A New Horse at the Farm!

December 16, 2010

You may remember just about one year ago when I blogged about losing Martyn, one of my beautiful Friesian horses. Last March, I also blogged about revisiting Witteveen Friesians in Ontario with Betsy, my stable manager. Harry Witteveen is the horse breeder who raised my beautiful horses and we were interested in seeing if he had a horse that would be a good fit to possibly add to my stable. The following autumn, Betsy also travelled to Vermont to see the horses at Friesians of Majesty, another breeder of these majestic creatures. She was also told of a Friesian that might be available at Cogi Farm, located in the compelling stable community of Pawling, New York. Betsy rather liked what she found there. Sasa is the same age as my horses. He has been well-trained as a trail horse, but he is also a very capable carriage horse and is good at dressage. Come and meet him!

: Artwork hanging next to the stable office door

: The stable at Cogi is very handsome.

: The stable floor is paved in brick.

: This is Cogi’s massive 200′ x 90′ heated indoor arena.

: This is Sasa – Betsy inspected him from all angles.

: Cogi offers year round boarding and riding.

: Tatianna riding Sasa

: Betsy observed with great discernment.

: Betsy asked that the horse be taken in a serpentine figure to see how he bends.

: Tatianna handed over the reins to Betsy.

: Sasa seemed very curious about his new rider.

: The test ride

: After dismounting, Betsy was very happy with the performance.

: A very good looking and good natured horse!

: After the ride, Sasa is given a cooling shower

: She also visited Cogi Farm, a beautiful equestrian center located in the rolling countryside of Pawling, New York.

: One by one, Betsy allowed the other horses to meet and greet their new stablemate. It has been a friendly and smooth transition.

: Sasa is very curious about his new surroundings.

: Sasa has a new home at my farm.

: Because he is a bit smaller in the torso than the other Friesians, Betsy was curious to know if we had a saddle that would fit properly.

: Betsy was happy with the overall fit.

: Betsy checked to see if there was ample space where the withers, the ridge between the shoulder blades, meets the pommel.

: With the girth in place, this saddle will work fine.

: She explained to Sasa that she was about to fasten the girth.

: Elizabeth Kilgallon, my large animal veterinarian, had examined Sasa and gave me a good report.

: A few weeks later, Betsy took me to Cogi for an introduction.

: Some tools of the farrier trade

: Using great finesse and caution, Linda grasped the hoof between her leather-covered legs and trimmed its underside.

: A very curious Sasa

: After trimming, the file was used for smoothing and leveling.

: Linda works one hoof at a time. The hoof is propped up on a hoof stand, where Linda smooths the front with a file.

: Because Sasa hadn’t worn shoes for awhile, his hooves were quite nicked.

: Before riding Sasa, he first needed a set of horseshoes and Linda Friedman, my farrier, was called to outfit him.

: The shoe for that foot is heated in the forge for hot fitting. Linda, who is highly skilled, will hold the hot shoe against the prepared bottom of the hoof until it scorches it sufficiently.

: The shoe is then reheated in the forge.

: This looks alarming but does not hurt the horse. Hot fitting indicates high spots of hoof, which still need to be removed, to make the surface of the hoof level.