Amiraschanthalima  

Posted by Serenity

YAY!YAY!YAY I finally found her papers.  I had put them somewhere safe and consequentially forgotten where that safe place was. 

Amira has been a member of my family since she was a yearling.  Foaled in 1992, she has been by my side through 4-H and traveled with us to high school rodeos.  Amira was never a very large horse and has always been babied so she has never had to do as much work as the larger horses have.

We have been trying unsuccessfully to breed her to a palamino Quarter Horse, but she wants none of that.  I wonder if she is just stuck up or if she is barren.  I would really hate to see her line end with her.  Amira is one of the last remaining children of BF Prince Halima, at least as far as I have been able to tell from my searches on the web.

We did a little research at allbreedpedigree.com and found pictures of the horses in her lineage.  While many of them look rather large, Amira is a very dainty little girl.  She stands just over 14 hands tall and has the most delicate head I have ever seen.  She is a liver chestnut with flaxen main and tail.

We will be traveling to Nebraska on Monday to take her to the vet to get her Coggins test and Health certificates taken care of so that we can bring her home by the end of the month.  I am soo excited to see her again.  I hope she is doing well, I miss her so much.

Here is some of her pedigree. Pictures to come soon.



sire Morafic (Nazeer x Mansour)


TheEgyptianPrince

sire
 Bint Mona (Nazeer x Mansour)

BF Prince Halima 



dam Ansata Ibn Halima (Nazeer x Mansour)


Dazeerlima 



 Dazeera (Rashad Ibn Nazeer x Nazeer x Mansour)
AmiraSchanthalima
(1992 Chestnut filly)





sireChar Echo (Negem x Fa-Serr)


Anchor Hill Chairo 

dam
Anchor Hill Hadga (Hadbah x Fabah)

Schantille Lacce



damTuhotmos (El Sareei x Shahloul)


Lacy Curtain



Zarhara (Zarhar x Moftakhar)

Surveying for the Corral Fence.  

Posted by Serenity

Yuppers you got it right.  We don't do anything half way here.  We even go so far as to survey our property to make absolute certain that everything is exactly where we want it.

Hubby is a Civil Engineer, comes in pretty handy when you want to build something.  Sometimes it can be a pain in the seat though.  Like when you want to get started on something and he can't get the equipment to work right.

 Gotta make sure all of our corners are square somehow and there is no better way to do it than by surveying the area and setting little flags or markers to tell us where to put everything.

Of course I am always the one who gets to run all over the property with the prism so he can stand around and shoot it with the gun.  No fair as much running as I have done I should be a lot skinnier.  Guess I need to work harder.

 YAY! he finally got it working right so now we can set our corners.  I only tripped over a few hundred rocks and stuck my foot in about a dozen holes.  I am really going to have to do something about that.  Holes are not good for horses.

Of course two of them are coming from a more mountainous area of Wyoming so they should be pretty sure footed.  I am concerned about Amira, she was always an accident prone one.  She is the only horse I know that can tear up the same area of the same leg 3 separate times.
Amira would be the main reason why we are taking such care in our building.  I couldn't stand it if she got hurt again.

Hubby and the kids are doing one final check while I am out in the middle of the field running back and forth trying to get my pole in the right spot.  I really need to remember to carry a tape measure with me.  It probably wouldn't hurt to learn North from South without a compass as well.

Surveying is done, Now to turn this into a fence.

Total posts needed 80+ (3 that were 6" x 8' and the remainder were 4" x 8')  All posts are buried 3' in the ground with 5' sticking out.

Total Gates 4

Total length of fence wire 1/2 Mile (we are doing a 4 strand fence for now but have room left for either a top bar or a 5th strand)

Total amount of gasoline 20 gallons

Total size of Corral 150' x 200' (holy cow it's an arena!)

We will be changing the size of the corral once we put in the barn, but for this winter at least this will be our corral and we will use a lean to for the shelter.  The barn will divide the corral in half so we can keep the stud separated from the mares once he matures.

And the Work Begins.  

Posted by Serenity

Actually we started attempting to build our small corral fence about 2 weeks ago. Our first attempt yielded nothing but trouble. First we discovered the auger and our tractor weren't entirely compatible. By themselves both work great, but when we combined them we could only get a hole about 6 inches deep. Not nearly the 3 feet we need to build our corral.

Then hubby left the tractor running with the brake on. OOOPS that's not safe, the brake released and the tractor took off down the hill and across the road to the neighbors property. I guess it decided to run away to a place where the work was already done.

My daughter got some wonderful pictures of everyone else working though.

