Gratefulness

Raven & Belle

I read recently that you you can rewire your brain for happiness simply by frequently acknowledging the things you are grateful for. "Selecting unique areas of gratitude each day forces you to re-frame your perspective to look for the positive, rather than the negative, aspects in your daily life." Thomas Oppong, How to Train (And Rewire) Your Brain For Happiness. So far 2019 has brought us a lot to be grateful for.

First up we had two new special mares join our family in April. I should know by now that when Ruth has a certain twinkle in her eye that she is scheming something fun. Such was the case when she met me roadside just off the Confederation bridge on a cold January day, declared she had found the perfect mare for me, handed me a copy of a pedigree and a bag of cheese curds, and drove away. After few months of planning and waiting, Belle de Jour and Raven, made their trip from Marefield Meadows in Virginia to our farm. Both mares are nine year old Hanoverians. Belle by Balou du Rouet out of EM Andromache (Arrian/Lortzing/Wenzel I), and Raven by Ruiz Soler out of Rara Avis (Rienzi/Wenzel I/Domingo). ​I had an instant connection with Belle (Ruth definitely knows what type of mare I like), and Raven is just so sweet that you cannot help but love her. I am so grateful to my favourite enablers, Ruth and Eric, for encouraging me to take the leap of faith on these mares, and I have heaps of gratitude to Marefield Meadows for entrusting their two beautiful black pearls to my care. 

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Our next bit of wonderful news came from one of our clients in Ontario... the birth of the first Glori foal of 2019. Fanny Lemay's mare, Genny, had a beautiful leggy black colt who Fanny named Noir Par Noirs (Black by Blacks). ​To see a quick video clip of the little guy visit our Instagram page.

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The next Glorioso Noir foal to arrive was much anticipated first foal for Rassicot Farm. On June 24th Emilia (Emilion/Voltaire) gave birth to an adorable and perfect filly named Gamora. This athletic little lady is going to make someone a fun and competitive hunter or jumper someday. The next mare up to foal is our Eden (Donatelli/Laroche) in September. 

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Bellamy (Bonheur/Contucci) has begun his training with the talented Pearl MacGregor and we could not be more thrilled with how well he is developing; he has become an exceptionally handsome young man. There are several recent clips and photos of him on his page. Gratefulness abounds for having such a gentle and skilled trainer such as Pearl so close to home for starting all of our youngsters. 

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Another of our beloved boys who is thriving especially well this year is Glorioso Noir. He has fully settled into the routine on the farm and has been a joy in every way to work with this year. We are also quite proud of ourselves for how much we have learned over the past year about stallion management, handling, and collection. I am super grateful (and still very surprised) for Eric stepping up to learn how to run the AV; he definitely has earned a lifetime supply of brownie points for it. So very grateful for the stallion owners who have shared their knowledge with us.... although some lessons just had to be learned under fire... for example we now know a wrapped bale of silage looks very much like a breeding dummy to Glori. :-) There are still a few more weeks of our breeding season left and we are offering great deals to those mare owners still looking to breed their mares this season. 

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Our 2017 & 2018 youngsters have started their ground work training and are taking to it like fish to water. All three are proving to have willing characters, sharp minds, and even temperaments. Dauphinee doesn't mind what you do with her; she is just so happy for the attention, Ziggy Stardust enjoys playing "games" with an enthusiasm that makes me laugh every time, and De Angelo is so earnest that I just want to hug him when I watch him working out what is being asked of him. The future looks bright for all three rock stars. Check out each of their pages for recent photos and videos. 

I was super grateful to receive updates this spring from Valerie Leighton on Poodle's 2015 son by Schwarzenegger, Superbad (now named Spudnik II). Spud has started his over fences training and has already been successful at a few hunter shows in the Edmonton, Alberta area this season. Valerie had this to say about her beloved boy  "I absolutely adore him. He’s a sweetie to handle and extremely honest and willing, with talent to boot!". All of Poodle's foals hold a special place in my heart so I always appreciate receiving updates from their owners, it makes missing them so much more bearable. 

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I could fill pages listing the things I am grateful for, not least of which would be the farmers who supply us with our hay and feed, neighbours who rush over to our rescue when yet another tree falls on our fence line, friends who share in our joys and sadnesses (so much of both when horses are involved), family who understand why the horses always come first, our vet who accommodates my work schedule by coming to the farm at o'dark thirty to do ultra sounds and who is always just a phone call away, iced cappuccinos with shots of expresso, hot showers, good food, good books, Dalmatian cuddles, and, most of all, for being lucky enough to live on the beautiful and gentle Prince Edward Island with the person I love most in the world.