West Grange Farm

Back to School

2011-01-22T10:46:00.001-08:00

Finally took a lesson from Sandy (my trainer) with Winnie after missing four Fridays in a row. I requested and got a lunge line lesson as I was feeling really out of practice. Here’s what I need to practice by next Friday’s lesson:

1. Using the neck stretcher. Sandy adjusted it to the right length for Winnie. It’s pretty long, but it works.I had her knot it at the right length. We used them instead of side reins and Winnie’s head tossing was kept to one or two resistances.

2. When Winnie falls out of the circle by sticking her butt out of the curved line , which she did at one point most times we passed it, use my outside rein and leg to direct her back in. Don’t wait for her to this for more than a stride, if that. Correct her as soon as she starts to drift.

3. Winnie’s not a hot horse, bring the whip and hold it with the inside hand, laid across my thigh until needed. Just use it on her shoulder for a tap if she ignores my leg.

4. Don’t turn my heel in and toe out to communicate with Winnie, instead bring my leg in and slightly back, flexing at the ankle joint. Use the inside top of my calf to tell Winnie to go forward. If she ignores it, follow with a tap with the whip immediately.

5. Follow Winnie’s mouth by letting my elbow, to hand move at a downward angle not straight back and forth.

6. Sit the trot first (rising as the outside shoulder does) before asking for a canter depart. Don’t let her run into it, instead make a clean transition.

7. Practice lots and lots of walk-trot and some trot-canter transitions concentrating on keeping a constant following contact with my hands. I tend to focus on my leg and seat and let the reins get slack or loopy. (Amazing how little looseness Sandy refers to as loopy.)

8. Keep my heels down and flex in the ankle, knee and hip with my head up and my shoulders back and my butt glued to the saddle during he caner. I must be getting better at the flexing as I only lost my stirrups once cantering. It’s so easy to let my legs get loose and swing when I’m trying to follow with my hips.

Lots of books recommend dropping your stirrups or removing them entirely to work on a better seat. I think I’ll wait until I can do everything correctly WITH stirrups before I try that again.

I can’t believe how difficult it is just to get nice basic gaits. It looks so easy, but it’s so hard! Thankfully, Winnie is a nice, calm horse who is easy to work with and already knows the basics. I just need to catch up.

See more progress on: learn dressage

Micro Ride

2011-01-20T19:49:00.001-08:00

I got off to a late start, but Winnie and I did finally make it to the arena. A regular lunging session with Winnie, which went well though she was oddly reluctant to pick up the left canter lead and to maintain that gait. Not much riding, just a few 10-20 meter circles mostly at the walk to cool her down before full dark descended. I’m still pretty awful at getting and keeping Winnie on the bit. Thankfully I have a lesson with Sandy tomorrow which should give me a good place to restart.

Winnie was very well behaved and I got to try out my new Ariat Terrain chaps. A worthwhile evening all around, plus Ferra actually came up for cookies before we left. A nice change from hiding behind the barn whenever the trailer pulls up.

See more progress on: learn dressage

A Start for 2011

2011-01-19T10:46:00.001-08:00

I emailed Sandy and am on the schedule for a lesson on Friday. Guess I’d better get some practice on Winnie before then.
I also have been trading emails with Alejandro. He’s become very busy indeed, so I’m still waiting for him to get his new assistant up to speed so that I can start Ferra back into training with him. Ferra was perfect for the farrier on Monday, so hopefully all her ulcer/pain related behavior problems are behind us!

See more progress on: learn dressage

4 Weeks Missed

2011-01-19T10:38:00.001-08:00

I was able to hire a couple of college students to help with the heavy manual labor around the property for a week or two. As usual, my riding is getting put off. I really need to schedule my time more effectively.
I did buy an indoor arena pass good through May, plus the guys aren’t back until Monday so I can take Winnie out and get some practice in. I also need to schedule a lesson for this Friday. My trainer probably thinks I’ve fallen off the face of the earth.

See more progress on: learn dressage

More Painting

2011-01-19T10:37:00.003-08:00

I’ve hired two college students who are working for us for a week or so while on break. They’ve power washed the stalls and put yet another coat of paint on the bottom foot or so to eliminate the rust. This is obviously going to have to be done once a year at least, maybe two or three times. Still, it’s cheaper than having to replace the walls. I also found a place where the bottom metal edge is bent and sticking out. I need to pound it back into place before I let the girls back into their stalls.

Amazing how time consuming these repairs are even hiring someone to do it with minimal supervision. That and buying the supplies can eat up an entire afternoon.

See more progress on: finish my barn

They're back ...

2011-01-19T10:37:00.001-08:00

... And they’re perfect. Thanks Anthony’s!

See more progress on: Break In New Riding Boots

All the hooks are up!

2011-01-19T10:36:00.001-08:00

Mr. Harmless installed four more hooks, which pretty much used up almost all of the rest of the wall space. I might be able to put some racks under the cabinets or between the workbench and the counter, but that might be overkill. I need to rearrange the tack to take advantage of the extra storage, but I’m really pleased at how my tack room turned out.

Unfortunately, one of the stall lights appears to be broken and will have to be replaced. Since I also need the phone hooked up in the barn, I guess I’ll have to call the electrician.
Plus, once the rain lets up long enough, I need to have a painter out to do the roof. It’s high and a bit dangerous, so I’ll need to make sure they have adequate insurance too.
Finally, the back hose bib needs to be hooked up and the misters plumbed with PVC. Garden hoses have been working fine so far, so I may forego that last thing.

See more progress on: finish my barn

So Close

2011-01-19T10:35:00.001-08:00

Mr. Harmless has hung up a coat hook plus four U bolts in the stalls for horse treats. I just need to get the stalls pressure washed and they can go up.

I’ve also purchased four more hooks for the new shelf and another coat hook for the inside of the door. Mr. Harmless is going to help me hang those up and replace a couple of the light bulbs tomorrow.

Just that and getting another coat of paint on the roof and we’re done. And maybe getting the back hose bib hooked up and PVC for the misters. Then again, it’s just too easy to keep adding projects and never ever completing this goal!

See more progress on: finish my barn

3 Weeks Missed

2011-01-19T10:33:00.001-08:00

I really should have made an appointment for a lesson today with my trainer, as I’m finally over my cold. For some reason I’m really dragging my feet on this one. Hopefully, it’s just a lingering after effect of being sick. Since every training session is at least two hours between trailering, grooming, tack, and riding I have to be disciplined to get it in five times/week. Lessons are more like three and a half to four hours since the trailering alone is two hours. Plus, I’m not nearly as good of a rider as I used to think. Getting Winnie on the bit consistently still escapes me. Perhaps I’m expecting results too soon? Sandy told me one of her students took a year with twice weekly lessons to get this right. And that was after eleven years at training level with another instructor. I’m only a few months in. Patience, dedication, and discipline is only the only way to make this goal happen. I just wish it didn’t feel so much like a job rather than a pleasure.

However, it’s another clear day and our community arena is dry, so I’m trailering over there to train today.

See more progress on: learn dressage

Not

2011-01-19T10:30:00.003-08:00

I have no room or time for another horse, even a foal. So until I have a free stall, Daphne will have to stay barren. Kind of an odd decision for a breeding barn, but I have to work with the resources I have…

See more progress on: Decide to Breed Daphne for a 2012 Foal or Not

Repair and Adjustment

2011-01-19T10:30:00.001-08:00

Since both of my hardly used spare riding boots now fit with both socks and breeches on, I decided to send two of my three pairs of Effingham riding boots back in to Anthony’s for repairs. The brown Field boots needed a replacement zipper pull for the one that broke while I was stretching them out. (I doubt I’ve worn them on a horse more than once.) My dressage boots are in to get the snap tabs which dig into the back of my knee replaced with the far more comfortable Velcro type used on my field boots.

I insured them for $1200 figuring that was about the replacement value.

Effingham went out of business right after I bought my boots so I priced the same options from Der Dau (black only via equestrian collections.)

Semi custom field boots with toe cap, ripple sole, swagger tabs, elastic gussets and knee to ankle zippers: $965

Semi custom dressage boots with ripple sole, elastic gussets, and knee to ankle zippers: $1180

Guess the insurance should have been $2K+ Hope they make it home okay!

See more progress on: Break In New Riding Boots

Sick

2010-12-26T09:42:00.001-08:00

I missed two lessons with my trainer due to a terrible cold courtesy of my husband. (Hereafter referred to as patient zero.) I’m still sick and it’s been raining too hard to use the our outdoor arena anyway. Guess I’ll have to either wait until the County indoor arena opens on January 4th, do some trail riding, haul to Wilton (2 hour round trip), or see if I can find another alternative for next week.

Until then, just call me sneezy…

See more progress on: learn dressage

New Website

2010-12-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

I've finally created a real website for my farm: West Grange Farm

I'm in the process of moving all of my broodmare and stallion information, plus my breeding articles over to that site. Hopefully, finding the page you need will be much easier on the new site. I'll be using this blog to post miscellaneous news and random thoughts, in the traditional stream of consciousness blog manner we've all come to know and love.

I hope you'll visit my exciting new site soon!

Off the Lunge

2010-11-25T20:12:00.000-08:00

I finally took a dressage lesson off the lunge line. I also dropped my stirrups a hole as I wasn’t able to get my foot and calf back far enough to use effectively. Finally I had to figure out exactly where to steer Winnie to do a proper 20 meter circle correctly.

See more progress on: learn dressage

Another lesson with Sandy on Winnie

2010-11-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

Another lunge line lesson and Winnie was very well behaved. I actually started sitting trot today. It’s actually a lot like sitting the canter. Worked on that too. Flexing at the ankle and very slightly nudging with my leg as Winnie’s inside shoulder goes forward is a bit tricky, but she falls back into trot whenI don’t quite get it right. I don’t have another lesson until Wednesday and my trainer’s taking Thursday and Friday off. Guess I’m going to go out and ride Winnie on my own this week.
Soon, I’ll have Winnie at home and just taking a single lesson per week. Perfect practice will be the goal.

See more progress on: learn dressage

Lesson with Sandy on Winnie: 11/12/10

2010-11-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

Today was my third lesson (since my surgery) with my trainer, USDF Gold Medalist and successful grand prix competitor, Sandy Savage. I rode my seven year old Hanoverian mare Winnie (Weltmeyer/Wendekreis). Winnie’s been with Sandy a few months now and is ready to show first level plus she’s starting shoulder in. Winnie’s in the best shape I’ve ever seen her. I need to take some pictures and video before she comes home. Though, at the glacial rate I’m progressing, Winnie will be at the trainer’s for awhile yet. I have to be able to trailer her over to the arena, lunge her and ride her correctly on my own 3-4 times/week with weekly lessons with Sandy to keep me on track and progressing. Otherwise, Winnie will lose her rideability and she’ll regress in her training.

Today was another 45 minute lunge line lesson. I’ve done a lot of trail riding and some hunt seat training over the years, but I’m both out of shape and out of practice. Plus, I’ve never really had lessons with a true dressage expert. I feel like I’ve been getting the basics wrong for years. It’s incredibly humbling.

Dressage Lesson Notes

1. Side reins should be adjusted in length so that extended the full length the horses head is at or just behind the vertical. They should be attached well bellow the billet straps so that the horse can be warmed up in a long and low position. The inside siderein should be about 2 inches shorter than the outside rein (about 4-5 holes as the buckled section is a loop, not a straight line.)

2. My knee should be pressed flush with the knee roll, but the toe of my boot should not be visible when looking down at my knee. The tip of my booted toe should be in line with the front edge of my knee cap or just behind it . When viewed from the side my heel should be below my hips and at or just in front of the girth .

3. Posting or rising trot: when sitting your elbows and knees are bent (contracted.) When rising your elbows and knees are more extended . Your elbows should be slightly in front of your waist.

