Once again I find myself looking out the window enjoying the social drama that goes on in my large herd of horses.  With 10 horses (3 boys, the rest girls!) all running in the same pen, eating the same food, drinking the same water, there is always some drama unfolding!  In the middle of January, on a cold Sunday morning, we had a neighbor stop by and say those dreaded words:  Your horses are loose!!  As we run to throw on warm clothes and hope they haven't gotten too far, we debate our plan of attack.  In this case, it was easier then we anticipated!  When horses get out in the warm days of summer, they have lots to choose from when it comes to food.  As the saying goes, the grass in greener on the other side!  When they walk over a fence that the snow pulled down in the middle of winter, there is NO food to be found other than the food we provide.  One look at the grain bucket containing a little shell corn and they come a'runn'n, follow you into the gate and give you the "I'm starving and it's all your fault" look!  The horses are back in and they, as well as us, are able to enjoy a nice warm breakfast and smile.  I like to think they are enjoying the same song I hear in my head:  "There's no place like home!"

Here on Northern Gaits, we have our first "maintained" horse.  One of our brood mares aborted a foal, foundered and then became pregnant again.  She delivered a beautiful palomino colt in December but now we have to contend with the founder issue.  She doesn't know when to stop eating!!!  In order to have her out in the pasture with her mates as well as to give her foal a chance to roam the open pasture, we have started using a grazing muzzle.  We bought a nylon/stainless steel/velcro muzzle but it just isn't holding up.  So far she has broken it twice.  Once she stepped on it and the other time she used the other horses in the pasture to rub/eat it off.  We keep getting it fixed because it is just the right solution for her.  She gets to socialize as well as letting her colt run free.  I just wished they made the muzzles better!!   Karie

As the tulips FINALLY peek their heads above ground, the highly anticipated first foals here at Northern Gaits have arrived!

The first one born to Dawn is a beautiful red, long legged filly!  We have named her Sienna because of her coloring and boy is she gaiting!  All around her enclosure she spends most her day gaiting around for minutes at a time and then, sleeping for hours!

Three weeks later, we had Diamond's foal on the ground!  She is a fabulous frosted color with hints of chocolate in her tail!  She is almost as big as Sienna even though she was just born!!  We haven't settled on a name for her yet but we are leaning towards Frosty Morning!!

As all mare owners know, each of these mares waited for the nasty, cold, wet days to give birth!  They couldn't have done it on the few days that it was above 40, no, they both waited until the weather turned cold again.

Dawn had Sienna about 1AM on a foggy, cold, rainy night.  We were out checking every few hours and thank God we did.  She was shivering and cold but once we had her and Dawn in the stall with some fresh hay, things were good again!!

Diamond had a week and a half of warm weather to give birth, but decided the morning that it snowed again was her day!  She had it about 7:30 in the morning and we were able to get the filly warmed right away!  Both these mothers kept us on our toes, that's for sure!  Our new horse barn paid for itself in these two foalings if you ask me!!!

It's finally getting warmer here on a regular basis so hopefully, no more freezing cold nights!!  We have two more mares due but hopefully, they will have a better time of it!!

As time allows, I will be posting pictures in the Horse section as well as the For Sale section.  All these foals are for sale so check them out!!

Who can resist a Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse?!!

Even as winter still holds us in its icy grip here in the north, we are preparing for the very busy foaling season at Northern Gaits.  Our first KMSHA foal is due any day now and already we are getting excited for spring. 

With a new barn built for the purpose of foaling, we are still finding working in the freezing temperatures daunting!  Hopefully, by the time the first new foal is due, the temps will have risen at least 10 degrees or so.

As the days continue to count down, the anticipation is hard to take!!  We can't wait to see what color and what sex we get.  As these will be our first Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses, we can't wait to share our pictures.

Check back often, as we will keep this updated with all the latest pictures and highlights!

Wish us luck!

Winter has set in for us here at Northern Gaits.  We have four mares going to foal in the spring and they are all snuggled into their respective rooms.  The new six-stall barn is almost done, with just a few finishing touches left. 

Dawn and DeeDee, the two mares due first, are all settled into their breeding stalls just waiting for their new arrival!  They are getting grain everyday and a little extra handling to make sure everything goes smoothly, starting in March, when the first foal is due.  Only two months to go and we will have our first foal on the ground!!

Slingshot, our stallion, did a great job, this summer with all the mares.  He was learning the ropes as he is new to this, but all the girls kept him from misbehaving.  We couldn't have asked for a better breeding season.

All the paperwork has been sent to the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Association and Slingshot has gone back to the Bar S for the winter.  All that is left to do is sit back and wait to see what type of color we get out of these mares.

As soon as we have the new foals, we will be posting pictures in the "horses" area of the website.

Here's to an exciting 2008!!

The breeding season is well on the way here at Looseriders and it has been quite an exciting ride so far!

