Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Happy Birthday to my Hubby! It's 5:45 and he left for work a good 10 minutes ago, but he is hoping to get away this afternoon to get some hunting time in. He saw a huge buck on Monday, but it was moving fast chasing a doe so he was not able to get a clear shot at it. The guys all saw a few deer, but none taken yet here.
The new Tenn. Walker ( Jet ) has been a gem. He needs a lot of work, learning to give and flex and settle when asked to work, but he is willing to try and I like that. He also wants to know what is going on! He's been ridden once or twice a week on trails and now he is hard at work every day in the ring.
Sebastian is coming back to RO-NO. He is a lovely Paso gelding, everyone here always liked him, and he is re-joining us as a boarder. He does have Cushings ( mildly I believe ) and will have to be managed with some meds, but the hope is that with a bit of exercise he may thrive and may possibly be able to cut back on medication. ( that's your invite gals to take him for a spin! ) I'm hoping to help his owner out, and possibly find someone to on-farm lease him.
I'll hit the road either tomorrow or Friday night to drop Savanna off at Rose's, pick up Achilles and Carbi, and then go get Sebastian. Achilles needs a bit of ground work, and we will go ahead and start fitting a saddle to him, do some lunging work and get him ready to be started under saddle. He has really grown, and this new work he will be getting will most likely boost a growth spurt. Carbi is still for sale, we've been going back and forth with a gal from TN about purchasing her, but are still waiting to see if she will be able to follow thru.
We had to pick up a horse last night ( RO-NO Removal Service ) This lovely old guy had EPM, and had some wasting of muscle in his hind end. He'd fallen a week or so ago and the owners knew that the time had come to euthanize him. Never any easy decision for people to make, but they knew it was the right thing to do for their gelding.
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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Fantastic day yesterday!! The weather couldn't have been any better. The girls had stalls done very early,so we got going on other projects. Today should be nice and smooth for them down at the barn. We should have visitors tomorrow, folks from Virginia that own Mountain Horses are planning to come visit to see if RO-NO will be where they send their horses for training. I'm looking forward to meeting them.
Today I will clean the house, work on getting food prepped for tomorrow for the hunters, get laundry caught up, and maybe help Rob and Jim with getting some firewood in. After all that is done, if there is still some daylight, I may just take a horse out for a spin!
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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Beautiful day yesterday. Erin and Julie had off, so Robbie came down to the barn with me to help with chores. Got down there to find that Jim had already hayed everyone, done a few stalls and was in the process of watering the horses in the old barn. He and Robbie had all the stalls and turnout done by 9:20!!! How nice! I had to leave early for a chiropractor appointment ( don't have to go very often, but really needed to yesterday) came back to the barn to find Nicole getting JB in. She had a ride on him, I schooled Jess with her driving ( wont be long and I'll have her hooked to the cart! ) Barb came for her lesson and a bunch of us ended up going out on the trail. Had a lovely ride, so nice to have this type of weather in late November.
Today will be gorgeous as well. Christina Fehlner is coming over this morning with one of her horses, and we have a training horse coming in mid-day today. Tenn. Walker gelding that needs work on his gait. Jim and Alaina ( and Shanna? ) will come out as well, hopefully we can get in another nice trail ride.
Our new tenants pretty much finished moving in yesterday. I didn't have time to bake cookies as a 'welcome' gift, but I did stop at DD's to get a 50 pack of Munchkins!
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Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving. My wonderful girls gave me the morning off, Erin and Julie fed, did chores/stalls, made up evening grain and had everything all set for me for this evenings chores. The horses are all happy and well fed, and the day went smoothly. ( pretty much we are all happy and well fed too! Had a wonderful day at Rob's sister Alisons house with the family)
Rob and I finished cleaning up at the tenants house this morning, they will finish moving in tomorrow. It will be nice having neighbors again, and nice for Hunter to have a few kids around that are his own age. ( The folks moving in have 3 year old twins!!!)
Tomorrow I am going to have the whole barn to myself for the day, Julie is off, and I told Erin to take the day off too. Robbie will help in the morning, and Jim may be by to pitch in as well. Folks will be by around noon time for gaited horse lessons, and on Saturday a new gaited horse is coming in for training.
Well, have to get off the computer, my little boy wants to get in my lap for a snuggle, so duty calls!
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Monday, November 21, 2011

