RIP Cardanita

This is my old girl Cardanita last week. I know no one else can see it in her sun-bleached face, but I still see the horse I bought ten years ago, even when I look at these pics of an obviously old horse. I still thought she was beautifulI also think she looked so much like her daddy--the great Peponita--one of my favorite horses of all time. Look how similar their heads are.

Nita came along when we first decided that if we were going to bother to breed horses, we were going to do it the best we could. We took some advice from one of the top breeders in the cutting business, who we met on accident. He suggested buying ONE good mare, even if she had to be old, or too young--and work from her, rather than spending that same money on more than one average or just barely above average mare.

That started us off--and Cardanita was one of the first we bought. We bought her from Tom Lyons, who had owned her forever and bred her to some great horses, including Smart Little Uno that he also owned. On a related note, he also owned and trained Grandpa, back in the day. Anyway, the broker on the deal was Cletus Hulling Jr, who unbeknownst to us at the time, was from this area. He was super nice to us, and when we would run into him in the future, he always remembered her. When we finally met Tom Lyons later, when he was selling one of Nita's daughters, he was very nice to us as well, and shared some stories about Nita back in her day.

Nita in June--still plenty of weight on her--

just one month before we put her down.

Nita was old when we bought her, and had already had ten babies, so was already swaybacked, but checked out really well reproductively and was fat and shiny. She was open though, and 18 or 19 years old. She was almost pitch black and had the most beautiful eyes--she just looked wise to me. I make fun of people who think they can tell much about a horse based on looking at their eyes--the "kind eye" story--but back then, I swore I could know her just by looking at her.

Nita in May--still shaggy, but still fat

Taking care of someone else's baby, in May

Since I had myself this fancy broodmare, I had to make some big decisions on who to breed her to. That was how we got involved in the High Brow Hickory Syndicate. I gave up my in-ground pool money and bought a breeding share of him, and we were on our way. Nita and another even older mare, San Peppys Noche (a daughter of Mr San Peppy), BOTH got in foal that year on the first shipment of semen. Can you imagine? I think Noche was 22, and Nita was 19, I think.

Before we even knew what had happened, we were in the business. I was so excited, you cannot know. The more I got to know Nita, the more I loved her. She was just a class act. Even-tempered, quiet--just a great horse. I fell in love, and stayed that way.

The next spring, both girls foaled--Nita first. I am superstitious about naming things before they hit the ground, but I had one in mind the whole time--High Dollar Gamble. That is certainly what that baby had been--it was awfully risky to invest that kind of money in an old open mare with a swayback, especially with people who were just getting their feet wet in the game. He was awesome. Ultimately, we sent both those babies, Gambler and Angel, to the cutting trainer and sold them as two year olds.

Nita was bred back to HBH, but did not get in foal. She had to go to Texas the following year to be bred, and they thought there was no way in hell she would get in foal, and stay that way. But she did, and Gypsy was the result. I wanted to keep Gypsy from the beginning-- I had saved the name Gypsy for something special ever since I read those books about a horse named Gypsy when I was little. We needed the money though, so I consigned her to a good sale and sent her to the cutting trainer when she was 2 to get ready.

All good plans though....she got hurt within her first few weeks. The trainer thought it was a stifle injury, but it turned out to be a broken pelvis of all things. Gypsy came home to heal--and here she will stay, as she has proven herself to be worthy with her first two babies, especially the roany pony this year.

And now I need her more than ever, since we have lost Nita.


These photos were taken on Tuesday nite, which was supposed to be Nita's last nite. Weather delayed the situation until Friday though. Even through this sheet, you can have some idea of how much weight she had lost--in the space of a month, she lost well over 100 pounds, probably more. This was in spite of plenty of Strategy and great pasture. Even skinny, Nita was very happy--she had been stalled waiting for the vet, and she HATED it. She had a very raspy voice, like a three pack a day smoker--and she would holler holler holler and circle in her stall. One nite of that made me feel terrible--that is no way to spend your last day. So I put her in the front pasture where I could catch her easily. She has always played a game where she makes you chase her, then will stop at the furthest possible point and say "you win. now come get me". I could not let her get too far, or rish not being able to catch her when the time came.

The first thing she did when I turned her out was go to the corner and holler across the driveway to the pasture where Gypsy and baby were. So I went to get them and gave them back to Nita. Then the game was ON. Gypsy and baby loped circles, and as you can see, Nita went with them. The pics I posted last week of Gypsy and the roany pony were from that same session.

Anyway, Nita Loped loped loped--bunny hop--huh? She was off in her hind end. Hmmm. I wondered what that was about, but figured that she was happy, and was doing what she wanted to do. It made me feel bad to think she hurt when she has never once complained about a thing--but also more sure I was doing the right thing. After all, she was 28 years old. Sure, I could probably fatten her up again--but why? If something else was wrong?

Friday ended up being the day. And can you believe that when I went out to get her, not only had she torn off her pretty dress here, but she RAN FROM ME! Now that is absurd. Granted she did not run far and after about 30 seconds, she said I could win if I would just come get her, and I did.

As many horses as we have had--this is the first one I have had to make the decision on without a trauma or serious illness dictating it. We have lost our share, but it has always been more acute than this. And this was the first I have had to do on my own without Barry (but that is fair, since he had to handle Lucky when she went down when I was in Vegas) other than a baby and those have been clear decisions. It was really hard to do, but the second it was done, I felt better--like I had done something for her.

