2009 in review

It's been a year full!

WE ARE NOT TAKING ANY SURRENDERED HORSES AT THIS TIME!


If you have a barn and would like to take owner surrender horses, please send us your contact info; we are still turning away 2-3 calls per week! Although we cannot accept your horses here (no barn, limited fencing until we rebuild), we may be able to help you place your horses/ponies.


Updates:

The Spooktacular Fun Show in October raised $200 for rescue horses and ponies. Thanks to all our participants, volunteers, and our judge, Christine Allard of Forever Green Stables, for making it a wonderful sucess!

We have re-homed over 30 animals since we arrived here in 2006. Thank you to all our volunteers, sponsors, supporters and new homes!

Thank you to everyone who sponsored a horse (or even a chicken) for us this year, we wouldn't be able to do it without you!


*** Stud fees for our stallions are to help cover costs for the horse rescue. We do not promote unchecked or irresponsible breeding!***

NOTE: We spay and neuter all our dogs and cats to prevent "littering", ensure all our animals are vaccinated against rabies and other diseases, and encourage everyone else to do the same. Only horses and ponies with responsible owners should be bred: adding more unwanted foals to the auctions is not acceptable.


Classy (Classy Bingo Bar, registered Paint stallion) is expecting up to 4 foals in 2010, all should be wonderful show prospects. He bred mostle Canadian Sport Horse mares this year and we can't wait to see the foal pictures. Stud fees have increased for 2010.

One in utero foal available. Classy Bingo Bar x Dreamscape's Delilah (buckskin WB type mare)

Spot (Spot My Dream, registered International Spotted Pony) is expecting 2 foals in 2010 Definitely should be super cute small show ponies for driving or children's pleasure mounts.
Spot's stud fees have not increased at this time. (One foal available in utero: Spot My Dream x Beautiful Dreams.)

Donna Delicious (pregnant registered Paint mare rescued from auction) is expected to foal in May. Bred to a 16hh black and white paint. Get your bets in as to what it will be!

Once Donna foals, there will be 3 generations on the farm, Reba (My Jet Star, registered Paint mare), Donna and foal. Reba is the foal's great-grandmother. Reba is 37 years old now, and still enjoys being groomed and occasionally ridden.

Breezy (Call Me A Dreamer, out of Beautiful Dreams by Call Me Starmaker) was Reserve Champion Sport Pony (Foal & yearling division) at Summerfest Breeder's Show

Spook (Cool Blue Dream, registered Paint stallion) tied for Eastern Ontario Paint Horse High Point Halter Stallion!

Spook will stand for his first season in 2010, by private contract, contact for info!

We still have horses available for adoption, please consider opening your heart and home to a rescue horse. See the sidebar for more information on Breezy, Firecracker and Serenity, among others. If you're looking for a new horse, let us know what you need, and we'll pass on any information from owner surrenders, too.

Porto from Forever Green Stables and I placed 2nd in our first national Para Equestrian competition, the 'Sea-to-Sea' Para-Dressage Video Competion Series. For information on Para Equestrian competitions, please visit http://www.paraequestrian.ca/

We started a branch of the Canadian Pony Club in the St. Lawrence-Ottawa Valley Region, EastWind Pony Club. We're a small branch at the moment, but open to new members. Email our District Commissioner at sneakypony@yahoo.com for more information.


Barn fire:

Thank you to Liberty Lane for giving us a Christmas tree! It helped bring back Christmas spirit.

The clean up has started; so far the cost is up to $3500 for clean up alone. This is well above the amount provided by the insurance company for that purpose.

Thank you to everyone who has offered us a helping hand, the help is apreciated tremendously.

Thank you to everyone who had made a financial donation, big and small. Every penny goes into the clean-up and rebuilding efforts! We will be better and have a greater facility to continue our rehab efforts for rescue animals.

Thanks to family and friends (old and new), just over $2500 has been donated to our facillity since the fire.

Thank you to everyone who has donated hay and offered hay. We have a limited ability to transport hay (our trailer is frozen in the ice from the fire hoses - and a pickup truck) that means we can't take all that is offered (even though it would be wonderful!).

If you have means to transport large square or round bales and are willing to haul some for us for free (or very inexpensively), please let us know!

