Saddlebrook Appaloosas

Things have really been moving around here. We have three new boarders. We also have sold some horses and added a few to our roster.  Marla is our new trainer and has been giving lessons and training our horses also. It has been a while since I have done an update so I need to fill you in on who is here.  Our horses here now are Zippy of course. Buddy, Madonna, and Angel the three weanling. Spice and Matila both riding mares. Trace a yearling colt. Sport our two year old colt. Checkers and Annie broodmares. And Roxy, Frosty and Fanny… more broodmares.  Roxy and Fanny are in foal. Roxy to Zippy and Fanny to Mr. Cool Hand Luke. Fanny is supposed to have a filly this year so it will be a full sister to Trace. I can’t wait to see it.  Boarders we have are Ruby a pony, and Dewey and Skyye the warmbloods. Scoops is still here also and out with Trace.

Around the farm we have been also doing alot of small projects. Painting, replacing windows and of course fixing fence. All of the stalls now have matts in them which has really helped us use fewer shavings. The kids are much better helpers also now that they are older. They have been moving hay, and dusting cobwebs. The hay crop was smaller than usual this year. We ended up selling our second cutting and the it turned out that the third cutting was much smaller than usual because we had so little rain. Now I will need to buy some hay so that we have enough for everyone.

Thanks for watching,

S/B

Things have been busy around here since our last public update.  We have gotten some new boarders. Checkers (not our Checkers), Itchy, and Silver. Silver was not here long and had to be put down after some dental work was performed here. He coliced we think due to the anesthesia.  After a couple days of doing everything we could it was decided that the only human thing to do was to put him down at the vet clinic. In other horse news, Jane bought Luke and we brought him out to Washington D.C. We had a nice uneventful trip out there and back. Washington DC was a blast and my new friend Kurt joined me on the trip.

 Meanwhile Spice is back and doing very well. Our new trainer Marla Zellmer is also riding Annie and Sport and they are both coming along. I even showed Trace a couple of times this summer. Wow we have done alot horse wise. I was able to take some new pictures of Trace also. You can see them here.

We also have done some major projects around here putting a new roof on one of the barns, and painting and cleaning. Even the hay came again since the last update. Time sure flies when you are having fun.

Thanks for watching,

S/B

Wow, Thursday and Friday proved to be more challenging than planned.  Isn’t that always the case?  Even though Bill was thrilled that the second crop hay was sold and was going to be big-baled so we wouldn’t have to put it away, things always go a little haywire, right?  LOL  For one thing, the weather did not fully cooperate, plus the man buying it had to go out of town for a couple days and we had to deal with it anyway or risk getting it ruined.  So Bill was putting it away using the forks on our tractor from about 7 until 1:00 a.m. Thursday night/Friday morning.  I think he enjoyed the first two hours of it or so, then it just got to be a real challenge, as you can imagine.  The week was warm but kind of humid, and we have too much alfalfa in our crop despite re-seeding it with grass this year.  So it is juicy and takes a long time to dry.  Anyway, big bales are more forgiving with moisture content, so it could finally get baled mid-Thursday afternoon.  I had work meetings from early morning until about 6:30, so Bill took Joe to golf  lessons and did not get home till 7:00.   A long day.  Bill had to get the huge hay bales, each about 800 pounds, into our arena before the storms came.  He made it in time and we are glad nothing went wrong.  The buyer will pick them up Monday.  There are about 50 big bales in our arena right now.

Friday was busy too, with Drew going to his last day of soccer camp, big squirt gun in hand.  The last day they have a water fight for the last 30 minutes, and pizza, and awards and pictures.  I had a day of vacation at home to get ready for our exchange student to arrive, but had two conference calls, one at 10:30 and one at 2:00 that I could not move around and had to attend by phone from home.  So I missed the fun but Bill got pictures.  I had to take my car in for new brakes – we are selling it and I wanted it to be safe and set to go.  Tried a new service place I pass on my way to and from work, and I was thoroughly happy with the experience – the initial call, the follow-up estimate to us, the appointment, the way they talked to us while dropping the car off, the price, the work – everything.  They even gave Bill a tiny bag of Famous Amos cookies when we picked up the car and paid later in the day.  So he is a True Believer.  Great service is something to remember these days, and especially car repairs where I always feel I am getting sold, buying more than I need.  Who ever knows??  So I will use this place again for sure.  They are new, and trying to build their business – so far, so good!

Then we hurried home from dropping my car off  and Bill had to take Zippy into the vet clinic to be collected for our buffalo-driving customer in Michigan.  He did not mind a very late foal next year as he does not show. That joo-joo got shipped off and Bill was home again, bathing and clipping Trace.  I was changing sheets and vacuuming and making looooong grocery lists.  Joe and Sarah cleaned up Bill’s Durango with ArmorAll and a vacuum, and it is looking better than it has in years.  Nokolunga arrived with the Rotary Youth Exchange coordinator in early afternoon.  She is easygoing and friendly and I think this month will be fun.  She is 18 and at home in South Africa has two younger sisters and a younger brother.  The kids played games while I was on the conference call and then we all got to know one another.  Bill pulled out of the drive with Trace at about 6, heading to West Bend which is just 20 minutes away or so.  Bill said he was amazed at how laidback Trace was with the ear and muzzle and pastern clipping – like an old pro.  Now if he only had a tail……LOL.  Maybe Fanny’s foal next year by the same stallion will take after his dam instead of his sire in that one regard.

