 Happy FALL!! We have been uber busy around PMG & the PMF family is growing rapidly LOL We just got back from our elk hunt in Idaho and are batting down the hatches for winter. We have got new gravel in the runs, in front of all entry points in the pastures, two new noble shelters in our two big pastures, five our our ponies leave in two weeks to their new homes and starting to design our new kennel! Our girls will live in our house, but when puppies are here, we need a clean environment and we just have to much coming and going out of the cabin to keep it a safe zone. I am pretty excited to get it all set up!!
It is never a dull moment around here. We are also going to start my tackroom remodel!! Shabby chic here I come LOL I head to England on Thursday to see off our newest mares flying over and to check on our other girls and maybe do a little shopping LOL After my time in England, I fly to Portugal to get our male Frenchie Prince!! Exciting times ahead!!! Stay warm and dry! ~Blanche
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Things are going full steam ahead for winter! I feel like a squirrel collecting all my food for winter LOL
We are done showing, done breeding, and now get to do all the hard work. Babies are being fussed with daily and so are their mums. Getting the mares ready for winter. I evaluate all of the girls body condition and what they need or don't need as far as nutrition and pasture in a certain field according to that. Babies are getting feet trimmed, some second trimming, learning tying, and patience. Something mum and baby can do together. We have 4 foals weaned and the others will be weaned when they are 4 months. Our French family has grown a lot, Abby is gonna have her first litter this winter. So much going on LOL We have 6 new mares coming from England, one, Lady Jane, who I bought 3 years ago!!! So I waited till she was old enough to breed and shipping her home! I would have brought her years ago, but other horses kept taking priority and Bonnie didn't mind having her around. We are getting Savvie and Holly going under saddle lightly this winter, and hopefully getting Holly in the show ring if that girl would let her mane grow out LOL Oreo did fantastic his first official year under saddle and is gonna nail it next year. Legacy I am training 3 days a week and early next year step it up to 4 times a week to get ready for showing under saddle. Caspian is gonna be one of my main show boys for next year!! So it should be a great show year! I have three breed shows on the books and will be showing dressage with Oreo mostly. I may see if Caspian is ready for a training test, we shall see... We have some fantastic boys available, Dubs is gonna be BIG! Cody is getting gelded, and will be available on payments for one year. Squishy is gonna be a stunning mini Gypsy colt or even better gelding! Bagheera, we are growing out. I really love him mum, she is one of my forever keepers, so I want to hold onto him till I have a filly out of her:) I gota head to the feed store! Cheers It is Monday, the show hangover is what I call it LOL
First show went well for Oreo, Prince, & Red. The judge, well, let's just say you pay for someones opinion when u enter that show ring, and unfortunately, you are at their mercy. So, if they don't know the structure and conformation for this breed, they just, well, pick more sporty types, or like color, or pick stallions with really poor behavior. So, I don't ever put merit on a show recored in breed shows. If someone wants to impress me with a horse, a breed show recored is not gonna do it. I saw a stallion this weekend go in a class, calm, almost asleep, then go back in for the championship round a completely different horse. He had a full erection and was trying to breed his handler and actually was walking on his hind legs as he was rearing and striking his handler. In this breed, I feel this should not be acceptable. Another reason I get so frustrated with the breed showing world! So, on that note, I don't really care how my horses do, as long as they are well behaved and give it there all. To me, that is a true champion! Red placed last in her class of four as the judge did not like her being pregnant. At least she was out there. Prince was a rock star. I really had my doubts about this boy as his previous owner did no handling with him and he was a handful. But he has come so far and in such a short time. He was the most beautiful stallion there!! He placed in all his classes and some being large classes:) Oreo did fair under saddle. I just really recently stepped up his training. I have been pretty slack with him the last year, but finally in the mode to get stuff done. So it has been really the last two months he has had any constancy. I am not happy at the spot he is in right now as it is the toughest part in his training, so, I am looking forward to keeping him going and getting him lighter in the bridle, working off his hind and lifting his shoulders. Patience grasshopper is what I have to tell myself. Take it slow and do it right:) This time next year we will be soaring!! He was a dream behavior wise! Never a wrong step. Never any bad behavior to anyone or any other horses. Just simple the best!! He's one in the million! Up next is Feathered Horse