Jake's Image aka Mystery

A lot has happened since I posted last.  I don't know where to start.  I hated to stop blogging but it seemed best under the circumstances and then it seemed I was out of the habit and it was hard to get started again.  I was sued in 2011 and won't go into the circumstances but it caused me to think about my blogs.  Could someone take something from my blog that would be twisted and used against me in the lawsuit?  So I just quit blogging

Today I was posting some pictures on You Tube and a choose I had was to post it to blogger.  I wasn't sure what that meant but it brought me here.

So here I am.  If you noticed my title I have an aka in it.  Why is Jake's Image referred to as an aka?.  I bought some horses to sell and I hadn't really worked with Image so I forgot which one she was.  One day I got to looking at her and asked who this one was.  She is a pretty chocolate mare with a flaxen mane and tail.  So I asked the young man who was working for me what her name was.  It soon developed into an argument. Or a friendly discussion is more like what it really was.    We discussed the horse being this one or that one.  It got so bad it was suggested someone had dropped this horse at the farm.  I thought it couldn't be that.  So I pulled tail hair and sent it to RMHA.   Cyndee Davis called me with the results.  She said, "Mary, that is your horse"  I asked what is her name.  She told me that it was Jake's Image.  I turned to Austin and said, "Well you told me that other horse was Jake's Image" So we had a good laugh at ourselves that day.

So any time anybody says to me that they are surprised that I know all the horses I have and know their names, I just smile and nod my head.

It made me start to thinking about God our Father.  He knows all of His children by name and He never forgets any one of us.      How do we really this for sure?  For any question we have on life, we can find the answer in God's Holy Word.  The Bible.  The Bible tells us that God created us from dust and that He knows how how many hairs we have in our heads.  He created us so He knows every cell of our bodies.

He tells us in Psalms that He knit us in our mother's womb.

Besides being so wrong to take a human life, that is what is so evil and anti-God about abortion.  God knit us in our mother's womb.  And before w were born He sent Jesus, His only begotten son, to suffer on the cross to pay for our sins.  Now that is our Father in Heaven.  He not only created us and knit us together in our mother's womb but He sacrificed His own son to deliver us from hell.

That is not all He does for us.  Each day He provides for us.  We have food to eat and clothes to wear and a roof over our heads.  My lights stay on and my water continues to run out of the facet when I cook or shower.  He is merciful.  He is the ever loving God and Father.  Creator of all things.

And that is why some days I break out in song.  "I've got the joy, joy, joy down in my heart"  Or "Oh how I love Jesus.  Because He first loved me"  Or how about the children's song we all should know so well.  "Jesus loves me this I know.  For the Bible tell me so"

I love you all and don't forget Jesus loves you too.  In spite of who you are or what you have done  He died for you too.

Jake's Image

Hobo's Legacy

                                 

                                                                       Hobo's Legacy

I first saw Once a Hobo at Van Bert Farms.   She was sweet and I immediately liked her.  Of course, Larry Patterson was always looking for a horse to sell me and we were soon talking terms and price.  She was certified and bred to Sudden Impact.  Sudden Impact was a grand champion park horse and a really beautiful stallion.

I soon learned that Hobo was a well bred little mare.  She was a daughter of Shepherd's Snowy River.  He is many times a grand champion stallion so the breeding was a great choice.  True to form when you breed a horse with good genetics to a horse with good genetics and match them for conformation you should  produce a good horse.  This breeding was no exception.  

I named their foal, WOF Saga of Snowy River.  He went to the show ring in his weanling year and won his very first show.  He was a beautiful chocolate colt that promised to be as good or better than his parents.

Her second foal was again a chocolate colt.  This time a son of my stallion, SC Code of Honor.  This colt exceeded all of my expectations for him.  I loved his beautiful good looks and he was true to his good breeding.  He was well gaited and he is now making his home in Michigan.  His owner had a long list of requirements for her horse. And Chief fit them as nearly perfectly as any horse could.   I named him WOF Chief's Code in honor of  my son who is in the Navy and had made Sr Chief.  

Her next foal was a black filly.  Once again sired by Code of Honor.  We don't know for sure what she is going to be when we start riding her but true to her breeding she is a beautiful filly.  I named her WOF Alyssa's Grace after my then youngest great granddaughter.  