We hope to have a reopening celebration in July so everyone can see what has been done. Keep watching the blog for updates and the date of the open house!

We can't say thank you enough to the barns who are fostering horses: Forest Lane Horse Farm (Breezy, Serenity and Firecracker), Aspen Creek Stable (Soul and Reba), Forever Green Stables (Classy).

Fostered ponies at Forest Lane are available for adoption.

Thank you to Horse World in Carp for their generous donation of blankets, halters, quilts and wraps!

Thank you to Becky Rogers of the International Spotted Horse Registry for their donation of halters and lead ropes.

Thank you to the Eastern Ontario Paint Horse Club for their donation.

Thank you to everyone who went through their tack trunks and donated various items (especially waterproof blankets, halters and lead ropes) that were needed!

Thank you to Dundas Veterinary Services (Dr. Jeff Sleeth, Dr. Glen Smith, and Dr. Heather Murray) for always coming when we call. We recommend them highly for their considerate and careful care for all our animals, and for their compassion when we have to euthanize an animal in pain or distress that can't be helped.


Gone to greener pastures

2009 saw the passing of a few animals on the farm.

May they enjoy green pastures with sunshine, cuddles and treats.

In memory of those that crossed the Rainbow Bridge this year

Belinda, Limosin heifer (unknown cause)
Princess, aged adopted pony
Chickens: including Mama, Chip, Blackie, Funny Feet, and the un-named Aracounas killed in the barn fire.
Dusty Diamond Rose, varnish roan Appaloosa mare (colic on December 31st)

Gone but not forgotten.

We are looking for donations of goods and services (not necessarily horse-related) for a silent auction in July to raise more money for the rebuilding fund. If you can help, please email or call.

May 2010 be a great year for everyone!

Catching up, again. :)

The Spook-Tacular Fun Show was a success!

We had prizes and ribbons, with championship ribbons made by Mom. Mom also donated a lot of the prize items. Thanks, Mom!

Mom made a delicious cake and decorated it for the fun show.

Despite a miserable Friday and Saturday of rain, Sunday dawned chilly, but clear. The riding ring was too wet to be safe (or fun), so we made a new ring out in the big paddock in the race track. A haywagon provided a seat for spectators and the judge.

Hot food and coffee were in good supply to keep everyone warm and well-fed.

The Walk Division had the largest number of competitors: Jen G. and Ash, Sue and Spook, Kathrine and Breezy (Mom didn't get a picture of them), Earl on Leo with Jen S. leading, Serge riding Reba, Emilie with Sweetapple Scrunchions and Jake with Mr. Maple with Celine helping.

Miella and Sneakers and Serge and Reba competed in the Walk/Trot division and Celine rode Mr. Maple.

Jen S. was our lone competitor in the Walk/Trot/Canter division, as Abby's horse wasn't feeling well and she had to scratch. Abby did come to watch part of the show, though, and make a donation. (Thanks, Abby!)

Mom was supposed to ride Otis in the Walk division, but ended up too busy in the house to get ready and ride. The chili sure was good, but Granny and Grandpa were disappointed that they didn't get to see Mom ride.

Jen and Ash competed in the Walk division.

Sue took Spook in the Walk division, too.



Serge rode Reba and Miella rode Sneakers.




Emilie showed Sweetapple Scrunchions. Sweetapple Scrunchions and Mr. Maple are Newfoundland ponies that live at Forest Lane Horse Farm in North Gower. Sweetapple Scrunchions is for sale - if you're interested, please contact Celine at Forest Lane Horse Farm.



Jake showed Mr. Maple. Since Mr. Maple is a stallion, Celine stayed close to make sure that everything was under control.

Christine Allard of Forever Green Stables graciously volunteered to be our judge. Thank you, Christine! You were a wonderful judge!

Earl won the Walk division on Leo. Although Jen led Leo, she did it with such a long line, we knew she was just there to give her dad confidence.

Jen rode Leo in the Walk/Trot/Canter version of the obstacle course and won the divison.

Jake and Mr. Maple dressed as gangstas. Dan stood by for safety reasons. Note the fancy chain around Mr. Maple's neck and flashy "bling" stencilled on his shoulders and haunches! Good job, Jake!

