2018 begins......

Hello.....it's been awhile since I've updated our blog.  Lots of things happening at the farm in the last 6 months.  This update will be about our black Arabian mare, V, that we purchased last spring.  As you'll remember, she was a difficult horse!  Bad handling had made her scared and untrusting of humans and borderline dangerous to work with.  It took a LOT of time and a lot of patience, but she has turned into a safe mare to handle from the ground.  She has very good ground manners now, she has learned to trust humans (for the most part), her striking and rearing in defense seems to be a thing of the past now and she has finally gained weight and is healthy.

She came home for the summer and for the first time in her life, learned what it was like to be in a big pasture with other horses!  She immediately developed a deep friendship with our yearling, Pearl.  Pearl showed V how to drink out of the pond, where the best grazing was at, the best path to come up to the barn for shelter, etc.  I credit a lot of V's mental growth with Pearl.  Pearl is a laid back, no nonsense type of gal, even with being just a yearling.  This was the perfect buddy for V.

Then in the fall, V went back to her trainer.  It was time to start her under saddle work.  The trainer has spent a lot of time on desensitization.  V was very reactionary to begin with.  She now has a very solid base to build upon.  She wears the full western saddle with no issues, has accepted things flapping and hanging off the saddle, she thinks through a situation most of the time now instead of just reacting first, she's had a couple of rides with a bosal, etc.  We cannot believe how much she has changed in the last 10 months!!  We're so happy we took the chance and went down this road with her.

She'll be bred to Klint Black this spring, for a guaranteed homozygous black Arabian foal next year.  We're hoping for a filly.  If a filly, she'll stay on with our family.  We're also hoping that foal will be an outstanding western pleasure show horse in the future!

Until the next update, stay warm and rest up, as spring will be here before we know it!

Photo of V during a work session in January 2018.

 

Wars of the Roses

Am I speaking about the English civil wars of the 1400's?  No.....I am speaking about my war against these nasty "wild rose bushes" and briar berry patches that are hell bent on taking over my pastures!

I've sprayed them in the spring with a chemical that is supposed to kill them off when they are just beginning to grow.  It does kill the green, then I bushhog down the patches, then they come back even thicker in just a few months!  I've read articles that say to dig up the roots after the green of the bush dies off.  Well, I can't dig up 3 acres of field!  I can't tell you how many dollars we've spent over the last few years, trying to get rid of these nasty things!!!  Some of them are wild blackberry bushes too.  Trust me, they aren't worth having around for a few buckets of berries.

So this year I have had it.  I am spraying them with Killz All.  Yes, it will kill any grass in that area too.  The briar patches tend to kill off any grass in their midst anyway, plus the livestock won't eat in those areas either, so I don't think I'll be losing any forage by doing this.  We'll see if I can keep them from coming back by doing it this way.  If so, then I can overseed grass in those areas next spring.

When spraying chemicals, be sure to chose a day that is not windy and where there is no rain predicted for a few days afterwards.  Remove the livestock from the sprayed areas until a rain does occur. 

Keep your fingers crossed for me to win this war this year!  If anyone has any other ideas on getting rid of this nuisance permanently, please send me a note and let me know!  Thanks!

The blogs will be every 2 months during the summer this year.  If I can squeeze in some more time in between, I'll try to post more often.  Thanks for understanding!

And the dream begins!

In my last blog, I mentioned that I was on the search for a new Arabian mare to add to our family, with the hopes of her producing my future black western pleasure show horse!  The search has ended!!  What I thought would be a simple purchase, turned into a logistical nightmare and we're now facing a LONG road of training for this mare.  This is not exactly what I had in mind, however her pedigree and genetics are worth it (to me), so I'm very pleased to have found her.  Let me explain......

A little background on myself first.  I'm far from a naïve horse owner.  I've owned and ridden horses for over 50 years.  I've trained and competed my own horses in my younger days and I've achieved good show results with those horses.  I've stood up to 4 busy breeding stallions at a time and we used to have about 10 foals a year.  I did all the initial handling and training of all those foals.  I'm proud to say that my vets and farriers over the years have always complimented me on how well behaved my horses are.  I've also bought and sold horses over the years for both myself and my clients.  So.....I'm in no way "new" to this field.

When I decided that it was time to seriously look for a new Arabian broodmare, I made a list of "wants" for this mare to possess.  Of course, the more items on the list that she ticked off, the more value I would place on her purchase price.  Two things that I said were not negotiable, were that she must test negative for agouti (bay color gene) and that she must be a no drama type of horse.  I was to change my criteria on one of those items.  Here's the complete list that I began with:  I'd like to find something within this year, but not urgent. She has to be the right fit, in order to add her to the family! Must be registered full-blooded arabian. Must be a NO drama type of horse and must NOT be a regumate mare. At least 14.3h, but would prefer 15.0 h or taller. Either black or chestnut. Must have color testing to prove that there is NO agouti (bay) allele hiding in there! Would prefer Varian or western bloodlines, but will consider others. An older mare is OK, as long as she is breeding sound and again, NO regumate. I'd prefer she be under 20 years old. A younger maiden mare is also OK, but would prefer her to be at least 3 yrs old. Anything in between is OK too. If younger or middle aged, I would like to be able to ride her, so if she's not broken to ride, I would like her to have the mindset to accept that training. She would be a trail mount and would have a few babies for me. She needs to have great ground manners, sweet personality and load in a trailer easily. Again, NO drama!! She must be tested CA and SCID clear. It goes without saying that she needs to be conformationally correct, nice neck set, pretty head and big eyes and NO steep croup please! I want her to produce show quality western babies for me. I have a reasonable budget for this dream horse, but I don't have a crazy high budget. The more boxes she ticks off, of course, the more she would be worth to me.

So the search began.  Since the goal was to produce black foals, I needed either a chestnut mare that tested negative for agouti (bay) or a true black mare.  I can't tell you how many lovely chestnut mares I looked at!  One in particular stole my heart and lived up to all of the "wants" EXCEPT she carried an agouti gene and that is an absolute no-go.  So the search continued onward.  Finally, I found a black mare that seemed to fit most of the criteria.

