Took two mares to Vegas!!

That title is a bit deceptive.  Vegas is the gorgeous Stallion owned by Mark and Bev McGowan of the DoubleM Warhorse Ranch in Terrell TX (www.doublemwarhorseranch.com).  The girls were reluctant to come up to me out of the pasture.  I guess they're loving all the rye that has sprung up.  But I tell ya, a good scoop of food seems to call up even the most stubborn horse.  I think I'm the same way too, but with blue bell ice cream.

Pam and Nellie are the two that I am taking to be bred.  Nellie threw a Vegas foal last year, and that colt was incredible.  Pam is such a gorgeous mare, that I'm really excited to see what she and Vegas put together.  I got the girls out of the pasture and got them ready.  The girls were cleaned all up, de-cockleburred, and had all their hooves cleaned out.  Both Pam and Nellie did great with this.

I learned something today while cleaning hooves.  Both Pam and Nellie do not like their rear feet messed with, and so I'm always a tad nervous inside.  I don't let this show.  To compensate, I have been very firm.  When I grab that hoof, I hold it steady, and move it where I want it.  When they start to fight, I cock the toe backwards, pinching the joint, till they stop struggling, then I release that pressure.  This has always worked for me, but there are still sometimes, where Pam or Nellie just seem to let me have the hoof for 5 seconds, then they're fighting me for it.

So today, as I was holding Pam's hoof, she started to jerk it a little, and I did something different.  I let go of all the pressure I had on that hoof.  I didn't grip it as tight, and I just talked sweet to her.  She then also released the pressure in her leg.  It felt like maybe my firm grasp and doing just what I want, was causing her to tense up.  I set her hoof on my knee, and cleaned the hoof all the way out with no problems.  I went to her second rear hoof and it was the exact same.  Nellie was also the same.  This is probably just me getting better with horses, but it was kind of cool to see the direct correlation to me loosening up causing the horse to loosen up.  You still gotta be firm and do what you need to do, but you can do it without being so firm!  (does that make any sense?)  Of course, when you have a horse like Rachael, you don't have to worry about this stuff at all because your horse lets you hold a hoof forever without complaining one bit.  :)

Mark and Nellie

So ... the girls were loaded and we set off to the warhorse ranch.  We arrived, and I got to meet a wonderful woman who I've been conversing with for years on the internet.  Her name is Sherrii, and she is as good as gold.  We said our hello's, and chit chatted a bit, then decided to get down to business.  Nellie was the first unloaded, and Mark lent me a hand and took her.  I then got Pam, and we walked over to the Belgian pasture.

Backing Pam out of the trailer

Me and Pam

This year most of the warhorse Belgian mares had the year off, so all mares are turned in with Vegas.  It was pretty cool to see him with 4 mares.  As soon as he saw Pam and Nellie he got all kinds of excited.  Mark and I turned the girls loose in the Pen, and then we all sat and watched the herd dynamics take form.  Nellie was just here recently, so she ran over and greeted the other mares.  Pam was more interested in Vegas.  She really didn't mind him at all.  ;)

A herd of Belgians - 6 mares and 1 stallion

I found it really fun to watch how the herd worked.  Here was 6 Belgian mares and a stallion, and Vegas would lower his head, and herd all the girls over to the round bale of hay.  He wanted them all clustered together.  I've never seen anything like this.  It was pretty neat.  Since Pam and the other mares were still working on the pecking order, Pam did not stay bunched up with the other mares, so Vegas kept running over, and turning her back towards them.  Nellie would also run out with Pam, as if to check on her and make sure she was okay.  I could have watched the herd mentality take place for hours.  Very neat to watch.

Sparkles the appy, and Star and Baby the Clydesdales

After that we went over and saw the Clydesdales, and I got to meet Sherrii's pretty appy mare Sparkles.  My son Riley really liked her.  He was petting her and talking with her a bunch. 

Riley and Sparkles

After that, it was more chit chat, and then I headed back towards home.  It was a great trip and a fun visit.  For those who don't know, Bev, Sherrii, and I are in the same yahoo draft horse group (nadrafthorse).  This is how we all met.  It was pretty cool to have all of us together.  Good times!

Sherrii, me, and Bev

I'll be headed back down there in a month to pick up the girls.  I may be going down sooner than that for another purpose.  If I do that, I'll post all about it.  :)

My wife and I.  I love it when she comes on these trips with me.

My first ride in the new forecart!

With new toys to play with, and new harnesses to try out, I couldn't let the week pass without trying out my new stuff.

Yesterday I got Rachael out and fitted her with her new biothane harness.  These things are made for HUGE horses.  I had to add new holes to the market straps and quarter straps.  I have every other strap set at it's smallest hole.  I may have to get new hames too.  Rachael has a 24 inch collar.  I have the hame straps adjusted so that only a buckle is between the hames, and it was pretty good.  Smaller hames would be a good thing.  Either that, or I size up my 24 inch collars and get collar pads. 

Rachael was a dream, as usual.  We got all hooked up, and went for a ride.  It was great.  I'm really liking this cart.  Going to be fun!!

New Harness, Sled, and Pioneer Forecart

I've been busier than a one legged man in a butt kickin' contest lately, but I'm going to try to keep things updated here.

Last weekend I took a trip and bought all kinds of horse hitch stuff.  It was wonderful.  So here's how it all began.

