Bye, Bye to My Black Beauty

The final sale in the purge of our herd will mark number 8...Ebony is a mare that I bought in 2007 and was in foal to my 2 yr old filly Ellie that we sadly sold a couple of weeks ago... Ebony was originally purchased with intention of her being DD's horse but being in foal D obviously didn't ride her for very long then she was off after she had Ellie so by the time she was ready to be ridden D had such a strong bond with Pete that her and Ebony just didn't click!




Ebony is a very particular horse, she is picky about everything in her life! What I have found with her is you either hate her or you love her and vice versa, she either hates you or she loves you! When we sent her to a friends for her tune up last summer they fell in love with her and she was a perfect angel while she was there! After we took her home she did great for a little while but she is a horse that requires being ridden every day!! But with my back and 14 horses we hardly had the time to devote to her. When we purchased Krissy a few weeks ago it was part of our plan to sell Ebony along with the others, but her sale was going to be a bit more difficult as we were asking more for her and she also requires a more experienced rider who has time everyday to devote to her.





So last week the Q's came out and had every intention of focusing on Ebony as they had been checking her out on my website. We had taken her back to our friends as he was riding her everyday and we were pondering the idea of a possible trade out with him for Ebony because he and his daughter LOVE her!! So we showed up with Pete and the minute I got out of the truck I could see her in the stall about to come unglued! She was pacing in circles whinnying like crazy! But we took Pete and Krissy into the arena and left her till the Q's got there and when we went to bring her in she was SOAKED!! I thought it had been down-pouring outside by the looks of her! But no, no rain...It was sweat! She had herself all worked up! So we got her saddled and rode and she was doing good, so buyer Q decided he wanted to try and ride her and instantly she froze...Wouldn't move, being absolutely stubborn! I could not believe her!! Our friend was talking to Q and coaching him through what to do to get her to go and everytime it worked but he had to work at it for a minute...I was SO annoyed with her behavior, this is why we don't get along! I don't want to deal with a horse that is this finicky!! So Mike (the trainer) gets on her and gives her a good attitude check and of course she rides out perfectly smooth! Buyer Q gets back on her and dead-lock! So obviously they then rode Pete and realized he was the polar opposite of Ebony and then decided Pete was the horse for them!





After the Q's left we were chatting with Mike and he said he could not believe how Ebony was acting he had never seen that out of her and I told him well that's how she is at home! Very stubborn and an out right chore to ride! He said he felt it from the moment we pulled Pete out of the trailer that she was being buddy sour, it was funny for him to say this because I have never thought Ebony to be "barn sour" but yep buddy sour she was!! So Mike finally got to witness the side of her that we've been explaining LOL!







The next day we had a gal and her husband come out to ride Ebony and this lady too loved the way she looked, she has a 3 yr old gelding that she's been riding and I guess he's not what she's wanting hence her horse shopping. So she got on Ebony and there was a slight moment of hesitation on Ebony's part then she rode out perfectly fine! This lady rode her for about 1/2 an hour and never had another issue with her at all! Of course Pete was not there...So she came back again the next day and rode her some more and decided YEP that's the horse she wanted! So Ebony will be going to her new home soon! She is still at our friend's while the new owner gets her other horse sold as she boards and it's outrageous to pay for more than 1 at a stable.

Pete is Officially NOT Ours Anymore....

Tuesday was the day for taking Pete in to get vet checked by the "prospective new owners", we arrived at the clinic with Pete and first he got his physical exam which the vet said he passed with flying colors!! He tested his range of flexibility in his legs and it was very good for a horse of his age, his hooves are in great condition he was glad to see that Pete was bare and does really well natural. He said his only issue with his hooves were that the sole was slightly on the thin side but pretty much right on with his 16 years of age. Upon checking his teeth he said they too were in good shape but said that his very back teeth were starting to form a point (which we knew but our Vet didn't see it necessary to float his teeth at the time we had them checked) so the Vet told them that he could float them and just nip it in the bud from the start which they opted to do. They went ahead and had a Coggins pulled on him, and gave him all of his shots that he would have been due for in May.
















I was so proud of Pete today! Not that I was a bit surprised but he literally stood perfectly still and never balked at anything the Vet was doing! He even told the new owners that he seen NO need to sedate him to float his teeth, and he just grabbed him and filed away LOL!! Now Pete did raise his head up during this but he does tend to do that anytime you grab his mouth. The new owners talked to the Hubby about us keeping Pete for another week or two while they fix their fence. They live on 27 acres and have a creek running through and when it rains the creek swells which then causes issues with his fencing so he had taken a portion of it down to try and secure it better around the creek and is currently working on that. So they paid for Pete in full and we will keep him for a short time, which the Hubby was actually happy about because he wasn't quite ready to say bye to Pete yet.












