October 9, 2016

Whenever I start getting emails and texts from people asking if I'm OK or prompting me to get my ass in gear and write a new journal entry, I know it's been way too long.  Sorry about that.  I have no excuses other than the life itself.

As many of you know, my dad died this summer.  He was almost 98.  He lived alone in his own home until about two months before he died. He lived a long and full life. Although I don't have any unresolved issues or unspoken conversations with him, his death has left me diving into some unexplored, and unexpected, existential depths. It's not really an angst in the traditional sense of the word, but I'm unsettled.  My mom died three years ago, and my only full brother died in 1989.  I'm all that's left of my nuclear birth family.  Of course, life has been kind to me and I am surrounded by boatloads of love and a strong, capable family who buoys me even on my worst of days--so please don't infer any self pity in this statement. I'm just in unchartered territory, as it were; hence, you haven't seen a lot of writing from me as of late.

In the horse world, we've hit some milestones this year.  One, we achieved our Platinum Status with the KWPN-NA.  I haven't filled out or submitted the paperwork yet, but we have the points. Two, we bred the number one foal in North America for the second year in a row--out of different marelines and both out of SSF-bred mares, I might add.  Three, this number one foal, LeLiscia SSF (Govenor x Eliscia SSF x UB-40) is the closest is type and movement to the ideal of what we've been breeding for for almost three decades.  Is she had a little more expression in her trot, I would say we had hit perfection and needed to stop breeding.  Four, as it is, after 25 foal crops, I think we're just hitting our stride with our breeding program.  The next two generations are going to blow people away.

Not including poor Last Child SSF (LaVita's colt who was struck by lightning), out of six foals, we're keeping the Governor filly and have sold four others.  We only have one boy left for sale, Liberto SSF (Sir Sinclair x Werites SSF x Freestyle).  We owe many thanks to our friends, repeat customers, and SSF fans out there who believe enough in our program to snatch up these babies before they're even weaned, year after year.  Thank you.

Next year could be a record year for us (hopefully, Carol isn't reading this post...); I can see us keeping half a dozen babies from the 2017 crop.  Colt or filly, we most likely won't sell the Uno Don Diego out of Galearites SSF, the Totilas out of BoWendy, the Governor out of Gazania, or the Roven xx out of Orchis.  Add to these four a Governor filly from ZaVita SSF and a Vitalis filly from either D'Orites SSF or Werites SSF, and we're up to enough horses to need an addition on the barn next year.  Then, if by some miracle, Nemels is pregnant to Donatelli and gives us a pinto filly, we're completely screwed.

Next year's sales are already looking good. We have three people interested the Governor x Contango if it's a colt, one person interested in the Netto x UB-40, and one person interested in the Vitalis x Donatelli--plus, a number of people asking about foals we don't intend to sell.

As you can imagine, I'm already scheming and planning about my 2017 breeding picks.  I've actually already purchased three doses of a new stallion!  All I'm going to tell you is we're going to have to use him on my non-Jazz mares.  I'm going to hold off buying anymore frozen until after the Stallion Show in February.  I'm resigned to the fact that we have almost no option but to go with all frozen semen again next year.  Knock on wood we have a similar success rate to this year.

Again, sorry for the long dry spell.  Don't hesitate to give me a shout via email, FB messenger, or text if you're getting desperate for a journal entry or have something in particular you want me to write about. I appreciate how many of you have followed my thoughts over the years.

Breeding 2016: Updated 9/18/16

It's been a busy breeding spring, and I have the manure-stained t-shirts to prove it! Here's a list of who's pregnant and who's still to be bred and to whom:

Confirmed:

1. Uno Don Diego x Totilas x Jazz (1st cycle Dream Boy, 2nd and 3rd Franklin w/1 lost embryo)

2. Governor x Contango x Elcaro (filly option already sold)

3. Governor x Bon Bravour x Santano

4. Roven xx x Jazz x Roemer

5. Vitalis x Donatelli x Jazz

6. Netto x UB-40 x Pass the Glass xx (1st cycle to Chagall, 2nd cycle to Governor--on 3rd cycle)

7. Vitalis x Freestyle x Jazz

8. Governor x Farrington x Pass the Glass xx

9. Totilas x Sir Sinclair x Jazz

10. Devon Heir x Samber x Lector (pg to Chagall, gone at 30 days; 2nd cycle to Florianus II; can't remember if there was a Governor attempt, also...; finally, pregnant to DH.)

11. Indian Rock x Charmeur x Santano  (bred five cycles.  PG on the fifth try, but lost it by the 2nd check)


Summary:  We have a lot of babies coming next year, knock on wood.

Uno Don Diego x Galearites SSF

Meet Whiskers.  This lovely, large girl is carrying a special embryo.  Uno Don Diego x Totilas x Jazz!  Thanks to KC Dunn for her never-ending support and friendship, thanks to Dr. Deme Erickson from TNT Equine in North Berwick, ME, for the successful flush, thanks to Meghan DeGaray and Iron Spring Farm for all they do for North American breeders, thanks to Dr. Foss and his team at Equine Medical Services for a successful transfer, thanks to Jane Hannigan for her support and willingness to give Mazey a bit of a break, and, most importantly, thanks to Carol Tolman for believing we should give it one more try.  Fingers crossed for a happy ending to this story.

