Martha’s Journal:

Sometimes amide the hectic life of a breeder of coloured sporthorses, owner of a small farm, mother, wife, and employment as a professional counsellor I want to be creative and write! So I am starting an On Line Journal to share with people who visit my web site. If you have comments or ideas you may email me at m_drennan@telus.net

Newest entry is at the top of the page.

Summer 2010 Journal

Well it is summer now...however our temperatures have been 5 to 6 degrees below our normal for May and June. The weather had been so wet here people were saying “Happy November’… July got here…wow; the heat wave hit 30+C.

Life on the farm goes on…

We have one celebration…Jenny’s Turn foaled her 13th foal…and a filly to boot! Born on May 20th 2010 bay and white filly, stunning. She is very uphill and fluid through her back and about 80% bay...I am in love again. Filly will go to the RPSI inspections on Sept 14th this year.

On a sad note this will be Jen’s last foal. She has squamous cell carcinoma in her reproductive tract, and while will do fine for a number of months until baby Sage is weaned, I won’t let her suffer. When her quality of life goes down I will send her across the Rainbow Bridge. S ad day that will be. We will continue to enjoy her while we have her. She is the smartest, most willing and gentlest horse I have ever owned.

Meanwhile back in the rain..(now hot, hot sun)……Our “new” mare Evensong was bred …again… on June 2nd. Not her fault really she didn’t conceive first time. We scanned her on a Thursday evening, 36 follicle little or no edema yet…things look good, weekend coming up didn’t want to miss her, so ordered semen for Saturday morning pick up. But somehow I wanted to do it sooner didn’t listen to my inner voice……Went to inseminate early Sat am…Eve had ovulated already… about 12 hours before, we guess from the scan and internal check. We put the semen in and hoped…nope, not to be.

Back to breeding 101…Rules of ‘engagement’:
1. Mares do not read the textbooks that people do.
2. Experienced knowledgeable Veterinarians get fooled and long time breeders (me) loose our memory; this mares’ dam did the same darned thing
3. Mare is a four letter word
4. In the case of young healthy mare…do it again!

Second time scanned at 36 on Tuesday afternoon, bred next day, Wednesday, follicle was 40+ ! Eve had ovulated by Thursday when we rescanned. This is a fast moving gal.LOL

Moral of the story, mares do not read the text book, trust your instincts, and remember her dam Jen…who does exactly the same thing. Chance this does this run in mare line?

Note to self: Remember this next year, when we will be breeding Spring (again a Jen offspring), who will then be three….!

We will know in under two weeks if all this worked for Eve…Yup it did….
We are now expecting …well Eve is…a May 2011 Banderas foal.

Side note…Evensong is growing; she was 5yrs this year on May22. and has put on well over an inch since she got here mid March of this year….now but t high, almost 16hh with a great deal of solid substance….I think she may make 16.1 the way she is growing. Sideway growth may be an issue though and I am not speaking of being pregnant! This gal is her mother’s daughter…will eat non stop on pasture, so ‘Weight Watchers’ for her…LOL 3 hours a day max out there.. Sorry Eve!

Sahara is home for awhile as of April 30th 2010. She did very, very well in training; attended several large “schooling” shows schooling shows, similar to B circuit shows elsewhere…and pinned at every show, even won a class..

She is for sale, and in a program with a trainer would make an awesome children’s A circuit hunter. She turned 4 on the 31 of May and needs a bit more time to grow and mature physically. Very sensible young mare, not too much bothers her. She really likes being a show horse and all the attention and pampering she got..

The rest of the “kids” are doing well. Both yearlings are growing and growing…both good sized but very different. Sam is compact, pretty, balanced and full of himself. Emma is rangy, long, loose and a tad awkward still. She will, I think eventually be very tall, she is pushing 15hh behind now at 1 year 1 month

Spring my “keeper” filly out of Jen is tall, a smidge under 16hh at 2. (Love it)… and has a lot of substance..

I am doing stall reno’s and planning on building another run in shelter in the late summer. We have scraped and cleaned and scraped again another paddock…finally it is ready for sand /crusher dust mix. Planning that for the second week of July. It had been full of old bark mulch, dirt, manure and the like when we got here…we are working our way down the row of paddocks re-doing footing and changing the fencing.
Got that task done…stay tuned, we may get the next shelter built yet (smile)

My husband, daughter and son-in-law all went off to Ireland this spring in late June. I got to stay home, feed the animals, clean the paddocks, and run the place .Lucky me huh!?!

Well if I win the lottery we will all go next year. Till next time, be happy with you horses, enjoy life and breathe!

March 2010

The New Year is here…err well, New Year plus two and a half months here! <smile>
Life just gets too busy most days to stop to write!

So… News from the Farm: I am really excited… We have gotten the mare Evensong back! Thank you Catharina for thinking of me when life circumstances made the sale necessary. Eve is a 2005 model by the CSHA stallion Tricolore (Voltaire xSamber) and out of my superstar mare Jenny’s Turn. Eve has had one foal previously, and we will breed her this year to one of Dreamscape Farms stallions, most likely Banduras. Eve is only heterozygous to the tobiano gene, so only 50% chance of colour…however the foal will be wonderful, solid or tobiano. She has the athletic ability, and excellent temperament of the other Jen offspring, so no worries there. She arrived on Friday March 12th 2010. Once she settles in we will decide on breeding plans.

Sahara is doing so well I am busting with pride. She went to her first show undersaddle, a big schooling show at Thunder Bird Show Park Langley BC. She was calm and cool and got a 6th place in the open 2’6” Hunter class, 19 entries…so not too shabby! All the fences were ‘real’ hunter fences…flower pots, plants, lots of evergreen shrubs, fancy. As well, she is now being ridden for lessons by a petit 11yr old child, and is completely reliable willing, a real “steady Eddie”. Well maybe steady Edwina? LOL This girl grooms, tacks, and gets on….and off they go. Sahara will do the next show at Thunder Bird Show Park at the end of March, and then we will decide her next step in life
Sahara is for sale…please see the Sale Page. This young mare is a definite A Circuit Children’s Hunter.