Emilie and Sweetapple Scrunchions were fairies; both had beautiful wings!

Sneakers and Miella dressed as a cat (Sneakers) and a witch (Miella). Every witch needs a black(ish) cat!

Jen dressed Leo as a spider, and came as Miss Muffett eating her curds and whey. Earl posed with her for this picture.

Jen G. was a princess with Ash as a unicorn.


Emilie took home the trophy and prize basket for High Point Gremlin, and Jen S. won the High Point Old Nag plate and prize basket.

Everyone feasted on homemade chili, rolls, coffee, cake, handmade chocolates, rice crispy squares and Granny's chocolate cupcakes. Generous donations accumulated in the jar for the horse rescue, and everyone seemed to really enjoy the day.

We're already planning for a bigger and better show next year!

Adoptions and new horses on the farm

We have two new horses on the farm: Donna and Rosie. They both came from the Thanksgiving auction at Galetta. Sue bought them, but has since sold Donna to us.

Donna is pregnant, and Sue will keep the foal. Donna is Reba's great granddaughter, according to her papers, and looks a lot like her. Serge is absolutely in love.

Rosie is an older mare that's been there and done that. At the auction, they referred to her as the school bus, and put three kids on her back. She is slowly gaining weight and loves all the attention that she gets from Sue.

Sue has also adopted Otis.

Rudy, the Treeing Walker Coon Hound that we were fostering for Friendly Giants Dog Rescue was adopted by a lady in Limoges.

Jen G. moved Ash to Stubbe Horse Farm in North Gower so that she could go out and see him more often. Since she lives in Kanata, that makes a lot of sense. We wish them well and hope to hear good news about Ash's progress regularly.

EastWind Pony Club news

EastWind PC needs new members! Are you interested in horses? Want to be part of a club that offers education and fun with horses? Thinking about owning a horse sometime, or want to compete?

Pony Club is the right place for you!

You don't need to own a horse to participate, but if you do, that's great too. If you're between 6 and 21 and live somewhere around the Casselman/Embrun area, we'd love to hear from you.

More Dreamscape Acres news!

Spook, also known as Cool Blue Dream, won the Eastern Ontario Paint Horse Club (EOPHC) High Point Halter Stallion trophy at the banquet on October 23, 2009.

We were thrilled!

Cool Blue Dream will stand at stud in 2010, AI only, for a limited number of mares.

I was elected to be the Public Relations chair for the EOPHC, so watch for more information here on what's coming up next year.

Catching up ...

Time flies - and Mom has good intentions, but doesn't always find the time to type in the blog and update it. :)

EastWind Pony Club news

We had a meeting on June 14th with most of our members and volunteers and a special guest, Natasha Yates. Natasha is a former Pony Club member from the Alexandria area and is interested in reviving Pony Club in her area or combining forces with us and adding her potential members to our branch.

We discussed Prince Philip Games, Rally, and the possibility of holding another teaching/testing rally at the Maxville Fairgrounds. We also talked about holding a Rally Prep clinic as a fundraiser for our branch.

Most of the members of our branch have ordered T-shirts now - and we have the stencil, fabric paint and T-shirts ready to go. T-shirts are $10 each, payable to EastWind Pony Club.

The members who were able to come to the meeting created thank you cards for their school bus drivers, and then Miella, Natasha M., & Jennifer S. went for a ride around the track to add more miles to our total for the Ride for 75 - part of Canadian Pony Club's 75th anniversary celebrations.

Upcoming events for Pony Club members

Practices continue every Thursday evening for PPGs - please let me know if you plan to attend. Practices go on, rain or shine. Miella and Natasha M. are playing in Regional PPGs on July 1st in Franktown. Even if you're not playing that day, you can come out to cheer them on.

Natasha and Fancy will also be going to the C Rally at Hawkridge in July as part of a team from United Counties Pony Club.

The date of the next meeting hasn't been decided yet, but I expect we'll have one in July. If you have a suggestion for an activity or craft, or want to participate in the PPG practices, please let me know.

Victoria Day weekend

EastWind Pony Club news



Natasha passed her D2 test at the D Rally at the Rideau Carleton Raceway on the weekend!

Congratulations, Natasha and Coconut!