4. Rein length when posting on Winnie: the second leather tab of my reins should be between my fingers. If my hands are grasping the bucking strap, the third leather tab should be between my fingers. A soft, flexible hold only on the bucking stap as I still need to give with my hands for a following contact on the bit.

5. Cantering Position: lower legs should not swing, but my ankles should flex with each stride. Hips should move forward with each stride, but my seat should stay in the saddle. My hands should maintain a constant contact on the reins with the inside rein slightly shorter, as always. Don’t collapse my upper body, shoulders should be back!

6. When Winnie is “naughty” (tossing her head or a single buck when asked for an upward transition) send her forward! In fact, always be thinking FORWARD with Winnie, even in a downward transition. Also, bending her o the inside can help keep her focused. Make sure only to bend her head so hat her eye is just visible, Otherwise she is probably over bent to the inside. Remember to keep a nice firm contact on the outside rein too. Since she also tends to toss her head when resisting, so keep good contact with the bit.

7. Dressage Whip: Should be held firmly by the handle with its length resting on the thigh above the knee.

See more progress on: learn dressage

Two Lessons In

2010-11-11T20:10:00.000-08:00

My finger tendon injury has healed enough to ride and I’m on a two lesson a week plan. I’m shockingly out of shape after just two and a half months off. Both were lunge line lessons on Winnie, who is doing quite well. I’m just doing simple walk, trot, and canter as I try to to get my seat and hands independent and quiet.

Now if I can just remember to be up in the post when the her outside shoulder is extended (the correct diagnal.) Also, I need to remember to extend my elbow when I post up and contract it when I’m in the saddle.

Plus, when I ask for a canter depart I should cue when Winnie's inside foreleg is extended by squeezing with both legs, the inside at the girth and the outside behind the girth.

Also, my my hands need to be just in front of and a few inches above the bucking strap, fingers closed, thumbs on top, wrists bent slightly inward. Plus, no slack in the reins!

See more progress on: learn dressage

Wow!

2010-06-05T12:17:00.001-07:00

I made my weekly pilgrimage out to my trainer’s last week to see how Ferra, my four year old Elite Mae Candidate mare, is doing. Sandy made her look utterly regal. If I didn’t already own her, I would have bought her on the spot. Ferra is finally starting to fill out and is starting to get larger hindquarters that match her big shoulders and long, elegant neck. She’s also able to maintain balanced, correct gaits without cross cantering in the corners.

The ulcer medication has improved her temperament tremendously and she’ll now stand quietly and calmly when saddled and isn’t girthy. Thank goodness that problem seems solved. It was incredibly demoralizing to see my sensible, calm mare become unmanageable.

Another two months and I should actually be able to start riding her myself!

See more progress on: train my horses

More Progress

2010-05-29T22:07:00.001-07:00

-Penelepe’s eye is healed.

-Everyone has had their shots and annual exam exam. Ferra still needs her rabies vaccine.

-Penelepe needs her wolf teeth out. Daphne and Winnie need their annual float. Ferra may be due as well.

-Winnie has had her de-wormer.

-Ally is now getting pellets as her molars are too worn down and cupped to chew her food properly. (She’s 25.)

-Winnie has has a month of full traiing and some change. She is now confirmed walk-trot-canter.

-Ferra is back in full training. If all goes well she’ll come home at the end of July with three months training under her belt in 2010.

-Bought a Passier dressage saddle to fit Winnie and Ferra as my JRD didn’t fit either. Ferra’s still growing, so I may get the JRD custom fitted for her.

-The rain is finally over (I hope.) I’m planning on getting Winnie back to full time work and weekly lessons with my trainer.

-Bought two new pairs of FITS full seat breeches and cool max socks to get me through the summer heat. Now I just need to get my butt in the saddle!

See more progress on: train my horses

Another Busy Week

2010-04-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

Thursday, April 22, 2010: Took a lunge line lesson on Winnie from Sandy. It was awesome! My JRD saddle didn't fit Winnie, so Sandy let me use her Passier. It made it really easy to sit properly and the lesson flew by. I was surprised I didn't feel exhausted afterwards, but I was so delighted to actually ride one of my horses that I was elated instead. Sandy's at a Clinic Tuesday through Thursday next week, so my next lesson will be in May.

Friday, April 23, 2010: Started looking for a 17.5" Medium tree Grand Gilbert Passier with the optional deep seat and gullets. Sandy says it will fit both Winnie and Ferra. Hmm, what to do with my JRD?

Saturday, April 24, 2010: Ordered Hay

Sunday, April 25, 2010: Created French Drain to deal with seasonal spring overflow behind the rear paddocks. Better, but still not fixed.

Monday, April 26, 2010: Hay Delivery. Stripped and re-bedded stalls.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010: The rain's coming down in buckets. Added more bedding and put on everyone's blankets.

Talked to Mehrdad at Saddlery Solutions (formerly JRD Saddlery) about fitting my JRD Accord Dressage Saddle to another horse. He doesn't come out to Placerville, plus he spends half his time on the East Coast so no date yet on when to have him evaluate the fit. I'll probably trailer out to Rancho Murrita. I forgot to ask what the turn around time for fittings is. Mehrdad mentioned that he does have another company take care of some of the fittings, so that may be a possibility. I Did get some prices however:

Change Knee pads (reduce size): $50 with saddle work, $125 without.
Tree Adjustment: $350
Reflock: $375
Change Balance: Will probably be taken care of by other adjustments.

Total: $775, but he mentioned it could be as little as $200, if less work was required to alter the fit. That's cheaper than a new saddle. Perhaps 'll get it fitted for Daphne if the vet can get her sound again? She, Winnie, and Ferra are unlikely to need the same tree size. Plus, I paid about $3K for the JRD about five years or so ago and only used it for about a year, if that, before my mare Ally started having soundness problems. Similar saddles are going used for about $1500. Do I really want to take a $1500 hit on this?

Tax Week!

2010-04-17T00:32:00.001-07:00

Monday: Farrier for Ally, Daphne, Penelepe, and Ferra. Ferra got her first shoes ever.

Tuesday: De-wormer for everybody but Winnie.

Wednesday: Planned to take Ferra back into the trainer’s, but decided to leave Winnie for a full month before bringing her home.

Thursday: Ordered a new computer so I can finally put a farm website together.

Friday: Drove out to PEC and de-wormed Winnie. I also left $$ to pay for her trim early next week. I had lunch with my fellow Hanoverian breeder Catherine. Catherine’s Elite mare Anja and her foal Lance by Le Premier looked awesome in the pictures she brought. Yeah!

See more progress on: train my horses

Why I Heart My iPhone

2010-04-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

I found a really nice horse record application for my iPhone called Pocket Stable. You can enter multiple horses, their last vaccinations, worming, farrier, float, and a bunch of other text data. It gives me all my horse information that I need on the go.

The iPhone version runs on my iPad too, basically the same thing at 2X size. I'd love to see them come out with a real iPad version and a full records database that would sync with both.

Oh, and the best thing about this software? The price: $3.99

The Downside: No way to print out, backup. or sync the data. I'll be using something else for my horse database. Also, iPhone version looks a bit blurry at 2X size on the iPad. No way to add pictures. Still, a great ap for $4!

You can find out more at the developer's site: Pocket Stable

I think it's time to clean my iPad's screen.

That sentence is so full of fail...

2010-04-07T14:53:00.001-07:00

I was watching the third season of The Guild last night when Codex uttered the line, “I’m paying to play a game that has become my high stress, full-time job!”

At which point, I realized that owning a horse farm makes Worlds of Warcraft addiction look like a stable, sane, affordable proposition.

Go watch it

Un-Acquired Tastes

2010-04-07T14:27:00.003-07:00

Penelepe managed to eat an entire pound of oats without eating any of the powdered antibiotics I had coated them with. How is that even possible?

Then, when I picked up her feed bucket, she eyed me like a Michelin inspector flinging a turned vintage back to an incompetent sommelier.

Having horses that are better bred than you are can be a problem.

Little Cut, Big Vet Bill

2010-04-07T12:06:00.001-07:00

Before:

After:

The very nice vet, Dr. Menninger, and her charming assistant Nicky treated Penelepe’s cut at about 6:30PM. (About an hour and a half after they normally finish work. They had a colic filled day.) After a big dose of sedative, bute, and opiate, Penelepe became a fairly pleasant drunk. She was less enthusiastic about the shots, especially the locals around the cut itself. Dr. Menninger ended up giving her a tetanus shot (standard procedure if their vaccination is over six months old.) Plus, she removed the small flap of skin over the wound and gave me a week’s worth of powdered antibiotics and bute to slip into Penelepe’s grain. Hopefully she’ll eat it, or it’s oral syringe time.

The good news: it’s a superficial cut, rather than a puncture wound, and should heal with little or no scarring.

The bad news: I’ve still got no idea how Penelepe cut herself, though the vet did narrow it down to late afternoon or evening Monday night. Plus, there's a $355 vet bill. With Ferra’s hoof abscess that makes $510 of unexpected medical bills so far for May and April.

I have to go cry now.

Tuesday April 6, 2010

2010-04-06T17:15:00.003-07:00

I put up some temporary fencing yesterday and let the girls out to graze. The baby came back with a nasty cut above her eye. I’ve been waiting for the vet for four hours now and am beginning to worry that she isn’t going to show up. (My regular vet was busy and I haven’t used this one before.)

The vet just called me back and will be here within the next hour and a half. Thank god! Being a worrier and having five horses doesn’t really mix. I'll be killing time by bolting down a loose coupling in the paddock and contemplating replacing all the gates that have sharp edges. Hurray, more work.

On the plus side, Ferra’s looking sound again.

Friday March 28, 2010

2010-03-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

I audited the Friday afternoon portion of the Heike Kimmer clinic at Christiane Noelting’s. I took copious and careful notes on the official program, which I promptly lost. Fortunately, I didn't lose my camera. Here are some pictures of the event:

These were all beautiful upper level horses, with the exception of the black horse in the third photo down. He's a lovely younger gelding with a really sweet, calm temperament. I think his very nice rider mentioned he was training second level, but I might be remembering incorrectly.

Ms. Kimmer's teaching technique reminded me a lot of how I've always been told to correct a horse:

1. Make your request (Ask firmly, but politely)
2. Ask more insistently. (Raise your voice)
3. Be very insistent indeed. (Yell)
4. Reward when the desired result is obtained. (Praise Extravagantly)

As there was visible progress in a very short time, this method obviously works on people as well as horses. Each pair had one lesson per day for three days in a row. I'm sorry that I only got to see the first day.

Several of the riders were professional trainers. I guess I should ask the obvious question: why are only half of them wearing helmets? Isn't a member of the USET still in a coma after fracturing her skull in a horse fall just a couple weeks ago? Maybe it's just me, but after spending my whole life trying to fill my brain up I don't want to empty it out in just a few seconds.
YMMV

Here's a picture of the entrance to Christiane Noelting's very fancy main barn. I now officially have barn envy.

I missed my trainer’s ride, but here’s a picture of her (Sandy Savage), her groom (Jennifer Walker) , and her horse (Woccelli):

Sunday March 21, 2010

2010-03-21T22:20:00.001-07:00

I drove out to PEC to soak Ferra’s hoof abscess in hot water with Epsom salts and Betadine. I couldn’t find a hot spot on any of her hooves, or any drainage sores, so I just soaked her front for good measure and turned her out. I let her spent a little over a half hour roaming around the empty jumper ring. She seemed to enjoy it. She also seemed sound as a bell, thank goodness. I hand grazed her for another ten minutes, fed her all the apples she would eat and left two more in her feed bin. Looks like Ferra can go back to work tomorrow.

Guess I laid awake imagining the worst for no reason whatsoever last night. I’m so relieved!

Friday: March 19, 2010

2010-03-20T00:10:00.001-07:00

I just got a call from my trainer. Ferra does have a hoof abscess, poor baby.