Samuel and Emma, the two 2009 yearlings, are growing and developing well. Emma especially, is lanky and tall; currently 9 months old, she is about 14.2hh, should be a very tall young mare in a few years. She is cheeky and full of herself. Sam is more mellow than ever and an attention hog. He is a compact, pretty boy, and has the typical Sagnol offspring attitude of ‘pick me…pick me’.
We have our old Standardbred gelding back. He is 28 this June, and has had a full and productive life; as a successful race horse, as a jumper and event horse with Rachel, as a ‘volunteer’ in a therapeutic riding program, as a lesson horse, and now retired to live out his days eating, snoozing…and well maybe babysitting our foals as he does that so well!

Jen is progressing well with her pregnancy; she is due mid to late May with her 13th foal. Yup…13 of them! She does well pregnant, happy and eager to eat. She is the ‘herd boss’ on the farm…content to oversee her domain.
Spring Silk will be two on May 5 2010. .taller than her dam Jen now, she is a hair under 16hh, and I expect her to finish about 16.2hh. I cannot wait to breed her…she has a date with Freestyle (Florestan X SPS Paloma) next year. Spring is homozygous for the tobiano gene…so colt or filly it will be tobiano.

We did more work on the farm this winter…renovating the barn a bit….new footing in a paddock…we are doing one more this coming week…it is in progress at the moment as the old hog fuel(cedar bark chippings) is being scraped out…takes time with the tractor to get down to the hard pan… And thus the re-hab of the farm goes on and on.
I enjoy the results…so it is a labour of love.

Summer…then Fall 2009

Beware the “breeders” rant!

Money, what can you spend vs. what kind of horse you want? Ah….you “gets (mostly) what you pays for”. Think of buying a car…if you have a shop, and tools and love rebuilding there are good buys that after a bit of hard work and time, well maybe lots of both, you have a wonderful fun car for a low price, and the time and fun of the job. If you are not a so inclined to do the rehab, the hard work, and the time, lots of time, don’t have the time space and tools…expect to pay a much higher price.

With horses, part of the problem is people do not know the costs of just getting a healthy well bred foal on the ground. Quality semen from quality stallions, quality care, professional Veterinarian services, quality feed, bedding, safe fences and barns all c-o-s-t. I see ads from people wanting a started, quiet young horse, but under 2k. Oh Please! I get so frustrated, even without a the stallion fees, should one have their own stallion,(and there you have the cost of keeping, breed approvals, showing etc too!) you cannot put a foal on the ground for that let alone keep it for three of four years, feed, worm, trim its feet, vaccinate it for twice that! Nutrition, health care, and farrier work “don’t come free". (Nor should they.)

Then there are the costs of the registration process, breed inspections, membership in various breed organizations…the list goes on! OK …end of rant!

Summer has been hot here, so nice after a very cold snowy winter. We just had a day or so of much needed rain…and the temperatures have gone back to seasonal normal towards the end of August. Lovely.

Both my 2009 foals are doing super well; they live out with their momma’s all day, run-in shelter at night. Both had their second trims at about two months last Saturday…Emma was ho-hum, Samuel on the other hand decided to try us on…silly boy. Both my farrier have been doing this stuff for a combined total of….well waaaaaaaaaay to many years! Sam got trimmed, learned it is much easier to stand beside his dam (who by the way ignored his temper tantrum) and be trimmed than to fling himself about.

Sahara ( Sempatico x Strathmiglo xx) our 3 yr old Canadian Sport Horse is doing so well she is ready to be backed! She ground drives, and I can lay over her in the stall. September first she goes for professional training and her price will go up considerably…if you want a lovely pretty athletic filly…buy now!

Spring Silk my yearling Sempatico filly is huge. She is pushing her dam’s height about 15.2 and is maturing well. Only two more years till I can breed her…sigh

Emma the 2009 filly…well we are all in love with her. She is sweet…truly sweet. And is going to mature big…really BIG.



Later …it got to be fall… somehow??…eeeekkk!

Now it is November, and while we have had some harsh rainy cold days, we have had sun…real sunny warm days too.

Sahara is doing so well under saddle it is hard to believe she is only three and a half! She gets ridden 5 or 6 days a week by the trainer for short periods of time. She now has 60 days under saddle, and acts like it is 120 days! She has done a few small jumps and loves it…so attentive….and her transitions and lateral work on the flat are so good for a baby. She has taken living at the training barn in her stride, and loves the daily attention by trainer and groom. She is in a group of big solid bay warm bloods and TB’s….and she does stand out with her tobiano pattern, and feminine, refined prettiness! She knows she is special! She is for sale…check out my “Sale” page!

The 2009 foals, Samuel and Emma are weaned, Sam is now a gelding, poor sad boy, but more settled, and sweet and well mannered for a handsome young man!

We bring them in a couple of times a week, groom, and teach them manners. And snuggle a bit too.

Sam, Emma, and the long yearling Spring live together, and all co-exist really well. A group of furry mud-puppies at the moment, but happy and healthy living in their field, with run in shelter and never empty bins of hay.

Well till next time…enjoy your horses… appreciate the gifts of Mother Nature, and stay warm and healthy!

June /July 2009

Have you ever noticed just about every language, from Latin on, has a saying about the speed of time? Anyone have any sayings about how to get it to slow down? "Smile"

Life on the farm is speeding by, punctuated by moments of panic, moments of reflection, and moments of joy. We have two live and healthy foals this spring, both gifts of Mother Nature and rewards of hard work!

Our first foal of the year, by Sagnol, and out of my very experienced brood mare Jennys Turn, decided to resist getting born.

Jen foaled on a lovely warm Tuesday evening….all was going on schedule till I checked the “bubble’ one nose one foreleg…and then “Oh SH**!" Other foreleg bent back at the knee upon exploration….

Amid the voice in my head say … "don’t panic" I panicked…

Called my Vet’s emergency number….got mare up to walk…Dr Kerstin called back while driving to my farm…(flying?)... and coached Rachel on how to attempt to straighten the foreleg…no go. It was less than 20 minutes that seemed to last for ever until she got here. Bless my Jen mare, in great pain she trudged along beside me around the riding ring while I kept telling her “...it will be OK, Dr. Kerstin can fix it” meanwhile believing that the foal would be dead when we got it out.