As I stood at the Vet's office I just had this super sad feeling about Pete. It is so sad to me that here is this horse who I couldn't ask for better manners from but yet we are selling him! I know in my mind that we made the right choice as Pete is ready for a peaceful trail life and we can't give that to him... I do hope and pray that the Hubby will find another horse that he can love as much and can handle being given a job when necessary... One thing that I am absolutely sure of is Pete couldn't be going to a better place. As sweet LeAnna said God does care about the "little" things! She is SO right because I knew in my heart that Pete needed something better for him and I wondered if we would find that. So thank you God for sending the Q's to us!

The Hubby giving his boy some love....



I just love these soft eyes ;)



Thank you to all of you for your kind words through these trials with Pete and all of the wonderful advice and support!

Horses...A Little of This and That!!

About 3 weeks ago we made the decision to sell half of our horses. So here I am 3 weeks later and that half equaling 7 horses is now sold....Well I guess 1 is still in process of selling, that one would be Pete. He will go tomorrow for a vet check per request of a couple that wants to buy him (which he just had one by our vet mid February so he will pass with flying colors)!

Friday afternoon we met with a couple that was really interested in purchasing 2 horses but in particular wanted to look at Ebony. They came and rode both Ebony and Pete and figured out really quick that Ebony is a horse that requires total relaxation and a lot of experience as she will test you if she can get away with it.. The husband did a great job with her but it was not a match made in heaven that's for sure! Ebony is the kind of horse that you will either love to death or wish death upon her LOL...Just kidding...Well kind of, at least about the death part! But you might just hate her! She's got looks to kill and an attitude the size of Texas!

Test drive on Ebony....She's sure a beauty!!



So while the husband was riding Ebony the wife wanted to ride Pete so she did, and guess what?!....She LOVED him! She had her hubby ride him and he just loved him! So they wanted a little while to think on it and called a few hours later and laid their claim on him! Now of course you may be wondering about his issues and where he stands with them now. Pete has been with a friend of ours who runs/checks cattle on a daily basis and after approx 3 weeks riding him we have decided that Pete's main issue is when he is given a job he goes into over drive. When he is being ridden on trails for pleasure he is an absolute gentleman and when he is given the job of tracking a calf he does just that! And sometimes the ending result of that is purely him getting hot and wanting more.. SO we discussed with the couple buying him that he is NOT to ever be ridden for any eventing and really should never be used for anything but pleasure trails. Which is exactly what they want! I do want to throw in here that since pulling him from rodeo we removed his tie-down, the reason we put the tie down on him in the first place was his lack of response when checked and turning the barrel. After putting it on him he responded much better, but after taking a step back and looking at the situation we decided that for the most part the rearing was him fighting the tie-down. As since we have removed it he hasn't reacted in that manner, but he also hasn't been rodeo'd so it is what it is, right?! Also DD did ride him Saturday and I am really glad she did because after one trip around she was cheesin and he was happy! So I am glad that before he is gone she got one last ride to reaffirm their bond....The Hubby is a bit sad about losing his horse but he knows that Pete needs to be in a different environment so he accepts that.

My Hubby enjoying his last ride :(



Later the story on Ebony's sale...

Finally!! We have a new Rodeo horse!!

These last few weeks have been kind of long and never ending! Not in a bad way, just constantly busy! We have been spending time selling horses while also shopping for the new one. So one of our decisions in the process of selling one was to take DD's Black mare to TX and have her there to sell as there was a family interested in her (which we did not do because a family in a town near by ended up wanting her LOL). So on the trip the Hubby also planned to haul another horse to TX for his sister. So during our search for a new horse the Hubby happened to come across an ad at a very well known horse ranch in Whitesboro, TX called "Dynasty Equine" for a 7 yr old bay mare named "Harmony" that sounded pretty promising. So since we were already planning a trip down there we made an appt for last Friday afternoon.