I don’t understand it. Ferra’s only been there three weeks and she’s lame. Sandy, my trainer, seems to think after daily soaking in Epsom salt and polticing it, the abscess should burst and relieve the pressure. Or, she may have the farrier excise it. Hopefully, Ferra will only be off for a day or two.

When I had Ferra at my former trainer’s, she had two abscesses in seven weeks. I figured that was because they had no bedding, but the new place has lots of nice, clean shavings in her stall. Living at home, she’s never had a lame day in the almost four years since her birth to now. So, it must be either the stall environment, limited turn out, or something else I’m missing. I hope I can solve this. Her last abscess got so infected that I had $600 worth of vet bills before I was through. Plus, I got to spend my tenth wedding anniversary changing bandages and feeding antibiotics. Fortunately, there was no permanent injury, but I really don’t want Ferra to have to go through that again.

I‘m driving out tomorrow to check on her. Life is so much easier when everyone is at home.

Thursday: March 18th

2010-03-19T13:51:00.001-07:00

Daphne and Ally enjoying the Spring weather

I overslept, probably too much Nyquil. Damn you allergies! So, Winnie didn’t get exercised this morning.

Instead, I did the two hour round trip to watch Ferra’s training session down in Wilton. The groom, Jennifer, lunged her for awhile, with Ferra looking every so slightly off on her right lead. Then Sandy rode Ferra a bit at the trot, canter, and even a little walk while the Jennifer lunged her some more.

Afterwards, the farrier put the hoof tester on both of her front hooves in turn. She was just a touch sensitive on the right fore. Sandy promised to keep an eye on it, but it’s probably nothing. I hope all that sedentary time in her stall isn’t taking a toll on my girl. It’s a nice big 12×16 or so, and she gets turned out in a small round pen once per day. Still, that’s not as healthy as cruising a big pasture 24/7 with your buddies.

Amusingly, Jennifer seemed really concerned when I offered to lead Ferra back to her stall. Jennifer gave me careful instructions, ending with, “Don’t let her get behind you,” as we walked off. Ferra’s been quite nervous at the new barn and has been crowding the grooms and trainer as she’s led. I’m not sure if she’s just testing each new person, expressing her anxiety at the new place, or has too much energy from standing around in a stall 22 hours/day.

Ferra's making good progress, but I’m really looking forward to bring her home.

The World's Smallest Violin

2010-03-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

Wednesday March 17, 2010

The nice Russian ladies who clean our house were here this morning, so no riding for me. I could have gone in the afternoon, but my allergies conspired to give me a nausea inducing sinus headache.

Winnie spent the day grazing with the baby. The baby will be two in May, and is already as tall as her pasture mate. All my horses are fat, dappled, and hopefully happy at the moment.

More Stuff

2010-03-17T13:05:00.001-07:00

Purchased two more Stubbs Bridle Racks from Dover and Ten Procraft Navy blanket racks from Horse.com.
Materials: $80
New Total: $1500

Barn To Do List: March 17, 2010

2010-03-17T13:03:00.001-07:00

1.Finish Painting the tack room door and interior frame
2. Hook up the sink plumbing Estimate $275
a. Call plumber and schedule (or get another estimate?)
3. Install vent pipe for the water heater Estimate:?
4. Add more shelves and remount the wall cabinet Estimate :$800
5. Hook up the telephone Estimate $100
6. Re-Paint the roof and cupola Estimate $500 (We have the paint) a. Call around and get one or two estimates b. Hire Painter
7. Silicone the front and rear door tracks
8. Mount the Boot Racks a. Figure out where to mount them both (one in the garage?)
9. Mount blanket racks and additional bridle racks
10. Purchase additional tack hangers and mount, possibly also a harness hook for my lunging surcingle
11. Mount LED or under cabinet lights
12. Replace Tack Room Door Handle
13. Mount Interior Aisle Door Handles
14. Reinforce the tack room roof for storage?

Purchased Paint and Started on Front Door and Trim

2010-03-17T12:57:00.001-07:00

I bought four quarts each of Kelly Moore High Gloss White and Seattle Red. The red matched the front door of our house. The guys strted it, but I’ll be finishing painting it. I’m about two thirds of the way there.
Paint: $80
Labor: $60
New Total: $1410

Plus The guys ground the feed door latch so it no longer sticks.

Labor: $10
Even Newer Total: $1420

Tha Saddle Racks Are Up

2010-03-17T12:46:00.001-07:00

The guys finished the custom wood backing piece and put up my four saddle racks. It took a couple of attempts and came in at $210. If I did it over again, I would have just screwed them directly into the wall.

Labor and wood backing: $210

(The saddle racks are Stubbs in royal blue. They go for about $20 a pop, but I bought back when we put up the barn, so I won’t deduct them from my budget.)

New Total: $1330

Installed the Aisle Divider

2010-03-17T12:34:00.001-07:00

Five horses and four stalls is a problem. Until I sell Winnie or Ally finally sleeps herself to death, I have to find a place to put the odd horse out. I purchased this temporary aisle divider from Valley Vet to turn twelve feet of the barn aisle into a temporary stall.

Winnie is using it for her favorite activity: Eating.

Labor: About $20

Adjustable Stall/Alley Guard: $60 plus shipping

New Total: $1120

Tuesday 3/16/10

2010-03-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

Larry the tractor guy was here for much of the day spreading gravel and DG while I dug ditches. I was too sore and tired to ride afterwards. Still, there’s now very nice footing for the girls in their paddock.

AHS JBP Plaque

2010-03-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

Ferra was one of only 18 mares in North America accepted into the American Hanoverian Society Jumper Breeding Program this year. They sent me this cool metal plaque. They also sent me a certificate acknowledging that Ferra is now an Elite Mare Candidate. Catherine Francini, whose mare Anja already completed her EM mare requirement with a lovely, flashy colt by Le Primeur, tells me that the AHS send you an EM metal plaque as well. Very cool!

EMC Ferra and EM Anja are among the 179 mares currently in the AHS Jumper Breeding Program. There are about 5000 AHS registered Hanoverian mares in the US, according to one of the lectures at the AHS 2009 Breeding Seminar. So, only about 3.5% American Hanoverian Society mares have made it into the JBP since its inception a few years back.

For my fellow number freaks, there are about 50,000 registered mares in the German Hanoverian (the Verband's) registry. That factoid is from the same lecture.

Sun-day, Sun-day, Sun-day!

2010-03-14T14:14:00.001-07:00

Do I take Winnie down to the arena, or do I drive down to Wilton to turn Ferra out? I need more hours in my day.

I think the girls would prefer to just spend the day hanging out.

Two Strikes: I didn’t do either, but instead stayed home with my husband who had hurt his back. I have to schmooze the guy who’s paying for all this right?

Daily Training Jounal

2010-03-13T18:02:00.001-08:00

(The picture is of Ferra in her stall at PEC)

I’ve been running into delay after delay getting out to the arena so I’m going to start a daily, public journal to motivate myself. So, here goes:

3/1/10 Monday: Ferra started training with Sandy Savage this month so she’s getting worked 5X/week while she’s boarded at PEC. I miss her, but am trying to get out there 2-3X week.

3/8/10 Monday: Ferra got all of her annual shots except for her rhino/influenza vaccine, which I gave her in January and her rabies vaccine, which the PEC vet prefers to give in the fall.

3/12/10 Friday: Another day of absolutely torrential rain. No exercise for anybody but me as I clean the stalls that the girls are shut into for the day and night. Also, Mom and Baby and being separated (again) so that Penelepe will finally be weaned. Daphne just doesn't seem to want to dry up.

3/13/10 Saturday: The community indoor arena is usually overrun on the weekends, so no trailering over there. Our community arena is closed until it drains. Hopefully, I’ll be able to take Winnie over tomorrow morning.

I gave Ally her monthly glucosamine injection and Daphne her annual west nile vaccine, which she missed when the other horses got theirs last June. Weird.

Replace with horses or cats where appropriate.

2010-03-06T12:09:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Kris for sending this to me.

Quick Lunge

2010-01-30T01:27:00.001-08:00

Apropos of nothing: here's a picture of Ferra in her nice, clean stall.
Winnie got a short lunging session today, but it started raining soon after. Looks like the horses are getting the weekend off.
I’ll have to make this goal a top priority in February, as January was a bit of a washout. Still, everyone did get their vaccinations and de-wormer this week, plus Penelepe got her second full exam. Looks like she’s be getting her wolf teeth out before she ever so much as sees a bit.

Still to Do

2010-01-28T23:35:00.000-08:00

Still to Do:

1.Paint the tack room door and trim
a.Buy high gloss white and seattle red paint from Kelly Moore Cost: $40
b.Paint two coats of each on a dry, warm morning or afternoon Cost: $50

2. Mount the saddle racks
a. Have Michael make a wood mounting piece and Mount Cost: $50

3. Put metal to cement sealer on exterior of feed room to fix leaks.Estimate: $50

4. Mount stall divider Estimate: $20

5. Hook up the sink plumbing Estimate $275
a. Call plumber and schedule (or get another estimate?)

6. Install vent pipe for the water heater Estimate:?

7. Add more shelves and remount the wall cabinet Estimate :$800

8. Hang rope lights and wire to the light switch
a. Drill corbels of shelves and thread LEDs through.
b. Get and install remaining shelving and repeat a. c. Buy double switch/box
d. Hire electrician and get new switches installed and wired up.

9. Hook up the telephone Estimate $100

10. Grind down the feed door latch Estimate: $10

11. Re-Paint the roof and cupola Estimate $500 (We have the paint) a. Call around and get one or two estimates b. Hire Painter

12. Clean and oil (silicone) the front and rear door tracks

13. Mount the Boot Racks a. Figure out where to mount them both (one in the garage?)

14. Buy and Mount blanket racks

15. Reinforce the roof for storage

With just $1470 left in the budget, this could be pretty tight.

Yet More Chores

2010-01-28T12:33:00.001-08:00

Horse Blankets: Replace the broken buckles on two blankets, happily no sewing involved. I tried to patch a third with waterproof tape, but the tape is already about half off. I guess patches are in my future. Another sheet has two large rips along the seams, but I’ve got it on the baby right now, so fixing it will have to wait. I’ve one more blanket to replace half of a fastener on, which I plan to do today. I wish the local tack shop hadn’t closed. It would be way easier just to pay the local blanket lady to do it.
Just say no to naked horses.

The final cabinet is up!

2010-01-22T22:07:00.001-08:00

The final cabinet is up, though I may buy some more in the future. I need to figure out my storage needs first.
The idea with this wall cabinet was to mount a tack cleaning hook underneath that hangs directly over the sink. I think I may have put the cabinet just a hair too high. Oh well, there’s always do-overs.
Tomorrow the saddle racks and the aisle divider are scheduled to be mounted. God, it will be great to get this stuff out of the house and into the barn where it will be useful.
Labor: $20
Remaining Budget: $1450

No Go

2010-01-21T23:43:00.001-08:00

It’s been pissing down rain, as our English cousins say, for about a week now. Since our community arena doesn’t have all-weather footing, training is on hold for now. It’s supposed to clear up Monday, which means at least Winnie and I can get back to work then. If not, I’ll just have to trailer over to my trainer’s covered arena. It’s an hour round trip, plus the trailer in fee, but that’s better than waiting until spring.

Tack Racks

2010-01-21T23:29:00.001-08:00

The guys bulit a 20 foot long U-shaped 2’ wide pine shelf with a thick apron to attach the bridle hooks to, avoiding the problem of to many screws through the wall (It’s a horse stall on the other side.) Michael and Valik, our hardworking carpenters, really hit this one out of the park.

Cost: $150 materials, $270 Labor, $420 Total

New Total: $1030

Barn Aisle Flooring

2010-01-21T23:19:00.001-08:00

Here's a picture of Daphne and Penelepe sharing dessert.

