What a busy few last weeks! I made a trip up to my home town Alaska, Ketchikan! What a wonderful time. I really needed it as I have been a bit home sick and need my Alaska fix LOL. I have decided to take two Gypsies up to Ketchikan the summer of 2018! I am gonna try and work all our foals due before or after July so we can go and no worries.
I flew home Monday afternoon and then hit the road Tuesday early for Vancouver BC to take Ellie to her new home. I could not be more pleased with her new digs and Ellie's new mom is a special lady who will love Ellie for the rest of her life! I had no intentions of selling Ellie, but with moving our breeding program forward and having a fab non breeding home for her, I couldn't say no! Ellie is going to be a stunning example of the breed and in her new digs she will have more attention than she knows what to do with. Now to find Hiccup a wonderful home. I truly love that little man. He is not phased by anything and is more than happy to rest his head in your arms and call it a day:) He is sale pending, waiting for contract back. If his sale falls through, I may be a sign. We have acquired another 38 acres for our horses and looking forward to having them on quality pasture year round! I am very picky about letting our horses be horses. I do stall some in the winter, but they get tuned out everyday for at least 8 house. 6 of our 9 stalls have runs. This year we will only be stalling 4 of our horses and all the rest will live outside 24/7! I haven't decided who will be on my winter fitness list, but so far Teddy, Carson(Jacks AQH), Dixie. Master Plan is going to start driving training 11/1/2016!! I am so excited:) Our new mare, The Lager Mare, is a driving machine & is being put in-foal to SD The Don! This no doubt will be a keeper if it is a filly, if it is a colt, it possibly will be up for sale! When Janey Down first sent me pictures she KNEW I couldn't ask Jack if we could get another Gypsy! I didn't even ask any questions, I just forwarded them to Jack and he wrote back, when are we getting her:)! Oh, I was tickled pink!! I fell in love with Lager over photos, but after seeing her in person, I couldn't even believe she was ours! She takes our breath away and I would keep walking out to the pasture she was in at the farm and just stare at her! Lager will be coming over this winter after she has settled in foal.
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It's August! Wow! Time to get back on track. Lot's has been going on around the ranch and the horses are all happy and healthy! Teddy our new gelding, need to get his pictures up and a little info about him is getting in shape and doing well in his training. I have been focusing on his trail work as my father-in-law will be using him when we go elk hunting in Idaho.
The B&B has been hopping and keeping me VERY busy, so our horse camping trips have been very limited but thats okay, its worth it! We don't have what we have without sacrifice and very hard work. I am very proud of Master Plan getting all our girls covered this year as he is just two. His foal crop will be one to watch. Master Plan has got to enjoy most of the spring and summer with the mares and foals and he and Hiccup are BFF. Ellie is sold to an amazing home in Canada and her new owner wants her as a riding horse, so MP will have to say bye to the ladies till I deliver Ellie next month. I have one more show to attend the first weekend in Oct. Not sure who I will be taking yet, I was hoping to take Prada but with two new business this year and starting Ellie for her new owner and keeping up with Teddy & Irish's training Prada is on the back burner:( We are heading to England soon, so I will have some great surprises to share soon. Off to work Teddy. Be nice, Be humble, Be true, Be you, smile! Have a great day!! Boy, where has summer gone! Projects around the ranch have been keeping us uber busy! I started running a B&B in April and we have absolutely loved it! I did not need anything more to do, but it is well worth it. Next year, we would like to offer a horsey hotel as well. I decided this would be a better route than horse boarding and happy to say we are no longer offering boarding. It was an experience I am glad I got to experience. I started boarding to have horse people around, but they were never around.
So, now I have more room for our horses which has been amazing! Every one is turned out 24/7 and I have two herds. That will change when the new horses come, but will then soon smooth out. Next moth Jack and I are heading to England to visit the Down's and our horses!! We will be picking out our new colt that will stand along with Master Plan. Not sure what we will pick, but I have no doubts it will be nothing but amazing. We have seen some pretty amazing foals hitting the ground. I know I have talked a lot about showing this year, but we have fallen considerably short in that department. I have been extremely disappointed with the judging. Watching the judges place stallions that are rearing and striking above Cobs that are being well behaved and are better put together is very frustrating. So, until I find a judge that knows how to properly judge the conformation and temperament, I am going to stick with showing dressage. I am showing one more show this year in California and that is so I can get away that weekend. I will take our gelding and no stress. I originally got into this breed for the ability to show such sweet calm horses. It's pretty dang frustrating. The foals are growing like weeds! Joy is the shortest, but she is a brick house. Diva is the tallest and has more hair than both the other two combined LOL. I have no doubt Diva will have as much hair as her sire:) Hiccup is turning into a striking boy and man will he be a force to be reckon with in the show ring! Holy smokes a lot has been going on around the ranch. So much has happened where to start!
Let's start with the babies!! All three of our babies are just to die fore! Diva is the goddess of hair, OMG!! She also posses one of the sweetest friendliest personalities I have ever seen on any animal. She is gonna be tall, she stands at about 12.2 and is only 9 weeks old. Joy, well, she's in a league all of her own. She is built like a tank and has a zesty personality to go with it. She is loving and kind but is all about the "look at me" attitude. I have no doubts this girl is gonna ROCK the show ring. Hiccup, well, he's all boy LOL! Hiccup loves to run and play, but still sticks close to mum. He is very very sweet and very laid back, just like his dam. Ellie is my FAVORITE mare just for the reason she is so kind and gentle but yet this tank. Noting phases that girl and Hiccup is following in her hoof steps. I am heading out today to body clip Hiccup and get pictures. We have decided to sell Hiccup to make room for another mare we purchased. Wait till you see this girl. UNBELIEVABLE! On to the next.... We have several hay fields that we hay for our horses and cattle, this usually ALWAYS happens around the fourth of July, but it was a month early this year, so we were very busy filling the barn. Jack still has 20 acres to cut starting today and we got some nice rain last week and hopefully will get a 2nd cutting off our best field. Our trip is booked for England in August. We may have a few more surprises to announce soon:) I need to head out and grab Ellie and Hiccup for bath day. Cheers! Well, foaling season has finished for us at PMG! We were blessed with two incredible fillies and one colt out of Ellie last Wednesday at 1:30 AM. It is amazing how all three are almost identical in markings. We are unsure at this point if we are gonna keep the colt, SD Night Fury aka Hiccup. I really want a show gelding, but it will depend on if I will have the time to train and show three babies plus the other stock. It is just me doing the upkeep and training. Jack does morning chores and has so many other projects going on around the ranch it doesn't leave him much time for the horses. It is very important that all the horses have excellent care.
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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
February 2024
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