listens to horses

Taffy is a good sport

2009-04-15T06:50:00.003-06:00

Our American Beauty... Rose

2009-04-14T22:02:00.002-06:00

A riding lesson, before

2009-04-14T20:24:00.003-06:00

American Beauty

2009-04-12T19:08:00.001-06:00

This is our little Rose. She was born seconds into April 2nd.

My little wonder

2009-04-12T18:50:00.002-06:00

Mystic's 2009 colt is a dandy and a keeper. He is so nice she is off the market, or her price has at least doubled.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:26:00.002-06:00

Third, or is it fourth generation home raised.

The view from my window

2009-04-12T08:38:00.002-06:00

silly goat takes her first ride

2009-04-11T17:54:00.002-06:00

Mystic's foal born April Fools Day

2009-04-11T17:06:00.001-06:00

2009-03-31T11:41:00.002-06:00

New home

2009-02-22T09:38:00.003-07:00

A leading lesson

2009-02-03T15:41:00.004-07:00

Leading is not dragging a horse around on the end of a rope. It is so much more than that. It is a system of communication, a bargain creating a relationship in which each knows their place. Where one becomes the leader and the other the follower, and each does their job. Each holds up their end of the bargain. The rope is just a tool to help each know what the other wants.

I got a new camera for Christmas

2008-12-26T16:43:00.003-07:00

2008-12-23T07:55:00.001-07:00

Birthday Parade

2008-12-15T10:41:00.003-07:00

We first met Hanna at the rodeo where we were loaning horses for a queen contestant. Hanna go her first ride on a horse that night. For her birthday she got to ride in the Loxley Christmas Parade.

Finally

2008-11-17T17:37:00.003-07:00

Mr Fred gets to ride his horse. This is BlackRiver ArmedWithIvory, a two year old grandson of both Gen's Armed And Dangerous and Royal Ivory.

Britteny Spaniel Field Trial

2008-10-20T15:17:00.004-06:00

These are our judges.

2008-10-13T07:33:00.000-06:00

Morning of the second day

2008-10-12T17:47:00.003-06:00

I didn't get many photos of the second day as I had my hands full of horse. This was before break-away, out in the corrals the handlers came to catch their horses just as the mist started to lift.

Field Trial at Grovespring Missouri

2008-10-10T15:08:00.009-06:00

Perfection's Red Dawn

2008-10-01T15:56:00.007-06:00

Dawn is registered with the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Association. Her colt is a part bred in need of a name. Thes two red lovelys are headed to Mississippi.
This is Dawn's dam, Melody's Blue Velvet.

And her sire Perfection's Black Magic B.

Like I needed another new horse

2008-10-01T14:24:00.005-06:00

What can I say????

Home Sweet Home

2008-09-13T06:20:00.005-06:00

One day back in MO on pasture and this is what all of my horses look like!!

Rodeo Princess competition

2008-08-08T07:08:00.001-06:00

Waiting at the in gate

2008-08-02T08:48:00.000-06:00

2008-07-18T20:07:00.001-06:00

Riding lessons

2008-07-17T18:03:00.002-06:00

Such potential in this team

I love this horse

2008-07-17T15:42:00.000-06:00

Mississippi visit

2008-07-04T23:55:00.024-06:00

Fred and I want to thank Jaimie, of The New Covenant Ranch, for the invitation to their 4th of July Independence Day celebration. We took Pie, Haggatha, and Taffy to the party.

We spent the day (or at least 7 hours of it) giving pony rides on Taffy. Taffy was such a trooper. All three horses did their job as ambassadors for their species, not just their breed.

Most of our new friends had never been on a horse before.

Everyone who wanted to, had the chance to ride a horse.

Everyone had a good day, though many didn't get to ride as much as we all would have liked.

Many of the children took a second ride and quite a few I think would have taken third and fourths if we had had the time.

It was a great opportunity to ride a horse and get used to how they move, while concentrating on staying on, without having to try to control the horse too.

It was as rewarding for us as it was fun and exciting for them.

Riding in my own back yard

2008-06-22T12:16:00.005-06:00

Friends enjoy their ride around the Blackwater cotton fields. When the woods are too full of bugs the fields are a great place to ride.

Fred on Pie points out the lespediza growing around the trees.

Fred rides Pie as his first choice mount.

What kind of color/pattern is this?

2008-06-08T19:58:00.004-06:00

Finally a photo of a CLEAN and still damp Taffy.

