On foals

I am amazed at our foals. They are friendly, loving and trusting. Not to speak of trust worthy. Emily spent time with them when first born and used T Touch techniques, learned through self study. Her work with them has left them friendly and easy to manage. They have all been wormed with no type of halter or lead line. Basically by working around the mouth, they just stand and let us put the syringe in their mouths.

At one time I had three of them at my side yearning for my touch. None of them even tried mouthing me. They were totally respectful of my space and looked at me with loving eyes. They each layed down and I was able to stand over them and rub them, message them by moving their legs, and tap their feet. They showed no sign of intimidation. They all are relaxed in their tails and love their sweet spots deeply rubbed. I even stood beside them while they were standing, bent over them with a tiny bit of pressure on their backs and swirled my arms around on the opposite side. They stayed with me and enjoyed my company. This was a great first step in being comfortable with movement on both sides to ready them for future riding.

Foals that have been handled as this will make hopefully a life time companion for someone specially suited for that horse. Good foundations are the basis of any good relationship!

We will give a scholarship toward the purchase of a foal for youth 13years and older who want to own, work with and eventually start their own horse. Any one interested should contact us for an application and details of purchase. Email us at onawingandaprayerfarm@gmail.com

Great advertising site.

I really like this advertising website "Equine Now". It allows you to paste this ad easily on other sites and even craig's list. Check it out. You can put your farms bio and more on here so it also gets looked at in other categories.

Morgan For Sale
	Price: $7300 Breed: Morgan Color: Bay Sex: Gelding Birth Date: Sep 13, 2001 Height: 14.3 hh
Additional Comments: Dan is a 9 year old registered morgan gelding with a puppy dog personality. Dan's bloodlines include Government, Brunk and a tiny bit of Lippitt lines. He has a lot of potential as a dressage horse, jumper/hunter, or eventer. He has been jumped to 2'3 and has the potential to go much higher. He is a very clean jumper and is very tight. I have ridden him in traning level dressage and he is beginning to learn leg yielding. He is a very good mover with pure gaits and he really drives himself from behind. He was pony clubbed for mounted meetings and competed at the regional dressage rally when he was 6. Dan competed in a schooling horse trial and was first after dressage. He really enjoyed the cross country phase. He learns very quickly and is great on trail. Dan ground drives and is ready to hitch. Dan has exceptional conformation. He is a good lesson horse. This horse is one in a million and may be the perfect horse just for you! Dan's full brother is our breeding stallion. Check out our website. Here is "Dan's" Pedigree: http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/index.php?query_type=horse&horse=DANSON+OF+WINGFARM& g=5&cellpadding=0&small_ font=1&l=

Working with the rescue horse

Taking home that rescue horse is often facing the unknown. What exactly are the issues to face from his history of past owners.

We recently took on working with an older horse who shows signs of mistreatment, but is the sweetest old guy. From working with his feet, we know he has not had the kindest handling there, but also there were signs of an old injury to one back leg, so just giving this horse treatment could cause him to not like us working with his feet. Gently we worked with him, but he just didn't want his feet done by standing still. He would really yank them striking forward or kicking back. Using a partner, we used a soft rope and she held the rope around the leg so he could not pull away or kick back. Once he stood still, his foot was gently released and he was given a break. This worked well for us and no one got upset, we just persevered through the four feet. Tom Dorrance said that if a horse would not stand well with a foot, go back and pick up the last good foot you did. That works well also. So by going back and forth and by using the rope, we finished safely and leaving the horse with the message that if he stands, he gets a break and of course that we were not going to hurt him. Hopefully the next trim will be even easier.

Yesterday, was a great day with this horse. He loved being saddled and almost seems like he knows it's time to go to work. We took him to the arena and again worked as partners. We wanted to see if he longed, so one held the line and the other walked with him in a circle, he knew what to do. From that point one held line and the other drove him out and forward. At first he was a little confused, but working in this manner, he figured out what he was supposed to do. This horse definately has some ADD, but again not confusing him helped him to understand what we wanted.