I would have loved to cover our 12’ x 36’ barn aisle floor with those red brick looking rubber pavers. However, that’s well over a grand just for materials. It would look lovely, but a round pen would be much more useful. Functionality trumps form for now. Instead, three more 4’ x 8’ stall mats added to the ones already in place have made an 8’ wide padded, nonslip path along the center of my barn.

Cost: about $150

Total so far: $610

Magnetic Tool Racks

2010-01-20T17:03:00.001-08:00

Every barn should have these!

Neat Freak Nirvana

2010-01-19T16:14:00.000-08:00

I’ve been practically tripping over my long handled tools every time I walk into the feed room for years now. I finally dealt with it by putting up racks. I’m ridiculously happy about it.

Two fire extinguishers also went in. One is in the tack room and one is in the feed room, both are on the wall right next to the door’s interior. They would have gone in the aisle, but I was afraid a loose horse might knock these pressurized canisters off their fastenings. Barn fires are a leading cause of horse death, so having these handy will let me sleep a little easier. I’d love to have a fire alarm hooked up to the house, as well as sprinklers, and a separate barn for hay and bedding. (They’re pretty much kindling, after all.) Maybe after I’ve finished all the stuff I already have parts for. I suppose there’s always room for improvement.

Materials: Purchased Last Year
Labor: $40
2010 Labor to date: $460

Sink Fixtures!

2010-01-14T16:14:00.000-08:00

Today the sink faucet, pull out spray, and soap dispenser were screwed in. I’ll need to call a plumber to hook up the copper pipe and the ABS, but it looks cool.

The stalls were stripped and power washed. Then the feeders taken out and Cement-to-Metal leak stop was put in between the seams adjoining the tack and the feed room walls. I hope that works. I’ll need to pull the auto waters out to seal behind there as well.

I foolishly bought the Nelson 900 auto waters and the floats fail pretty regularly resulting in a lovely flooded stall. The aluminum bowls also grow calcium salt formations out of nowhere, which need to be cleaned out every day. I spoke to Nelson’s customer service and even the sales person who sold it to me. (I think his name was Steve.) They claimed my water must be too hard. We don’t even have hard water. (I tested it.) Jeez, my $500 Italian espresso machine has never so much as hiccupped, but those Nelson 900s have been a nightmare. (FYI Nelson wouldn’t take them back as they had already been installed when this little problem appeared. They did offer me 20% off their other waters if I wanted to replace these four brand new ones. Yeah, I’ll buy from them again…not.)

Tomorrow: Bolt in the cross tie plates and hopefully get some hardware to put up the temporary stall divider. Maybe we’ll even get the tack room door painted.

2010 Labor to date: $420

Ongoing Lameness

2010-01-14T11:33:00.001-08:00

I spent some serious time with my vet on the phone yesterday trying to figure out the next step in Daphne’s Deep Digital Flexor Tendonitis. It’s been over six months and she’s still just enough off at the trot to not put her in training. Her exciting new wedge pad shoes (horse sneakers) have helped a lot, but the vet feels the only thing left to try is Tildren. That costs to $1200 to start and $100/month for life thereafter. No guarantees it will work, of course. I’ve been reading web articles on it for about two hours now. I think I now know more and understand less.

I must now go to bed and pull the covers over my head.

My 2010 Resolution: Train My Horses!

2010-01-14T11:30:00.001-08:00

The Plan: I have five horses which makes this is a pretty big goal. I suspect this may get broken down into smaller, component parts, but for now one goal it is.

My Horses Right Now:

Alleluja: She’s a 24 year old retired show horse, so she pretty much knows everything she’ll ever need and then some. So, no work for me here, plus I do get to use her as a leader for the younger horses as I teach them.

SPS Daphne: She’s a 15 year old career broodmare. The plan was to get her under saddle this year, but she’s lame on her left fore. I’ve been to three vets, had ultrasound and x-rays, and put two degree pads and shoes on both front feet. It’s improved since her injury six months ago, when she managed to get out and tear her digital flexor tendon somehow. (I’ve since electrified all the pasture fences and a better driveway gate is in the works.) However, it looks like she may always be just a little off on that hoof on a right lead trot circle. I’ve got another call into my vet, but just having babies may be her future. (The eight she’s already borne have all been exceptional.)

MSB Winnie: She’ll be seven in May and is solid walk, trot, and canter, plus she’s approved as a main stud book mare by the American Hanoverian Society. Her only real issue is being so herd bound that she can’t concentrate on anything but her buddy Daphne if you take them anywhere together. Working on that and getting some more mileage on her is the goal this year. She’s sound as a bell and has a great mind so that should be easy. I’ll probably also start her over jumps and work on a training level dressage test. Unless she sells first.

EMC Ferra: She’ll only be four in June, but has already aced her in hand inspection with the American Hanoverian Society and passed her mare performance test with flying colors. She’s even been awarded a place in their jumper breeding program. So, she’s on vacation until February to mature a bit more. Like all of my horses, she’s too herd bound so I want to get her over that. She also hates the electric trimmers and is an absolute terror when the vet tries to give her shots. Otherwise it’s just a matter of continuing her training as appropriate to her age and size. (I sticked her at 16.2 hands about six months ago.)I need to figure out exactly what that means. She’ll also need to bear a foal at some point to officially be designated an Elite Mare. That will mean a year and a half off minimum.

Penelepe: She’ll be two in June so that’s another year and a half of just growing up. She’s trailered a bit, but could use some more practice as she’s never been off the farm without her mom Daphne. She knows the basics: being haltered, led, tied to a hitching post, cross tied in the aisle, standing for the farrier and the vet, plus is pretty good with her blankets and sheets. She’s respectful of my space, but needs to learn to stand more quietly when I groom her. She’s already almost 16 hands, so manners are a must!

2010 Training Goals:
1. Make Alleluja as comfortable and happy as possible.
2. Do what I can to get Daphne sound. Start her under saddle if possible or breed her for a 2011 foal if it’s not.
3. Exercise Winnie 4X/Week with lunging and riding. I’d like us to be able to go out on the trail alone as well as be able to focus on her arena work without getting unreasonably distracted. I’d like to start her over jump this year and be able to do a training level dressage test too.
4. I’d like to take Ferra out on the trails this year. I need to figure out what’s reasonable to ask of her, given her youth and immaturity. She won’t be full grown until she’s about six, so anything that will compromise her long term soundness needs to be shelved.
5. Penelepe needs to be separated from mom this year, so she’ll get her own stall. She would have one already, but I’ve only got four! I need to work with her more in hand so she’s more respectful of my space. She also needs to stand more quietly when I clean her hooves. Plus, this year, both she and Ferra will have to be desensitized to the electric trimmers.

Time Estimate: Well, training never really ends, but I’m limiting my goals to 2010 at the moment. I guess I’ll have to think about a weekly or monthly schedule. I’m not sure what is realistic at this point.

Cost: Putting Daphne, Winnie, and/or Ferra into professional training will get expensive quick. I think I need to research this more.

Deadline: Need to figure how long all this should take first

Reward: Bombproof horses would be nice, though Ferra and Penelepe are a bit young for that.

Anybody still reading? Amazing! Give yourself a gold star!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

2010-01-10T18:05:00.000-08:00

The missing feed door latch has been machined and installed.

The lower tack room cabinets and their hardware, the sink, and the countertop are in.

The Electric Fence charger is finally mounted on the wall.

The workmen will be back tomorrow to put in the faucet and do possibly some more leak proofing. It looks like the tack racks will go in this week.

After two or three years with no progress I am ecstatic that this stuff is finally out of my garage and in the tack room where it belongs.

Horse Stuff

2010-01-10T17:19:00.000-08:00

When you have five horses, it seems they always need something. So Stateline tack should be sending me 3 leather halter crown replacements. (My mare Ferra broke a three of them in her ‘I do not want to be in the horse trailer’ phase.)

I also ordered an aisle divider for my barn to turn a 1/3 of it into a temporary stall for my ancient mare (Ally). The baby is too big to share a stall with her mom anymore, which bumps Ally into standing out in the rain until soaked and shivering. So, on rainy nights she gets to stay in the aisle and be the center of attention, which she loves. I hope this arrives from Valley Vet soon!

For fun I bought a brow band with crystals for my show bridle. If I don’t love it I can always return it, right?

A Little More Progress

2010-01-02T18:06:00.000-08:00

The final epoxy top coat is now on the tack room floor.

The door stops are now the barn doors.

The missing feeder is now back up.

The rusty bits have been removed and the bare metal painted over on all the stall walls.

Next Up: a plan for the rest

2010 New Year's Resolution: Finish My Barn!

2010-01-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

I started my barn way back in 2005. I think it's time to 'getter dun.'
Time Estimate: Six Months
Budget: $2500
Deadline: July 1, 2010
Reward: Mounted, engraved brass stall plate with name, brand, sire, dam, and birthdate for each of my horses.

See more progress on: finish my barn

At last, a name!

2008-06-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of being "baby girl," we finally decided on a name: Penelope! Thanks to Kris and my friends at FPN for their helpful suggestions. Now if I can just get a decent picture of her. For now, here's a shot of Penelope at two weeks old. She'll be joining her older sister Ferra in our future broodmare band.

More Foal Pictures, because you can never have enough!

2008-05-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

This week has been a blur of seeing the vet, keeping the foaling stall chock full of clean straw, keeping all the other horses away from the baby and her over protective, grouchy mom. I've been handling the filly a lot so that she’ll become accustomed to being touched by people before she’s big enough to make dangerous objections. Today, she stopped struggling and suckled my fingers, then carefully groomed my hat, t-shirt, and face with her tiny muzzle. What can I say, I'm smitten.

She's now four whole days old! She's spending her days nursing, napping, alternately hiding behind and running in circles around mom. She also bounces up and down like she's on springs. Maybe I should call her Pogo Stick?

It's a Girl!

2008-05-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

2008 Pablo x SPS Daphne (Don Primero/SPS Wendenburg) Filly

Born: May 11, 2008 around 8PM

Daphne surprised me last night with an adorable, healthy filly. If my husband and I hadn't been down at the barn fixing a fence I might have missed it entirely, as the new mother didn't give us any of her usual warnings. Daphne was a few days overdue, but hadn't waxed up so much as a drop. In fact, she and Ally were quietly eating their hay together in the over sized foaling stall when suddenly a tiny hoof appeared. She laid down on the bedding and began to groan in earnest with Ally calmly munching her hay and watching with concerned interest a few feet away. I rushed into the stall to shoo Ally out and check that everything was going well just as my husband peeked over the stall door for a look. Daphne sprung to her feet and tried to look nonchalant. Sort of the horse version of, "Move along now, nothing to see here."

Mark and I took the hint and retreated to the opposite side of the barn aisle, just out of sight in case mom or baby needed any help. We snuck up to the stall door to do a quick check, but every time we did, Daphne rose to her feet again. Pretty impressive, as more and more of Penelope was making her entrance. We hid ourselves back out of sight for as long as we could stand it. Fortunately, every thing else was textbook perfect as just a few minutes later Daphne was lying down quietly admiring her new solid bay daughter as they both took a breather.

Fortunately, Daphne's an old hand at this (it's her eighth foal) and didn't need any help from me. The baby had popped out in about five minutes, and was up and nursing within an hour.

It looks like she'll be either brown like her sister, or dark bay like her mom. For some reason, both babies Daphne has given us have been dark, solid girls without a whisper of white. Both sires, Ferro and Pablo, have lots of chrome so I have no idea where all the white has gone. It does make it easier to keep them looking clean, but they become invisible at night.

So, any suggestions for girl's names beginning with P? Pablo (Pilot/Matrox/Lancelot) is the sire.

While We're Waiting

2008-05-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

Daphne's at 348 days today with no sign of dropping that foal anytime soon. (She's gone to 360 before with no problems so I'm not worried.)