She was 14.3h (and still growing).  She was a 4 yr old.  She was black.  She had great bloodlines and good conformation.  Her training wasn't what I would expect it to be for a 4 year old, however the owner swore that she had (quote) "basic halter handling".  OK....so I stated to the owner that this meant to me that the mare could be haltered and lead, tied quietly, you could groom her and she stood for the farrier well.  He said she was a very friendly horse, a bit shy, but was fine for all of that.  I just didn't have a warm and fuzzy feeling about her level of handling, so I even spoke directly to him on the phone and reiterated what level I needed her to be at and explained that I now have rheumatoid arthritis and just can not fight nor wrestle with a horse any longer.  He assured me this mare would be fine for me.

We proceeded with the genetic testing and color testing and she passed all of that with flying colors.  Purchase agreement signed and vet exam scheduled.  That's when things got interesting and NOT in a good way!  Owner sends me a note and says the mare had a good exam and it all went fine.  Vet calls me and says the mare is (again, quote) "wild with no training".  He couldn't even get close enough to complete a basic health exam!  He also told me there was NO WAY this mare could transport with a regular horse transporter!  Two months of testing and waiting was now in jeopardy of going down the tubes!!  I now knew my gut feeling about her level of handling was spot on, but what to do about it?? 

Luckily, when I first doubted her training, I had contacted one of our local trainers and asked if she could take the mare for a couple of months when she came to SC.  I wanted to be sure the mare was gentle enough for me to handle safely this summer, then the mare would go back to her (trainer) in the fall to be put under saddle and then she'd come home next spring and be bred.  I called the trainer to update her on the situation and couldn't believe my ears when she said "I'll go get her"!!  2,000 miles one way, and this busy trainer stepped up to the plate to go for a week and get this mare safely for me!!  She knew that was the best road for this mare to go down and I have to whole heartedly agree!

The mare arrived at our SC trainer's farm in mid March.  She had limited handling and what handling she had been given, was given forcefully.  She trusted no human.  She was scared of being touched.  She had never eaten grain and refused to touch it!  She did not lead.  She did not tie.  She did not give to pressure.  She would not allow her head to be touched, so you could not remove her halter!  She would not allow you to pick up her feet.  Grooming was out of the question, as was hoof care.  Her defense when she got scared, was to strike and/or rear!  She had been living in wet and muddy conditions, so she had scratches on all 4 legs (fungal/bacterial infection).  She probably had thrush in her hooves as well, but we couldn't check her feet!  She had thick scabs under her jaw from a too tight halter that had been left on constantly.  So basically, a wild horse!!

Luckily, this trainer specializes in hard to handle and even true wild horses (mustangs).  The mare has a LONG way to go, but we have high hopes that this trainer will be able to get her gentled and trained for us eventually!  We had not planned to breed the mare until next spring and that is a good thing!  We wouldn't have been able to get close enough to do AI (artificial insemination) with her right now.  I would NOT recommend buying a horse like this unless you either have the experience training wild horses or have a good trainer that has that experience and is willing to take on a tough project.  If you DO take on a horse like this, don't expect miracles!  Instead, have a lot of patience, love and time to give to that horse.  Let them develop and learn at their own comfortable pace.  Pushing them will damage their minds and is NOT the way to go.  They must learn to trust and that takes time.  Trust is the main base to build all horse/human relationships on.  Without trust, you don't have a safe animal to work with and ride.

So.....stay tuned for updates on this mare's progress over the next year!  It will be an adventure, that's for sure!  Here are a couple of older photos of her.  She has all of the right pieces and parts, she just needs some growing, good nutrition and conditioning to bring it all together.  We have HIGH hopes for her!  We call her "V".

The mare as a foal.

The mare last fall, as a long 3 year old.

Until next month, enjoy your springtime and be safe with spring chores.  Next blog update will be early June.

Everyone has a "bucket list", whether you write it down or not!

Yes, I'm sure everyone has a bucket list in your mind, if not actually written down.  You may not think of it as such, but if there are things you want to do, places you want to see, activities you want to participate in, etc....then you've got a bucket list!

As I've gotten older, I've come to realize this and to tick off some of those boxes on my list.  No, I don't have them actually written down.  There are just some things that I've always wanted to do.  For instance, I've always dreamed of showing a halter horse at the top level and placing well in the class.  After 25 years of having this dream, I actually achieved this goal in 2013 at the age of 50 and after some major health changes and physical limitations too!  One of our pinto saddlebred mares and I were named Pinto World Champions in Amateur to Handle Mare Halter.  Yep, 3+ years later and I'm still pretty happy about that one.  😍

I've also always had a soft spot in my heart for western pleasure black Arabians.  I've owned a couple of black Arabian stallions over the years and one of them was a western pleasure horse, but he wasn't a pleasure to ride!  He was always "on" and you felt like you were sitting on a rocket, ready to launch!  LOL So....my quiet, laid back, black, western pleasure, Arabian show horse is still on my bucket list.  I think 2017 may be the year to start planning for this horse in my life!

I think Varian Arabians is the gold standard for pretty western horses, in my opinion.  I'm hoping to find a nice mare to cross with a Varian bred black stallion.  His name is Klint Black (Desperado V x Windsong Bey).  He is gorgeous with a laid back personality and has proven himself over and over again in the western and now hunter under saddle ring!  He's also National Champion Arabian Sport Horse In Hand!  I'd LOVE a foal by him.  Now the trick is, to find a well bred mare that is also conformationally correct, who will cross well with him AND give me guaranteed black foals!  The hunt is on!!

Here are a few pictures of Klint Black for you to enjoy!

On the bucket list is also a covered riding arena.  I've always wanted one but never had the extra money to get one.  The "extra" money always went towards living treasures (ie: animals).  I think in the next year or two, that may become a reality for me.  That is purely a luxury and one that I'd dearly love to enjoy.  I'd like to have it in place, by the time my future black foal is ready to ride!  ☺

So here's to Spring, to a renewal of life and a renewal of dreams!  Fingers and toes crossed that the next blog in April is introducing you to our new family member!!  😆  Until then, I hope that all of YOUR dreams are alive and well!  Take care.

Looking forward......

Spring is a favorite time of year for me.  New baby animals to meet and get to know, Mother Nature coming to life in the plants and flowers, the outside temperatures warm enough to allow you to stop and enjoy the sun on your skin without making you too hot and just an overall lifting of the mood and a renewal of life abounding around us!  Yes, I've always enjoyed the spring months.