Two girls on one horse...Taffy at her best

2008-06-03T05:55:00.003-06:00

Is this cute or what?

2008-06-02T19:33:00.004-06:00

The fence building at Blackwater

2008-06-02T18:56:00.003-06:00

This would be Mystic and Royal helping Alex and Ryan. Royal is a Fall 2007 model and Mystic is a Spring of 06.

My new little rider

2008-06-02T18:53:00.003-06:00

Little Miss Eliza Jane picked Haggatha as her fave. They are making a great team.

My ad for stable help

2008-05-20T16:49:00.008-06:00

I ran an ad on the local craigslist. I used the following 4 photos.

This photo shows Robert's kids at Grant's barn. From left to right is Prince, Zane, Pie, and Grant on Hag.

Saddle time on my horses in trade for grooming time - $10 (Loxley) and general horse help. Experianced rider or lessons. Or will give lessons for $10 per for introductory lesson, a minimun of one half hour to a maximum of one full hour. Lessons are $20 for a minimum of one hour and a maximum of two hours. Must have own transportation.

This ad got a lot of response. It looked nice and time will tell how well it works out. The photos were take from my house to the barn at Blackwater and back. It is about a 20 minute ride thru the woods.

Spot... then and now

2008-05-16T20:31:00.004-06:00

OK, so this is the wrong side, but as she was born sparkling white none of her color showed till just about weaning anyway.

Taffy as a weanling see her spot?
Taffy today, in the rain. She is now three.

Fred Judging

2008-05-16T20:15:00.002-06:00

This is a photo I just found of Fred judging off of Hag. After all the other horses give out, she was not a bit "too tired".

Mystic and the mule

2008-05-15T17:05:00.002-06:00

our little friend

2008-05-14T15:49:00.002-06:00

When my folks were here to visit last month we got to see this little guy quite a bit, but only mom got to see the big one. Too bad no one would put in an appearance for my brother and his wife. This photo was taken in the big pond behind the pavilion.

Saddle Mule

2008-05-10T10:00:00.005-06:00

Thank you Mike for the photo and Kim for the mule.

I like my chickens

2008-04-12T12:41:00.003-06:00

One of my roosters with the Partridge Cochen hen.

Cooper Mules

2008-04-05T21:37:00.003-06:00

Just a photo of the girls on any day. These are not my mules, I just get to drive them sometimes.

Permaculture

2008-04-03T09:25:00.005-06:00

This is the house when I got here. The first of my gardening was the potted plants I brought down from MO.
This is the start. Strawberries and walking onions in the front. What else would go good in this bed? This year we have Pansies. We started with Pansies as I like Pansies.
Just some happy looking plants. It looks like strawberries and pansies can live together.

A nice ride for Taffy

2008-03-14T19:57:00.004-06:00

The day before we went to MO (the dogs and I) we were invited on a trail ride. I am so glad I decided to go to a day late and went here! We made new friends and had a pleasant day. Does this not look like a great place to swim?

A day in the life...at Blackwater

2008-02-28T19:59:00.003-07:00

Here is Diamond Dust and her 07 filly enjoying their time out while the pond goes in. I think we like it here in Alabama, look at the grass in February!

Spring Time

2008-02-24T12:25:00.004-07:00

These chicks are my second generation experimentals. The parents are from Aracauna hens and a blue cochen rooster. The hen showed is a first generation, half and half. I raise only the pretty colored eggs and hope to bdeep in the feathered feet and blue color from dad, and fluffy cheeks as well as blue eggs from mom.

A good site is http://www.citychickens.com/ I am not sure I agree with a few things…how to handle a broody hen, find her some eggs that need hatching. They do not have to be her own. I am still looking for, “how long after hatching will a hen start laying again?”

Rosinton Plantation resident

2008-02-20T21:04:00.003-07:00

This guy has been living in the waterhole behind the pavillian at the plantation for many years. He is bigger in person. He is getting kind of big and may need to be removed soon.

Hag as a hunting horse!

2008-02-17T12:36:00.005-07:00

Grant rode Haggatha on a rabbit hunt. She was not a bit bothered by the begals or the noise, not even when Grant got the chance to shoot a 410 shotgun while mounted.

Gardening

2008-02-17T10:49:00.006-07:00

Many of you know I like to grow things, and I think this comes from my father. I had saved a flyer for the Earthbox http://www.earthbox.com/ to send to my father as a gift. Then I got to this site http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm and thought he might like to make one or two of his own. This site is offering the plans for a "self contained gardening system". The photo here is actually of the green house I got for Christmas from My brother.

