Covered Forba Again

The vet office called me this morning and said all the mares culture's came back negitive. Yay so... we covered Forba again today. I figured they would be negitive. I seen no reason that they should be positive. If you want to read more check out Wynter's blog here.

Live Cover and an Update

I am finely posting what my papers says. Took me long enough right?

For Marquisse and Mc....

Plan to breed the week of March 8th.
Start regumate that day; Give 10cc orally once a day at about the same time.
Last dose of Regumate will be on March 4th.
March 5th Prostin shot (one for each mare). Jerry showed me where to put it and said if I draw blood move it over and inch until I d not draw any blood.
Move mares on Sunday
Jerry will check them on March 8th
Go from there.

Well, yesterday I went up to the breeding farm and talked to Tauge the breeding manager. I gave him a bribe ha ha red wine cheese and crackers so we could use his equitainers. We sat down and chatted a lot about all of it. It was great fun for me as I am so into the breeding thing. The first thing was that they have no space for our mares so they will be taken over to the neighbors ranch. We will bring them over there and they will haul them over to the breeding farm which is an all of 3 mins in the trailer to get checked and eventually bred. Tague called one of the breeders who is in our time zone and spoke with them for a time. I had to google on my cell phone the address for the other breeder along with a phone number as they were on east coast time.

He spoke for a while and we he got as much info as he thought he needed. He said he'd call the second breeder today. I will speak with Tague or Jerry after I prostin mares on the 4th. We wil them go from there. In the mean time the mares are getting the regumate and are thrilled about getting the cup of grain at night! Ahh Haflingers, they love there food. Toccata is pissed that she isn't getting some she is the porker of the farm.

As Forba goes he said to tease her until she was a level 5 on the teasing scale. So we did and today we covered Forba with Wynter. We will try again tomorrow as he was mister quick and I don't think it was all that good. If you want to know more on how that went check out his blog at http://www.willardwhyte.blogspot.com

Pre Breeding Check

Today was a long day. I got a call from the vet office and they said Jerry would be out around 1. I went over there early and I made sure to grab my camera so I could take photos. Well I got there and everyone was outside. So I had to play mare fetch. That is a lot of fun when it was beautiful outside. I went for Marz first because I know she can not run from me…ever. Going toward her she stepped away and I told her whoa she took a few more steps and then stopped. She looked at me like ahhh dang it. I had to corner Forba and once I got her Mc just stood still.

Bringing them into the barn I was so very happy to see that all the stalls were done and they already had dinner in there stalls. Trying them up I sat and waited for Jerry to arrive. Right before he parked his truck I pulled the battery off of the wall and shoved it in and when I did I noticed that there was no card. So I have no photos and I am sorry; what a way to start a blog. I was so mad at myself! So I am sorry really, I am.

Jerry set up at Mc’s stall and we got the show on the road that was right after we went over the whos who and the whats what. He is a big planner and it helps when you are breeding.

We did Mc first and since we had hay in the stalls she got herself close enough so that Jerry could do her exam and she could eat at the same time. Now that is a Haflinger. She checked out great he said that she was perfect for where we are at. Which made me very happy yay lights worked! Wahoo.

Next was the star of our blog Marz Bar! I was nearly giddy to get her check out. I hoped like hell that she didn’t have ovaries of rocks. She gave me the worst look when she came into the stall. I had to laugh. He then went about tying her tail and she would not eat. She was pissed. It only got worse for her as he cleaned her out and he did her check. He said that she looked good.

When he did her culture she almost made me bust up laughing but I had to keep it on the professional level. ;) She spread out her legs grunted and then started nickering….. Um so does that mean she liked that? Ha ha ha. I swear. She turned her head and gave me a look and nickered again. After a few more she snagged a bite of food while Jerry finished. She was all hunched up and Jerry had to look up because her pelvis was tilted so much. He said donkeys were worse they have a much sharper hip angle. There is your interesting fact for the day.

Next was Forba she has done this a few times but I think Mc was the star of the afternoon. Forbs moved around a bit but was ok she did not hunch up like the other two. After we were done with the mares and had them check and culture we sat down and me with a piece of paper wrote notes.

I’d love to tell you everything but I left it at the barn I will get it tomorrow. Sadly he said that Forba made Marz look bad but the good news was that we have time to fix that. So I am guessing she was not as far along at the other two. Figures, problem mare. Bottom line we are going to be breeding the two AI mares the week of March 8th. I started them on Regumate tonight and I don’t have the stop date in front of me. He then asked me if I wanted to give the Prostin shot of if I wanted him to. I said I would because that saves me almost $75 in a farm call. So he made sure I knew where to put it if I draw back blood move it an inch. Ohh I remembered something ha ha. Then after that I have to haul them to the farm on Sun Jerry will check them Mon and we are onward to sperm!

That is if everything goes well.

For Forba I am to tease and tease again until she shows as a 4 on the teasing scale. Then breed. He said she looks like she will be ready to breed on Thursday.

