this was a nice saddle, so I figured I would use it. Baron didn't seem to mind and it fit him fairly well.
I admit being pretty nervous as Gordon gave me a leg up that first day, but Baron was perfect. I swung my right leg over his back and eased my way into the saddle. After letting Baron stand there for a few minutes, to get the feel of me on his back, I had Gordon lead us around the roundpen a few times. Baron never showed any signs that he was going to buck or do anything wrong, so I praised him and dismounted after about 10 minutes. It was a flawless first ride, I couldn't have asked for anything more from him.
Gordon and I were getting married in July. We'd be gone for a week on our Honeymoon, to Saratoga Springs, for opening week of the Saratoga racing meet. Then when we got back I had a barn builder set to build the barn in mid August and a fencing company to come out about two weeks after the barn was finished.
Because I would not be ready for Baron to come to our new home until late August, I decided to send him to a trainer. The boarding stable was 1 1/2 hours from where I would be living, so I would not be able to visit him, anyways.
I trusted the lady I boarded with, she had never given me any cause not to, so when she recommended her trainer, that she sent all her youngsters to, I didn't hesitate. I had seen a horse come back from him and it was fine, so I figured that Baron would be, as well. So, in early July, Baron went to this trainer's farm to continue his education.
Bunny and Angel, who we had been given, would remain at the boarding stable, until the farm was ready. Gordon and I had also purchased another Thoroughbred mare, Messenger of Light, who we nicknamed "Leia", and she stayed at the barn she was already at, until my farm was ready. Leia, like Bunny, was pregnant, so I didn't want to move Leia too much.
In early August we went to see Baron at the trainers farm. He looked fine and I watched the guy ride him, putting him through his paces. Then I got on for a short ride. I was pretty happy, but I could tell Baron wasn't quite as relaxed as he'd been even on his first ride with me. I just figured it was because I hadn't seen him in over a month or something like that. So, I dismissed that feeling, but I should have listened more closely.
After the barn got put up we were still waiting on the fencing, when Gordon and I decided to go see Bunny and Angel and make arrangements for them to be brought to us. It was about 2 weeks after I saw Baron. We were standing out infront of the lady's barn and we were talking about Baron. When suddenly the lady said, "The trainer may be the town drunk, but he is really good with horses and I've never seen him drunk around the horses."
I swear I must have turned ashen, as I felt all the blood drain from my face and thought I was going to pass out. I couldn't believe she had not told me this key piece of info before, I would have definitely remembered something like that.
She lived almost two hours from the trainer, so how did she know if he was drinking around the horses or not? I was so mad.
As soon as Gordon and I got in the car, I told him that I was going to have the trainer bring Baron home immediately, fence or no fence, i didn't care. Gordon agreed, we wanted Baron away from "the town drunk" as soon as possible.
So, I called the trainer and told him that the fencing would be done sooner than I thought and asked if he could bring Baron home a little earlier than planned, to which he agreed.
If I had my own truck and trailer, I would have gotten him myself, but we didn't and still don't. I didn't know many people with trucks and trailers, so I had to trust the trainer to not drink before bringing Baron home.
Luckily, Baron arrived home safely. I had opened up the foaling stall for him, so he had a 12 by 20 stall. I deeply bedded in shavings, too, so he would be comfortable. I also hung two fans for him.
We may not have had horse pastures fenced, but we did have hte back yard, so I did bring him up to the back yard for grazing, for an hour or two a day.
Baron watched from the stall as the fencing went up about a week after he arrived at Perfect Peace Farm. The workers were amazed at how calm he was and when I told them that he was a pure Thoroughbred, they were in even more shock. He just calmly watched them work, driving the posts into the ground and hanging the Centaur brand fencing that I had chosen for my farm.
As the fencing was being finished, we moved Leia to a neighbors farm, just down the street, where she stayed for about a week or so, then we brought her home the day after the fence was finished. A few days later Bunny and Angel joined them and our small 4 horse herd was finally all together.
Baron and Leia didn't get along, at first. Leia is just so calm and laid back, she is easily picked on. I'm not sure, exactly why he didn't like her very much, but he'd chase her, so we eventually had to separate him from Leia. We put Baron in with Angel and Bunny and Leia, the two pregnant ladies were in the other small paddock, on the other side of the barn.
After Baron had settled in, I started trying to work with him again, but my horse was different and I couldn't figure it out. I would get on him and he'd go a little ways and then freeze. I could feel the nervousness in him and I knew something must have happened with that drunk trainer. I apologized to Baron and told him I wouldn't have sent him there, if I had known what I learned later. I told himt hat if I sent him to any other trainer, I'd do more research, visit the place, if possible, and stay on top of the trainer to make sure that this kind of thing didn't happen to him again.