Maybe There Is a Santa Claus...

We got an embryo today.  I was there to personally witness the event.  Many thanks to Dr. Erickson and her fantastic staff at TNT Equine, in North Berwick, ME.  The microscopic Uno Don Diego x Totilas x Jazz embryo is probably being implanted into, hopefully, a BIG mare in Missouri as I write.

Fingers crossed.

Update on Foals for Sale

Now that the babies are arriving in earnest, let's take stock of who's sold and who's available:

LeLiscia SSF (Governor x Eliscia SSF x UB-40)

The person who had an option on this filly thinks she is too tall.  We think she's the most perfect filly we've ever produced.  So, we're planning on keeping her for our program.

L'Amour SSF (Roven xx x Orchis x Jazz)

We did this breeding with every intention of keeping a filly for the program or a colt as a stallion prospect.  As luck would have it, Louie (originally, Lefty) appears to have only one testicle.  We'll give him a little time for the second one to descend, but I'm not hopeful.  So, if you're interested in a cocky, personable, smart, and freakishly athletic future performance partner, give me a shout. I will take $1000 off the purchase price of this colt to defray the additional costs of gelding a cryptorchid.

Last Child SSF (Florianus II x LaVita x Elcaro)

LaVita fans, this is our girl's last foal, and he's a beauty.  He is uber pretty.  Bright bay, big white star on a dished face, gorgeous uphill conformation, and already a lovely, supple mover.  Carol is threatening to keep him--that's why he is named after an Aerosmith song and his nickname is Smithy. But we both think he's too fancy to be a weekend trail horse.

Still to come in the next couple weeks:

Sir Sinclair x D'Orites SSF x Donatelli

Sir Sinclair x Werites SSF x Freestyle

-we have an order for a Sir Sinclair colt, so, hopefully, one of these girls will cooperate and produce a little boy!  Since we're keeping LeLiscia SSF and all the rest of the foals are sold or boys, we may keep a filly from one of these two mares so we can raise the two together.

UB-40 x BoWendy x Sir Sinclair

-this foal is already sold

Connaisseur x Carpe Diem SSF x Farrington

-this foal is already sold

*foal prices are $15,000.  Twenty percent discount to repeat customers and FEI-level competitors.  Super generous payment plans.

*at least one foal is already reserved for 2017--it's never too early to inquire about what will be available.

How Many Times Do I Need To Be Kicked in the Head?

I'm an English teacher.  I even just finished teaching Slaughterhouse Five for about the hundredth time. In the contest between fate and free will, fate wins.  Intellectually and philosophically, I accept this. There are multiple examples of fate controlling things in my life, from career choice, to meeting Carol, to the liquid nitrogen ice cream shop opening within 20 minutes of me.  Why, then, can't I get it through my thick skull that we are not destined to be successful with ETs?

History:  

We put Orchis in training after her W foal, deciding we would get her sport predicate and try some ETs.  Four or five attempts later, we had multiple embryos, none of which stuck in a recipient mare.  Circumstances occurred so that we pulled her out of training, but the repeated flushes and change in jobs for her resulted in a mare who didn't get pregnant again for two years. 

We had the chance to sell Werites (that W foal mentioned above) to a top international trainer.  We agreed with the caveat that we get at least one foal from her via ET.  Our first series of attempts in North Carolina resulted in multiple embryos, none of which stuck in the recipient mares.  We shipped her to a specialist.  Three cycles later, she had produced no embryos.  We gave up and were shipping her back for training when Jimmy Welsh, of Elite Horse Transport, crippled her while transporting her, basically leaving her injured in a van in Pennsylvania, and finally costing us over $30,000. for her care and rehab at New Bolton. Not only did he never cover the cost of treating her, he didn't even refund the shipping fee, even though he brought her only half the distance and left it to us to figure out how to get the injured mare to New Bolton.

Fast forward to this year.  We were fortunate enough to breed two incredible Totilas daughters from Orchis, Galearites SSF and Honorites SSF.  We decided one of the mares belonged in sport and one in the breeding program.  As you've probably read, Nora fell on the ice, broke her pelvis, and had to be put down this winter.  So...Carol and I decided we really wanted to preserve the genetics--we would try ET one more time with Mazey.  We pulled out of training, took her to a super vet clinic, paid the reservation for a recipient mare with Dr. Foss, and were already to go.  First stallion choice turned out to have crappy frozen.  Once cycle down.  Second cycle was great, got an embryo, it made it into the recipient mare, was there for the 15 day check, gone at that 30 day check.  Third cycle, good frozen, no embryo.  Mazey had now been at the vet clinic for almost two months.  We bring her back to Jane Hannigans, giving up on the idea of ET.  While Jane and I are talking recently, we decide it's worth trying one more time with fresh cooled, and I will drive Mazey to the clinic for the flush.  Mazey comes into heat, vet gives me the go ahead to order semen for Tuesday delivery, I order from the most fertile stallion I can find, and FedEx loses the shipment--we miss the cycle.  