Tomorrows plan post what I have on that paper. I also have to go smooze the breeding manager up at the breeding farm. I need to give him a run down on what is going on more or less what I have on my paper and also see if he can help me cover Wynter and Forba. Jerry said to bring him some Red wine, so I will! Wish me luck.

Last but not least I will be calling both breeders and giving them the run down. I also need to send out my check to one of the stallion owners as I was not sure if I wanted to breed to that stallion. I am glad to get this started to bad I am in the middle of writing one of my speeches for school grr…

Ohh almost forgot I texted Liz and had her come over to help me tease Forba. Since Wynter was out I let him tease Marz who I had thrown out in Chance’s run. She liked him she came over and nosed him threw the fence. At the end of the day we took Marz and Arlo out on a long trail ride and had a blast.

Pre Breeding Photos

This morning I pulled Marz from her room and took a few photos of her before we get this breeding thing on the road. First photo, of her tied and unclipped. Thank you Tanoka for dulling every single one of my blades except for the 10’s.

Next is a body belly shot. She was not really happy about me doing this in the least. I backed way into the corner and she kept wanting to move. She finely got what I wanted and stood still just long enough for this photo. Excuse her looks... she looks rather, scruffy and flabby. Dirty pony!!! Those white marks on her back are going away thank goodness. They were from one show when my friend used her english saddle on her. They showed up the next day. Grrr but they have been fading so that is good.

Butt shot! No belly what so ever. It is going to be strange to see her all fat and prego. Dirty tail though. I was reading on a forum I am a member of, of this stuff called Goop. I heard it works really well and I am so going to try it! Off to Wallmart I go.

Front shot agin not all that thrilled about this photo session. Her foot is rested so her belly is swung out to the right or rather left. If she was standing correctly she would have no belly.

Fun shot! I am going to try and take video here and there and this was a test run. Here was the screen shot for it, I thought it was neat. Blankets are on all our guys for a few different reasons. One being most have no hair or are shedding while it is still very cold at night. Second even though it is sunny outside it is still cold out.

Here is the video.



Pulled her halter off and hit record she took off, sadly my camera is not a real camera but the video feature on my normal still camera. Thus no zoom sorry.

Tomorrow is the day Jerry is coming yay!!! I will bring my camera and maybe drag my Mom along so she can take photos. It will be a party!!

Layout and Monday

Wahooo so who likes the new layout? In hopes of having a girl I went with pink. I think it is rather cute if I don’t say so myself and I hate the color pink. When the time comes I will be adding more things to the bar on the right there ------à

My Mom and I are in the process of trying to figure out a way we can set up a camera in the barn. We will then be hitting the pawn shops and cruising the internet for video cameras. My plan to put three cameras in the big barn, one for each mare. Then either set up a computer down there or run it up to my Grandparents house so that we can have live streaming video of the mares. Marestare here me come!! I don’t know if I want to put all mares on a single screen so that you can see them all at the same time or have it cycle through them every so often. Any thoughts or opinions?

I don’t think I will be able to afford having three different cameras. That is why the question came up. Since Marquisse is a maiden mare I will want to have the camera for the 6 months. If you think about it 125 is not all that much but it adds up when you do it for three mares. I’d rather save the money to buy baby things!

On another note I mentioned that we will be putting them in the big barn. If you are not familiar with our layout we have two barns one small barn which houses eight stalls. In this barn I can only pull out two walls making only two foaling stalls. So I figured I will put all the mares that are foaling in the big barn with Wynter. Here I drew you a map to show where I plan on putting them… I wanted them by a tack room just in case I needed to sleep in the barn but that creates a bunch of problems so I will just put them at the end.

Well, Jerry called me in the middle of my speech class. Luckily I had it on vibrate and was able to get out of class before 5. I ended up just calling his cell phone anyway. He is a busy guy and had to make everything clear, he does a lot of breedings! So he told me he would come out on Monday and check all of them and get this show on the road!

Since tomorrow is Sunday I’m going to pull Marz out and take some photos of her belly. I plan on taking a photo of her front the front back and the sides. I can also try and get an overhead photo of her.

Called Vet left a Message....

I called our vet today and there was no answer. I left an message and I hope I can get a hold of them tomorrow. With the mares being on lights all winter I am hoping all is well. Jerry (our vet) needs to come out and check everyone and prostin them so that we are ready to breed at the end of the month.

Marz was really happy for dinner tonight I think it is so cute how she has no idea what is going to happen. Mom and I were talking and we are both a tad bit concerned on how she will be as a mother. She is pardon the French here but she is a bit of a hard ass so I am not sure how she will take mother hood. If worst comes to worst which I highly doubt it will I know Forba would take on another foal. She is a great mommy. If I was going to breed Toccata I know she would she knickers like crazy at the foals! I have a feeling Marz is going to be one of those over protective mean mares when she has a foal but I could be wrong she could turn into a complete softy. I am excited to see how she does.