The vet as always assured me I was doing the right thing, and opined that she may have had EPM, a slight case, the way her topline fell off and her hind end got a little wonky but in a wierd way that did not indicate a particular area that was the problem. That makes me feel better too. And worse, if you know what I mean--but mostly better that I was not doing this for selfish reasons.

I am going to miss her so much--these old ladies teach so much that a young horse just cannot teach us. Nita was a special one, that I will never forget--and can only hope to be so lucky as to have another with her gentle ways in the future. I know that is not an age thing, as I still have Playmate and Rock at 28 and 27 and they are about as gentle and soft and sweet as a tsunami--it was just something about Nita.

I am including her two-generation pedigree thingy just to have a reference for myself--her daughters and granddaughters and grandsons show up at the futurity sales a lot, so this will be a quick reference for me to look back at when their names come up. I have the weird brain that remembers connections, even if it something like her grand-neice also had a baby by so and so, and that person who owned him also owned....that kind of thing. It is very crowded in my brain on these matters!

TWO GENERATION DAMS' PRODUCE RECORD

Cardanita 1856429 1981 brown mare SI: 0 Starts 0 Wins: 0 2nds: 0 3rds: 0 Earnings: 0 Hlt Pts: 0 Perf Pts: 0
SIRE side of pedigree		Peppy San 1959 0114978 sorrel H- 26 P- 180	Leo San 1949 0020113 sorrel H- 0 P- 1
	Peponita 1969 0605028 black H- 0 P- 74		Peppy Belle 1955 0054365 sorrel
		Bonita Tivio 1955 0065940 bay H- 8 P- 48	Poco Tivio 1947 0017396 bay H- 12 P- 19
			Pepper Girl 1944 0005030 chestnut
DAM side of pedigree		Baldy Bull Card 1962 0215861 sorrel	Post Card 1953 0042177 bay H- 13 P- 20
	Card Melissa 1968 0615300 bay		Kenny's Lass 1952 0046724 sorrel
		Poco Melissa 1961 0184448 dun	Poco Tom 1950 0031623 dun H- 1 P- 3
			Rev's Cutie 1957 0072591 bay

CARDANITA - Horse Being Requested

REG. NO.	HORSE'S NAME	COLOR	SEX	DATE FOAL	ST
1856429	CARDANITA	BROWN	MARE	04/01/1981	OK

Additional Horse Information for CARDANITA:

• Deceased
• Genetic Typed

SIRE		DAM		MATERNAL GRANDSIRE
0605028	PEPONITA	0615300	CARD MELISSA	0215861	BALDY BULL CARD

DESCRIPTION	NAME	ADDRESS
BREEDER:	ROGER RAMSEY	GARDEN CITY, KS
OWNER:	BARRY &/OR PAIGE STRAWN	MOUNT VERNON, IL

CARDANITA's Sire Information

REG. NO.	SIRE'S NAME	COLOR	SEX	DATE FOAL	ST
0605028	PEPONITA	BLACK	STALLION	01/01/1969	BC

Additional Horse Information for PEPONITA:

• Deceased
• Genetic Typed

SIRE		DAM		MATERNAL GRANDSIRE
0114978	PEPPY SAN	0065940	BONITA TIVIO	0017396	POCO TIVIO

AQHA Show Totals for PEPONITA

LAST SHOW	OPEN HALTER	OPEN PERFORM	AMATEUR HALTER	AMATEUR PERFORM	YOUTH HALTER	YOUTH PERFORM	NOVICE AMATEUR	NOVICE YOUTH	EQ W/ DISAB
07/1978	.0	74.0	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0

AQHA/Alliance Totals for PEPONITA
Accuracy and completeness of information are the responsibility of each alliance.

NATIONAL CUTTING HORSE ASSOCIATION

$ 126,221.04

Earned thru 12/31/1995

Achievements for PEPONITA

YEAR	TYPE	DESCRIPTION
1979	OPEN	NCHA FINALS NON-PRO	1st PLACE
1979	OPEN	NCHA WORLD CHAMPION
1978	OPEN	SUPERIOR CUTTING
1978	OPEN	WORLD CHAMPION SR CUTTING
1977	OPEN	WORLD CHAMPION SR CUTTING
1977	OPEN	NCHA FINALS	1st PLACE
1977	OPEN	NCHA WORLD CHAMPION
1976	OPEN	WORLD SHOW SR CUTTING	3rd PLACE
1976	OPEN	NCHA FINALS	1st PLACE
1975	OPEN	NCHA WORLD CHAMPION	4th PLACE
1973	OPEN	PERFORMANCE REGISTER OF MERIT

Detail of CARDANITA's Offspring

+ JR NITA 2598577 Bay Mare 04/01/1987
S- DOCTOR BOND 1572844 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028

+ LONNIE HICKORY 3177846 Bay Gelding 02/15/1991
S- DOC'S HICKORY 0919616 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028

+ NITA HICKORY 3153584 Bay Mare 03/18/1992 Genetic Typed
S- DOC'S HICKORY 0919616 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028
National Cutting Horse Association: $ 1,222.40 Earned thru 12/31/1995

. . HEBERT HICKORY 3745240 Bay Stallion 06/12/1998
S- SONITALENA 2651846 NITA HICKORY 3153584 DOC'S HICKORY 0919616

. . LIL HOLLYWOOD HONEY 3900243 Buckskin Mare 05/28/1999
S- HOLLYWOOD DUN IT 2086591 NITA HICKORY 3153584 DOC'S HICKORY 0919616