This has to be my favorite picture.  The boys are almost silhouetted against the sunset.  We had to drop the blade in order to hook up the trailer to move it to the back then switch gear so we can hook up the auger so we can dig holes to bury posts in order to string the wire to build the fence.  Phew that was a mouth full.

Almost all of the pictures shown here were taken by my 8 year old daughter.

 She seems to love to get pictures of the sun LOL.  This one was actually pretty though so I had to show it off.  We have a nice little hill that runs right around our house.  It works great for keeping the noise down and blocking the view of the interstate.

Hubby plans on putting something like a gazebo at the top and  having a waterfall and stream run from that down to the bottom.  We will plant trees and bushes all around it and make a little lovers garden to play in.  We hope to have most of it finished in about 5 years when our son graduates High School.

 These pictures may not necessarily be in order so please forgive me if they are not.  Headed down to kook up the trailer so we can move the auger to the back of the property where it will be hidden form view. 

Our place it too pretty to leave equipment laying around like a junk yarn.  I never could stand it when people did that.  Blech.
 Here is hubby and son getting ready to hook up the trailer.  I use son as a counter balance so I can easily lift the tongue and hold it for the ball to slip underneath.

The trailer does have a jack but sometimes it's just not worth fooling with.  It takes longer to jack it up then bring it back down than it does to just lift the trailer.  It's light enough most of the time to work just fine.

Leave it to hubby to have a better idea.  just need to lift it a little then we can drop the bars on the tractor and slip right under it.

Son is sooo happy to be able to help.  He is a lot more of a man than I had realized before.  When he isn't spaced out he is pretty handy.  He's pretty tough for a scrawny little thing too.  After this winter he may even grow a few muscles.
 Alright, you do it, LOL.  I hate fighting with these things.  It's my curse that nothing ever works out the first try.  Let the boy do it, he'll probably get it right the first time anyway.

The last few days we have even been letting him drive the tractor BY HIMSELF.  Scary thought.  Surprisingly he only almost hit a post once.  Of course he isn't allowed to run it over first gear and low speed, but that's enough for him now.  He has a good head on him if he pays attention.
 After walking up and down the hill a few hundred times I decided that it was time to hitch a ride.  The kids and I are riding on the toolbox that was in the trailer.

We have since removed the toolbox to make room for the gates and posts that we will need to build the fence.  I think he likes his tractor, what do you think?  Boys and their toys are so cute LOL.  I am really glad he got it though since we all have horses he really needs something that he can do that doesn't involve annoying me.


 A safe dismount :) We left the trailer behind the hill as well so now it's time for yet another equipment change.  This time we have to remove the bar for the trailer hitch (I have no idea what the thing is called) and add the other bars that we will need to run the 3 point for the auger.

Good thing I am a horse person and not a tractor person or I would be in serious trouble.  Just hook the doohickie up to the thingimabob and let's get to it I want my horses and they want a pen.
Wow I think there is more work involved in preparing to work than actually in the working that needs to be done.  we are still trying to uninstall the bars for the hitch so we can install the ones for the 3 Point .  I wonder why they call it a three point though since it is really more octagonal in shape.  Note to self: don't ask hubby just look it up on the internet.

I hate admitting that I know absolutely nothing about something.  Tractors were never my thing.  Can't stand the stupid smelly things, they are too much like cattle (Insert scene from cars here)
 Finally, time for the other parts.  Hopefully we will be able to hook up the auger soon, I want to get the show on the road already.

Almost a full day and still no fence work getting done.  Patience is still not one of my virtues, but I have so many other good ones so who needs that.  Either I have gotten really wimpy or these things have gotten heavier than I remember.  Time for some weight lifting to build up those arms.


 Another shot of Daddy driving the tractor.  This kid is fearless.  I am not sure how many children would stand directly in front of a moving tractor just to get a picture of daddy driving it, but apparently my daughter would.

I suppose that may help her out later when it's time to ride the horse by herself for the first time.  I thinks she is going to be a fine photographer.  She is already better than me and I have had years of practice.
 AAHHHH finally, the auger.  It's about time.  This could be more difficult than I had anticipated.

DocsGloCuttersFrosty  

Posted by Serenity

With a name like that, he's gotta be fast LOL.  DocsGloCuttersFrosty will be the first stud horse to live at Allamosta.  With bloodlines like his we may not ever need another.  Double bred Doc Bar with a little Frosty Feature and a dash of Peppy San and you've got a heck of a combination.

Doc was bred to be a cutting horse, but since I have no cattle to train him with, he will most likely end up a reigning horse.  I have big plans for him, but first we need to build up some points and since his great grand daddy was a world class halter horse I suppose that will be a great place to start.  Of course I will have to halter break him first.