Next came WOF Honor's Legacy.  Again, a Code of Honor colt.  He is beautiful too and looks just like Hobo through his face and head.  He is a two year old now but once again true to his breeding, he is really beautiful and I expect all of Hobo's off spring to gait well and stay true to their  breeding.  

This year Hobo had a filly that is a chocolate roan.  This little filly was growing really fast due to all the milk that Hobo was giving.  Her sire is Silver Design owned by Justin Blevins.  

Then disaster struck.  

We never know what challenges we will face that day when we get out of bed.  What started off as a nice day soon turned ugly for us.  It was apparent that Hobo was in some sort of trouble.  Bob noticed after they ate lunch that Hobo was laying down a lot.  He went into the field and she came right up to him.

We have noticed time and time again that horses will walk right up to us when they need help.  The first time I noticed it was when I was boarding some horses.  One kept losing her fly mask and when we finally caught her I secured it a little tighter than I had before.

This mare was one of the hardest horses we have ever had on the farm to caught but that day she walked right up to me.  Right away I noticed that the fly mask had cut into her nose and was making a nasty place and the flies were drawn to it.  It must have been miserable.  She needed help and she came to me for it.  I loosened the mask and as I ripped the Velcro she stepped away from me.  The noise had startled her but she let me walk back up to her to loosen the other strip.  We treated it and soon it was healed but I had learned several lessons that day.

Now Hobo was in trouble.  She knew it and soon Bob knew it too.  She was in pain and we couldn't determine why.  She was eating grass like she was really hungry but we could tell she was hurting.  We soon had Melissa Thompson on the phone describing symptoms and had her promise that as soon as Dr Thompson was free, he would be on his way.  

It was after 8 pm that night before Dr Thompson drove into the farm.  He could tell she was in terrible pain but nothing he gave her made much difference.  Her baby was happy to be out in a new place and she ran and played and only occasionally came back to Hobo for a quick snack.  She was a very happy little month old filly.

Then the diagnosis came and it was terrible.  The membranes surrounding the small intestine had torn and a section had worked it's way out and was twisted.  With the diagnosis came the hard decision to put her down.  I couldn't watch as the shot was adminstered to end her life.  Like the coward I am, I made my way to the house.  I busied myself finding the nipples and a bottle to start feeding the little orphan filly.  

Bob had already led Hobo into an enclosed stall and trapped the filly there so she couldn't hurt herself.  And then Doc and Bob walked Hobo away.  As they were leading her away from the barn, she was calling frantically for her baby and her baby answered her every call.  It was heart rending.  A scene that plays over and over in my mind.  This mare loved her baby more than life itself.  And the baby loved her mother.  

I have often thought how much we can learn from horses.  Especially a mare and her foal.  I do not think that animals have a soul.  But I can't help but believe that animals will be in heaven.  Horses are mentioned in the Bible in Revelations.  I do know for sure that animals have emotions.  They experience pain as we well know.  But they also experience love.  

I have watched Bob and Satin together.  Satin loves Bob and she even displays jealousy.  I have seen her act jealous when Bob rides another horse.  If people would watch a mare and her foal they would learn a lot.
There are many lessons one can learn.  

Many women are getting abortions because of the inconvenience a child would be for them.  They are allowing their babies to be killed for their selfish reasons. But most mares would die protecting their babies.

Another lesson one can learn is discipline.  When a foal gets out of line the mare quickly disciplines with a kick or a bite. Sometimes all she does is pen her ears back.    I am not suggesting anyone bite or kick their children but as I look around places I shop, I do think that a good paddling would do some children a lot of good.  I know it's not acceptable to spank children these days.  We don't want to hurt their little egos.  Not every child needs spanking but some need their little back sides paddled and let those egos take care of themselves.  

I mare keeps her foal close to her side.  At least for the first several weeks.  She keeps a very watchful eye on that foal even though she may just look busy grazing.  She will call them back to her if they get too far away.  I see parents that let their children run loose in the store and have no idea where that child is despite the fact that children are stolen every day and abused and often killed. What are they thinking?

This series of pictures is some pictures I took for her registration papers.  She is roaning out very beautifully. 

After Hobo died we tried to get another mare to take Legacy but it didn't work so we bottle fed her until time to wean her.  Dr Thompson told us she would survive but she would not thrive.  She not only survived but she also thrived. He admitted that this time this filly thrived even without a mother.  I like to think she had many mothers.  We all loved to take our turns feeding her.

