I chuckled sadly when I noticed that the last post in the blog was Mark’s exhortation of wearing helmets every time, every ride.  The post was his response to Courtney King-Dye’s accident.   She was not wearing a helmet.  The results may have been very different had she been.  We’ve been praying for her and are [...]

continue reading.....

Test your knowledge of horses and horsemanship at this great website hosted by the Canadian Pony Club: http://www.canadianponyclub.org/Games/index.php. This is an interactive quiz with questions sorted by skill level. Be quick! The clock is ticking!

continue reading.....

Freezing rain and ice-slick roads confine us to the farm tonight… and there is no place we’d rather be! Mark and I play with the horses well after dark. I trim Grace’s hooves and start teaching her a new trick, and we all marvel at how well Dolly’s hoof is healing. I flash between enjoying [...]

continue reading.....

Ive been keeping an eye on the most recent California wildfire, dubbed the Lockheed fire, which at the time of this post has burnt some 6800 acres. Fires out there are commonplace, but this one, of all of them, is personal: Ive lived there. As I was reading up on it in the Sentinal online, [...]

continue reading.....

You remember the story of belling the cat. We were handed a similar scenario… The challenge: To put a flymask on a horse who is not halter-trained and is known to be headshy. The solution: Clicker Training to the rescue! Crockett is an Appy gelding, part of the PMU rescue herd we are currently helping [...]

continue reading.....

Luna the spotted draft mare delivered a spirited, strapping colt in the wee hours of the morning.  Both mama and baby are doing great! The colt’s daddy is Jack Flash, a Gypsy cob stallion imported from the UK. This particular cross gave a 2% chance of producing a chestnut tobiano, yet that describes him!  He [...]

continue reading.....

I just learned about a highly nutritious grass that may be suit itself to a warming climate. Teff

continue reading.....

Luna and her soon-to-be-born Gypsy Sport Horse foal joined our family on winter solstice this year. Luna had been through four owners since April, through no fault of her own. Luna is a 4 year-old Spotted Draft mare, small despite her Shire blood. She’s sweet, sound and healthy, like so many equine victims of today’s [...]

continue reading.....

We tackled Luna’s hooves today, beginning what we hope will be an uneventful recovery process.  When we first looked at her, her owner told her reluctance to move forward was due to the added weight of pregnancy.  Forget the foal, her feet were a mess!  Every step must feel like walking on glass shards! Flares [...]

continue reading.....

Kathy made my day today!  During a break in her lesson she told me she’s taken up walking at the mall.  Today she walked two miles.  More importantly, she confided, “I kept thinking about what we’ve been practicing in our riding lessons.  I keep reminding myself to breathe, and put on my cloak!” For people [...]

continue reading.....