This year is a bit more special to me though.  About 5+ years ago, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer.  It was caught early and the plan was to remove a portion of my kidney and the tumor attached to it.  I should have been back to work in 8 weeks and healed up.  Well.....things did not go as planned and instead, I embarked on a 6 month trip through hell.  I survived by the grace of God.  Yes, I survived.....but things were changed both physically, emotionally and mentally. 

Instead of being self-confident, bold and plunging head-first into life, I was hesitant.  Instead of planning for the future, I was trying to live through the present.  Instead of dreaming and envisioning what could be, I was thankful that I was alive and was looking forward to the present day.  Instead of having the outlook of "I can do whatever I set my mind to do", I now had the outlook of "I'm thankful to be alive, but I'm not sure I can physically do these things any longer".  Yes......things had changed greatly for me!!  For the very first time in my life, I doubted myself and my ability to do what I wanted to do....indeed, doubted being able to do things I had always been able to do in the past!  This was uncertain territory for me and it was territory that I didn't quite know how to navigate.

The healing finally began.  Did it happen in 8 weeks?  NO!  Did it happen in 8 months?  Another no.  Other health issues developed from the trauma my body had been through during that 6 month ordeal.  Diabetes, then Rheumatoid Arthritis came onto the scene for me.  Again, more changes in my ability to do and function like I wanted to do.  I truly think my mind felt a bit defeated and my heart/zest for life began to give up just a little bit.  My soul still struggled onward though and while I tried to get back to being "me", I just couldn't quite get there.  I was hanging on to the "old" version of me and not accepting what the "new" me was. 

Then I had the opportunity to travel with my husband on a work trip for him, to Hawaii last fall!  The trip was planned for the weeks around Thanksgiving.  I was nervous about the long travel time to even get there (20+ hours for us) and the extended flight times.  My body stiffens up horribly with extended car trips and I couldn't imagine having to walk and hurry to catch connecting flights at the airports!  In the past, I had travelled a lot and this was nothing.....now....I knew it would be a struggle.  I was also nervous about doing a lot of walking for sight-seeing.  Again in the past, no big deal and our vacations had always been jam packed with go-go-go things!  Now.....a few hours and I knew I would be done in, plus knew I'd have to rest the next day to recoup.  So, a lot of changes in how I/we approached this vacation were going to have to happen and I just wasn't sure I could accept those changes.  I approached the trip with a lot of worry and not with the joy that I should have felt.

The time came and the trip was made.  Yes, there were some challenges and we (my husband and I both) learned from them.  In the future we WILL have to make some longer transfer time allowances, etc for flights.  I planned outings to allow me the restful periods that I needed.  I even took a leap of faith and went on a horseback trail ride, to explore some of the countryside!  I wanted to do the 3 hour trip, but instead chose the 1 hour and thoroughly enjoyed it plus didn't suffer from joint pain either!  All in all, a great trip and a great learning experience AND a renewed belief in myself!

Since returning home from that trip, I've felt more alive.  I've actually allowed myself to dream about the future again and start to plan for future projects that I would like to accomplish.  I started to train and work one of our young half arabians on a regular basis and I am ABLE to SAFELY work with him now.  He's a little on the "hot" side and I had been fearful that I wouldn't be agile enough to get out of his way if need be.  Once I began to believe in myself again (while still being mindful about his space and my escape routes!), I was able to just "do" and wasn't paralyzed with fear.

Yes, paralyzed!  Did I realize that I was paralyzed all those years?  NO!  I didn't actually feel fear, but my mind and body were frozen with it anyway.  My heart and soul were fighting against it and I believe that's why I felt unrest in myself.  They were trying to tell me to not give up and to move forward.  Once I let go of that self doubt, my true healing began!

I was speaking to a good friend the other day, who is much younger than me.  She had been injured badly in a horseback riding accident a couple of years ago.  She's doing great now, but she too, had to fight to overcome her own fear of life afterwards!  She and I are sort of at the same point in our mental healing.....we're realizing it's our own selves that have been holding us back, after the physical healing had occurred.  While we compared notes, we found that once we both had acknowledged this, we were both able to begin to move forward and were able to work the horses again in comfort.  Were we the same as before?  No.  But we have to realize that life and living goes on for us.....it's just a bit changed....and that's absolutely OK!!

Just because we aren't able to do things exactly like we always have, or we don't look at things like we always have, it's OK!  Change is OK.  Don't quit living, just because you can't physically do what you did in the past.  Make adjustments and make a few changes and remember to ENJOY and DO what your heart desires!!  Don't dwell on the abilities lost, but rejoice in what abilities you still have!  Don't dwell on the "can't do's", but concentrate on the "can do's"!

I thought I was doing this, but apparently I was not believing in myself fully!  Now that I can, watch out world!  I'm back and I feel good!  Until next month's blog, take care and plan for a fabulous spring!  Remember, live your life the way that YOU want to live it.....not how others tell you to live it!



Our saddlebred stallion, Flash, and myself.  He was "under the influence" for some dental work and I was just embracing the moment!  It's OK to be goofy....don't let anyone tell you that it's not!

Welcome 2017!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!  The New Year can be viewed as either the end of a year or the beginning of the next.  While I take a moment to remember the year gone by, I've always thought of it as a new beginning.  Over the holidays, some friends said they always think of it as the ending of something.  Interesting how different minds look at the same thing in completely different ways.

For me, on New Year's Day, I'm always thinking back over the last year and in the past would always make resolutions and plans for the year to come.  Now, I still reflect on the past year, but don't feel the need to do the resolutions now. I'm thankful for every day that I wake up. I try to enjoy every moment that I'm here. Sure, I still have goals and dreams, but I live much more in the moment now, than I ever have. A friend calls it "life after cancer". I think it's life after ANY major life threatening event. It really changes your whole perspective and indeed, your very soul.

So on reflecting over 2016, we found forever homes for 3 of the horses.  We currently are out of stock on sale horses!  We added in 4 equines to the family.  One mini broodmare, 2 mini young stallions and one mini guard donkey!  We produced 3 lovely foals (1 mini and 2 full sized saddlebreds).  Both saddlebred babies were homozygous tobiano pinto and the mini baby was also a pinto!  It was a colorful foaling season for us!!  Our only horse out showing last year was our mini mare, Lucy.  She did well in halter and also began her driving career.  She will continue on this year in driving with the goal of making it to AMHR Nationals in September! 