Dr. Kerstin flew out of the truck, medications injected for Jen, arm in, her pushing the foal in, getting the leg, me pushing on Jen ‘s rump to keep her from sitting down, Rachel at the mare’s head keeping Jen on her feet, then out comes foal, lowered gentle to the straw…blue tongue…me crying. He looked dead. Mother Nature had a gift for me…..foal snorts, I push him up on sternum… breath happens. While he needed a bit of extra care in the first few days, he was on his feet and nursing in under an hour. When the chaos was all over and we stood outside the barn door there was a huge rainbow over the back field and mountain! The promise, right? So the colt got called Samuel…roughly “God’s promise”…or “gift from God”.

12 days later, after keeping me up all night Brittany decides to foal 12 days early. More panic, nothing to do but wait and be prepared. At 6am I put her out for a stretch and role, and of course feed her breakfast…well more breakfast… which was happily eaten down promptly despite free choice hay all night.

Then about 9am she paws twice, circles and goes down. No muss, no fuss! I ran to get Rachel, up at the house as she wanted to be there. As Britt was beside a young filly in he next paddock I made the poor mare get up, and we walked her 50 feet to the barn and foaling stall…down, push….and out come my black and white filly. Long, long legs, cute head, big curly ears, and other than having little body fat, just fine thank you. We give the foals colostrum before they get up….so she is bonded with me now for sure…!. It took her an hour to figure out the standing part, did I mention very long legs?... however once she got her legs figured out, has not stopped nursing since. Good thing mamma Britt has lots of milk. At two weeks she is positively chubby! We call her Emma, just because I like the name.

And life goes on….

There is building and fixing and mowing and harrowing and….…

The new run-in shelter has roof and ½ sides…..dirt dug out, sand/crusher dust mix put in, fence lines adjusted, drainage in, gates moved, it is getting there. New metal panel with gate installed at the end of the long ally way, where the outside water hydrant and lights for the paddocks are installed. No more crawling through the fence now! Mind you redirecting the electric fence took some time! We put the original fence in last summer prior to placing the underground water and power lines in…..oh well fixed now.

Later…

Jen is rebred to Sagnol…Sam is so nice we decided to have another…LOL She will be scanned this week July 4th or 5th…fingers crossed she “caught”…

July 4th…yup Jen did it again, ‘nother Sagnol tobiano foal ‘cooking’. Due late may 2010.

Sahara may get bred to Freestyle…OR go into training. I cannot decide, and as she is a late foal I wasn’t into breeding her till mid summer anyway. She has developed wonderfully since I got her back in late Jan 2009….grown, filled out and mellowed totally. She now ground drives, wears tack, walks over ground poles and is growing up. (smile)

With or without foal Sahara is for sale…call if you are interested in purchasing her.
Terms to the right home.

Off to “farm” some more. One of the fields needs mowing again.

Spring (the season) might arrive…sometime.

March 1, 2009

We got another hit of “real” winter last week….snow, lots of it, and a nasty cold wind for several days. Minus 10 with the wind chill…drifts of snow and frozen water tubs…did I say UG! …and I thought from the previous dry sunny week spring was going to make an early arrival! Foolish me. Our “new” filly Sahara is doing well. This is a filly I bred and sold as a weanling….and decided to purchase back when the opportunity arose.

She has put on some weight in the 5 weeks we have had her here, and starting to grow…Yea! She will be 3 on May 31 this year and is a very slow maturing girl, but has very long legs and has put on over half an inch in 5 weeks! We have started her ground driving, and she is doing really well; has worn a surcingle and loose side reins with no issue. I have to get her teeth done before bitting her, but since I drive her off the halter there is no rush. She comes in the barn for the night, eats and eats, and really loves the attention. I think her movement is the best I have ever bred. She ‘sits’ at the trot just playing, and has a big balanced canter. Mind you she likes to gallop flat out in the field too!

Later… March 16. 2009
Still snowing! Yes, it snowed yesterday, didn’t stay, but the white stuff came down! On a happy note my two broodmares are doing very well…I sure am glad I scanned Jen twice. She has just over two months to go and is as big as a house with her Sagnol baby. Britt seems to be growing steadily sideways; both are hungry all the time…and eat hay 24/7.

March 25th, 2009
I seem to be writing in spurts, can it be because I am a busy woman? Yup…it is!
Late, late spring this year…durned weather.

Much Later! April 5, 2009
Ah…spring really is going to arrive. It was actually warm here yesterday! I have to get this sent off to my Web Person for posting…I really do. I have been spreading manure and seeding grass….Foaling stall, a nice size one at 16x12 is all ready and areas are cleared down to hard pan for putting down gravel base and starting mare and foal shelters…

Much, much later…May 10, 2009
Mother Day……mares are shaping up with large bellies! Jen’s foal is due is 16 days or so. She is huge as usual, being of short legs looks even larger. Her legs are short due to malnutrition as a weanling; her foals sure do not have the same problem! So much outside work to do I just don’t get other things done like sending a journal entry in….
I have a really good start on the new run in shelter, and have pulled and cut and burned enough ivy to last the rest of my lifetime. Double ug!... I hate the stuff.

Sahara is doing so well; she has grown at least two inches, filled out and is beautiful! New pictures soon I promise. I have a trainer who is good with youngsters and will send her to be backed next month. Then if she doesn’t sell we will most likely breed her for a late 2010 foal.
I promise to get baby pictures up as soon as the first foal arrives.

End of one year…Start of another: January 2009

Life is so difficult at times; I forget to count my blessings.
They are there, when I remember to look.

The sad news is we lost of Timbit…aka ‘Sure Now’ on December the 15th to complications post castration. I have never lost a weanling before and it destroyed me, I hardly was able to deal with Christmas, or the holidays. We checked him at 8pm Sunday night, gave him his antibiotics, and he was dead when I went out to feed at 6am Monday morning. Our Veterinarian had even dropped in Sunday morning just to check him again, and he seemed to be doing well.

Caring for the other horses, and my husband’s and daughter‘s love and care have helped me deal with this loss. I have to remember that life just keeps going on and has to be lived the best way we can. This year has been so full of challenges, pain, losses, and hard work I am glad it has finished. May 2009 be full of hope, joys, and new coloured foals. We have two tobiano babies coming in the late spring, both will be for sale. My 2008 filly Spring Silk (Sempatico x Jenny Turn) is growing …and growing even in mid-winter, and is still a wonderful, athletic, and fun filly.