A very cool gift that I am enjoying very much.

Mule in the flowers

2008-02-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

I was headed over to Blackwater yesterday and had to get some photos of this. Doesn't she look like she is having fun?

Taffy goes on a trail ride

2008-02-03T17:57:00.000-07:00

I doubt I will get too many photos of both Taffy and Hag at the same time. I am actually the one taking the photos.

My Haggatha on a day off...

2008-01-30T13:57:00.001-07:00

Isn't she lovely? This photo was taken at Blackwater Farms just this week. In the background are the horses in their pen, Zane just behind her, Taffy hanging her head over the fence wanting out too and Prince on the far right looking at me taking the photo.

Blackwater Farm

2008-01-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Here are the horses enjoying a bit of time at the new barn.

Here is what a day of dog training looks like

2008-01-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

Ron shooting with Miss Barbara handling Cowboy and Fred on a back with Trapper.

This is of course Hag and I. She looks kinda poor from feeding the colt but now that he is weaned she is starting to look good again. She is so nice to ride (for me anyway)

This is Fred on his plantation horse Sage. Sage is like 6 years old and way inmature for his age but getting better. The spotted horse is Ranger and he has been in the program for many many years, he is like 30 years old, and still going!

Pupper

2008-01-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

Yes I know a silly name...but it just stuck. Pupper is now one year old! Isn't she adorable? She is very smart too. Beauty and brains, who could ask for more?

Thank you KIM!!!

2007-12-30T19:28:00.001-07:00

This is Mocha, my new saddle mule. She is only six months old so it will be a while till she fulfills her destiny. Her momma is a nice racking mare and her daddy is a donkey. Thanks again Kim!!

Here are my 2007 babies...

2007-12-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

Do you notice anything? The one on the right is a mule. They are hiding behind the chickens, can you see them?

good morning

2007-12-19T07:13:00.001-07:00

This is of course Buttercup greeting the new day in her own special way.

chickens

2007-11-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

Here are my chickens as of now. They were some of the prettiest chicks and are growing into some pretty chickens.

Here is one as a chick, so pretty!

Chickweed...Stellaria media

2007-11-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

My chickens love this little plant that grows in my yard. They have about ate it all and this little plant was out in the dove field. I caged off a small place in the yard and plan to make a more permanant haven for the chickweed to thrive. I found this too...

This is delicious as Chickweed is the flavor of summer; it tastes the way freshly shucked corn smells--raw and haylike.
Pour 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice into a large bowl. Gradually whisk in 4 teaspoons walnut oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add 6 cups chickweed leaves and tender stems (about 6 ounces), toss until evenly dressed and serve at once.

Chickweed water is also an old wives' remedy for obesity.

Run away mules

2007-11-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

What do you do with a hard mouthed mule, or worse a team of hard mouthed mules? you call and ask the bit seller to send you a stronger bit right? WRONG this is what they were sent. I can handle them fine with their old bits but did get them some real nice ones.

On the road with the mule wagon

2007-11-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here we are on our way home from our first trip on the paved road...something new for the girls. They are just getting better and better each time I play with them. For some reason this was the only photo taken today of us.

Clydesdales

2007-11-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

This is Val, she was the Dam of Khitian (Kitten).

Here are some old photos of my girls. Khitian is to the left and Val is to the right in this photo.

Khitian and I. She was a little taller than Val.

Mule wagon

2007-11-10T13:24:00.000-07:00

I forgot to get a photo while the girls were still hooked up, but this is the dog wagon. Today was our second time to have a go at it. Even with having the Clydes all those years I have never had a wagon before.

Plantation mules

2007-11-05T12:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday I met with Earl, the retiring driver. We hooked the wagon and when my arms and hands were too sore I turned the lines over to him. They are tough old gals. Today when I took them out I noticed they showed it on the corners of their mouths. I show it tonight on my feet, mostly my big toes!

Here are Molly and Heartbreak. Molly is my near horse (mule) and my favorite. Not only is she the bigger of the two, she is the most sensitive. For some reason she is the one Earl yells at the most. Earl is the old driver. I rode with him once to see what these girls are used to. Boy do they need some work. Talk about hard mouthed!