She has had her share of attention.  We loved on her and played with her but she was also turned out with other mares and their foals.  We correct her when she needs it. She was a big hit when we had my granddaughter's wedding reception in the barn in late September just before she and her herd mates were weaned..  They are all thriving despite the bad weather. 

I see God working in our lives every day and in many ways.  God teaches us through the ordinary of every day life.  If a mare and foal can love each other so deeply can't we believe God loves us even more.  I can believe because I know that Jesus, God only begotten son died to pay for my sins. 

For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

God bless and happy trails.

Mary Lipginski

Black Jack

I bought Ace's Black Jack in the fall of 2012 for a prospective breeding stallion.  He is sired by Ace of Spades.  His breeding is really good and he has that signature Ace of Spades look to him that turns heads and wins shows.  Ace of Spades has a show record that has not been equaled and may never be unless it is one of his offspring.  And what was exciting about this stallion, he has not red gene.  So that those who wanted to breed to him with no chance of having a red colt could breed to him with the assurance that there would be no red foal.

We were all very excited about this young stallion and had really high hopes for him.  We brought him home to Whispering Oaks Farm near Taylorsville Ky in December and pretty much turned him out to grow and mature.  First we turned him out with pregnant mares.  They taught him about respect and manners.  Black Jack however, was already a well manned horse but we knew he still had a lot to learn and we wanted to teach him every thing he needed to know before he was ready to ride.

Winter turned into spring and spring into summer.  He had been out in the field with the cows over the winter learning that there were other animals besides animals that looked like him.  He was ok with cows.  He learned to be good with dogs and cats roaming around.  He didn't fear tractors or four wheelers.  He is in general just a sweet wonderful Rocky Mountain Horse.

In late spring we brought him in from the field and stalled him in the main barn.  We found he really hated the converted tobacco barn because he was out of the line of traffic and he loves being where he can see the action.  A curious thing started to happen.  We would find him out of the stall and walking up and down the road.  We started calling him our Houdini because he seemed to have a knack for getting out of his stall.  We learned that he was even more intelligent than we had given him credit to be.  He had figured out how to unchain the gate to his stall and let himself out.

He didn't go anywhere or get into trouble.  He just liked his freedom and liked grazing on the new spring grass. But we had to take steps to make it where he couldn't;t get out of the stall for fear he would stumble into trouble that wasn't even of his own making.

Early summer came and Bob was round penning him one day when I had my camera at the barn. When Bob brought him back to the barn I asked him to walk Black Jack back out where I could get some good pictures of him.  Bob turned him around to walk him to a good place to take pictures and that is when we had the first sign of trouble.  Black Jack was dragging his back foot.  Just on one side but it was enough to be troubling.

After a series of vet treatments, he was getting even worse.  My vet suggested building up his back end which by the middle of summer was getting worse and worse by putting a light weight rider on him.  We put the lightest rider on the farm on his back but he just stumbled worse and even went down with her.  Next my vet suggested we get a second opinion from Park Equine Hospital in Paris Ky. He was losing ground fast.

We loaded him on the trailer and I drove to Paris with my horse who now was too thin and had no back end to hold him up.  We were all very worried about him.  One of the assistants walked him off of the trailer for me and he looked terrible.  I was ashamed to be bring a horse that looked like him anywhere because of what people may be thinking of me for having a horse that looked that bad.  Would they think I didn't care for my animals like I should.

Dr Travis McVey was the vet that saw Black Jack that day.  Travis can testify what he looked like and how he could hardly walk up their driveway as he watched him to help with his diagnosis.  Travis mentioned EPM and I didn't want to hear about that.  I already knew all too well what that was.  But the shocker came when Travis said it could be worse.  There is another condition called Wobbles that is even worse.  I didn't know how much worse it was about to get even after that devastating news.

Travis wanted to xray Black Jack and I agreed.  Black Jack was led into the examining room where the xray machine was and he was soon hooked up and the xrays were started.  I watched the procedure and watched Travis for his reaction.  I didn't like what I was seeing.  Travis didn't have a very positive look on his face.  He called Dr Park and some of the other vets there to come look at the xrays.