The weather here this winter has been dreadful. We are known as the “Wet Coast”…it rains all winter…truly it does. This year we are the “White Coast”…snow and cold non-stop since the first week in December. Lack of snow plows, along with the ‘lotus land’ belief that ..”oh well it will melt”… has left us with icy roads, impassible side streets and commuting night mares! As I work off farm 5 days a week I am really looking forward to warm weather and spring!

Late January….life moves on.
We have purchased a two and a half year old tobiano filly that we bred and sold as a weanling. She is by Sempatico and out of the lovely producing TB mare Strathmiglo that we had on lease several years ago. Sahara is registered with the Canadian Sport Horse Association, and we will have her inspected after she is three for breeding approval. (This is the standard process for Canadian Sport Horses.) We look forward to Sahara maturing a bit and putting on some height as she is a bit on the small side. Her dam actually grew 2 inches between her four year old year and when I leased her back; I know this for a fact as I measured her originally as I owned her for a year before she was sold. So much for the myth that thoroughbreds mature early!

We may breed Sahara later this coming summer…have to see how she matures. She is a really pretty filly with superior movement; she has suspension and drive that is stunning! We are planning on breeding her midsummer, all being well, to Dreamscape Farm’s wonderful stallion Freestyle. He will give her more leg, hopefully more height, and if I get lucky she will give the foal her tobiano colour!

We put in more drainage by the shelters, put in more road base and gravel as well on the back drive way area, so one more piece of the farm is renovated. We have two more shelters to build, one this coming spring, one later! Maybe if one of the new foals sells I can afford it. Anyone mention that farms need a lot of TLC? Till next time, happy dreams, in colour.

November 22 2008

Here We Are...

Horses and humans arrived at our new farm on Sept 30th 2008. Hallelujah…. we did it!! While we had brought over most of the barn supplies, all the hay, tack trunks and assorted ‘stuff’ in the weeks prior to the move while the mobile home was being set up moving was still a challenge.

There was of course, one last load from the barn...buckets, manure forks, hoses, isn't moving fun?  H4 Services, in the person of Kevan Garecki, moved all the horses over in one van load. Bless him and his patient ways, the haul went off easily and the horses settled in immediately…thank goodness.

The personal and household stuff was the easy too…of course there was one last load there too, at 9pm, stuff from the fridge, bits of garbage to get rid of, and of course the coffee pot, LOL. After the move, we settled in, weaned the foals, and focused on more ‘new property’ clean up, as the weather for most of October stayed reasonably nice. Several more loads to both the dump and to the metal recycle depot… Ho w can people make and leave such a mess behind? Ah well…it is starting to resemble a horse farm here…thank goodness.

  November now…the rain has been ghastly! I don’t have power to the barn…and with time change and dark wet rain….doing chores has been ugly. The contractor unfortunately dropped a large tree on the overhead power line from daughters’ house to the barn….I was planning on putting in underground power…in next year’s budget…..but isn’t that what over draft’s at the bank are for? Power and water needed to go to the shelters…so the plan was do it all at once. Ha…again the weather gods have other plans for me, rain, literally monsoons worth, have brought that plan to a halt. We finally got the pole by the shelter(for flood lights) in after the sky opened, and in a wondrous break in the weather this week, we have the water in to the shelter area, and the underground power cable in the trench as well…….

Power cable just went in to the barn …barn and shelter lights can happen after the electrician does his work…, then that project can rest, and my bank balance can recover!

  Timbit…aka Sure Now….is the only young one I have for sale, and the aforesaid bank balance needs the funds! Please call or email about him, he is a really lovely fellow, and we are willing to take offers at the moment. He isn’t castrated yet, when that expense happens his price will go up! At $8000.00 Canadian funds he is a lovely prospect for someone willing to wait for him to mature.

September 26 2008

Almost Fall 2008…Getting There

Spring Silk attended the RPSI inspection in Langley and did very well….scored a 7.8 for a high Silver Premium. Filly was a tad nervous in the indoor ring so her trot was a bit tight…otherwise showed well. Long day, everyone is tired especially me. Rachel came and helped thank goodness, so a huge thank you goes out to my daughter! Spring took the bathing, braiding and hauling in stride, and barely flinched at the branding! Her temperament is super! We get to do it all again next year as Jen is in foal to Sagnol, (Sandro Hit x La Belle) for May of 2009.

On the new farm …well it is still a work in progress. All sorts of issues have come up…most are on their way to being solved. Our new home has arrived, a big relief….but a ton of work still needed to complete the home site. Skirting and stairs on the trailer, and all the hookups! Fields are mowed; riding ring is in “rehab”, it was a lovely sand ring however was over grown with weeds and needing a lot of work.

We have moved some of the paddock fencing….all the field fencing to put in. My fencing contractor, Al, from Duel Fencing, who is a total gem of a person, is starting the work on September 18th and says it will take at least a week to complete. Only hiccup is we have an easement for an oil transmission line in the back field, and have to have Kinder Morgan out to tell us where it is safe to pound posts! Wouldn’t want to blow up the neighborhood as it is a high pressure line...hopefully well underground! Fencing will be finished, please God, before we have to move.

The large shelter is being divided to use for two paddocks, and “horse-proofed”, as I have a belief that all horse will attempt to damage themselves given any opportunity. That is the nature of the critters!
Barn is cleaned out…repairs in progress. Rachel has sprayed down the barn completely with a pressure wash, as it was full of dust, cobwebs, nasty junk, and smelled bad. Such a difference now! The wiring needs to be check by the electrician this coming week and some adjustments made.

And…best news…Brittany, AKA Noisette…her papers have arrived from Sweden. Well worth the wait! She has “green” papers… How appropriate for our environmental times…heheheeee! As I read the rules, they are the top papers for a Swedish Warmblood. Since Brittany has already been inspected for breeding approval with Canadian Sport Horse last year, her paper work is being finished, …and in 6 weeks or so that paper her papers will come back. Timbit, Britt’s 2008 colt will be registered as Sure Now. Paperwork for full Canadian Sport Horse papers for him is in the works. He will be gelded in the next few months, and weaned the end of October so will be ready for a new owner.
Email me to discuss terms!

Just over two weeks till moving day…I am not ready! I keep telling myself that life will slow down after September. 70 to 80 hours a week between my work “off farm” and my work “on farm” is just too much!

August 9 2008

Joys of Moving a Farm…One day at a time!

