Treat Yo’self - Farm edition

This is all part of trying to catch up on the past few months! 

We all know buying tack and saddle pads is fun, but buying actual farm equipment is fun too!! Lol

And I have no pictures because I’m still not great at getting pics while I’m doing stuff! And I’m trying this post from my phone and the app lets me see my pics but won’t actually upload them into the post. 🤷‍♀️

Let’s start with the smallest purchase first: a hay fork! Yes, there is a specific pitchfork for hay. It works great for feeding off of round bales or big squares! I actually had no idea this existed until I was cursing about trying to feed hay from a round bale and pulling it apart by hand. I have now been enlightened to the hay fork and will not look back! 

My next purchase was a bit of a whim. My friend and I bought some hay from someone that is selling her farm. While there we used her hay elevator to move the hay from the barn to her hay wagon. My friend and I commented how nice that was and the lady causally mentioned that everything was for sale at this point.

I’ve always wanted a hay wagon to move hay but figured one would be way too expensive. I got a super deal on this wagon and I bought the hay elevator too, as my friend’s new farm has a loft where I will be storing some of my hay for the winter. 

And, I hauled the loaded hay wagon with my truck!! That was the first time I’ve hauled something and it was nerve wracking at first, but I started to get the hang of it. Backing that sucker up is no fun though, let me tell you!!

I feel like those purchases were meant to be - what are the odds that we not only got some hay to tide us over to this years crop AND much needed equipment for a great price?

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday: Yahooo!!!!!

This:

Plus this:

Equals this:

Yasssss!!!!

And now we wait and cross our fingers that all goes well.  I'm not good at waiting.  

via GIPHY

Halter horses - On Breeding and choosing a stud muffin – part 2

Continuing on from part 1 of my halter series, this post goes a little more into why we are choosing to breed and what we hope to achieve with the foal. 

I will admit that I'm a little torn on the whole breeding thing.  There are so many horses out there that need homes and breeding your cute mare to a nice stud usually isn’t the best choice.  I can tell you that if I was looking for a riding horse, I would not be breeding.  That being said, owning and training a foal has been on my bucket list for eons, so having a chance to potentially cross something off my bucket list is pretty exciting.

Totally me...

Our decision to breed was based on a few factors:

• Major bucket list item for me
• My friend has the mare and wants to take care of the breeding, I want to show the foal and she doesn’t, so it is a good split
• We have help from “The Boss”, our halter guru and good friend
• A crappy exchange rate on the US dollar – that ruled out buying a baby from the US (taxes, shipping, etc. on top of the purchase price make this a tough option).  Although, our stud is in the US, but we just had the flat rate stud fee in USD, so that was manageable.
• No high quality halter AQHA/APHA breeders “locally” – which to me is within 8-10 hrs drive
• Lots of breed show class options for weanlings – 3yos without worrying about under saddle training
  • halter
  • longe line (APHA)
  • In hand trail (APHA)
  • Showmanship

I don’t have a lot of science to go on for choosing a stud, but more about the general principles we used.  Keep in mind we also had a very experienced exhibitor and breeder (aka The Boss) guiding us.  I don’t know that this is something I would tackle on my own without extensive help.

The mare we are breeding has a few criteria that are important to us:

1. proven broodmare
2. 5 panel negative (HYPP N/N in particular)
3. halter bred w/ good bloodlines
4. local show record

Baby Mamma

There are many theories to breeding and choosing horses that will produce well and as a newbie, I know very little about this.  Do you pick something that is similar in quality to the mare and hope she produces higher quality?  What about a stud that is known to throw a specific trait you are looking for – ie – height? Or do you choose the best quality stud you can afford and cross your fingers it all works out?


In my opinion, we are starting with a good quality mare, not a superior quality mare.  So, we are hoping for a foal of high quality, by choosing a stud that is superior quality.  Our plans are to show locally and maybe hope for something that could be competitive in provincial/state futurities. 

Our specific criteria for the stud fluctuated a bit and we both made up a short list of our top 5 choices.  In the end, we went with one that was on both our lists that was made a bit more accessible by the Boss and someone she knows.  Our criteria were (in no specific order):

1. tall – at least 16hh - and known to throw height
2. good conformation
3. overall “wow” appearance
4. proven halter bloodlines
5. proven show record – in this case, we were looking for Congress and AQHA/APHA world show wins, not local shows
6. proven offspring – in this case, futurity halter wins (over $100K US in 2019!) and APHA world show wins
7. 5 panel negative (HYPP N/N in particular)
8. optional – double registered AQHA/APHA (for more local show options)

The stud we choose hit all the criteria except #8.  He is APHA only and AQHA does not recognize APHA studs on AQHA mares.  APHA recognizes the reverse, but that isn’t the case for us. 

Image from an ad online

Many halter horses are N/H (they tend to gain more muscle if they are N/H) and many breeders still don’t see it as a negative thing to perpetuate that trait. I am not a big time breeder or a vet, but I feel that my part in not furthering the issue is important, even if small.  I sort of see it as the same as reducing my plastic usage – I can’t save all the turtles - but I can sure do my part.

My fingers are crossed that all goes well and we have a healthy foal! Only 16 or so months to go!

True dat!

Treat Yo'self - mega edition: continued!

So this is part two and hopefully the final instalment of me spending all of the money I've been trying to save!  LOL

Me lately!

A few months ago, a friend approached me to see if I was interested in a partnership to breed her mare. I was thrilled that she asked me, as having/raising a foal has been on my bucket list before I even knew what a bucket list was!  

Also me.

We make a good team since a) we both have the same first name (lol) and b) she has the mare and doesn't like to show, but I do want to show.  So we agreed we would each go away and do some research on studs we were interested in.  In the end it came down to a halter stud who is actually a paint!  We were originally looking for something double registered (AQHA, APHA) so we'd have more breed show options, but we were able to get a special rate on this stallion that was on our short list.  We signed the contract and sent it in this week, so it looks like I'll be half owner of a foal in 2021, if all goes as planned.

Baby daddy!

And the other big, unplanned purchase this week is a new-to-me used truck!  I already had a truck, but it turns out it had a huuuuggge mechanical problem caused by modifications the dealer made, which were not disclosed to me.  Long story short, the dealer bought the truck back and I had about 5 days to find a new vehicle.

I thought about not getting a truck (cheaper on gas!) and then found a truck and sorta fell in love.  Yep. With a truck.

It is a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 and has heated seats (which is awesome when you live where I do!) and lots of other features.  It has a towing package with trailer brakes all installed and everything. I have two trailers I can borrow whenever I want, so a big goal for 2020 will be learning to drive with a trailer! *Gulp*  I've driven my friend's rig once or twice on short hauls, but I want to get my skillz up next year so I'm comfortable on local hauls.

Swwweeeettt!!!!!

I know all of  this spending seems quite a bit out of character for me - I've been pretty careful about not spending - but at least most of it was planned and within budget.   I was already making truck payments, so this new one is around the same amount, so it isn't a shock to our budget. The stress of doing all this vehicle stuff in a week?  That is a different story...  Stress aside,  I'm very grateful that I am in a position to do all of these things right now, as you never know what life will throw at you!

What about you guys - any big purchases planned?  Are you saving up for anything? As for me, I'm back to saving...well, right after my trip to DisneyWorld with my Mom in a couple of weeks...  I'm also going to go check the couch cushions for change and hope to find a $20 in a pocket of  a winter jacket!  Edited to add:  I found $15 in change in my old truck when I cleaned it out. Counting that as a win!