oh no , cold again

It is freezing again outside. I am so relieved that none of my broodmares are due to foal right now. I remember a couple of years ago I asked a friend to horse sit for a weekend while my husband and I had a romantic Valentine's weekend at The Homestead- very romantic. However, my friend was shocked to have to deliver her first foal on Valentine's eve in 10 degree weather (she wasn't due for another 10 days). She did a great job but wasn't too thrilled about the weather. Now, I try for later due dates. This year the first foal is due the beginning of March. I have 4 coming, one mare slipped a while ago. In this market I'm worried about what to do with any foals! But, I am planning on the sales being better in a year! Hope springs eternal!

I think I will post a warmer picture to help me with the cold.

great day foxhunting

We had a great day foxhunting yesterday. A friend rode my young 5 yr old mare,Polly, for her first hunt experience and she was terrific. Behaved herself, followed quietly and seemed fine and relaxed at the end of a 4 hr hunt. Hopefully someone will like her and buy her!

We started with a bang and chased a large red in big circles with some of those big circles going to close to a housing development and a major road. The other whip and I were looking at each other, silently hoping the huntsman wasn't bringing hounds to the line that followed the fox into the housing development but, alas, here he came and we had a mad gallop trying to head fox and hounds back to the summer pastures rather than the major road. We prevailed after whip cracking , yelling and some ratshot. Don't know if either hounds or fox pay any attention to us when in full cry but the noise we make is impressive.

This large fox went to ground in a trash pile after second big circle and we continued on to further coverts. It was warm enough now and we were all enjoying some nice gallops on good footing. I watched my young mare being ridden in the field and was glad to see her seeming to enjoy the hunt experience. Some horses love it and some never take to it, so I was relieved to see her lovely long canter going by.

The next fox was picked up slowly by persistent hound work in the woods below Touchette's and I viewed two foxes slipping thru the woods and across the fields way ahead of hounds. The hounds were in full cry and screaming eastward very fast as I galloped parallel on higher ground. We covered about 5 miles very fast, right back to the trailers and I think the field was glad to call it a day. This fox slipped away and the hounds were a little scattered in the boggy area below trailers. We had one young entry out, Phoenix, who was pretending to be the Energizer Bunny. He would not stop and was the last hound I followed, trying to get him to call it a day! You have to admire his persistence, rising again and again to seek the scent!

We were happy to get home and I was tired that night. It was a good tired, the kind that you feel after a satisfying day of hard riding. It was great to be back in the saddle and several field members said it was great to see me galloping around again ( after the cat bite incident). I love it!

When the Saints come marching in...

I had wanted Brett Favre to win and take the Vikings all the way. Oh well. I can get behind the Saints now. I was in New Orleans just before Katrina, and watched in horror as their dome was basically destroyed and then ruined by the FEMA mismanagement debacle. The team was displaced and struggling for awhile but now!!! GO SAINTS!! I also watched Reggie Bush jumped way over an opposing player at USC on the way to a TD run-back. It was an incredible move and I hope he does really well. Drew Brees is OK too. My husband likes him and I like New Orleans. It is going to be some Mardi Gras which starts right around Super Bowl time and continues for a week or so. Our Hunt Ball has a Mardi Gras theme this year. So I'm rooting for the Saints!

I rode all three fillies yesterday, it was lovely and warm, an unusual day in mid-January. Polly, who is the one I am trying to sell first is typical Thoroughbred, forward and perky. She is lovely, doesn't do anything wrong and loves to jump, just needs mileage. The three year old Chessie I should have brought back from the track awhile ago. She is very lazy for a Thoroughbred, very laid back. I don't think racing is in the bones. She will make a perfect show hunter, so I am fattening her up and hacking quietly. The 4 yr old grey beauty is pregnant and, after foaling I will decide what to do with her. She is big and a lovely mover so we shall see.

Anyway, yesterday was warm and I enjoyed getting them all out. Today is cold again and I am

less motivated. Lots of paperwork to do anyway.

The puppy is growing like a weed. He is outgrowing the chair cushions and graduating to the couch to stretch out and sleep. He is very beautiful or should I say handsome (he's a boy) and he loves to follow when I ride. Thank goodness all the horses are puppy -proof..

Lazy Sundays

Sunday was a rainy, cold day. Perfectly spent in front of a fire, watching football, reading books, just chilling. Have to start end of year bookkeeping and tax stuff but just relaxed and was very lazy for one more day.

Tuesday- weekend over, end-of-year filing done. Watching Haitian news with sadness, such fortitude in the face of such devastation. It will take a long time to rebuild,but hopefully it will be better for these people. Give prayers and money.

One mare is not pregnant and I am going to give her to a good home. She is lovely but the market just does not support breeding anymore. Sadly, I am dispersing some this coming year, rethinking how to keep horses without losing money.

January riding and puppy

January is just a cold month. We have not hunted for a month it seems, but perhaps this Sunday! Mike and I slipped away to Mexico for a few days last weekend and it was lovely. A couple of cool days for Mexico but it sure beat 20 degrees up here. We climbed the last Mayan ruins that you can climb, Coba, and watched an ancient Mayan ball game, played with fire in the dark in the bottom of a dry cenote! It was incredible and I found out that is called "pok ta pok", which is the name of a racehorse sire. I always wondered where that name came from and now I know. It is a small world and full of strange coincidences.

The puppy, Leo, is growing like a weed and learning about farm life. He is still freaked out by barking dogs in the night and runs to sit right beside you, however he is a ball of fun and still smells like a puppy. I am trying to sell a couple of Thoroughbred fillies that will make lovely hunters. I need to downsize the herd! And end-of-year paperwork is occupying all the rest of my day. Stay warm and send prayers to Haiti. I was there in the early 70's and it is the poorest of nations. Hopefully this earthquake will receive international attention that will help Haiti in many areas for the future.

Beginnings

It is a cold beginning to 2010. Everything is frozen, I worry about the horses drinking enough. I have heaters in the troughs but the broodmares are very suspicious of the coil and refuse to drink unless I remove the heat coil. So they wait for morning and I take it out for awhile. The ground is hard on the feet too, they all look they have foundered as they stagger around avoiding the bumps and divots from frozen mud. It just is really difficult. I worry about the weanlings being cold. Everyone is out 24/7 and my friend, Carol, just reminded me of a weanling that we saw that had frostbitten ears. Hunting is cancelled because it is too dangerous. This is the worst footing. A little thaw on top of frozen mud is called "goose grease" and it is guaranteed to take a horse down if they hit it at any speed- so I am relieved that I am not whipping , even tho' I am eager to be back in the saddle.

I am still worried about the economy and what to do with all these mares and soon -to-come babies. I love my horses but the costs are getting too high. My friend is selling all her racehorse fillies in Keeneland this month and I think we are all re-evaluating the situation in Maryland. It was so disappointing that the slots did not go to Laurel.

On a happier note, the puppy,Leo, is so cute. He is still sort of bumbling and goofy, but you can see the adult dog in there and he is going to be very handsome. I think I will start to think of the winter as being about 1/2 over and March will be here soon! Stay warm