Life on an Arabian breeding farm in Capitan, NM.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Back again...


Well between tax preparations, terrible weather that kept me in lots of pain, and running here, there, and everywhere, I just haven’t had time to post anything. A couple more days, and the taxes will go to the tax accountant. Yeah! I will be glad to get that monkey off my back.

Sere had a very mild case of Pigeon Fever, and is just about healed from that. She and the other girls finally broke the water pipe in the pasture, but that will take a while to fix. Rudy in all his wisdom buried it more than three feet deep. Now I have to dig all that up before I can even reach the break. This is the second time they have broken this pipe. They just love playing with it no matter how I try to cover it up. I think I’ve figured out a way to attach it to the shuffling shed wall so they can’t move it. Meanwhile I am hauling water to fill their tank. What a pain they are.


I did manage to get a few days of riding in. I have one more day of good weather before the winds start up again. After that I won’t be able to ride till next week. I managed to loose two cell phones while riding. A neighbor’s son found one while hiking, and today I found the other. Thank you St. Anthony. I really didn’t want to buy another.

Ibn is really starting to build up some stamina. Today when I rode him he trotted almost all the way without my having to prod him. I also switched saddles on him, and his trot is much easier to sit. I finally decided that the reason his trot is so rough is that he is most comfortable at a driving trot. His sire was a driving champion, and it seems that he has inherited that trait. I on the other hand am far more comfortable with a nice slow trot. He also seemed to enjoy his ride more today. I just have to keep him interested.

I heard from a friend today who just had a little paint colt out of a paint pony mare and a moderate Sabino stallion. He is small even for an Arabian, which will give her a nice half-Arabian pony. She should bring out a few of her mares for me to keep for a while. She was an eventer in her youth, and her daughter is following suit. She also has a daughter of Marina’s I just might keep. Aulina was bred (accidentally) to a young stallion she had for a while. The colt was from a Ben Rabba sire line (Aulrab’s half-brother), so Cupid still has our bloodlines. We could breed her to Ibn or Jeri w/o her being too close in relationship. I don’t mind line breeding so long as the lines have a little bit of space in-between. We had the colt here for a while, and he was a sweet boy. He was also taller than Ibn so even coming from Marina’s daughter she will add height to our lines. First I need to sell some colts. I have three geldings to sell before I add to our herd.


On top of everything, everyone is shedding out. I have some serious grooming to do. Then I want to start working the youngsters in the round pen before I let them loose in the arena. Once they are all shed out I will get the video camera out. They also need to start to learn some herd etiquette. Marina is the best one to teach them how to behave around mares. It will be interesting since I will have no one to help me. Lance is right next to Marina so that will be no problem, and I think I will let Little Big Man run with Lizzie who is stalled next to him. She’s a nice big TB so there won’t be any worries about him getting her pregnant if she happens to be in season. Try as he might he’s just not tall enough. Ser-Haat can run with Lance, and Marina, as well as with Ibn. Storm well, he’s between the stallions, but still has to learn about mares. Maybe I’ll let him run with LBM and Lizzie. Decisions, decisions, decisions, I just have to make sure that if there are any altercations I can handle them myself.

I also have to get the arena set up so I can use it for pasture breeding. I just found out about setting up a breeding chute, but it will be a while before I can investigate that to see if I want to try to build one. I can do a lot of things, but I definitely have my limitations. I want to breed Marina, Lizzie, Jazzy, Sadie, and Espree. That would give me five babies next year, and I’m not sure I can handle all that by myself. Besides which, I really need to sell the three geldings. Sadie and Lizzie are getting too old, so I need to get them bred this year. Lizzie I can pasture breed, but Sadie will be AI with frozen semen. That one alone will cost a fortune. Jazzie, Espree, and Marina are all young enough that I can still wait. If I could afford it I would breed all my mares, and be happy as a camper. The only problem with that is after they are weaned, you have to feed them all, and that is expensive. I still have till the end of May, and June to decide. If anyone out there wants a weanling next year, speak up, and then I can have my babies, and not worry about feeding them until after they are weaned. Yes that would be a good thing.


One last update, we have a fire burning about 30 miles south of us in Ruidoso Downs. The miracle is even though the racetrack is right there, the fire has not dropped that far down. About 20,000 acres have burned, and as far as I know only one horse was lost. Five homes burned, as well as numerous barns, and other structures, but that is the extent of the property damage so far. God willing they will get a great deal more under control before the winds start up again. New Mexico is tinderbox dry, and anything can start a major fire. It’s the one thing we worry about out here. I can’t trailer the horses, and the youngsters aren’t trailer trained anyway.  I’m sure I could get help if need be, we’re just going to hope that we will be spared another year.


Every summer we worry until the Monsoons start, and thus far we have been spared that heartache. A couple of years ago the winds downed power lines in Capitan, and part of Brewer’s ranch land burned. Thankfully it was far enough away from the town so no one was in danger, still it was too close for comfort. We could see it burning from our house. The good news was that once the monsoons started the grasses came up with renewed vigor. Fire is both a danger and a blessing. It cleans out all the underbrush, and allows the grasses to flourish. Just so it does it far away from us I’m am happy.


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