Malibu Creek State Park/Swimming w/The Horses

Well, it turned out to be another adventurous day when we took 5 horses to Malibu Creek State Park for a quick swim to cool off. Ashley returned with Gracie, Hannah rode Angel, Julia Embrulia was on Festivity and Brooke rode Lola, as she was up for the challenge! Holly joined us with Gala who seemed to enjoy the stream more than we all thought!

Lola got loose, Dakota drained the car battery, the retro was hit twice and we were saved by Daniel and the man with the fishing pole. Banana bread kept us alive and the day was fantastic!

Mare of the Month - Persjaa

This month is seems fitting to feature Persjaa, our mare that traveled long and far to reach us. Persjaa turns 25 today and is a *Pesniar daughter which makes her a half sister to our very own Poetka VF. They look enough alike to be full sisters and even share many of the same personality traits. Persjaa was an accomplished hunter/jumper horse in her day and has earned championships in Western Pleasure, Hunter Pleasure, and Working Hunter. She also competed in countless "Paper Chase Races" which is equivalent to our hunt rides with the West Hills Hounds (minus the coyotes).
Persjaa's travels unfortunalty left her sick, weak and dehydrated when she arrived and we have all been working around the clock to help make her feel better. It has been a group effort and it has been incredibly touchning to see the girls rally to make her feel at home here. She is feeling better each day and we are so grateful we were able to save her. A sincere thanks to all that helped her these past two weeks especially Dr. Katie Prince & Heather and Holly Blackmore. I will not forget how great the girls were too - especially Brooke & Tallulah who were there on her first night. Also, Jordan, Mandy, Ashley, Hannah, Alexa, and Julia. Thanks for loving Persjaa from day one. Also thanks to the Kulik family who gave her a new blanket and made sure I was warm & fed those two days I lived at the Plum Tree.
We are thrilled that Persjaa has joined our Sapphire Arabians family and look forward to creating many wonderful memories with her!

Happy 18th Birthday LOLA!

Last Sunday Lola turned 18 - though it does not seem to be slower her down much. After treating Persjaa and taking her for a short walk, the girls were ready to celebrate. After a photo shoot on the back pasture with Brooke & Lola, the girls grabbed some horses and headed for the huge puddle at the bottom of the Plum Tree pasture made by rain water!

So while I worked with Dr. Prince, the girls ran their horses and ponies through the muddy puddle. It was fantastic to watch, especially from Persjaa's dry, warm stall!

After several dozen runs through the puddle I went down and let the girls ride through the puddle - the pictures are fantastic and Lola had a very exciting birthday!

And they say Arabians don't like the water!!!!!

Visiting Sonnet at Alamo Pintado Hospital

After a fun & muddy pony club on Saturday, we treated Persjaa and headed up to the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley to visit Sonnet at the hospital. The drive up was glorious and Holly brought along cupcakes for the girls who are all getting all A's & B's! :) The car was packed with Ashley, Brooke, Jordan, Julia Embrulia, & Mandy.

Sonnet was so happy to see Ashley and were able to take her out to graze. There were very many mares & foals around and Sonnet loved them all. We braved the cold while Sonnet grazed and the girls hugged her.

We can't wait to have her home soon!

p.s. for more on the visit, please visit Ashley's blog at http://www.crazyridingadventures.blogspot.com/

One long night....

Perjaa had arrived sick and was taking a turn for the worse so we called out vet Dr. Katie Prince. The prognosis was very glim as Persjaa was severly dehydrated and toxic from her long journey. We opted to set up a hospital stall next to the tackroom door. Heather & Holly came down to help administer fluids. Did I mention this is Holly's birthday?!

While we were treating Persjaa, I looked over and saw Sonnet thrashing about her stall. She was colicking very badly and it was evident she was in serious trouble and needed to get to the hospital as qucikly as possible. We opted to send her to Alamo Pintado and proceeded to find a hauler. Did I mention it was pouring down rain??

Dr. Prince insterted a tube in Sonnet to relieve some of her gas and Tallulah & Brooke helped treat Persjaa while we waited for the hauler, Tita.

It was a long, rough and scary night but it was great to be surrounded by supportive friends.

Cameo Comes Home/Puppies Visit

Heather's new mare, the 25-year old Barbary daughter, BST TSCameo arrived at the Plum Tree ranch all the way from Georgia on Monday, Feb. 18th during the holiday camp. We are thrilled with her personality and after a brief walk and turn out, Ashley was able to ride her around the ring and even trot her over a few poles! Cameo is charming, cute, sweet and has the nicest tail carriage of any horse. She was a Champion in English Pleasure and has had several wonderful foals. She will be bred to a select stallion this year.

While the hauler rested at the barn, he brought out several Border Collie puppies for the girls (& Little Dish) to play with. The puppies enjoyed thier brief amount of freedom and we named Rosie, Scarlett, Blondie, and Trinket respectivily.

The day just kept getting better with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese and Cefarino hard at work repairing all of our fences - it was much needed!

The most exciting thing that happened for me that day was the complete cleaning of the tackroom! Everything was removed and cleaned and put back in order. It was glorious. :)

Update on Wildfire from the White Family

We are thrilled that this incredible family is so happy with Wild Fire and that she is so happy with them and has the home she deserves!

Hi Nedra, Wildfire is doing fine. The girls just can't stay away from her and they have all had a chance to ride her. Katelyn and Wildfire have taken to each other and she likes having Katelyn around. Again thank you for such a fine looking and spirted Horse. The girls are very happy and love her. Meaghan rode Wild Fire on her own today and had a blast. Bob and the girls.