Little did I know, that even if you do your research, get tons of good recommendations from people, stay on top of the trainer, bad things still happen and trainers can sometimes turn from what seemed like a very reasonable person that you got along with to someone completely different. Poor Baron ran into his fair share of trainers that went nuts while he was with them, but at least he doesn't have to worry about that anymore, as he is safe with his new owner, Laura, who has now had him for 2 years.
At first, I just worked more on his ground manners, which didn't take me long, as he always had excellent manners.
He was so small, for his age, only about 14.1 hands at his 2nd Birthday, that I didn't want to do a whole lot to stress his bones, joints, etc, so I just had fun with him. One of the first extra things I taught him was to bow.
After he was gelded in April 2001, right before his 2nd Birthday is about when I started doing this, I think. I would use a carrot, which he loved, as his reward. I started out saying the words "Baron bow." Then I'd put the carrot just below his nose, starting to work on him learning to lower his head. As he caught on, I put the carrot lower and lower, eventually I had it placed between his knees and he'd flex his neck to get to it.
After that, i started working with him on moving his legs so he could reach even further back and lower. He would put one leg forward and move the other back, eventually having them about two feet apart or more and I'd put the carrot down around ankle level. He was so smart that all of this didn't take long and he learned it with very infrequent training sessions, due to my lack of transpartation to the barn.
After he mastered bowing, to my satisfaction, he had grown a bit and I thought it would be okay to start putting him in the really big round pen that the barn owner had. I started teaching him to lunge, just with a lead rope, at first, going in circles in both directions, around me and around the roundpen.
Again, he learned quickly and I soon was using a regular lunge line and also working with him on free lunging. I knew not to do a lot of trotting with him and no cantering, at first, until he was closer to his mature height.
As I worked with him he grew and learned quickly. I started adding a circingle and then the side reins that, at first, I just attached loosely to his halter, so he could get used to a girth like piece of tack around him and the sensation of reins next to his neck.
I did what I could to work with him through his two year old summer and into fall, but when winter came, it was just too muddy to do much in the roundpen, so when I got to go visit, I just spent a lot of time grooming him and Bunny.
As it started to warm up and Baron approached his 3rd Birthday, he was now almost 15.1 hands, so when I started him back in the roundpen, I was able to do a lot more with him. I was amazed, we picked up just about where we had left off months before. I had always known he was a smart horse, but this truly solidified it.
He quickly progressed the spring of 2002 and by June it was time for me to start getting on his back.
I had been given a nice senthetic western saddle that I had been putting him. I mostly ride english, but this was a nice saddle, so I figured I would use it. Baron didn't seem to mind and it fit him fairly well.
I admit being pretty nervous as Gordon gave me a leg up that first day, but Baron was perfect. I swung my right leg over his back and eased my way into the saddle. After letting Baron stand there for a few minutes, to get the feel of me on his back, I had Gordon lead us around the roundpen a few times. Baron never showed any signs that he was going to buck or do anything wrong, so I praised him and dismounted after about 10 minutes. It was a flawless first ride, I couldn't have asked for anything more from him.
Gordon and I were getting married in July. We'd be gone for a week on our Honeymoon, to Saratoga Springs, for opening week of the Saratoga racing meet. Then when we got back I had a barn builder set to build the barn in mid August and a fencing company to come out about two weeks after the barn was finished.
Because I would not be ready for Baron to come to our new home until late August, I decided to send him to a trainer. The boarding stable was 1 1/2 hours from where I would be living, so I would not be able to visit him, anyways.
I trusted the lady I boarded with, she had never given me any cause not to, so when she recommended her trainer, that she sent all her youngsters to, I didn't hesitate. I had seen a horse come back from him and it was fine, so I figured that Baron would be, as well. So, in early July, Baron went to this trainer's farm to continue his education.
Bunny and Angel, who we had been given, would remain at the boarding stable, until the farm was ready. Gordon and I had also purchased another Thoroughbred mare, Messenger of Light, who we nicknamed "Leia", and she stayed at the barn she was already at, until my farm was ready. Leia, like Bunny, was pregnant, so I didn't want to move Leia too much.
In early August we went to see Baron at the trainers farm. He looked fine and I watched the guy ride him, putting him through his paces. Then I got on for a short ride. I was pretty happy, but I could tell Baron wasn't quite as relaxed as he'd been even on his first ride with me. I just figured it was because I hadn't seen him in over a month or something like that. So, I dismissed that feeling, but I should have listened more closely.
After the barn got put up we were still waiting on the fencing, when Gordon and I decided to go see Bunny and Angel and make arrangements for them to be brought to us. It was about 2 weeks after I saw Baron. We were standing out infront of the lady's barn and we were talking about Baron. When suddenly the lady said, "The trainer may be the town drunk, but he is really good with horses and I've never seen him drunk around the horses."
I swear I must have turned ashen, as I felt all the blood drain from my face and thought I was going to pass out. I couldn't believe she had not told me this key piece of info before, I would have definitely remembered something like that.
