End of January

Time flies when you're busy!



Butterscotch



Kathy and Donna



We have a new pony: Butterscotch. She arrived on Friday. She's a half Arab, about 26 years old. She needs her teeth floated and her feet done, and lots of loving. Kathy D. has offered to sponsor her as well as Donna - thank you very much!


Peanut (Rock My Dreams) is sold. He's leaving today. He's moving to the farm behind us to be a friend for a 3 year old boy. They're looking for a companion for Peanut, too. Pebbles (Dreaming of Chocolate) is going there for a few days to help Peanut settle in. Peanut and Pebbles went to Peanut's new home in the back of the mini van. Talk about riding in style!

The girls came out to ride this week - they're done their exams for now. Back to school again on Monday, but we really enjoyed their company (and all the work that they do) this week!

We had great news about Silver. The woman who owns him has confirmed that she believes the horse in our photos is her stallion and is willing to sell us his papers. All we're waiting for now is confirmation from the DNA registry that he is CW's Totally Silver, and then we'll be able to market him as a purebred Morgan stud. He's such a sweet stallion! I hope to get him ready to do Training level dressage this summer.

Delilah is being considered for a breeding lease. She's a Canadian Sport Horse approved broodmare, and we found someone who would like to lease her to get a nice Sport Horse foal. If things work out, she'll go live at their farm to be bred and only come back after her foal is weaned next year.

Serge is making great progress on the tack room. Soon, we'll have an enclosed room for tack storage. We used Air Miles to get Rona gift certificates to pay for a lot of the materials. If you don't already collect Air Miles and would like to collect them to help us purchase more materials for the farm, please let us know. Mom can order more cards with the same number so that they all accumulate in one account. If you have Air Miles that you would like to redeem for certificates to donate, we'd love that, too. 375 Air Miles can be redeemed for a $50 Rona gift certificate - and that can buy a lot of fence wire, isolators, or wood for stalls and the tack room.

Thank you to all Mom's friends who keep donating shredded paper! It saves us a lot of money on shavings, and composts really well in the manure pile.

The vet will be out for "teeth day" on Thursday. Several horses need their teeth checked or floated, and Beauty (Beautiful Dreamer) needs two extracted. Pebbles and Peanut may also be gelded that day - the vet will let us know if it's the right time.
The farrier was out last week to trim hooves. He did about half of the herd and will be back next month to do the rest.


EastWind Pony Club news

We're up to 5 members this year: Miella, Emma M., Kaitlyn, Christina and Daphne. We have a couple more people considering joining, and Emma H. and Dawn C. are still considering renewing. Four of our members have signed up for Winter Camp in March already.

We're practicing for Quiz now. Quiz is in April, and all of our members will compete at the "entry" level this year. Mom found some old Quiz tests and we'll work through them in our meetings, as well as practice possible games. We're also practicing parts of the bridle and saddle and Pony Club grooming.

January news

Serge rode Donna for the first time since she came to the farm!



We know Donna was broke sometime in the past, but she'd only been a broodmare for years before Sue B. bought her at the Galetta auction. Now that Candy has been weaned (and sold to Christine Allard), it's time to get Donna back into shape.

You can see by Serge's huge grin that he's thrilled to be on Reba's granddaughter, Donna.

The vet will be out sometime this month to do teeth. Silver, Beauty, and several others need regular dental work to deal with hooks and other issues. Regular dental check ups and care ensure that the horses and ponies can get all the nutrition out of their food that they can.

Our Pony Club, EastWind, has five members so far this year. We encourage all members to spread the word and see if we can add even more members. Dawn and Emma H. have not yet renewed their memberships, but we hope they decide to come back, too.

Winter Camp is coming up soon, and if you'd like to attend, you need to be a fully-paid up member (Pony Club and OEF).

Sad way to start the new year

We lost our dear little blue puppy, Jesse, on New Year's Day. He was out with us when we put out the horses, but for some reason, he ran to the road and was stuck by a passing vehicle.

We didn't see him get hit, and the driver didn't stop. We don't know why he ran on the road as Jasper stayed in the back with us. Serge found him on the side of the road, unconcious.

We rushed him to the Alta Vista Emergency Clinic on Bank St., but although they did their best to save him, his internal injuries were too severe for him to survive. He never regained conciousness, so we hope he never felt any pain.



I hope there are plenty of places to explore, chickens to herd. and cewy squeaky toys for you on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. You weren't with us for long, but you'll be in our hearts forever.

'Twas the night before Christmas...

We've had a wonderful year. So many people stepped up and helped out after our barn fire last December, and we'd like to thank you all again and again for all that you donated, shared and the care you gave our ponies and cows. Thank you, too, to all the volunteers who come and help on the farm - you make our lives much easier and give so much to the ponies and horses.



The barn is up, with 6 big (14 x 14') box stalls and 4 standing stalls, a partly completed tack room, and hay storage. Our cows, horses and ponies are all home again, too. Fences up, some with new gates, and our riding ring has some tile draining and a lot of new sand. There's a hydrant in the tack room, too, so we don't have to worry about the pipe freezing anymore.



