Feb 15 2003 Newsletter

		February 15, 2003 January hit us with a couple snow storms and sub-zero temperatures. I don’t think it’s been this cold in Tennessee in a long time! The horses didn’t seem to mind though. In fact, they seemed to enjoy playing in the snow. Whisper was such a nosy little show-off when I put their blankets on them. First, she had to be right in the middle of everything, tossing and carrying around the blankets I wasn’t using while I tried to put them on her buddies. Then she couldn’t leave Buttons alone for being interested in the blanket Buttons was wearing. Buttons tried everything she could think of to get Whisper to quit pestering her, but didn’t have much luck until Whisper got distracted with something else. When I got all the blankets on, Whisper instigated a brisk run in the snow. She ran, tossed her head, and did this funny rearing full 360 spin in the falling snow. She acted like she was so proud of her new outfit! She’s gotten to be a lot of fun to be around. Her ground manners have improved considerably, making her less annoying and more of a joy to be around! Poor Missie is still just huge. The other day she got herself stuck almost upside-down when she rolled over right up against a hay bale. With her big belly, she couldn’t get enough momentum to roll back over or to push herself up with the hay bale in the way. My brothers and I were right there, and were able to help her up without much trouble. It’s always frightening to find one in a helpless position. Missie and Sierra are both just past the 3-months-to-go mark, so I put them on their new no-fescue diet. Up until now, the gray horse club and bay horse club have pretty much just ignored each other! You should see Missie and Sierra – they’re finally starting to get along. . . a little. More than anything, I think Missie is learning to deal with Sierra. She used to steer a REALLY wide path around her, but she’s learning that if she wants to eat, she’ll have to do a little more subtle maneuvering. Now, instead of staying at the opposite end of the field, she’s learning to just keep the feed trough between them. Sometimes they do a little do-si-do dance around the trough, but Missie’s learning to stand her ground better! It’s kind of funny. The house is coming along. The main things we have to do before we can move in are: paint the drywall, hook everything up (electrical outlets, switches, lights, sinks, cabinets etc.), install flooring, and finish the deck and rock siding. What a slow process! I’m not patient enough for this! It’s also hard waiting for this year’s crop of Friesian Sporthorse babies! We’re very excited about these foals. We will post the new arrivals as they come, and they will be named in the order of their birth. Foal #1 will be Alpha, #2 is Bravo, #3 is Charlie, and #4 is Delta. I’ve been daydreaming about each of them. We’ll see how close I am, but these are my predictions (not based on any real evidence, but rather a combination of some good genetic reasoning, assuming they stay true to their due dates, circumstantial or made-up evidence, as well as plain old “wishing”) Missie’s foal, “Alpha”: A big black colt, who will turn stunning shades of gray throughout his stellar dressage career. He may have facial markings, but none on his legs. Sierra’s foal, “Bravo”: A black or bay foal with refinement and intelligence as well as lots of mane and tail. I can’t even venture a guess about the sex of the foal here, but I think it will have a star, and Sierra’s beautiful face with Jilte’s abundant mane and tail and impressive movement. Whisper’s foal, “Charlie”: This foal could be anything – black, chestnut, bay, gray . . . but I’ve been hoping for a bay filly. A bright red-bay like her proud papa, Euro with Whisper’s endearing curiosity and personality. Whisper is just like a cat sometimes. Into everything, but you’ve got to love her innocence and exuberance. Scooter’s foal, “Delta”: I’m counting on this foal being a big bay filly just like Scooter, but with more mane and tail, a little less-jumpy nature, and big powerful gaits that scream, “Wow”. This foal may not be for sale once I fall in love with it! So, we’ll have to see how close I get with my non-scientific predictions. Anybody want to place bets about my predictions or whose foal will be named what? Stay tuned! Jen

February 15, 2003

January hit us with a couple snow storms and sub-zero temperatures. I don’t think it’s been this cold in Tennessee in a long time! The horses didn’t seem to mind though. In fact, they seemed to enjoy playing in the snow. Whisper was such a nosy little show-off when I put their blankets on them. First, she had to be right in the middle of everything, tossing and carrying around the blankets I wasn’t using while I tried to put them on her buddies. Then she couldn’t leave Buttons alone for being interested in the blanket Buttons was wearing. Buttons tried everything she could think of to get Whisper to quit pestering her, but didn’t have much luck until Whisper got distracted with something else. When I got all the blankets on, Whisper instigated a brisk run in the snow. She ran, tossed her head, and did this funny rearing full 360 spin in the falling snow. She acted like she was so proud of her new outfit! She’s gotten to be a lot of fun to be around. Her ground manners have improved considerably, making her less annoying and more of a joy to be around!

Poor Missie is still just huge. The other day she got herself stuck almost upside-down when she rolled over right up against a hay bale. With her big belly, she couldn’t get enough momentum to roll back over or to push herself up with the hay bale in the way. My brothers and I were right there, and were able to help her up without much trouble. It’s always frightening to find one in a helpless position.

Missie and Sierra are both just past the 3-months-to-go mark, so I put them on their new no-fescue diet. Up until now, the gray horse club and bay horse club have pretty much just ignored each other! You should see Missie and Sierra – they’re finally starting to get along. . . a little. More than anything, I think Missie is learning to deal with Sierra. She used to steer a REALLY wide path around her, but she’s learning that if she wants to eat, she’ll have to do a little more subtle maneuvering. Now, instead of staying at the opposite end of the field, she’s learning to just keep the feed trough between them. Sometimes they do a little do-si-do dance around the trough, but Missie’s learning to stand her ground better! It’s kind of funny.

The house is coming along. The main things we have to do before we can move in are: paint the drywall, hook everything up (electrical outlets, switches, lights, sinks, cabinets etc.), install flooring, and finish the deck and rock siding. What a slow process! I’m not patient enough for this!

It’s also hard waiting for this year’s crop of Friesian Sporthorse babies! We’re very excited about these foals. We will post the new arrivals as they come, and they will be named in the order of their birth. Foal #1 will be Alpha, #2 is Bravo, #3 is Charlie, and #4 is Delta. I’ve been daydreaming about each of them. We’ll see how close I am, but these are my predictions (not based on any real evidence, but rather a combination of some good genetic reasoning, assuming they stay true to their due dates, circumstantial or made-up evidence, as well as plain old “wishing”)

Missie’s foal, “Alpha”: A big black colt, who will turn stunning shades of gray throughout his stellar dressage career. He may have facial markings, but none on his legs.

Sierra’s foal, “Bravo”: A black or bay foal with refinement and intelligence as well as lots of mane and tail. I can’t even venture a guess about the sex of the foal here, but I think it will have a star, and Sierra’s beautiful face with Jilte’s abundant mane and tail and impressive movement.

Whisper’s foal, “Charlie”: This foal could be anything – black, chestnut, bay, gray . . . but I’ve been hoping for a bay filly. A bright red-bay like her proud papa, Euro with Whisper’s endearing curiosity and personality. Whisper is just like a cat sometimes. Into everything, but you’ve got to love her innocence and exuberance.

Scooter’s foal, “Delta”: I’m counting on this foal being a big bay filly just like Scooter, but with more mane and tail, a little less-jumpy nature, and big powerful gaits that scream, “Wow”. This foal may not be for sale once I fall in love with it!

So, we’ll have to see how close I get with my non-scientific predictions. Anybody want to place bets about my predictions or whose foal will be named what? Stay tuned!

Jen