We spent the weekend (Saturday through Monday) at the Raceway with 50+ other eager Pony Club kids and their horses/ponies. D Rally is a working rally.


That means that the participants are completely responsible for all the work in the barn, grooming and tacking up their horse or pony, as well as being on time for lessons and other events. The stalls and other areas have to be spotless - there's a stable management competition - and a helpful parent costs the team marks.


Parents are only allowed in the stables at certain hours - and only to see what their children have done, not to clean stalls or tack. Each team has a helper to assist the team with tacking up and mounting.


Natasha was on a team with members from Ottawa Valley Hunt (OVH) (Abby, Rosemary and Katie) and their helper, Sarah, from United Counties Pony Club. Their team placed 10th in the stable management competition.

Sarah swept out the tack stall. All of the equipment, feed, tack and even the sawhorse had labels that identified the team, and horse and rider.


On Saturday, we met the rest of the team, set up the stalls, tack stall, and feed area. The Pony Clubbers were all divided into lesson groups for riding and stable management. I taught stable management classes on Saturday and Sunday, and tested stable management on Sunday, then the riding portion of the D level tests on Monday. It was a busy weekend.


The food was catered by the Raceway and was plentiful and tasty. We slept in our sleeping bags in a room in the Raceway and by the time lights went out at 10 pm, almost everyone was ready to sleep.


Natasha and I had a great time overall - and Natasha says she'd like to go back next year as a helper. Maybe we'll have a whole team at Rally next year!


Serge brought Coconut down in the trailer and then took the truck home. I had the car at Rally so that it was easier to get from the barns to the other areas. Mom brought the truck back on Monday and helped us tear down and pack up the Rally stuff. Thanks, Mom!


While we were away from the farm, Laura, Linda and Mom stepped in and did morning and evening chores as well as entertained the dogs and cat. Thank you very much!

We couldn't have gone to Rally without your help!



Dreamscape Acres news

Allie went home Sunday morning. She and Classy had a romantic few days and we hope that she caught. Classy's next "date" will be in June when we breed Hey You.


Aggie the cow ended up in the round pen after she demonstrated her agility and escaped from both the big field in the racetrack and from Delilah's paddock on Monday. Darn cow!







Drifter managed to pull the bottom wire off the fence in his paddock Sunday evening, shorting out the fence. Mom, Laura and Linda worked long into the night on Sunday (in the dark) fixing the fence so that they could turn the power back on. Drifter thought that he should be the stallion in charge even though he's a gelding. Silly boy!

Spook and Drifter slept comfortably in the sunshine on Monday.


Delilah, Dreamer, Nikki, Kane and Malachi had conversations around the hay in their paddock right behind Drifter as he napped.


Beauty and Breezy spent a lot of time outside on Monday in the sunshine. The hot wire around the riding ring is now electric again to ensure that Beauty doesn't graze her way out under the fence. She's rather fond of fresh green grass. Breezy keeps trying whatever Beauty eats, but she's not convinced that grass and hay are really food. Mom's milk is still much better!






Time for a nap!


The chicks are fledging now. Their adult feathers are starting to come in. Lori adopted all of the chicks and once they're fully fledged, she'll take them home to her new farm in Brinston.




Glenna says that Finnigan (now called Steel) and Tira are doing well and that both of them are happy and healthy in their new home. Thanks for the update, Glenna!


Mom posted on Full Circles for shredded paper and hopes to pick up a number of bags of shredded paper from various people this week. Every little bit helps save us some money on bedding. Thanks, Mom!

EastWind Pony Club news

We held a meeting of the EastWind Pony Club last Sunday (Mother's Day) at Dreamscape Acres. Everyone turned up, although Sam and Alex were late because they had family obligations earlier in the day.

While the parents and other associate members (volunteers) discussed T-shirts, logos, and colours, as well as planned the program for the next little while, the members worked on their first badge: Equine Arts and Crafts. Miella, Sam and Alex all completed the Equine Arts and Crafts badge. Natasha helped the younger members and our members-in-training (Michael and Shayleen - both a couple of years too young for Pony Club, but eager to become members) when they needed a hand with cutting or glueing.