Classic in Utah!! Wow, it is hard to believe that foals are here! We could not be more pleased than we are with our three we have thus far. Pride was the first to foal a BAY filly by SD Gold Digger, we had bred her to Oreo, but Digger was an incredible jumper we found out and caught her just at the rite time LOL We are keeping this filly to run on for mum and hopefully retire her soon. Fab foaled a knockout colt!! I am tickled pink with him!! He is by Oreo and every bit as nice as him!! This strapping lad will be a heavy traditional boy and an asset for the person who wants to breed the traditional Gypsies and are not willing to compromise!! Sweetheart had an incredible HUGE filly! Oreo and Sweetheart defiantly hit it off with this filly. Sweetheart was sold in foal, I can't be happier for her new mum!! Next up is Dream, she is expecting an Oreo filly, fingers crossed! I plan on keeping this filly, but we shall see. With 9 total and only keeping 2 foals this year, it is gonna be hard. Who am I kidding, I need to keep one of the Mini Gypsy foals LOL so I just talked myself into three keepers :)
I really can't wait for this year's foaling season! The first year Oreo is with us and seeing his foals from last year has me on pins and needles. Next year we are adding new lines into our program by using a few outside top quality boys to our outstanding girls! We have four girls coming from across the pond this summer! It will be a big year for us next year! Last week Oreo, Red, and I attended the Washington State Horse Expo and preformed with the drill group the Gypsy Chix! Both our ponies did amazing and Amanda rode Oreo. I am very very proud of our teammates Linda and Emily that rode their Drum mares. Both Drum mares participated in the kids corral and were a total hit with the public. The time with the public was priceless.   Oh where oh where has time gone!! I sit at our kitchen table and look at the rain pound the ground like sludge hammers, glad most of the ponies came in for the day, but will go out once I get back from my dressage lesson with Oreo.
Quite a few things have happened since my last blog. My trip to England, shows, elk hunting, barn remodel under way. It is gonna be an exciting new year, that is for sure!! Oh yeah, the addition of our French Bulldogs! Ready Fire Aim Jack and I call it LOL I am gonna leave off at my last entry, Red blessed us with a real fab colt we are keeping to grow out. He will either be stallion worthy or one amazing show gelding and will be trained to ride and drive. Prada gave us a beautiful colt just like Master Mind! How lucky are we:) My trip to England this year was wonderful! I got to go to TOYS with the Down ladies and see some wonderful Gypsies and watch Anna and her fab SD mare take the overall championship at only 3yrs old!!! I also bought a filly on this visit. She will be joining us in the states next month and we are elated about her quality to our program. She is one of a kind and will never be recreated and we are truly truly honored we were selected to purchase her:) She will be in our show lineup next year along with a few other babies! Man, I am gonna need to rotate who I show as I have so many I want to get out there for people to see. That is the only reason you will find me in the show ring at breed shows, to let people see our quality. Only way to show people the difference, is seeing in the flesh. Other than that, I hold little faith in the breed shows judging system. Most of all the breed judges are primary other breed judges and don't have a clue about Gypsy conformation, quality, and expectations in breed standards. At the end of the day, you are paying for someones opinion. We also don't train all of our breeding stock to ride or drive. Some make a big fuss over this, but each to their own. I feel some of my mares are far to valuable in my breeding program to risk injury or anything else that can happen. Granted, anything can happen, but when our mares give us a few foals we give them a season off. We move them to our 40 acre pasture to live the life of luxury for the season. We do not have to win any titles or ribbons to prove anything, the quality of their off speaks for itself. I do not want to put thousands of dollars into training and years of time on a mare that can't produce. Same goes for our stallions. All stallion prospects will be bred to a few select mares at two to determine their strengths and weakness. Once the foals arrive, we will determine the next breeding based on the foals. We will then determine by the age of four, if the stallion should be gelded or continue on. Buying Oreo was a risk, as we had not seen any of his get, but after seeing all he has produced in the UK, we couldn't be happier to have foals arriving by him next year. Well, I need to head to the feed store, so that is all I have for today. I am gonna be more diligent about posting LOL Waiting LOL Red's PH is very low and she is waxing, so we are on 24hr notice. Red is the second to last mare due, her and Prada are actually both due on 8/1 but Red goes early. These are our last two Master Plan foals so we can't be more excited. So, hopefully we get two fillies. I do feel Prada is having another colt buy the way she is carrying this foal. But, hopefully she proves me wrong.