She lived almost two hours from the trainer, so how did she know if he was drinking around the horses or not? I was so mad.
As soon as Gordon and I got in the car, I told him that I was going to have the trainer bring Baron home immediately, fence or no fence, i didn't care. Gordon agreed, we wanted Baron away from "the town drunk" as soon as possible.
So, I called the trainer and told him that the fencing would be done sooner than I thought and asked if he could bring Baron home a little earlier than planned, to which he agreed.
If I had my own truck and trailer, I would have gotten him myself, but we didn't and still don't. I didn't know many people with trucks and trailers, so I had to trust the trainer to not drink before bringing Baron home.
Luckily, Baron arrived home safely. I had opened up the foaling stall for him, so he had a 12 by 20 stall. I deeply bedded in shavings, too, so he would be comfortable. I also hung two fans for him.
We may not have had horse pastures fenced, but we did have hte back yard, so I did bring him up to the back yard for grazing, for an hour or two a day.
Baron watched from the stall as the fencing went up about a week after he arrived at Perfect Peace Farm. The workers were amazed at how calm he was and when I told them that he was a pure Thoroughbred, they were in even more shock. He just calmly watched them work, driving the posts into the ground and hanging the Centaur brand fencing that I had chosen for my farm.
As the fencing was being finished, we moved Leia to a neighbors farm, just down the street, where she stayed for about a week or so, then we brought her home the day after the fence was finished. A few days later Bunny and Angel joined them and our small 4 horse herd was finally all together.
Baron and Leia didn't get along, at first. Leia is just so calm and laid back, she is easily picked on. I'm not sure, exactly why he didn't like her very much, but he'd chase her, so we eventually had to separate him from Leia. We put Baron in with Angel and Bunny and Leia, the two pregnant ladies were in the other small paddock, on the other side of the barn.
After Baron had settled in, I started trying to work with him again, but my horse was different and I couldn't figure it out. I would get on him and he'd go a little ways and then freeze. I could feel the nervousness in him and I knew something must have happened with that drunk trainer. I apologized to Baron and told him I wouldn't have sent him there, if I had known what I learned later. I told himt hat if I sent him to any other trainer, I'd do more research, visit the place, if possible, and stay on top of the trainer to make sure that this kind of thing didn't happen to him again.
Little did I know, that even if you do your research, get tons of good recommendations from people, stay on top of the trainer, bad things still happen and trainers can sometimes turn from what seemed like a very reasonable person that you got along with to someone completely different. Poor Baron ran into his fair share of trainers that went nuts while he was with them, but at least he doesn't have to worry about that anymore, as he is safe with his new owner, Laura, who has now had him for 2 years.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
My Dream Horse
For a very long time I had dreamt of having a spectacular blood bay with a blaze and 4 high white socks. I even drew pictures of such a horse when I was in middle school. I always figured I'd have to find one to buy, at some point in my life.
Since Bunny was not rideable, and I had learned that since I had rescued her, several of her foals had started winning big at A rated shows as hunter ponies, so I decided I would breed her, again. I had sold Petey, her colt, that she had in 1999, as a yearling, so it had been a few years since her last foal, it was time to breed her again.
I had sold Mayo the month before and paid off all my bills and I had some money leftover, plus I was in a steady relationship with Gordon. Though he hadn't asked me to marry him, yet, I think we both knew it was heading in that direction. So, I discussed breeding Bunny with him and we agreed that it was the right thing to do and he would help me a little bit, in accomplishing it.
I started looking at stallions, ponies, Arabians, and small Thoroughbreds. I did a lot of praying, thinking, and research. I decided that it was time to try to breed to get a horse for me to ride, hoping for Bunny's superb movement and I would hope for a filly that I could always keep and that would also eventually be Bunny's replacement as a broodmare in my pony breeding program, that I dreamed of.
I had not started out wanting to breed ponies, but Bunny's first 3 pony foals all did well at the A circuit and in Virginia, which is very tough, so I kind of fell into it, but decided I liked it, too, and wanted to continue Bunny's legacy. The free horse that no one had wanted had proven that she was worth more than just about anyone else had thought.
So, I decided, for this breeding, I'd look at Arabians and small Thoroughbreds, so I could get something big enough for me to ride, since I'm 5'7" and I'd look really funny on a pony.
I just couldn't seem to find a Thoroughbred that fit my needs. Bunny being only 14.3 hands, I did not want to risk breeding her to a large stallion. So, my focus then turned more towards Arabians. If it was to eventually be a broodmare, if I got a filly, for me to cross on ponies to get hunters, I needed a specific type of Arabian. It could not have too much knee action and it needed to have similar movement to Bunny, who was and Anglo-Arabian, sired by a Thoroughbred and produced out of an Arabian mare.
