Thursday, July 18, 2013

Individual Horses and the Training Process

This last week has been a dream week for me. Princess (ZaVita SSF) and I have made major breakthroughs in our training process. We both seem to have figured out some things simultaneously, and, all of a sudden, I feel as if I'm on an international quality horse. Of course, since I refuse to be video-taped or look at myself in the mirror for more than a couple of quick glances, this feeling is probably colored by my own lack of experience and idealism--nonetheless, a "click" has happened and things are just coming together. Huge thanks to Jane Hannigan for putting up with me and believing in my horse and me. We certainly wouldn't be making the progress we are without Jane's constant input and talent. On the home front, we are fortunate to have Jasper Gaarenstroom with us for a couple months working our young horses and helping prep for the keuring. He and Michaela are in the barn by 7 am every morning working D'Orites SSF, Felicites SSF, Eliscia SSF, and Werites SSF. It's a complete thrill to be able to see five horses we bred working on a daily basis. After my two-year intensive with Princess, my appreciation for the training process and recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of each individual horse has never been so developed. It may be cliche' to say it, but the more you learn the more you know there is to learn. Fun times. I'm grateful for the people and horses in my life.

Faith Fessenden Will Be at the New England Keuring!

I'm delighted to announce that Faith will be at our keuring this year. Apple Lane Farm, Shooting Star Farm, and the New England breeders are joining together to sponsor her participation. The New England Keuring traditionally has one of the largest audiences of any keuring. Part of this is due to the focus we continually put on education. Faith will talk audience members and participants through the keuring process, explain linear scoring, expound on bloodlines, and take questions. Please join us at Apple Lane Farm, September 4th, for great horses and great conversation. For more information on directions, timing, or bringing groups, contact Dayna Gant, at dayna@applelanefarm.com.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Werites Pregnant!

Finally! After five tries last year and three tries this year, Werites is pregnant to UB-40. Her first and last colt, also be UB, is exceptional, so we're excited about this cross again. I use the "we're" liberally...Michaela is not as excited as the rest of us. She's been riding Werites and is totally in love with her. The mare has had three years off since her shipping injury, and is (knock on wood) finally sound again. I'm sure she'd never hold up to serious, hard-core training again, but it's pretty amazing to see her talent in the dressage ring again. From a breeding standpoint, the only thing I did different with this breeding was to use both doses of fresh-cooled semen at the same time. I decided that maybe the small volume of frozen and single doses of fresh-cooled might be the issue, so I put it all in immediately, then kept the mare on Oxytocin every six hours for the next 24 hours. Not sure what worked, but something did. So, at this point in time, we have three confirmed pregnancies: Orchis to Everdale, Eliscia SSF to Florianus, and Werites SSF to UB-40. We bred D'Orites SSF to Florianus this morning, and will breed Mistral to Contango tomorrow.