After discussion they turned to me and Travis gave me the devastating news.  Black Jack had bone spurs up and down his neck.  The spurs were pinching a nerve that runs up and down the horse's back and it was interfering with the signals from the brain that controls the back end of a horse.  I broke down and cried.  There wasn't anything that could be done.  My hopes and dreams for this horse were dashed as I was told to take him home and make the decision about when to put him down.

I called Rebecca Monhollen and cried as I told her about this beautiful wonderful colt that I was going to have to put down.  I called my brother Bob and cried some more.  I had cried on Travis' shoulder and I cried all the way home.  Travis did tell me that it was not something he had inherited but was probably the result of an illness that occurred in his weanling years.  But what difference did that make then.  I was going to have to put my beautiful black stallion with this awesome breeding down and watch his lifeless face and see those eyes that were so beautiful staring back out me with all the life gone from them.

I delayed the decision because I just couldn't bring myself to call the vet for that shot.

In the meantime, our Bible Study class had decided to have a cook out at my farm.  I timidly ask Bob if it would be wrong to pray for  healing for Black Jack.  We discussed the concept and finally decided it would not be wrong to pray for a horse.  The Bible tells us that not a sparrow falls to the ground that God doesn't take notice.  So why wouldn't He take notice of this amazing horse He had created.

After everyone had eaten Bob told our Bible Study class what we intended to do.  He invited anyone who wanted to go to the barn and pray with us to come along.  Some came and some had other commitments they had made for the evening.  So we walked to the barn with a bottle of olive oil.  Bob anointed Black Jack.  Everyone laid hands on him and we prayed.  Bob led us in prayer.  He promised God we would give Him the glory for healing Black Jack but as always His will be done. So that is where the matter stood.

Of course I wasn't going to put him down before we knew what God had planned for him.  So we turned him back out with the cows and some other young colts.  Black Jack had to use his back end to walk up the hill to graze or for hay.  He had to use his back end to go back down to the creek for water.  We started noticing that Black Jack was looking better.

In the late summer, I called my friend Toro to see if he could put his lightest rider on Black Jack and maybe get him certified to use for light breeding.  There were some mares I thought I could breed to him.  We hooked up the trailer and took Black Jack to Toro.  Toro is a very dear friend.  His actual name is Eramus Moreno.  But everyone calls him Toro.  Toro was very surprised to see how good Black Jack actually looked.  I had of course told Toro of his diagnosis and what the vet had said. And he expected the very worse.

I didn't see Black Jack for several weeks but when I did, he was looking even better.  We decided that of course we couldn't show him.  He was much to thin for showing under halter.  The next time I saw Black Jack, Toro was riding him.  I was amazed.  Toro is over 6' tall and he is not a little man as you can see in the video.

So is there any question about what made the difference in Black Jack.  There is no question in my mind.  Do you believe in miracles?  I do absolutely.  Black Jack is enough proof for me but he is only one of many miracles our blessed Lord shows us every day.  If you aren't convinced that God heals, watch the video again.  I hear the words in my mind over and over, "you have no choice.  We can do nothing for him" And we have not had a vet to do a single thing for him since that day because, Travis was right, the vets could do nothing for him but our amazing God is a God of love.  A God who heals in miraculous ways.

Some ask me if I had him xrayed again.  I say no because it would be a waste of money.  I already know that  God has healed this horse. Travis McVey has seen videos and I told him the story.  He says there can be no other explaination.

Now watch the video again and I think you will see it in a new and different way.

God bless you all.  May you look so that you can see the mircles in your life.  It may not be as dramatic as Black Jack healing but they are there.  Thanks for reading Black Jack's story and may your faith and love grow every day as our amazing God reveals Himself to all of us in wonderful ways.

Mary Lipginski

Picture This

Sometimes I still watch the Golden Girls on their reruns.  One of the favorite characters in this series was Dorothy's mother.   She always had a story about her younger days and she always began her story with "picture this".

Today this is how I am going to begin my story.  I put a picture of Sky's on Fire first and then the picture of WOF Dock's Velvet.  This week we have been breeding Sky to Velvet.  I have put his and her colors in to  the color coat calculator to determine what color we might get from this breeding.  The main colors we can get is red chocolate, red chocolate roan, bay roan and bay.  There is also a chance, very small chance, of blue roan.  We are excited , of course, to see what this breeding will bring.  So this week I am trying to "picture this" new foal that will be born this time next year and what it will look like.

