The Christmas Gift

Posted on October 26, 2010 by admin

December 23, 2009

Sometimes it is hard to have enough vision to see what is really possible or valuable. I sure didn’t see this Christmas coming. I should know better. When my husband Dan says, “I’ve been thinking” we have come to expect some idea has been formulated in his mind that is beyond our wildest imagination. Sometimes we roll our eyes, and sometimes he makes us smile and join him in his journey through fantasy land, trying to imagine just how on earth he will make his dream come true.

Before we were married, and Dan was in school, he harvested a good number of Walnut trees. Being the industrious young man that he was, he obtained a lumber mill, which he used to make dimensional boards from these trees. He stacked his huge, heavy pile of boards and re-stacked them so they would cure dry naturally over time. When we were married in 1973 he used some of these boards to make me a beautiful solid Walnut kitchen and a few pieces of furniture. A huge pile remained. Dan continued to re-stack the boards periodically so they would remain straight, sometimes relocating to different buildings for storage. We also have moved thirteen times in our marriage until we settled on the farm in 1995. This Walnut has continued to be moved and re-stacked MANY MANY times in the past fifteen years. I have often thought it was pretty worthless and a great deal of work to take care of this wood. I wanted to sell it many times, even placing adds in papers for someone to buy it. I never had anyone interested. I was hopeful it would ALL be put to good use when our son Nathan used it for a kitchen in his home. It was and is beautiful, but it didn’t make a dent in the pile of lumber that occupied a large portion of our storage shed. So you can see, even though it had been put to good use it seemed like friendship bread, it just kept being there. I had no idea there was so much wood in that pile. What good would it ever be? Until recently when Dan was thinking.

We went to the fair in August and saw the draft horses being driven. It wasn’t the first time we have seen draft horses, but for some reason it was appealing to Dan. As we have become grandparents we have tried to find unique ways to build memories for our children and their families. Our farm has been in our family since 1876 and has had a long history of horses and the life associated with them. It seems only natural to blend that heritage with a historical experience that children can experience. So Dan “was thinking”. “What could we do for Christmas to build a memory?” At about the same time our friend offered us his Percheron stallion Cody. It was a huge endeavor. We knew little about draft horses and driving, but Dan wanted to learn and that always makes me happy. We took Cody to a trainer and bought a second horse, Ben, to be his teammate. Once they were going well we started lessons together to learn how to do this safely. We were eager, but not all that quick to learn. As Dan asked questions he started to formulate an idea. He found an antique sled that needed a box on it. He could build a box, but what should it look like? He sat for hours searching the web for ideas. Finally he had an idea of something in his head. Nathan came to the farm and together they created, figured and planned a beautiful wooden box to fit on the sled that was large enough to carry a family. Oh yes, it is made of solid Walnut and White Oak, probably the only one of its kind. Who would have ever guessed that we would ever find such a unique way to use the wood that has been so much work over the years. I look at this sled, now amazed. I see the labor of such a loving, creative, wonderful husband and father, who has designed beauty, brought value to what I thought was worthless, and think, “I am truly blessed this Christmas.”

By the way, there is still more Walnut in storage. I just appreciate having it now.

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Our horses, Great and Small

Posted on October 26, 2010 by admin

HOLLYBROOK SHEER BLISS



Bliss is a 14.3 H Morgan mare. She is broke to ride and drive, showing primarily in English pleasure divisions. She was purchased in North Carolina with Heaven’s Love Command to be a broodmare. We were unable to achieve a foal. She was sold to become a lesson and therapy horse.

LUCKY


One day while I was working in my garden a car pulled up and said there was a loose pony in a field 1 mile from my house and it had been loose for days as other neighbors had seen it. The little horse walked up to me and followed me home. It didn’t have a halter on it, but it was broke to lead. I kept it in my barn overnight. The next morning his owner called asking if I had seen his little horse. Of course it was Lucky. He had to go home after his night in the Turning Point Hilton for horses. Too bad, it looked like he could use some TLC.
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SKIPPA CHERO


Chero is a 16 H Paint Horse who came to us with extreme emotional distress. His pasture mate had died suddenly and years passed before he saw another horse. When he came to us he would have panic attacks if separated from the other horses, to the point of severe body shaking.  Eventually the problem resolved. He was placed in a new home where he would be shown in Western Pleasure classes.

DANDY


Dandy is a 16H half Arabian and half warm-blood gelding. He was started under saddle and brought to us for placement in a new home. He was adopted to a family that continued his training as a pleasure horse.

ROCKY


Rocky is a 13.2H Morgan gelding. He was an unexpected twin. His twin was huge, came first and died. The owner thought the mare was done when to their surprise another foal appeared. It is very unusual to have twins survive. Rocky was very small, the size of a medium dog and too short to nurse from his mom. As a result he was held for feedings until he could reach. He had a lot of human contact as a baby and has often appeared to think he was human. He is broke to ride and drive. He was loaned to our program and is now training young riders.

