It was a beautiful day in late November that my brother Bob took the camera and snapped this picture from up on the hill overlooking the barn stead. The silos in the back of the barn are reminder of the days we brought over 60 head of dairy cows to the barn twice a day to milk.
Today the barn is used for horse stalls. Not fancy but we are making do.
I haven't really known what to write about lately. Today is no different. But we have had a wonderful couple of days this week. The sun was out and shining bright on Tuesday. It was not like a December day. It was more like a November or even late October day. There was a chill in the air but it was still pleasant to get our vet work done with the herd.
My brother, Bob is amazed when we work the horses with the vet. How smoothly it goes for the most part. There were some who would rather stay down by the hay stacks. They really would rather have not been taken away but we did catch all of them with the help of a couple of feed buckets. You see, Bob was always working with cows when he lived on the dairy farm where we grew up just outside of Taylorsville. Working with cows always provided some interesting moments as we had to round them up and work them through a cattle shoot. We always had to catch their heads and try to get the work done on them while they were fighting with the head gate trying to escape. It was always a hard day of work to get shots, castrate bull calves and dehorn the young stock.
Tuesday it was just a matter of walking up to the horse, catching her and bringing her into the barn to get whatever care she needed. Then the hard part was getting them back out of the barn. They really like to hang around for the scratching on the shoulders or the bit of hay they can reach through the boards that separate the hay from the horse stalls.
It only took a short time to get the work done with the herd, pay the vet and go in for lunch.
Tuesday evening found me in Southeast Christian Church where I am a member with my dearest friend Donna to kick off the Christmas season with a group of other women to hear our guest speaker for the evening. But first the music. The music at our church is so beautiful. The men and women who do the praise and worship music at our church are good enough to be professionals but yet every week end for three services, we are led in praise and worship by these dedicated Christians. So the evening was such a great and glorious time of worship and learning. Listening and praying I think I speak for most who were there, that each of us took so much out of that service. We felt the presence of God there with us and it is beyond words to describe the joy and peace that fills one with such a close walk with our Saviour.
Wednesday, Bob and I went to Stanton, Kentucky. We visited the Dericksons and the Tiptons. While we were there, Jamie rode Rockin Andi and S T was on Code of Honor. To watch the two of them working together was very enlightening. Andi has been under saddle for a year now and Code of Honor has been under saddle just a couple of months. Andi is smooth as silk. Everyone at the farm is so excited about Andi. She is intelligent and she has settled into her gait so well. She knows what she is doing and she likes doing it.
On the other hand, Cody is just a couple of months into his training and he is still figuring out what exactly is expected of him. But he is getting it and he works hard. I am so pleased with Cody and Andi both. Both of the trainers are doing such a wonderful job with the horses. They are each in different stages but they are learning. Andi and Jamie demonstrated the side pass she has recently started learning. Cody and S T were out on the obstacles. He is willing and working hard. I am so pleased to own both of those horses.
I first saw Rockin Andi about this time last year. I was visiting Van Bert's and Jamie was riding my mare Rocky Top Rebel. Along came Brandon on this new horse that had just gone under saddle. I know Larry set me up. Of course all of you who know Larry do know this is how he sells horses. The horse Brandon was on almost took my breath away. She was so smooth and had a way of moving that just drew one's eyes right to her. And again, she had just been put under saddle. I knew she was really something special.
Brandon rode around the lot in front of me several times and of course I had to ask Larry who that horse was. He knew when I first saw her that I was hooked. Just as he had expected. But who wouldn't like her. I watched as she moved away from me and she looked smooth as silk even then to my untrained eye. It seems she had been given the name Tila Tiquila. I bought her almost on the spot and changed her name to Rockin Andi. Of course everyone thought she was a colt because of her name. But my granddaughter's name is Andrea and we have called her Andi since she was a little girl. So my horse is named after Andrea. Thus Rockin Andi.
Larry has a way of selling me horses. He can read me like a book. May I tell you how I acquired another of my fillies. Her name is Flair for Fury. She is a beautiful chocolate with a flaxen mane and tail. I had taken Mt Spirit to Van Bert's to have him trained for showing in hand over the summer. Spirit was under weight from the winter and Larry started feeding him up and working with him. Pretty soon he was leading like he had done it every day of his life. I was practicing leading him thinking I would eventually show him this past season.
I was practicing in the barn one day and Larry had Lewis bring Flair for Fury out to show me how to lead and park a horse out. Larry also wanted me to see the difference between Flair and Spirit as far as conditioning. Well that was his story and I am sure he is sticking to it. Before I knew what was happening to me, I owned that one too. Mike and Judy Brummer own Flair's sire, Venture's Black Fury. They of course wanted to have her stay in Kentucky to show in the UMH shows this past season since she was a Fury Baby. There was some interest in her from up north and she would have been shipped out of Kentucky.
This was one of the best buys I made at Van Bert's although every horse I have bought there is an outstanding horse. But thanks to Flair, I will be receiving two high point trophies at the awards banquet on the 12th of December. Flair is here on the farm now and she is growing like a weed. She has had a saddle on her several times. She has also had a rider in the saddle once and was outstanding. She was calm and stood perfectly still for the mount and dismount. She is still young and has not been worked hard at all. But she is a treasure and she is going to be an outstanding mare.
The other high point award will be for W O F Dock's Velvet. She is a two year old filly that I bought as a weanling. She has been under saddle for almost a year now and has won the high point award for 2-3 year old Country Trail Pleasure. She is still with Cool Shade Mt Horses for training over the winter. She too will be awesome next show season.
Larry and Vera took us out to supper last night for some fried green tomatoes. It is such a pleasant time when it is spent with these two special people. The fried green tomatoes were good too. I didn't go to Stanton but once is November and I really missed all of the people at the Van Bert Farm. So it was really a wonderful day and one that will live in my memory for a long time.
God bless you and keep you in his loving and tender care.
Regards
Mary
"Riding horses is easy, Climbing back in the saddle of life when you repeatedly fall off, now, that is a lot harder. I kept going because of my mother's belief in me and because my love of animals and my desire to learn about them were stronger than my fear of failure--and because I had a horse carrying me."
Janice Willard, DVM MS
From "Chicken Soup for the Horse Lover's Soul"
"Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desire of thine heart. Commit thy ways unto the Lord trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass."
Psalms37: 4-5
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear' but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
II Timothy 1: 7
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