The Delaware Classic this year was one of the smallest ever. There were only about 1/5th of the horses that are usually there, the extreme heat and big bugs discouraging anyone who actually showed up from having TOO much fun in the heat. Surprisingly enough, we were still able to make $18,000 at this fundraiser... thanks to all of you who "rallied" for the horses yet again! Wander was adopted, and Pontiac is still looking for his forever home. It was quite a shocker that no on e wanted him, but then again, he IS a paint, and hunters aren't usually too fond of the "colorful" guys. Not to worry, he will find his forever home, no problem! With a personality like his, what's not to love?
On another note, our next newsletter will hopefully be out by this Thanksgiving. This means that we should start... umm... LAST month. With all that there is to do around here, "that dang newsletter" always seems to get shoved back and postponed, until we are all here at the farm proofreading in between cleaning stalls and typing and editing until 2 in the morning. Procrastinators we are. Soooo, in an effort to have our stuff somewhat "together" by the time that our actual deadline rolls around, we are starting NOW. Well, we are trying to. This is where we need YOU. If you have adopted a horse or foal from us, PLEASE send us a picture of them doing something fun with you. If you want to write a short paragraph about your horse and what they mean to you, etc, that would be great too... and we will publish it in the newsletter!
Before and after pictures of our nurse mare foals are ALWAYS welcome... it's amazing how nice those cutie pies turn out! You would be surprised how many people come to the farm and say they don't want to adopt because they want to breed their {insert common breed here} mare this year for that "dream baby" they've always wanted. They don't want a "throw away" foal that doesn't have papers. We tell them "well, we can MAKE papers... if that's what you are really shopping for, haha". People don't understand that PAPERS do NOT make the horse. We have seen horses with papers that we wouldn't want to breed for ANYTHING, and have seen other grade horses that are just DROP DEAD gorgeous. We do try to convert these people, though, and with your help sometimes we do- and sometimes even find a home for a baby. I have brought out pictures countless times of YOUR babies all grown up to show these people that YES, these nurse mare foals ARE nice! If you have sent us an "after" picture, I have probably used your baby as an example!
So look at it this way, you are not only getting to show your baby off, but you are educating the public about nurse mare foals and how wonderful they CAN be, and in come cases, you might even be preventing another foal from being born.
Oh, and as a "horsie" public service announcement, it's HOT HOT HOT now and the BIG horse flies are out. If YOU wouldn't want to stand in the sun all day with big bugs attacking you, please don't make your horse do it. Make sure that your horse has shade during ALL hours of the day, and if your pasture is in the sun for a few hours, bring 'em in! I know that most horse sprays DON'T take care of the big bugs, but we found that Pyranha fly spray works for most of them. As you are filling your horse's water trough (with cool, clean water... even if it's clear, stick your hand in it to make sure that it is not too warm... that's just gross), spray your horses. Our horses mob us while we are filling the tubs here because they know they get a "cool down". Remember, they may be horses, but they like a cold shower as much as YOU do! I throw some ice cubes in their grain too... It gives them a cool quick treat to munch on as they are having breakfast or dinner.
OK, that's my preaching for the day, if you haven't been checking out our YouTube videos, it's something cute and lighthearted to do, and is well worth your time (yes, even if you have dial-up). So sit down and check them out!
PS. Someone is posting advertisements with tons of links that send you to Asian sites... DO NOT click on these links, because I do not know if there are viruses attached... so watch out. I have asked whoever it is to stop, and right now, I have just been deleting the comments. So please ignore them... Thanks, and sorry for the "blog clutter"!!!
Happy Trails!
Rachel
Last Chance Corral