Gray skirt by Marlene

2007-10-30T19:15:00.000-06:00

This is one of the skirts Marlene and I have come up with. The next generation will bring improvement, and we are off to a great start!

Zane

2007-10-30T19:02:00.001-06:00

This is Zane. He is a good old horse. He used to belong to my friend Richard but when I moved to Alabama we made a trade. I picked Zane out at the time Richard bought him and I think a lot of him still.

Breakfast

2007-10-02T08:09:00.000-06:00

Just a nice shot this morning. This is the horses in their new pasture, otherwise known as the front yard.

Getting around

2007-09-25T13:49:00.000-06:00

Hag and colt havin a little fun.

Welcome new colt

2007-09-18T19:28:00.000-06:00

This is our family, Hag's colt is about 12 hours old here. Diamond Dust's filly is 16 days. I am working on getting some video of him up. Check back soon.

Life's a beach

2007-09-18T19:11:00.000-06:00

Fred took me to the beach today at Gulf Shores, about 30 min from the house.

first try at blogging video

2007-09-15T19:04:00.000-06:00

Blackriver Smokey

2007-09-15T18:24:00.000-06:00

This is the colt from the wild mare. With the move to Alabama choices had to be made. Richard is now the proud owners of the wild mares and Fred is the new owner of Smokey. Isn't he a cutie. He is progressing nicely with his taming.

Sweet home Alabama

2007-09-14T06:28:00.000-06:00

Here are the new digs. A little house and lots of grass is my idea of home. My goat likes it here too.

One week old

2007-09-10T15:18:00.000-06:00

Here is our little express as a happy healthy one week old. I hope to post a short photo of her in action to show how nice she really is.

one down and one to go

2007-09-10T15:10:00.000-06:00

Here is our little Alabama Express. She is finally stable-ish on her feet in this photo and ready for breakfast.

My new home

2007-09-10T14:52:00.000-06:00

I finally made it to Alabama. I still have to go back to MO and pick up the rest of my horses. I now have a good dsl connection so can upload photos. I hope to do a better job of staying current now. The trip was interesting. Life is an adventure. We drove all night and drove straight thru. I left in a flurry as Diamond Dust wasn't going to wait till her due date and I wanted the foal to be born here. She had it about 5 hours after we got here and settled in.

Missouri Miniature Donkey Breeders Association

2007-07-02T08:20:00.001-06:00

I had such a good time with these people and their donkeys. I highly recommend everyone go see them at their shows and at their farms.

What do you think of this?

2007-07-02T08:05:00.000-06:00

I recently was asked to judge the Miniature Donkey Breeders of Missouri www.mmdba.com fun show in Hartville MO. I have to admit it was harder than I thought it would be! Everyone deserved better than last place, but it had to go to someone each time. If you all get the chance to see them at the sate fair in August I recommend you do so. My favorite class had to be the coon jump. Talk about fun to watch. These little guys jump higher than their own backs from a stand still! This photo is from their website, used with permission.

Congratulations to the first collage grad in the family!

2007-06-25T07:39:00.000-06:00

I am in CA for the big day and will soon return to MO for a short while. Charissa, my niece, has done the honors. This is a photo of myself, Chari, and my mother. Mom deserves her share of credit for this event. Way to go Char!!!

2007-05-27T07:05:00.000-06:00

I am way behind. This is EZ, another AQHA horse. I call him that but he is a Brisco County horse. His momma was by Special Effort, making her a half sister to KC’s daddy, Flaunt Your Effort. If you don’t count the first day when he tore up my round pen, or the first time I tied him, he has earned the name. I think he will wear it well now that he has learned how to cooperate with a handler.

Bay-B has also come and gone but I failed to get photos as I couldn't post from the farm, I am at the airport now on my way to CA for a visit.

BAY...not his real name

2007-05-08T08:11:00.000-06:00

This guy is a 4 year old AQHA colt. He came to be halter trained and I saw he also needed a bit of doctoring. I took this photo the day he got here. Besides the injury to his inner leg/chest there are several smaller leg abrasions.

potatoes

2007-05-07T07:59:00.000-06:00

With all that is going on around here I am way behind on posting some of the photos I have of it all. Here is my potato box. 100 pounds of potatoes in 2 square feet is the plan. The wire is to keep the geese from nesting there. Silly goose.

Birthday machine

2007-05-02T06:58:00.000-06:00

Here is my newest toy! I have much to learn but have already been practicing. Just think of all the neat things I can make now. Thank you Mom and Dad, I love you.

