Ellin learned how to jump last night, and neatly, too! She tacks up like a pro now, even with the tight cinch, but I hadn't been able to get her to move out, so last night I brought out the whip and got her moving under the English saddle, in case she dropped and rolled. No problem. As soon as she figured out I wasn't chasing her, but wanted her to take a wide circle around her pasture, she stretched out low and put some speed into it. WOW! This filly is Something Else! However, whether she thought I was chasing her, was nervous because it was getting dark, or just plain felt frisky, she decided to jump the fence into the neighbor's pasture. Steve, the neighbor boys, and I collectively said, "WOW! Did you SEE that?!" I had very little trouble collecting her and she walked home and stood still while I ran my hands down her legs. I was worried she may have cut herself or strained something but her legs were cool and clean. Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes of exercise and she wasn't even out of breath. I left her halter on in case she decided to jump again, but this morning she is calmly and alertly muching hay under her favourite tree, ready to work again. What a champ! It looks like this young lady may have a bright future racing on the flat, jumping, AND being a mom!

I feel it so important to know where my food comes from and how it was grown. Every week during prayer requests there are at least 2 people who know someone who has been diagnosed with cancer. What other problems are we causing? What are we doing to our bodies without knowing it?
Please view at least the first 7 minutes of this film. And PLEASE support local community supported agriculture!!!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-food

5/13/10
It's been an exciting week for both farm and stable. The lambs are nearly as wide as they are tall. Life is good; they eat, run, climb, and squeeze through the board fence, then nap in the sun and repeat. Padraigh is particularly striking. He has the largest horn buds and the cutest black smile and dark eyes. He is definitely the ringleader. An excellent gainer with tremendous personality, I'm really hoping to sell him for breeding.

The garden is developing. Mint, thyme, sage, and chives are available. Lettuce will be ready soon, as will lavender, marjoram, and cilantro. Corn, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash, and cucumbers are growing. We look forward to a bountiful harvest this year.

Anna seems determined to hold on to her foal forever, or at least until she's finished this bite...and the next...and the next....

The big news, of course, is our BIG NEW arrival! Inontime (Richter Scale - Ina Nic of Time/Nicholas) represents the true beginning of Rocinante Racing Stables and has already given us enough excitement to last the summer! She has a total sense of herself. Everyone comments on her presence.
Inontime came from Scott and Carol Ricker in Paris, KY. Terin found her listed on dreamhorse.com and after much deliberation, waffling, putting my foot down, and curiosity, I decided to run out and see her. Carol had emailed photos and she looked small, though very well conformed. When we pulled up to the loafing shed and Carol grabbed an elephant by the halter, I said, "That's not her...is it?" Saying this filly is large is like describing the ocean as wet. I haven't measured her yet but I'd be surprised if she didn't reach 17h. For our un-horsey followers, that's 6ft. at the back. Draft horse sized. A small Clydesdale. Honestly, I was so overcome by her Presence that I forgot to ask questions, check teeth, etc. After awhile I did start feeling her legs and we talked about her history, but it was superfluous; there is nothing amiss with the wondrous filly. She is tractable, charming, and very much in charge. I'd been stud shopping earlier that day and had a pocket full of treats; once the filly discovered them she took me as Her person, clearing a space around us that the other horses respected. When I left she followed me to the gate and tucked her head under my arm.
Sold.

Getting the wondrous filly here was a challenge. Terin's friend's truck's U-joint broke the night before Filly Day #1. Monday May 3rd was Filly Day #2, and despite historical flooding, it went off without a hitch! Many thanks to Brandon and Amber for their time and care! After unloading and walking the filly for a bit, we gave her something to wonder about...the electric fence. The marvelous filly methodically examined her pasture, nibbling on the trees, the irises, the grass, and the fence wire. It...didn't go well. After a brief detour at the neighbor's fence, where she met their stud and spurned his advances, we convinced her to detour around the Invisible Horse-eating Forces through the back pasture. I really wanted another horse with her to show her the ropes. She wasn't interested. I've never seen Century intimidated by another horse, but he is terrified of the filly! Herself, meanwhile, stood frozen by the gate, convinced not moving was the only way to avoid the Invisible Forces of Horse-Eating Evil.
By midnight she'd settled some and was watching Chicken TV. (The chickens in their coop seem to be a perpetual source of equine amusement.)

Tuesday morning at 7am I went out to move Century and Herself to the pasture by the pond. Only Century was there. Four of us spent 13 hours searching for her and not a sign. Not a hoofprint, pile of poop, or bent grass to be found. Terin helped me place several ads and alert people from southern IN to Lexington and SW of Louisville. Wednesday evening the filly suddenly appeared with the horses across the street. She did not appear to have jumped the fence as all wires were intact except one, which had been taken apart at the loop. I gave her the motherly "don't you EVER do that to me again, do you understand" speech, including the "look at me when I'm talking to you, I'll let you run, just not away from home" bits. Funny how quickly we get attached....