My friend Kris welcomed both a beautiful buckskin filly and an adorable Australian Shepard Puppy yesterday. I went over to her place for my baby fix. Here's a couple of pictures. Aren't they just sickeningly cute? Think she'll notice if I try to sneak one home with me?

In celebration of the fabulous Spring weather:

2008-03-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

SPS Daphne's Confirmed in Foal to Pablo!

2007-08-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

Excellent news: Our Foundation Broodmare, SPS Daphne, is now over sixty days along in her pregnancy! She is bred to Rainbow Equus Meadows amazing Grand Prix jumping sire Pablo. Here's a picture of the proud Papa.

You can find more on this impressive stallion here: http://www.rainbowequus.com/pablo.html

Our Former Mare Band: MSB Sambaluna

2007-07-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

Update: Congratulations to Diana on her purchase of Sambaluna. Sammy is now confirmed in foal to the legendary Weltmeyer and will be living the good life on Diana's forty acre family farm in Upper Lake, California. Sammy will even have another Sacramento Song XX line mare, a second broodmare also due next year, and a Rio Grand colt to keep her company. Needless to say, I'm delighted Sammy's found such a perfect match! I will miss her galloping up to my car and sticking her head over the fence to be petted through the car window whenever I arrived home...

This is Sambaluna, a dark bay/brown 16 hand Hanoverian mare by Santano (Sao Paulo/Lustige) out of Dellareux, a Main stud book mare by Dom Nickalaus. "Sammy" was born on a local farm in Vacaville, California on May 18, 2000. She was bred by Elizabeth Widmann-Spona.

Sammy joined my mare band in August of 2006 and successfully completed her American Hanoverian Society mare inspection in October of that year. She is now entered in the main studbook, which is the AHS' highest studbook. Sammy was not branded as a foal. (The American Hanoverian Society does not require it.)

Sammy has a lifetime registration with the USDF.

Sambaluna's pedigree can be viewed here http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/sambaluna

A video of Sambaluna's 2006 mare inspection can be viewed at the links below. The video is about eleven minutes long and shows the in hand and free gaits sections, plus the judges comments and final scores.

Sambaluna 2006 Mare Inspection Low Res

Sammy 2006 Mare Inspection Hi Res

It's breeding season!

2007-07-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

I dropped Sammy off today at Pacific International Genetics in Los Molinos. My reproductive vet, the exceptional Dr. Mennick, will be breeding her with a frozen dose of Weltmeyer probably next week. (Thanks to Carol Austin at Superior Equine Sires for her willingness to ship on such short notice.)

Here Sambaluna is, looking pretty decent, despite being pulled straight from the pasture and shoved in the trailer for a three hour ride. She was an angel about everything, as usual.

Sambaluna's Namesake

2007-07-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

I've always wondered where Sambaluna's name came from. Apparently, she's actually named after an Indonesian butterfly. Who Knew?

(At right is a picture of VANESSA DEJANII SAMBALUNA )

Sambaluna's Maternal Grand Sire: Dom Nickalaus

2007-07-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Uncle Satchmo

2007-01-28T16:10:00.000-08:00

Belated congratulations to the Olympic Gold Medalist Isabelle Werth and her new partner Satchmo on winning the Grand Prix Special at the 2006 World Equestrian Games back in August.

Satchmo and Santano (my mare Sambaluna's sire) are both by the German Oldenburg stallion Sao Paulo. Though himself an Oldenburg, Sao Paulo is also approved for Hanoverian Breeding, which explains how the stallion Santano and his half-brother the gelding Satchmo can both be registered as Hanoverians.

Got Hay?

2007-01-26T20:59:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder what $1400 worth of hay looks like? I'm trying not to think about all the other cool things $1400 buys.

Welcome Little Jessie Jane

2007-01-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to SPS Wakanova and her human, Janet Jones of West Sierra Hanoverians, on the birth of their Hanoverian filly Dona Francesca-Weltiana WSHS. The baby's barn name is Jessie Jane and she was born on December 20, 2006.

Janet's mare, SPS Wakanova, was imported from Germany in July with the baby on board. SPS Wakanova is by the legendary stallion Weltmeyer. Little Jessie Jane's dad is the amazing Don Frederico, Champion of the 1999 Hanoverian Stallion Licensing. With these bloodlines, this filly will no doubt grow up to be both a wonderful broodmare and a dressage star in her own right.

Since Janet’s barn in just down the road in Shingle Springs, and Janet is an active member of my local Hanoverian breeding club, I’m looking forward to watching this flashy little chestnut grow up.

World Equestrian Games: Dressage Breeding Overview

2006-12-27T16:13:00.000-08:00

Since this mentions Sambaluna's grandsire (Sao Paulo), Ally's grandsire (Abstatz), and Daphne's paternal grandsire (Donnerhall) and maternal grandsire (Wendekreis), I thought I'd post a copy here. It's nice to have the families of all my girls represented.

The article was originally published on September 18, 2006 in Dressage Daily.

You can view the original here: http://www.dressagedaily.com/2006/dd_200609/dd_20060918.html

By Charlene Strickland

Editor's note: When I worked in the racing business, my first introduction to the importance of bloodlines was at the yearling sales was hearing the comment of trainers looking at prospects. "I had his mother" or "I knew the sire" and then they would comment on attitude, talent, and trainability. After publishing a training guide for several years, I too became familiar with the language of bloodlines. Combined with taking thousands of photos for training reports, I even began to guess the sires of the two-year-olds in training by their look and way of going. In the sporthorse industry, the relevance of bloodlines is no less important, and when riders and trainers make themselves more aware of the performance records of some of the great horses of our time, they will become better educated in selecting the right temperament, talent for the upper levels, and personalities of certain bloodlines they find to be compatible. I asked Charlene Strickland, one of our contributors to our World Equestrian Games coverage to give us a breakdown on the the Dressage and Jumper horses who are among the greatest sporthorses of modern times. Mary Phelps

At the World Equestrian Games, half the horses competing in dressage were of German breeding. And of the 99 entries, 23 were Hannoverians. Riders from 15 nations rode Hannoverians in the Grand Prix.

All riders on the German team rode Hannoverians: Wansuela Suerte (Warkant-Wachmann I) Elvis VA (Espri-Garibaldi II), Bonaparte (Bon Bonaparte-Consul), and Satchmo (Sao Paulo-Legat).

Of the top 15 horses qualifying for the Freestyle, seven were Hannoverians: Elvis VA, Bonaparte, Satchmo, Keltec Salinero, Sunrise, Vincent, and Lancet.

Weltmeyer, the extremely popular sire for Hannover, sired two entries in the Grand Prix: Vincent (damsire Absatz) and Callaho Wenckstern (damsire Western Star). Of the F-line, this son of World Cup I is also the sire of the horse Isabell Werth had planned to compete, Warum nicht (damsire Wenzel I). Warkant, another son of World Cup I, sired Wansuela Suerte and Wat a Feeling (damsire Werther).

The Oldenburg Donnerhall had two Hannoverian sons in the Grand Prix: Douglas Dorsey (damsire Salem) and Don Vittorio (damsire Pik Senior).

Brentano II (Bolero-Grande) sired the brother and sister Brentina and Hofgut Liederbach’s Barclay (damsire Lungau). The two notable sires Bolero and Grande also featured in the pedigrees of other dressage entries. Besides being grandsire of the Brentano II offspring, Bolero was also the sire of Bonaparte’s sire, Bon Bonaparte (damsire Wendekreis). Grande was damsire of Falada M, and also the damsire of Warkant, sire of Wansuela Suerte.

Lungau of the Der Löwe sire line was damsire of three horses: Keltec Salinero and the two Brentano II offspring. Lungau was a son of Lugano II, damsire Weingau.

Another sire of the Der Löwe line, Lanthan, sired Leonardo (damsire Wenzel II), and was damsire of Petit Prince 9. Also the Lanthan son Legat was damsire of Satchmo.

Of the same F-line as Weltmeyer, Wenzel I was sire of Lancet (damsire Shogun xx), and Wenzel II was damsire of Leonardo.

Three Thoroughbred sires had Hannoverian progeny in the Grand Prix. Forest xx was sire of Falada M (damsire Grande). Lauries Crusador xx sired Le Primeur (damsire Golfstrom II). His son Londonderry is a popular sire in the breed.

The popular sire Prince Thatch xx was represented by Petit Prince 9 (damsire Lanthan). He is also the sire of Piccolino.

Several jumper lines were represented in the dressage horses competing in Aachen. The sire of Elvis VA, Espri, is known as the sire of E.T. and other top jumpers. He is from the A-line, sired by Eiger I.

Satchmo is of the Sacramento Song xx line, his son Sandro was a champion jumper and the sire of Satchmo’s sire, Sao Paulo. Sandro’s damsire Gepard was by Gotthard, another renowned sire of Hannoverian jumpers.

Salieri (Salvano-Servus) of the Senator sire line has sired mainly jumpers. He is the sire of the winner of the Freestyle at WEG, Keltec Salinero (damsire Lungau).

Some sires are known equally for their dressage and jumper offspring. An example is Werther (Wendekreis-Marcio xx), who has sired champions in both disciplines. He was damsire of three horses: Sunrise (sired by Singular Joter), Cinderella (sired by Carbid), and Wat a Feeling.

Sambaluna after Six Weeks of Training

2006-12-21T22:33:00.000-08:00

Here's Sammy after six weeks of training with Dana Roulet in Jackson, California. Dana successfully started Sammy back under saddle after an eighteen month lay off. (Two years and three owners back, Sammy had been in full training with Christiana Noelting for six months.)

Sammy's acquired a fluffy winter coat and a generous scruffy layer of dirt since her inspection. The photos were taken at a weird angle, so her conformation looks a bit askew here as well. She doesn't really have a gigantic head, and short, stubby rear legs, thank goodness!

Ferra's a Star!

2006-12-20T18:57:00.000-08:00

Ferra rated a paragraph in the Fall 2006 issue of the American Hanoverian Society's National Magazine:

The second-placed filly of the day was a bay by Ferro out of SPS Daphne/Don Primero, owned by Katharine Buchanan [Granger,] Placerville, Calif. This beautiful filly had good size, was long-legged, elegant with a pretty head and a good neck position. Her withers could have been more pronounced. Her movement showed very good elasticity with a slightly straight hind leg.
(from "Summer Inspection Tour: Starr Vaughn Equestrian Center" by Gerd Zuther)

It was a wonderful surprise to have some record of Ferra's inspection. My treasured Hi8 tape of the event was accidentally taped over before I was able to show it to anyone but my husband. (We'll skip over the ensuing domestic strife.) All I could remember was the otherwise laconic Hugh Bellis-Jones volunteering that she was "pretty" after he checked her markings, and Ludwig Christmann very sweetly congratulating me on her and commenting that she was "very typey and refined." Nice for me to hear, but I had to admit that Daphne was responsible for all the really difficult work.

Ferra's actually solid brown. That sounds quite bland, but the AHS' Hugh Bellis-Jones explained to me that brown actually means darker than bay, but not quite black. I love that dark seal brown shade, except when she's out in the pasture at night and seems to disappear. If it wasn't for Ally's bright white blaze and socks, I'd never be able to spot the rest of my herd. "Good-size" might also be a bit of an understatement. There was only one filly larger than Ferra, and she was a month older. Hopefully Ferra won't grow up to be seventeen hands or more. I'm only 5' 5", so anything over sixteen-three requires a ladder for me to mount, and I look like a midget once I'm up there. No argument with any of the other comments. Hopefully her withers and hind legs will improve with age, and her pocket pony personality won't change too dramatically once those sexual hormones hit.

The article also noted that Ferra was second out of thirteen fillies, and that the lovely little Londonderry filly who placed first also impressed the judges of the best foal of the day. Not too shabby for our farm's first baby!