So we left on our trek to TX early Friday morning and arrived at the ranch about 2 pm. The way they work is you tell them the horse you are interested in seeing and what your goal is for the horse you purchase, then they bring out a selection of horses that fit that criteria and the horse you originally inquired about. So we had 3 horses to look at, one was Harmony, one was Krissy, and a gelding (whose name I can't remember LOL). So after going over all of the horses we remembered having seen "Krissy" on the site and really liked her but she was out of the price range we wanted. So I inquired about that and they told me that the owner was willing to let her go for a better price. We spent some time with the horses and quickly determined Harmony was not a good fit for us as she was very standoffish and did not have a calmness to her. Krissy however did... She was beautifully built and OH SO SWEET!! SO we saddled her up and DD spent a couple of hours riding her and while riding her the trainer Amanda (who is a SUPER awesome girl) gave her tons of tips on some of her bad habits she picked up this last rodeo season.

So after some deliberation the decision was made! Krissy was going home with us!! Krissy is an 8 yr old sorrel mare 15h and is beautiful!! DD loves her and she is a super easy mare. She has been rodeo'd in many of the different events before and has a super disposition!

We had a pretty long ride back home and Krissy was a little stiff coming out of the trailer so the Hubby decided we would wait a few days before we start riding her!

This was their video with the ad online for Krissy

So Many Faces Gone in Such a Short Time!!

On this quest of ours to find DD the right horse we decided that part of what needed to happen was my herd needed to be cut. It's not something I wanted to do but it was definitely something I needed to do...I simply do not have the time needed for all of these precious animals who need more attention!! So the decision was made and the ad was put out for 5 of the horses to go. Plus an additional 1 will be leaving this weekend. I am not good at saying goodbye to the animals I love so I chose to not be a part of it and let the Hubby do all the wheeling and dealing and saying goodbye. He told me Sunday afternoon that he is glad I did not watch some certain ones leave as he knows how hard it already is for me :(

So these are the faces that no longer grace A&MD Ranch...

She's such a beauty Freckles...



Loud and proud Lacy



My sweet 2 year old Ellie...



Hubby's girl Macy



My angel Mya



Scheduled to leave this weekend is my DD's sweet Ebony...



Please excuse the *poo* :)

Well the Time Has Come to Sell a Few...

Some changes will be taking place around the Ranch here...After much thought and much talking the Hubby and I have decided it's time to sell a few horses ;( This is absolutely not something I was wanting to do at this point, however there are a few reasons why. When I broke my back 2 1/2 years ago I never thought I would still be having problems with it to this day...Well you know I just struggle with this constant pain and there isn't anything I can do about it. Working with horses requires physical strength that areas of my back do not have.

This summer I sent two 3 year old filly's to be broke and I sent DD's mare to get a tune up. After getting DD's mare back we just did not feel like she was right, I mean I rode her and she just didn't give the same attitude that she did when we bought her. We did figure out that she had a spot out in her back and 2 spots in her hip and also while the trainer had her they had her shod and they drove nails into the quick of her foot and then clipped them off at the surface!! My farrier had to do a bit of digging to get them out...The problem then came when Hubby wouldn't let me ride her in the open areas around here. I kind of just shrugged it off when he said it and I really didn't think it was a "real" concern. So we got one of the filly's back, Macy and when we got her she had that severe eye injury and she was off from riding for 45 days. Well when we saddled and rode her for the first time ourselves she was AWESOME!!! I mean this filly had approx. 40 rides on her and then spent all of that time off and was just very well behaved!! She will make a great horse for someone.. Then Mya, she is with a friend of mine who has worked off and on with her but due to his own time constraints and a couple of injury's himself she just does not have the progress that Macy has. Mya has only gotten about 10 rides put on her, I need to get her home and work with her myself (hence the problem) but she has good ground manners and I think she will break out nicely if she's worked with everyday. Then the last one is one of my yearlings Sissy, this little filly has got awesome blood lines but she really needs constant training something I just do not have time to do with all of my other ones.

So there you have it, that is the current group I'm selling. My Hubby finally confessed to me the other day that he just DOES NOT want me working with the horses at the breaking stage...He says I'm to fragile and I cannot afford to have another back injury or worse and not be here for the kids and him...Which I disagree with, I do not think I am fragile. I think I had an accident that has caused me some problems but they will either get worse or get better and sitting around doing nothing physical won't cure me!! But Hubby refuses to fix my facility for me to work these horses...So in trade I will continue to raise my babies and do all of the ground work with them up until breaking time which is what I have done for the last 2 years...And I will also be on the hunt for another well broke rodeo horse for my DD....Hubby talked with her about her mare and they decided she would be better as someone's everyday rider and not be exposed to the rodeo world. She is just the most loving horse with such a great temperament but she needs full attention something DD cannot do while helping me raise and work the other horses...

Feel free to check out my website here, you can see some of my other beauties :)

Ebony~



Macy~



Mya~



Sissy~