Barn Art

Back in time, pre-cattle, pre-large horses, we/I had miniature horses.

We gave free barn tours meeting our horses and seeing our operartion.  The "art" I did not keep in the house I put on the barn walls. People seemed to enjoy this along with my antique or "the things we used to use" section.   Through a tornado, ten years of weather extremes, cattle occupation and other changing events these remain.

a painting on cardboard and great-grandmother's bedstead

This is a four foot plus wide wooden piece I did years ago representing Hubby and me.  The number in the center is our marriage year and the outside circles are our birth years, separately and becoming. I think they should be almost one circle by now.

a random selection to help hold the tar paper 

You know I never waste a thing!

I would not change these years and although I miss the time I think I wouldn't wish it back. It is just another chapter that been read and finished in our book of life.  We begin the next chapter.

The Sign

When we first moved to the farm we raised miniature horses.  My sister, Beverly, and I had cleaned and repaired the barn from one end to the other.  I gave tours to groups at no charge. I was just proud of what we had accomplished and wanted to share with the world.

During the repairs we found many pieces of our family history had been destroyed just by storing them so many years in a barn.  I took the pieces, and, yes, I knew the story for every piece and made a sign.  I had a piece of something that belonged to every member of the family generations past.

 I even had t-shirts made. Front

and back. (Raindrops on the shirt not stains)

After the tornado the barn and the sign (and many other things) had much damage.  This past month I tried to resurrect my sign.  Too much destroyed so I began anew.  Different pieces but the same purpose...to share the name we chose.

All that remained of the original sign was part of an F so I began there.

I gathered pieces of this and that and pieced them together to recreate my original sign.  It's not the same but we are labeled again.

Some may wonder why At The Farm.  Before we moved here someone would ask, Where's Dad? Where's Hubby?  At The Farm was always the answer so with my horses' registration I used At The Farm as the suffix instead of the standard prefix in a farm/ranch name.  

The first filly born here was Angel's Trumpet At The Farm and the first colt was named Walking Small At The Farm...see where I'm going besides in circles?

When my sister, Beverly, said I should blog the name came naturally...At The Farm.

Although we are no longer a horse ranch nor a cattle ranch the name remains mainly because of my blog.  Presenting the new old sign and it's new location...Ta daaaaa!

The Past

visits me on dreary days. I sat reading  a few posts wondering what in the world I was going to talk about today.  I visited a familiar blog with a kind story of strangers helping each other with no other purpose except that is the way it should be. It was a story of goodness, kindness and strangers working together toward a common goal.

I traveled back in time as winter days make me do.  I remembered when Dad still lived and the valley was full of horses, tiny horses.  I remembered the dreams.  I revisited photos of dreams put away.

I remembered the time almost strangers held an entire herd while we came to retrieve them. Miniature horse ownership requires "child proofing".  Pasture that held large stock does not necessarily hold small stock. They could walk under some places and just keep going.

We thought we had mini-proofed the place but sooo not so!!!  Royce, my herd stallion, found the one place we did not think about.  A water gate that held back full sized stock did not even slow this guy down.  He had a mission of moving his herd and he kept on.  Down the ditch to the water gate on the far side of the large pond he led.  They followed.  Traveling the ditch they reached highway 58 then proceeded down 58 to 69 highway to the town of Sage.

This happened before dawn on a Sunday morning or the ending would not be so great.

Six AM phone call woke us with a "Do you have miniature horses?"  Yes, we do, several.  "The neighbors and I have herded them into my yard from the highway. We're keeping them safe."

Several miles by highway and an hour later we arrive with a stock trailer.  We lead Royce into the trailer. The herd followed as a true herd will. In goes Betty, Flo, Buford, Lucy, Fancy, Tracer and Fay with all the foals. Easy Peasy!  Thanks to the kindness of neighbors and the grape vine our horses came home safely.

I believe I was born to be a horse owner, any size or kind, but things change as they always do and life goes on.

Dad's gone. The horses are gone.  The valley never changes but the actions within are always different. Mother Nature tends to the beauty and we are in charge of the chaos.

Going Back...Way Back

Been organizing and you're thinking, is she not finished yet?! Anyway found some old pictures, this is Jake in diapers...I told you they were old!

Cash Crop

Large and very small

Charme before she came to live with me

Christmas '05 Maria(daughter), Andrew, her son, Melissa (oldest daughter), Jake, her son and Marcy, my oldest sister.

My Mistakes, My Glories

Many of you have asked about my horse story so here I begin, maybe not in order, but the whole story will play in bits and pieces. Here's hoping you will enjoy the story.

My hubby and I are enjoying "Walkin' Small At The Farm", stable name, Buford. As you can tell I love play on words and name twisting. The old house behind us is Grandpa's. When Dad's family moved here, they brought two small houses by horse and sled from down the creek and put them together. Two rooms with a kitchen lean to on the back side.
Rolls Royce, my stud was purchased as a young colt. His dad sold for $45,000. I thought maybe he would be a good start. (And, no, he was a bargain because the color did not suit them.) I went to the White County Fair and met Royce there. It took me a few weeks but I did buy him. He ain't his daddy, but he ain't bad!