Adventures in Weaning

2006-11-09T22:22:00.000-08:00

Ferra will be six months old on November the sixteenth so it's way past time to wean her. Gigantic foal that she is, she seems to be sucking the life out of mom. Poor Daphne is beginning to look like Skeletor. At first mom and baby were separated by a pipe corral. Ferra easily circumvented this obstacle by sticking her greedy little brown head through the bars while Daphne, selfless creature that she is, stood patiently next to baby. The second attempt involved putting them in different pastures, but Ferra's temper tantrums were disturbingly vocal and violent. You could almost hear the word, "MOMMY!" as she galloped around screaming at the top of her lungs. I caved and put them back together for a few days while I worked out plan three.

Fortunately, my friend Jen has a seventh month, mercifully weaned, filly for sale that she was happy to lend me for the duration. I drove over well after the sun was down, pulled the poor creature from her pasture, tossed her in a trailer all by her lonesome, and then gingerly drove her home to my place. More baby screaming, mostly from the colts in her former pasture ensued. Freya, Jen's filly, did her share of shouting back in that high-piched shrill foal way, but was other wise pretty relaxed about the whole process. I unloaded her alone without any fuss and lead her out to meet Daphne, Ally, and Ferra. (Sammy's out for training this month.)

Here's a picture of Freya, Ferra's new best friend.

Daphne treated Ferra's intended buddy with all the suspicion and over protectiveness that has characterized her maternal attitude since Ferra popped out. Fortunately, she only applies her aggression to other horses. I'm allowed to do pretty much anything I want with the baby as long as I remember treats to bribe Mom with. Poor Freya wasn't so lucky. Even though Ferra is substantially taller than her new buddy, Daphne lunged at the new comer so forcefully I was afraid she might eat her. Freya's lived in a herd her whole life and sensibly ran away and hid. (Daphne wasn't able to follow as the intruder was on the other side of the pipe corral.) Instead, she herded her baby over to the fence and interposed her still imposing bulk between her precious little angel and the world.

Ally, who lunges at Ferra whenever mom's not looking, shocked me by taking the new baby under her care. 'At last, my own baby!' she seemed to be saying and adopted mom and daughter had a lovely time grooming each other. Whether she's been jealous of Daphne having a baby, or because she wanted her own devoted buddy, I can't say. Either way Freya and Ally found their own little corner and began their mutual admiration society. Come to think of it I think Ally is actually Freya's paternal aunt. Maybe she smells like Family?

Sambaluna's Mare Inspection

2006-10-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

Sambaluna's pedigree can be viewed here http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/sambaluna

Sambalunna's Mare Scores:
Head: 7
Neck: 6
Saddle Position: 7
Frame: 6
Foreleg: 6
Hindleg: 6
Conformation: 6.33
Type/Feminity: 7
Correctness of Gaits: 7
Impulsion, Elasticity: 6/7
Walk: 7
Overall Impression and Development: 6
Total Score: 40.33
Final Score: 6.72

Sammy was inspected at the October 2006 Mare Inspection at Rainbow Equus Meadows in Lincoln, California. This was only my second time off the farm with Sammy, but she was calm and willing through out. Her only deviation from a perfect performance was trying to stop and visit with the crowd during the free (no reins or handler) section of her inspection. Sammy saw her last owner, Linda from Masterpiece Farms, and wanted to stop to visit and catch up. She's a very friendly mare.

Getting Sammy to and through her inspection turned out to be far more of an up hill battle than I had expected. First she mysteriously sliced her chin open and required about twenty bright purple stitches. Several days of antibiotics (and jars of applesauce) later, I made the decision not to send her out for training. Any muscle tone she has is from running up and down our hillside pasture. Her stitches came out about a week before her inspection leaving mercifully little scar tissue. Obviously disappointed, Sammy promptly cut herself above her right eye and was sewn up with two more tiny black sutures by the vet. Not the rakish look she was hoping for I guess, so she managed to pull one stitch out the night before.

The AHS handbook recommends at least thirty days of training to prepare your mare for inspection. I just pulled Sammy out of the pasture, bathed, clipped, and braided her, then sent her in. This is my first braid job ever. Sammy has about a quart of hair gel smeared on and in her mane. Linda had mentioned that Sammy's last owner used her to teach Pony Club grooming classes. I believe it. Except for refusing to let me trim her ear hair with the electric clippers, she stood quite patiently as I played the giant version of My Little Pony.

I tossed her in the trailer all alone and she happily relaxed and munched her hay as I drove to Rainbow Equus Meadows. Fortunately, my husband came along to navigate. The highway had become a four lane parking lot involving a sixteen car accident, so Mark had to devise a new back street route on the fly. We were an hour late, but then, so were loads of other people.

I also showed up without her Pink Registration Papers, more than a little afraid they were going to send me packing. (I never received them back from the AHS after I sent in the transfer of ownership in August.) Hugh Bellis-Jones saved the day by having the registrar fax over a copy. So, next time you see Hugh, remember to high-five him for me.

That morning, in the final dash out of the door, I had shoved my feet into the least smeggy pair of boots I could find. I remember selecting this pair because they weren't quite as muck covered as the dozen others piled up by the mat. Too late, I realized that they were the ones that inevitably turned the back of my heels into a blister covered mess. By the end of the day, after Sammy and I finished the endless circular arena walk the judges use to picked out their favorites, I had developed a gait worthy of Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks. Sammy seemed to understand and walked patiently next to me despite her livelier peers youthful tugs, pulls, minor rears and obstinate dead stops. Needless to say, I snuck her a carrot when the judges weren't looking.

Bloodlines of the Hanoverian Horse

2006-10-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

by Ludwig Christmann,Studbook Manager of the Verband hannoverscher Warmblutzüchter e.V.

Bloodlines, it is a topic that many books have been written about! You will see many names, and there is always the danger that you'll get mixed up. Many years ago, others had the same feeling, that these names should be placed in a certain order: the offspring off a stallion should always start with the initial of the father. And so we have different bloodlines which you all know: D-line, F-line, and so on. A danger connects with that system: that you generalize too much. Bloodlines change over the years with each generation. Certain characteristics connect with each bloodline, but you must also see the individual stallion and not say, "How does a G-line horse or a D-line horse match?" Nobody can answer that question in general terms.

Today we have the following "old" bloodlines in Hannover: A (later E), F, D, and G. These old bloodlines were founded primarily by stallions of other breeds coming to the Hanoverian breed; most go back to Thoroughbred stallions. Then we have some "new" bloodlines: Semper Idem and Abglanz, both Trakehner stallions coming to the Hannover breeding area after World War II; Matcho xx, Der Lowe xx, and Pik As xx very good Thoroughbreds: and very recent and important, Bolero by the Thoroughbred stallion Black Sky xx and Matcho xx the French Anglo-Arabian used since 1983.

THE A- AND E- LINE: The A-line was founded by Adeptus xx used for breeding from 1884-1904. Most important was his grandson Alderman and through the Alderman son Alkoven this line produced the famous stallion Agram (1942-62) an outstanding producer of jumping horses. In Agram's color and type, one sees the influence of Arabian blood through his Amateur I mother.The A-line through Alderman lost significance after 1950, unfortunately.

Today the A-line has changed to an E-line, with two main groups. One group goes back to the stallion Eindruck II. whose best known son is Einblick in his time a performance test winner and very good in dressage and jumping. Einblick has been used at stud since 1973. This group is considered mainly to be dressage horses, although Einblick himself was also very good in jumping.

Einblick

The second E-line goes back to the stallion Eisenherz used in breeding since 1972. This group has a bigger influence on the breed than the Eindruck group. The best son of Eisenherz is Eiger 1 who is a very good type and very prepotent. His offspring have both dressage and jumping abilities, and his best son so far, I believe, is the young stallion Espri, used only since 1985. Espri's first group of horses was very convincing.

Eiger I

THE F-LINE: The F-line goes back to Zemeboq, a Thoroughbred son who came from Pomerania and stood in the mid 1800's. The line really began with his great-grandson Flingarth. who stood in the Verden area, 1909-1912, producing about 14 licensed sons. His best son was Fling, (1913-22), and all existing F-line horses go back to Fling.

The line was separated into the F and W lines according to the two Fling sons Fiener Kerl and Flavius: as of 1989, all stallions licensed in that year and going back to Feiner Kerl belong to the F-line; all going back to Flavius form the W-line.

First, the Feiner Kerl F-line. Feiner Kerl stood in Altenbrugge, and when he died the breeders put up a memorial to him because in his time (1922-43) he had the biggest influence on the Hanoverian breed, producing 114 licensed sons. Going back to Feiner Kerl is the very famous stallion Ferdinand.

Ferdinand

In his time (1944-67) Ferdinand was perhaps the most famous producer of jumping horses in the world. Werner Schockeinoble once said of Ferdinand. "There has been no stallion known in the younger breeding history who passed on to his sons so consistently courage, confidence, and jumping ability"- and this against all other bloodlines. Ferdinand's three State Stud sons were born relatively late in his career: Winnetou (1968-79), Wedekind (1970~83), and Wenderkreis (1971-80).

Wendekreis

Of the Ferdinand sons, Wendekreis had the biggest influence, producing many stallions. Conformation-wise, his offspring are very correct, although needing some refinement on the mother's side. Among his stallion sons some tend to the dressage direction like Wenderlin and Wenderberg while others arc more versatile. This indicates the mother's influence.

Wendenburg

Perhaps the best Wendekreis son is Werther, who has a Thoroughbred (Marcio xx) mother, influencing his appearance. Magjn xx became well known for producing dressage horses, so Werther has very good dressage blood on the mother's side, very good jumping blood on the father's side, and is a good stallion for both disciplines. One of this offspring achieving great dressage success in the U.S. is the gelding Willy the Great, ridden by Hilda Gurney. At the stallion licensing in Verden 1992, Werther was awarded the title Hanoverian Stallion of the Year - the first stallion ever to have received this award, which was sponsored by the Uetzener Insurance Company.

Werther

At the moment one of the most prepotent young stallions producing jumping horses is a son of Wagner by Wendekreis. Wagner has Gottard on the mother's side, and Wanderer has Glander, a very good jumping horse, as his dam's sire. A recent and very prominent son of his is Wanderbursch II reserve champion at the 1988 Stallion Licensing at Verden, and the top jumping horse in 1989 performance test at Adelheidsdorf. At the stallion licensing in Verden 1992, Fontainebleau a Wanderer/Wenzel son became champion stallion.

Wagner

From another branch of the Feiner Kerl group is the stallion Watzman. An older stallion and more the older type, he has stood since 1972 and for a time was the most asked for producer of jumping horses in Hannover. His best known son so far is Walzerkoenig the Gold Medal jumper at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Recently some interesting Watzmann sons were introducd to the state stud: Willem's Ass, Foxhunter and Fleetwood.

Foxhunter

[Also from the Flavius] branch comes Widerhall a very good producer of performance horses who stood from 1968-1973. His son Wienerwald, standing since 1975, is one of the most asked for stallions to produce jumpers. However, as with Watzmann. we sometimes find conformation problems in the progeny (only two sons have made their way to the State Stud) so we need more good stallion sons to continue this valuable blood. Also from this part of the Flavius branch is Wolfsberg, standing from 1967-1982, who is another producer of jumpers.

Wienerwald

A very important part of the Flavius branch goes back to Wohler (1953-72). Although relatively small, Wohler was very noble and a very good mover, and he founded mainly a dressage bloodline. His most important son was Woermann, but Wunsch II also produced very good dressage horses like the former European Champion and World Champion Woycek.

The Woermann group is today very much in demand by breeders. Standing from 1975-1988, Woermann was very good in conformation in all respects. and passes this to his offspring. An influential son is Wenzel I, a very prepotent stallion (you can always identify a Wenzel offspring)who has stood since 1980. He has sired many expensive auction horses, German National Champions in the riding horse competition, and one of his daughters is already the Finnish dressage champion. His offspring are pure dressage horses.