. . DUAL HICKORY NITA 4014529 Sorrel Mare 05/21/2000 Transported Semen; Genetic Typed
S- DUAL REY 3258332 NITA HICKORY 3153584 DOC'S HICKORY 0919616
Show: 07/2007 Open- H- .0 P- 5.5 Amateur- H- .0 P- .0 Youth- H- .0 P- .0
National Cutting Horse Association: $ 24,294.92 Earned thru 03/25/2007

. . . DUAL SPOON 5165545 Red Roan Gelding 05/18/2008 Parent Verified; Genetic Typed
S- HES A PEPTOSPOONFUL 3768647 DUAL HICKORY NITA 4014529 DUAL REY 3258332

. . MH NITA MILLION 4162453 Bay Mare 05/14/2001 Parent Verified; Genetic Typed
S- LITTLE PEPPYS ULTIMO 3487566 NITA HICKORY 3153584 DOC'S HICKORY 0919616

. . SHES A PEPTO HICKORY 4949959 Chestnut Mare 03/28/2007 Transported Semen; Genetic Typed
S- HES A PEPTOSPOONFUL 3768647 NITA HICKORY 3153584 DOC'S HICKORY 0919616

+ UNO ANNA 3209689 Bay Mare 04/14/1993
S- SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028

+ UNO NITA 3314541 Bay Mare 06/09/1994
S- SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028
Show: 06/2007 Open- H- .0 P- .0 Amateur- H- .0 P- .0 Youth- H- .0 P- .0
Novice Amateur- P- .0 Novice Youth- P- .0 Eq w/ Disabilities- P- .0
National Cutting Horse Association: $ 744.87 Earned thru 08/11/2007

+ UNO HELENITA 3417228 Black Mare 06/18/1995
S- SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028

+ UNO ED 3525755 Brown Stallion 06/15/1996 Genetic Typed
S- SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028
National Cutting Horse Association: $ 7,456.37 Earned thru 04/04/2009

+ UNO HOUSTONIAN 3629425 Brown Mare 05/30/1997 Genetic Typed
S- SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028
Show: 07/2000 Open- H- .0 P- .0 Amateur- H- .0 P- .0 Youth- H- .0 P- .0

. . SMART STEEL ACRE 4156863 Buckskin Gelding 01/23/2001
S- SIXTEEN ACRES 2738351 UNO HOUSTONIAN 3629425 SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633

. . NITA SIXTEEN ACRES 4198567 Bay Mare 01/09/2002
S- SIXTEEN ACRES 2738351 UNO HOUSTONIAN 3629425 SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633

. . UNO SMARTLITTLE BEAU 4632430 Bay Stallion 01/28/2003 Genetic Typed
S- SIXTEEN ACRES 2738351 UNO HOUSTONIAN 3629425 SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633
Show: 02/2007 Open- H- .0 P- .0 Amateur- H- .0 P- .0 Youth- H- .0 P- .0

+ LITTLE UNO NITA 3733186 Bay Mare 05/25/1998 Genetic Typed
S- SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028
Show: 09/2003 Open- H- .0 P- .0 Amateur- H- .0 P- .0 Youth- H- .0 P- .0

. . LIL UNO DUNIT SMART 4483398 Buckskin Stallion 04/15/2004 Incentive Fund Foal
S- DEFINITLY A DUNIT 3561832 LITTLE UNO NITA 3733186 SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633

. . NITAS UNO SHINER 4986306 Buckskin Mare 05/24/2006 Transported Semen; Genetic Typed
S- SMART SHINER 3465050 LITTLE UNO NITA 3733186 SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633

. . SMOOTH LITTLE NITA 4966246 Bay Mare 04/03/2007
S- SMOOTH AS A CAT 3808235 LITTLE UNO NITA 3733186 SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633

. . SMART DUAL BOON 5172624 Bay Roan Mare 03/24/2008 Transported Semen; Genetic Typed
S- DUALS BLUE BOON 4195517 LITTLE UNO NITA 3733186 SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633

+ UNO CARDANITA 3837699 Bay Mare 06/10/1999 Genetic Typed
S- SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028

. . ONE SPOOK N CARD 4457883 Bay Stallion 07/06/2003
S- SPOOK N TARI 3833245 UNO CARDANITA 3837699 SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633
Show: 05/2007 Open- H- .0 P- .0 Amateur- H- .0 P- .0 Youth- H- .0 P- .0

. . UNO PEPPY MISS 4663218 Buckskin Mare 05/10/2005
S- CGS MR PEP 3880155 UNO CARDANITA 3837699 SMART LITTLE UNO 2688633

+ HIGH DOLLAR GAMBLE 4171366 Bay Gelding 04/03/2001 Transported Semen; Genetic Typed
S- HIGH BROW HICKORY 2075796 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028

+ HIGH BROW GYPSY 4427965 Brown Mare 04/25/2003 Parent Verified; Genetic Typed
S- HIGH BROW HICKORY 2075796 CARDANITA 1856429 PEPONITA 0605028

. . SLYDUN SHILOH 5118611 Bay Mare 04/17/2008
S- SLYDUN HAIDA 4037822 HIGH BROW GYPSY 4427965 HIGH BROW HICKORY 2075796

Summary of CARDANITA'S Offspring

Reg Foals	12	Perf Foals	5	CYR Perf Foals	1
Race Age Foals	12

No Race Information

No AQHA Show Information

Accuracy and completeness of information are the responsibility of each alliance.

