Open House - FINALLY OVER!! pics

[tinypony]

risingrainbow - my instructor had an extremely similiar problem with one of her horses - the horse is an extremely well bred upper level dressage horse with LOADS of potential. my instructor is also in her 50's and therefore does not have all the time and ability to make this horse everything she could be. so she too almost sold the mare to a big dressage barn that could train her higher and higher and higher - the only reason she didn't was because like you, she loved the horse and the horse loved her back. now the fancy warmblood is nothing more than a trail horse with some dressage lessons every now and then and LOVES IT. believe in yourself to make the right choice.

[cheri]

Mikael, I know you made the right choice for both you and him, and I know that if anyone can get him the exposure he needs you can. Judging from your posts about him, he is a one of a kind and so are you. If you're worried about if your "old" body can take it, start eating fresh fruits and veggies; avoid the canned stuff, anything with high fructose corn sryup and if you read the ingredients of canned veggies there is sodium something-or-other at the end of the list. It's not good for you. Drink lots of milk and water. Buy meat from a local butcher not from the supermarket, the meat you get at the supermarkets has no Omega 3's instead it has Omega 9's which are useless to us.
I know it's sounds like I'm a nut, but it's all true.

[risingrainbow]

tinypony, I was in this same position about 14 years ago with a 2 year old gelding. I turned down an open check. The last amount offered was $30,000. The gentleman put his checkbook back into his pocket and told me to let him know if I changed my mind and I could name my price. That gelding is Dandy, the horse my granddaught, Rachel, is now riding and will take to Youth Nationals next year. I have never regretted my decision despite all the trials along the way with EPM and not making it back to Nationals with him (he is the horse I got to show at Nationals 10 years ago) No amount of money will ever replace what that horse is doing for my granddaughter or what he's taught me. So guess I always knew what I should do, just was afraid that maybe this time was different.

And, Cheri, I am working on my diet. I struggle with not having any energy and am thinking it might be diet related. I'm trying to get our diet cleaned up here. I put all three of us on the South Beach diet last year and it made a world of difference but I think we've all gradually strayed and the effects are beginning to show.

I'll have to check the pics taken at my open house and see if I can find one of Reflection. I know Ray had some problems with my camera (the memory card was full of pics of the twins type problems) and so he didn't get pics of all the horses. I was hoping to get pics to use for my website since everything there are pics of them all as foals. Glancing through them it looks like nothing is clear enough, but we'll see.

[cheri]

risingrainbow said:

I struggle with not having any energy and am thinking it might be diet related.

The not having any energy is part of not having enough Omega 3s.
*The following information is taken from www.mercola.com/2001/sep/8/omega_3.htm, and the signs that are bold are ones I have.*
Signs of Fatty Acid Imbalance (from the book "Smart Fats")
Dry skin , Alligator skin,"Chicken skin" on back of arms, Dandruff, Lowered immunity, Dry eyes, Frequent urination, Fatigue, Poor wound healing, Irritability, Dry, unmanageable hair, Frequent infections, Attention deficit, Hyperactivity, Learning problems, Soft nails, Brittle, easily frayed nails, Patches of pale skin on cheeks, Allergies, Excessive thirst, Cracked skin on heels or fingertips

"Research has shown that the diets of hunter/gatherers were rich in Omega-3's. They ate a mix of meat, fruits and vegetables, with little or no grains. Green leafy vegetables, certain seeds and nuts, and wild game are rich in Omega-3's.
It turns out that cows, chickens and other animals have much higher levels of Omega-3s when they are fed by "free-range" methods because they eat lots of green leafy vegetables. On the other hand, if they are fed grain, their Omega-3 levels crash. Wild game is much healthier to eat and it is much leaner than farm-raised animals. "

Being on a diet to lose weight is one thing, eating healthy is another thing entirely. I don't want you to think that I'm giving you this information because I think you want/need to lose weight. I'm giving it to you because like me you may be deficient in certain chemicals, vitamins, fatty-acids. Fish oil is a good way to boost Omega-3s, you can get pill or liquid form. We as a family tried it, we used one bottle and we felt a difference. We all had more energy and I feel a difference now that we haven't had it in quite a while.