Doc is only a yearling which gives me plenty of time to decide what direction we want to go with him.  He will eventually be bred to Amira, but I will not start breeding him until he is at least 5 or 6 just to keep him settled.  Unless of course it looks like we may loose Amira before that.

This little fella would make an awesome match for Amira's grace and beauty.  I can't wait to see what their babies will look like.  He should hopefully give her babies some size without being so big that she can't safely carry them.  A half Arabian half Quarter Horse combination from Doc and Amira will be something to see.

Hubby sais not to get my hopes up too high for him.  I say "with a face like this who wouldn't"  he is absolutely adorable.  He is supposed to be a gray which means that he should eventually lose the dark color you see now.  I am not sure when but most likely after this winter coat sheds off or perhaps next winter.  I wouldn't be heartbroken if he never loses it even with as much as I have always wanted a gray.

You can see some of his gray showing through even now around his belly, his nose, and his legs.  I love the Star Strip Snip on his face.  It reminds me of another great horse I once owned, TSR Strawbaby.  She was a mean one, but one heck of a cow eatin b.... uuummm well lets just say she was a great cow horse.  Babe was huge, hopefully Doc will be a bigun too.  Already he looks fairly good sized. 

Once again I bought a horse without actually looking at him in person.  I really must be losing it.  But then who could resist those eyes.  they are so gentle and kind.  He will be a great horse some day.


I have been considering nominating him for the ARHA futurity.  If I nominate him before December 1 of his yearling year it will only cost me $2,000.  If I wait until he is 2 it will cost me $3,000 and so on.  He makes an excelent prospect, but I just don't have that kind of money.  The person wo actually nominates him will receive 5% of his winnings at the futurity even if the horse is sold, but judging by the cost of things I doubt I will ever be able to compete him in something like that.  The payout must be huge which, of course, means the compitition will be tough.

He has a nice rear end already.  He doean't appear to be turning his toes out.  I wish the pictures showed a little more of the dirt behind him right here so I could see if there are any issues as far as his gait is concerned.  As it is I don't see anything that would concern me in this manner. 

Doc comes from South Dakota and is sired by Fred's father as well.  His dam is sed to be one of the best brood mares owned by this breeder.  It was the breeder at Colored Horse Ranch that found him for me.  I hope she made a little from the deal as well.  Heh I am sure she did. 

He is at her ranch now.  YAY this saves me the trouble of getting him a coggins or health certificates since he has already crossed state lines and that should have already been done saving me the expense and trouble.  I will pick Doc up at the same time as Fred which will make everything a whole lot easier.  The only troublesome part now is the trailer.

Hubby, being the troublesome, opinionated, pain in the but that he is believes that he will convince two horses, that have not even been halter broke, to load and ride in a standard two horse trailer without souring them at all.  I am not so confident.  Actually I can pretty much guarantee it will not happen. 

I have worked with yearlings and studs before.  Actually I had the pleasure of working with a very handsome Blue Roan Hancock horse in '97' (along with numberous others) when I worked for Roy Cleveland at Notquita Ranch in Brule Nebraska.

I didn't work there long though.  Unfortunately my father got really sick and at the time we were afraid he wouldn't make it so I came home.  A person doesn't get many chances to work with someone as well known as Roy Cleveland so that decision fairly well ended my horse career.  Well that and others.  Time to begin again, this time the right way.  With my children, my husband, and some real good stock.  Wish us luck.

And now.....A little of his pedigree.







sire Truckle Feature (Truly Truckle (TB))


Frosty Feature

sire
 Miss Leo Frost (Leo)

Dorky Frosty Spark 



dam Benito Bar Jack (Docs Benito Bar x Doc Bar x Two Eyed Jack)


Dorky Benito Bar 



 Dorky (Tonto Bar Ted x Tontos Bar Hank)
DocsGloCuttersFrosty
(2009 Gray Colt)





sirePeppy San (Leo San x Leo)


Peppy Docsan 

dam
Docs Madonna (Doc Bar x Two Eyed Jack)

Doc Cutters Glo



damBaron Jack (Baron Bell x Baron Reed)


That's Glos Lady



Cutters Glo (King Glos Diamond x King Glos Chick)

Allamosta Catastrophic!!!  

Posted by Serenity

WOW I feel like such an idiot right now.  While I was well aware of the need for a Coggins test to bring a horse across any state line, I was unaware of Wyoming's laws regarding ownership and transport of the horse once it's here.  I'll give you the rundown of what all I have to do in order to bring my mare over to live with me.