Kakos Sharif's Fire in the Hole, aka Lucy.

Zinga (one of the young stallions) is also going to be starting his halter career this year.  He'll also be headed to AMHR Nationals in the futurity class.  We are excited to see what this little fellow can do in the future!  He sure loves to trot!!

DVM Grand Bazinga, aka Zinga.

2017 looks to be an exciting year for us again.  Two mini horses out showing, a 2 yr old half Arabian/half saddlebred gelding beginning his in-hand career in the Arabian Sport Horse shows, 2 mini foals due in March and in May, plus we MAY throw our hat back into the purebred Arabian breeding ring!!  We haven't produced purebred arabs for over 10 years now.  I'm feeling the itch to try for a black western pleasure show foal or two!!  We'll see how this materializes and I'll update you in the future on this endeavor!

Here's to hoping that 2017 brings you all of your heart's desires and a healthy, happy year!!  I'll check back in the beginning of February, with the next blog update.  Take care and stay warm this winter!

Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On......the holidays.

Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy Holidays!  This can be a very hectic time of year.  Remember to slow down and ENJOY the holidays.  No one will remember how perfect the table was or how spotless the silverware was.....they will, however, remember and cherish the times spent together and the laughter and good times.  As Jimmy Buffet sings, "Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On". 

Even the snow can be beautiful!  Yes, I know it can be a pain in the behind to drive in and it's cold as the dickens too......but forget all that for a few moments and just look at the beauty that Mother Nature has given us!!



Our home during a rare South Carolina snow!

Everyone around our farm gets in the holiday spirit!  Even the critters. 



Keyper of the Legacy on the left and Nick's Supreme Gold Bourbon on the right.  They were looking for Christmas cookies.

We are lucky that in our neck of the woods, we can usually enjoy outdoor winter activities without risking frost bite!  LOL  Even if you are in colder climates, put on the long underwear and get outside to enjoy the scenery!  Go pick out a fresh Christmas tree and have it cut down!  Enjoy some hot chocolate at the tree farm.  Snuggle down in a nest of warm straw and just listen to the animals in the barn having supper, after you've done evening chores.  Go for a drive and look at the Christmas lights displayed.  Wander through a park.  Lots of options.....you just have to slow down and take time to enjoy the smaller or quieter things the season has to offer!



Echo and our son Jess on the left, Joy and my husband Shaun on the right.  Great times and great memories!

Christmas 2012 we decided to add a small tree to the dining room too.  It was decorated with Flash and Annie's ribbons from the Pinto World Chamionship Show earlier that year.  It was a fun way to remember and give thanks for a fabulous show season!  This would be a good idea for a barn party too.....decorate the tree with everyone's ribbons from the year's show season!  Reminisce about the season and share the emotions together!

Christmas dinner 2012 with our Pinto World Championship Show Ribbon tree in the background.

So however you celebrate the season, remember to enjoy and hold loved ones, both human and animal, close.  For those that can't be with you, keep them near in your heart.  May God bless you all in the upcoming New Year!  Thank you for sharing some of your life with me here.



MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!

See you all in mid-January for the next blog!

I hope you had a Happy Halloween!!

I'm not sure why my posts don't post as scheduled!  I had this set to post on Halloween Day.  It obviously didn't go out!  Oh well, it's still an interesting piece to share about our farm's history, so here you go (with revisions made to suit the timing).

Halloween seems like an appropriate time, to deviate from farm tales and tell you a bit about our 186 year old farm house that we live in!  Why an appropriate time?  It's Halloween season and yes, our house has it's share of odd events!  Haunted?  I guess that depends on your perspective.  There are many events that are definitely not explainable by logical avenues!

Here's a bit of the house's history.  It was built in 1830 by a gentleman that was engaged to be married.  He had to complete the house, before his marriage.  He accomplished that task.  It was a simple 2 story, antebellum farmhouse.  (When it was first built, it did not have the front porch and columns.  Those were added during a renovation in the 1960's.)  I believe it began life as a saltbox style house.  It was 1 and 1/2 stories with an additional single story at the back of the house for the kitchen and back porch.  During it's renovation in the mid 1900's, a covered front porch with columns was added to it, along with bathrooms, a laundry room and the back porch enclosed and incorporated into the living area of the house.  Then in the early 2000's, it had another addition made to it.  A garage was added on to the east side.  We since have turned the original garage into a storage area and dog kennel.  We've also added a new garage on further to the east and a new master living area onto the west side. 

The house resembled a modest plantation house in it's birth.  The farm was a large cotton farm with a share cropper's house on the property too (that house is now gone).  They also raised cattle and had work horses, so many barns were here too.  Over the years, the farm has dwindled down to 13+/- acres. 

There used to be a huge cedar tree, out by the main gate that goes to our barns now.  That tree came down during Hurricane Hugo, back in 1989.  Anyway, the significance of that tree and why it's stump has been left (and we will continue to leave it there), is that General Sherman's army is said to have camped under and around that tree!  They did not destroy the house or the barns, for which we are thankful all these years later!!  We only have hearsay to document this story though.  We have never found any artifacts from the army.

We HAVE found Indian artifacts though!  Every time it rains, our sandy soil offers up arrow heads, spear heads and other rocks that were used by the Indians.  This is reported to have been one of their camping sites.  Which tribe was here, we are not sure.  It could have been a hunting ground of the Catawba's, the Waxhaw's, the Cheraw's or even the Wateree's.  We're fairly certain it was not a permanent Indian Village site, but just a hunting camp area for them.

So as you can see, the land and house have a long and interesting history!  The farming families that have lived in the house, LOVED this house and land.  It's no wonder that they might wish to stay!

We've lived here for 7+ years.  We fell in love with the house, farm and general location the minute we saw it!  Right from the beginning though, odd things would happen.......

When I "met" the house for the first time, I felt as though I had been here before.  I knew my way around, without being told where to find doors or stairs, etc.  It was a comforting feeling, yet odd just the same.  In an upstairs bedroom, when I opened a closet door, little plastic BB balls came falling down across the floor.  On further inspection, there wasn't any shelf or ledge that they could have been located on, in order to fall like that!  A little different, but nothing to scare me.

