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Welcome Cecilia

April 2, 2015

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Cecilia, she’s taking your heart,
She’s shaking with confidence daily.
Oh Cecilia, she’s down on her knees,
She’s begging you please take her home.

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Looks like the farm is rehabilitating another lost soul.  Cecilia is an owner surrender that we picked up from the SPCA yesterday.

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Here is the write up from her previous foster mom.

Cecelia is a very pretty, active dog.  She loves to play and can jump, but has stayed in her pen.  She will dig under the gate to get to play with the other dogs.  She did OK with cats in the house, but wants to chase them when outdoors with them.  She seems very tolerant and easy-going, but again, on the hyper side.  She needs leash-training as was apparently kept in a pen most of her life. 

Cecelia appears to have had at least one litter of pups.  She was OK when she was in a crate, but does not like to get in it.  She has been outdoors in her foster home

Cecelia and I are still in the getting used to each other phase.  She doesn’t appear to have lived with many rules, boundaries or limitations, but she is quickly learning them here at the farm.  Today we worked on sit for 15 min, she is a smart dog and after we pushed through her stubborn streak she sat!  More work to be done but it was a great break through for us.

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At a little under 40lbs, this 2 year old girl is a petite lab mix (with maybe Whippet?).  We will be working on manners, basic commands, and gaining some weight. Please share her if you  know of anyone looking for a loving friendly dog.

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Another great article

March 20, 2015

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See this is why I have my lesson students go get the horses, groom and tack them…

http://alphaequestrian.blogspot.com/2015/03/one-vital-question-parents-should-ask.html

Welcome Spring

March 20, 2015

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Mother Nature welcomes the first day of spring with the embrace of a fresh blanket of snow.WP_20150320_12_36_06_ProSeriously!  All of the snow had just finished melting.  We saw grass for the first time since January. Now this!  Not fair she is seriously not playing by the rules.  Maybe April will be good to us?

Song For An Old-Fashioned April

April, April, how do I know
whether thou be friend or foe?
Give me sunlight, give me breath,
Give me belief there is no death.

How I wonder, my giver of the flower
Whether I’ll have staying power;
To wage this battle through thick and thin
To know my love will come back again…

Tell me April, who is my love,
The red robin or the cooing dove?
How can a messenger seem so still
While streams overflow with winter’s swill?

Give me love or give me power;
I’ll take some of both
And contemplate the flower……

Source: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/song-for-an-oldfashioned-april#ixzz3UwjiAbGP
Tulips

Quora – question on horse behavior

March 19, 2015

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I thought I would share this quick read on horses and to relate to them.  Click here.

Do you want to build a snowman?

February 23, 2015

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What do you do on the first 40 degree day in a month?  We at GSF built a snowman.  This is my first ever snowman.  I did tell you I am from Miami right?  And well I rolled the massive snow balls but you can see I didn’t do the finer details.  The second ball for the chest was so heavy it had to be lifted by the bucket of the tractor.

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We added two eyes made out of coal.  The nose is a carrot.  The hat is Cuervo’s feed bowl. The mouth is made of braided bailing twine.  And here you have it folks GSF’s first ever Snowman!

Then we decided we needed a group photo so we had to set up the timer.  That took a bit and produced funny photos in the process.

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Then we decided we need the shot where the horse eats the snowman’s nose.  Casey was the perfect horse for the job, it just took us a while to get the timing of the photo right.

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Listen with all your senses

February 4, 2015

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listen

The best things are yet to come.

January 29, 2015

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Forget the past

My First Foster Pup – Missy Mudpie

January 15, 2015

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My next venture in helping the animal world is becoming a foster mom.  I contacted Critter Cavalry Rescue where I got Riley my flat coat retriever and have since become their first ever PA foster mom!

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We went to pick up Missy a couple of Sunday’s ago not knowing much about her except she’s a lab mix who starts off shy but warms up nicely.

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I later learned out that the rescue group found her whole litter in a filthy and muddy outside run.  The puppies had no socialization and thus issues with confidence and accepting human attention.  She was very shy and didn’t even get out from underneath the bed for the first few weeks, in her first foster home in TN.   She has really come a long way from that with me now she is much more confident, social, playful and sleeps right next to me on top of the bed.  She had turned in to a complete love wanting pets and attention.  She follows me around the house and doesn’t wander off on the farm.

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We now have her schedule down which unfortunately has messed up my sleeping patterns. I forgot what it is like to have a puppy.  She has me up around 3 or 4 every morning to go to the bathroom.  I shouldn’t complain we haven’t had an accident in over a week.  She is also very good about chewing.  So far, knock on wood, she hasn’t destroyed anything except the toys I gave her.

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I was asked to write her bio and this is what I came up with:

Meet Missy Mudpie!

She is adorably cute, a great companion, and a very cleaver girl. She had it a little ‘ruff’ growing up but thanks to her foster mom and canine companions she is gaining confidence every day. She loves her stuffed animal toys and tends to horde them all on her pet bed.  The other day she had collected more than 7 toys!

A perfect day for Missy includes learning a new trick, sleeping at your feet and helping out on the farm.  At her foster farm, she is getting learning all about horses, goats and cats.  At this stage cats and goats are still fun to chase if they run but for those who are brave enough to stay put she just wants to say Hi!

Missy prefers not to be left home alone all day and would be best suited to share her home with a confident adult dog.  At her foster home Missy is learning to lay down and to sit patiently for things like dinner and going outside.  She is a love bug who enjoys chest and belly scratches. She follows the other dogs around and is quickly learning from them that not everything is as scary as it first appears to be. 

If your family loves the outdoors, enjoys quiet time, is looking for a good watch dog and a lifelong companion then you might be the perfect match for Missy.

Please share this post to get the word out and find Missy a forever home.

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This is her post on pet finder: https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/31107819/

Article on lesson horses

January 15, 2015

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This is a sweet article that makes me value my boys even more

So God Made a Lesson Horse.

Happy Christmas

December 25, 2014

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Wishing you, your families and your fur babies a very happy Christmas. We had a farm family Christmas party last weekend. See if you can find Axel, Riley, and Piper in the family photo.

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The last few days before I left for my Christmas holiday were completely crazy but I made it through and am now relaxing in the sun and warmth.

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On Sunday, I had to get Casey and Cuervo up to the barn to eat their breakfast. They were in the back hanging out in the pasture paradise track. They whole farm is a muddy mess from snow melt and the rain. So instead of walking them up they gave me a ride. I am lucky to have such great horses.

As I was wrapping up the day, I noticed Apple tossing his head and pawing. I finished up the shed and by the time I went to get him he was laying down.  I am not sure what he ate, but he had colic and his muzzle was stained green. I ended up walking him around the riding ring for 2 hours. Luckily it was a mild case and by 10:30 that night he was allowed to eat some hay. The next morning he was up to his usual tricks because he let himself out of the stall and ate the remainder of his hay.

On Monday I noticed the only faucet in the barn was leaking. My plumber friend was able to stop by to tell me the whole thing needed to be replaced.  This happened only hours before I was to take the train to Philadelphia. Luckily he was able to get it done and I was on my way.  Then on the train I missed my stop and had to wait an hour for the next train to get back.  I finally made it to the hotel to sleep and get shuttle for the plane early the next morning.

I get to Miami to find out the barn is flooding due to the screens on the new drains clogging it up.  I am lucky to have friends watching over the farm. So he fixed them and now things are flowing again.

Thanks to everyone who helps me keep things ticking. It takes a village.

Leaving you with some pictures of holiday decorations.

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