Slingshot, the newest member of the family, has been introduced to 3 out of the 5 mares we have for him this season.  After a winter and spring of extra vitamins and minerals for Slingshot, he has put on weight and his coat, mane and tail are shiny and healthy.  He is such a beautiful stallion.

Now we begin with the vet calls and such for the mares.  In the coming weeks, we will have all of the mares tested to make sure they are pregnant.  Being that it is so early in the year, we still can have Slingshot re-breed any of the mares that didn't take and still have a successful season.

If everything goes right, next spring at this time we will have 5 new foals on the ground and then the real work begins!

Well, we've done it!!!  After years of research, saving our money and dreaming, my husband and I along with The Bar S have purchased our first Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Stallion.

It all began with a trip to the Minnesota Horse Fair at the end of April.  While visiting the Kentucky Mountain booth, we met Tara Stone of Stone Hollow Farm.  Along with her husband Chris, Tara owned a few 2 year olds we might be interested in looking at for a stallion prospect.

Many emails and weeks later, my father and I decided there was no help for it...... we had to go see them.  We could look at all the papers and pictures of these horses, but in the end, the only way to tell was to see them in person.

On May 17th my father and I took the 6 hour drive north to meet our destiny!  All the ride up, we talked about the possibilities of owning our own stallion.  We rehashed all the things we knew about stallions and what we would need to do to be 100% stallion proof!  Throughout the entire ride, I kept telling myself not to get my hopes up.  These were the first horses of the season, and they might not have anything for us.

Armed with all the emails from Tara, Dad and I had a pretty good grasp at what we would find when we got there.  We just needed to meet these boys in person!  We were pretty sure going in, we would like one in particular.  He had the bloodlines, the height and the look we were looking for.  Boy were we in for a surprise!

As we drove up to the horse pen, Tara and Chris had three beautiful horses for us to look at.  The one we had been leaning towards was there and we looked him over very carefully.  He was everything Tara had said and more.  However, there was another beauty next to him that both my father and I kept glancing over to.  Our eyes seemed to be drawn to him again and again.  He was a beautiful chocolate with a flaxen mane and tail.  Even with his winter coat, you could tell he was a wonder! 

After asking many pointed questions, we had each one of them led around so we could see them walk and gait.  Hands down, the chocolate gaited like a dream.  We were sold!

After a small and very short conference back at the truck, Dad and I decided he was the one for us.  Two hours after arriving at Stone Hollow, we had him in our trailer and we were headed home.  He was ours!!

For the next six hours, Dad and I talked like excited children.  We called everyone we knew cared (and many who didn't) and told them our news.  We had a stallion in our possession and his name was Slingshot!!!!  What a fabulous name!  He was ours!

For the next few days, Dad and I took turns coming home from work early so we could be with Slingshot.  I think we both thought if we blink, he might disappear like a mirage in the desert.  Our heads are still reeling with all the excitement. 

We have now settled into a routine.  We are just waiting for the paperwork for the transfer of ownership from the association and then we will get down to business.  Slingshot is attentive and willing and he is gaining weight all the time.

Soon, we will be putting pictures up in the "Horses" section of this site.

Part of the dream has been realized,  Dare we dream that one day, we will have it all...... a Slingshot baby :-)

As we settle in for another 6 weeks of winter, I have time to reflect on the drama that seems to be unfolding just a few steps from my front door. While performing my daily check on the horses that I currently have in my care, it seems to me that each one has their place in the group.  Just as you would have different personalities on a schoolhouse playground, you have the bullies, the loner, the leader and the prankster all in one paddock.

In the few years that I have been charged with the care of more than one horse, the behavior of the horse herd has become more and more fascinating to me.  Last year while taking care of four horses, it seemed to me that I had a window into an All Girls Club.  I could almost hear the giggles as I fed them their grain.  They would vie for my attention hoping for a good word or a pat on the nose.  I could almost picture them settling down on the living room floor with their Cinderella pajamas, and their Barbie dolls wondering what the next day would bring!  They were all in good spirits and everything seemed to be a game to them.  Fun was the order of the day.

This year has been quite a different story.  I currently have in my care, nine distinct personalities to try and sooth, pamper, discipline and ignore.  I still have the girls, but presented with outsiders, it has become quite obvious that not everything is fun and games any longer. 

To begin with, I have eight mares and one gelding.  As you can probably guess, the gelding, Jack has become the unofficial leader of the group.  He dictates who eats, where and when. As Jack is the most aggressive of them all, his leadership goes without question. What has become a surprise to me is the fact that my oldest mare Dawn, has taken a back seat. Dawn has been the alpha mare for longer than I can remember.  She has been the teacher and nurturer to many a foal. However, with the loss of the title "leader" in this herd of nine, she not only has taken a backseat, but has removed herself from the group entirely.  She is the last to get to the grain and water.  It surprises me that it would even be possible to push her to the side.  What is even more puzzling is that fact that she is unwilling to stay with the others at the end of the chain of command.  It is apparent that it is either the top or nothing for Dawn.