We had a productive weekend, full of good weather, nice visitors and plenty to do. On Saturday Jim helped me get another paddock cleaned out. Nicole and Alaina got to trail ride a little, the Jim and Alaina headed out. I had a few folks come from NJ to ride Paso's and we hit the trail as well. Got Pastor out after we returned for them to experience Fino. Sunday was busy too, more paddocks got cleaned, ( some excitement was added when Kokomo the mule got loose while Maribelle was riding, but he never came near her..phew....) Maribelle, Pam, Katie ( and maybe one or two more ) went trail riding. Earlyish in the day Julie texted me to say that Al had cut his nose, would I please come and see if I thought he needed a vet. It was bad enough to need a few stitches, so off to call the vet I went. Dr. Hank came out, and as I watched him draw some tranq to sedate Al for the stitching, I asked if he would mind gelding him while he was at it. Dr. Hank is great, he didn't have any problem with that, said 'might as well not have to tranq him twice', and a short time later Al's nose was stitched up and he was no longer a colt. ( he's doing just fine today, doesn't even have any swelling yet).
Today was eventful as well. I headed out early to do teeth. Pretty neat place. They raise Longhorn Cattle, a couple batches of pigs, ( I'm thinking of buying one or two of this latest batch, they are about 8 weeks old right now), and they have about 9 horses, most of which were rescues. Very cool people that run the place, I enjoyed getting to talk with them while I worked on their horses teeth. From there I went and got feed, went home to un-load it. Forrest and Maryann were both riding, and Julie was getting ready to school Sneak. Erin and I put out some round bales, then I went to harness up Jess for some driving training. Unfortunately as I was nearing the end of my training session with her, I took a bad step and went down hard, twisting my ankle pretty badly. Drat! :( Not much to be done, I tried walking it off for a bit, then went to wrap it up. As I was sitting and getting the wrap on, a gal came down to the barn asking if we had seen a loose black pony. Guess a few miles up the road a small black pony had gotten loose and run off, not a good thing on any day, worse when it is bear season! Erin and I both kept our eyes open for it as we went to town. ( she was off to the bank, I was off to go on another dentistry call) I hobbled through doing a couple of older TB's teeth, and then sent a text off to the owner of the pony to see if they needed us to saddle up a few horses to go searching. Shortly before I got home we received word that the pony was safely back home. Just another day at RO-NO...we'll see what tomorrow brings!
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Friday, November 18, 2011