Toro the bull came to visit for a while. We hope to have calves out of Aggie and Cooba again next summer. T-Bone and Lunch are growing well and should be ready for the freezer right around the time the cows calve again. Toro left a week ago - off to his new home with a pasture full of cows.



Dreamer (Dreaming of Willie), Annabelle and Daisy have gone to new homes. We added one new horse, CW's Totally Silver (aka Silver), a stunning silver Morgan stallion. He's broke to ride and lovely to handle. He came from the Galetta auction, and with a bit of sleuthing by mom and me on the internet, we managed to figure out his story and find the owner who holds his papers. We hope to have him inspected as a Canadian Sport Pony next year.



We also added a puppy to our menagerie: Jesse. He's a "Texas Heeler", but looks more like his dad, an Australian Cattle Dog. Jasper seems to be pretty happy with the new addition, but Stripe is not impressed by the additional competition for couch space. Jesse likes to herd the chickens round and round in circles - we'll have to find him some work to do (agility, maybe?) when he's a little older.



Two weeks ago in a snow storm, I found a black Labrador male dog in my driveway wearing a brand new collar with no tags. We named him Max and posted Found notices all over the neighbourhood, on Facebook, and in the Citizen. We also notified all the vets in the area (had him scanned for a microchip) and talked to all the neighbours. Since we couldn't find his owners, Susan B. has agreed to foster him until the 30-day wait period for adoptions is up. Once that's past, she'll adopt him and have him neutered. She's already taken him into her heart and home - and to the vet for a rabies shot. His new name is Samson (Sam for short) and I'm sure he'll be a regular visitor out to the farm.



We plan to participate in the International Spotted Horse Registry's All Breed Open Online Photo Competiton next year with as many of our horses and ponies as possible. It's open to both ISHR registered equines and those that are not, both patterned and solid. Check it out here: ISHR.



We're also looking forward to SummerFest Breeders Show next year - and hoping to bring Beauty's offspring to show again. We may bring a whole bunch: Beauty, Breezy, Firecracker, Spot (gelded now), Pebbles, the 2011 foal, Peanut, Silver, Jasmine and Spook, so the more helping hands we have, the better. Depending on how they do, we may even fill our own trailer to go to the Royal Winter Fair. I'm planning to show in dressage again, and may show Silver as well as Porto.



Mom gave me my Equine Canada, Dressage Canada and ParaEquestrian memberships for Christmas, so I'm nearly all set to show. Still need my Eastern Ontario Paint Horse Club, Federation Equestre du Quebec, and perhaps my CADORA and OADG memberships, but I'll get those one at a time. Now I have to start learning the new dressage tests for 2011.

That's it for tonight folks, time to get to bed so Santa can come. I'll add photos tomorrow.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Spook-tacular Success!

Despite the snow and chilly temperatures, Spook-tacular 2010 was a success!

There were little children with parents leading their ponies, children leading ponies, and adults leading ponies. Parents helped out wherever they could and watched the others lead and ride through the classes.

The mucky footing meant that we shortened the show again and skipped a number of classes, like the obstacle course and the jumping, but everyone seemed to have fun and win a ribbon or two.

The $500 in sand delivered and spread in the week before the show made the ring usable, but wet. Good thing we put the weeping tile in in the spring!

Heather Swan of Liberty Shots came and took photos. She's put a sampling up on Facebook already, but will soon post a gallery of photos for participants to purchase on her site.



Every participant received a green lunch bag, courtesy of Corbeil Appliances in the Pinecrest Shopping Centre. Thank you for your generous donation of bags and prizes!


Even Jasper got into the spirit of the day - he wore his wings all day long without a complaint.



Chilly spectators and competitors wrapped up warmly to watch the show!




Christine Allard, of Forever Green Stables in Glen Robertson, was our judge again this year. She brought along a couple of competitors to join the classes. Thank you, Christine! Maybe it'll be warmer next year?



Miella rode Leo and won the Junior High Point Championship! Congratulations, Miella!

Jennifer S. (Miella's mom) rode her horse, Leo, and won the High Point Adult Championship! Congratulations, Jennifer!

Miella and Jennifer each received a bag of swag to go with their championship ribbons, including items donated by Corbeil Appliances.

Patricia C.'s students rode Sneakers and several other horses and ponies, and the teenage volunteers (Daphne, Talia, Christina, and Mel) helped out whenever they could as well by holding ponies, moving props, manning the gate and keeping an eye on the kids between rides.

Serge rode Spook (Cool Blue Dream) - it was only the 2nd or 3rd time anyone had been on his back, but Spook took it all in stride. He even had one of the equitherapy kids on him because he was so quiet! Good boy, Spook! (Don't anyone tell him he's a stallion - we like him this way!)

Sue B. came out to help with Otis. She graciously lent him to the equitherapy students for the day.

There were costumes - Miella and Jennifer S. dressed Leo up as a sheep!

Patricia and Crooked Pete were hula dancers.