A Coggins test must be completed and all paperwork in my hand at the time of transport.  The Coggins test checks for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) antibodies in the horse's blood. Blood samples must be sent to a state approved laboratory. This test is often needed to take your horse to a show and whenever you transport your horse across state lines. It is to prove to others your horse is safe to be around their horses. Some states now require a negative Coggins test on a horse before he can be sold. Before you travel check to see how recent a test is required because it differs from place to place.


Once you have a negative Coggins further testing is not required for your own peace of mind. Your horse will not become EIA positive unless he develops a serious, febrile illness after contact with a horse of unknown EIA status. You may be required to have a test done yearly to show or transport your horse, so other people will know your horse is safe.

A Destination Certificate of Health must be completed and all paperwork in my hand at the time of transport.  The Health Certificate is acquired from your veterinarian and certifies that the animal you are transporting is in good health and not carrying and infectious diseases that are not covered by the Coggins test.  The Destination to which you are traveling and the Coggins certificate number must be present on the Health Certificate. 

These are standard requirements for crossing all State Lines whether you have a brand inspection or not.  I was very aware that I would have to get all of this paperwork ready before she could be moved.  It's what I am going to tell you next that had me completely by surprise.

A brand inspection must be completed for all horses living/traveling within Wyoming, Colorado, and several other states.  This means that once Amira is moved to Cheyenne I have to take Amira, the Coggins certificate, and Health Certificate to the brand inspector to have another inspection done.  Once this has been done I can move her freely throughout the state of Wyoming and several other states.  Travel to other states still requires a current Coggins (lasts about 1 year) and a current Health Certificate (lasts about 30 days).  I never needed the brand inspection before because there no brand laws where horses are concerned in Nebraska.

What a pin in the patouki.  It's just a good thing that I was trying to find out how much it would cost to have a brand registered to Allamosta.  Had I not been researching that I would never have discovered that Wyoming requires brand inspections on all livestock whether they are branded or not.  The fines if you do not have a brand inspection before crossing county lines/state lines far outweigh the cost of the inspection itself (approximately $25 - $500+ and they can keep your horse until the proper paperwork is turned in) so there is no real reason why one shouldn't be done.

The cost for a lifetime brand inspection in Cheyenne,WY is $18 plus $9 travel if the inspector has to come to you.  The inspection fee varies from county to county so be sure to check with your brand office before moving any livestock in your area.  The lifetime inspection will last for as long as you own the horse.  If you transfer ownership a new inspection has to be done in the new owners name.  I am not sure yet if you have to report the death of the animal or not.  Note to self: check on death reporting requirements when inspection is done.

The fines for crossing state lines without a Coggins test or Health Certificate also far outweigh the cost of having one done.  The actual cost will depend on your veterinarian.  Pioneer Animal Clinic in Scottsbluff, Nebraska will charge me $31 for the standard Coggins test,takes about 4 days to get the results back, or $49 for the quick test which takes up to 2 days for results.  The Health Certificate will cost an additional $11 and will add one more day to how long it takes to get my certificates back.  A health Certificate can not be done without a current Coggins test.

If I need my Vet to travel out to the location of my horse it will cost an additional $3.70 per mile.   This is not very practical for me since the horse is some 30 miles away from the Veterinarian's office.  The total fee would cost about $111 one way so a total of approximately $222 to travel out and back.  In this instance it will actually be cheaper for me to pay my fuel costs to drive from Cheyenne, WY to Bayard, NE get my horse and take her from Bayard, NE to Scottsbluff, NE. then back the way we came to wait for the results and return the next week to pick her up for the trip home.

Frosty Bar Red Glo  

Posted by Serenity

Frosty Bar Red Glo will be one of the first horses to move out to Allamosta.  She comes from a breeding facility near Devils Tower Wyoming.  Colored Horse Ranch offers horses of all sizes, ages, and colors.  I found them by accident on Craigs list while I was snooping for horses for myself and the kids.

I fell in love with Fred almost instantly.  If you are wondering why I chose to call her Fred take a look at her registered name.  Fred comes from Frosty (F) and Red (RED) making Fred.  Hubby and kids are not happy with that choice in names, but if I call her Fred often enough they will just start doing it and it will all be settled.

I like Fred, it's really kind of an inside joke.  Hubby's father always calls him Fred and now I have a horse called Fred.  Actually there is this Anime that I like and one of the main characters is a girl named Ed who has a Welsh Corgi named Ein (note to self, get a Welsh Corgi next).  Then there is one of my all time favorite TV Series Angel.  Toward the end of the series there was a girl whose name was Fred (Winifred).  By the end of the series she was turned into a demon of sorts and wore a red outfit.  Ok so by the time she wore this outfit, Fred was gone and Illyria was inhabiting her body, but who's keeping track?