FAITH

Hope and Faith are two Miniature Horses. A volunteer brought them to us. She offered to take them so the owned wouldn’t have them destroyed. They were well mannered but extremely overweight. Hope was a young strawberry roan filly and in good health. Faith was severely foundered and had difficulty walking. After a weight loss diet they were both placed for adoption. Hope is in a new family and Faith lives at Misfit Acres.

CHEWBACCA (CHEWEY’S STORY)



My daughter and I had heard Kim Meeder from Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch speak on the Radio and then we read her books “Hope Rising” and “A Bridge Called Hope”. We were so inspired that we went to her training session to learn more about what we could do. I was unprepared for the challenge she gave us, but I was willing to do whatever God led me to do. I was looking for a family horse and bought Navar. I asked the horse trader if she had anything suitable for kids. She said she did at a different farm. I had no intention of buying a rescue horse but I had no choice when I saw this poor starved, beat up horse trot around with a little 3-year-old boy on his back. The trader said he had deteriorated quickly since she had last seen him and didn’t know why because they were feeding him. I didn’t care. I saw him pivot perfectly on his hindquarter as the child maneuvered him and knew he would do whatever we asked.
He came to live with us. We never could decide what breed he was; just that he was pretty and had a soft eye. He stood about 14.3 H. His hair was long and shed off in patches, in June, and looked like the wooly Chewbacca in star wars. His body was scarred by the battles for food with the bigger horses. His coat was unthrifty, probably due to heavy worm infestation and poor nutrition. When our veterinarian checked him he said he had the worst teeth he had ever seen and that is why he didn’t benefit from his food. He corrected his problem as best as he could. We placed him in a private paddock with horses nearby and fed him back to health. Soon he developed swelling beneath his belly. I thought he would die for sure as he leaned against the stall wall to rest. I thought it was heart failure or a kidney problem. One day I noticed his belly was wet. An abscess the size of a dinner plate had opened up. It wasn’t long after that until he was doing well, gaining weight and thriving. His next two summers were healthy and happy. He taught many people that they were capable of working with a horse, riding, lunging, brushing (his favorite) and just being with a horse. He was eager to go down the pasture trail and led the way. His face had turned white as things change when a horse ages. He had a bad eye that seemed to bother him when the summer sun was bright. He would toss his head up and down as if to say yes all the time. We had a face mask for him so he would be more comfortable. I don’t know exactly how old he was, just that he was very old. I sometimes dreaded thinking about the day he wouldn’t come up to the feeder for his food. I just didn’t think it would be so soon. It is very sad to say good- bye to such a faithful servant. He made our lives so much better.

NAVAR


Navar was a 15H Missouri Fox Trotter gelding. We purchased him for a family trail horse from a local dealer who found him in a sale barn. He was a stunning black horse with exquisite manners and awesome presence. Most people remarked on his unusual way of walking. He was quite an experience if you have never gone gaited. He was our first experience with a gaited horse. We learned that there were new ways to go down the trail and that it was sometimes easier to learn on a gaited horse. He is dearly missed.

DAISY

Daisy was an owner donation to our program. The family had tried to work with her for some time, but she was unhappy and had some nasty habits. She came to us a little thin, but mostly grumpy. With time and patience she has become a beautiful well-mannered horse.

She rides best as an English Hunt horse and would be an excellent second horse for someone. She rides the trails and is eager to please. She is an Arabian mare 14H tall, sound. She is an easy keeper.

2010 Daisy has a new home and a new family to enjoy her. Congratulations on graduating.

HANDY


Handy was a 16.2 H Quarter Horse. He was a gentle giant that was good to anyone who rode him.

PERFECTLY PHINE WINE


Perfectly Phine Wine is a mare produced by Probably Perfect and Phi Slama Jama on our farm. Her arrival was anxiously anticipated. Sometimes it is challenging to see if a mare is pregnant. I wasn’t certain so one day I thought I would try a little test. In obstetrics we sometimes do an acoustical stimulation test to make a baby move. Thinking this was a good idea, I stood beside the mare’s abdomen and hollerd as loudly as I could. Immediately the little feet and legs could be seen scrambling against the wall of her mother’s abdomen. She was in there and kicking. The night she was born she did the most wonderful thing. After she caught her breath and started to hold her head up she called to her mother. Susie called back in a low soft tone. She called again and the mare answered. She began to scramble toward her mother’s voice, until she lay under her mothers head where she could be licked dry. They rested together for some time before they both attempted to get up. The struggle for the foal to stand is painful to watch, as it rises and falls many times before it is successful. Then it must eat. Once that is accomplished, the exhausted foal falls clumsily to the floor to sleep again. We raised her to the age of 2 when she was trained to ride and drive and sold to a private party. She has been shown in the Show Pleasure division.