All other four colts we have had born this year are doing awesome. Bandit & LJ are sold, we have chose to retain Tax and are selling Stunt Man as a gelding. We do not feel he will surpass his sire in quality and feel he will be an outstanding riding Gypsy. He has a awesome awesome personality and is such a love. He is a true master piece:) All four mares that have foaled have all settled back in foal to Double Stuff on the first go around! What luck!! Double Stuff has started light saddle work and is an absolute dream to work with and ride! He will be heading to driving training this fall and be out in the show ring next year:) I may do a few shows with him this year if he is ready, but do not want to take him unless he is ready. He has had a pretty awesome life growing up in England and just hanging with the ladies, so we shall see if we can get him in shape :) We have two imports coming in August, a new colt that is a mini Gypsy Cob and SD Tesla!! I don't like to transport any of our horses solo and try n always bring pairs over unless someone I know is transporting at the same time. I will travel down to LAX and pick them up. Next month I travel to England to visit my dear friend Janey Down and the family as well as get our new additions a kiss on the nose for safe travels. I may have to fit a new something in the cargo hold LOL Well, that is about it this week, I will make an effort to be more diligent with blogging LOL Wow, where does time go!! Fab blessed us with an amazing colt on 4/15 The Tax Man marked just like his daddy Master Plan! Wow, talk about making a harder choice harder. We are running him on to see how he will compliment our breeding program. Pride blessed us with a fantastic colt on May Day LOL That was her due date and I can't believe she foaled on her due date! He is a jet black with a beautiful white blaze and amazing high four white socks! I just love this boy! I don't know why, but there is a real special flair about him. I didn't have this name on my name list, but it just fell into place when he was born LOL
We have decided to call him Jack Of All Trades. His sire is Master Plan, so we thought it was very fitting:) We will call him LJ for Little Jack. LJ is so full of life and sass, was a little slow to get going and once he figured out nursing he has been unstoppable. LJ is so trying to run around and be a big boy and starting to play with Tax. LJ had the highest IGG test we have ever had! When all of our foals are born, we have them checked over by the vet and do IGG test. Porter is such a sweet boy. I have been truly blessed to have this guy in my life! It really won't hurt my feelings to hold onto him! But, with 6 boys total and three out of the same sire, I need to part with a few lol I expect great great things for this boy wether it is a show home, breeding home, or a family member, he is the best minded of all our babies! I will defiantly be finishing up his clip job when this stupid weather warms up a bit! It was freaking snowing this AM. Fab is getting closer to foaling with Pride right behind her!! Maybe a double header LOL I I have so many pairings I want to keep LOL I want to keep two fillies outa MP if I am blessed with some girls! Well, off to turn out Porter, Master Mind and Delight! Did I mention Delight is going to her new home next month, sniff sniff!  |
AuthorI put this page together to share our adventures of with our Gypsies as well as sharing tips on hair care, our feeding program, and any general helpful information to pass along. Archives
October 2019
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