tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61630196003511603852008-10-13T09:36:37.995-04:00Horseowner Michelle M. Smith shares the first months of her new filly's life in this EquiSearch.com blog.EquiSearch.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12671815112903432584noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-80739168470358911282008-04-17T21:11:00.004-04:002008-04-17T21:57:28.711-04:00

I can't believe it but today is Rio's FIRST BIRTHDAY!! A year ago today Rio was born on a chilly April morning. She turned out not to be what I expected but what a gift I have received. She's has learned so much over the last year, as have I. As I look back over the last year some common cliches come to mind... "Good things come in small packages", "Watch what you wish for", "Good things come to

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-68432869393968685532008-03-27T20:41:00.002-04:002008-03-27T20:54:29.896-04:00

For Central Pennsylvania we really had a "mild" winter with no big snowstorms but plenty of long, cold winter days and nights. Spring is upon us and while I look forward to the warmer weather it was fun to see Rio in her first snow. Rio's star is getting bigger with each day. Don't forget mama!

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-19379081408999738692008-01-22T19:38:00.000-05:002008-01-22T20:11:30.399-05:00

Since Old Man Winter has arrived time spent outdoors with my girls has waned. By the time I get home from work it is dark and temperatures have dipped into the teens here in Central Pennsylvania the last few weeks. So, when the weather isn't bitterly cold I spend a couple of hours at the barn on a Sunday afternoon. I call it our "Sunday Spa Day". Both mama and baby get an extra vigorous

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-90038762933216508482007-12-17T16:40:00.000-05:002007-12-20T21:50:40.271-05:00

Rio a few weeks old. My little girl is now 8 months old. I can hardly believe it! Time has just flown by. Rio is growing every day but to me she still looks like a little runt. When we attended the futurties back in September I knew she would probably be smaller than some of the other weanlings but now I worry that she is a lot smaller. Perhaps it is because I see her every day and I just

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-77832432536606754602007-11-01T15:29:00.000-04:002007-11-01T15:47:09.582-04:00

It's hard to believe but Rio is already six months old and getting to be a "big girl". We moved her up to the main barn about a month after she was weaned. She is at the opposite end of the barn in regards to where her mama is stalled but they see each other daily. Tia occasionally nickers to her but for the most part it seems the mother/daughter bond has waned. We are careful not to put them

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-73610156161283251552007-10-01T13:47:00.000-04:002007-10-12T15:53:39.369-04:00

Rio went to the Pennsylvania Quarter Horse Association's Futurity over Labor Day weekend. Because Tia's breeding was purchased through PQHA's QIP program we're automatically eligible for the QIP Futurities for Rio's first three years. I really didn't expect to win any classes as Rio is not halter bred. I really just wanted to show off my baby! She wasn't the biggest or most beautiful filly at the

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-49264431105188395052007-09-09T14:43:00.001-04:002007-09-09T14:53:15.338-04:00

A few weeks before Rio was to show in the PQHA Futurities as part of an AQHA show I wanted to take her out for a "test drive". There's a local riding club that has a Wednesday night open show series so we decided that would be a good place to expose her to the sights and sounds of a horse show. Turns out I was probably more nervous than she was! She looked around just a bit, whinnied a few times

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-4595673054130530602007-09-09T14:33:00.000-04:002007-09-09T14:42:20.458-04:00

When Rio was a few months old I decided it was time for her to take a ride with mama in our trusty stock trailer. I tried loading Tia first but she was too concerned where Rio was so we ended up loading baby first and then mama. We took a short ride over to Shelly Mix's new barn and I had my mom follow in her car in case Rio and Tia got in to any trouble. I tied mama and left Rio loose. She was

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-35312200473119837452007-08-13T16:57:00.000-04:002007-08-13T17:27:39.212-04:00

Tia 7 months pregnant. Foaling Day - April 17, 2007 Peekaboo! First Days of Discovery What a good mama! Mama's lookin good. Gotta get that itch. Rio's getting bigger every day.

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-90811827031129545702007-08-07T16:22:00.000-04:002007-08-07T17:28:58.899-04:00

Just a little over a week ago I had what I thought would be a daunting task of weaning. I had fretted for weeks prior to my intended "weaning weekend" and hoped that all would go well for both mama and baby. Rio is scheduled to compete Labor Day weekend in the Pennsylvania Quarter Horse Association's (PQHA) Classic Show in the futurities. Since her breeding was purchased through PQHA's QIP

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-82147631943039289102007-07-23T15:25:00.000-04:002007-07-23T16:03:42.684-04:00

A few weeks after Rio was born I wondered if it would be ok to start riding Tia again. I typically show Tia in halter and showmanship events so it is important that she get back to her pre-pregnancy fitness level! Well, easier said than done. For the first week or so I would ride with Rio in the ring with us as I did not want to stress out mama or baby. But Rio would always want to stop the "milk

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-27864984444406749482007-07-06T11:20:00.000-04:002007-07-06T12:01:04.376-04:00

Just the other day Tia reminded me that she is just a horse after all even though I view her as my best friend and love her dearly. I went to the barn around 7:00 am before going to work for a grooming session for both her and Rio. I usually arrive around 6:30 am and take Tia for a 20-30 minute ride but it had rained the night before so the ring probably wouldn't have been in the best shape. As I

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-22043039392366396512007-07-02T12:40:00.000-04:002007-07-02T12:54:46.773-04:00

Today Rio met the farrier for the first time. I have been picking out her hooves daily since she was just a few weeks old so I didn't expect any problems. Every once in a while she would want to put her hoof down before I was ready to release it. She would try to yank it out of my hand but as long as I held on with gentle pressure she got the idea that she can only put her hoof down when I was

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-65226790052062129632007-06-26T13:54:00.000-04:002007-06-26T14:32:07.086-04:00

As soon as Rio was born I began to introduce her to the things she would need to become accustomed to and accept. We haltered her on the first day and ran the clippers all over her body just to get her used to the feel and sound. Rio was a happy baby, relishing in human attention but sometimes to the point where she was in the way when it was time to muck her stall or tend to her mama. She's very

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-32324338462486449362007-06-18T16:39:00.000-04:002007-06-18T16:58:42.316-04:00

In the weeks and days before Rio was born many people asked me if I was going to "imprint" train the foal. I decided that I would accustom the foal to humankind on the day she was born but not so much that her mama would object. I was actually a little concerned that if there were too many people around during the foals' birth Tia may reject it and I definitely did not want to go there. When I

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-31000002023774156772007-06-01T14:37:00.000-04:002007-06-01T15:00:18.266-04:00

Tia was due on April 5 but went almost two weeks late. She was making me very nervous. I knew from reading The Foaling Primer (available on http://www.horsebooksetc.com/) and from a call to my vet that she could go up to a month late! Several days before foaling Tia started to wax up so I brought a cot to the barn, along with a small TV and a thermos of coffee. The first night in the barn was

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163019600351160385.post-86583417541938590812007-05-21T13:37:00.000-04:002007-05-23T09:15:14.293-04:00

Ten years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to purchase my first American Quarter Horse. She was an exquisite bay mare, registered as Tees Brazen Lady. I secretly loved her from the moment I first saw her at just a few days old. We've been showing the last eight years in western events at open breed and AQHA shows. As she got older I began thinking it sure would be nice to breed her. I wondered

Michelle M. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899094950594271270noreply@blogger.com