From my previous research, I knew that Bunny's Arabian side was over 90% Crabbet, about 95% CMK, and the other part was Davenport, as her tail female line went to a mare that Davenport brought to the US straight from the desert.
I narrowed my search further to high percentage CMK stallions and in doing so, I stumbled on a stallion standing not 5 miles from where Bunny was boarded.
His name was Rho-Quest a Champion son of the legendary Arabian stallion Khemosabi. Granted, there are a lot of sons of his at stud, but I saw something I really liked int he pictures of Rho-Quest, so I made contact with owner.
I made arrangements to go see him in person and one Saturday morning Gordon and I went over to take a look at him.
He was very nice, a gorgeous sleek 15.1 hands, beautiful bay with 3 socks and a star that looked almost like a questionmark on his forehead. His owner put him int he round pen so I could see him move. I liked his trot, but when he picked up the canter, I was sold! That was the stallion for Bunny. It wasn't an identical canter to hers, but it was the closest I had found.
No, with my vision being bad I can not see how a horse is moving like a sighted person can. I can see a little bit, but what I can tell is with my ears and I can tell a lot more with my ears than most sighted people can comprehend. I can tell how long a stride is, how sound a horse is, how heavy or light they hit the ground, and I believe I can get a good idea of how much knee action or lack thereof, by how they sound.
I can also use my hands to tell me a lot about a horse's condition, conformation, etc as an added assistance to my limited eyesight. I can tell a lot in conformation and condition with my eyes, but I will admit I can miss some flaws, as they are harder to judge visually for me, but my hands can pick up the slack there, quite a bit.
So, I signed the breeding contract for Bunny to be bred to Rho-Quest and they came and picked her up a few days later. I believe it was early June of 2001.
Bunny was kept there for a few heat cycles, but never conceived. I had asked the vet about giving Bunny a shot to help her ovulate, but he didn't think it was necessary. I told him that she had been given one when I bred her and got Petey, but he just argued with me about it not being necessary. And the breeding season of 2001 ended with Bunny not pregnant. The vet just said she was getting old and maybe was done. But I knew different, she was 19, which is getting older, but my intuition told me the vet was wrong and had made me lose money and a breeding year. But I trusted God and that he knew what was best and that there was a reason.
But the following year, I decided to get an early start, just in case it took a few tries to get Bunny in foal, but this time I absolutely insisted Bunny be given something to help her ovulate. Since it was early March, he didn't argue with me this time, and Bunny was given a shot.
Well, she was bred and 18 days later she was confirmed pregnat!
I was so excited and started hoping for that filly that I so wanted, to continue on Bunny's bloodlines.
Gordon and I got married in July 2002 and in August the barn went up on our property, followed a few weeks later by the first round of fencing. Baron was the first to arrive on the farm, actually two days before the fencing went up, so he lived in the brand new barn, by himself, but I opened up the foaling stall, so he'd have plenty of room and then I also put him in our backyard, for a few hours, to let him stretch his legs and graze a little bit.
Leia arrived the day after the fencing was completed and Bunny and Angel arrived a few days later. I will write more about Leia and Angel in future posts, and the stories of how we got them.
Bunny settled right in here at Perfect Peace Farm, happy to be with her buddy, Angel. She also made quick friends with Leia.
As winter approached and Bunny and Leia's pregnancies got further along, I separated them from Baron and Angel.
Bunny was due February 11th, a lot earlier than I had really wanted, but I would deal with any issues of it being cold, as they arose. That January had been so cold that the water pump infront of the barn was constantly freezing and I was having to tote water from the house to the barn on a daily basis.
Bunny's udder started to develop in early January, so I started to worry about the foal coming early, but I also knew she had taken her time with Petey, carrying him 21 days past her due date. But as her udder filled, I started watching her closely.
We bought a security camera and cables, placing the camera in the foaling stall, running the cables to the house, and hooking them up to a spare TV, so I could watch her from the house. Bunny liked her privacy and I wanted her to have it.
February 11th came and went, with me diligently watching. The lady across the street wanted to see a foal being born, so she was on standby and was getting daily updates from me.
On February 21st things were a bit different and I had a feeling she was even closer. When Gordon helped me milk a drop of milk from her that evening, it was bright white, so I knew then we were in the homestretch.
At 10 PM, Gordon and I went out to the barn to do our nightly check of water buckets and I put my hands on Bunny to see if there was any change from the 6:30 check and sure enough I could feel a bit of sweat starting to develop on her coat, despite the temperature being in the 40's.
Gordon and I raced back to the house to gather up the supplies, grab the phone, etc and as we were doing this, I saw Bunny lay down and suddenly heard her water break. I started calling for Gordon to hurry with what he was doing, as she was about to give birth. I called the lady across the street as I raced back to the barn.