We bought the house and moved in.  It had been empty for about a year.  While the house was in good repair, there was a lot of cleaning and things to be done.  We soon noticed that a particular light switch on the staircase would turn on by itself!  There was an upstairs bedroom that had a light switch and ceiling fan that had a mind of it's own as well (this was NOT the bedroom that had the plastic BB's fall).  The front doors would open on their own, if the deadbolt was not latched.  An upstairs window (same bedroom as the independent light switch) would open a few inches on it's own, as did a window in the downstairs living room! 

There were cold spots that would occur, mostly in the living room.  We had a house cat and he would act as though he saw something moving, that none of us could see!  We added a new puppy to our family that same year we moved in and he would "watch" something go from the front doors, down the center of the entry hall and then he would look up the stairs, as if he were watching something go upstairs! 

A couple of years later, we added another puppy to the family.  She, too, would look at the front doors and growl, with the hair on her back standing on end!  Then she would quite clearly watch something move down the center entry hall and up the stairs!  Only after "it" was at the top of the stairs, would she come back and lay down again in the living room!  After a month or so, she would still look at the front door at times, but then she would wag her tail and roll over for a belly rub to something unseen to us!!  Apparently whatever/whomever this was, was friendly and of no threat to us!!  It still made me sit up and take notice though, I can sure tell you that!  LOL

We've also heard voices or a conversation (2 voices) coming from outside, on the west side of the house.  That phenomenon continues now, even though we've added on to that west side and you can hear the voices inside the new hallway there!  It only happens a few times a year and one of the previous owners said they had the same experience.  He had even went outside to look for prowlers (as did we) and found no one, nor could he hear any voices carrying on the wind or echoing outside.

I believe the oddest thing I've witnessed here, was a fork move on it's own!  We have an island in the kitchen.  Three of us were sitting at the island eating breakfast.  The stove sits on the other side of the island and had a pan still sitting there.  We had placed a fork on the edge of the pan.  Two of us quite clearly saw the fork lift up and be placed down on the edge of the counter.  It didn't fall.  It lifted up and turned itself over to be sat down, just as it would look like if we were doing that ourselves!! 

We also used to smell bacon cooking in the kitchen quite often.  I would come in the back door and think "Oh good, Shaun (my husband) is making breakfast!"  Then I'd come on into the kitchen and NOTHING!  No cooking of any kind was going on or HAD gone on!!

A lot of our pictures seem to have "orbs" in them also.  This happens mostly around the baby animals, but can happen around the horses in the field too.  I know, people will say dust particles!  However with rapid sequence photography, there might be 1 or 2 pics out of 10 that have any abnormalities in them.  If it were dust in the air, I'd think there would be quite a bit more photos with those particles visible in them!  I think whoever it is, likes the animals and especially the babies.

Orb to the right of the pup's neck.

Large orb near the colt's front legs.

Orb located centrally, near the head of the middle black and white horse.

We certainly don't feel threatened at all.  I think there are a couple of "people" that have stayed around here, at least.  The main one seems to be the previous farm owner.  I think he loves the place as much as we do and just hasn't moved on yet. 

I hope you enjoyed the history on our house!  Enjoy the fall weather everyone.  Since the holidays are upon us, the next post will be the first week of December.  I wish you all an early Happy Thanksgiving!

Hurricane Matthew!

Well, once again Mother Nature had other plans for us!  The barn building is still on hold, while we clean up from Hurricane Matthew.  We were extremely lucky here.....just a lot of rain and wind.  Limbs down, wet everywhere, but no major damage (thank goodness!).  Animals and humans are all fine.  This blog would be a good time to review what to do for your animals in an extreme weather event, such as a hurricane.

When you are faced with a weather event, you have to weigh a lot of things, to see where your animals will be the most protected.  Do you leave them inside?  Do you leave them outside?  Do you evacuate them?  Etc, etc, etc. 

When you are considering your options, take into account the stability of your barn, if there are trees or potential debris that might come down (like electric wires) during high winds, is the shelter on high enough ground that it won't flood, what is the likelihood of flying debris that might hit them, etc. 

If you decide that the animals would be safer inside, be sure to give them plenty of water, hay and bedding, in case you can't make it back to the barn for a day.  If you decide to leave the animals outside, they will need the same access to water and hay or grass.  Be sure if you do leave them outside, that they have identification on them, in case fences come down and they get out.  If you leave a halter on them, be sure it is a break-away halter.  These halters are designed to give way, if the horse catches them on a tree branch or some such thing.  The halters are to break first, instead of injuring (or killing) the horse.  Perhaps put a fly mask on your outside horse as well, so it will help keep the wind from blowing dirt into the horse's eyes and/or ears.

You can also use a neck tag/strap for identification.  These are like the neck straps you would see on cattle....they work on horses too.  You can write on them with a permanent marker.  Put your name and phone number or your vet's phone number on the straps.  That way if your horses do get out, when someone finds them, they will hopefully still have the strap on, so you can be contacted.  Here's just one link to this type of product.  http://livestockconcepts.com/en/identification/2969-ritchey-15-neck-bands.html

If you have a well that supplies your water, be sure to fill up as many water tanks/buckets as you can, in case you loose power (wells won't work without electricity to them).  This way you can water your horses until the power comes back on.  Have plenty of hay on hand as well.  We've found if our horses have hay to munch on, that keeps them busy and they don't fret about high winds as much.

Make sure your emergency first aid kit for the animals is up-to-date and stocked.  Have blankets and towels on hand.  Better to be over prepared, than not prepared enough!

If you are thinking about evacuating your horses, have a plan on where you are going first.  Call ahead and find a stable that you can shelter in.  Make reservations for your horses, just as you will for yourself at a hotel.  If you have more horses than you can fit into your horse trailer at one time, take that into consideration as well.  Do you hire someone to haul them for you?  Remember, there may not be someone available to do this for you.  Can you make several trips to move the horses?  If so, start early and don't wait until the last minute to move them!  Better to have moved them early and end up not needing to evacuate, rather than waiting until the last minute and having a mess because you get stuck in traffic of others trying to leave or you need to make more than one trip and the weather turns too dangerous for you to haul a trailer, so you can't go back and get the 2nd load and so forth.

