"I have always contended that the substitution of the internal combustion engine for the horse marked a very gloomy milestone in the progress of mankind." (Sir Winston Churchill)
(Horse watering trough in Monson, Massachusetts, with the author's internal combustion engine and a classic red internal combustion engine. The trough was placed in 1882 by W.N. Flynt and the street surrounding it is Fountain St.)
(Bud on Rt. 181, about to pass between the concrete abutments of the Hampden Railroad ("The Railroad That Never Was"). Our farm lies on the other side.)
Today marks the observance of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which opened the military hostilities of the American Revolution.
Yesterday (April 19th) was the actual anniversary, but in Massachusetts, Patriots' Day is observed on the third Monday of April.
April 19th also marks "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" (and William Dawes and others).
Now, as a bunch of Philadelphians who also have our ties to Massachusetts, we feel compelled to point out, however, that Paul Revere made a whole career out of riding around telling people things. Prior to the famous ride, Paul Revere had ridden all the way from Boston to Philadelphia to inform the First Continental Congress (whom Revere located at the City Tavern) that the British had closed Boston Harbor.
When it comes to the famous midnight ride, Paul Revere was just one of many alarm riders who were sent out to warn of British troop movements and threats of arrest towards the revolutionary leaders.
And implicit in all these riders and their "Midnight Ride" are of course the horses.
The National Lancers of the Massachusetts Militia reenacts The Ride every Patriots' Day.
(That's a nice looking gray Arab that "Paul Revere" rode last year, but nothing at all like a "Yankee" horse or Narragansett pacer that he probably rode.)
As with most days, Spike has a nice, comfy, dark, 'good' smelling nap location (Bud's harness), which I then must drag into the sunlight and deconstruct.
Poor Spike.
Felicia, whom works at the Burgendy Brook Country Store, stopped in with her two adorable children and her 'mother' for the everyone's first carriage ride!
Kate installed two hives on the farm today! Blue Star Equiculture now has approximately 8,000 bees in the hives to create honey, propolis, wax, royal jelly, more bees, and to aid pollination. We have two queen bees, each of which is very capable of laying around 1,500 eggs a day!
Below are pictures of Kate setting up the hives (she even brought food for our hungry busy bees!) Watch a video of the transfer! Those bees sure do love their queen ;-)
Below is a picture captured today of Pamela grooming Bud before an evening carriage stroll (Pete and Dakota were out for a ride too.) Tla, Dakota and Madison are in the background.
In other farm news, the mid-paddock has flags on it's barbed-wire fence (you can see a few of the streaming strands in the picture above,) as well as part of the current cow-paddock. The 'pricker bushes' around the white fencing has been removed, and the grassy knolls have been raked of leaves (hopefully to start our compost pile!)
Thank you to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Community Service Program. They completed the above mentioned, as well as muck/strip our horse stalls (and rinse/refill water buckets) along with Omar and myself.
If anyone knows Steve Bakas, ask him if he got my e-mail :-)
(Click on the youtube video below for atmospheric music while reading about our baby girl.)
This is Donnybrook's Peg O' My Heart (aka "Peggy"). She is an eight-and-a-half month-old Irish Sporthorse who arrived at Blue Star Equiculture on April 9.
Peggy comes from exceptional Irish Sporthorse bloodlines. She was homebred by Timothy Doyle of Donnybrook Farms in Woodbury, Connecticut. Tim owns an Irish Sporthorse stallion, Donnybrook's Ellis Island, and two Irish Sporthorse mares, Donnybrook's Molly Maguire (Peggy's mom) and Donnybrook's Irish Lullaby.
Tim loves his horses and was devastated when Peggy was born on July 22, 2008 with a severe and potentially deadly salmonella infection. She was nothing but "skin and bones" from day one, and her entry into the world was marred by IVs, antibiotics and being unable to stand. Tim and his vet were able to get Peggy up and nursing, and much money and several months of care, Peggy was out of the woods from the salmonella. She still was underweight and, due to needing more nutrition, she was weaned from Molly early.
No sooner had Peggy gotten back on her feet again, so to speak, when bad luck struck again. The very first time Peggy was turned out after beating back the salmonella, Tim went out to bring her in, only to discover Peggy's tail "in pieces" all over the paddock. At first, it seemed Peggy had gotten caught on something, but when the vet came to try and save her tail, examination revealed what appeared to be bite marks on her hocks. It seems Peggy was attacked by a coyote or dog, who chewed her tail off. Despite the best efforts of all involved, Peggy's tail was unable to be saved.