Well, as of July 25, 2008 we officially own our new place….! Rachel and Keith have moved into the house and are busy renovating and loving it.

Beware my rant… I have been struggling to get City Hall to issue me permits to put in new septic system and put my mobile home on the property. Less than helpful does not come close to describing City Hall. We have been attempting to get a check list of the steps City Hall requires for two months….nothing but difficulties. Only by consulting with professional contractors did we find out what was necessary, albeit slowly!

We have finally, at some cost, gotten the engineered drawing and health permits for the new septic, thanks to Arden Consulting Engineers, good firm to work with by the way. However Chilliwack City Hall seems to think that two months is a “short time” to expect to get a building permit! We are hopefully going to try again next week…my Notary Public and Real Estate Agent have been awesome in working to speed the process for us, thank goodness. Such things as registered Covenants, letters of undertaking and documents even my notaries are speechless over have been drafted…UG!

Septic installation will, I hope, start next week, August 11, and site prep for the trailer after that as soon as said Covenants are registered at Land Titles office. Anyone wanting to put a mobile or modular on their farm can consult me….such things I know now! LOL

Back to the horse stuff…. Jen did indeed conceive on the second Sagnol breeding…and she was also rescanned Aug 1, nice health heart beat in there. Jen was rechecked, mainly to placate Dr Kerstin who is a worry wart of the highest degree! Mamma Jen was not impressed, but baby-heart is beating in there in fine form. Spring Silk, this year’s Sempatico foal wonderful, tallest foal Jen has had, and shedding out black bay!

Brittany was scanned in foal to Sempatico on Aug 1st… she conceived on first AI this year…wonderful. Her 2008 colt, “Sure Now” is a very ‘solid’, muscular, and pretty boy, and is just now starting to grow up rather than out! He is a powerhouse when he moves, very ‘up’ in front. Mamma Britt’s Swedish papers are on their way back from Sweden, so we will get CSHA approval soon I hope.

We are starting the clean-up on the barn and riding ring at the new place, the latter over grown with weeds. And I am buying a new tractor and brush cutter (mower)…very exciting! Fields are good, just neglected and mounds of briars to cut and eradicate. My fencing contractor will come and take measurements next week too, so new fences can be started. We are moving hay and supplies over each weekend, and doing numerous dump runs. Tack boxes to clean out…more piles to discard…sheesh. Amazing how much stuff I have …again …accumulated. Has it been only 10 years here?

I keep trying to be philosophical and tell myself to take this one day at a time and all good things will happen. This is hard for me by nature, and as I work off farm full time I have to trust the contractors will go forward as discussed. Weekends are NOT long enough, so I am taking a week or two of my holidays at the end of Aug to work “on farm” full time.

Till next time, wish me luck, send prayers, or drop by; but careful we may put visitors to work!

June 20, 2008

Welcome to Summer!

First order of business…a big welcome to our coloured colt by Sempatico out of Brittany. He was born June 21, the first day of summer, and made me late for work Baby boy has long correct legs, lovely markings, and a very pretty head with the best head/poll/ neck connection one could ask for. We are calling him Timothy for a barn name…and he is getting Timbit already! Brittany’s ‘real’ name is Noisette 26. Yes, we will be getting a duplicate copy of her Swedish papers…these things do take time. Big thank you to Jan Brinks of Tullstorp Dressage Stables in Sweden, who is taking the time out of his very busy schedule to make this happen! Noisette is by Nocturne out of a mare called Zaffran who is by Pontus. Hummm…guess I will have to read up on Swedish bloodlines!

June 1, 2008

Farm Hunt, Foals and Freak-outs

As the world turns, well my world anyway.

For the last few weeks I have been in a low grade ‘freak-out’, anxiety driven mode….our place has been sold for some time, and while we have a lease-back until Sept 30th this year, I have been feeling totally homeless…most unpleasant. Family…my daughter and my hubby, has decided we should not move to the Okanagan area. For lots of reasons, valid ones too. The area is not how we pictured it, and during farm hunting we have driven the length and breadth of it….at least the North Okanagan part. Did not appeal to either my husband or myself the way we thought it would. Other big reasons, we both have steady work here, a network of friends, many helpful acquaintances, and above all, our daughter.

So…tada, drum roll please…we are planning the purchase of acreage here in Chilliwack in partnership with our daughter and son-in law! Yeah I know… “the best laid plans of horse owners, often go astray” (apologies to Robert Burns). Rachel gets the credit for coming up with the plan, Brenda, our Realtor for driving back and forth to show umpteen different properties, and enduring family discussions about their merits and drawbacks. We are still looking for the right place…soon, soon I tell myself.

We are close to our daughter and her partner Keith, and when daughter gets into Vet School…no word on interview yet…we will be here to visit during school breaks. And best of all… 30 minutes from the Abbotsford Airport…with flights to Saskatoon and “The Vet School”!

Of course there will be fencing to do, shelters to build, and oh no not again…probably quantities of briars to be removed. UG! There always is fencing to do as every place we have seen says there is fencing, but it turns out to be old barbed wire, sagging page wire, or other unsafe horrors. But we will have two or three months in which to prepare. I can do that, I can! If the property has a barn that will be just fine, if not I will build one!

My long anticipated filly, who still does not have a name, is wonderful…growing into her legs….and continues to delight me. Britt is large and getting larger by the day. Her “due” date at 340 is July 1, Canada Day…so what about “Canadian Colours” for a name! Or maybe “Simply Irish” as my husband (Irish born and raised) made three rushed trips to the airport in Vancouver to retrieve the semen as Brittany did not conceive the first two tries. It will be nice to have two foals, so they can play together and not torment their mommas. Britt looks to go ‘early’…but who knows with mares! Jen was bred this morning to Sagnol (Sandro Hit x Landadel) and we will scan her Monday for ovulation. Doing the conception dance here!

Everyone send positive vibes for the right, and affordable farm to find us!

This is going to be one busy summer!

May 6 2008

Spring has sprung…actually more like crawled into being. May has warmed up a bit, but April was cold wet and nasty. We won’t mention the last part of March. New ‘F’ word flurries, yes snow flurries, here on the wet West Coast in April!