About the Blog

My whole life I had always wanted an Arabian. Mainly because I watched the Black Stallion and my Mom took me to work with her when she worked at an Arabian Facility. My grandpa on the other hand wanted me to get a Haflinger. He had seen them in parades and had fallen in love with them. He learned somehow and to this day I have no idea how he found out but he knew that they would be the prefect horse for me. For the longest time I fought over it looking at Arabs and kept insisting that I get an arab. Then one day I had an epiphany; it was a horse, a horse I could get and I'd wanted one for years! My Grandpa and I went to the Lynden fair in 2000 and I fell in love with a gelding from 3R Farms. It took me several days to convince him and when he was ready to buy they said that they had sold him. I was devastated! Then my Grandma came to me and said “That horse wasn’t meant for you, the right horse will come along soon”. I will never forget those words.

On September 6th 2001 my Grandpa, Great Grandma and I went to the WHA event in Lynden, Washington. I was on a mission to go get a horse even though my grandpa didn't know it. We look at all the horses at least I did I ran around the whole barn looking at every horse that was for sale in second flat. That was when I saw a horse rubbing her tongue up and down her stall door. I stop and stared at her, it was the funniest thing. Then Emily (her breeder) walk up and said "Marquisse if you keep doing that no ones gonna want to buy you." I walked up to the silly pony and stuck my fingers through the chicken wire and petted her nose she moved her head so I’d itch behind her ear. I stood there and petted her and talk to her for a while and went to get my Grandpa to tell him I found the horse I wanted. I showed him her itchy spot. As he started to like her he spoke with Emily about her and he said we'd call her after my Grandpa thought about it. After those few days my Grandpa still hadn’t called so I started secretly e- mailed Emily asking about Marquisse. After a day of several emails I presented them to my grandpa and he finely called her. He set up an appointment to go up to there farm to see her and ask questions.

When we arrived, she was outside and Emily told us all about her lines and showed us her Dam Marlee. They talked payment while I ogled at the horses one horse unparticular. We went back a week or so later to give Emily the down payment on Marquisse, it took at lot of convincing on my part but I now had a horse! That day I went out into her field and sat under the tree just watching her and talking to her. When she walked up to me she sniffed me allover and then tried t chew on my shoes. I spent a half hour talking to her and telling her about me.

About a month later I went back up there to see her for a second time. We had decided to board her up at Emily’s until the winter was over as our barn was not fixed for horses yet. That time I brush her and talk to her. The next time I brought my mom and we tried to feed her a apple but she’d only lick it she had never had an apple before! Then I brought my best friend and showed her Marquisse. Then one day I over heard my grandma and grandpa talking about the ‘horse‘. I budded in and asked what they were talking about. It is strange how you have super sonic hearing when certin words are spoken its like hearing your name in a crowd. They told it was going to be a surprise but they told me anyway. They had decided to bring Marquisse home to a near by stable! I was so excited I think I may have scream! I remember her pulling up in the horse trailer at the barn. I was so excited! Jessica who offered to haul her down let me unload her and I lead her to her new stall. I believe she stayed at that facility for 6 months and every time I went into the barn she'd whinny to me. I loved that! So that is how Marquisse came to me and how I came to her!



I wrote that when I was 13 although I did go back and edit a lot of it. Marquisse was my first horse and is very special to me. She was my first in the world of horses in every way. She was the first horse I really fell off of she was the first to go to a show with me she was just always there with me. She was the perfect partner for a 12 year old going through her younger teens. She was my life and I will say she is still my life at 21. In fact I rode her out on the trails yesterday (Feb 15 2009) and had a blast.



Ever since my Grandfather introduced me to Haflinger’s I had fallen in love with them. I have been breeding Haflinger horses since 2005 our first foal was born on the farm April 26th 2006. We had a fabulous filly. Over the years Marquisse and I have been showing all over the west coast. She has racked up a lot of Hi-Points, Championships and just last year she got me my first belt buckle. In all this time because she had been a show horse and I have never bred her. This year will be the year that I will be breeding her for the first time.

I am excited and petrified all in one and it is a strange sensation. My favorite horse in the whole world, having a foal. The reason I am going to be blogging about it is so that I can log everything and look back on it all. Her foal will stay with me need it be a stud colt or a mare. Although I’d rather have a filly! This blog will morph after she foals and will go on to follow the foal as it grows and turns into a grown horse. It won’t always be pretty and it won’t always be happy but it will be an adventure and I am looking forward to it.




You may wonder what the blog title means as it can be taken in many different ways. First off this is a fantastic thing. Second which is a rather big second is that our farm name is Hopeful Farms. Named appropriately after the Black Stallion books. The movie had a profound influence on me and so have the books so I decided to call our farm Hopeful Farms with Marquisse being my not so black, black not really a stallion, stallion. Then when I wanted to name this blog I again turned to the Black Stallion. In the movie right after Alac sees the Black he runs to his father and says “It’s the most fantastic thing!” speaking of course about the Black. I found the quote quite fitting.

So here we are about to start this fantastic adventure.