Country Time Acres Blog

Dakota and Savannah say hello!

Savannah's new play yard.

     Well, Savannah is 3 months old now and doing great!  We moved her play yard into the big pasture so she can socialize with the rest of the herd. I am also alternating her stall every night so she can socialize more with Sundae and Dakota. Cheyenne gets to go inside the play yard every morning. Savannah really enjoys having another horse close by. As for training, things are moving right along.  She is trailer loading herself, walking over decks and bridges, getting all 4 feet on the pedestal and jumping over poles. She isn’t crazy about the water hose, doesn’t like the sound. I will do more play with water so I can give her a bath in the very near future. I also wanted to see if she would go up concrete steps. Terry suggested I just take her on the back porch. She did great going in. Coming back out was a totally different story. It took about 15 minutes before I finally got her to go down the steps. We will  keep working on that. Savannah is well on her way to becoming a therapy horse.

For great horse apparel, toys and jewelry visit Country Time Creations.  Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Hooping it up at summer activity day.

One would ask, doesn’t  Jowana have enough going on in her life, how in the world can she fit anything else into her days?  I ask myself that same question.  After my first production, “Le Cirque of Horses” I planned to take a little break and then start working on a production for the fall. My plans were shot when my partner in crime told me she didn’t have the time to proceed with another production at this time. Worse yet, she cancelled the savvy team that I had put over a year of my time into. Well, that’s how it goes sometimes, everyone is busy these days just trying to make a living. I certainly can’t blame her. But, what about the kids who wanted to be involved with horses?  I don’t have a bunch of miniature horses standing around in need of attention but, certainly there was something I could do so, I started another 4-H club.

For those of you who don’t know me, I had the Small World Dance Team   for 17 years and retired only four years ago. After my daughter’s, Jenna and Tracy out grew the team I just didn’t have the drive to continue.  I traded in my dance shoes for boots and my horses were my new dance partners. Unfortunately, there isn’t a big demand for dancing horses. Don’t know why, they are truely spectacular!  When I adopted Savannah, I knew I wanted to use her as a therapy horse. With that in mind I developed a plan to teach horsemanship through arts and crafts, reading, writing, cooking, sewing and photography.   The children will also help with the therapy program. This summer I have six girls who meet every Thursday to have a day of fun and friendship.  Stay tuned for more stories about our new club. Did you visit?  Leave a comment.

Lamb Construction is a proud sponsor of Country Time 4-H.

Prince, my faithful companion.

     I still remember the look on Jenna’s face when she got off the school bus and saw Tracy and I sitting on the front porch holding a cute little puppy. Terry, was gone a lot and I thought that with us living in the country, a guard dog might be a good idea.  Prince was adopted from the local S.P.C.A. and was just a few months old. He was a Shephard/Husky mix and grew to be about 90 pounds. He was a gentle playmate and a fearless protector. When the girls grew older, Prince became my trusty companion. Often, his face was the first to greet me as I started my day. He watched over me as I cleaned the barn and was a huge help when I weeded the garden, or so he thought! He loved to chase bunny rabbits. As he got older, it was hard for him to get around, those rabbits loved to tease him. The day he passed was one of the hardest days of my life.  The mornings were the hardest. When I would walk out the back door to head for the barn I would look for him, only now he wasn’t there. When  I saw this statue at a roadside stand I had to have it. I planted his garden. It brought me comfort knowing that when I looked for him, I knew he was in the garden. A few weeks after planting the garden I noticed bunny rabbits gathering around the garden in the evening.  They didn’t go in the garden but, were hopping all around eating grass. This went on for months. Even when there was snow on the ground, the rabbits were there.  I knew they were telling me not to worry, Prince was in heaven chasing bunny rabbits. Prince, was a part of our family for 14 years. His statue has grown faded and cracked but, my memories of that wonderful dog are still  as colorful as the flowers in his garden.

For great horse gifts visit Country Time Creations. Did you visit?  Leave a comment.

Ethan Cox and Savannah.

Jewell Cox gives Savannah a hug.

     It has been a busy week for Savannah and it’s not over yet.  Savannah is about 11 weeks old. This week she had her hooves trimmed for the first time. She did a great job, as did my farrier, Cindy Lowe. I guess all that time playing with her legs and feet paid off. She didn’t kick, bite or run away. I was so proud of her. She also did her first trailer loading, it took about two minutes to get her on the trailer. Other things we are working on include, the circle games, left and right and over the pole, she gets two feet on the pedestal and is doing the squeeze game between barrels. Her first assignment as a therapy horse was a visit with Ethan and Jewell Cox from Kentucky. Both children enjoyed petting her and look forward to future visits.                                                                                                                                           For great horse gifts visit Country Time Creations. Did you visit? Leave a comment!

Ethan gets a kiss from Dakota.

Jewell enjoys a ride on Dakota.

     The best  and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched–they must be felt by the heart.     — Helen Keller

Here are a few photo’s of Ethan and Jewell Cox as they enjoy the horses of Country Time Acres. For great horse gifts visit Country Time Creations. Did you visit?  Leave a comment.

The Cox family enjoy Cowtown Rodeo.

Ethan and Jewell Cox enjoy the ride in the motorhome.