Several pieces of wonderful news. Firstly, Jen foaled out in the wee hours of May 5th, and yes I go my belated Christmas gift! A filly! A homozygous tobiano filly! Since both her sire and dam are homozygous for the tobiano gene…she is too! Beautifully marked, may shed out black and white as she is a strange mousy color now. This filly looks a lot like her sire Sempatico in markings, and has legs that are really long. When she comes up on her back fetlocks she will be even taller. Just about the best ever…Can you tell I am in love? Rachel and I were midwives, not that Jen needs much help, as this is her 11th foal, 7th for me. The best of mothers, easy to handle, loving and very attentive to her babies. One Grand Dame this mare.

Pictures of the new filly posted soon but for now a sneak preview of her at a few hours old. We don’t have a name yet…sigh. So for now “Girl Child” is it.



And the second piece of news, Shanniah has sold and gone off to her new and attentive owner here in BC. Our family is delighted that ‘Shan’ has found just the right human to bring her along in her training, show her, and enjoy her. All the best Kim, stay in touch!

Britt is huge and not due till late June. Yes, she was scanned pre and post breeding…only one in there to the best of the good Dr Kerstin’s ultra-sounding skills. And yes she is very good. Mind you Brittany is a big substantial mare! And now the grass is coming in solidly she will get even bigger, this momma mare loves to eat. But then all my mares do.

Our hunt for a new farm continues. Long weekend trips, rushed one day mad drives four hours each way, and then driving about looking and looking once we are there. My realtor is a doll; she has driven up numerous times to help us see places. Her name is Brenda Quanstrum-Louth, for anyone wanting the best in ethical, dedicated and attentive service. She has a wonderful sense of humor too!

We will find the right place, we will, we will. Or at least that is my current mantra!

Stay tuned.

March 2008

This entry has been delayed but here it is. Read on.


Ah, a new year, lots of new happenings here at JMR Pintos.

But first, breeding choices! I have booked Jen to Sagnol (Sandro Hit x LaBelle) for the 2008 breeding This line is reputed to be a tad ‘hot’ (although I don’t see this so much with Sagnol), but Jen is most mellow and laid back, so the foal should make the best amateur dressage mount…IF someone is courageous enough to ride a tobiano pinto in the 60 meter ring! Yes, as Jen is homozygous for the tobiano gene this foal will be colored…and it will be bay and white…Jen has had 10 foals…ALL bay and white so the odds are she is double agouti….along with being homozygous for the tobiano gene.

Now if Jen does not produce ‘the filly’ that is ordered I may have to use the Sempatico semen for her and …gasp…breed for a solid foal with Brittany…who I will have for another breeding season. Yippee. While no spots the foal would move a 10.

I have purchased a breeding to Sempatico (Semper x Indian Dream) for Britt…..but changes can happen.


The other “mare news” is I may have Strathmiglo back. She is the TB mare who several years ago I leased, and had inspected with Canadian Sport Horse. She did quite well for a middle aged mare straight out of the field too! Her owner has some health issues, and must sell most of her horses, and I am please to be able to acquire this special mare.

Glo will most likely be bred to Sonnata for, hopefully, a repeat of Arwen, the lovely tobiano filly I sold to Oregon, USA

The biggest news though is we have sold the farm…really we have! The city here in Chilliwack is moving in on us, and the opportunity to sell arose, so I took it.

I will miss my farm, having worked very hard to clear away, meters and meters of fallen down barbed wire, acres of briars, to fence paddocks and pastures safely, build shelters and a barn. Yes I did a lot of it myself in my spare, (ha) time. Our daughter Rachel has finished her Bachelor of Science degree and has applied to Veterinary School, so change was looming anyway.

So to all you horse people out there, please add your prayers that Rachel is accepted at the University of Saskatoon, School of Veterinary Medicine. She has worked hard both in University and in the ‘real world’, has a ton of experience with horses and cattle, and is the most dedicated young woman I know!

Never fear though, we are in the process of acquiring more land, most likely in the Okanogan area of BC, which is a few hours drive away. The area is dryer and a bit more suitable for raising horses, two small cities, Vernon and Kelowna, and some smaller towns, for me to have a part time ‘day job’. Having acquired a Masters degree some years ago I feel obligated to use it! Besides I like my work, both on and on and off farm.

So stay tuned for further developments. We will have one, possibly two foals for sale this year, 2008, and most likely three next year.

All I want for Christmas…and other dreams!

Besides a healthy family and herd of pinto horses you ask? For my beloved mare Jen to have a filly in May, when she is due to foal! As she is homozygous for the tobiano gene, and the sire is as well, I know it will be a tobiano foal. I am looking at a 50% chance of a filly. So I am praying hard for a filly, as Jen is getting older, and I dearly want a replica of her to continue breeding. Well…as close of a replica as I can get! If she gives me a colt, well I will forgive her and try again, all being well. And if is a colt he will be for sale, and make some lucky buyer a lovely young prospect.

See my sale page for details on a ‘colt option’ inutero sale opportunity.

Brittany can have a filly or a colt, it is up to her. See how generous I can be giving that mare a choice? Jen doe NOT get one…filly required! Both mares are expanding on schedule, eating and hanging out, just as broodmares should. Patting their bellies, hugging their necks, and listening to them contentedly munch on their hay is the best Christmas present ever!

I am toying with the idea of getting another broodmare. Finding just the right one is difficult for me as I am really fussy and have a limited budget. Actually the people who purchase my youngsters are fussy….just as it should be.

I have to like my mares, enjoy being around them, feel safe with them. They have to have a temperament that is pleasant, and pass it on to their offspring. Along with, of course balanced, correct confirmation, aptitude for sport, and a willingness to please humans!

Otherwise life has been good, weather has been cold and snowy on and off, lots of rain and dark cloudy days, typical ‘West Coast wet’. Counting the days till winter solstice when the days start thinking about getting longer, and working at getting ready for Christmas, if that is possible!

Till next time, Merry Christmas and the very best wishes for 2008.

It is Still Fall…2007

Well changes here. Arwen didn’t go off to school, but Shanniah did in her place. Someone had to go to school, right?

Arwen is sold and has gone off to her new…and adoring….owner Jennifer. So she never did get to go to “school”, but never fear, new human owner Jen is attending to that and reports Arwen has been backed with no problems, in fact was very easy. After a few rides Arwen will get the winter off to finish growing up.