2007-04-29T18:41:00.000-06:00

Mystic

2007-04-28T14:53:00.000-06:00

Here is Mystic today. It is time for her to get some lessons on acting like a broke horse. She may only be a yearling but she will be two before I know it. I will post more photos of her on her page. I think she looks like Barbie's Dream Horse and is about the prettyest horse I have. Her dam is a looker so no suprise. Well, that and daddy isn't a slouch either. She got her stunning gold color from him as he is a more shiney gold than dapple-butt (Diamond Dust).

Happy Birthday

2007-04-26T17:12:00.000-06:00

Fred made me a birthday cake, my favorite...Pineapple Upside down!

Missouri style rehab

2007-04-24T10:47:00.000-06:00

Richard got himself a project yesterday. A new roping horse...with a problem. He seems to have kicked thru the fence and caught his leg taking the skin and meat off to the bone. I mean there is an inch wide and 8 to 10 inches long of bone showing. It is the worst injury I have had to deal with, ever. I am not sure I want to put up such graphic photos here, it is so bad. But here he is getting the first step in his new program. Oh, it was about three days old when we got him and we could smell it from 10 feet from the trailer. Seems to be a nice horse but has old scars and I think he is one of those hard luck horses that seem to always find a way to get hurt. Anyway, this is hydro therapy Ozark style.

What a pretty boy

2007-04-14T17:12:00.000-06:00

Just another photo of Ramjam. He will be here next week to visit the black mares.

BUFORD'S WALKING TALL

2007-04-11T05:46:00.000-06:00

This is Ranjam's sire. I took these photos at the horse sale in Arkansas.

My horse as a judges horse!

2007-03-31T18:41:00.000-06:00

Who would have thought my Hag could behave well enough to be used to judge bird dogs? Lol, I have to admit she was the least favorite of the three as she"is too much horse", lol. A judges horse is all about letting the judge concentrate on the dogs and not the horse. Most handlers also want a horse who will stay out of the way, a few have found that a horse who does his job is even better. Anyone who knows me knows I want my horse to make things as easy on myself as he or she can.

Here is Smokey

2007-03-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

He was foaled June 1st 2006. I have gotten a round pen but only have minutes a day to spend with Smokey. He is coming along well but good thing I have two years to ride him. Actually if you look at the photo you will see he is not sweaty and blowing, even though this was the end of the lesson. The lesson was partly that someone new was at the rail taking photos. Smoky has not been handled much. I will call the vet to geld him next week. Smoky has registration papers in the Part Walking Horse Registry. He is 7/8ths walking horse.

A walking machine

2007-03-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

This guy is a treasure. Of the two geldings this guy needs to stay. He walks all day long, no matter how fast the group travels, he can go fast and smooth always. I have no idea what his breeding is or where he came from. I will try to track him back when I have a little time. Right noe we are having too much fun with the field trails and I have horses here to train too. I am making slow progress with the colt but I am spending a few minutes a day is all. If I knew how nice of a horse he would turn out to be I would have given him a better name.

Ramjam

2007-02-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here is the newest addition to our little herd. He is to be the sire of the wild horses foals for this year. He was born July 22, 2005. He is a descendant of Personal Power, Ebony's Collector, Prides Generator, Prides Gold Coin, and A command Performance. He came to us from Walking Tall Ranch in Western Grove Arkansas from the breeding program of Nick Eddings. We bought him for Richard Davis of Hartville MO and he gets to stay with us for the season. His daddy is a tovero and his dam is black. We are having fun thinking of the colors and patterns we may get. With him also being a negative stallion he is safe to breed to Diamond Dust without the chance of a NI foal.

We have Pomeranians

2007-02-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here are my newest babies! The black and tan is a male and for sale, but the girl I get to keep. I call them Mr. Personality and Miss Meanness.

Off to school

2007-02-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Some more real old photos. These would be me at 5 years old.

I can still remember that lunch pail, it was my favorite and had a matching thermos.

Big dog

2007-02-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

This is Pete playing with the lab pups before they went to the trainers. Pete is the farm dog, he would rather be a portch dog.

Another old photo

2007-01-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

I just got this sent to me from my dad this morning. I can't say what year this was but it was me and my Clydesdale mare Val. That should date it a bit for those who know. If only I could make out where it was taken. Dave, could you help me out with a date?

Want a treat?

2007-01-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

Not much progress but some. The weather is not helping but it sure is pretty.