What can I say? From one to many...I loved these little guys! I researched, I shopped on line, I read every thing I could get my eyes on. I visited a trainer. I visited a show barn. I finally drove to a mini farm. I bought two bred mares and a filly, a pinto, a red roan and a brown...Fancy, Luci, and Phlo. They knew the owner of Royce so I bought him too. They delivered! In a van! Four horses in the back of a van, now that was amazing!
Fancy is now in New York State in a loving home with a long time horse owner. She is no longer able to ride so is trying Miniature horses.

My first foal born was a filly out of my Red Roan. Had trouble naming her. Asked my friend how do you decide on names. She said I wait for their personality because you don't want to name them Rose when they are a stink weed. Well, guess what happened, she became Stink weed. I googled stink weed and came up with the name "Angels Trumpet AT The Farm".

Now, this is supposed to be a business you know, buy, raise, wean, sell. Not as easy as it sounds! A lady contacted me and said she had a really good year with her Arabians but she had too many boys. Would I be interested in trading a filly for a colt? I agreed. She trailered Tally Ho's Kadir and came for Stink weed. I could not load her, I was bawling like a baby!!!! My husband had to load Stink. Later I was able to come out and meet my new boy. Not being used to the Arabian head, I said he's a knot head...from then on he has been Knot Head or just Knot.

Knot was young when I got him. Has grown a lot in this picture. He wanted to be with the babies so badly.

Later the first people I purchased from were selling more mares...a chestnut, a gray, and a grullo. You guessed it! I made an offer and here comes the van again! This is Betty...please remember I did not name these mares. I would have been much more creative.

I got to name this one! A man had miniatures and had not kept the papers current. He asked for help. In his whole pasture I saw this filly and I wanted her badly...did not know why. When I was helping him with the papers I noticed this little filly was a granddaughter of Paul Bunyon, the 1969 National Winner. He said girl, you got the eye! Of all those horses, you saw her.

I named her Tracer Backta Bunyon or Tracer.

A much younger Jake chose Tracer as his favorite and I believe she chose him. Please note the border collie is not leaving Jake's side.

Then my second amazing trade came along. All the things I dreamed came to me. I wanted a bomb proof, low to the ground (not so far to fall), a gentle, loving horse to ride. Two minis for one Haflinger!
I immediately fell in love! I could get my foot in the stirrup! Meet Charme's Delight. Haflinger registry requires that you name the foal after the first letter in the dam's name if it's a filly and first letter of sire if it's a colt. So she is called Charmie as in charming my socks off.

Jake, my middle GS, with my oldest daughter, Melissa.

Charme and Tracer...good big, little lesson.

My first GS, Andrew, (boy, has he changed!) trying out Charme.

And finally the picture you have been dying to see, hoping for, dreaming of, MY FIRST RIDE! I did not know how she would ride. I am a novice if I even rate that high. I'm always the one friends put on the crazy horse. You know the horses I am talking about, barn spoiled, pond loving, run you under a limb horses that noone could control.

This picture needs a setup. I did not dress properly, grabbed a pair of boots I bought only for decoration in the house, and grabbed the saddle. My husband had quite a laugh!

Charme is not liking this bridle!

Hubby helping his horse dumb wife!

Sad, isn't it?

Charme was bred by a Doc Bar Quarter Horse, unknown by all, except the two horses involved. Our Pinto came as quite a surprise...thus, Magic Man.

We cut Knot a week too late and we gained one more horse, registrable this time. Chadir's Broken Arrow(a mix of Knot and Charme's name with his marks).
T
hat is how I got my free horses! Two can be ridden, Magic will be trained soon, and next year Arrow will be old enough to ride.

Here they are today in all their winter glory!

Thank God for my horses!

My kingdom for a horse...

I have always dreamed of horses. When most young girls were making paper dolls I was making paper horses. Something about the smell of horse, that soft muzzle and those big eyes just had me hooked.

I did lots of research when we were moving to the farm. I purchased miniature horses. Fell in love with them. Just like big horses except it did not hurt as much if you got stepped on.

I progressed by showing horses, giving tours and watching them give birth. The first one I sold, I cried like a baby.

Along the way I acquired an Arabian colt, then a Haflinger mare, bred(Surprise!!). Charme had her colt, Magic Man. Charme also surprised us the next year with Chadir's Broken Arrow out of Talley Ho's Kadir or "Knothead". Guess we had him cut a couple of weeks too late! During this I decided big was the way to go and sold all my miniatures. Charme is my saddle horse, Knot has been trained to ride and next to the trainer will be Magic since he is coming three.

Magic looks just like his dad, a Doc Bar descendant, except he got some thickness from the Haflinger side. Will not be able to register him but that does not matter. He is perfect to me.