Besides Jack and Dawn, I have Dawn’s daughter Dee Dee, the pre-madonna of the group.  She has to be wherever the attention is.  It is not good enough for her to be petted and praised.  All the other mares need to be completely ignored for her to be happy.  Next comes Diamond, Dee Dee’s younger sister.  She too needs attention but doesn’t crave it like Dee Dee.  You can almost hear her sufferable sigh when Dee Dee once again steals the spotlight.  Now we have Cody.  Cody has a dubious past.  From parents that were known to have short tempers and full attitudes, to learning how to slide under fences and causing accidents on the roads, Cody has been the one I worry about the most.  Not that she hasn’t survived the accidents and problems she has caused, you just have to look at all her scars to see that she is a warrior, but she always seems to come out of these scrapes with some damage to herself but even more damage to others involved!

We now come to Dixie, Dawn’s youngest.  This is one horse you don’t want to turn your back on.  She is always pulling pranks that pull at your temper. She likes to nip at any loose clothing, buttons or any exposed skin!  She is aggressive enough for four horses and always gets her share of the grain!  We have Suzy, which was pretty much ignored until she grew into her body and now stands taller then the rest.  Now, she too gets her food when she wants and no longer stands off to the side. Chapel is fairly new to the group but somehow manages to keep her head above water and is always there for feeding time.  I have a suspicion that none of the other horses want to turn their backs to her because I have seen her strike at them without warning.  Finally, we have Princess.  Princess was a loner from the very beginning.  Not only was her application to the

All Girls Club last year denied, but she wasn’t even allowed to submit it to this group this year.  She stays off to the side most of the time, lapping up the left over grain and hoping for a chance at the hay pile. She is a very pretty horse and I believe that it is a simple matter of jealousy from all involved because of her looks and her name!

As I pour grain into the trough and they shuffle, bite, kick and fight for their spot in the trough, I can’t help but think back to those four little mares last year and wonder, what happen to playing with dolls!!!

Well, as always it has come again.  Maple Syrup Season!  At the Bar S tapping maple trees for sap has been a long standing tradion.  The participants come and go, but someone is always willing to help with the tapping of the maples.  In each of our respective homes, the children of the Bar S have always sworn to have nothing in their homes but the real stuff!  On occasion this has had to been a compromise with the rest of the people in the household, but us Bar S stock have always preferred the best. 

As I sat and read the closing notes for this month's newletter, I sat back and did a little remembering of how things have changed and yet, really stayed the same.  When I was a little girl with my brother and sister, we always were excited about tree tapping.  It meant a little more work after school but we didn't really think of this as work.  We had an excuse to get outside away from dishes and homework and the most exciting thing, Dad would hook up the horses to pull the trailer.  If it was too muddy, my brother would saddle the horse up so we could ride up the hill and collect our sap. 

At first we tapped a few trees, collected a few gallons of sap and had just enough syrup to make it until next spring.  We would even do most of the boiling on the stove inside the house in a large soup pot.  It took a lot longer to do it this way, but the whole house would smell of that sugary delight! 

As time progressed, and us kids were older (and stronger) we were able to collect more sap at a faster rate.  We were better at handling the horses and were even allowed to go up into the woods by ourselves to collect everything we could.  Of course, a lot more tasting went on once we were on our own, but we all looked forward to the finished product. 

My father began building an outdoor stove big enough to hold a large pan for boiling.  This made it a lot faster to cook more sap down.  It always seemed to me, Dad was always improving the cook down process.

As the years passed and each spring came, we all did our part when it came to tapping.  My siblings and my interest would wain one year and be back the next, but my father was always there ready and able to work with anyone interested.

Whenever this time of year comes and I see the temperature start to rise, I always think back to those times in the woods with the horses stamping their feet and the old tin milk cans filled with raw sap rattling in the trailer. 

Even on those years of less than enthusiastic interest, I always appreciated the great taste of home cooked maple syrup.  It may be all in my head, but I have yet to find anything that tastes better!

This year it remains the same, Dad has a new stainless steel pan ready for cooking and has already discussed with my brother a time table of who is sitting at the fire watching it cook.  They have the trees tapped and ready to produce as soon as the sap starts running.  Everything is in place.  We can't wait to see what this years batch will taste like! 

By the way, Dad, I just looked in my pantry and I'm plum out of syrup.  I guess I'll have to earn that next bottle!

Karie

 The Kentucky Mountain Horse Association would like to introduce the newest addition to the mountain horse community, The Spotted Mountain Horse Association!  Now all those foals that were born the "wrong" color can be registered!  Many owners were running into problems with their multi-colored foals.  Both parents were registered and had the wonderful disposition that they gave to these foals, but the solid color just wasn't there, rendering the foal un-registerable!  No longer!!!  You owners now have an option!!!