Pictured with Velvet is this year's foal born late October.  Her name is WOF's Lady Liberty.  She is by RHF Benjamin Franklin.   Ben is a beautiful black stallion owned by Van Bert Farms.  It turned out to be a very good cross.  She has a beautiful head.  He neck fits very nicely into her shoulders and her back end matches the rest of her body.  I think she is a nicely put together filly.

Speaking of blessing from God.  I have a favorite scripture.  It is Romans 8:28 and it says, "For I know all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and who are called according to His purpose."  That does not say that everything is always going to go perfect for us.  It says that whatever happens, God will use for our good.  In that light, I am thinking of the new stallion prospect I bought last year.  I thought the stallion prospect, Black Jack was going to be the black stallion I would use for breeding my own mares.  He is absolutely beautiful and really put together nicely.  

Things happen and we decided to buy another black stallion prospect.  I liked him and I could see he was even better than Black Jack.  He is a younger horse.  Right now he is 18 months old and way too young to use to breed and certainly too young to put a rider on him to get him certified.  So it will be several more years before he is a breeding stallion but God sure blessed our farm with this stallion.  

The first picture in these three is Black Jack.  The second and third is of his half sibling, Ace's Pacifico.  Not a terribly good picture of Pacifico.  This picture makes him look high in the rear but he was standing on uneven ground.  The concrete was slanted to facilitate drainage.  

Since these pictures was taken back in October he has put on weight and his neck has gotten thicker and he is really taking on the look of a stallion.  So exciting things are happening here on Whispering Oaks Farm.  We are involved in a breeding program that will be of benefit to our registered  Rocky Mountain Horses as well as those bred that will go into the KMSHA registry.  There would be no point in breeding to just have foals on the ground just because we like foals.  And I do love the foals we have.

  I love the spring time when we go to the field and find new baby calves and have new foals.  It is exciting to see the new life springing up all around.

It is the way God has of telling us that He believes in His creation.  The grass springs forth out of the brown earth.  Cows start to put their young on the ground.  We see deer with their fawns.  Dogs with new puppies and cats with a new litter of kittens.   Occasionally we will see a coyote and her litter of pups.  We catch an occasional glimpse of a baby bunny or a female coon with her young.  In the farm stores, I hear the cheerful sounds of baby chicks and ducks.  

All of it tells us that life is being renewed everywhere.

Right now we are coming upon winter.  In fact it feels like winter here today.  The grass has turned brown from the cold that has brought frost.  The horses and cows are putting on longer hair to help them survive the bitter cold that is bound to come.  The hay stacks are piled high with the hay that will bring the horses and cows through the long cold winter.  The winter that we know will  pass and usher in spring.

  This time of the year reminds me that winter will soon come to our lives as well.   As I get older, I am reminded every day that my life is coming to a close.  It could be years from now but no one knows the day or hour of their own death.  But like life on the farm I know even after death there will be a glorious spring.  A spring that I can't imagine for the eye has not seen nor the ear has heard the glory of heaven.  I am just on a journey here on this earth for heaven is my true home.  

I think of the times when I am away from home.  Bill and I traveled to Germany, Italy and France when our sons were stationed overseas.  They were all lovely trips.  I go to horse shows now and stay in nice motels with clean (I hope) rooms and beds that are made up for me every morning.  Fresh towels hang in the bathroom and any thing we have left out of place is put in order but yet I am so happy to get home.  It is my home.  Heaven is my real home and  I sometimes think of the day when I will be home again.

Some say there is no God and no after life.  I am sorry for them.  I saw a picture of an basketball player with tatoos all over his arms and I guess anywhere else a tatoo could be placed.   He said it was his identity.  It is who he is.  That is really sad.  I don't have a tatoo nor will I ever get one.  I know who I am without it.  I am a child of God.  That is my identity.  I am not just Mary Lipginski mother of........, widow of......., daughter of......., sister of .............  My real identity is  child of God.  My Jesus died so that I can someday go to my home in heaven.  That is who I am.

God bless each of you who read my blogs and happy trails to you.  And may you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Mary Lipginski

Proverbs 1:7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction.  

In Psalms it says that a fool has said in his heart that there is no God.   