I figure anything that doesn't hurt is worth trying once, so I name my horses according to theories of numerology. It works like this:
1 - add up the numbers in the date you were born (they must boil down to a single digit excepting 11 and 22)
2 - add up the letters in your name (in a rubric from 1-9), again until you have a single digit
3 - ideally the number should be the same
So, with Thoroughbreds, I want their birthdate and barn name to match. Better if the registered name follows suit, but I figure they won't hear that much. Inontime's birthdate is a 7, but her registered name is an 8, so she needed a 7 barn name. I made a list, asked for opinions, narrowed it down to about four names, and asked the filly which one she liked best. Now I figure if I'm gonna buy into this number nonsense I'd better go all in, so she had to be called by the chosen name exactly as it is, no nicknames or abbreviations. The filly was quite keen on Atalanta (a warrior princess who beat all the men fully armed in a footrace in mythology) and Guinevere (queen of Camelot), but I found them too unwieldy for everyday use. I liked Vashti, the queen in the Book of Esther who refused to dance naked before the king and his cronies. But the filly chose Ellin, which (according to baby naming websites) means "moving" in Gaelic. It's a good name, and it can be shortened as Elle ("she" in French) is also a 7.

Ellin began training last week. I began with grooming; as she'd been prepped for the 2yr old sale at Keeneland, this posed no problem at all. I've also spent time getting Ellin to heed me. She will generally follow me anywhere in the pasture without a lead rope or a hand on her. I then moved on to hand grazing outside her pasture, with a leadrope, of course.
Ellin's a strange horse in that she is absolutely composed and self-aware in every circumstance. She has yet to call to any horse in the neighborhood, though they've all called to her. She is curious and not skittish, which is a blessing given her size, and would rather approach scary objects than shy away from them. She prefers quiet and likes to think and solve problems. Her name, "moving" in Gaelic, applies both to her propensity to move rather than be still and her "wow" inducing Presence.
I prefer not to fight with a horse, because once you pick a fight you'd better be prepared to win. It's pointless to argue with an animal 10x your weight over something they don't understand (blatent misbehaviour is another story), so Ellin has chosen, within reason, how far away from her safe green space we go. I also do not believe in restraining a horse while I'm training. If one proceeds slowly and deliberately, giving ample time and explanation, a horse of average intelligence can be broken in an hour or two. It's my philosophy that by tying the horse, the trainer is restricting his freedom to choose. Training ought to be fun, the horse should feel he is being rewarded for making the correct decisions and should be under no obligation. I do train with a halter and leadrope. It's safer for me, the horse, and it gives me an opportunity to teach the horse to ground tie.
Initially my goal was to introduce Ellin to the saddle pad, but I thought it couldn't hurt to at least show her the saddle, so I set my English schooling saddle on the ground. After haltering and grooming her, I picked up the saddle pad and waved it around.
I firmly the craziest things my horses should ever encounter should come from me. The most important lesson the horse can learn is "safety lies near the trainer". If the weirdest things they see come from the person they trust the most, my horses will be fine in just about any situation, and should something spook them they will automatically look to me for assurance. 
I flapped that saddle pad all over the place, threw it at the filly, rubbed her all over with it, draped it over her head and face, etc. She watched me, stock still and totally calm. I threw the saddle pad over her back and wiggled it on top of her. She began to nose the saddle on the ground. We went for a walk around the pasture, stopping every now and then so I could wiggle the pad around. When I pulled it off and tossed it in front of her she sniffed it, then picked it up and shook it.
I don't like to push a horse; just because you get away with something doesn't mean they understand. If you skip or hurry through the steps, the horse will eventually hit a wall in training and you will waste much more time filling in the gaps than if you had proceeded logically and slowly in the beginning. Likewise, it's important to end on a positive note every time, giving the horse something to think about and also feeling successful.
However, the Wonderful Filly is SO smart, and SO eager, it's hard to resist temptation. Ellin tried to pick the saddle up both by the stirrup leather and the flap, so I tossed the pad back up and picked up the saddle. She sniffed it, licked the seat, and stood still. I eased the saddle onto her back and pulled the girth under her, then tightened it one hole at a time. Again, we walked around the pasture, then I removed the saddle and rubbed her back. She tried to pick the saddle up again.

This week Ellin has been under my new Aussie saddle, which means she's carrying about 40lbs. Additionally, she's been bridled twice with a Tom Thumb bit. I worried about bitting her as I'd been unable to explain the need for a bit to her satisfaction. Her ultimate aim in life is to run, and she's thrilled that I'm devoted to her cause. She understands that the saddle holds the rider, and she doesn't mind someone being along for the ride as long as she gets to run. The bridle, however, makes no sense to her, as she feels she'll know where to go all by herself.
Ellin is HIGHLY motivated by food and orally fixated to boot, so she pretty much sucked the bit into her mouth. It took her maybe fifteen minutes to figure out how to eat with it. We've now ventured up and down Gordon Ct. twice; the next step is to get all the way down Gordon Dr. and back! I'm hoping to back her with Mr. Bluejeans by the end of the week, but that depends on weather and available help.

Had to share this link...fortunately I didn't have any bottle lambs this year, but man are they adorable!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31KJURup70Q