This brings up some other ideas you should have in place on a regular basis.  Check your truck and horse trailer tires regularly.  Check your horse trailer floors for safety.  Do normal maintenance on these vehicles, so they are ready in case of emergencies.  Keep a binder of current coggins tests for ALL of your horses, not just the horses that leave the farm routinely.  You never know when you may have to haul one to a vet in another state and would need a negative coggins to cross state lines.  In that same binder, keep printed out directions to the most frequently used horse emergency vet locations.  Your GPS may not work and having printed driving directions will take some of the tension out of an emergency situation.  Also keep a printed out version of your horse's health history, including vaccines, wormings, etc. in that binder.

Of course these ideas can be used for all livestock, not just horses.  Hopefully you will never need to implement any emergency responses.  We send our thoughts and prayers to all affected by hurricane Matthew. 

Next blog will be posted on Halloween Day.....Oct 31st.  That blog will give you an interesting look into our 186 year old house that we live in!!

A new arrival on the farm!

This blog was to continue with our barn building adventures.  Well, Mother Nature has had other ideas the last week or so here!  We've had rain for the majority of the week (much needed rain, I might add), so our barn build has been delayed.  There's never a lack of activity around here though.  I'll take this blog space to introduce you to our newest family member, instead.  Mini Gaits Midnight Wardance, aka Night, has arrived! 

He's a weanling miniature black and white pinto stud colt.  He will be one of our herd sires in the future.  He's registered both AMHA and AMHR.  I'll be getting him triple registered as a pinto also.  He is homozygous for tobiano pinto, meaning he will ALWAYS produce a pinto foal, no matter what color the mare is that he is bred to!  Yippee!!!!  We like our spots around here.  <big smile>

Night, shown at just 6 days old!

Night here on the farm, with his new best friend Rebel! 

We love, love, love his laid back attitude towards life!  He just takes things as they come and doesn't get upset about anything.  His turn-out buddy is our weanling colt Rebel.  We thought they would tear around the paddock and might need a babysitter.....not so, not so!  LOL  You lead them out, turn them loose and they settle right down to the task of eating grass!  No nonsense at all!  LOL

He has old, respected bloodlines that should compliment future daughters of our current stallion Little Kings Buckeroo Aladin.  Night is sired by Willow Creeks Thunder By Wardance, who is a direct son of Flying W Farms Little Wardance (who is the AMHA 1997 Amateur Senior Stallions National Champion and the AMHA 1998 Senior Stallions Open Over 32 to 34 National Champion).  Night's dam is Mini Gaits Night Angel, a double granddaughter of SC Rangers Nightrain.  SC Rangers Nightrain is a grandson of both Flying W Farms Little Blue Boy (He is the 1981 AMHA World Reserve Grand Champion Senior Stallion.  He was also the Leading AMHA sire at the time of his death and a true legendary sire.  He's also the sire of many AMHA World Champions.) and SC Rangers Nightrain is also a grandson of Roan Ranger (the Shetland pony who is a son of Gold Melody Boy).

                                                           View his full pedigree here.


Night is put together very well indeed!  Short backed, excellent legs, nice set on neck, pretty head, good bite, good tail set, nice croup, etc.  We are extremely happy with him and look forward to his future foals!  He'll stay at home to grow up for a few years, then he will go to our trainers to see what he can do in harness.  With his 4 flashy white stockings and black body coloration, coupled with his laid back personality, we think he will make a lovely parade candidate for us too!

Hopefully the next blog will continue on with our barn building, Mother Nature willing!  Enjoy the beginning weeks of fall everyone!!

Do you need more stall or storage space?

When you live on a farm, you can NEVER have too many barns, run-in sheds or storage areas.  We are at the place where we needed another small barn or run-in shed.  We've added another paddock this year near the main barn, where we turned out a mare and foal for exercise.  We thought it would have been very nice to have a shelter in that paddock for them, so if a sudden rain storm came up, they could get in without us worrying about them and running like crazy to the barn to get them inside!

So....we started out with the idea to just build a small 12 x 12 run-in shelter.  On reflecting about the use of that, we decided to make it a bit larger and go with a 12 x 30 small barn instead.  There will be room for 2 stalls of 12 x 12 size OR 4 stalls of 6 x 12 (mini horse) size OR 1 large run-in area of 12 x 24 size, OR a combination of those sizes, with a solid walled 6 x 12 feed room.  The stall area will be divided off by gates and/or round pen panels, so the entire stall area can be rearranged to meet whatever current need we have for it!  It will be perfect for weaning the mini foals in.  Perfect for 2 full sized horses to spend the nights in.  Perfect for storing shavings/sawdust in, etc.  The uses are numerous!

We also decided to tackle this build ourselves.  Since it was a small shelter, we figured it was within our abilities.  The blogs for the next few entries will reflect this building journey and I'll share the path that we chose to go down on putting up this addition!  Perhaps it may give you a few ideas for your own run-in shed or small barn!

The first thing you need to do, is check with your county and see if a building permit is needed.  In our county, if it is a barn/farm building, then no building permit is needed.  Then we drew out our planned building on paper, with lengths noted, post heights noted, etc.  This allowed us to make a shopping list for our supplies.

We began with marking and digging the holes for our support posts.  Since the internal stall structure will change with need, we opted for more posts than just the basic support posts.  We wanted extra posts to secure divider panels to, etc.  Before you dig, make sure there are no underground utilities in the area!  Often times people forget about where their electric or water lines to the barn are located!!  Make sure you are well clear of those areas before you dig your post holes!!  We put in the posts, made sure they were straight, tamped some dirt around the bottoms and then put in a bag of quickcrete in each hole.  We put the quickcrete in dry and added water to the mixture after it was in the hole.  We then let those posts stand quietly and the concrete dry for several days.

Posts set and concrete added.  Just waiting a few days for it all to set up and harden well.

After the concrete was dry, we put up our brace boards between all the posts.  This was a bit of a challenge!  We wanted the front posts to be 6 inches higher than our very back posts, to give us a 6 inch drop for water to run off the roof.  (That small of a drop is fine for our area....we get very, very little snow each year!  In snowy areas, you'll need to check with your local builders to see what they recommend for a roof slant.)  You would think that by leveling each brace board that goes between the posts, that you would have a square and even design.  Unfortunately, that did not happen for us!  I have a suspicion that it has to do with the fact that our ground is not perfectly level to begin with! 