 

Sky's on Fire Continued

The first pictures are of Sky and Guy the first day we let them out of the barn.  It didn't take them very long before they realized that they were in an area larger than a 12x12 stall and they made full use of their new found freedom.  It was a very foggy morning in December for their first day out.    Tuff Guy wasn't as thin as Sky but his looks started to improve right away and by the middle of the summer Tammy was riding him and had him doing everything she ask of him.  He is a really beautiful gelding and a real sweet heart.  

There is a video on www.trailhorsecentral.com of Tuff Guy on the trails with Tammy.  Check it out.  He is a very brave horse.  And really a beautiful animal.  

Some call these two horses "rescues".  I'm not sure they fit the actual definition of "rescues".  I did pay for them.  It has cost me a pretty good amount of money to get Sky where he is today but it is my belief that Sky will be contributing to the Rocky Mountain and the Ky Mountain Horse breeds for years to come.  He has definitely added a wonderful element to Whispering Oaks Farm.  I want to thank his breeder for allowing me to buy him.  

I want to say that I do not accuse his owner of abuse.  Sky is such a sweet stallion and I don't believe he has ever been physically abused.  Sometimes people get in situations that the minimum is all they can do for their animals and he took the right steps to get these horses good homes and do better by them.  So I do not want my blogs to insinuate that this person is a bad person at all.  I admire him for putting them up for sale when he knew he needed to find them homes.  He definitely has a good eye for breeding.  Otherwise these two horses wouldn't be as well bred as they are.  Sky's breeding is exceptional and he is an exceptional horse. 

I can't say enough good about either of these horses.  They are sweet and kind and willing.

Yesterday I was with Chris and Stacie at Cool Shade.  Sky allowed me to pet him and be in his face.  He was good about me petting him and rubbing his face.  No meanness or attempts to nibble like some stallions.  He is such a joy to be around and it is such a pleasure to watch him under saddle.  

I hope you have enjoyed the first chapters of Sky and Guy's lives.  I look forward to the future when there will be more stories of Sky with pictures of his foals and of Guy when he finds the perfect home.  

God bless you all and happy trails to all of you.  Thanks for reading my blogs and for your kind remarks and comments.  

Mary Lipginski

Pleasant word are sweet as an honeycomb, sweet in the soul and health to the bones.

Proverbs 16:24

Sky's on Fire

I have been asked by several people to tell Sky's story.  So here goes.  I hope I can tell it in a way to do him justice.

It was early December and we had an important errand to run.  First we had to deliver Velvet to Van Bert Farms for her date with a stallion called RHF Benjamin Franklin.  We left her  in capable hands and headed for the hills.  Actually the foothills of the Appalachians in Eastern Kentucky to look at a couple of horses a man had for sale.

After a about forty five minutes we arrived at the barn where the horses were stalled.  We met the owner's wife and were soon in the barn looking at the two horses we were there to buy.  The sun was bright for a December day but when I opened one of the stall doors it seemed dark.  Behind the closed door I could still see a horse that surprised me for the amount of bones I could see throughout his skinny body.  It was hard to tell what color he really was.

In the meantime the other stall door had been opened to a expose a very thin chocolate gelding.   The horses were led out to let us look at them in the sun light.  Both seemed very sweet and very willing to to do as asked.  I liked them but I just wasn't sure about what I was buying.

The check was signed, the horses were loaded and the papers were signed over.  We were on the road with the horses and on the way.  On the way home I stopped at the Park's Equine Clinic.  I had the two horses examined from head to hoof.  They pronounced them in good health all though very thin.

Late in the afternoon we got home with the two new horses.  We put them in stalls and looked them over.  I was still wondering what I was doing with two horses that looked like that.  I buy good horses that are beautiful and look like they are ready to go into the show ring or will be ready to show soon.  Or horses that I can get out on the trails.  These two looked like buzzard bait.  Poor things but the people at Whispering Oaks Farm love horses and will do what ever is necessary to take good care of any horse that comes to our farm.

The next morning we led the two horses out to the arena to let them get some exercise.  We were all watching to see what these two horses were going to do.  We didn't know how long they had been stalled up without being turned out   I did know that Sky had been shod back in the spring of 2011 and that he had lost his shoes in the stall.  His feet looked like they hadn't been trimmed since that time.  It was December of 2012.

