Videos from the 2009 Keuring
These are of our horses. Tara made Ster with a 2nd premie. Ficus was 2nd premie and scored 7.5 on his trot. Freya achieved 2nd premie and was named Champion Filly. We had a nice day….
Pregnant Cori getting her feet trimmed
Today is day 339 of Cori’s pregnancy, which means she is due tomorrow. I have expected this baby for a week now and all of us who are staying up all night watching her on the webcam are getting pretty darned tired.
Today Blaine, the farrier, came to trim the horse’s feet. Dahlia went first, no issues. Cori was next and the poor thing had an awful time picking up a foot for him. She is soooo pregnant and soooo heavy that she needed all four feet to hold her up.
Three year old Tara starts training this month so she got new shoes in the front. I rarely put shoes on the horses since they are not working, bu since she is going into training, she will soon be working and therefore needs the extra protection. She did not like being shod, but for a three year old, she was not too badly behaved.
I really like my farrier a lot. He is good at his job, good with the horses, and a funny and nice guy as well. He and his son are going to help me get Tara into shape by teaching her to pull a work sled (Blaine and his boy have and train work horses). I also love Blaine’s accent.
I managed to capture a little video of Blaine working on the extremely pregnant Cori. Hope you enjoy it.
Foaling season and we lose our mare Oeke
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Our 5 year old ster mare Oeke was due with her first foal on April 24. On April 9 I got a call from my sister and brother in law (my sister owns Oeke) to say that she had the baby early, during the day and Oeke was not getting up. The emergency vet was called and we managed to get Oeke and her foal, a colt, to Virginia Tech Equine Hospital. Unfortunately, Oeke had suffered a prolapsed rectum and bowel and the vets could not save her. So, at about 11pm Oeke was euthanized.
We are still working with the foal, who is not only an orphan needing a surrogate mom now to nurse him, but is also suffering from some ill effects of not initially nursing.
It has been a tough ime for our family. Losing a horse is always difficult, but losing a mare in foalbirth just seems to be the epitome of tragic.
Cori is due with her baby May 13. Wish us luck.
I published some photos recently of Oeke. One set was Oeke in training at age 3. The other is Oeke when she was at her keuring.
My Tara story
OK, I know I owe everyone more stories and videos from the stallion show, and I promise they will come. I have been traveling a lot lately and I am behind on everything. But now that the stallion show is over, all the breeders are pondering over what to do for the spring. What stallions are the best for our mares, what will the market be like in 2008 and 2009, how are our pregnant mares – due this spring/summer – coming along. Dahlia is due June 1 with her 2nd foal. Pregnancy is going well. I have kept her 1st foal for a while. That filly, Tara, is now 21 months old. This is my Tara story.
When Dahlia was pregnant with her baby in 2006 I was very anxious about whether the foal would be male or female. For some reason I was 100% sure it would be a male. And I desperately wanted Dahlia to have a girl. Still, I was so sure it was going to be a boy that I had a name all picked out for him. Since Friesian names must start with a letter based on the year they are born, I had to pick a name that started with the letter T, U or V (at least I think that is what it was). I was going to name him Tsjip (“Chip”). A good ol’ Friesian name.
In the winter before the foal’s birth – right about the time of year it is now – I had a vivid dream. In my dream it was spring and a very warm and glowing day out on the farm. My dad called to me to say that Dahlia had had her baby in the field and we went out to see the foal. The baby was sleeping by Dahlia’s feet and I pointed down and said “look Dad – it is a filly!”. At that the baby stood up and began to run around in the sunshine. I looked at my father and said “I am going to name her Tara”. When I awoke from my dream I called my parents to tell them the story. We all just sort of laughed, though with some surprise that in my dream I stumbled upon a name starting with “T” – a correct name for the year. But we discounted the whole thing – everyone was sure that when the time came, Dahlia was having a boy.
On April 19 of that year my parents phoned me at 6am. “Dahlia has had the baby”, they said. “And it is a girl”. I eagerly hopped in the car and drove an hour to get to the farm. The baby walked right up to me to say hello. She was friendly, brave and so curious. Just like a big dog. “What are you going to name her?”, my parents asked. My mind raced through various Friesian names I had considered. Then I realized how silly it was to even ponder the question – I knew what her name was supposed to be. “I am going to name her Tara”.
Tara will be 2 years old this April. Soon we can start teaching her to ground drive and learn what a bit and saddle are. Next year when she is 3, her real adult training can begin. One of my more popular videos is of Tara back when she was 4 months old. I took this to show the training dad does with the foals, and how amazingly effective he is with such training. Many have already seen this, but if you want, you can view it again.
Meanwhile, I am wondering if Dahlia will have a boy or a girl this year. The name must begin with A, B or C. I have names picked out, but who knows what I may dream between now and June 1.
2007 Keuring – Morristown TN [Updated with Oeke Video Link]
*** UPDATE 28-Sept: Here is Oeke’s Keur Video!***
We had a great day today. Wikke, the 3 month old baby, was named a 2nd premie. He was adorable and moved very well – just needs more lengthening in his walk. If they had had baby awards for “most beautiful”, “sweetest”, and “most personality”, I think he would have won all those! Sara, his owner, was really proud of him and so was I. Click here for a video of little Wikke’s keur.
The big news of the day was that Carole’s filly Oeke was 2nd premie star and champion mare!! She was absolutely wonderful. There was only one star mare there (Oeke) and one star gelding and that was it for the adults. It was a tough day for the adults, so that made Oeke’s achievement even more special. We were so happy that Walter and Gryt Bruinsma flew in from Friesland to see Oeke, a product of the wonderful breeding program the Bruinsmas have. We missed Ock, who so sadly died two weeks ago, and it was sweet to see Oeke joyfully carry the crown after the sadness of Ock’s passing. Good job Oeke!
Wiebe, Oeke’s trainer, and Richard, who Wiebe has as a runner and employee this summer, also came to see Oeke go. They were immensely helpful in getting her ready and taking her through her paces. We are very grateful to Dragstra Stables. They are tops – as trainers and as people.
I need to process Oeke’s video. Also, I’ll try to get a photo gallery up as soon as we get the pictures back from the photographer. I’ll update this entry as soon as I can.