So my best advice, would be to put your brace boards across the front posts at the height that you would like them to be at and then level each of those boards.  Then place a temporary board between the front post and the next post back.  Level it and mark the top of that brace board (for us, this was our middle post).  Measure down the correct distance and mark where the top of the board should be placed.  Then repeat that procedure for the next line of posts back, etc.  For instance, in our case, we had 3 lines of posts.  Front, middle and back.  Our front posts were 9 feet 6 inches high.  Our middle posts should have been 9 feet 3 inches high.  Our back posts should have been 9 feet even.  This would give us our 6 inch slope for our roof line.  You would think just measuring each post the correct height and then placing the brace boards at the top of each post, SHOULD have been the easiest way to achieve our slope!  It was NOT!!!  Again, I think the fact that the ground was not perfectly level, was the reason it didn't work the way we thought it would.  So....this alternate method worked and our roof slopes fine. 

Then we needed to cut off the posts to the correct heights.  You can do this before or after you place the brace boards up....it's up to you and how comfortable you are with your cutting device!  We opted to mark the posts with the brace boards held temporarily in place.  We placed them at the desired location and ran a marker across the post, along the top of the board.  This marked our post with the proper slope we needed to cut it at.  Then we used a chain saw to cut the tops off the posts.  It was pretty accurate and was a MUCH faster way than using a circular saw for this task! 

After the tops of the posts were cut off and the brace posts attached, it was time for the rafters.  We used 2 x 4 treated lumber.  We opted to lay them flat, with the 4 inch width against the brace posts, instead of having them on end.  We did this for 2 reasons:  we didn't want as much air/vent space at the top of the rafters and we wanted more of a surface to nail our OSB boards to.  We left a 3 foot overhang at the front of the barn and a 1 foot overhang at the back.  This will hopefully keep rain from blowing into the front of the stall and keep it from dripping directly down on the back of the barn.

Posts up, brace boards in place and rafters going up.

With all of the rafters in place, it was time for the OSB (like plywood) to go up.  We opted to put this up along with the metal roofing, in order to insulate the barn a little bit.  Having the wood underneath the metal roof will help to keep the barn a bit cooler and will also help to greatly reduce the noise when it rains!  Since there will be young horses kept in this barn often, we wanted it as quiet as we could get it during storms. 

We used 2 sheets of the OSB board to make up one row.  We placed it long way from front to back.  This gave us 16 feet of roof to cover.  (12 feet of stall area, plus 3 foot overhang in front and 1 foot overhang at the back.)  We did have to cut some off of the side, as it didn't come out to be a perfect fit that way.

Back row of the OSB boards going up on the roof.  About 3/4 of that row is finished here.  To get them on the roof, we backed the truck as close to the side of the building as we could.  Then we lifted up the 8 foot board and pushed it up onto the roof.  We used ladders to climb up to get it properly placed on the first few boards.  After that, one person sat on the roof to work and the other stood on a ladder to assist from the ground.

Once the OSB boards were all in place, we put on the black roof paper, to seal the roof against moisture.  We rolled it out across the roof going left to right (so going longways on the roof).  We overlapped each row by about 3 inches.  Each row was also stapled in place.  We opted for the stronger paper....so when we walked across it, it held up and wouldn't tear. 

On each end, we left about 2 or 3 inches hanging over and stapled that down also.



Roof covered in black roofing paper.  The wrinkles are because the roof sat overnight and the dew made it slightly bubbled like that.  As the sun came up, it went back down flat.

Black roof paper hanging over edges of roof a bit.  We stapled this down also.

 

 

 

Next step was to add the drip edges.  We used 10 feet long drip strips, letting them overlap slightly in the middle and used roofing nails to attach them to the topside of the roof.  On the ends, we bent the edges around the corners, to protect the corner boards as shown.

Drip edge (silver colored metal strip) going up.

Drip edge going in place.



The drip edge wrapping around the corner. 

Now it was time for the metal roofing to go up!  For easier handling, we chose to use an 8 foot piece of metal and a 10 foot piece of metal, to make up one row (front to back).  These smaller pieces were easier for us to transport and handle, rather than going with a 16 foot long solid piece!!

We did overlap the 2 pieces in each row by a couple of feet.  We also allowed the metal to slightly hang over the edges of the OSB board in the front and back by a couple of inches.  The screws we used to attach the metal sheets have a washer on them, to help seal the screw holes against water.

Metal roofing in place.

That completes phase 1!  Yeah!!  It's nice to have the barn under roof.  Next phase is putting up the metal sides.  That will be covered in the next blog, coming out on September 26th.  A word of caution....when you are working on a roof.....never do that alone!  Always have someone with you, even if they are on the ground, for safety!  Take care!!  Until next time.....

No post until September 12th!

We've been on the go the last couple of weeks and the travel will continue another week or so.  Due to this, the next blog on building a run-in shed will come out on September the 12th.  Sorry for the delay!

Sauce Maker Appliance makes quick work of tomatoes!

This year I updated some of my appliances for preserving food.  One of the purchases was the Ball FreshTech HarvestPro Sauce Maker.  This is the EASIEST thing to use and makes very quick work of skinning, de-seeding and juicing tomatoes!!  It is also easy to clean as well.  I can highly recommend adding this to your arsenal of kitchen appliances.

The HarvestPro Sauce Maker.  LOVE this kitchen appliance!

The sauce maker assembled.

I have no financial interest in this product or this company, I am just relating my wonderful experience with it.  I purchased it on sale at the beginning of the season (in May) for $99.99.  Regular price is $149.99.  Here's the website:

http://www.freshpreserving.com/ball-freshtech-harvestpro-sauce-maker-1034049VM.html#start=1

You simply wash the whole tomatoes, core and cut them into quarters and heat in a pan.  Once heated thoroughly, you put them into the sauce maker and process.  6 quarts of juice took me MAYBE 30 minutes to process!  That included heating the tomatoes to begin with!

Box of tomatoes bought from the local farmer's market for $10!

 

Sauce maker in action. 

The above photo shows the how easy this appliance is to operate!  You place the cut up, heated tomatoes into that top bin.  Place your "scraps" bowl (seed and skin bowl, which is my white bowl here) at the end, place another bowl under the juice "spout" as shown (glass bowl here) and turn on the sauce maker!  VERY quickly, you've got your juice ready to can or cook with!  The appliance also has a larger setting, for allowing chunks of tomatoes, onions, etc to come through.  I have not tried that setting yet, so can't comment on how well that works.