AQHA/Alliance Summary	All-time	2009 Total
National Cutting Horse Association	$ 9,423.64	N/A

No AQHA Show Year End Award Information

CARD MELISSA - First Dam of CARDANITA

REG. NO.	HORSE'S NAME	COLOR	SEX	DATE FOAL	ST
0615300	CARD MELISSA	BAY	MARE	01/01/1968	NE

Additional Horse Information for CARD MELISSA:

• Deceased

SIRE		DAM		MATERNAL GRANDSIRE
0215861	BALDY BULL CARD	0184448	POCO MELISSA	0031623	POCO TOM

Detail of CARD MELISSA's Offspring

+ SWEET MISSY POCO 1146087 Deceased Bay Mare 05/01/1975
S- BELL BOY BAR 0674024 CARD MELISSA 0615300 BALDY BULL CARD 0215861
Show: 04/1992 Open- H- .0 P- .0 Amateur- H- .0 P- .0 Youth- H- .0 P- .0

. . MISS DOC BAKER 1885445 Deceased Bay Mare 05/01/1982
S- LITTLE BUSINESS 1481204 SWEET MISSY POCO 1146087 BELL BOY BAR 0674024

. . . CUTTER DALLAS 2653941 Sorrel Mare 04/01/1986
S- SKIPITY STU 0581504 MISS DOC BAKER 1885445 LITTLE BUSINESS 1481204

. . . SKIPA CREEK SUE 2763103 Brown Mare 04/06/1988
S- SKIPITY STU 0581504 MISS DOC BAKER 1885445 LITTLE BUSINESS 1481204

. . BENITO BAR BAKER 2024555 Deceased Chestnut Mare 04/01/1983
S- LITTLE BUSINESS 1481204 SWEET MISSY POCO 1146087 BELL BOY BAR 0674024

. . GENUINE POCO DOC 2964506 Bay Gelding 06/01/1990
S- COOPERATIVE EFFORT 2399595 SWEET MISSY POCO 1146087 BELL BOY BAR 0674024
Show: 04/1994 Open- H- .0 P- .0 Amateur- H- .0 P- .0 Youth- H- .0 P- .0

. . POCO TWO DOC 3232901 Bay Mare 03/26/1993 Genetic Typed
S- COOPERATIVE EFFORT 2399595 SWEET MISSY POCO 1146087 BELL BOY BAR 0674024

. . . TWO DOC POCO 3947312 Bay Mare 03/30/2000 Genetic Typed
S- POCO EPIC 2043773 POCO TWO DOC 3232901 COOPERATIVE EFFORT 2399595

. . . POCO SMART LENA 4163263 Bay Mare 05/04/2001 Genetic Typed
S- SMART LIKE LENA 2698458 POCO TWO DOC 3232901 COOPERATIVE EFFORT 2399595

. . . VW POCO TWO TIVIO 4323351 Bay Mare 05/01/2002
S- DRIFTIN' TIVIO 1001913 POCO TWO DOC 3232901 COOPERATIVE EFFORT 2399595

. . . POCO SI OLENA 4640305 Sorrel Mare 06/05/2003 Parent Verified; Genetic Typed
S- SI OLENA 2484747 POCO TWO DOC 3232901 COOPERATIVE EFFORT 2399595

. . . TWO DOC BULLSEYE 5072236 Sorrel Stallion 05/14/2007
S- DUHONS QUIXOTE JOE 3384317 POCO TWO DOC 3232901 COOPERATIVE EFFORT 2399595

. . . DOCCOLONELHANCOCKGAL 5170685 Chestnut Mare 04/30/2008
S- DUHONS QUIXOTE JOE 3384317 POCO TWO DOC 3232901 COOPERATIVE EFFORT 2399595

+ MELO TURFO SEVEN 1299996 Deceased Brown Gelding 06/01/1977
S- DARK TURF 0360595 CARD MELISSA 0615300 BALDY BULL CARD 0215861

+ MELISSA GILL 1429080 Deceased Sorrel Mare 06/01/1978
S- OTOE GILL 0361954 CARD MELISSA 0615300 BALDY BULL CARD 0215861

. . JOVA GILL X0482341 Bay Gelding 05/01/1991
S- JOVA (TB) T0428480 MELISSA GILL 1429080 OTOE GILL 0361954

. . JM LAST X0497839 Bay Stallion 05/05/1992
S- JOVA (TB) T0428480 MELISSA GILL 1429080 OTOE GILL 0361954

+ SAN CARD 1526358 Deceased Sorrel Gelding 04/01/1979
S- MILLER SAN 0351444 CARD MELISSA 0615300 BALDY BULL CARD 0215861
*** Refer to Horse Being Requested for Foals of CARDANITA
+ CARDANITA 1856429 Deceased Brown Mare 04/01/1981 Genetic Typed
S- PEPONITA 0605028 CARD MELISSA 0615300 BALDY BULL CARD 0215861

+ PEPPYS CLASSY GIRL 2018181 Chestnut Mare 05/01/1983
S- PEPPY PAR 1363332 CARD MELISSA 0615300 BALDY BULL CARD 0215861
Show: 11/1993 Open- H- .0 P- .0 Amateur- H- .0 P- .0 Youth- H- .0 P- .0

. . SMART DINAMITE CHIC 4760007 Sorrel Stallion 05/01/2004
S- SMART SUGAR CHIC 3018256 PEPPYS CLASSY GIRL 2018181 PEPPY PAR 1363332