Mom dressed Miss Daisy as a clown.

Mom made six quarts of chili for lunch and it, along with a big bag of rolls, disappeared quickly when everyone came inside for ribbon presentations and lunch.

There was a cake (thanks, Mom!)

And lots of ribbons! (Mom made these ones just for our show.)

Pony Club meeting today

The EastWind Pony Club will meet at 1 pm today. If you're interested in being a member, and you are between the ages of 6 and 25, come on by for more information.


SPOOKTACULAR FUN SHOW
Our 2nd annual Spooktacular Fun Show is next Sunday, October 31, 2010. Classes start at leadline and go up to the level of the entered riders. The day ends with a costume class with both child and adult divisions. Entry fees help support the horse rescue and pay a few bills.

For more information or an entry form, email Eleanor at dreamscapeacres@yahoo.ca or Susan at sneakypony@yahoo.com. Entries must be received by Saturday, October 30 so we can figure out the timing for lunch.

Lunch is a good deal. $5 gets you a bowl of homemade chili, roll, dessert, coffee or tea.

Prizes, ribbons, treat bags for people and ponies - this show has it all! Come on out and have fun!

Show photography by Heather Swan of Liberty Shots.

Random bits and pieces - more catching up

Spot is now gelded, but Beauty managed to let him into the mares' paddock. She's now confirmed in foal to Spot My Dream for 2011. Hopefully this foal will be as wonderful as Pebbles. We hope to actually be able to choose Beauty's next foal's father next year: she and her new foal will be in the round pen (jail) to make sure.

Shawn was gelded at the same time as Spot, and when he was weaned, he was traded to Christine Allard of Forever Green Stables for a cute pony mare named Jasmine. Jasmine is a medium pony.

Lori showed Cool Blue Dream (Spook) at Paint O Rama again this year. He won his 3 year old Stallion class and placed in the Overo class. He also won the High Point Stallion trophy for the Eastern Ontario Paint Horse Club again this year, and added the High Point Overo trophy.

Toro is back - he's bigger than he was last year!

Aggie and Lunch in the shed.

The paddock beside the barn is now fenced and has a new electric fence charger. The cows are in there with Toro the bull. Toro fathered two bull calves this year: Aggie has Lunch, and Cooba has T-Bone. Both are now steers - the elastrator made sure of that. Next year we hope to have two more calves - and more beef for the freezer.

Mom bought a harness for Spot at Lachute. He hitches beautifully, and now that he's fully healed from being gelded, seems to have found his brain. He's a very sensible pony now and can often be found mowing the grass on the dog tie behind the house.

Forever Porto is now my horse. Christine Allard of Forever Green Stables found sponsors to buy him for me. Many thanks to Jacques and Serge Buy, and Larry Rivet for their kind gift! It was such a surprise - and many tears of joy were shed that day. Porto now lives at Dreamscape Acres - and now that this year's show season is over, his shoes are coming off so he can relax.

Porto and I went to Les Jeux Equestre du Quebec in Bromont. Mom came along for moral support and took a few pictures. We didn't do as well as we hoped, but it was an experience to ride in the Olympic Horse Park.

The team from Forever Green Stables did well - Fancy Pants showed in Dressage and Cross Country as well as in the Kur. We were very proud of Mariepier and Fancy Pants!

I rode in the AERSO shows this summer at Forever Green and St. Lazare (Equetrans) in Training and First Level dressage with Forever Porto, and won the gold medal in Training level, as well as the trophy for High Average Dressage Score. Both trophies were presented at the banquet in Dollard des Ormeaux. Thank you, Christine, for all the encouragement and coaching - and for ensuring that Porto became my horse. Without you, none of this would have happened.

Pebbles and Anabelle went to Elisha's place to be weaned in September. Pebbles will be going to the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto in November, so Elisha is working with him so that he'll behave appropriately at the show. We'll trailer down with other horses on Friday, stay the weekend and show Pebbles in his class on Sunday morning.

Peanut went to his new home last Sunday. He'll be living in Mountain with Julie and her boys.

We took Sneakers with us, along with the cart, and had a great afternoon driving around Julie’s farm and giving her boys a ride or two.

Candy (Donna's foal) will also be leaving for her new home soon - Susan B traded her to Christine for lessons.

Susan B bought a new horse. He's a Canadian and his name is Twist. He has a bent ear (he had a hematoma in it a long time ago).

Patricia C. bought another Canadian. His name is Crooked Pete. He'll be used for hippo-therapy for the kids once he's trained. He had an injury to his right front leg as a young horse and it's crooked, but it doesn't slow him down at all

Both Twist and Pete have made themselves quite at home!

Sad news: Reba (My Jet Star) died on Sunday, October 11, 2010. She had congestive heart failure. She was 38 years old - a good age for a Paint. She'll be missed, especially by Serge. Reba was definitely Serge's horse - she loved him and he loved her. She'll be forever in our hearts. Rest in peace, Reba.

I'm sure I've missed something, but when I remember, I'll add it to the next post.