Last fall, a member of the TDHMA (Texas Draft Horse and Mule Association) posted that he was selling a set of draft harnesses and an old pioneer forecart.  I've wanted one of those pioneer forecarts since I first started hitching up Lily, so I got in touch with him.  Unfortunately, he lives 8 hours away from me, and I just couldn't come up with the money.  A month ago, I sent an email, asking if the forecart was still available.  He said it was, and so I started planning to put away money for it.  Then 2 weeks ago, I got an email from him, stating that he needed to sell everything hitch related to clean out the barn and that he was dropping the price on everything.  I could not believe the price tag he put on things.  I talked with my wife, and we decided to take advantage of this great offer.

I planned to purchase the pioneer forecart (came with single shafts, team pole, and 2 implement seats), and a team set of new, 2 strap breeching, biothane harness (with new 25" collar, used 28" collar, bridles, lines, and collar pads).  I got another email detailing other things that were also for sale.  A nice meadowbrook cart, a sweet 4 wheeled marathon type buggy, wagon springs, and other harness/tack items.  The price tag on these items were unreal.  I sent an email to my teamster friends here, and soon found buyers for all this stuff.  I would haul it all back for them.

So last weekend had me heading to meet up with Arnold Isom and his lovely wife at their ranch out in Moulton TX.  The first stop on my trip though, was to purchase a draft sized saddle that I had found on craigslist.  It was incredibly priced, and I really liked the idea of having 2 saddles that fit my drafts.  So I had to stop and pick it up.  Now, I was riding my motorcycle, so I had to strap the saddle to the back of it..  I'm sure it was quite a sight to see.  I only had to ride like that for the rest of the 5 hour trip towards Houston.  :)  The picture shows it pretty well.

I spent the night at my in-laws in Houston, and then the next day I headed out to meet with the Isom's.  I had borrowed a rig with a trailer to pick up all the goodies I was going to be getting from my in-laws.  It was a beautiful drive, but that could've just been because I knew I would be getting 2 things that I have wanted for years.  The weather was great, and the scenery was very pleasant.  All in all, this was the beginning of what would be a fabulous day.

Arnold and his wife were so wonderful.  They were friendly as can be, and I consider them to be very good people.  We chatted a whole lot about horses, and Arnold then opened up his shop to me, to show me all his stuff.  We looked things over, and I soon began  making my list of things that I wanted to buy.  Lucky for me, I followed Arnolds advice and brought some extra money.  This was a shop full of a lifetime of acquired draft hitch items.  I felt like a kid in a toy store with money!  :)  And boy did I spend the money.  After it was all said and done, I had purchased the team harnesses, forecart, meadowbrook cart, 4 wheeled buggy, a work sled, a set of team hafflinger harnesses, a single set of hafflinger harness, an extra team pole, 3 sets of driving lines, 4 horse sized collars, 7 wagon springs, a half dozen drafts sized nylon halters, various quarter straps/pole straps, extra SS harness hardware, and some yokes/eveners.  I really felt like I cleaned him out.

After we had added up the total cost of it all, we took a break, and he showed me his barn.  I have never seen a barn that was so well planned out and built as this barn.  I will be using the layout of this barn as a plan for when I eventually build mine.  Perhaps I will draw up my plans and post them in the future so you can see how well this barn was thought out.  Arnold and his wife were VERY pleasant to visit with.  We never stopped talking.

After a nice break, we set at the task of loading all the gear I had purchased onto a 18 foot trailer.  This was not going to be an easy task, and so we got out the tape measure, and set about deciding what the best way to go about this would be.  One thing I have learned about myself though, is that when I am determined, I find a way to make things happen.  Soon the trailer was loaded up and tied down properly.  Saying goodbye to the Isom's was a little hard to do.  In the half day I had spent with them, I truly felt like I had gained a set of grandparents.  They were so fun, so nice, and so fun to talk to, that I sure didn't move fast to roll out of there.  I hope to visit them again with my wife and son.  There are just some people you cross paths with in this life that are worth hanging onto.  The Isoms are that way for me.

I drove to my In-laws house near Houston, and had to unload all the gear.  I had borrowed a trailer to get the gear, and my wife would be coming down the next day with our trailer.  I got everything unloaded and then took some pictures of the treasures I had picked up.  I was a happy boy.

When my wife arrived with our trailer, I realized this was going to be quite a task.  My trailer was 2 feet shorter and 1 foot less wide than the first trailer I had loaded them onto.  This would require a different scheme.  My mother-in-law hovered around as I loaded everything.  I think she didn't believe I would fit it all onto the trailer.  I did though, and have the picture to prove it.

The drive home was nice.  A few days later I met up with Roger and Bobby, my teamster friends who purchased all the other stuff I bought.  I bet it was pretty funny to see 3 teamsters all bright eyed and  bushy tailed at the new toys they'd just acquired.  Bobby was very happy with the meadowbrook cart and his single hafflinger harness, and Roger was thrilled with his 4 wheeled buggy, team hafflinger harness, wagon springs, and horse collars.

So ... chalk 2 things off my want list.  I now have a pioneer forecart, and I also have a team set of biothane harnesses.  WOO HOO!  I also ended up with some new matching halters, a nice metal runner sled, and all kinds of miscellaneous harness straps and hardware.  I guess the thing at the top of my list now is a horse drawn sickle mower.  Keep your eyes open for me.  Looking for a IH #9 high gear.  :)