Bunny and I had a special connection and as I re-entered the barn and opened up her stall door, she got up and met me. Now, I may not be able to see very well, but I can tell you I can sense things and what I sensed from Bunny was the message, "You came back! Thank goodness! I need you!"
I gave her a reassuring pet and she circled the stall and laid back down. Gordon made it out to the barn at this point, as I was kneeling behind Bunny to check for the foal's birthing position. Everything was fine, as I reached my hand in, I felt one hoof, then another slightly staggered, and then a nose, just above the ankles, so everything was good.
As Bunny pushed with her contractions I kept talking to her and she started nickering to her foal who's head wasn't even out, yet.
Soon I saw the first white foot, then the other front, which was also white. My heart started to pound in my chest even harder. Bunny did seem to be having some trouble, so I grasped the foal above the ankles and gently helped pull when she was pushing.
The lady from across the street arrived as I was helping Bunny deliver the foal. Once Bunny got the shoulders passed, she was able to get the rest of the foal out with no trouble.
I ripped the sack and exposed the little foal's nose and head to the air, as it took it's first breath. It had a huge white blaze on it's face and we also now knew it was a bay. The hind feet then came out and the foal had 4 very high white socks, to go with it's blaze. My heart was leaping in my chest, it was the horse I had dreamed about for so long. I quickly reached my hand under it's tail to find out it's gender. My face lit up like a Christmas Tree, I'm told, and I could barely speak as I gasped, "It's a filly! It's a girl!"
I immediately knew what to call this beautiful dream filly, "Welcome to the family, Belle!"
As Belle grew and learned how to use those beautiful long legs of hers, within a few days, I knew, Belle had received her mother's movement. I had gotten everything I had hoped and prayed for and more, Belle was unbelievable, so perfect. I was beyond happy with my dream horse.
Belle's formal name became Bella Serhafina, which means "beautiful heavenly angel", because that is what she was to me. I put the "rh" instead of just the "r" in the Serhafina, in honor of her sire, Rho-Quest, and his sire, Khemosabi. Belle bares a striking resemblence to her grandsire, Khemosabit, down to the same jagged sock on the same front leg. What a blessing she is and a wonderful addition to Perfect Peace Farm.
Since Bunny was not rideable, and I had learned that since I had rescued her, several of her foals had started winning big at A rated shows as hunter ponies, so I decided I would breed her, again. I had sold Petey, her colt, that she had in 1999, as a yearling, so it had been a few years since her last foal, it was time to breed her again.
I had sold Mayo the month before and paid off all my bills and I had some money leftover, plus I was in a steady relationship with Gordon. Though he hadn't asked me to marry him, yet, I think we both knew it was heading in that direction. So, I discussed breeding Bunny with him and we agreed that it was the right thing to do and he would help me a little bit, in accomplishing it.
I started looking at stallions, ponies, Arabians, and small Thoroughbreds. I did a lot of praying, thinking, and research. I decided that it was time to try to breed to get a horse for me to ride, hoping for Bunny's superb movement and I would hope for a filly that I could always keep and that would also eventually be Bunny's replacement as a broodmare in my pony breeding program, that I dreamed of.
I had not started out wanting to breed ponies, but Bunny's first 3 pony foals all did well at the A circuit and in Virginia, which is very tough, so I kind of fell into it, but decided I liked it, too, and wanted to continue Bunny's legacy. The free horse that no one had wanted had proven that she was worth more than just about anyone else had thought.
So, I decided, for this breeding, I'd look at Arabians and small Thoroughbreds, so I could get something big enough for me to ride, since I'm 5'7" and I'd look really funny on a pony.
I just couldn't seem to find a Thoroughbred that fit my needs. Bunny being only 14.3 hands, I did not want to risk breeding her to a large stallion. So, my focus then turned more towards Arabians. If it was to eventually be a broodmare, if I got a filly, for me to cross on ponies to get hunters, I needed a specific type of Arabian. It could not have too much knee action and it needed to have similar movement to Bunny, who was and Anglo-Arabian, sired by a Thoroughbred and produced out of an Arabian mare.
From my previous research, I knew that Bunny's Arabian side was over 90% Crabbet, about 95% CMK, and the other part was Davenport, as her tail female line went to a mare that Davenport brought to the US straight from the desert.
I narrowed my search further to high percentage CMK stallions and in doing so, I stumbled on a stallion standing not 5 miles from where Bunny was boarded.
His name was Rho-Quest a Champion son of the legendary Arabian stallion Khemosabi. Granted, there are a lot of sons of his at stud, but I saw something I really liked int he pictures of Rho-Quest, so I made contact with owner.
I made arrangements to go see him in person and one Saturday morning Gordon and I went over to take a look at him.
He was very nice, a gorgeous sleek 15.1 hands, beautiful bay with 3 socks and a star that looked almost like a questionmark on his forehead. His owner put him int he round pen so I could see him move. I liked his trot, but when he picked up the canter, I was sold! That was the stallion for Bunny. It wasn't an identical canter to hers, but it was the closest I had found.