Before mounting we did all the things we would in starting a young horse. Flexing, disengaging, careful girthing, flapping stirrups, jumping up and down beside him, before putting a foot in the stirrup. He did fine with all that. He did not want to stand for mounting, so we flexed him to one side til he softened and stood, and then the other. He stood perfect for the mount and then working together we started walking him with a rider. This horse definately did not enjoy even light contact to his mouth and then we decided to try neck reining and he was awesome. So we figured him out and from there it was a matter of working him at the walk and reaquainting him with leg aids. It took time, but his whole attitude improved through the process. I would guess that he figured out that he was not going to be yanked in the mouth and gave more of his body.

Well finally, the moment the owner was waiting for. It was time for her to get on her horse. Being a new rider, we partnered again and one led the horse as the other worked the rider through her nervousness and into a relaxed seat and a big smile. She did awesome and the horse responded so nicely to her aids. It was an amazing training session and lesson.

Take it slow and easy with a horse like this so he doesn't get confused and upset. We worked in a slow, safe manner and reached our goal! The horse was thinking and handling way better after the session and was given lots of caressing and love before quiting for the day.

New Website

We are currently in the process of building a website for the farm. We have some pages put up, but not quite finished. We will be done very soon so you can have access to what On a Wing and a Prayer Farm has to offer.
http://onawingandaprayerfarm.webs.com/

Skylark now.

You probably wonder how our young colt is doing. Skylark is so sweet. He kisses now and has to be right with us all the time. He is the center of attention, but not pushy, just there. He is great with young and old. He has a rider now..........

Spring is bringing out the riders.

We welcomed the Keene Mentoring group recently. It was a fun day for all! Thanks for coming.

Springing into Spring!

The yard are full of lovely, plump, and bouncy horses. They play all day long. That is what is so great about having so many young horses. The other day two came out of the barn, bucking and rearing and one fell and slid across the pasture and ended over and a landed with her rump landing on the electric fence, which immediately broke. Nice part of having a one strand of electric fence. I could have been a huge injury if I had anything else there.

Needless to say this filly got up and started playing again. She didn't even have a mark on her.

I love going to the barn at night, I never know which horse I might run into. I find it facinating to try to guess who is there in the dark. Lots to choose from!

We are all so happy for spring, both people and the horses. Coming soon, hopefully, time to upload some playful videos.

Happy New Year

Settled in for the winter now it is new with beautiful snow which glistens in the sun.

Update on "Sky"

I haven’t been able to update this blog for a bit, but I am back on line and have lots of pictures and words to write. Since the little man I wrote about last was born, so many changes have taken place with him. “Skylark” is growing into a handsome and loving young man. These pictures of him at two weeks old will blow your socks off. Soon I will add pictures more recent so you can see the difference in his color. He is proving to be a real dark chestnut currently, but that may all change in the spring. That is one of the things about a foal, we just are not quite certain what spring will bring.

Skylark is half Arabain-Morgan and he is for sale.

See who's new in our world-MEET SKYLARK

The sun didn't come out, it was dark and dank, but it brightened up quickly with the birth of Skylark.

His mother was standing in the door of the barn normal as could be and the next thing I realized my daughter joyfully exclaiming that "Rishy" had a foal. When we got to him he was still wet on his back, by up and going, vibrant and much alive!

We spent the next hour with him. We watched to be sure he had his dose of colostrum and we hugged him and did a once over imprinting and just let him be. It was a joy to watch the life getting stronger and stronger until he started to play.

It is hard to believe Sky is now two weeks old. We just touched him a little each day basically to say "hi". He was very independent and we let him be. A couple of days ago, I gathered him in between my arms and held him until he stood still and again he would struggle to go and as soon as he stood I released my hold. After three or four tries, he just stood. I rubbed his head and played with is mouth a bit and rubbed his back sides and under his belly. I then put on the halter. I let him go and basically he just stood and accepted the whole thing. We have been picking up his feet and now he loves being with us. We found his sweet spot by his tail and he goes crazy. Yesterday my daughter put the halter on him and he just stood and let her do it without a fuss.

I like to let the independent side of the foal develope a few days before putting a lot of time into subduing them. Just a few minutes a day is all that is needed to bring a trusting relationship. Here are a few of the newer pics. He is so adorable and sweet!!!