Shanniah is doing amazingly well…Wild blue tarps, big western saddles, barn isle blowers, wash racks and trailers…not too much phases her now. She walks and trots happily about the indoor, with or with out other horses about. Even hacks out alone to explore the vast expanses of a large hay field. LOL

However I do wish her withers would start to grow as well as her butt….I even made the owner of dam and sire go out and carefully them…yup level, even a tad up hill in the case of the dam. There is hope yet…LOL

Maeve, the yearling, continues to eat…and grow….and be adored by my daughter Rachel. She has to be the most easy going and relaxed young horse I have ever raised.

We are currently looking at another mare to join the broodmare band…updates when we know if it will happen! I did purchase another Sempatico breeding for 2008…just in case!

Otherwise we are pretty quiet here; wet rain keeps humans inside, and the horses in their three sided shelters.

Journal Fall 2007

Well the calendar may say it is fall…but here on the West Coast, where summer didn’t really happen…it seems like winter is fast approaching!

Regardless…we have been busy. My beloved older mare, Jennys Turn is now inspected with RPSI. She was not impressed with being scrubbed, scoured, polished, braided and hauled off an hours’ drive to the Inspection site. She passed, albeit into a lower book…she is old, saggy, and lame from severe neglected injuries she sustained prior to my buying her.

This mare out produces herself every time, and her foals are often the ones that sell first. Can you tell I adore this old girl?

About my lease mare, Brittany…. it turns out she was inspected with Canadian Sport Horse last year, but needs her Swedish papers…on which we are still waiting…to complete the approval process. Hopefully they will come soon? However, her 2007 filly by Cunningham is weaned off and returned to her owners, and momma Britt has settled down to eat and grow her 2008 Sempatico foal. She and Jen are co-existing nicely together…and eating for four I might add, my hay bill this winter will be impressive.

Both two year old fillies are growing…at least behind. Since all parents of said fillies are of the correct shape I believe the ‘reverse giraffe’ impression they both are currently doing will correct itself over time! Arwen is almost 16.2 behind, and Shanniah, while not that tall at 15.3 is making up in width. Arwen is “leaving home” on October 8th 2007 to learn to become a ‘show girl’. Well at least she is going for some more basic training, learning to become a show horse. Hauling calmly and happily, being bathed in a wash rack, and being backed at a walk are on the curriculum. She has not been off farm so she has some adjusting to do, however the farm she is going to feeds well, so Arwen will be happy. <smile>

The yearling solid bay filly Maeve, (the one who came without the asked for colour)…well she is growing so rapidly I cannot keep weight on her. Yes, the worms are killed off regularly, quantities of good hay are being consumed, concentrates and supplements are regularly fed…ribs still show, sigh. I even had my Veterinarian do her teeth…just in case.

Maeve reminds me of my daughter, who as a youngster did the same thing. Rachel is now almost 6 foot tall as an adult woman. But that is OK, as her father, her boyfriend and I all adore her. Rachel loves Maeve to bits and it looks like Maeve will be tall enough for Rachel’s future riding horse.

Farm work continues…doesn’t it always?....branches and leaves to be burned, gutters to be cleaned out, odd repairs to fencing to be finished. Good thing I was born a ‘farmer’.

Hello Again!

I did write a March entry, but I never sent it in to be put up on my site….Oh well!
So summer is here…I think. We have somehow interspersed a few really hot days with bouts of cold nasty rain…didn’t help getting the mares bred!

The mare we acquired as a broodmare during the winter did not work out sad to say.. she went back to her owner.
So we have a new lease mare, Brittany (barn name), is owned by Brent and Laura Balisky of Langley BC, and has generously been lease to us for the 2007 breeding season.

Britt is an imported Swedish mare and had a successful career in the hunter ring before retiring to be a professional broodmare. We are awaiting her papers from Sweden, so I do not even know her pedigree at this point…but lovely moving, superb temperament, good conformation, and excellent mom. Not that I know a lot about Swedish pedigrees…but I bet it is good!

Brittany is being bred to Sempatico…we hope she has conceived! We have now bred her three times! Third time a charm, right? Mare is clean, cycling well, healthy, AI timing “perfect” to quote my Vet, semen good,….and mare NOT getting pregnant. We will find out about Aug 12th if this time it worked.

I will not add up what Vet fees, ultrasound scan fees, collection/shipping fees, lab fees, cost me. I will not, I will not, I will not.

However, my accountant will point it out, while I hide my head in the sand. Sure will be a super foal if Brittany is pregnant. We are praying hard here. Ah the joys of breeding.

Jennys Turn was scanned in foal to Sempatico in early June, so is due early May, 2008. We are really hoping for a filly to keep, if a colt it will be for sale.

Bless this mare; due to severe injury before I bought her, she has only been a broodmare…a job she is excellent at. Although she is 18years old this year I am going to present her to the RPSI this fall. I hope they can see past her damaged legs and sagging top line to the excellence of her produce, and her big heart. Jen is pregnant with her 11th
foal.

Let see what else….hay shed is full; paddock footing getting worked on….sale pictures getting done. Mowing is an ongoing task as we have had so much rain this year…good pasture though.

Life on the farm is a joy.

December 24, 2006

Well winter has arrived… At least the days are getting longer now! Here in the Lower Mainland of BC Canada we had a superb fall, lots of sunshine with an occasional rainy day to water the grass, and then November came with wind, snow storms and dreadful weather. Guess it was too good to last.

Our new mare will be arriving at the end of the December and pictures will be posted!
I am looking forward to this mare, thank you to my veterinarian Dr. Kerstin Schwichtenberg for arranging for us have this wonderful addition to our broodmare herd. She is by the Canadian Warmblood Hanoverian stallion Goodwill and is Canadian Warmblood papered. I will be getting her inspected for breeding approval with Canadian Sport Horse next spring.

Sales, among other horse activates, have kept me busy this summer and fall.
We only have one yearling, Arwen, and one weanling, Maeve left! Arwen is going to be a wonderful mare, however at the moment she does resemble a reverse giraffe! Growing does not describe her! Her butt is a good 2 ½ inch higher than her withers and her legs still seem too long for her..sigh. Maybe I should just hide her 'till she is three or maybe four? In spite of her growth pattern she has a wonderful "hunter" trot, and the biggest lightest canter! How she can do this with her bum up in the air I don't know! Maeve continues to be a really mellow and laid back filly, I have forgiven her for arriving without tobiano coloring…sigh.