The left over scraps, I feed to our chickens.  They LOVE this stuff!  I'm sure pigs would like this too.

Scraps neatly contained and ready to carry out to the chickens!

I've found this addition to our kitchen to be very, very helpful and well worth the cost!  Canning season is slowing down for us here in the south.  Now it's beginning to cool off a bit.  Next blog will begin a series on putting up your own small barn or run-in shed.  That will come out August 29th.  I hope you are enjoying your summer and are having a great canning season!

A couple of quicker and easier ways to freeze sweet corn!

If you've ever had fresh sweet corn from the garden, you are probably hooked and willing to work to freeze it yourself for use this winter!  It tastes SO much better than the store bought cans of kernel corn.  Normally, most articles you read will tell you to blanch the corn first, before cutting it off the cob and freezing it.  Wouldn't it be nice to be able to just freeze it WITHOUT blanching??  Think of the time you would save!

Years ago, my mom tried freezing corn-on-the-cob without blanching and it worked just fine!  In fact, we enjoyed the texture of it better than blanched corn that was frozen.  The unblanched frozen corn (to us anyway) resembled the texture and taste of fresh corn more accurately than the blanched frozen corn did.  From everything I've been able to read and question, unblanched frozen corn does not seem to pose a safety concern either.

There are 2 methods that I've used myself.  The first is the absolute quickest and easiest.  Take your sweet corn, wrap it in aluminum foil to completely cover it (WITH the shuck still on!) and throw it in the freezer!  When you get ready to cook it, loosen one end of the foil and loosen the pointed tip of the shuck, run a little cool water into the end of the corn, then wrap the foil back up and place it on the grill to cook.  OR you can take the foil off, loosen the pointed end of the shuck and run the cool water in, wrap the corn in a paper towel and cook it in the microwave for about 5 minutes.  Be careful when you remove the shuck!  It will be HOT and steamy!

The other method I've tried of freezing corn without blanching is a bit more time consuming (because I cut it off the cob), but it tastes just as good!  Just shuck the corn, clean all the "hairs" off the corn, wash the cob in cool water, then cut the corn off the cob, spoon the corn kernels into a freezer container and freeze!

Corn-on-the-cob with it's shucks still on.

The "hairs" that need to be removed from the corn before cutting it off the cob.

If you've read my previous blogs, you'll remember that I have RA now (rheumatoid arthritis).  It's harder for me to use my hands in a physical way.  Cutting the corn off the cob is hard for me to do with just a knife.  I started looking around and I found THE best device to cut the kernels off the corn cob!  It's currently priced at $9.99 and comes from Carol Wright Gifts.  I know, you're thinking it won't be sturdy (it is made of mostly plastic).  Well, I've finished putting up our sweet corn this year and it held up just fine and is stored away now, waiting for use next season!  Here's the link to the corn cutter's page (they call it a corn stripper): 

http://www.carolwrightgifts.com/corn-stripper/80342.cfm?key=5G00236B&cm_mmc=PaidSearch-_-GooglePLA-_-FreeShip-_-80342&gclid=CJus7MXKh84CFdU6gQod6WEOAg

Here are some pictures of it.  It's EASY to use, easy to clean, keeps the kernels from going all over the place and works for both uncooked AND cooked corn on the cob!



The corn cutter/stripper assembled and ready to use.



Corn cob placed in the cylinder, getting ready to cut the corn off.

Before you place the cob into the cylinder, make sure the end is flat.  Otherwise, it won't seat itself properly and will make the process difficult (if not impossible).  Just take a knife and cut this end off.



Place the metal hollow "rod" over the end of the cob.



Push the plastic "prongs" down onto the top of the cylinder.  Then push down on the metal "rod" (which has cutting teeth on the end of it).  This will cut the kernels off the cob.  You can twist the metal rod as you push down or you can just push straight down (if you are strong enough).

After you remove the metal "rod", your cob will come out inside the "rod', leaving the kernels of corn in the cylinder.  Empty them out into a bowl (if you are freezing them) or empty them directly onto your plate if you have already cooked the corn!

You can see the cob sticking out the end of the metal "rod".  By placing the yellow "tamper" into the end of the rod, you can force the cob out the other end.

Left over cobs.  You can see just a tad bit of corn left on the cob (at the small end).  If you want to cut that off with a knife, you can.  It doesn't leave very much on there though.

We like to add red bell peppers to our sweet corn.  You can do that now, before you freeze it, or you can add them in later when you cook the corn.  Your choice and it works fine either way.

So now, you have left over husks and cobs with most of the corn cut off of them.  What do you do with this stuff?  If you live on a farm, feed it to your livestock!  Pigs LOVE this stuff, cows like it too and some horses like it, as well as your chickens!  You may need to cut up the cobs into smaller bites for the horses, chickens and pigs.  I feed it to the horses like a treat.  Most of them really like it, but there are a couple that turn their noses up at it!  For our full sized horses, I cut the cobs into pieces that are about 2 inches long.  For the miniature horses, I then cut that 2 inch long piece into halves (much easier for them to chew).  For the chickens, I then cut that 2 inch long half piece into half again.  As for the husks, I just put them out on the ground and let them forage through them.  Horses can be picky about the husks especially!  Our Saddlebreds won't eat them.  The Arabians love them.  The miniatures have to be in the mood to eat them!  LOL  It's safe for them to eat.  Just don't feed them too many husks or cobs at once.  I limit the full sized horses to 2 cobs each/per day.  The minis get less than that.  If you have a horse that has foundered, probably better to not give them any cobs at all.

**Important Reminder!**  If you save the cobs to feed to livestock later on (more than a day later), be sure to keep the cobs in the refrigerator.  They can (and will) mold if left at room temperature for over a day.  NEVER feed molded cobs to any livestock.  It can make them sick.

**Another important reminder!**  Never feed anything to someone else's animals, without their permission.  Meaning, if you live next to livestock, do NOT just throw this stuff over the fence.  You can make the animals very sick.  Some of them can be allergic to certain foods, just like you are!  ALWAYS ask the owner first, if it's OK to give something to their animals.  PLEASE, YOU MUST ALWAYS ASK FIRST!!

That's it for this blog's helpful, time saving hints!  Next blog will look at another new appliance I added to the food preserving line-up this summer, a sauce maker!  I love it too!  Until then, happy freezing and canning!  (Next blog due out Monday August 15th.)