Well it is time to get back into it....

Spring is here and although the days are longer... there is still the sense that there is not enough time to do all that I set out to do... but I plug away at each day...doing what it is that God has available for me to accomplish. 

The most exciting addition to the homestead is a small orchard.  We have 10 tree in the ground and two more waiting to go in.  They seem to be doing well and a few even have signs of fruit! That would be a miracle to have fruit the first year!  But nothing is impossible for God:) 

We have also been able to start a small plot of aged horse manure and soil into a raised mound garden.  We have a little bet of every thing. I hope to have a section of blogging about it's progress.  I plan to do some experimental pest resisting flower planting .... different teas...add in pest and of course use goat milk.  Our six goats have been producing sooo much milk (about a gallon a day or more).  I had read that it helps with the soil, creates a barrier from pests and some fungus:) 
We will see what happens...

I have found one thing...that I would already like to expand:) Gardening has been good for the kids and in makes being outside very productive:)

The Snip Saga has now Ended....

Well as many of you already know last thursday marked the beginning of the end for Snip and I. 

We bathed, clipped and polished Thursday morning even though it was only 35 degees...and then headed down the road to The Heart Of Oklahoma Expo Center in Shawnee (which I have recently been informed is not OKC:)). Upon arrival, we settle the horses in their stalls.  We were ideally placed in the farthest back barn in the farthest back corner. Might sound bad, but we were right next to a parking lot, riding arena and it made an nice corner with little horse traffic for the kiddos to hang out.  We had a few hiccups in getting water (we forgot a hose) and they were selling bedding for $15 a bag (yikes!!).  A quick trip to Tractor Supply remedied the situation and gave us and opprutinity to grab a bite to eat too.

 I got Snip out late in the evening and was able to ride him in the big practice arena and in the pre sale arena with little trouble... he was leary of the big metal trash cans that lined the alleyways, but all a good lesson. 

Sale day,  a lot of folks showed interst in our other horses.  Snip looked a little small compared to some of the other two year olds, but boy did he seem broke compared to most of the older horses (including Music).  I was even able to ride him around bareback and in a halter through the stall alleys. 

His character was truly at its height.  Several times we would find him snoozing in his stall... seeming to not care about his cituation.  He even ate his grain laying down...just pulled the bucket closer to him. 

Snip was a little sticky in the pre sale arena, but he was tired and there were probably 25 horses awaiting their turn to sell.  A few folks asked some questions, and then like a blur we were in and out of the sale pen.  He was supper tight and his feet were pretty stuck up on the platfrom, but the video was a help so people could see he actually did move nicely.  I was pretty stiff and tight myself.  The auctioneer lightened things up a little when he commented on how kid broke this colt had to be considering I always had my kiddos around me:) But even with the joking and the video...the gavel fell..."Sold $400" (which is debateble since Aaron thought it was $375...we'll find out when the check comes).  Either way it seemed like so little for such an amazing horse.

 I had not yet shed a tear...which I am sure if you know me you would think is almost unbelievable...but as we rounded back to the stalls Aaron caught me in his arms and said I had done good...that was it...tears came a flowing.  I was not really sad, nor regretful, as I know this too was of the Lord, but just emotional from the whole event...yibbeee yibbee ...I know. 

  Anyway, shortly after we unsaddled that folks that purchased Snip came to check on their new horse.  They were a lovely, older couple that were very happy with him and had a lot of good things to say about the little horse and the way he was ridden.  God was very merciful to me...He does not have to be so kind toward us in these little things.  Snip found himself a good home...God gave Snip a good home, and all in all we had accomplished that which we set out to do... sell some horses.

Farm Babies Blurp

Well, Moomoo turned two on wednesday and Baby Sara turned 6 months old the day before and Bowen he is in the lead with age nearly 4.  Boy time flies and it the kiddos keep growing.  We have been spending the majority of our time inside because of the cold weather, but wander out ever now and then (usually on the way to some where close...the truck, the neighbors or Grandma and Grandpas trailer. ). But when we are stuck inside we like to watch animal videos ("peebio" in moomoo speak), tend our little garden seedlings that we keep in the house (tomatoe, cucumber, peppers, some spices, etc....all of which need to be transplanted into bigger containers), plan sewing projects, and do a handful  of arts and crafts(including but not limited to...coloring, cutting, gluing, playdough, stickers).  We enjoy our time together in the house but I think we will all enjoy being out side if spring should ever come:)

Wow I am way behind...

Well, here we sit 11 days from the sale and I have fallen back on my Snip Blog.  I can't believe it has been since Sissy that I last blogged.  So here is the short version, to get up to speed...
    I have ridden Snip a handful of times.  One time was not real good, he was kinda stiff and anti... but the other few he was great.  I have been able to get him to open gates (slowly),  he has started to come off my legs and neck rein, as well as trot and lope off with the slightest pressure and no resistance on his part. 

  Hopefully the "Snip-o-Thon" will continue today... we will see what the rest of the day has in store. I have run into a delima and must decide if I want to body clip Snip.  He has had a bought with rain rot... and although it has passed it has left his hair uneven... mainly on his hind quarters.  The debate is to clip to save people from thinking he has mange or some kind of dermatitis, but the risk is removing the hair and finding something worse undernieth. Hmmm...we'll see...I hope to at least trim his beard and ears today.  Her are a few photos Aunt Kim caught of me riding and playing with Snip over the blogging vacation

Snip is such a nice little horse, God has truly blessed us.