Not that I am comparing her to a horse or anything, but they both have very delicate facial features and are quite strong.  Yes I think Fred is a good name for Frosty Feature Red Glo.

Fred is a little dirty in most of her pictures, but she will shine up nicely.  She has a nice head on her and a good wide chest.  Fred has never really been worked with so I will have to break her in before letting the kids use her.

Technically she is a family horse (meaning MINE!) but I picked her out for my son to ride.  She has such soft gentle eyes and excellent breeding.  I am rarely ever wrong about a horses potential, I hope I haven't lost my touch.

I have a small confession to make though.  I actually bought her sight unseen.  The most I have to go on are the pictures that I am showing you, and a short conversation with the breeder.  This is a very rare thing for me to wholeheartedly trust a breeder, but I figure that she has put a bit of faith in me as well.  There is no point in commenting on how that could have been a mistake to buy her.  I trust my instincts and they say she will rock the show ring.

My daughter has already tried to steal her away from my son.  The deal is that once the horse is trained she will be his to use as long as he respects her and takes care of her.  She is for him to show in 4-H and use for rodeo if he desires.  If he decides not to show her she will be passed along to someone who will show her and he will be given a different horse to use.

I hope that makes sense.  I just want the kids to have horses that they will be proud of and not limited by breeding or lack of registration.  Again there is the fact that I also want to show the horses professionally.

If you look in the background of some of these pictures you will see a really cute little odd colored Grey colt peaking out.  Originally I was buying him as well, but there was a miss-communication of sorts between myself and the breeder and he was sold to someone else.  I was really heart broken because I wanted to show him and use him to breed Amira later on.  I have since spoken with the breeder and if all goes well with Fred I am sure that she will trust me enough to give me a heads up when they get another Grey Stud colt.

All of the pictures above were taken just last Saturday by the breeder.  Fred will come to live with us Mid October along with my precious Amira and perhaps a few mystery guests.

Fred has the pedigree to be a winner in and out of the show ring.  Frosty Feature gives speed to the cow sense of the Doc Bar line.  It is a winning combination, I can't wait to see first hand just how well she can perform.  I am including a little bit about her pedigree in this post as well.  As you can tell I am very proud of her already.  I really can't wait until she comes to live with us for good.



sire Truckle Feature (Truly Truckle (TB))


Frosty Feature

sire
 Miss Leo Frost (Leo)

Dorky Frosty Spark 



dam Benito Bar Jack (Docs Benito Bar x Doc Bar x Two Eyed Jack)


Dorky Benito Bar 



 Dorky (Tonto Bar Ted x Tontos Bar Hank)
Frosty Bar Red Glo (2008 bay filly)




sireSputnick Goblin


MB Smart Smokey 

dam
Mia My Doc

Ame Go Red Glo



damDocs Sabre Glo (Doc Red Glo x No Maybes x Doc J Jay)


Tee Bar Jeep



Pines Cuppa Tea (Jeep's Cuppa Tea x Palleos Jeep)

Come on hubby let's get it in gear and get that fence built!

All pictures are provided by Colored Horse Ranch and used with their permission.

Lets Get Froggy!!!  

Posted by Serenity

 

Yesterday I showed you all of the mammal type pets, now it's time for the amphibian type pets.  Introducing Kermit, he's the largest of the 3 that are currently with us.  Tiny, another one of my daughters pets.  We can always tell her pets because they are the most active and hungry of the group.  Tiny is the middle sized frog that is flitting around looking for more foods.  And of course we can not forget about Frogzilla.  He is the smallest of the bunch.  Zilla is my sons pet and of course is the more timid of them all.  He pretty much just hangs out by his little froggy self and snatches up all the food that the others left behind.

We are expecting two new additions to our froggy family soon.  We will be adding one new baby frog to the main tank, and one tadpole to the tadpools.  I will get new video of the frog tanks sometime after that.  You may always request pictures if you would like to see the tadpole or frogs before I upload to the blog.  Just post in the comments.

My camera wasn't able to get any decent still pictures of the three so we are trying the video.  This video was taken with my Canon still camera.  The batteries were dead in my video camera.  To be completely honest I don't even know exactly where it is at the moment anyway.  I do hope you enjoy watching them.  I think they are pretty cool myself.  I won't feed them though because they keep trying to bite me.  We don't know why Tiny thinks I am dinner, but every time I feed them he all but jumps out of the tank to get me.  I won't even stick my hands in with him around because I think he wants to gum me to death.