. . MISS TOPSAIL GIRL 4764621 Chestnut Mare 05/09/2005
S- IM A TOPSAIL CODY 2284130 PEPPYS CLASSY GIRL 2018181 PEPPY PAR 1363332

. . PLENTYTOPSAILCODY 5077102 Chestnut Mare 07/18/2006
S- IM A TOPSAIL CODY 2284130 PEPPYS CLASSY GIRL 2018181 PEPPY PAR 1363332

Summary of CARD MELISSA'S Offspring

Reg Foals	6	Perf Foals	2	CYR Perf Foals	0
Race Age Foals	6

No Race Information

No AQHA Show Information

No AQHA Show Year End Award Information

Shocking assault to their systems

I am not kidding when I tell you that we have had a hell of an ice storm since last nite and it is not over yet. In all the years I have had horses, I have never seen icicles hang off of so many of them like this.
This is what the babies' first ice storm is doing to them---look at that poor butt! That is not snow just lying on her, that is iced on and is hanging on for dear life.

This is baby Shiloh's back--she is completely covered in ice pellets.
She does not look very amused--look at all the ice chunks in her mane
She is still cute though.
This is the only smart one of the broodmares--Melody--she was at least standing in the barn to get out of the sleet. Evidently she had not been there all day, as she too had icicles hanging off of her.
Nita seems to have the most ice on her, but it is no wonder with all that area of her back hanging so low. There is plenty of room to catch ice on there!
This is Nita too--she has ice balls hanging from her tail and a chunk of tail hair was stuck to her butt.
Squeak appears to be pretty smart--she had a lot less ice on her. She has her own pen and turnout since she is blind, but there are some days when I swear she is faking it. In this pic, she is trying to get into the bucket of feed even though she was the only one that had already eaten. After this, while I was trying to take other pics, she went around the corner, and stuck her head under the fence and into a feed bucket that Lucky and Ammo were sharing--she took a few bites, and then she stole the bucket right under the fence. That would not be so odd for any other horse, but for one who supposedly cannot see the broad side of a barn, it is kind of interesting. She is also the most pleasant easy-going enjoyable horse I have ever known, so for her to pull a stunt like that cracked me up. Hell, I even let her keep it!

Xanadu was caked in ice. She was also not very amused by this whole deal. Not at all. She has 6 weeks until she is due to foal, as does Mel, Cash and someone else I cannot currently think of. Surprise crappy weather like this is why we do not breed for early babies--you never can tell what is going to happen--and can you imagine how miserable it would be to accidentally foal in this mess?

Miss Foxy is due in April I think. She needs to put on a little weight, I think, but she is doing okay for one who always struggles with her weight when in foal. She has the singularly most annoying habit I think--when she thinks she should be fed, she runs her teeth along something metal--like the corral panel that separates her pasture from Squeak's pen. I swear it makes my hair stand on end--she goes back and forth back and forth scraping her teeth on the metal. Creeps me right out. It is a good alarm though to tip me off to when she has not been fed her dinner, as I thought she had--she will not let me forget something like that.



This pic of Hotrod cracks me up--she is as pissed as I am about the weather.

If this keeps up, it will be a work at home day tomorrow-- I got stuck in my own driveway coming home tonight, and that is before the other 3-6 inches of snow arrive.

Speaking of old

With age comes wisdom--and gray faces and bad immune systems, and any number of other bad things. But it cannot cover up what a class act this ol girl is.

My special girl, Miss Nita, who came so close to not being with us any more, has recovered so well. She is an old gal, but she must have a lot of heart to have been through all of the not-so -difficult but oh so irritating things she has been through this year.That she is so black and shiny right now is amazing, considering just a few months ago, all of her hair fell out and she was bald as an egg with a skin condition. So ugly she was, and had to wear a sunscreen sheet so she would not burn. While we were on vacation, she got it half off and tangled around her belly and dragged it all over the wild blue yonder tripping over it--refusing to be caught to be addressed, so it flapped around in shreds for God knows how long until she decided to shimmy all the way out of it--she looked like a broken down senile old Super Hero wearing her cape.

Then she grew hair, and it was baby fine and beautiful. Then it bleached out to a light brown so that she looked like a mangy seal and she lost at least 100 pounds, which a horse that age cannot afford to lose. In the midst of that, she had an abcess or two and was three-legged lame. I like an abcess for its easy fixability, but how much can one old broad be expected to put up with?
Yep, she is still sway backed as hell, but she looks great to me--meat on her bones, muscle back in her chest and she ran from me tonight as I tried to take pics of her.

I guess the old girl is not ready to go yet. Thank God, I am not ready for her to go yet either

Fall must really be here

I noticed it when I was at the farm this evening, but did not see how much the trees were changing until I downloaded these photos. I thought this was a cool shot, because even though my goal was to focus on Xan in the middle, to see if I could get bokeh on the one in front and the one in back (which clearly did not happen), the way they lined up a little off kilter came out sorta cool. I am bound and determined to take photos from different perspectives, and I guess today is butt day. Bear with me, if I was creative, I would not be a lawyer, people. Give a sister a break just for trying.

Gyro in the front is darkening up because her winter coat has started to come in, in her barrel area. Xan is mostly fattening up, but is getting darker as well. Diablo has not changed a bit, she always has the most beautiful coppery sheen to her coat. She and Gyro better be loving their babies as they are losing them on Tuesday--Gyro for sure is, and since Diablo's baby is dang near as big as she is, she is on the block too. I may get crazy and wean all four of the last babies at once.


