Well, it's taken me awhile to post this amidst all the craziness, but we are now homeowners!!! We closed on Wednesday afternoon, moved some clothes and other things over Thursday, and spent several hours this evening trying to scrape old wallpaper off the kitchen and living room walls. We're house-sitting at Camp DuBoff this week, so we won't actually move in until Saturday evening, which is nice because it gives us some time to get organized.
We are also hoping to paint the kitchen and living room before we move in. After tonight, that may be an ambitious goal, but we're going to try! We discovered this evening that the kitchen has not one, but three layers of wallpaper on the walls. And the living room has not three, but SIX layers of old wallpaper!!! Most of it actually started coming off fairly easily in the living room, although it's somewhat disconcerting because it feels like you're taking a whole chunk of the wall off! But the bottom layer is pretty sticky, so we may have to get a steamer for that. We'll see. We don't have internet or anything set up yet, so updates may be spotty for awhile, but I'll try and stay up to date as much as possible.
November 12, 2006
November 04, 2006
Draughts and Pearls
I think I mentioned before that Paladin is and Irish Draught/Quarter Horse cross. Although I don't know his QH bloodlines yet (I don't yet have his papers, but I'll be getting them from the breeder), I do know about the Irish Draught side. Here's a little about IDs from the website for the Irish Draught Horse Society of North America:
"Over a century of selection has produced a warm-blooded breed which are very sound, sensible animals with good bone, substance and quality. It is proud of bearing, deep of girth and strong of back and quarters. The Irish Draught is neither as massive nor as heavily feathered as it's name implies and has movement that is smooth and free, without exaggeration, and not heavy nor ponderous. Standing over a lot of ground, the Draught has an exceptionally strong and sound constitution, great stamina and an uncanny jumping ability. In addition, this breed possesses a fabulous temperament made up of willingness, intelligence, docility and common sense."
Here is a little about Paladin's daddy, a purebred Irish Draught named Mountain Pearl:
"Mountain Pearl is one of the Irish Draught world's best known and popular stallions. He is a horse of exceptional athleticism with superb, people oriented temperament. He is 17.1 hh and bright bay. He was foaled in 1989 in County Cork, Ireland and passed performance testing by the Irish Horse Board in 1993. We imported him in late 1997 and he stands stud in eastern Iowa.
His jumping ability and movement speak for themselves:
Even so, the characteristic Mountain Pearl and his foals are most noted for is temperament. When people visit, be they horse people, or children, or grandparents they are amazed at his attitude. He is gentle, kind, and curious, yet majestic. Wow! is the most common reaction from people, then they want to get close and touch him - which he loves."
"Over a century of selection has produced a warm-blooded breed which are very sound, sensible animals with good bone, substance and quality. It is proud of bearing, deep of girth and strong of back and quarters. The Irish Draught is neither as massive nor as heavily feathered as it's name implies and has movement that is smooth and free, without exaggeration, and not heavy nor ponderous. Standing over a lot of ground, the Draught has an exceptionally strong and sound constitution, great stamina and an uncanny jumping ability. In addition, this breed possesses a fabulous temperament made up of willingness, intelligence, docility and common sense."
Here is a little about Paladin's daddy, a purebred Irish Draught named Mountain Pearl:
"Mountain Pearl is one of the Irish Draught world's best known and popular stallions. He is a horse of exceptional athleticism with superb, people oriented temperament. He is 17.1 hh and bright bay. He was foaled in 1989 in County Cork, Ireland and passed performance testing by the Irish Horse Board in 1993. We imported him in late 1997 and he stands stud in eastern Iowa.
His jumping ability and movement speak for themselves:
Even so, the characteristic Mountain Pearl and his foals are most noted for is temperament. When people visit, be they horse people, or children, or grandparents they are amazed at his attitude. He is gentle, kind, and curious, yet majestic. Wow! is the most common reaction from people, then they want to get close and touch him - which he loves."
November 03, 2006
A Horse of My Own
It may surprise some of you to know that, although I've loved horses as long as I can remember, ridden them since I was 7, trained them since I was 16, and now make my living working with them, I have never owned a horse of my own. There have been several special horses in my life, but they've all been owned by other people.
Now, there are some nice things about that. For one, it's nice to have someone else picking up the tab for board, shoes, blanekts, food, shots, etc. I often joked that I had the best of both worlds - training and spending time with horses I loved, without having to pay for or worry about them.
