I spotted the picture on the left in the AMHA photo archives. My jaw dropped. Looking at it, I would swear it was Ray. As it happens, the horse in the photo is Moro Hills Adonis, who is Ray's paternal great-grandsire AND his maternal great-great-grandsire as well. And it was taken when he was 4 years old, the same age (more or less) Ray was in the photo I took. So there's a good reason for the resemblance.

There are some differences, of course. Adonis is longer in the body than Ray, and lacks that rounded barrel that is so characteristic of Bessie Nekomia's offspring. Ray's legs are a little heavier, and his neck is too, I think (hard to tell given the angle of both photos). Adonis's forehead is slightly broader. But the differences are minor.

I can't believe that 2011 is almost over. So much has happened! I have utterly failed to keep pace with this blog so let me try to sum it up:

1. We sold Pete in May to be a stud for a Lippitt farm in New York. Anxiously awaiting word from his new owner as to whether Pete will have any babies on the ground in the spring. If not this spring, then probably next.

2. From June to September, we fostered an off-track Standardbred mare, LuLu, who was in training at PPF after having had her adoption not work out. I rode her on occasion for Deb while she was here. LuLu eventually went to a very satisfactory home, which made me very happy because she was a doll.

3. We sold Stevie in October to be the cherished, beloved companion of a horsewoman in Gorham. All reports have him progressing beautifully. It still boggles the mind that we made TWO sales in one year. But, we'll have no horse sales next year because...

3. We did not manage to get Ray bred to Mist. Sadly, our Princess still thinks of Ray as a "frog" rather than a "prince"... wanted nothing to do with him even when clearly in heat... but if we can't get her to change her opinion, well, we may seek assistance from technology. A last minute effort in October to breed her to Weathermont Ethan using AI fell through, but that's going to be our option in spring. Still, we'll have some babies on the ground next spring, because...

4. We bought two Suffolk-cross ewe lambs at Fryeburg in October, and in December acquired a flock of adult Romney sheep — a ram, 2 ewes, and a wether — and we're relatively certain at least one Romney ewe is pregnant. Maybe both. So there are some sweet little lambs in the future of the farm. Actually, our hope is that there will be a lot of little lambs... some to be sold for fleece-bearing, others to be used for meat. The Suffolk ewes will produce excellent market lambs once they're old enough to cross with the Romney ram, while the Romney ewes can give us great pure-bred fleece lambs. Everyone wins! (Note to self: get Nate into 4H STAT.)

5. Although this isn't farm related... my diabetes book published! AT LAST! It came out in July and seems to have been well received. In addition, I have published 3 articles in the Lippitt Club News, and hope to continue writing for them given that my time is much more flexible nowadays, since I'm now working from home as a freelancer. Although it was not by my choice, the fact is, I am not unhappy to have a break from the 9-to-5 world — which isn't to say I'm not actively looking for a fulltime job and wouldn't be thrilled to have one, but... there are definitely advantages to working at home.  

For 2012, all I can say is this: Let the wild ride continue! Ray is in basic saddle training with Gloria Steiger of PPF, and doing very well. He's traveled a few times over to PPF and to Hollis with great results. Although we're having a bit of holiday interruption, I am certainly looking forward to seeing him get back into a routine — and I know Ray is, too, judging by the eagerness with which he came to the gate when Mark brought the trailer around the day we got the sheep. (Poor boy was disappointed that it wasn't his day to go for a ride). We do hope to get him bred to Mist this spring, or failing that, to breed Mist to Ethan via AI. We're also planning to get Ray trained for AI collection so we can cross him to outside mares with less trouble.

Beyond that... we'll see what life brings us.

 

 

This morning I went over to Hollis to the SMDA show so I could catch an old friend in action. Cameo, a mix-breed mare we raised and sold last October, was performing in her first training level 1 class. We bought that mare in the fall of 2006 based solely on the way she moved -- beautiful, floating gaits that are breathtaking to watch -- and gave her what work we could (which wasn't enough) to bring her along. We learned a lot from her about what can happen when a young horse isn't given a good start, because it was clear to us that someone had mishandled her. She was flighty and easily frightened, and she escalated into unmanageable behavior very quickly. In the end, we had to start from ground zero with her, teaching her as if she were a yearling. This is how you pick up your feet. This is how you stand for the vet. This is how you lead, follow, have your halter put on. She came a long way in the three years we had her, but we were never able to give her the kind of time she really needed to thrive. When I sold her to Tiffany Tarbox last year, I knew she'd get that time. And that what she'd blossom into would be spectacular.

And it is. She is GORGEOUS. Still high strung, but controlled now, willing to listen, mature. As time passes, with training, she'll only get better. In the ring she was a little uncertain, but she was listening to her rider and that's a great thing to see.

When we sell horses, we try very hard to get them into homes where they'll be well treated and get the work and attention they need. I feel as though we've done pretty well in that respect here -- Bessie, Cameo, Pete, and Stevie all have homes now where I strongly believe they will reach their fullest potential. I feel both proud and blessed to have been able to help them along their journey. It's especially gratifying to be able to see how they've flourished.

A lot has been going on at Holy Moly Farm, so I'll try to summarize. In April, Stevie (Brook Hill Syndication) went back to Brook Hill Morgans on lease, to pick up some experience trail riding. His mama, Piper, is expecting a foal in July; can't wait to see what little sister/brother looks like. Stevie's resemblance to Piper is striking--Brook Hill's owner, Heather Pinet, had been telling me so but until I saw them side by side, I didn't realize just how striking it was. They were twins, other than Piper's bulging belly.

In May, Pete (Holy Moly Poseidon) turned two, and two weeks after his second birthday, he went off to New York to be a stud for Peter Clark, owner of 3 fine Lippitt mares—Wood Run Comfrey and her daughters Thornfield Thistle and Thornfield Holly. Holly is still too young to breed — she's the same age as Pete himself — but if given the opportunity, I suspect Pete would be happy to show that the same isn't true of him. I would love to see him have a foal next spring!

With Stevie and Pete off the farm, Mark has turned his attention to training Ray, with an eye toward getting him bred this summer. He's moving along nicely so far. We've also gotten Rusty into the training ring, partly because it's long past time that horse started serving his original intended purpose (riding horse for Nate and Eric) and partly because he got so worked up watching Ray in the round pen, we figured it would do him good to have a little of the same. The wet weather in May didn't do much for Rusty's feet (he has always been susceptible to hoof infections when the weather is damp, and his feet are currently a mass of bacteria), but he's at least still sound and with treatment, we are hoping the infections will clear up.

Today is Stevie's 5th birthday, and by coincidence, he's spending it with family — he's gone back to Brook Hill Classic Morgans on lease! It was fun bringing him back to where he was born — I didn't realize just how much that little horse resembles his mama till I saw them together, but wow, they're two peas in a pod. He played with Moose, Heather's young stallion (who is also Stevie's half-brother) and got squealed at by Ashley, ignored by Casey and Anna, and went nose to nose with Mama Piper for a brief while.