Nita's coat must be coming in as she is black as night, except on her butt. Heck, I am just glad she has a butt since as you know, she did not have much going on at all a month ago. I just cannot get over it.

Look how pretty the tree line looks behind her-the contrast of her coat against the changing leaves is so pretty.





Looking at these pics of my girls would make you think I am a color breeder. I am so not. In fact, Xan and Nita are my only non-red mares of all of them, they just happen to be in the same field for no good reason( Xan is an interloper who will not leave as she knows the feed is flowing in the pasture and not in the one her fat ass should be in).

I hate it that the changing leaves means I really DO have to close my pool as I will not be getting back in it, but they sure are pretty.

Signs signs everywhere signs--of recovery

One of my pastures got all jumbled up when we were gone one weekend, so I ended up with three mama/baby pairs in with the very old/skinny mares that were on their tryout to stay on the top side of Earth. Since it was no big deal, really, as they were all eating the same thing in the same amount, and because we were so busy, they have stayed there. I have been so busy, I have not been there at picture taking time--since Barry is out of town, I now have no choice and that led to some great discoveries.Diablo is fat as a tick--which is her normal state, but usually by weaning time, she is showing a touch of rib. Not this year--look at that insanity! She is about 3.5 months in foal to Highlight Cat.
Gyro is just one big sister. BIG sister. She is not in foal, I am saving her back as part of the cutting down on breeding plan and because I love riding her so much, I want her back. The condition she is in, I will have to put two girth straps together to get around her.


This is the exciting part for me though. I agonize over my old mares every year, but never so much as I have this year. This is the first year that good pasture did not fatten them up and keep them there. Three weeks or so ago, maybe a month, I was ready to make the decision to put down Lucky, Nita and potentially Playmate--and that last one was just killing me, as she is still a hell of a ride. Her weight issues scared me and I thought maybe she was just done at 27. After all, you cannot slap a saddle on one with their spine sticking out. I decided to try one last thing and if they rallied, I would know they were in and wanted to keep living.

I am so superstitious, I am a believer in signs, and karma, and waiting for God to tell me what to do. It is normally so easy to know the right thing. This decision was not easy, and not because I did not want to put them down. I did not WANT to of course, but I CAN do it if I know it is the right thing. And when I do it, it is okay, as I know I have given them relief. It is rare for me to just not know which way to turn. And I really did not know what to do with these three--every time I would think I knew, something would change my mind---literally from day to day.

In the photo above, that is Diablo on the left, Playmate in the middle and Lucky on the right. Lucky is still too thin, but she looks good for her, and Play is borderline FAT!

Look at that belly sticking out on either side. You can see a little bit of bone at her pelvis, but not anywhere else. Now granted, standing near Gyro the Gynormous does not make her look so filled out, but she really is.
Is that amazing or what? Just look at her. She could go work a cow in a heartbeat if we would let her (and maybe I will).

Even Nita has come back amazingly well. For those who are not used to seeing her, she is one swaybacked sister-yes, I know that--having a kajillion babies will do that to you. She had two for me, her youngest is 6 years old, Gypsy. She produced cutter after cutter and now even her granddaughters are doing the same thing. Nita is 27 now.

A month ago, I swear to you, I could see every bone in her body, but she still had a belly. I wanted to cry when I looked at her. It seemed to happen over night, but of course it did not--I just refused to see it, I think. These old ladies mean so much to me, it is hard to explain how I see them as they were, and not necessarily as they are right this minute.
I hesitated to post the side shot, as it shows her back in all its glory, but hey- this is who she is. And it shows how much weight she has put on
This photo sucks, but it shows how even her chest has come back--and it was almost non- existent a month ago.

Maybe that stupid coyote was there so I would track him with the camera, and have to walk back--giving me time to actually see what they are looking like instead of zooming bye on the Gator dumping grain as I do, in too big of a hurry to appreciate it. Maybe all the rain we got this year that made such a difference lately to our grass production was to sent to help me see what happens when you do not make rash decisions.

What a batch of nice signs I got tonight

No longer Nekkid Nita!

I have meant to get these photos for a while, but never got around to it. Now that I have all these photography class assignments, I have excuses to take pics and post them all the time!

Nita is notoriously difficult to take pics of, since she is so dark. I love the head shot of her though --her new hair has come in and is already getting a little bleached, but the important thing is that she is not nekkid anymore. See on her forehead--that is not all a marking--she has a small star--the rest of that is just her going gray.

This close up of the hair on her neck shows how healthy it looks--it practically glows, it is so shiny.


She is still beautiful to me, I guess she always will be--although I have to admit, that nekkid phase was a bit of a turn off. She is happy, has hair and feels good--what more could I ask for of a 27 year old mare?

Nekkid Nita

Today when I asked what the ingredients of Dr M's magic funk fixer shampoo were, he told me that if he told me, he would have to kill me. Ain't that a hell of a thing?

It is working though, and I do not see her scratching at all--very fine hair is growing in.

This was her third treatment, and that was supposed to be the end of it, so we gave her that, and let her dry. Then we gave her the fresh new Cool Koat I bought her to protect her from sunburn (now that it is getting sunny and warming up). She was a hoot. I bet ol girl has not had a blanket on in 15 years if not more---but she liked itNotice the funny lump over her butt, under her blanket? That is her patented freaky tail flailing position--she holds it up and to the left a lot, as do her babies and grandbabies. She looks like she has a tumor.