Woermann

A second influential Woermann son is World Cup I, standing since 1981. He comes from a Sender/Lugano I mother, which proved a very good combination, with so far 16 sons licensed, five of them standing in Celle. These Woermann sons are producing very correct horses with very good movement. World Cup I is in third place in his age group in the national dressage horse ranking, and so far his best son is Weltmeyer. Weltmeyer won his stallion licensing in 1986; his 1987 performance test; the Three-Year-Old class of the 1987 German National Riding Horse Championship: and in 1989 he became the National Champion of the DLG Breeding Show, a competition of all German Breed societies. He comes from the same mother line as the Wanderer sons Wanderbursch and Wanderbursch II. From his first foal crop Weltmeyer produced Wittinger who repeated the successes of his sire: in 1991 he was champion stallion at me stallion licensing. In 1992 he was German National Riding Horse Champion and winner of his performance test at Adelheidsdorf.A recent licensed son of World Cup is Walt Disney who won his performance test in 1989.

Walt Disney I

The D-LINE: The D-line goes back to a Thoroughbred stallion Devil's Own xx, standing from 1894-1906. His most important son was Dectectiv and all D-line stallions today go back to Detectiv, who stood from 1926-1943. The line then split, with the main branch being from the Detectiv son Dolman. and a small branch from the son Dwinger. Dwinger's son Diskant sired the famous jumper Deister, one of the most remarkable horses ever produced in Hannover. Ridden by Paul Schockemohle Deister was the European Jumping Champion three times in a row and won 1.5 million German marks. Although we have few left from this branch, we have high hopes in the young stallion Dobrock also a good jumping horse, descending from the Diskant son Donnerwetter.

Dobrock

Dolman, standing from 1937-1953, sired the famous Duellant (1946-1965) who founded a big group of stallions, very good in conformation and movement, and with great dressage talent. His most influential son was Duft II. Duft II's son Darling (1975-1987) proved to be a good producer of dressage stallions. Darling's well known son Dynasty was, before his 1989 death, the best dressage horse in Canada. One of Darling's sons used in Germany was Damnatz. Another very respected sire of dressage horses in Germany is the Duft II son Dueerkheim in the State Stud since 1973.

Duft II

The stallion Dollart (1941-58) starts a different part of the D-line, more jumping oriented. His great-grandson Diskus sired the world famous US jumper, The Natural. His grandson Dominik sired Don Carlos one of the best known producers of jumping horses in Hannover. One of the several successful younger stallions produced by Don Carlos is Dynamo, whose daughter Dollar Girl is counted among the best jumping horses in the world today. Another Don Carlos son is Don Juan, standing since 1979, who produces consistently good jumping horses. Another promising Don Carlos son is Drosselklang II, a good jumper. The Don Carlos group is remarkable because you find horses of good "modern type " conformation, from very old Hanoverian bloodlines with hardly any Thoroughbred influence.

Dominik

THE G-LINE: Coming now to the G-line, it is Goldfisch II standing from 1939-58 on whom the important G-line horses center primarily through his influential descendants Grande and Gottard. The famous Grande, who stood for 25 years, 1962-1987, was noted for his inner values, which compensated for several conformational faults and resulted in his own high performance testing and the performance success of his offspring. With Graf by Goldfisch II more from the jumping side, and with a Duellant mother, Grande combined dressage and jumping bloodlines, and his offspring have been very versatile. His son Garibaldi II sired Gifted, for example, as well as good jumpers. His son Graphit sired the well-known (now deceased) U.S. dressage star Grundstein. While standing in Germany, Grundstein was a top producer of both dressage and jumping horses. Also Graslitter by Grande developed into a producer of show jumpers of international class. His son Grandeur was a three time winner of the German Derby. After being retired from the sport. Grandeur is a very sought after private stallion.

Grande

Grannus is another Graphit son, being 20 years old, he is already a legend in his lifetime. He became famous as a world class sire of show jumpers. In a dressage direction is the stallion Grenadier, a Grande grandson. Through his mother-line's Thoroughbred influence (Valet xx), Grenadier shows improved neck, saddle, and shoulder position. His son Golfstrom belongs to the best German dressage horses.The famous Gothard, who stood from 1953-1978, is a Goldfisch II son but a very different horse from his close relative Grande. On his mother's side is Amateur I, the same blood as Agram's dam, and one sees again the Arabian characteristics of the Amateur I influence. In his time, Gothard was known as the best producer of jumping horses in the world and his influence continues. Type-wise, Gotthard descendants have continually improved over the generations, without losing the jumping ability. His best son was Gardestern who died early but is yet a leading sire of jumping horses in Germany. Gardestern had three sons in the State Stud. One of whom, Glueckstern, unfortunately died in 1987 after standing only three years. Glueckstern won his stallion licensing and the 1989 licensing nearly belonged to him. Four of his sons were licensed and two were taken in the first lot by the State Stud. There are also very high hopes for the Gardestern sons Gimpel and Goldfasan.

Gimpel

THE "NEW" BLOODLINES

SEMPER IDEM (1946-1959) AND SENATOR: The Trakehner stallion Semper Idem came to Germany after World War II and produced the famous Senator (1954-1973), a remarkable stallion who gave his name to the line. From his first year of breeding, only seven colts were born in 1955, six of whom became stallions in the State Studs, five to Celle and one to Warendorf. His son Sender (1959-1978) had the biggest influence on the breed in recent times as a very good producer of jumping horses. Sender's son Servus standing since 1965. is well known for producing good performance horses, including the famous Slibovitz, and the winnings of his progeny total up to 1.4 million German marks. The only Servus son in the breeding business is Spartan, now standing in Germany as a private stallion and descending from an interesting mother line, his mother is a Gotthard daughter. Very recently Salvano seems to bring a fresh breeze into the suffering Semper Idem line. The Salem/Synamo son has been on stud since 1988. With his first crops of foals he sired already several class winners at mare shows and the impressive Sherlock Holmes (mother by Akzent I) who was reserve champion in the 1992 stallion performance test at Adelheidsdorf.

Sherlock Holmes

ABGLANZ (1946-1964) AND ABSATZ: Abglanz, also a Trakehner, sired the famous Absatz, who stood from 1964-1982. Absatz is one of the stallions who had the biggest influence in changing the appearance the of the Hanoverians within the last 20-30 years to a more modern, elegant type. His son Argentan for example, standing since 1971, consistently produces the good Absatz type and presence including three national champion mares in broodmare shows and, among others, the impressive young stallion Airport. The Absatz sons Akzent I and especially Akzent II and his son Acapulco are also very good stallions in Germany. Overall, the line appears to be very versatile in sports ability, including success in hunter competition.

Absatz

MARCIO XX (1953-1955): The Thoroughbred stallion Marcio by Aventin xx influenced a newer bloodline which became well known for producing appealing dressage horses of good movement. His son Matrose, standing from 1969-1988, is notable in Germany. We will continue this line with Maat I. Also going back to Aventin xx through the Trakehner stallion Trautmann is the well known Trapper standing since 1977, a prepotent stallion producing many typey mares as well as stallion sons.

Maat I

DER LOWE XX (1951-1973) LUCANO I - LUGANO II: Der Lowe xx was in his time the best Thoroughbred stallion used in German breeding, producing especially good dressage horses as well as cross country horses. His most important stallion sons were Lugano I and Lugano II. with Lugano II presently having the most influence. Through the Lugano II son Lombard we have today Lanthan standing since 1982. one of the most sought after stallions in the breed who produces very modern riding horses for all disciplines.

Lombard

PIK AS XX (1953-1969): Pik As xx produced many good jumpers and his son Pik Koenig, standing from 1972.1984, although dying relatively early is on the lop ten list of jumper producers in Germany.

Pik As xx

The Pik Koenig sons Pik Bube I and Pik Bube II have produced both dressage and jumping horses.

Pik Koenig

BOLERO AND BLACK SKY XX (1979-1987): Bolero was much influenced by his Thoroughbred blood, his mother was by Sleep xx, and he was himself prepotent always producing the same type. His offspring have much suspension and elasticity, very good in movement, and have been successful in auctions as well as young riding horse and broodmare championships. Although he died early, he yet ranked third (1990) in the national dressage ranking of his age group.

Bolero

Now his sons are starting to follow their sire's career, namely Brentano II, who has been standing at stud since 1986.

Bretano II

MATCHO X (1983- ): The Anglo-Arab stallion Matcho X came from France, where the French Anglo-Arabian breed (not a direct cross breed between Thoroughbreds and Arabs) was almost a breed of its own. After he was bought by the State Stud, he won his performance test against Hanoverian stallions. He is important as a refinement stallion, with larger framed mares. His offspring are all very good in temperament and rideability, with good gaits, sometimes also with some show-jumping talent.

Matcho AA

CONCLUDING NOTE

If you want to breed performance horses you must consider the blood lines very carefully, but the bloodline or pedigree does not "jump alone." The best pedigree in the world is worth nothing if the horse does not prove, does not correspond to the quality you seek, or fulfill you expectations.

Text Mirrored from: http://www.hanoverian-gb.org.uk/ a great site which is well worth a visit!

Sambaluna's Paternal Damsire Lehnsherr

2006-10-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

1974 16.1 1/2 hh Bay Hanoverian

Lehnsherr was a Celle state stud.

Lehnsherr most famous daughter is Sambaluna's grand dam Lustige. From four different sires she produced four exceptional horses: the hanoverian stallion Santano, a winning FEI dressage horse, an 85,000 DM selling auction horse, and a show winning States Premium mare.

Lehnsherr’s sire is the famous Lombard. Although Lombard has too many successful progeny to list here, it is interesting to note that Lombard is the maternal grandsire to four approved Hanoverian stallions standing in the U.S. through his daughters Latunja, Lusera ,Luisella and Lorgnette. Lombard also sired Lola, the dam of the late Olympic dressage medalist Gifted.

Unsolicited Advice

2006-10-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

My veterinarian, Dr. Turoff, recommended this solution in a spray bottle to keep the stitches on my mare Sammy's chin clean. It really helped since, as we all know, horses don't much like having a hose spayed on their faces.

Saline Flush Solution

-1 Gallon Distilled Water
-2 1/2 Tablespoons Salt
-1 ounce Betadine Solution (not betadine Scrub)

Add salt and Betadine solution to water. Mix well. Pour as much as will fit into a spray bottle. Spray onto wound.

I'm not a vet, paid by any of the above companies, or anything but an innocent bystander. Use your own or your vet's judment before doing anything I tell you to. Oh, and also, never trust anything you read on the internet.

Fourteen Ways to Sneak Another Horse Home

2006-10-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

My friend Luci's beautiful Freisian Arthur. Who wouldn't want to sneak him home?

1. Move the fish to the cellar, the goats to the kitchen, the uncle to the sofa and the dogs to the barn. Rotate weekly. Add a horse to the mix on the fifth week. Stop the rotation when the horse gets to the barn. Confused but grateful spouse won't question further.

2.Tell your spouse that "Ed" is here to repair the cable.

3. "This? This isn't a horse. This is a Common Black-Throated Northern Debt-Precursor."

4. Organize a clandestine Equine Underground Pipeline. Connect to breeders and trainers across several states.

5. Throw a hundred-dollar bill behind the couch. Yell, "Fetch!" While the family members are fighting it out, you can sneak anything (up to and including a troop of Marines) up the drive, past the house and into the paddock.

6. Blame El Nino: The new horse washed in at high tide.

7. Wait for Halloween. Dress the new horse in a bad horse costume and march him right into the barn.

A Don Vino Mare from the Hanoverian Elite Auction that I would love to sneak home.

8. Swear it's your best friend's new horse, come to live here only until she breaks the news to her husband. Meanwhile, Sue can be pulling the same trick in your name at her house.

9. Start housing the kids out in the barn to explain your long absences from the house and your frequent comings and goings.