No, with my vision being bad I can not see how a horse is moving like a sighted person can. I can see a little bit, but what I can tell is with my ears and I can tell a lot more with my ears than most sighted people can comprehend. I can tell how long a stride is, how sound a horse is, how heavy or light they hit the ground, and I believe I can get a good idea of how much knee action or lack thereof, by how they sound.
I can also use my hands to tell me a lot about a horse's condition, conformation, etc as an added assistance to my limited eyesight. I can tell a lot in conformation and condition with my eyes, but I will admit I can miss some flaws, as they are harder to judge visually for me, but my hands can pick up the slack there, quite a bit.
So, I signed the breeding contract for Bunny to be bred to Rho-Quest and they came and picked her up a few days later. I believe it was early June of 2001.
Bunny was kept there for a few heat cycles, but never conceived. I had asked the vet about giving Bunny a shot to help her ovulate, but he didn't think it was necessary. I told him that she had been given one when I bred her and got Petey, but he just argued with me about it not being necessary. And the breeding season of 2001 ended with Bunny not pregnant. The vet just said she was getting old and maybe was done. But I knew different, she was 19, which is getting older, but my intuition told me the vet was wrong and had made me lose money and a breeding year. But I trusted God and that he knew what was best and that there was a reason.
But the following year, I decided to get an early start, just in case it took a few tries to get Bunny in foal, but this time I absolutely insisted Bunny be given something to help her ovulate. Since it was early March, he didn't argue with me this time, and Bunny was given a shot.
Well, she was bred and 18 days later she was confirmed pregnat!
I was so excited and started hoping for that filly that I so wanted, to continue on Bunny's bloodlines.
Gordon and I got married in July 2002 and in August the barn went up on our property, followed a few weeks later by the first round of fencing. Baron was the first to arrive on the farm, actually two days before the fencing went up, so he lived in the brand new barn, by himself, but I opened up the foaling stall, so he'd have plenty of room and then I also put him in our backyard, for a few hours, to let him stretch his legs and graze a little bit.
Leia arrived the day after the fencing was completed and Bunny and Angel arrived a few days later. I will write more about Leia and Angel in future posts, and the stories of how we got them.
Bunny settled right in here at Perfect Peace Farm, happy to be with her buddy, Angel. She also made quick friends with Leia.
As winter approached and Bunny and Leia's pregnancies got further along, I separated them from Baron and Angel.
Bunny was due February 11th, a lot earlier than I had really wanted, but I would deal with any issues of it being cold, as they arose. That January had been so cold that the water pump infront of the barn was constantly freezing and I was having to tote water from the house to the barn on a daily basis.
Bunny's udder started to develop in early January, so I started to worry about the foal coming early, but I also knew she had taken her time with Petey, carrying him 21 days past her due date. But as her udder filled, I started watching her closely.
We bought a security camera and cables, placing the camera in the foaling stall, running the cables to the house, and hooking them up to a spare TV, so I could watch her from the house. Bunny liked her privacy and I wanted her to have it.
February 11th came and went, with me diligently watching. The lady across the street wanted to see a foal being born, so she was on standby and was getting daily updates from me.
On February 21st things were a bit different and I had a feeling she was even closer. When Gordon helped me milk a drop of milk from her that evening, it was bright white, so I knew then we were in the homestretch.
At 10 PM, Gordon and I went out to the barn to do our nightly check of water buckets and I put my hands on Bunny to see if there was any change from the 6:30 check and sure enough I could feel a bit of sweat starting to develop on her coat, despite the temperature being in the 40's.
Gordon and I raced back to the house to gather up the supplies, grab the phone, etc and as we were doing this, I saw Bunny lay down and suddenly heard her water break. I started calling for Gordon to hurry with what he was doing, as she was about to give birth. I called the lady across the street as I raced back to the barn.
Bunny and I had a special connection and as I re-entered the barn and opened up her stall door, she got up and met me. Now, I may not be able to see very well, but I can tell you I can sense things and what I sensed from Bunny was the message, "You came back! Thank goodness! I need you!"
I gave her a reassuring pet and she circled the stall and laid back down. Gordon made it out to the barn at this point, as I was kneeling behind Bunny to check for the foal's birthing position. Everything was fine, as I reached my hand in, I felt one hoof, then another slightly staggered, and then a nose, just above the ankles, so everything was good.
As Bunny pushed with her contractions I kept talking to her and she started nickering to her foal who's head wasn't even out, yet.
Soon I saw the first white foot, then the other front, which was also white. My heart started to pound in my chest even harder. Bunny did seem to be having some trouble, so I grasped the foal above the ankles and gently helped pull when she was pushing.
