I have returned from the great abyss of Florida!!! ..... OK, not such a great abyss, but you know what I mean. It was like I fell off the face of the Earth!! For those of your who asked, yes, it was great.. a lot of work, a lot of really cool people, and a lot of reeeeaaallly nice horses...
So, how are things at the LCC you ask? Fantastic! As always. :D
The foals are actually doing quite well. We are on foal 24. Last year, foal 24 arrived on February 21st, and on March 3rd, we were on foals 34 and 35! I suppose that kind of puts things in perspective for you, adoption-wise. Adoptions are definitely down. The good news is all foals thus far are quite healthy! The two who arrived yesterday are very young, but they are both drinking well and look quite alert. The little chestnut is a pistol...
We have been debating which foals to take to Equine Affaire. We usually choose early in the season so they can hang out here for a little bit and not be so susceptible when we take them to EA. There are so many strange horses there! We usually end up taking four quite flashy foals, but the last few years we have all wanted to take a very nice bay or chestnut as well. What do you guys think? Do you think a very nicely made bay or chestnut TB or warmblood will bring as much interest (and funds) as a flashy colored foal?
Otis, Polar, Amber, and Alibi were all adopted by a friend of Victoria's who runs a barn where a lot of 4-Her's hang out. She works with them for a while and finds them appropriate homes, usually with 4-H kids who will give them tons of love. They're all doing well, so I hear. Isaac was adopted by another friend of Vic's, to be a safe trail horse. Today, Burly is adopted by a very nice couple, close by in Coolville. They are Parelli fans, and they were so impressed by Burly. They debated all week and finally decided to purchase him. They are even going to donate some western saddles to our store! We are always short on western saddles, the 4-Hers clear us out every year.
The four starving TBs did finally arrive at our farm. They are in sorry condition. They are all starting to gain, and these are just the nicest, sweetest Thoroughbreds. It is so exciting to know they will all get a chance at a real life! Hopefully with someone who drowns them in love DAILY! If you have our recent newsletters, you may remember the story of Moon, a very skinny TB who was adopted to be rehabbed as a therapy horse. Wait until you see them now!! His adopter was here today and she had some photos on her cell phone of him. He looks spectacular. She promised to email them to me so I can share them with you. She brought two of her friends who are looking for a horse in need that they can also rehab and train as therapy horses. How awesome is that!! They looked at all four TBs and I'll keep you updated once I hear what they decide. It would be a wonderful chance for these guys. If they end up looking as good as Moon does, I'll sure be happy!
We are positively overflowing with really high quality horses right now. We have Jack, an 8 year old QH who is picture perfect and quiet as they come; Journey, a big TB with potential oozing out of every pore; Captain, the only known HERDA horse living a normal life (he's a reiner!); Valentine, a stunning little QH who is a fantastic little all-rounder; and then there are two more who arrived today, a TB mare and a nice pony gelding! Plus, there are the TBs, who have to gain weight before we'll know their true status.
Victoria put in another milk order for the babies today... that's $4,000! Ouch. But, anything for the babies, right? If you've never seen us make milk, it's kind of entertaining. We usually make 4-6 5 gallon buckets at a time. It takes one large container of vanilla yogurt per bucket. (Our whole fridge is stuffed to the gills with yogurt!) Then we add Probios and GUT for digestive health, a little baby cereal for bulk, and three scoops of powdered milk product. Wisk it all together with lukewarm water and you're a foal's best friend! Our milk product is specially made for us by Merrill, and it's called LCC Mare's Milk. How about that? Of course, nothing is as fun as making charcoal paste for diarrhea..... as our volunteers from Otterbein can attest!
I will try my best to keep this blog running until I ship out in April! We have to nominate someone else to take it over... hehehe.
Have a happy Monday!
2 comments:
I think 3 colored and one nice solid bay or chestnut sounds like a good foal mix to me. I am leasing one of the foals (he is almost 5 now) and he is a crazy color, which normally would turn me away from a horse...but his owner loves it. I think showing people you do have some "normal" colors in there helps, but I am sure a lot of people want something that will stand out. Keep up the good work.
Yay! Welcome home Lauren! What about sending #9 filly to the EA? She has the cutest blaze and stockings, its like she's all dressed up with no place to go! I think having foals of different ages will show people how fantastic they look as they grow up.
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