Our T-shirts will be royal blue with the EastWind Pony Club logo on the back in pink and blue. Once we have a T-shirt completed, we'll post a picture.

Susan provided Mylar to make the stencils and Jennifer (Miella's mom) volunteered her stencil burner to cut the stencils. We plan to use spray fabric paint from Michael's (the arts and crafts store) to make our T-shirts since we don't have enough members to warrant paying a set-up charge and buying a minimum order of shirts yet.

We'd thought about going for a ride, but the weather was a bit uncooperative.

Our branch is participating in the "Ride for 75" as part of Canadian Pony Club's 75th anniversary celebrations. All of the riding that all of our members and associate members (volunteers) do outside of a riding ring or arena counts towards the total for our club. That means that if you ride around the track, on the trails or on the road, it all counts. If you practice outside in an unfenced area in preparation for a cross country competition, that counts, too!

Please send a note to our DC, Susan (sneakypony@yahoo.com) with your riding kilometres regularly so that we can add them to the total.

If we send in at least 100 km ridden by our members and associates, the branch will receive a certificate. The top 10 branches in Canada are listed on the Canadian Pony Club website and updated regularly. The branch with the highest total kilometres ridden will be announced at the banquet and will receive a special award.

Since the other branches started accumulating their kilometres last summer, it's unlikely that we'll make it to the top, but we might as well have fun trying!

By participating in the Ride for 75, members can earn a special badge commemorating the 75th anniversary of Pony Club in Canada.

Natasha and Coconut are off this weekend to compete in the St. Lawrence-Ottawa Valley D Rally and Testing. I'm going as a chaperone, instructor and tester. I have really good memories of the D Rally when it was held at Maxville Fairgrounds when I was a member, so I'm really looking forward to this one. Rally is now held at the Rideau Carleton Raceway, so it'll be a new experience for both of us.

Natasha is on a team with three riders from Ottawa Valley Hunt Pony Club. There are stable management competitions, riding lessons, stable management lessons, and on Monday, testing. Natasha plans to do her D2 test - as it's her first year in Pony Club, she can chose the level for her first test. She did really well on the written portion of the tests.

Spring news!

April is underway, the grass has started to grow, and Beauty's baby is due any time now. Her due date was Easter Sunday, April 12, but we're still waiting...


Beauty stays inside her stall most of the time, but likes to go out for short walks and loves to be groomed. There are a lot of places that she can't scratch right now!


Mom came out with chocolate and other treats and then cooked the turkey (and all the fixings) for Easter dinner on Sunday. It was yummy! Thanks, Mom!


We made turkey pot pie with some of the leftovers last night and it turned out great. We all enjoyed it.


Mom knitted Natasha a cool sweater in her favorite colours as an Easter surprise.
Natasha loves it! She doesn't want to wear it in the barn because it might get dirty. (It's all acrylic yarn, so it's machine wash, machine dry.) It fits her perfectly, too.


On Saturday, I went to the Galetta auction with Lori, Laura, and Natasha. I didn't take the trailer as we're trying to downsize rather than acquire more horses, but I still bought one more. I couldn't let him go to the dealers or the meat man - he's S'Heir's half brother and looks just like her. What a cutie.


He's a little on the thin side, but very sweet and well mannered on the ground. He's also lightly started under saddle. Natasha will try him out later this week.


He's by The Royal Heir (S'Heir's sire) out of a grade pony mare. He's registered as a half Arab, too.


His barn name is Cedar (and he knows it well), but we're going to call him D'Heir to Dream. He's available for adoption now to an approved home for only $600, but his price will go up as his training progresses.


We also added another horse to the stable. In the riding ring, we have Drifter, a Paint cross gelding that is here for training. Natasha is working with him on the lunge line and under saddle. He's had a saddle on and has been led around with a rider on his back, but that's about it.


Drifter is for sale by his owner, Julie, for $3000.


Natasha is joining 4H and has a calf for her summer project. Panda is her newest addition - and Natasha feeds her 3-4 times a day with the bottle. She's a hungry little heifer!


We decided to let the chickens keep some of their eggs and brood them. Right now, the hens have about 10 eggs that they're brooding. Chicks take about 21 days to hatch, so if the eggs are fertile, we should have some chicks around the end of April/beginning of May. The hens seem to be quite diligent about keeping the eggs warm and protecting them, so we're hopeful that at least some of them will hatch.