Today was a good day. I'm sitting with my feet up ( my foot still hurts, had a cortisone shot in my heel yesterday ) and it's 8:20 p.m. Dinner and dishes are done, my glass of wine is empty and I'm relaxing. We had some visitors today , here to look at some of the studs and try some Paso's and they had a good time. I worked with Jess on driving and she was great, spent a good half hour having her drag a tire around the arena ( which of course did my foot no good, thus the ice on it right now ) then had a phenomenal ride on JQ- best ride he ever gave me. It was a good day :)
Today Karen and a friend of hers are stopping by to see Calif and Cardillo as potential studs for an App. mare. The 'Tiger Horse' ( a cross between the Paso Fino and Appaloosas ) is a breed growing in popularity, and this gal has a lovely app mare that she would like to breed. We have one App X Paso here, Erin's horse DJ, and he is wonderful.
Tomorrow Barb from NJ is coming back for another gaited horse lesson, and she too is bringing a friend. This gal has two Tenn. Walkers that she may want to have some training done on.
We may be getting in some Rocky Mountain horses soon for training as well, they are a breed I enjoy working with.
John put some 'snow shoes' on a couple of the horses yesterday. No snow yet, but it is coming and I'd hate to have these that he just shod have to go without. Over the next couple of times out here, John will get everyone who is shod transitioned over to pads and studs.
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Our new heifer is doing well. She is getting friendlier and has realized that she enjoys being scratched/rubbed. Charlie ( London's colt ) has also been doing well. London throws beautiful but stand-off-ish babies, so we have our work cut out for us with him. I can get a halter on him without help, but it takes a minute. Jim went into the stall last night to handle him some. It took Charlie a few minutes, but he settled down and enjoyed ( well, maybe tolerated is a better word) the attention. Scratchy of course loves attention and doesn't understand why we would pet anyone but him.
The last section of the arena wall got fixed on Saturday, thanks to Jim. I need to set aside some time to really water then harrow before winter comes. So far we've been pretty fortunate to maintain good footing all winter ( for the most part ). Out next project is sprucing up the wall by Cardillo's stall. The wall is sound, but needs a little TLC.
Another project that I am working on is getting a 'lab' set up in the basement. I've got all the equipment for semen collection and shipping, but I need a good lab area. I'm working on clearing an area in the basement to have a utility sink and some counter space, and room for all the accouterments. Easier access to the microscope means we can do fecals more often ( though so far we have been pleased with the results that we have here) and having a comfortable lab area will be handy when breeding season gets here. We have breedings booked and I want things to run smoothly when we get the calls that we need to ship.
Today I head south to do teeth, and I hope to be back by late afternoon. Jess is officially in training for driving, and I'm looking forward to really getting her going.
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Saturday, November 12, 2011

Our two steers have ( unfortunately ) been going walk-a-bout too often lately. They don't wander far, but I really wish they wouldn't wander at all! On Wednesday- as I was going up the road with tractor and round bale, I saw the steers out in my yard, then saw that there was a truck coming the other way, then saw MaryAnn in my driveway on Torey! Pretty much the only ones free to do as they pleased were the steers! All went well- I pulled over, the truck went on by, Erin hopped off from where she was riding the tractor to let MaryAnn know that Torey wouldn't freak from the steers ( which was good as Lars seemed to want to lumber over to say hi) and we all went on our merry way. Once the bale was put out to the herd, Erin hiked back up the road to chase the steers my way- and back thru the gate they went. Situations like this are pretty much a daily occurrence...
Got a new heifer a couple nights ago. Half sister to Terry ( so now we have Terry and Barb, short for Terriyaki and Barbecue ) Rob and I managed to get her into a stanchion in the old barn, where she will stay until she is a bit friendlier, then she will join Terry out in the pasture. Lars will soon be, well.... meeting his destiny.
Things are looking to be a bit busier here. We've had a few new folks in for lessons, someone is coming here today from NJ for a gaited horse lesson, may have someone stopping out to see if they want to board here ( and truth be told- them visiting is my chance to see if I want them to board here) I've a ton of dentistry trips scheduled too.
We got another paddock cleaned out yesterday ( I saw we- pretty much it was all Jim ) and today we may be able to start fixing up the last section of the arena wall that I want repaired before winter hits. Feels very good to get all these projects completed.
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Thursday, November 10, 2011