Peggy now has no tail save a few hairs at her dock. She was bred to be like her siblings who excel in jumping and eventing. Without her tail, she will be unable to balance when she jumps, and may have difficulty performing dressage moves.
Tim has other horses to feed, and despite being very attached to Peggy (he practically hand-raised her), he cannot afford to keep her. Unfortunately, because of her "handicap," finding a home for her was difficult. He tried to place her with several other rescues but was turned away. He was at the point of considering euthanasia when he learned of Blue Star Equiculture.
On Thursday, April 9th, Peggy arrived at Burgundy Brook Farm in Palmer, MA. She is a beautiful baby girl. She still needs physical therapy to overcome some of the lasting effects of the salmonella, and is on weight-builder to rebuild her muscle mass. Tim and Blue Star Equiculture hope that Peggy will thrive at Equiculture, and can be trained as a harness horse, as well as interacting with the public. (Having little or no tail never stopped a carriage horse!)
Peggy has her bonafide draft horse credentials: Both her grandsires are Irish Draught Horses. (Her granddams are thoroughbreds.)
We are hope Peggy's run of bad luck has ended and she has finally found her lucky star...and that that Star is Blue!
Due to her lack of a tail and the lingering after-effects of the salmonella, she has some difficulty cantering, though she doesn't know it! She loves running with Cupcake! At least, until she gets tired--Cupcake can be a bit like the Energizer Bunny. Then, Peggy likes to hang out with her adopted great uncles, Bud, Mike and Jesse--our retired carriage horses. Maybe they can whisper a thing or two about being a carriage horse to her!
This is Simon & Garfunkel's version of "Pretty Peggy-O," a popular folksong about a member of the Irish Dragoons who falls in love with Peggy. Other versions exist by Bob Dylan and The Greatful Dead. I chose this version because of the lyrics:
As we marched down to faneri-o As we marched down to faneri-o Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove And they called her name, pretty Peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, pretty Peggy-o Come a runnin' down the stairs, pretty Peggy-o Come a runnin' down the stairs, combin' back your yellow hair You're the prettiest little girl I've ever seen-o
In a carriage you will ride, pretty Peggy-o In a carriage you will ride, pretty Peggy-o In a carriage you will ride, with your true love by your side As fair as any maiden in the ar-e-o
What will your mother say, pretry Peggy-o? What will your mother say, pretty Peggy-o? What will your mother say, when she finds you've gone away To places far and strange to faneri-o?
If ever I return, pretty Peggy-o If ever I return, pretty Peggy-o If ever I return, all your cities I will burn Destroying all the ladies in the ar-e-o Destroying all the ladies in the ar-e-o
(Peggy getting the sniff-over by Dakota and Petey, and harrumphs from mares Madison and Mooch)
We hope Peggy gets used to the places far and strange here soon, and we look forward to the day in the future when in a carriage she will drive!
He's a Percheron draft horse in his mid- to late-teens, who had to be retired because he has severe arthritis in his knees. He has virtually no sinovial fluid left in his knees, and he is violently(!) opposed to the vet trying to inject any more fluid or cortisone into them. This means that Mike sometimes has a hard time getting up when he lies down, and he repeatedly tried to remodel the barn in Philadelphia when he would get stuck.
So, Mike has to live outside now, and occasionally needs a push to get up in the morning.
He's been on turnout in Lancaster County since December, and just arrived at Blue Star Equiculture at 1:00 AM on Tuesday, April 6th.
He and Bud greeted each other like the old friends that they are. They also, like old friends who know each other well enough to disagree, have had some disputes over hay and attention--Mike proving that even with his bad knees, he can still buck and trot!
(Bud showing Mike how to live the retired life. Mike says laying down is not as easy as it looks.)
Cupcake is completely taken with the eminence grise that has moved in.
(Mike and Cupcake at the confluence of the Swift and Ware Rivers, April 8, 2009)
Mike seems to enjoy his new life of retirement, though he was a bit overwhelmed when Dakota, Petey, Bud, Cupcake and human friends took him on a walk down to the rivers--he wanted to stick as close as possible to his buddy Bud in the unfamiliar, scary alfalfa fields!
(Omar and Lindsey with Bud, Mike, and Cupcake, attempting to make a dent in Tom's acres of alfalfa.)
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