Simply Fabulous May 1993- February 2010

Simply Fabulous, aka Sissy, was laid to rest in the early evening yesterday.  Her life that began on a paint horse farm in California with her breeder Mary Irwin, a life that graced the show ring, a life that  produced flashy offspring, a life that subsided in Northeastern Oklahoma  She was a sort of premadonna and liked to be spoiled. She was a good mare and gave us two very painted foals. 

However, it was her lack of care for her final foal and the trauma that she suffered during his gestation that was just too much for this girl to pull through.  When she made the 1400 mile trek from a california valley to  the oklahoma woods, she was nursing a filly and bred back to our stud.  This is a draining task in and of itself. In an accident out with the broodmares, that we still don't fully understand, Sissy sufferd a fracture to her hind leg. We were concerned that she wouldn't continue. She didn't want to eat...she was depressed.. we held little hope for her unborn foal. We brought her in and with intensive treatment, specialized feed and a lot of carrots and apples, she seemed to mend. But we didn't know if she would ever be the same. In late June after holding her foal for over 420 days of gestation she foaled "little Miracle".  He seemed like he would make it, althoug he was very small, compared to Sissy's other foals.  He was a regular foal, full of life and seemed happy to run and buck with the other foals.  Foaling was hard on Sissy, she was not really interested in her foal, as in the past.  Her demeener continued to grow grouchier and more stoic, and asside from nursing another mare had addopted the little guy.

Sissy seemed to be maintaining, until we noticed her foal was not thriving like the others.  He seemed sick or tired, and so small...Sissy had stopped producing milk.  The foal was only 3 months old.  He took to a high fat pellet and hay, but seemed to be stunted.  We knew something was up with Sissy.  We watched her as winter approached, never really do very well.  We had hopes that not being bred, her body would recover...it wasn't so.  Her healed broken leg reamined stiff and hard to move, and the rest of her legs had become ladden with athritis.  She weathered the brunt of a icey snow storm, warm in her layers of blankets, but we had made the decision. 

Sissy hardly whinned for the other horses as we drove out. The vet noted her debilatating arthritis and thought we had made the right decision... as hard as it was. Aaron was petting her as she dropped her head, laid down and breathed her last. There is no doubt now that her suffering has ended.  I am confident that she had not seen the worst, and was glad that she wouldn't.  We will find a spot for her above the Beautiful Valley at the back of the property to bury her there.  If God ever allows us to fence our place, and bring to pass the many plans that we have, Sissy will still be among the herds that graze above her... We are thankful for the time God gave us with Sissy.

Sniperton

 With only a small window of riding time available to me only a few days a week … I really try to maximize my time with Snip. With him it is not so much quantity, or amount of time I’m in the saddle, its more the quality of stuff I can get him to think about. I have been trying to stress in my own mind precision in cues, direction and really rewarding those things that are positive, flexion, try, impulsion, etc. He is a very willing little horse, and I have to try not to ask too much at one time. Although, it is truly a balance considering that we only have three weeks from Friday until the sale. Yikes. I want him to be as marketable as possible, yet I know that all of that is dictated by the hand of God.




In this particular session he was really barn bound and did not want to leave the road frontage near the pen he lives and the other colts he lives with. Not a big deal and it gave me a chance to work on feel, stop, back, and flex. We even got a few turns on the haunches. We were just on the road, and because so much has melted from the big snow a few days ago, the road was actually somewhat spongy and soft… good for baby horse feet. Although like his brother and sister they all seem to have really hard feet... Praise God!



Anyway, we ended when he willingly walked past the tack room, hay barn and mobile. He is a smart little horse… speaking of little, he sure is growing…he might actually be a stout horse in the end, despite his mothers petite size.

Snip ... is he training himself:)

Well, we recently received a coating of ice and about 8 inches of snow... this can slow you down in the area of riding, None the less, the horses got their exercise. I watched from the window as the yeanlings and 2 year olds went wild. The reared, bucked and ran. It’s funny… here I was with my family hunkered down in the warm house and the horses seem to be excited by the “severe” winter weather. It probably helped because they were all decked in their mobile weather resisters …aka.. horse blankets.

 Without having to try to stay warm, it seemed they had to vent their energy some other way. It is neat to watch.

We put Lilly in the Shelter with the yearlings, because she refused to wear a blanket.  Oh well, it got the youngsters going.

I did however eek out about half an hour of time last night to spent with Snipper. It was getting dark and getting colder, so I decided to just hope on bareback. A first for Snip I attempted to just jump on… he stood great until I elbowed him in the flank! That sent him into a crow hop. I was only half on anyway and slipped of onto my feet, thankfully. I led him over to an empty water trough and decided getting on in an easy fashion would be better for both of us. It worked out well as I got to play with the concept of only moving a little at a time. I would ask him to only move one foot and then the other until he was in perfect position. Then I just slipped on. It was nearly dark then, so we just made a small circle around the mobile and back to the hay barn. Ever little bit helps. I brushed him out and put the small, thin blanket on (his new yellow one is just not fitting).



All in all, God has really blessed us…despite the rain, sleet, snow, and whatever else God sends us via weather.