So last night Bill arrived at the show safely, got Trace settled into his stall, and planned to sleep in the tack room of the horse trailer on the blow-up mattress.  Yuck.   Watch those spurs!  I’ve checked in with him already this morning and the show is delayed, as it is raining hard and lightening in this area.  And it is an outdoor show, sad to say.  This is where easygoing horses like Trace can do really well, because they don’t mind mud or rain or far-away thunder.   But it just may be cancelled altogether if the storms continue.  Or there might not be enough horses there to make it worthwhile.

None of the kids have gotten up yet, it’s just that kind of gray day.  However, I believe Drew may be playing GameBoy under the covers and pretending he is still sleeping!  I may take the girls school shopping later, there are big sales on at Kohls.  The kids will do the chores this morning but not turn the horses out till the storms are gone for good.   Someone was supposed to come look at the apartment yesterday but I don’t think she showed up.  It’s a friend of the owner of Scoops, the little paint gelding we have here as a boarder.   Have a great day, EveryBuddy.

We all survived our Itty Bitty Buddy Bash this year. We had a great time which featured Lois, The Strongs, Amy M, and Deb of course us.  We took it pretty easy with a bon fire on Friday night and then breakfast, horse training, karaoke and a live concert at the beach in downtown Oconomowoc. The concert was performed by a 10 year old blues guitarist that is now on Americas Got Talent.

The horses are all growing up big and strong. Trace is finally starting to fill out with the new hay we had cut and Susan put away. I was at the National Appaloosa board meeting when all 4000 bales came. We but up about 2o00 here and Kate and Chris put up about the same. Lucky for us the weather held out and we had nice dry hay. We still haven’t had any rain since then. Things are really dry. Angel has been weaned and tomorrow I am going to move her to one of the pastures with a little more grass. I was planning to do that before, but never got to it. We also have a new boarder coming the beginning of August.  I worked with both Angel and Sport during the buddy bash and they both were very cooperative. We worked them both on a line and they did very well for young horses. We need to really get Sport going under saddle and I hope our next barn helper might be able to help us out. Meanwhile I am working Trace, though not as much as I should. We will keep our fingers crossed.

Thanks for watching,

S/B

Since we last wrote a number of things have happened here around the farm. We showed Trace at his first horse show. He did fairly well though the class was small and ended up getting 1/2 of a point in Hunter in Hand.  I am still working on Longe line and that should be really good for him in August.  The kids finished up at school and we took our annual ride on Go Bob to the school to pick up Drew on the last day. All the teachers were expecting us as it has become a tradition. Joe and Sarah were a little too far away at thier new school now to go get them.  Joe had a ton of Band, and Choir concerts at the end of the school year, including two big performances at the Performing Arts Center here in Milwaukee. Both concerts went great.

We also weaned Angel about a week ago, she is doing great and was definitely ready. Frosty was ready also. We moved Fanny and Luke over to the big pasture. It has really caught up and grown as we only had the two cows on it for a month or two. The horses will love it and then we will put Frosty out on the other big pasture so everyone can get nice and fat before the winter. The other two foals buddy and Madonna  are doing well also. They are not ready to wean yet, still about another month or so for that.  We also changed a couple of the cameras around on the farm including the new nest cam. Won’t be long and they will all be hatching.  We also completed the reabuild of two of our pastures by the mare barn. We really need that as the old ones were crumbling.  Now we still have lots of painting to do. Ah Summer again.

Thanks for watching,

S/B

Wow, a lot has happened since our last public update.  Here are some of the highlights:

Swine Flu – a high school student came down with a confirmed case here in Oconomowoc, and our kids were off school.  Turned out to be all bark and no bite.

We’ve fixed a lot of fence. We fixed the backyard pasture ourselves, and had a fence company put two new paddocks over by the Church barn. That fence line is a little higher both top and bottom so the horses can eat under it, but not push so much over it.  Amazing what you learn after years of doing a job!

We got a new (used) RV for our trips to the horse shows, trade shows and visiting Aunt Cindy and Uncle John in Colorado. I had it done up with our logo on the front so no one can miss us coming down the highway.

I have spent a lot of time working with Trace. He is doing really well and leads, longes, trims and in general behaves very well no matter what you are doing with him.  Igave him a bath and taught him to trailer load. The biggest issue however is that he still hasn’t shed out. We need more 90 degree days and a lot of elbow grease.

Susan finished her extreme Adventure fitness boot camp this past month. Boy, it was a workout, but in the end I think she felt good about making it the entire way through.  Every day at 5:30 a.m. is tough and then all that exersize and running. I am proud of her.

I got Susan an Outhouse for Mothers Day. Yes, an Outhouse, but it is a really cool one. I know I will never live this down. Please remember in the old days I am sure a wife would be thrilled to get a new outhouse.