Spring is here!

Spring has sprung here in the adirondacks. The birds are chirping, the peepers, peeping, and the frogs are crocking into the night. There is still a chill in the air, but the tiny, heads of the green grass are beginning to pop. A lovely day of much needed showers has just spruced up the greenness of the baren land.

Along with this joyous miracle, are horses who definately think the grass is much greener on the other side. They are constantly pushing fences, and once one makes a hole, it seems the others follow just like magnets. There is always one or two who are persistant to find or make that hole. It is an on going battle until the grass in the pasture gets as green as the neighbors.

This is a time when the mares estrus cycle seems magnified many times. In our pasture, the geldings become very attentive and spend these days of the cycle with a certain mare. Relationships are constantly changing. It seems some of them have their own little harems until the mare goes out of heat. Then they find another to hang out with. I was once told, geldings are frustrated stallions, and I believe that, but ours seem to compensate for that.

The feel of spring on a cold March Morning

Isn't it great to wake up to day light earlier in the morning-that is until the clocks spring forward and we are back to dark at six a.m. On the other side of the day we begin to have longer evening hours of daylight to be outside and work with the horses.

The past few days have been some of the coldest all winter. Teens in the daytime, single numbers at night and extreme wind chill factors. But- Through it all, there was the spring warmth that shone through. There is something about that optomistic spring warmth that is there lurking that makes going out easier. I ran out this morning at a mere five degrees, with a "spring" in my step and less winter duds, to run the water in the tub. It felt so good. Of course Mr. sun is lurking right behind the clouds and in minutes he peeks out to warm us at an earlier hour of the day.

"Amazing Grace" after a long, cold winter!

Charlie, The Beagle

Beagles have never been noted for their herding instincts, but let me tell you, my guy Charlie, is best friend to my sheep.Charlie, now about to turn twelve this summer, keeps active on look out for preditors. My sheep start to travel off to pasture and Charlie runs to catch up and goes before them. He often sits on knoll above them looking around. It is like he sits on watch and looks everything over to see if it is alright, and then he comes back to the house. He often sleeps out with them at night. In the winter he will sleep on top of them. He cuddles himself down into the fuzzy, warm back and you will find him there come morning.There are many coyetes surrounding my property. They howl in packs and come quite close. Charlie goes immediately on alert and keeps them at bay by barking. I believe they would be right in my yard if not for Charlies' warning bark.Charlie is from Timberswamp bloodlines bred by my father-in-law. He comes down from the field trial winner, Timberswamp Tommy. I wanted to keep this bloodline, so I crossed Charlie with a miniature, blue tick female and now have a pair of the most beautiful pups. The youngest male, Albert, seems to be watching his father and I see he goes to the sheep and sits. Last winter, one cold sunny day, I found him laying on one of the sheep. He was so comfortable he just relaxed to the point he was hanging off. Charlies' sister also would sleep with the sheep. She used to herd baby goats back to the barn if they would sneak out the door. Charlie is the best dog I have ever owned. He has a happy personality, comes for attention, but never stays long, and goes about his business never underfoot. He likes to go with us when we go on trail rides. I think this is way of keeping watch over all of us here at ON A WING AND A PRAYER FARM!

Dolly the Miniature Horse, all love and kisses

Back a few years ago, my daughter and I decided to purchase a miniature horse. We had in mind using her for a therapy horse and doing some driving with her. We were at an auction and they had two black mares that just came in. No one bid on them at the auction and we left there with our hearts thinking about them. They were so beautiful. One had a white spot on the very end of her withers where the mane stops. They other was solid color. A few days later I saw the auctioneer and asked if he still had them. He said he sold one of them, but still had the other. I told him I wanted her. So we arranged for pickup at the barn. I took my pickup with a box we had built for sheep and goats on the back.We were so excited to see if we got the one with the spot, and sure enough to our delight! She was so beautiful with her black, shiny coat. This little mare is 31 inches tall and she fit in the box nicely, so she got loaded by three of us picking her up and putting her in the box. We were so excited to get her home, but hungry so we stopped at McDonald's to grab a quick lunch. When we left the truck and walked toward the restaurant, the little mare let out a large whinny. People exiting Mickey D's were looking around for a horse trailer or horses in a pasture to no avail. I walked by and said "don't look at us". Then we laughed to ourselves as no one would know we had a horse with us, because most certainly would not fit in that box! This little mare was a doll, so we call her Dolly. It fits her so well.