     If you have kept up with my posts you might remember the Cox family from Kentucky.  Terry and I met this family while doing volunteer work at the Ronald MacDonald House at the A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.  They have returned to the hospital so their daughter, Jewell could get fitted with new braces. Knowing that these stays can be long and a bit boreing, we decided to see if we couldn’t do  something special during this visit. The children love horses and Cowtown Rodeo is just a short ride from the hospital so, that was our destination.                

     We all wanted to ride together so, we drove the motorhome. It was their first ride in a home on wheels and they were so excited. It was their first trip to New Jersey, their first rodeo and even their first taste of funnel cake. The entire family had a great time, as did Terry and I.

     A few days later the Cox family joined us at Country Time Acres for a cook-out. I was hoping for nicer weather but, at least it didn’t rain. After dinner the kids enjoyed a ride on Dakota and a photo session with Savannah.  We were having such a great time we didn’t want it to end. They will return to Delaware again in October. We all look forward to our next visit.   Did you visit?  Leave a comment.

At only 9 weeks old, Savannah has already learned that the grass is always greener on the other side.

Savannah is a picture of perfect health!

     Well, Savannah has been with us for four weeks now and is 9 weeks old.  She is adjusting to life here and is a picture of perfect health. She has a nursery beside the other miniatures for now and a play yard just for her. We will be moving a small play yard into the pasture with the other horses so she can begin to socialize daily. When she first arrived she was drinking 12 ounces of foal formula every four hours. She drinks from a bowl and only I feed her so we can develope a mother-baby relationship. She is now drinking her bottle of milk every five hours. I do look forward to getting to sleep through the night but, that won’t happen for as few more weeks.Here is a record of her training so far.   Day 1: play with savvy string, play with legs & feet so she learns not to kick.  Day 5: learns first trick, the bow.  Day 6: porcupine game, front & hind quarters. Day 8: introduce halter. Day 10: introduce lead rope. Day 12: first grooming, feet too! Day 14: introduce yo-yo game. Day 18: introduce first obstacle, the pole. Day 22: walk out into smaller pasture, introduce other horses. Day 28: introduce circle game. Stay tuned for more on Savannah.    For great horse gifts visit   Country  Time Creations . Did you visit? Leave a comment!

The Quotable Equine by: Jim Dratfield

     While attending the Devon Horse Show I  had the pleasure of meeting photographer/ author, Jim Dratfield. Jim is  a talented photographer who has traveled extensively  photographing many famous and not so famous people and their pets. He has taken many of these photo’s and included them into books for inspiration as well as fun. “The Quotable Equine” is the perfect book for me as I love beautiful pictures of horses and enjoy reading quotes, they can put a lot of meaning into just a few little words. It’s amazing!  Jim even took the time to autograph my book.My three favorite quotes from the book are:

A  lovely horse is always an experience… It is an emotional experience of the kind that is spoiled by words. ** Beryl Markham

You were once wild here. Don’t let them tame you! ** Isadora Duncan

Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength.                       ** Henry Ward Beecher

Visit Jim Dratfield  at Petography. Did you visit?  Leave a comment.

All smiles after placing at Devon.

Beautiful carriages can be seem at the harness competition.

     It’s  one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious horse shows in the country and I had never been there. This ten day event boasts that it attracts over 100,000 spectators and 1,500 horses. You might even see a celebrity such as Bruce Springsteen, his daughter, Jessica was last year’s “Best Child Rider” winner.  Just what’s so special about Devon?

     My day started off at the show arena. I guess I picked the wrong day to visit, halter class after halter class followed by thoroughbreds at the walk, trot and canter. As I have said before, if your not showing or there cheering someone on who is, it’s just plain boring!  It’s really not a spectator sport.

     I walked through the shops and had a bite to eat. I will say that there is a great variety of food and it all looks good and is not outrageously priced.  There are rides and games for the kids, as well as cotton candy and funnel cakes. My tour of the shops was interesting to say the least. Being a western girl I didn’t find the high fashion dresses to my taste. There were lots of beautiful hats but, with the threat of rain I decided to leave mine at home. There were a few items that drew my attention, the $800.00 pillow ( you have got to be kidding!), the $7,000.00 rocking horse  and the $15,000.00 bracelet. Do people really buy these things?  I did manage to find a treasure or two which included a crop that looked like a magic wond, a candy stick with a horse on it and I saved the best for last, a book “The Quotable Equine”.  Jim Dratfield was a really nice guy, great to talk to and a very talented photographer. For $20.00 not only did I get a beautiful book, but he autographed it for me.

     The action did improve later with the carriages and the harness competition. My biggest complaint is the seating. Due to the Grand Prix all the reserved seats were sold out, so we purchased general admission tickets. Little did we know that the reserved seat ticket entitled you to that seat all day. With the Grand Prix not starting until 8:00 p.m. there were hundreds of open seats and I had to stand. At 4:00 I decided I had had enough and sat down only to have a uniform guard tell me that without a ticket he had to kick me out.  When I left at 6:00 p.m. those seats were still empty.

    Overall, I’d say that if this is your thing then Devon is the show to be at. It is a tradition that has lasted 113 years and has made $335,000.00 for the Bryn Mawr Hospital.  Hats off to everyone who made it to Devon and especially those who left a champion.  Although it wasn’t my cup of tea, or should I say glass of wine, but, at least I can now say “Yes, I have been to Devon”.

For great horse gifts at fantastic prices visit Country Time Creations.

Did you visit?  Leave a comment.