ridecamp@endurance.net: Foalingsa & Meanderings

Foalingsa & Meanderings

Sandra Hugus (pandemo@netins.net)
Sun, 27 Apr 1997 21:01:26 -0500 (CDT)

Foalings and Meanderings

4/27/97

Last Thursday, when I came home from the Dr., DE NADA had a
black-bay lump at her feet. I stopped the truck on the road in front of
the gates part way up the hill from the house and walked out to where she
was. Of course SWEETIE went with me, so the baby jumped up, or tried to.
She was dryish, just barely. I caught and hugged her easily. What a doll!
No white anywhere on her except for one corner of her left front hoof,
down low. Generally, that grows out with no white on the body. Time will
tell. She has an utterly exquisite head, is tall, long necked, built to be
free moving (I'll keep you posted when she is really ripping, how she does
with lift vs. length of stride), and bonded to people.

I told NADA for the 453rd time that color and sex are NOT linked
characteristics, that she COULD have a black bay and white tobiano filly.
She now stands at 8 solid bay fillies, at least four of which are extremely
black-bay, and the same old three Pinto stud colts, the youngest of which
turns four this year. I am starting to have nightmares that she will NEVER
give me any color of spotted filly.

The filly is $500.00 right now, but if she comes on like last
year's, by weaning, she'll be $800.00 like BEAU GESTE. I can hardly wait
to tell the Amish, who were very taken with last year's at weaning time.
She's "plain" enough for them in markings... tall enough, and should trot
like they want.

Gai Carousel and RAVEN had a superb chestnut particolor filly the
day the four day snowstorm started, the one we got 26" from... Largest no.
of inches, and the longest no. of days in the 20 years I've lived down
here. I was snowed in, but not locked in the house like I was the April
9th, 1973, snowstorm when I lived up in Toledo. The storm did not last as
long, but I had no heat, no phone, and could not get out for three days.
Drifts 13' high blocked the road to town, so although I only lived a mile
and a quarter form town. My best girlfriend, Sandee McKee, POST TO POST
PINTOS, Toledo, IA, tried to ride her JAY DEE gelding out, but turned back
when she hit the road grader burried below her. The flag off the top was
4-5' below the snow she was riding on... 1/4 mile out of town on an
east-west road. The north-south road I lived on was blown bare, then in
10' drifts, so was untravelable. The drift in the driveway right across
from the house was half way up the second story windows. That insulation
was all that kept me from freezing to death, I think! VANESSA and I curled
up against an inside wall with every blanket and pillow in the house, and
the mattress from the hida-bed. Life was what the ancient Chineese curse
calls, "Interesting". Funny, but I don't remember VANESSA making a mess
anywhere. I doubt she held it for three whole days, but I can't think what
she did. The housecats I had then used the litter regularly. Of course,
the water was from a well on a pump run by electricity... I did have a jug
of scented oil for a wick lamp, but it was for decoration, not serious
light-giving. The only battery operated radio went dead the first day. No
spares the right size, of course. The flashlight in the house only got to
the middle of the second day. I did have regular wax candles in good
supply, but I am always scared they'll start a fire. Electric stove..., no
fireplace, the only good thing was that when we pulled in from the Ap. 8th
Pinto show, we threw down four or five bales for each animal and left them
all locked in various buildings. It is a wonder that I didn't lose anyone.
They were a tad thirsty, but very much alive. We ran open range for a
while -- until the snow melted back down below the fence tops. The
buildings were not totally tight, so snow to eat was available for everyone
but JAY DEE, who licked an incredible hole in his icy bucket. He had three
barn cats on his back when I got to him, all with nice warm tootsies.
(They always perched there, but not usually all at once, or for extended
periods of time.)

San

San

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