Dakota, The Pinto Foal

Dakota was born on the coldest night of the year, January 18, 2003. It was 18 below zero and I had checked his mom at nine p.m. and she seemed fine. I had been watching her close and it was difficult, as she was having her first foal, to really know what was going on with her. I went out at ll:45 and she met me at the gate and I looked at her and thought oh no, and in the corner of the stall I could see movement. To my sigh of relief, here stood the most vivacious baby. He was totally dry except for the tips of his ears. It was so cold and they were a bit curled, so I kept trying to warm them with my fingers and get them to dry out. I covered his ears with a scarf. Of course it was hard to keep it in place, The weather was below zero for three days. I made "Cody" as we call him, wool hats and leg wraps as it was so cold, and he wore two blankets. His mom was very smart and took him out side to be in the sun during the day. It was much warmer than the barn! Cody did very well and grew so well all winter. He did loose the tips of his ears, but from experience in the dairy industry, I know the initial damage was done soon right after birth. that circulation just doesn't get to thin areas such as ear tips. Cody is a very special boy and is my daughters pride and joy. She has great asperations for him and with his pinto markings and those ears just a little short make him the most unusual horse. He is truly a blessing. Cody is a pinto with a partial blue eye and very unique markings. He has a flying bird on his neck on the left and a horse head and body on the right side. With a blaze and a 1/4 blue eye and his slightly short ears, he will be well known for his unique look once he's out on the hunt course!!

Oh What a beautiful Morning!

Crispy snow with is twinkle of light. Sounds like cold weather is settling in for the next few days. Oh, but just look out side. The sun is bright and all is beautiful. Yes, it feels good to be inside, but I love to watch the outside. Our horses play the morning sunshine after the frosty night. Is there a more delightful sight? Not for me. Each day to watch my heard and their beginning of play. One horse nipping at another teasing, tantalizing until the play begins. They run, jump, buck and rear. Sounds of thundering hooves seem even louder with the crunch and cold of the snow.

Sonata, My Dream Come True

I was so excited. Our Arabian Mare, MitMar Dalmaar, was due with the first foal from our Morgan Stallion, Janson of Autumnwood. This was my dream come true, to finally have my first baby from my own breeding. Being a dairy farmer and mating cows for their progeny, It was now my dream to produce a line of horses that I believe have "Sporthorse" potential. Dalmar was in the pasture near the barn all day. I checked her around 9 and when I went out at midnight, she was not near the other horses. I found her in the back corner of the other field. As I called her name over and over, she came towards me talking away, I followed her to her beautiful foal which she had hiding by a small tree. How amazing the knowledge to keep this baby so inconspicuous from the elements. I put my hands on her and hugged her and indelight realized I had a filly, a dream come true. I spent time bonding with the baby and walked them down and settled them in to an area in our yard. I got my 10 year old daughter up in the night to come greet this new baby. It was so awesome to be out in the night with the miracle of new birth and your own child bonding with this creature. The day prior to the birth, My daughter and I were eating in the house and we heard banging. We went running to find Dally cast against the outside wall of the barn. Appearantly she was rolling and got too close to the barn. We finally got her pulled away enough so she could get up. I made up my mind right then, that she would foal in the pasture not in a stall where she could get in trouble. My babies so far have been born either in a huge area in the barn or in the pasture. It only takes a short time for them to get into trouble, and nature calls for the horse to be able to be a horse!

Danson of Wing Farm-Morgan Gelding

Dan as we call him was born two days after 911, September 13, 2001. After feeling pain and suffering for those who lost loved ones, we had new life. He was born about eight o'clock in the morning. I returned from taking my daughter to school to find this little brown guy trying to struggle to his feet. I was so excited, yet upset at myself that I didn't realize what was happening when I left for school. I say his mother go in the barn, but that was not unusuall at that time of day. If I had just gone to look instead of being so stressed about making it on time, my daughter could have seen him being born.