I'm not going to go through this diatribe and try to calculate how much money we have spent on our ET attempts over the last 13 years, but suffice it to say, we could have purchased multiple foals in Holland and imported them.  

So, I guess I have my answer.  I have to be kicked in the head about fourteen times to get it.

Update:  FedEx ignored Meghan's request to return the shipment to ISF and delivered it to Larkspur Farm a day late.  Jane decided to have the vet out to check the semen and check and see if Mazey still had her follicle.  Uno Don Diego has incredible semen--still lots of swimmers.  Mazey still had a huge, soft follicle.  We head for TNT Equine on Wednesday night for a 6 am flush on Thursday.  Thank you, Jane Hannigan and Dr. Amy.

2016 Breeding Picks (with some foal options already taken for 2017!)

Can you believe it's March 1st, and I have yet to post my breeding picks for the year?  What an outrage!  Nonetheless, now that the kids and I have been to the Stallion Show and the family has endured my endless texts about stallion selections, I think we're ready to go public. Plus, it looks as if a couple of our 2017 foals already have options on them.  Of course, it's hard to tell how things work out eventually, but we certainly appreciate the trust and enthusiasm people have for our breeding program.

Drum roll, please....

Let's go oldest to youngest

LaVita keur preferent (Elcaro x Belisar)

Our queen bee is 23 this year.  She looks and acts fantastic, and is due with a Florianus II foal in May.  Am I going to breed her again?  I have no idea right now.  We'll have to see how this foaling goes and whether or not she cycles well.  Her mareline is so strong and long-lived there's really no reason to stop breeding if she is healthy and happy.  Plus, she's the grandmother of the 2015 top dressage foal in North America--there's something to be said for the gene pool.

Nemels elite (Samber x Lector)

We're going to start with Chagall and deep horn insemination.  I have a couple of doses left, and since there have been four pregnancies that I know of from the frozen, maybe our luck will change.  If the Chagall doesn't work, then I'll try a dose or two of our experimental stallion. We'd love to get a filly from this mare to keep for our program.

Orchis keur preferent and 2 points from prestatie (Jazz x Roemer)

We had a colic scare with Orchis last week.  After losing as many horses as we have this winter, it's hard to describe how emotional it made me at the thought of losing her, too.  She's been the life blood of our program.  Right now, I'm just crossing all available digits for a healthy foal come June.  If we do breed her back, it will be to our experimental stallion again.

Werites SSF sport/dressage (Freestyle x Orchis)

I think we have access to one dose of Netto.  That's my pick for Werites this year. (I know, Natalie--I keep changing my mind).  Werites has produced three fantastic UB-40s for us, and I'm anticipating an equally exciting Sir Sinclair from her at the end of June, so I can be really happy with a couple of ISF options as well.

ZaVita SSF ster (Contango x LaVita)

If this mare can produce the top dressage foal in North America by crossing her with Governor, I don't see any reason to mess with success.

*filly option is taken on this breeding

BoWendy (Sir Sinclair x Jazz)

Speaking of messing with success, Bo is going right back to UB-40.  We're expecting her fifth UB in June.  Every single one of them is an outrageous mover.

Carpe Diem SSF keur-eligible (Farrington x Pass the Glass xx)

This big, perfect conformation mare is going to Governor this year.  Her Connaisseur foal due in June is already spoken for.

D'Orites SSF keur (Donatelli x Orchis)

Dior is going to Franklin this season.  And, I'm thinking this could be one of our top foals next year. I love what Franklin is producing, and I think the cross on Dior could be super.

Eliscia SSF keur-eligible (UB-40 x Pass the Glass xx)

I continue to be really excited about what Lily can produce for us.  I think this year's Governor foal is going to be awesome, so the plan is to repeat the cross.

Galearites SSF keur (Totilas x Orchis)

After Mazey's top IBOP and international press, we were considering an ET attempt or two--however, with the loss of her full sister, Honorites SSF, this winter, our decision was made for us. The Totilas x Orchis cross is really important to the future of our program, so we'll do what we need to do to get a couple Mazey babies on the ground next year.

*first option on a colt is already taken by a stallion station in Holland--fillies will not be for sale.

Gazania keur and NMK top six (Bon Bravour x Santano)

Michaela has called dibs on this breeding to produce a filly for herself, which I'm delighted about.  Keep your fingers crossed for a Dream Boy filly in 2017

Hyacintia  keur and NMK top five (Charmeur x Santano)

We've decided to leave this special mare in Holland so we have access to stallions we can't get in North America.  Keagan really wants some Apache blood in our program, so, since all three of us loved the Apache x Vivaldi x Cabochon Champion of the Stallion Show, we're going to use Indian Rock to have a foal from his first crop.

That's a lot of foals...a lot of EXCITING foals!