She got to go out on the hay field with the other freaks---she ran and ran and ran and played--it was fun to watch.

Freaky hair loss

Poor ol Nita, her hair is falling right out! Since yesterday, she has gotten bald.

She does not hurt, her appetite is good, but what in the hell is this mess? Along her topline, the hair comes out in tufts in your hand, but not so much in other areas. The skin underneath is normal in most places, but some has red irritation to it, and some areas are kind of scaly.



When Barry called me to tell me to come look at her, I told him she was just shedding. He said, "um no, she is not". Guess he is right.

More news from the sales

You might as well get used to this, as I will probaly keep doing this for a few days--there is nothing more fun to me than a good horse sale, let alone a whole week of them! As I browse the catalogs, I always find more info I did not know about our own horses.

Today's news is that my old girl Nita has a little more claim to fame than even I knew. While I know the bare numbers on her produce, I did not know all the details.

For example, her daughter Nita Hickory by Doc's Hickory was the Reserve Champion at Congress back in the day. She sold yesterday, and I would have loved to have had her since I think so much of Nita herself. She is in foal to Hes a Peptospoonful--someone got a great buy on her. Her weanling by Spoonful sold as well. Both Nita Hickory and the Spoonful baby hold their tail just like Nita does--up and to the left--every baby she ahd for me did that, until Gypsy. What a funny characteristic to pass along!

Also in the notes, I learned that her son Lonnie Hickory, also by Doc's Hickory, won the Canadian Open Futurity. I have no idea where that was held, but Carrie is tracking that down for me.

These were her first two foals ever. She then went on to be bred to Smart Little Uno for 6 or 7 of them, then I bought her and bred her to High Brow Hickory.

I sold all of those except the last one, my sweetheart Gypsy. So what does this make Gypsy to those Doc's Hickory horses--not quite 3/4 siblings are they? What DO you call that? I bet Missy knows.

Finding these piece of info in the footnotes of sales makes them so much fun for me. It is strange how the info included changes year after year--this is hardly the first time Nita has been written up in the catalogs, but this was the first time I got these details--they usually focus on Uno Ed and Uno Nita, two of her other winners.

Hell has frozen over

Rock is off her feed.

Not only off it, she would not even get up to look at it. Three pounds of fresh strategy and 20 pounds of some fancy fancy alfalfa delivered to the Queen Suite and she would not get up. (she is in because she scratched her eye and is taking eye drops like all the other geriatrics around here)

This is slightly less likely than me being off my feed- it just does not happen.

LeaAnn caught this peculiar behavior and called me at work. Between the two of us, we got her up, got some banamine in her and waited for Kevin (the vet)--I do not mess around when it comes to my special ol girl. Normally I could handle such a thing myself, and would, but I got a really hinky feeling this time.

As is usually the case, by the time he got there, she was acting markedly better, but we went ahead and tubed her with a gallon of mineral oil-0-God, I hope no one ever does that to me. He checked her for impactions, and felt no distention at all but her waste was an odd texture. Love those details dont you? She got some other shot of buca-something, to calm her down.

She is now back in the Queen Suite munching away like nothing happened. She better be thinking about pooping all over that clean stall. Then she better do it. Repeatedly. Her gut sounds are rowdy, with some pinging suggesting gas colic.

While he was here, Kevin also check Nita's weepy eyes and low and behold she has ERU in her right eye as well! And a cataract starting to form in her left--but at almost 27, you would expect a few quirks wouldn't you? He was having so much fun finding floates in eyeballs, we were looking for other eyes to check out! He checked Squeak's eyes, which may be actually getting a touch of vision back in the left (which seemed to have lost it for sure), so that is encouraging.

Meanwhile, we await the results of her Lepto test to know if she is eligible for this wierdo injection thing that may help her.

For a nite that I thought would be low-key (either I was going to go ride Radar or come home and watch the Illini-Maryland game), things sure got busy here in a hurry.

Already I am finding the value in LeaAnn--she caught Rock's wierdness well before I would have.

The geriatric ladies

Since I was hanging out at the farm so much this weekend, I took pics of horses I usually do not take lots of pics of. That may be due to the new length of the pasture--since I bushhogged the middle pasture- about 8 acres- I could actually see them.

Anyway, I am pretty pleased with how they are looking.
This is Rock, who is usually known as Big Fat Rock. She is 25, and the last two winters have not been her best, so I am thrilled to see her in this condition. She has been having a ball toting Madison around. I thought about breeding her one last time this year, since she is the only daughter of Docs Hickory I have, but just never bothered. I enjoy riding her so much, it is no great loss. Her three year old son by Haidas Little Pep is doing great in cutting training with Dale Dodd in Canada.

On the right is Playmate, who is 26. Her last foal is Haida Girl, the Haidas Little Pep daughter that Barry has been riding for the past two years--he loves that filly to death. Play gets lots of comments, because her papers are so funny- her dam was born in 1959! She still has Pretty Boy On her papers, for Pete's sake. Play is the most competitive horse I own, and is tough as nails. She literally shakes at the sight or smell of cattle, it is wild. She is also the fastest horse I have ever ridden--it feels like an earthquake but is a lot of fun. This was her first year to have weight issues, so to see her looking this good is a huge relief, considering that we have had no pasture at all this year. It has been dried up since June, due to the drought.
Finally, this is Nita, who had such a close call in the last couple of weeks. She is also 26, and sired by Peponita. Her last foal is High Brow Gypsy. Nita is just a classy chic, and was the first big time broodmare I ever bought. I have had her forever. She has always been swaybacked but usually pretty round, until this year-she has taken the heat and drought harder than anyone. She is gaining it back slowly but surely. The best part of the series of pics I took of her today was the sheen to her coat. It is virtually impossible to take a decent picture of a horse this dark, but I think this shows how shiny and healthy she looks. There is more weight to be gained of course, but this is a marked improvement.