They just stood there for a long time.  Sky and Guy were at their new home but they didn't seem to know what to do with an area larger than a 12x12 stall.  Finally Sky decided he would take a little run.  Guy just stood there and looked at him.  Finally he decided he would like to try that too so he started to run too.

Both of them stopped and sniffed the ground.  There was still some shoots of green grass.  Sky started picking around to grab a few bites.  Guy didn't know exactly what to do with it so it was sniffing around on this strange stuff on the ground.  Finally he too decided he might try it.  And he liked it.

More running, some grazing and some more running.  They were beginning to enjoy their new found freedom.  Then they rolled and rolled.  They were loving these "open spaces".   They went back in the stall that night while we were thinking about how to handle these two horses that hadn't had exercise for however long.  And we didn't know how long it had been.   The main thing was to make sure we didn't work them too hard, too fast.

After a few days we decided we would put them out with the cows.  This seemed to be a good idea.  They had to walk up the hill to eat the hay and back down the hill to get their water.  We also fed them by the barn  so they had to do some more walking to get there.

In February I thought I needed to take another course of action for Sky.  His mane had been combed out and a lot of mane had come out.  It was barely long enough to know he had an actual mane.  The farrier had been here and he and Guy each had a new hoof job.  Chris and Stacie had done his teeth and found he still had wolf teeth although one had been broken off.

So in February I loaded him up and headed to Chris and Stacie's stable.  This started the new chapter in Sky's life.  In the meanwhile, Guy stayed here to get his training under saddle here.

At that time, we were having show committee meetings every Tuesday.  I made it a point to leave early so I could go see Sky.  By this time, Chis had decided his name should actually be Darrell Strawberry because of his color.  He soon shortened it down to Strawberry.  And that is his barn name.  Every week it was thrilling to see how Sky was changing.  Stacie had already started with a daily routine of grooming.  His mane was still very short but it seemed every week, it had grown a little more.  She had his tail looking shiny and clean.  In the meantime, Chris was working on his diet.  He was gaining weight.  He was even putting a little muscle on.  They were putting him on the hot walker every day and riding him lightly.

Chris had started him out to make sure he would be ok for Stacie to ride but soon Stacie was riding him almost exclusively.  All the time, he was getting fed three times a day.  He was getting groomed and having the best of care.  He was getting basic training.  And most of all he was getting loved on and brushed and bathed every day.  He was rapidly responding to the special care he was getting every day.

Now let me say this about Sky, he was a sweet horse from the first day I laid eyes on him.  He had the most wonderful disposition I have ever seen on any horse.  But he bloomed under the care that Chris and Stacie have given him.  We decided that Sky would not be used for breeding until we got his mind straight about being ridden.  He was a six year old with a two year old mind as far as riding him.

Spring turned into summer and though Sky was making stunning progress yet we really didn't think he would be ready for any of the International or World Shows.  But still, here we were the end of August and Sky was in the show ring at the World Show in the conformation class and he won the reserve championship.  Under Saddle class saw Sky again getting a lot of attention.  No ribbon but we were all so proud of him.  All of what he was experiencing was new to him.  He had left the farm where I bought him, taken to WOF, then to Cool Shade and now to the World Show.  I can't tell you how proud I am of this horse.  And how thankful to Chris and Stacie for the care they have given him.

Every week brought new changes to Sky and his looks were improving every day.  By the time the RMHA International Show came around we were really excited about his progress.  Once again, he walked into the show ring and came out with the Reserve Grand Championship for stallions 6-9 years old.  Then he went on to win his under saddle class as the International Grand Champion Stallion in the 6-9 age group.

October came and he was in a totally new arena again at the KMSHA International Show.  No ribbons this time but he sure got a lot of looks.  Everyone loves his color, his disposition and his gait.

Today I took two mares to Cool Shade.  Both are going to be bred to Sky and I am very excited about the prospect of having two babies on the ground for him this time next year.

Sky's on Fire has a story like a fairy tale.  I am so bless by God that I have been a part of Sky's story.  And we are all a part of His Story.  We can find His Story in a series of 66 books.  These stories are found in the Bible.  Where do you fit into that story?  Read the book and find where you fit. I am happy to say I already know where I fit into the story. 

God bless all of you and happy trails.

Mary