A PERFECT AFFAIR



A Perfect Affair is a gelding produced by Probably Perfect on our farm. We had him professionally trained to ride and drive. When he was three we were advised to sell him. We had no buyers so we sent him to auction where we sold him for an enormous loss. I didn’t know it at the time, but, he was purchased by a saddlebred horse rescue. As he grew he developed improved motion and ability and went on to win numerous Regional Park Saddle Championship divisions.
PROBABLY PERFECT



Probably Perfect (Susie) is a Saddlebred mare. She was purchased as a four year old and shown extensively as a Junior Show Pleasure driving and riding horse. She is 16H tall. Here she is shown under saddle winning the Wisconsin National Junior Show pleasure Championship. After her show career she had two foals, seen below. She was unable to produce more foals so we found her a home in a training facility where she teaches advanced riders saddleseat equitation.Here she is again being shown at the Louisville World Championship Saddlebred Horse show. She placed third in the World championship class as a ”junior” horse. Later she produced two outstanding foals, A Perfect Affair and Perfectly Phine Wine.

TURNING POINT’S GLADIATOR



Turning Point’s Gladiator is a gelding by Tug Hill Whamunition. He was one of the first foals born on our farm. We were anticipating his arrival and checking our mare carefully. However, it isn’t unusual to miss the delivery, despite all your watchfulness. It is as though the mare waits to hear you leave the barn before she commits to delivery. As it happened, I went to the barn to check one morning. To hear a high pitched nicker followed by a low pitched murmur from the mare. I looked into the stall to see the foal, but could see nothing. I could hear a slurping sucking sound, but couldn’t see a foal. Finally I walked into the stall where I could see the mare pressed against the wall, her baby balancing against her and the wall so it could stand and eat. All was well. They had figured it out without me. He was cute as a button and very vocal, calling to his mom regularly, and reassured by her low call back. We raised him and trained him to show under harness and under saddle and was sold as a pleasure horse to a forever home.

TURNING POINT’S BAM BAM

Turning Point’s Bam Bam is a gelding by Heaven’s Love Command. Due to his small stature of 13H he was not shown. He was sold to be a western pleasure horse and has become part of a therapeutic riding program.

Turning Point’s Sateen


Sateen was our first on farm embryo transfer. We showed her in the Hunt division at the Morgan World and Grand National Championship and placed in the top ten. She rides and is a beautiful carriage horse.

Turning Point’s Simply Divine (Diva)


Diva is an English Pleasure riding and driving multi-titled Regional, Grand National and World Champion show horse, our first foal at Turning Point Stable. She is now retired to be a brood mare and continues her legacy, producing exceptional quality foals.

Heaven’s Love Command


Heavens Love Command was our first foundation Morgan brood mare purchased as a 25th wedding anniversary gift from North Carolina. She produced one multi titled World Champion filly for us, Turning Pt’s Simply Divine. She also produced Turning Point’s Sateen, who was top ten in the World Championship in her division. Her last foal for us, is Turning Point’s Bam Bam. She was sold to a new home in Hollywood.
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Horses bring hope

Posted on August 4, 2010 by admin

People often ask, “Why horses?”. It is because they are different than other animals. Dogs and Cats are predators looking for something to eat, while horses are prey animals worrying about being eaten. They are uniquely designed to avoid predators in that they are aware of changes that take place up to a mile in any direction from them. Their eyesight is unique. We see with binocular vision, seeing object with both eyes at the same time. Horses see with monocular vision, each eye seeing different objects. They are so sensitive that even the touch of a tiny bee may send them running to avoid being stung, or they can feel your heartbeat three feet away. Many riders will tell you that their horse responds to a small shift in weight or pressure to achieve specific maneuvers. A horses sense of smell is also very keen and helps them to identify their world. They understand only a few actual  words, but they are experts at reading non-verbal communication, integrating all the senses to gain necessary information for survival. All of this occurs quickly as the horse decides if he should trust or flee. If the choice is to flee, he may not stop to think about anything until he has run a quarter mile or so to safety. These skills are built into a horse to keep them safe. When dealing with people, they use all these senses to decide if they will be lunch and should make other plans, or if they are ok to stay where they are. A horse offers authentic feedback to humans, they are not influenced by pretty clothes, age, race, popularity or financial status. A horse just responds to who we actually are. This is what makes each experience so unique.

Our Horses come to us through different avenues and for different reasons. Over the years we have had world class breeding programs for Morgan and Saddlebred horses, producing multi-titled National and World champion horses. Today we have many breeds including anything from miniature horses, ponies, riding horses like Tennessee Walkers, Morgans, Arabians, and Saddlebreds to draft Percherons. Some have been rescued from unsafe or neglectful situations, some are here to retire, some are here to be useful, but all are here to be beneficial.

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