About Me
Hello there to everyone in the horse world! I have grown up with horses (except for part of my college years) and will hopefully have them when I leave this earth! Right now, our farm has 4 horses that we own. Each horse has been born right here on the place. Thank goodness for talented, quality mares! Three of my five were born from a beautiful black mare that we put down two Christmases ago because of severe arthritis in her knee. It was the hardest thing to do in all of my life's story so far. I still find my self looking for her (the boss mare) in the pasture.
We have one 9 year old gelding (Zip) who is kinda the mascot and does a lot of different disciplines. His forte' is reining, but he can look darned good in a halter class and he runs a mean pole bending time and has never knocked a pole or barrel. Oh yea, he will go nice and collected in hunter under saddle and w. pleasure. In the past five years, he has been either Grand or Reserve Champion overall [depending on what surgery I've had] in our local horse show club earning points in every class. He also keeps out deer, coyotes, fox, raccoons, stray dogs and the like, out of our pasture. He has 100% access to his stall in the barn, but gets to be a horse out on pasture too which is nice. He likes all of our animals, but seems to know that when strays don't belong here that he is to chase them back out of the pasture. He can open and shut barn doors, stall doors, pouts with his lip if he is reprimanded and eats out on the lawn often (nice months, but not in the winter) and when he is finished, he stands by the steps to our home, so we can open the gate and let him back in the pasture. He became the boss horse when his dam was put to sleep. Zip (Zippos High Caliber) has AQHA points in reining and halter with very limited showing. He placed in a reining futurity and once pulled out a Grand Champion overall in Stallions at halter when he was 3). He is now the horse that any kid who comes out chooses to ride and he has given many young kids a chance to win in the show ring or go on over night trail rides or cattle drives. He has team penned, worked cattle, is a nice dressage-type mover, and all-around awesome trail horse. I "once" got him to canter in place :o) Oh to be more dedicated! My heart broke August 1st 2009 as we laid our beautiful Zip to rest beside his beloved mother. This drought and dust was too much and he had an asthma attack. The sadness I feel is overwhelming at times. This has now become the saddest thing to happen in my life with horses :o(
Zip's kid sister is a black two year old filly that is just like him only she moves like a dancer - very elegant with the most beautiful stride. She has Dynamic Deluxe bloodlines along with Two Eyed Jack, Boston Mac, Impressive Sheik, and other big names. She has been ponied through fields, is used to birds, streams, baths, loading, and pretty much everything that goes around the farm. She is started and was in her first show just this September where she placed 4th of 10 in an open western pleasure class. It was a good first show for her. She is my "DREAM" filly to replace her mother. If I had the money, I would send both her and her 1/2 brother to the trainers, but I will start her myself and keep it slow and try to bring her out in her 3 year old year to show. We saddled and got on her February 14 and she was a honey and walked around with the rider with no problem. She's a DREAM GIRL!
Our two year old gelding is quite the guy! He is athletic and gorgeous and loves to be worked with. He also has Dynamic Deluxe bloodlines and has a World Champion granddaddy [Zippo Can Do] with a grand mom who had 264 AQHA point on her especially in HUS. He has also been ponied as the above filly has. Our goal is to get him started later this year (he carries a saddle well and we have been up on him) .We are excited about what this athletic horse CAN DO. He is always looking for attention and will be the first one to meet you. He LOVES to be brushed and scratched and spend time with people. He is one horse that we might have to sell to buy hay around here, but it will be hard to let him go.
Zippos Milady Can Do is the mommy of the above stallion and just curerntly won a showmanship class with one of our foster daughters. She placed very well in all of the classes at our last horseshow. We even barrel raced and pole bended her and she can kick er down when she needs too! An equine facility is leased her for the 08-09 winter so that students could ride her and she was being shown in IHSA college shows. She won a class at the last show I attended :o) Her daddy is world champion Zippo Can Do and her mommy has 264 points on her in mostly youth and amateur classes. We nicknamed her Peanut because she was a little early when she was born and was so small :o). She is kind of the color of Peanut Butter also! Nothing bothers Peanut on the trail - even deer jumping right up in front of her. My sister wants to buy her, but we do like her here for riding!
An Awesome Principal is our gelding that anyone can ride. He comes from a Texas stallion named "Prinnziple" who is Incentive Fund nominated as well as NSBA. He is known for his very smooth stride and easy going attitude. He is also our biggest horse and it is quite a feat to get on him. He is the only one that we jump and he seems to like it. Awesome is also at an equestrian college giving students the chance to ride a very nice moving young horse. He was just in his first IHSA College show this November. We had big dreams for Awesome, but when he was two, he really tore up his back legs in a snow-related accident and so he has scar tissue so the legs aren't clean. However, it isn't real noticeable, doesn't affect his movement at all, and he makes a great open/4-H horse that everyone loves to ride. Awesome had pheasants fly right up and hit him in the face this summer and he didn't flinch. I was sure that I was going to get dumped. I was proud of him! :o)
Well, these are stories about those lovable horses. I am a mom of one son (13), a special education worker and married. We live in a beautiful spot of the world, but in the winter, it is downright miserable. However, we always have a white Christmas! :o) May you always ride a good horse!! Shelley
Western
Reining
Pleasure
Trail
Halter
Halter Showmanship
Freestyle
Western Riding
English
Hunter / Jumper
Dressage
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