[risingrainbow]

i'm not sure where I am on that scale but think that Omega-3s are probably deficient in my diet for sure. But then looking how to add them can get pretty complicated. Looks like there are a bunch of different ideas on how to do that and for each idea there are then a bunch of different types of sources. Any ideas on what the best buy for fish oil pills (is that how it comes?) would be?

I think it was easier worrying about the right thing to do with the horse!

[cheri]

LOL! Any drug store, grocery store, etc that has vitamin supplements. The fish oil pills are a great source as is any field raised beef(if you eat meat).
Sometimes it is easier to worry about something/someone else rather than yourself.

[risingrainbow]

Yes, that would be true, I'm much better taking care of anyone or anything but me.

Here's a pic of "the horse" it's not a good pic - doesn't nearly do him justice but you'll get the idea, I think.

[risingrainbow]

OK, it's not working and I don't have time to figure out why. Will be back later and try again.

[angelwhzprs]

Wow! Reflection is gorgeous! I can see why the interest in this boy.

I'm glad the heart won out over the $$$. I hope you are able to meet your goals with him and wish you ALL the best!

[cheri]

Wow! he is a gorgous boy! I can understand the high price tag! Pictures never truely do any justice to the truely spectacular horses Mikael. I'm sure that he is a true knockout in person. I do wish I wasn't all the way accross the country from you. I'd love to be able to offer an extra set of hands around the farm. Heck, I wish my settlement from the accident would come in, I'd love to possiblely try to afford one of your gorgous horses(maybe even Trouble). I just wish that I could find a job working with horses around my neck of the woods. *sigh*

[risingrainbow]

cheri said:

Wow! he is a gorgous boy! I can understand the high price tag! Pictures never truely do any justice to the truely spectacular horses Mikael. I'm sure that he is a true knockout in person. I do wish I wasn't all the way accross the country from you. I'd love to be able to offer an extra set of hands around the farm. Heck, I wish my settlement from the accident would come in, I'd love to possiblely try to afford one of your gorgous horses(maybe even Trouble). I just wish that I could find a job working with horses around my neck of the woods. *sigh*

Boy, I wish you could get Trouble too. It would be a lot easier to sell him to someone who loves him. I'm dreading the day that I sell either of the twins.........

It's one thing to be breeding horses to sell and from before they're even born you know that's what's going to happen. There's a built in wall that protects your heart a little, I think. But boy is that wall gone with the twins. All of the heartache and worry about them just demolished it and I've got my heart on my sleeve when it comes to them.

I had an inquiry this week on Trouble and Suede. I'm hoping if they decide to buy from me they go for Suede, even though he's one of those horses I was hoping to get to show myself before I sold him. Can't imagine not having Trouble here. And poor Surprise................she is not going to like the day she gets separated from her brother.


As for Reflection, don't know if you can tell from that picture how much he looks like the great Khemosabi (his great-grandsire) but that is what all of the commotion is about. His markings are a little less white than Khemo's and I've been told he has a better head and a better hip by people who knew Khemosabi.
He looks and acts so much like Khemosabi he's been dubbed Khemosabi Incarnate by his fans. And, yes, he has fans. He's only been off the place once for a stallion parade and then been shown here to visitors and he has real fans. It's pretty wierd.

To make it even more wierd, he was conceived soon after Khemosabi died and was born just about 4 hours before Khemosabi's birthday. I'm not sure if I buy into reincarnation but this is just plain strange.

[risingrainbow]

OK, I've been to busy for a while to get these up, but now that we've been talking about Trouble and Surprise. What do you think of these.



and of course, can't leave out Surprise



She's really eye-balling that hat, isn't she ;D

[risingrainbow]

Took these before the open house. I do have pics from that but am still going through them. Will post when I find something clear enough to use.

[redmustangwoman1]

Woww gorgeous stallion you have.I can see why you are keeping him..I would too...And the pics of Trouble and Surprise are just precious...Can't wait for more pics...I will be very patient,lol...Take care and thanks for the pics...God bless.....

[cheri]

*giggles* He looks so cute! Surprise is like "Bro, that is SO Not your color!" ROFL! I'm sending you a PM, Mikael. *runs off to look up Khemosabi*