These are my oldest ladies here, and all are retired from the broodmare band, but we still ride Rock and Play a lot. We have never ridden Nita as she was alwasy swaybacked from so many babies since we first bought her, but I can imagine she was something in her day.

Big developments on the blowhole

And this time, I am not talking about our esteemed governor!

All of our soaking and iccthhammoling has been paying off with Nita. I had the farrier here tonight and had him take a hoof knife to her to find the abcess, so we could give her some relief.

It was pretty unnecessary, as she blew the wierdest slice in her hoof that I have ever seen. It is right at the top of her hoof, and about an inch long. No wonder she is walking better! He also found the bruise in her sole where she must have stepped on something like a sharp rock, and was able to dig out the sole until we found where it had been festering. There is nothing left in there any more.

So, ol Nita has gone a LONG way from Tuesday when she was going to experience the dirt nap, until today, when she got to be turned out with the rest of the herd.

I feel like a new person, I can only imagine how she is feeling. She is definitely getting back to herself, as she was perky and did not argue with Marvin about picking up her ouchy foot--that she would not do it easily for me was a sign that she was miserable.

A reprieve for Nita!

Hallelujah! I thought today was the day for Nita. I even had Joel, the handy dandy backhoe man, on standby, just in case.

Dr. M was here this morning to xray to see what in the world has her three-legged lame. I have been treating it as an abcess but getting no results, even though I was sure that is what it was. I was getting discouraged, and it broke my heart to see her in such pain.

Lo and behold, we found an abcess! Hot damn! It is a long way from coming out, but we know what we are dealing with and that is half the battle.

So Miss Nita lives to see another day. I think I will give her a job this fall tending to weanlings, she is a wonderful mother and disciplinarian, so she can tend to these babies post-weaning.

On another note, Dr M was quite pleased with the progress of Rock's eye. Her vision is coming back, the cloudiness is clearing up some, and we get to cut out the atropine altogether, and cut down on the antibiotics from 6 times a day to twice.

Woo hoo--A great day at Onn-A-Wym Farms, for the over-25 set!

Hawkeye's weekly update and a busy night

Things are still moving along as anticipated with Hawkeye, but I guess I am a little surprised that there is still any swelling at all. It is slight but it is there. He is still gaining weight slowly but surely, and the muscle is rebuilding on that shoulder, just not as fast as I would like. The photo of just his chest is taken at a bad angle, and I was immediately swarmed by the rest of the peanut gallery, so it is all I have. I need to get a shot from behind the shoulder, toward the midline, so I can see if there is still edema there.

And since he is doing so well, Rock decided to throw her hat in the ring to get some attention. She has FUBARed her right eye in some way, as it is partially cloudy and of course draining. She probably got a weed in it, as they are certainly high enough for it, so she is in being doctored. That is not her favorite position in the world, but such is life. Once she realizes there is real live alfalfa and not grass hay in there, she may change her tune altogether. Hmm, maybe that is why she did it in the first place?

I brought Miss Nita Patita in to keep her company and put her through the special deworming protocol and determine whether her recent downward spiral is just the product of her 26 years in the world, or if there is something more we can do for her. She is such a classy mare, and I dread losing her but this summer has made me think it will happen sooner than later. When I brought her in and stalled her, her daughter Gypsy came to the fence nearest her stall and I almost cried thinking that Nita might not be here for Gypsy's first foaling. What an odd thing to even enter my mind. I think the heat is getting to me.

I got all that done, and then went to check on the dog who showed up at Tranae's house. Oh my, what a sweet sweet sweet pup. She has obviously had a litter, has a jacked up eye and is pretty emaciated, but what a doll baby she is. A little scared of men so far. She is even getting to Tranae, I think, so we brought her to the farm to get to know her before bringing her to the house or finding her a rescue. That did not last long, as she looked at the back of my car where she rode with such longing, I brought her home and put her in the barn here. I knew Sly would keep her company, he loves pets.

Then we went to dinner and a movie (Rush Hour 3, pretty funny). When we came home, I saw the barn door was open and I immediately panicked, thinking I had already screwed up when I was trying to help. Barry was carrying on about hoping Simba and Slater did not discover her. By the time I was up the driveway, I saw her sweet self standing in the driveway, and Thor rocketing around the yard like he had found the treasure of his lifetime. I have not seen him that wound up in a long time. I think he even forgot that his life was being ruined by a pig.

All in all, a big night. Maybe the new girl will find the doghouse palace that Thor won't use, or figure out about the fancy bed of Thor's. I hope she is not scared out there, but surely she will be okay if she has been on her own for a while. She DID find the house on her own, after all. Now if I can just think of a name for her, I will feel like I am doing a better job.

Oh yeah, one more thing---the main spigot at the farm just went kaput. Barry watered the two stalled old women but when I tried to get water for the pup, nothing happened. It is always something. He went to see about it tonight and cannot figure it out either. Hell of a time to peter out eh, during the middle of a heat wave.

All right, that is enough carrying on for one night.