But, seeing one favorite horse after another get sold and leave the farm gets old and sad after awhile. And there was one special boy I just couldn't bear to let go. Yep, that's right, I BOUGHT A HORSE!!! I'm now the very proud and excited owner of my very first horse, an amazing 4-year-old Irish Sport Horse named Palladin.
I started Palladin this summer and fell in love with him before I ever rode him, but never even considered buying him. He has a quirky, goofy personality that is comical and lovable at the same time. He loves attention and play and turns to mush when you pet his face or scratch one of his favorite spots. But I love most of the horses I work with, and I wasn't looking for a horse.
Then, when I rode him, I couldn't believe what I was feeling. There is absolutely no way to describe this to someone who hasn't ridden nice horses or doesn't ride at all, but Palladin's canter is the most incredible thing I've ever felt on a horse. Most babies are gawky and awkward (and he can be sometimes too!) and need help finding a rhythm, but his canter is the smoothest, most naturally rhythmic gate I have ever felt. It's like riding a waltz played in perfect time by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
And then we started jumping him.
It was all downhill from there. So I joked about finding somebody to buy him for me, but prepared myself to say goodbye, because I knew he'd sell quickly once we started advertising him. But driving home from dinner with Jamie one night, she mentioned that she knew I loved him and we could figure something out with his price. Luke and I debated the pros and cons, went back and forth, and decided not to buy him - after all, we are closing on our first house next week! But after sitting down and really crunching the numbers, we figured out that we really did have the money after all, and so today Jamie called the 16 people, some as far away as California, that had seen his ads on the internet and were seriously interested in buying him.
It still hasn't quite sunk in yet. I OWN MY OWN HORSE!!! :) I've been trying to post a couple of pictures, but it's not working. There are a couple pictures of him from this summer on Jamie's website, but I'll try and post some new ones as soon as possible. I can't wait to show him off. ;) He's just adorable and stunning at the same time.
So I finally have a horse of my own. :)
Now, there are some nice things about that. For one, it's nice to have someone else picking up the tab for board, shoes, blanekts, food, shots, etc. I often joked that I had the best of both worlds - training and spending time with horses I loved, without having to pay for or worry about them.
But, seeing one favorite horse after another get sold and leave the farm gets old and sad after awhile. And there was one special boy I just couldn't bear to let go. Yep, that's right, I BOUGHT A HORSE!!! I'm now the very proud and excited owner of my very first horse, an amazing 4-year-old Irish Sport Horse named Palladin.
I started Palladin this summer and fell in love with him before I ever rode him, but never even considered buying him. He has a quirky, goofy personality that is comical and lovable at the same time. He loves attention and play and turns to mush when you pet his face or scratch one of his favorite spots. But I love most of the horses I work with, and I wasn't looking for a horse.
Then, when I rode him, I couldn't believe what I was feeling. There is absolutely no way to describe this to someone who hasn't ridden nice horses or doesn't ride at all, but Palladin's canter is the most incredible thing I've ever felt on a horse. Most babies are gawky and awkward (and he can be sometimes too!) and need help finding a rhythm, but his canter is the smoothest, most naturally rhythmic gate I have ever felt. It's like riding a waltz played in perfect time by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
And then we started jumping him.
It was all downhill from there. So I joked about finding somebody to buy him for me, but prepared myself to say goodbye, because I knew he'd sell quickly once we started advertising him. But driving home from dinner with Jamie one night, she mentioned that she knew I loved him and we could figure something out with his price. Luke and I debated the pros and cons, went back and forth, and decided not to buy him - after all, we are closing on our first house next week! But after sitting down and really crunching the numbers, we figured out that we really did have the money after all, and so today Jamie called the 16 people, some as far away as California, that had seen his ads on the internet and were seriously interested in buying him.
It still hasn't quite sunk in yet. I OWN MY OWN HORSE!!! :) I've been trying to post a couple of pictures, but it's not working. There are a couple pictures of him from this summer on Jamie's website, but I'll try and post some new ones as soon as possible. I can't wait to show him off. ;) He's just adorable and stunning at the same time.
So I finally have a horse of my own. :)
November 02, 2006
The First Snowfall!
Well, we knew it was supposed to be nasty weather last night, but we had no idea it was supposed to snow! We looked outside this morning and saw about 1/4 inch of snow covering the ground and roofs around us.
I guess we shouldn't be surprised, as it's typical New England weather - bale 3rd cut hay one day, get snow the next! At least the snow waited til November...
I guess we shouldn't be surprised, as it's typical New England weather - bale 3rd cut hay one day, get snow the next! At least the snow waited til November...
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