The lady from across the street arrived as I was helping Bunny deliver the foal. Once Bunny got the shoulders passed, she was able to get the rest of the foal out with no trouble.
I ripped the sack and exposed the little foal's nose and head to the air, as it took it's first breath. It had a huge white blaze on it's face and we also now knew it was a bay. The hind feet then came out and the foal had 4 very high white socks, to go with it's blaze. My heart was leaping in my chest, it was the horse I had dreamed about for so long. I quickly reached my hand under it's tail to find out it's gender. My face lit up like a Christmas Tree, I'm told, and I could barely speak as I gasped, "It's a filly! It's a girl!"
I immediately knew what to call this beautiful dream filly, "Welcome to the family, Belle!"
As Belle grew and learned how to use those beautiful long legs of hers, within a few days, I knew, Belle had received her mother's movement. I had gotten everything I had hoped and prayed for and more, Belle was unbelievable, so perfect. I was beyond happy with my dream horse.
Belle's formal name became Bella Serhafina, which means "beautiful heavenly angel", because that is what she was to me. I put the "rh" instead of just the "r" in the Serhafina, in honor of her sire, Rho-Quest, and his sire, Khemosabi. Belle bares a striking resemblence to her grandsire, Khemosabit, down to the same jagged sock on the same front leg. What a blessing she is and a wonderful addition to Perfect Peace Farm.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Hurricane Irene at Perfect Peace Farm and a few Other Things
As Hurricane Irene approached and the air pressure started to drop on Thursday, it sent our oldest mare, Messenger of Light, aka "Leia", into a gas colic. She has been sensitive to drops in air pressure, int he past, suffering a gas colic about once a year, for the past 4 years or so. We gave her some Banamine and she was quickly much better and never had anymore signs of a problem. We kept a close watch on her for the next few days, but it appears that this episode had been mild, thank goodness, so no vet was needed.
We brought the horses into the barn on Friday evening, as the rain was supposed to start between 3 to 5 AM on Saturday. We filled up all 3 huge water troughs, knowing we'd lose power, we wanted to make sure we had plenty of water for the horses. After Hurricane Isabel, we were without power for a full week, actually about 6 hours or so past a full week. So, I wanted to be ready for the worst.
We had our tub filled with water, I had cleaned out milk jugs and juice containers, and filled them with water, and I had a few big pots of water for the dogs and cat.
We woke up on Saturday morning to strong winds and heavy rain, but still had power. I started lunch shortly after we finished breakfast, as I wanted to make sure we had something nice to eat before we lost power. I also had my husband run some of my frozen foods over to a friend's house, as she had space in her chest freezer for them and had a generator, so i wouldn't lose all my food.
My planning paid off and we lost power right after lunch, at about 1 PM.
We put our youngest daughter, almost 2 years old, down for her nap, hoping she'd sleep throught he storm and she did somewhat. Her nap was a bit shorter than usual, but you couldn't blame her.
We had an old transister radio, so were able to listen to the news reports as to how bad things were, where the storm was going, etc.
Since we'd lost power I was not going to be able to watch any of the big horse races of this past weekend, but a friend of mine was willing to talk to me ont he phone and relay to me what was happening with the races. I got to hear about the King's Bishop and Travers as they were happening. She promised to call me the on Sunday so I could hear the big races from Del Mar.
Then it was time to feed everyone, so my husband went to check on the horses and feed them their dinner as I prepared our dinner in the house.
We got the girls ready for bed a bit earlier than their usual 8:30 bedtime and got them into bed as it got dark.
We had batteries to run the CD player for our youngest daughter, so she'd have her music to fall asleep to, but our oldest, almost 6 years old, was just a bit too scared by the wind and storm, so I laid some blankets on the floor next to my side of the bed and told her she could sleep there.
My two dogs, Nalley, an 11 year old Golden Retriever, my retired Seeing Eye Dog, and Dextra, a 2 year old yellow Labrador Retriever, my current Seeing Eye Dog, laid on the floor on either side of our oldest daughter.
Several times through the night, our youngest daughter woke up crying, so I had to go check on her. I did try to bring her into bed with us, but she just will not sleep in our bed, prefering to play or talk. When my husband started snoring she blurted out, at almost full volume, "Daddy, what are you doing?" I tried to hush her and told her that Daddy was snoring, but she just wouldn't quiet down, so I took her back to her room, put the music back on and rocked her in the glider for a little while. She did go back to sleep and I was able to get a bit more sleep.
We were then rudely woken up at 6 AM by our oldest daughter, who jumped up and called out, "There is no more storm!" She was so excited that it was over.
My husband knew I hadn't slept well, due to our youngest, so he took our oldest and let me sleep in a bit more, as our youngest was also still sleeping.
They got dressed and went to feed the horses, let them out of the barn, and survey the damage to our property.