When I was watching Dan struggling to his feet, I noticed a lump on the side of his nose. My first thoughts were that he was malformed. It made me sad, because he was so beautiful. He nursed fine and as time went and he began eating solids, he would eat fine, but the he would work to clean out the food that was stuck in the side of the mouth. I had the vets look at him and we kinda thought this was a life long problem, though he always got the food unstuck by himself, it was not a pretty sight.

As he grew, the lump got smaller. We fugured in the growing process that it might grow out some and be less noticeable. With out thinking about it, the lump went away. At age two, we took Dan to the vets to have him castrated. I asked that his wolf teeth be removed and when the vet pulled is lip back, there was a one inch or better tooth. The tooth on the other side was only about a third the sized. Appearantly that wolf tooth cause the lump and it finally grew down. Nature takes care of its own!

Dan is now six, nearly seven. He is about 14.2 hands round and compact. He is old style Morgan and the most willing and forward horse. We started him slowly. As a three year old, we round penned, saddled and mounted, but left him to mature to four. We rode him a few times that year and then last year he did trail and ring work and he started over cross rails. He gives nicely to the bit and works with his hind quarters.

My daughter is working him now to get ready for Pony Club Dressage Rally. She continues with ring work, ground work to keep his manners in check, and has started ground pole, caveletti and cross rail work today. He jumped a pile of brush beautifully.

It gives such pleasure to see a horse that you raised out working so well. We have put a good foundation on him, let him mature physically and mentally before giving him work to do. This shows in Dan's abilty to perform now as compared to the two and three year old stage.

My experience with Colic and Reiki

If you catch colic in the beginning stages, it is much more condusive to responding to any kind of treatment. I had a Morgan mare, who was prone to colic. I had one experience where she had choke and was miserable, but the vet gave her Banamine, it slowed her system and finally it worked it's way out. Later, after being bred, the people who were boarding her caught her in the first stages of colic, this person spent time walking her and rolling magnet messagers over her and eventually she stopped the symptoms. There were two cases she coliced and at the time, I was supplimenting my hay with alfalfa Triforage Horsehae. I fed her a handful and it acted like a sedative. She rested and both times she came out of it within a couple of hours.

I have had experiences where, pregnant mares have colic. It is much like women who suffer with sickness through a pregnancy. I knew that getting the horse to rest and work out what was causing the problem was my goal. Again I fed Triforage Alfalfa, they immediately rested and worked through it.

I recently stopped to visit a farm near me and realized they had a colicing horse. They were leading him, trying to keep him from laying down. He was spazzing and kicking at his belly. He had passed a quite watery stool which is not a good sign. They had called the vet, but he had two other emergencies. I asked if I could do Reiki on him and they agreed. I chose positions on the back that were positions for acupressure to do my Reiki. I laid my hands on him and he calmed right down. He stood for me to do treatment and then we walked him around a couple of times. He was releasing gas constantly as I was working on him. Then I did more Reiki and walked him again, he passed a stool, and he started to notice things around him, becoming less lethargic and more responsive. I worked again and after the next walk, he wanted to lay down and as long as he laid calmly, I knew he would be fine. He laid out flat and rested for a bit, sat up, got up and we walked him around again. This time he stood a minute and reached down and started eating. He has been fine since.

Giving energy releases tied up energy in the body, whether it be human or animal. The energy is free from God's universe, the Reiki practioner is just the vessel from which it is directed. Energy pushes energy, and when there is stagnant energy from stress, this burst of energy pushes that out to release the pent up problem.

There are alternative ways to treat a horse that just begins to colic, but I believe you must see results quickly, meaning your horse goes into a relaxed state, or it is time to call your vet.

Our Goal

In 2000, some good breeding stock of Arabian and Morgan bloodlines was purchased to start a breeding program to produce horses with the best qualities of both breeds. Our goal is to offer youngsters that have been handled and trained to fulfill the need for good temperament and good foundation in ground manners for versatility with Sport Horse or Sport Pony potential.