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Wow! I truly can not believe 2022 foaling season is a wrap! Now we button down the hatches for winter and get ready to welcome our first 2023 foal the end of February.
We welcomed 15 healthy foals this year. I feel incredibly blessed that all mums and babies have flourished and doing incredibly well. I have retained quite a few to grow out. I have decided to part with a few I was keeping because 11 was way to many to hoard. I added a handsome buckskin colt to my program along with a buckskin filly. I am incredibly excited for these two as buckskins are my al time favorite. I was also blessed to have my bestie Janey snag me on brilliant palomino mare that will be joining us this winter. I named her the SD Cream Queen! Queen is broke to drive and is in foal to SD The Kidd! Queen will be bred to SD Flash Harry for 2023. Wow, I can’t believe how time flies! I remember setting my website up and thinking I was going to get this blogging done every week LOL Well, I had no idea how much work would go into all of this. The marketing, sales, photos, washing, etc… There is a lot of effort.
One thing I hope is that buyers appreciate the efforts someone goes through to get them all the info they request. At the end of the day, if they don’t want to buy what said person is selling, PLEASE have the respect to tell the seller you are not interested. This is one of thee most frustrating things in this business. This year we are expecting 16 foals!! I can’t believe it. We would have 17 but Sky slipped. Which is okay, because it was her way of saying she needed a year off. I do plan of getting Sky started under saddle in the coming months as we will have lots of time to get her trained. Diva is another mare I have planned on getting started as well. Joy, Delight, and Hottie will be started this summer, but though they are just two this spring, I will mostly focus on ground work and ponying them saddled. I will keep the riding very light and short till next spring. Then they will be asked to bend, circles, lunging, etc… Keep It Simple. This fall I will be sending Money Mare & ShowCase to the trainers. My goal is by fall to have most of our horses going under saddle. There are mares that I won’t put under saddle, like My Way, I have had her in training for 4 months and it is just is not meant to be, and that is okay, because her happiness is thee most important and she would not be happy. One of my goals for our program is to breed healthy legs on these guys. That is the biggest issue I see with this breed. The CPL, salanders and malanders. Controlling and preventing feather mites is critical for the health of the legs as well. So stay tuned as I hope to post more info about that and products we use. Time to head to the Saturday market while on vacation here in Hawaii. Cheers I can't believe how fast summer has flown by and foaling season is almost a wrap! We were incredibly blessed with 9 fillies and one colt thus far! Legacy had his first crop with 4 foals this year. Two fillies and a colt thus far. Minnie is left to foal and she is up in Canada. Minnie will be put back in foal to SD Empire and then come home.
Though we lost one foal due to birthing complications, we are blessed all are healthy and absolutely stunning. I don't think there is one I could really fault, which is pretty amazing. I have three picked out to run on. Two are replacing their dams which are going to new homes to enjoy life in the show ring and trail buddy. Jack and I finally got away last weekend for our first horse camping trip of the year!! We will hopefully squeeze in two more trips this year. All our mares have been bred back and just need to scan a few to see what sex they are having. We have 10 Gypsies to import this winter!! Gonna be busy LOL The Frenchies have been keeping very busy :) They really keep us entertained and are so soothing to the soul. We will have 3 litters this winter. Foaling in summer, puppies in the winter! Now that foaling season is over, the trining on the foals start. We will be weaning a few foals next week and getting them ready for life. Trailering off site, ponying on the trails, bathing, clipping. I got my work cut out for me:) Harry is finally settling in. I have not shared much of him because he had a bit of a hard time settling in. Harry has always lived in Wales with his herd of mares, he's not used to other breeding stallions around, so he was very worried about keeping his mares safe with other stallions around, so he was always on the move and not eating much, so he dropped a bit of weight. I found the right mares and right pasture to put him in where is calm and happy and eating like a champ. His journey under saddle will continue this fall as breeding season is a wrap!! Harry is a kind stallion and quit the mover. Beyond blessed to have been able to add this boy to our family. Well, I got yard work to do to get the house ready for a wedding. Stay healthy and safe! ~Blanche  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 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 |
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
January 2023
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