We found out that Classy (Classy Bingo Bar) has a new foal on the ground this year. Her owner sent us pictures of her - she's a darling little filly!



We're looking forward to foals of our own next year by Classy.





East Wind Pony Club news



We have two new members, Sam and Alex! That brings us up to four. We'd love to have more members, so if you're interested, please let us know.

Catching up - it's the end of February already!

It's been a busy few weeks since my last post.


We had a Valentines party on Sunday, February 15th combined with a contest to determine the winning logo for our new branch of the Pony Club. All of the Valentines party attendees had a chance to cast their vote for one of the logos entered by Sunday afternoon.


We had four submissions to choose from:






All were carefully thought out and drawn, either on the computer or by hand, and every one got at least one vote.



The winning logo was submitted by Jennifer S. Her daughter will be joining the Eastwind Pony Club in March.


Jennifer coloured the pony dark blue grey (in honour of Sneakers, perhaps?) on the printed copy that she submitted for the contest, but we could pick another colour if the members feel strongly about it. The font is called Jokerman - I'll look for it online and if I can find a free version, we can use it for letterhead and thank you notes (for clinicians and volunteers).

Thank you to everyone who participated by either submitting a logo or voting!

Natasha created a great themed costume for Dash with lots of hearts. He looked absolutely adorable in his flashy multicoloured halter and the heart covered breast plate.




Natasha took Miella out for a ride on Dash in the field.



Natasha later helped Alex saddle up Reba to ride and took her out for a stroll, too.



It was too icy to go very fast or very far, but I know Miella and Alex appreciated the opportunity to ride a little bit.

Thanks, Natasha! You're a big help and a good sport!


Farrier

Our farrier (Yvan Roy) came out on Tuesday, February 17 and trimmed some of the horses. Serge held Malachi and Kane (Katherine and Michael's horses) out in the field and both of them were very good. Neither of them like to come in the barn for a trimming, and Yvan is happy to accommodate them.

Cinder and Finnigan had their feet trimmed, too. Both of them were well behaved.




Arrivals and departures

Scrappy left for Petawawa on Saturday, February 21. I hope that Amelia and Scrappy enjoy their new homes!





Two new horses, Gwen and Neala, a 9-12 year old mare and her 6 month old filly, arrived shortly after Scrappy left. They were rescued from a neglectful situation by Laura W. and her mom. They plan to continue to sponsor them and work with them this summer.



Gwen is a bit thin, but has already put on weight since she arrived. Neala had never been handled - she's wearing her first ever halter now! Gwen likes people, and especially enjoys treats. Neala needs some regular handling to teach her how to behave around people. She's very curious, though, so we hope she'll learn quickly.

Neither was sure how to drink water from a bucket - there was no water in the field that they lived in previously - but they figured it out pretty quickly. Both need work on their feet and a full course of innoculations (Jeff, the vet, will be out next week). Gwen and Neala's feet are way too long and Gwen has "skis" because her toes are so long.

Neala is available for adoption for $300.




Announcements


Happy birthday to Jasper! He's a whole year old now - maybe he'll finally stop growing!

Spook (Cool Blue Dreams) turned 2, too! He's really grown in the last year and doesn't look like a baby anymore!




Upcoming events


March brings us St. Patrick's Day and hopefully the start of spring. The vet will be out later this month to start doing shots and Coggins, so please let us know if you want a Coggins or think your horse(s) need their teeth floated or anything else.


The vet checked Beauty and confirmed that she's carrying a healthy foal. She's due around April 12, 2009. He checked Cinder, too, and thinks her foal is due in July.


We're planning an event on Sunday, March 22 to celebrate everything green! Look for more details here soon. Hopefully everyone will be back from their March break vacations by then.

(Note from Susan: Elly's birthday is on March 17, so we can celebrate that, too. :) Sssshh! It's a secret for now.)


Natasha, Mom and I attended the second of six lectures put on by the Ottawa Valley Large Animal Clinic (OVLAC) at Kemptville College last night. Last night's lecture was all about breeding and gave us all a lot of useful information. Next week's lecture is all about parasites.