September catch up

Well it's been a few weeks again.  What can I say - life gets busy!

First a belated Congratulations to all the AMHA World  & AMHR National contenders.  It's a ton of work and commitment to go to either show - so kudos to all the participants!

The horses have all been fine, not thrilled with the heat (100-104 last week), but they're getting hairy and doing well so that's good.

No major illness or injury (minor colic one day with Chaos - baby tasting everything), trimming has been a breeze with all the horses in extremely cooperative moods.  Life has been good.

We're planning on doing some re-fencing next month and think we have a usable plan, now its taking fencing out and hopefully putting it in a more logical fashion.  I don't know why when you move to the country even with the best intentions, stuff accumulates and pens get added and your property starts getting that cobbled together look. /sigh for unlimited income to do things right the first time.

This was a bit exciting today - a flock of wild turkeys.  We usually see groups of 1-3 and this was at least 20.  Anya and I were both fumbling with phone-cams so the photo didn't come out well, but at least she got one shot.  The funniest thing, I saw the tracks yesterday on the road and assumed it was one of the orchard trucks that had an unusual tire pattern - lol!  Yesterday we saw a huge group of quail (is it a covey or a bevy of quail?) in th same spot.  I guess our coyote population has been reduced as we're having much larger groups of wild life roaming around - yeah!

The big surprise this morning - no laughing is this was a very deja vu moment!  I went out to feed the horses and I noticed a 'black' mare on the hill with a few of her buddies, just hanging out.  Is that unusual?  When we're feeding - oh yea!  Finally the rest start coming down to eat and low and behold - it happened again!!!  Black mare with a baby.

I know don't laugh.  It's starting to be a pattern here!  Black mare coming down off the hills with a new foal!

I could tell it was Cookie, and apparently she is following in her mother and big sister's (ET & Una) smug 'who needs you human' attitude towards foaling.   She had apparently had her son - black colt, big star and one white hind fetlock - last night out on the hills. So that mean ET opened foaling season in February with a surprise and Cookie is closing it with a surprise.

The biggest surprise is, we've been watching Maria, Remy and Libbe all summer as they 'look' pregnant, and Cookie most definitely did NOT!  I was discussing breeding her next year - lol!

Took a couple of pics of the new boy, I'll add them later!





So more eventful happenings here.

It was a very uneventful Labor Day Weekend, which was extremely nice and relaxing.  I've been mentally replanning some of our fencing - just in case I win a secret lotto I haven't entered!  Once you've been somewhere for awhile you realize how differently you would do things.  But most of us keep cobbling together solutions instead of starting over from scratch.  I know I do, but time, energy and money play a factor!  So, I'm trying to figure ways to re-do some of our smaller paddocks without having to pull everything out (although it would be the best way!).  I definitely need a few smaller paddocks 40 or 60 x20 type for individual horses up to maybe 1/4 acre size.  Sticking 2-3 minis on 3-5 acres just to 'hold' them is a bit over-kill IMHO.  So, working on a solution!

++++++++++++++  

We did have a fun time yesterday watching a hot air balloon passing behind our hills.  I'll put it in a separate post as there's a bunch of photos - but that guy had to have been almost in the water!  Too funny.  Fortunately the owner of the hot air balloon company is very careful with his pilots.  We've yet to have a mishap yet, a couple of close calls, but so far so good!  The horses don't even care about them, they're so use to the noise and sight almost every morning.

+++++++++++++++

I received a video over the weekend from Christi Christofferson, Wesco Farms LM Blackwing Lair's, new mom.  'Junior" is learning to drive under Christi's careful training.  I'm so glad to see our horses end up in good homes!

Check out Christi's website C Bar M Ranch for more information on her training (and to see her GORGEOUS big horse Ace!

++++++++++++

I also found our where one of our mares is now, Dena, Wesco Farms Ninjas 45 Dreams, is living with Shawn Hester at her ranch Hester Ranch Miniature Horses. And Dena, has been trained to drive too, and winning at her first show!  Go Shawn and Dena.  A thank you to Laurie Davidson at Heather Glen Farm for connecting us.  I always do like to know where our horses are and how they're doing.  I think I surprised Laurie and Shawn a bit by pulling out photos of Dena's parents, grandparents, and great grandparents - lol!  I'm such a packrat with my horse info!

I do always tell new buyers (and old!) please stay in contact, if you can't keep a horse, and I can't take it back, I will help you sell and I would like to be available as a  resource to any future owners too.

++++++++++++++

  

    

Tanglewood Farms Maria

Tanglewood Farms Maria

Maria (pronouced Mariah for some reason, that's what I was told and she's always been!), is our most senior mare here right now at the very active age of 24.

Maria was bred by Lois Anderson of Tanglewood Farms, of the wonderful driving horse fame (check out their site - training Minis to drive since 1973!  Definitely one of the best driving trainers in the USA).  Maria passes this movement to her daughters and we're really looking forward to seeing more of it in her down line.

Maria produced eight AMHA registered foals since her first daughter, Florita, in 1992 with many of her daughters going to breeding programs around the country.  She joined our breeding program in 2002 and has produced two daughters for us, Holly (Wesco Farms Diablos So Chic) and Patsy (Wesco Farms Demons Checkered Past) in that time.  Holly has gone on to join the breeding program at Imperial Acres, while Patsy is still here, hopefully bred to Topper (WCR Top Cop) for 2011.

Wesco Farms Demons Checkered Past 

(sired by Little Kings Dream Demon)

 

Wesco Farms Diablos So Chic

(sired by Little Kings Echo Diablo)

 

In 2005, while Patsy was still a weanling, Maria sustained an eye injury (our second that year) that required her eye to be removed.  It was really sad to see her return back and lose her position in the herd. As we planned on retiring her after that we let her "keep" her last foal.  Maria was all for that and finally weaned Patsy at the age of four!  Maria was the typical over-protective dam with Patsy up until the bitter end this year, separating Patsy from her dam to go in for breeding.  Maria has not een able to tolerate Patsy being away from her even for trimming, but she's settled down now since relocated her in with our other senior mares - Callita and Chiclet.

We have been observing Maria as potential pregnant as with our 2009 fence jumping boys she's looked suspiciously lopsided bellied. But as we head into Fall, I'm going to put it down to being in good flesh for 24 years old!

Tanglewood Farms Maria

                Shady Acres Gee Whiz        
          Tanglewood Farms Terribly Teddy
               Tanglewood Farms Holly Berry
      Tanglewood Farms Nifty Nickey
               Shady Acres Gee Whiz
         Tanglewood Farms Wild Honey

              Shady Acres Fritzie

TANGLEWOOD FARMS MARIA  

           Torri of Tanglewood

      Tanglewood Farms Little Charm 

           Sharons Tiny Trinket

Our funny story for Maria.  On our website (I know it's still not ALL up again), we had photos for recognizing Appy markers on the various body parts.  Well, apparently some man arguing with another in a forum - not horse related - was using one of Maria's photos to insult the other guy every time he'd post.  The gentleman that was being harassed asked me to removed the photo.  I didn't but did block the page from easy downloading.  This was the pic -

Gotta love the Internet!

A new book on color genetics
just out in May 2010