We were pretty lucky, no trees down, but some minor gutter damage and the roof over our patio got ripped off the house and flipped over the back yard fence, almost landing in our pond. The legs are bent, the roof is bent, so I think it can't be put back up, it will have to be replaced, at some point. Our mailbox also got damaged, so over all we were very lucky.
Sunday was hot, but there was a wind for mos tof the day. In the evening we all went out to feed the horses and spend some time with them.
As they ate, Leia started to cough, and I instantly knew she was starting to choke, something else that she does about once a year, like the gas colic. We were working with the other group of horses, but I kept an ear out for Leia and paid attention to how often she was coughing.
Our oldest daughter really wanted to get on the backs of Myra and Belle, our two ponies, well, Myra is a Half Welsh, Belle is just pony sized, but is an Anglo-Arabian, they are half sisters. So, I led Myra, while holding our youngest daughter, and my husband held onto our oldest, as she sat on Myra, first. Myra and Belle have not truly been broke to ride, but have been willing to let us put kids on their backs, so far, but this time, Myra decided she really didn't want our oldest up there, so let out a buck, but since my husband had ahold of our daughter, he was able to get her off and she was not hurt. She was crying, but I think it was more from being scared. She quickly stopped crying and I caught Belle and she eagerly got on Belle's back. Belle was very good and didn't do anything, so that was great to help rebuild her confidence.
I noticed Leia was still coughing, so I said it was time for me to check on Leia more closely. I handed our youngest daughter to my husband, so I could go into the pasture with Leia and Glory, to see how Leia was doing. She had some snot coming out of her nose, due to her coughing fromt he choke. I ran my hands down her neck to see if I could feel anything, but I just felt that all the muscles were super tight. I then put my hands on either side of her neck and slowly and gently moved them from her throat latch area down towards her chest, trying to follow where her esophagus is. I did this only twice, not really knowing if it would help or not, but something just told me to do it, so going with my instincts and gut feeling, I did what just seemed to come naturally to me. As I did this, I could feel Leia's neck muscles start to relax. I led her around a few minutes, then turned her lose, when I realized she hadn't coughed even once since I had run my hands down her neck. We stayed out there another 10 minutes or so and there was no more coughing. So, the choking incident was also mild, just like her gas colic.
I have never done that technique on a choking horse before and I just had a strong urge to do it. The only thing I can tell you is that God was telling me what to do to help her, and because I listened she was healed and again, no vet was needed.
Let's just say my husband is so happy that in the two incidents with Leia, in the last week, that I'd saved us, easily, over $600 in emergency vet costs.
All I know is God has given me a gift to just know things about horses, what is wrong with them, how good they are going to be as race horses, if they are a nice spiritted horse or a mean horse, and so on. I just have this sense and I want to try to use it more, share my gift. I don't know how I will do this, but maybe some door will open for me to share this with others and not just use it on my own small herd or share experiences I've had with horses I've worked with int he past on this blog.
Sunday night was very hot and uncomfortable, as there was no wind and the humidity was up, but we managed to get a little sleep.
On Monday, a friend of mine offered to take my kids and I to her sister's house so we could all get cleaned up. It was a nice break.
While we were gone my husband went for more ice and some milk.
Thankfully, at 9:30 PM on Monday, the power came back on, but since we were already in bed, the only enjoyment we got from it was that we turned on the fans.
Home phone is still not working, internet is super slow, but at least we have power now. I've been trying to catch up on some new sin the world and some racing news and when I found out what Uncle Mo's owner said about finishing 2nd in the King's Bishop it has annoyed me greatly. He said it was the "lowest of lows". No, sir, sorry, finishing 2nd in a major Grade 1 stakes race is not a low of any kind. When your beautiful 3 year old filly, who has the heart of a champion, is improving with each race, looks like she is going to finish a clear cut second, suddenly fades and is eased, then requires the horse ambulance to come get her to take her back to her stall, that is the "lowest of lows". Being told she may not survive, because one of her sesamoids is totally shattered, that's a low. So, please do not say finishing 2nd in that race was "the lowest of lows.", you have no idea. I foaled that filly out, helped her come into this world, and it was a very difficult delivery, I halter trained her, loved her, played with her, etc, the heart ache of her injury was more than I can put into words. Luckily, and praise God, she beat all the odds and is standing out in my pasture right now, and will hopefully be bred next year. The jockey said it as a soft spot in the track that she found, it happens in racing, it's hard to deal with, loving horses the way I do, but it could have happened in the field, I've had horses get hurt in stalls, fields, etc, so I will keep racing, loving my horses, and taking care of them the best I can.
Her half brother is gearing up to make his first start this fall. So, watch out for Marq Your Bible!
So, Hurricane Irene is gone, leaving some with more damage than we got and I know some lives were lost. My thoughts and prayers are with those who's lives have been devistated by this storm. I pray lives can get back to some kind of normal as quickly as possible.
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