Farm life being what it is the work never stops. Since we have lots of big trees around the house and trees and hedges by the fence lines there is always a big pile of pruning and leaves to be raked, piled, and burnt. Since we live in a very wet winter climate here on the west coast of Canada there is the constant battle to keep the horses high and dry in the winter in their turn out areas. This fall I redid two paddocks with sand/crusher dust mix, and put large rubber mats down in the run in shelters…Gawd those things are heavy to put in place. Thank goodness for hubby, daughter and daughter's boyfriend. Thank you to my family for all their help.

I have no foals coming this spring as I decided last spring that I had too many four legged critters in the family…now after all my sales I wish I had bred Jennys Turn for a 2007 foal. However Jen and my new mare Goodwill Evening Silhouette, barn name Scarlet, will be bred to Silverwood Farms' Sempatico for 2008 tobiano foals. Sempatico is homozygous for the tobiano gene so I am guaranteed colored.

All the best for a Happy and prosperous 2007!

July 9, 2006

Sheesh …time is speeding by and I cannot get caught up this year.
Glo, who is my lease TB mare, and to quote her owner, "takes motherhood seriously", foaled 17 days early, giving me an anxiety attack. Yes, when I went back and recounted days, using the 340 as a 'due' date she was 17 whole days early. Now of course there is no such thing as a 'due date' with mares and while early foals can be OK, I read the textbooks even if the mares don't! I know all the possibly things that can and often do go wrong, worrying aside, as I wrote earlier, the filly is fine.

I may take more time to recover.

Mind you this filly did manage to knock her fetlock on something last week, and has a 'baby lump' that will most like disappear quickly as she is not lame or sore on it. Still I worry. Someone asked what she was worth, and I laughed.
"Which part of her?" I said, as there were stud fees, shipping the semen fees, many dollars in uterine culture and cytology fees, ultrasounds, and other various Veterinary expenses, all 'normal' costs of breeding mares long distance. I am scared to add it up, and oh yes, the stallion stands in the USA so the booking fee, stud fee, and shipping costs were in US dollars last year. Then mare care costs for 11+ months, feed, vaccinations, worming, trims, and any costs related to foaling are minimal if one is lucky, just a 'healthy foal check' at 24 hours.

However, careful attentive care aside, foals can and do get ill and hurt. Infected belly buttons, two in the last two years, needing antibiotics, one mare with mastitis, again care and antibiotics; but compared to some breeders I have been lucky.

All this to say is, breeders carry a huge set of risks, including occasional mares that refuse to conceive with a foal at side for no known medical reason! We tried with Chocolate Fox two years ago for four, yup fourcycles, and while she conceived once she lost it at 28 days. I was about to give up but sent her to a friends place the next spring to be live covered by this friends' coloured warmblood stallion. Yes, my solid bay filly Maeve is the result Fox was bred one cycle, early in the year, when neither the stallion owner or I thought she would 'take'. I won't mention the costs on that one as she is an 18 hour drive away from me. Mare is a four letter word!

The reason for my carrying on about this you may ask? Is that the real costs of producing quality horses needs to be recognized, and thus the price of young health well cared for prospects.

It is not a matter of turning your mare out with some neighbours' stallion because it is there, or a 'cheap' stud fee; and leaving her there. Not a matter of tossing her some hay and hoping 11 months later she foals out OK. To produce a quality potential riding horses, suitable for the aims of your breeding program, takes time, money, emotional investment and suitable surrounding to do well. OK rant over!

On the bright side my Sonata x Chocolate Fox filly Maeve, who was 'supposed' to come with tobiano colour pattern…is learning to trot, and is oh so lovely, correct, and friendly!!! Huge too, and thinks humans were put on earth to scratch her and love her She has two coloured parents, she just was the 25% chance of a solid colour which happens breeding heterozygous tobiano pinto to heterozygous tobiano pinto and arrived a solid bay without even white socks, but I have forgiven all because everything else about her is superb. Steven O'Reilly who came huge with baby legs going every which way has turned into the sweetest friendliest foal I have ever had…and is going to be a super big fellow. Scheherazade, the afore mentioned Sempatico filly, is truly elegant. Refined, and a beautiful head and neck, the rest of her ain't bad either! Her trot is breathtaking as she literally dances across the ground.

We are giving Jen a year off from mamma hood, and waiting for Eve and Arwen to grow up before deciding which one we will keep and breed. Quiet winter and spring but there will always be work to be done here. We raise horses, y'know!

May 31, 2006


I have decided to start an on line journal, to share the joys and difficulties of being a breeder of colored sporthorses. My purpose is to offer some insight into the struggles and costs, both monetary and emotional of breeding and raising horses; along with the intense highs and lows that happen. Sometimes I will rant, sometimes cry, and sometimes I will share the ecstatic moments of being a 'horse mum'.

Often non-breeders and those who purchase young horses do not understand the commitment, time, sweat equity, and tears, of both sadness and joy, that come with this passion of breeding horses.

I hope you will find it, if nothing else, entertaining! If I cannot laugh and enjoy the day to day humor of “horse breeding stuff” it would be sad. I have been active in this endeavor for more than 20 years and the more I do I discover the less I know. Stay with me, I will share the “not knowing” and the attempts to acquire more knowledge.

Lots of people say they breed for top performers…nice idea, but that takes more resources, connections, and pure luck than I have. I breed for horses that I, as an adult amateur of ‘extended age’, would like to ride. Hunters, event horses, lower level dressage horses. One day if I am lucky one of my horses may make it to “Grand Prix something”…till then I will breed with the aim of lovely temperament, good conformation, expressive movement, and some tobiano colour when I am lucky.

Even with the old adage of breeding the best to the best, coupled with good care, attention to nutrition, and excellent support from one’s Veterinarian and Farrier there is a whole lot of luck involved. Now my husband is Irish by birth and raising, so just maybe some of the “luck of the Irish” will rub off on me!

After I wrote this my lease TB mare presented me with a bay and white tobiano filly, the sire is Sempatico who is a 100 day tested (in Germany) warmblood who is homozygous for the tobiano gene. She is a stunning filly, in spite of arriving 12 days early, is healthy and beautiful too! More on her in the next journal entry.