I also got a few new videos posted since the last update. There is one of Trace, and two of Luke. I still need to add them to their pages. Always something left to do. You can see them all at http://www.youtube.com/user/appaloosas

Another thing I forgot to mention was this nice email we got from the McRitchies.

Bill & Susan,

I hope you are all doing very well.  We have been awesome!

Sedona, our Zippy offspring, has been making the grades as one of the very best buffalo herding horses in the country.  She and I have been a team for a long time now and not only working our buffalo, we are among the select few on the permanent list to assist every September during all buffalo roundups at Custer State Park.  We basically live there most of the month of September working and herding and riding all day every day.  She is awesome.  I have included some photos for you to see from the past 2 years working at Custer State Park.

We also want to breed the same mare, Symphony, again to Zippy for another excellent off-spring to continue this success.  Will this still be possible this year?

Another bit of news is that sweet Spice is sold to a great new home.  She is staying in the area, and going to one of our new friends and Buddies here in Wisconsin. These are the people that used to own Annie, and they take great care of their animals. She will be leaving today, Friday.

And last but not least. We have a new streaming camera that we are hosting that has become really sucessful. It is a sheep co-op in Martha’s Vineyard. It sounds a lot like what we started here so many years ago, only you can buy a share of the wool. You can see the Lambcam at www.fiberfarm.com/lambcam

Thanks for watching,

S/B

Sorry for the delay on the update. Lot’s of new things happening, but my Internet connect at the house is really spotty right now. Sometimes it works great, sometimes, I have nothing. I am posting this from Joe’s choir practice where they have a great connection.

I put out Annie and Checkers in the arena yesterday and today. They seem to get along really well and you might remember they were together before they foaled, so I figured it would work out and the filly really needed to run around, so what better way than to have her out with another foal. The funny thing was that for about the first five minutes Annie’s colt followed Checkers around like she was his mother. Suddenly it looked like Checkers had two foals. Checkers did not seem to mind at all, but Annie was a little confused, wondering where her foal was. Finally Annie figured it out and they all ran a couple of laps around the indoor before each foal nursed on thier proper mother.

Meanwhile outside, I moved Fanny over by Spice and Luke in the big pasture as Fanny was knocking down all the fence she could find in the back yard pasture. She is really big and when she pushes against a board, before long she pops it off. The big pasture has boards that are higher and so she can not get over them to start reaching and pushing. That left Roxy by herself and since she had spent most of her time over the fence with Angel, I thought I should try the three of them together. It seemed to work out fine yesterday and this morning, but when I can back this afternoon, Frosty had two small cuts and a big bruise on one of her legs. They both looked calm again, but obviously there had been some kicking going on and Roxy was the winner. I have never really seen Roxy behave like this, so I am still a little confused, but I can not put them together again, if there are going to be issues. I guess we will have to move her over to one of the other pastures instead.

I also got to finally talk to Kevin McRitchie today. He is the guy with the horse that does the buffalso. He told me all about his rides. He told me about the big Buffalo round up at Custer State park. It sounds great. Maybe we should take the RV.

September 26-27, 2009 (Saturday and Sunday) / Buffalo Round-Up and Arts Festival

Enjoy three days of South Dakota’s finest artists and craftsmen at the 15th Annual Buffalo Roundup Arts Festival. Start your morning with a pancake feed, enjoy on-going Western and Native American entertainment or browse the many exhibits and craft booths located on site. It’s a South Dakota experience you won’t want to miss. The first 2 festival days are held on the festival grounds adjacent the Peter Norbeck Visitor Center. On the 3rd and final day the festival is held on the festival grounds located at the buffalo corrals complex on Buffalo Roundup Day.

September 28, 2009 (Monday) / Buffalo Round-Up

Feel the thunder and join the herd at the 43rd Annual Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup. Watch cowboys and cowgirls as they roundup and drive the herd of 1,500 buffalo into the buffalo corrals. Following the actual roundup stay and watch as park staff sort, brand, and vaccinate the herd in preparation for the fall Buffalo Sale.

The other excitement for today was that our LambCam I told you about a couple weeks ago was feature on the Weather Channel. Here is the link to the story.

Thanks for kind of watching,

S/B

We have been delinquent. Procrastinating. Lazy, even.  It has taken us so long to get around naming this little filly, people visiting the barn just have started capitalizing “Filly” as though that is, truly, her given name.  *sheesh*  Sorry about that, little one.  You deserve to know your name!  So as not to delay even longer with deciding on her name, we are going to depart from our normal “pick five and vote” process, and just go for it.  When Checkers and Annie foal, we will get on the stick and do it right, and more quickly.  Promise.

With a nod toward the heavens and honoring the very special markings on her hip, this little filly is going to be called ZMI Touch Of An Angel, barn name Angel.  We’ll need to make the name fit in 20 letters and spaces to register her – if anyone has any good ideas on that, please let us know.    The other name we also really liked was suggested by Buddy Becky R and is ZMI Material Girl, barn name Madonna - next Frosty filly, that’s going to be her name!