Loving this quiet weather. We have all taken a vote here at RO-NO and have decided that this weather must stay just like it is for the rest of November. ( wish it was that easy!)
Calif has been a good boy, have had the opportunity to harness him up and drive a few times over the past week. Young Jess is progressing well too, wont be long and she'll be pulling the cart as well. Little Al is riding wonderfully ( if he is still mine come spring- he'll have to attend a few Paso shows). Mojito is doing very well also- still hoping that he has a new mom. Will hopefully know for sure this weekend.
Heard from Richard Gregory this week. He is the older gentleman from Alaska who bought a young filly from me a few years ago. They have since traveled the southwestern and northwestern states, Canada and Alaska together. He occasionally sends photos and notes of their adventures. I'll post some of them soon.
Wonderful Appaloosa Mare For Sale Cute 14.2h 16 yr old mare. Val is an incredible jumper. She has placed well in hunters, jumpers, pleasure & equitation. Has been used as a lesson pony. Great on trails & jumps 2’6”with ease. Would be a great cross country mount or a wonderful Pony Club or 4H project. Would be great for games & gymkhana too. Absolutely loves baths. She loads, trailers, clips & stands for the farrier like an angel. She is barefoot & always has been. I hate to sell her, but I have really outgrown her. Serious inquiries only. Please email xfranklinx3@aim.com for more information. $3500
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Friday, November 4, 2011

Here's some info from Kerry B- she has this filly for sale and she would really like to get her off to a good home before winter sets in.

Cheyenne is an Arab/Saddlebred and still growing. She is 3 years old. She green to walk trot. She loads, picks up all four foot, works on lunge. Bare foot, easy keeper and shes a love bug. This horse has a great future as a trail horse .... Has a phenomenal jump too!

Here's some info from Kerry B- she has this filly for sale and she would really like to get her off to a good home before winter sets in. Cheyenne is an Arab/Saddlebred and still growing. She is 3 years old. She green to walk trot. She loads, picks up all four foot, works on lunge. Bare foot, easy keeper and shes a love bug. This horse has a great future as a trail horse .... Has a phenomenal jump too!Here's some info from Kerry B- she has this filly for sale and she would really like to get her off to a good home before winter sets in. Cheyenne is an Arab/Saddlebred and still growing. She is 3 years old. She green to walk trot. She loads, picks up all four foot, works on lunge. Bare foot, easy keeper and shes a love bug. This horse has a great future as a trail horse .... Has a phenomenal jump too!
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Thursday, November 3, 2011

I'm really hoping that today will be just like yesterday. We had such a nice, productive and enjoyable day it would be great to have a repeat. So far it's not looking too good though- Rob came back in the house when he was leaving at 5 this morning, said he just saw one of my mules running down the road in front of one of the neighbors trucks. I went down, it was Edgar, caught him and put him in a stall. Went back to the house to work on my Spanish ( taking a Rosetta Stone course on the computer ) and got a call that another neighbor just saw a mule in the road in front of the house, guess Jack is loose too. They have been jumping out every day- but they mostly stay down in the hay field or in the barnyard. Sigh...
Plenty going on today. Kendra is stopping by this morning to pick up kitties Piper and Lance to take them to a spay/neuter clinic going on in town today. A new potential client named Wendy will be stopping by. She is interested in Mounted Archery, and we are happy to accommodate ( Forrest has a strong interest in this as well, so I think we have a new goal to accomplish this winter ) Our new neighbors will also be coming by today, a lovely family that will be renting Grams house from us. ( she has 3 year old twins!! Hunter will love it) Forrest is coming for a driving lesson, and there will be a few other things going on as well. I'm thankful for the nice weather.
Kendra, the gal picking up the cats for me today, is possibly interested in getting Mojito. She rode him for about 2 hours yesterday and they really got along wonderfully. He is ready to have someone take over with his training and she would be a fantastic 'Mom' for him.
Tomorrow will most likely be more of the same- nice weather and a productive day.
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Tuesday, November 1, 2011



I love our homebred horses! ( and my boarders!!) Forrest has decided that he would like to train Jess to drive, and we are well on our way. Jess is a feisty and spirited Paso, but she is also very sensible and level headed, and is used to all the funny things we humans like to do with our horses. She took to the harness like she had always worn one ( didn't even cringe at the crupper! ) and Forrest is happily ground driving her around. In our lessons this week we will progress to having her feel some weight being pulled behind her, from there we will get her to drag a tire around, we'll put make-shift shafts on her and go from there. Before too long we'll get to see Forrest and Jess driving the cart around the farm. Love it!