10. Have UPS deliver the new horse in several separate boxes over a period of several days.

11. Big collar. Dog tags. Poodle trim. Insist on calling the new mare AKC Fantasyland's FiFi Splendiphoria.

12. Sneak horse in at midnight. Return to house wearing only a trench coat and negligee. Confess untruthfully to a lesser offense: having a torrid affair with the hay man.

13. Don't buy another horse. Join the German Exchange Program; you feed, house and culturally broaden the horizons of young German-born Hanoverian for two years. (Mail a BLM Mustang off to Hannover for the 'exchange' part.)

A Hanoverian mare I covet: perfect "10" for jumping technique

And the best way to sneak another horse into the home is:

14. "This horse isn't ours, dear. He says he's on a scavenger hunt and has to find two suckers with a checkbook."

I have no idea who wrote this originally, but here's a big thank you to my friend Lexy for sending it to me.

Sambaluna's Paternal Grand Sire: Sao Paulo

2006-10-02T23:09:00.000-07:00

1987 16.2 hh Bay Oldenburg

Sao Paulo is a Celle State Stud.

"Bred especially for show jumping. Well-muscled and strong, with a lot of ability and outstanding character, especiallyl under saddle. His rideability and coupled with his outstanding temperament and tremendous willingness , as well as his basic paces, are all positive qualities. He has a good outline and very good hind quarters, and is free and forward-going mover. Importance and presence, endorsed with his exceptional jumping, ensure a valuable asset in the stallion station."

from Hannoverander Hengstbuch (The Hanoverian State Stud Stallion Book)

Sao Paulo's sire is Paul Schockemohle's stallion Sandro who has become a world known founding sire for the Oldenburg registry and also in the Zangersheide stud book. His sire is the English thoroughbred stallion Sacramento Song. Sandro is a highly diversified stallion who is very influential both in jumping and dressage breeding. At the 1994 WEG in The Hague there were three of his progeny competing in the jumping; Sandro Song (Ante Smlesa, Safari (Michael Abo) and Paradiso (Rolf Garan Bengtsson) Sandro is the sire of more than 40 licensed sons, the most successful being Silvio I & II, Sandro Song, Sao Paulo, Sandro Boy and Salido Z.

Sao Paulo's Champion Sons:

San Brasil: He placed second in the jumping section at the performance test with a convincing 137.91 points. San Brasil was awarded "best show jumping stallion" at his 1999 stallion licensing.

Satchmo: ridden by Isabel Werth. Satchmo won German team gold at the European Championships in Hickstead. Isabell Werth and Satchmo then won the bronze medal at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen Germany 2006 with a score of with 80.750%..

Sao Paulo's pedigree: http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/sao+paulo2

Sambaluna's Sire: Santano

2006-10-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

1993 16.2 Bay Hanoverian (Sao Paulo – Lustige)

Santano did his 11 month performance test at Adelhidsdorf. He received a score of 131.37 and earned 9 for his walk. He is competing today at FEI level dressage in the US.

In 2006 he started showing first season at Grand Prix with scores 60-64% at first three shows. Easy to sit, sound, uncomplicated. Goes forward but amateur safe.

Santano's pedigree: http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/santano8

Pictures from http://wwwarmbloods.com/riverhouse/ where they have listed Santano for sale.

Unsolicited Advice

2006-09-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

A Northern Pacific Rattlesnake

A Gopher Snake

How to tell the difference (click to enlarge)

Here in Northern California, we are surrounded by beautiful native wild life. Unfortunately for our horses, the western rattlesnake is one of those natives.

About a month ago, I saw a coiled snake hissing and striking about ten feet from my prize foal, Ferra. Fortunately it was outside the pasture, apparently basking on the nice warm gravel road. I didn't want to take any chances, so I sent it to snake heaven with a long-handled shovel followed by the heavy-duty pick-axe that my husband uses for breaking up large rocks. (Snakes kind of freak me out.) The poor snake didn't stand a chance.

If I had seen the chart above, I could have saved myself the trouble. It was a harmless gopher snake who, if left alone, probably would have taken care of the mice that keep reinfesting our barn.

If you're wondering what a rattler sounds like, you can hear it here:

http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/c.o.oreganus.html

I'll spare you the nasty pictures, so if you do think your horse may have been bitten look for these symptoms:

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF SNAKEBITES IN HORSES:
Bite site swelling
Salivation
Twitching muscles
Wobbling
Convulsions
Coma
Note: Not all the above symptoms may appear!

Facial Bites: Most horses are bitten on the nose when they lower their heads to investigate the snake. This is by far the most dangerous site for a bite as the resulting swelling often closes both nostrils and causes suffocation.

Bites on the legs can also occur when the horse steps too close to a snake. Due to the lack of muscle in the leg, leg bites may be difficult to identify as there may be little or no swelling.

If your horse has been bitten:

EMERGENCY FIRST AID FOR YOUR HORSE

The following actions should be taken for a horse which has been bitten by a snake:
Stay calm and get safely away from the snake. Forget about going after the snake and focus your attention on settling the horse down.

Constricting bands may be applied similar to those used on humans.

For nose and face bites, insert a piece of garden hose, about 5 to 6 inches long, into each nostril. These may have to be taped at first, but soon the swelling will secure them in place. (Two pieces, cut from an old, stiff garden hose, should be carried whenever riding in rattlesnake country.)

Trailer the horse to veterinary care or try to get the vet to come out to the horse. Try not to walk the horse unless absolutely necessary.

To avoid complications due to tissue damage, do not delay getting veterinary help for the horse.

As with humans, DO NOT cut the bite, DO NOT apply a tourniquet, and NEVER try to suck out the venom by mouth.

More complete information can be found at the website I stole this from:
http://www.whmentors.org/saf/snakes.html

As always, I'm not a vet (or a herpologist) so consider the above for information purposes only. No money being thrown my way for this horrifying, but useful, service announcement. Life is SO unfair!

Unsolicited Advice

2006-09-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

Equine vets seem to love Phenylbutazone, called bute for short. It seems every time one of my horses gets banged up enough to have a vet out to the farm, a dose of bute is the first thing on the menu.

The good news is that it helps reduce the inflammation and relieve the pain.

The bad news is that most horses would rather drink antifreeze than eat this stuff.

I guess I wouldn't be too thrilled if someone gave me my morning cereal with ground up aspirin tablets mixed in, and I think that's what powdered bute in grain must taste like.

My vet, Dr. Hookstra, recommended this apple flavored bute paste as a solution. The medication ends up in my horse rather than in an untouched feed bucket. The apple taste seems to cover the bute nastiness, because the second dose doesn't involve nearly as much head tossing drama as the plain bute paste seems to. I wish someone had told me about it years ago.

There's some more info on it here:
http://www.agri-med.com/site/255063/product/EQUIPHEN-12

I'm not a vet, so you''ll have to consult yours before trying this product. I'm not getting any money for recommending it either. Bummer. I'm just passing the information on, and hoping you find it helpful.

SPS Daphne and Her Dam SPS Wendy

2006-09-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

This is a picure of SPS Daphne as a foal with her beautiful dam SPS Wendy. Wendy was the Champion Mare in her class for five years straight at the prestigious Louis-Wiegel's Show (Germany's National Mare Show.)

Daphne's granddam is full sister to the stallion Wörth . While owned by the National Stud in Germany, Wörth sired 257 competition horses. These include the very successful international grand prix competitors Waidgesell and Hugo Simon's Magnum E . Wörth also sired several S-Level champions such as Wisby (40 time winner at S Level), Wassia, Walesca, and Woerina.

SPS Daphne's Pedigree can be viewed here: http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/sps+daphne

Information and Photo Courtesy of Pam Talbot

http://www.westbrookhanoverians.com/

Some of Our Farm's Other Residents

2006-09-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Unsolicited Advice

2006-09-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

Cool Whip: it's a dessert topping, it's a floor wax, and it's even a way to get your finicky horse to take their oral powdered medication! Here's how:

1. Gather your meds, Cool Whip, and a large oral syringe with a wide nozzle.

2. Take as much Cool Whip as you can fit into the syringe, and mix in a bowl with the powdered medication.

3. Remove the plunger from the syringe and spoon in the Cool Whip mixture. Tap occasionally to remove large air bubbles.

4. Replace plunger and administer as you would an oral wormer.

The real advantage using Cool Whip instead of a liquid is dissolving is never an issue. Also it cannot run out of your horses mouth nearly as easily.

I'm not a veterinarian so you'll have to use your own judgment on whether or not this is appropriate for your horse. Also, have no affiliation with Cool whip, its manufacturer, sales, yadadada. A shame really, with four horses I could use the cash.

Daphne and Weltman

2006-09-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Here's my Hanoverian mare SPS Daphne and her 2001 colt Weltman by Weltmeyer. No real reason to post it, except for the overwhelming cuteness factor.

Photo Courtesy of Pam Talbot
http://www.westbrookhanoverians.com/

A Couple More Photos from the Second CHA Clinic

2006-09-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Here my Hanoverian mare Sammy amazes me again by moving forward and out. Obviously even just a week in my pastures has done wonders for her energy level.

Photos courtesy of Martha Merriam

Jump Shot

2006-09-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here's "Sammy" again. No pictures of her gracefully sailing over the jump, so this is the best I can do. (Man is that shot ever hard to get!) After telling everyone how lazy she is, "Sammy" made a liar out of me by voluntarily jumping over the obstacles in the arena. A nice surprise to say the least.

Photo courtesy of Martha Merriam

Sambaluna Poses for the Camera

2006-09-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here's my mare Sambaluna who's also a demonstration horse today. She looks pretty good considering all I did was hose her off and she's way over due for her hoof trim.

Photo Courtesy of Martha Merriam

Comfy Quarters

2006-09-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Julie's mare and 2006 colt relax in one of Jen's large pastures while they await their turn in the ring.

Photo courtesy of Martha Merriam

Our First Two Demo Horses

2006-09-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Here's Julie with her Hanoverian mare and foal. Look at mom's lovely head.

Here's a few of our members admiring two of the day's demonstration horses: Julie's mare and her 2006 colt Der Traum by De Laurentis.

Photo Courtesy of Martha Merriam

Second CHA Clinic

2006-09-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

Our second Clinic was held on August 26, 2006. Jen generously lent us the use of her facilities again. Here she is with EM Donatasha, her 2006 colt Eryx, and two of our members.

Photo courtesy of Martha Merriam

Free Jumping Practice at Our First Clinic

2006-09-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

Here Martha ensures that Petey goes over the jump instead of around it.

Two Demonstration Horses From Our First California Hanoverian Association Clinic

2006-09-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

This chestnut is Peacemaker, an Oldenburg North American gelding, owned by Laura Bireley.

This bay is a Diamont Hanoverian Mare, owned by Martha Merriam.

Braiding Eryx

2006-09-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

Here Jen demonstrates how to correctly braid a foal in preparation for the AHS foal registration. She's also generously let us use her facility, Wolkentanzer Farm, for our Clinic.

CHA Photo Op

2006-09-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Here's another photo from our first CHA clinic on July 2, 2006. Left to right: Laura, Jen, Julie, and Martha. Donatasha, Jen's Elite Mare, and her very friendly 2006 colt Eryx are among the demo horses for the day.

The California Hanoverian Society

2006-09-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

For those of you that have been living under a rock for the last six months (not that I'm judging, maybe you have a comfy little hobbit hole down there,) California now has its own breeding club. California actually has more AHS members than any other state of the union, and some of the AHS' best stallions as well. For more information see the link at the right.

Mission Accomplished

2006-09-21T22:14:00.000-07:00

Part of me thinks that branding an animal is primitive and uncivilized. Then I realize that I paid someone to punch holes in my ear lobes so that I can dangle bits of jewelry from them. I guess I'm not in a position to judge. Plus my farrier says that having a Hanoverian without a brand is like buying a Mercedes and snapping the hood ornament off. Glad to know I'm not the only one who's shallow.

Anybody else smell burning flesh?

2006-09-21T22:09:00.000-07:00