Hildas Happings Intro

The big news is that we finally redid the web site. Have a look at the new format and pictures and email us with your input and let us know what you think. Thanks to Doug Mackie from Mackie Digital Media for the great job. I am still in the process of supplying more pictures and have to finish the “meet the horses” part of the web site. I plan to do a little biography of each horse with a picture. We will have to wait for spring now as the horses already have started to grow their winter coats and do not look their best. We will change the pictures on a more regular basis and try to keep the web site fresh. If you have some good pictures of the horses or any other good pictures which you want to contribute perhaps you can burn them on a CD and send them to us. As we do not have fast internet service available it is not a good idea to email them as it takes forever and sometimes, depending how you send them, actually shuts down the computer.

We have finally sent the CD’s of the pictures which were taken this summer to a friend who will once again put them up on the Kodak site for us, the same as we did last year. I will email everyone an invitation to view them once we have them up. We did not get as many pictures taken some weeks as others. The weeks just flew by and were over before I could get pictures taken. Next year I am hoping to have someone in charge of pictures. Once again if you have some good pictures to share, send them to us.

The fall went well and the beautiful weather we had really helped. We had an adult camp and a parent/child camp which were well attended. Angie is still doing the weekly lesson program for the local students. These will be over once the time changes.

I will now review the year for those who were not able to return this year. Our spring was very wet and consequently we have to cancel a few weekend camps due to the flooding of the rings. We then decided that the sand footing had deteriorated to the point where the sand was not absorbing the water after not being replaced in 16 years, so we removed all the old sand from both rings and brought in new. That was quite a costly endeavour but sure was worthwhile as the 2nd week of camp we had some downpours and we were still able to use the rings and ride.

We purchased some new horses again this year. This seems to a yearly occurrence as each year we retire a few horses and also lose a few due to old age. This year we welcomed Buckshot, a 15 hand black and white paint which was purchased half way through the summer. He has not yet been used in our programs as he was mostly used for western riding and needs more schooling in English. He is very willing and has the right temperament for a school horse so I am sure he will be great. Minnie, a small black pony with blue eyes, Jane, a 15’1 hand liver chestnut, Chief, a large 13’2 hand speckled Appaloosa pony and Beau, a 16’ hand chestnut thoroughbred are also new. We also just bought a 16 hand bay thoroughbred named Miraina. She will be used for the more advanced riders. Hope to get a picture of her today. Kenley was sold to a camper who was here near the beginning of the summer and relocated to the Seattle area. Hope he is happy and enjoying all the one on one attention he did not get here.

We started doing acupuncture on quite a few of our older horses that have some stiffness issues. We found this procedure to be very beneficial. Regular maintenance with teeth, herbs, and acupuncture keeps the older horses more comfortable and eager to go.

Now for the “useless critters” as Lorne calls them. We seemed to have an abundance of bunnies this year as for some reason the male rabbit kept getting out of his cage. It is so much fun having the babies around as they are sooooo cute. We did manage to find homes for most of them, even going so far as trying to give them away as prizes for the student who got the most 1st in the horse show. That actually did not work, but it was worth a try. I just can’t seem to get the weight off Wilma, no matter how hard I try. We are keeping her on only fruit and vegetables, but she always seems to be able to get grain. Most of the horses are now even sharing their dishes and they always spill a lot and she does all the cleanup. With winter around the corner and not much grain being served, perhaps she may lose a few pounds. Angie and I trimmed her hooves the other day. That was quite a procedure, we should have had ear protectors. I cannot believe how loud she was. The neighbours probably thought we were killing her. Timothy has his winter coat and also winter weight. He is quite lonely once everything shuts down and spends most of his time on our deck, chewing his cud and looking in the house, hoping someone forgets to close the door properly so he can sneak in. Moose and Tamara, Lolita and Tamale are all winterized with huge coats. I let them all out of their paddocks every once in awhile to get running around exercise and some green grass. It is too bad that they can’t just stay out, but they just don’t ever quit eating. Moose and Tamara were out in the big fields for a couple of days with the whole herd. It looked so cute to see these little horses in amongst the big ones. They actually came in by themselves and wanted to get into their paddock, which really surprised me, but they are creatures of habit and just wanted to go home after the outing. I have softened in my old age and my dogs Purdy and Sadie seem to be in my house more than outside. When they are put out they have now taken over the hay barn. I guess sleeping in the hay is much warmer than their dog houses.

The property next door has changed hands and we now have 100 Alpaca’s residing there. There are very unique looking and the little ones are too cute. I think I now know where Dr. Suess got his inspiration. The horses were a little concerned at fist, but are now used to them. They were way more freaked out about Wilma. Apparently pigs have the scent of bears which worries the horses a lot more.

I would like to take this time to thank all my staff for the great job they do for us. I could not run this place without them. We get so much positive feedback. Returning this year we had Jo, the evening activities director. We were very fortunate to have her return. She worked for us 2 years in a row, 2 years ago. Everyone enjoys her bubbly personality, creative games and also the professional way she handles any problems. Returning barn staff Amelie (total years here are 7, 4 years as a camper and 3 working) Andrea, 8 years as a camper and 2 years working. Also a big thanks to the rest of the barn staff, Neisha, Rachael, Amelia, Danielle, Aly, Ali, Antonia, Vicki, Lisa, Cici and of course Angie and Erica, our instructors. Donna in the kitchen, also known for making the best baking powder biscuits and Ella who does weekend cleanup, thanks for all your efforts. Hope to have you return next year. I would also like to thank my husband Lorne for all his time with the ongoing maintenance around the farm. He has a full time job away from the farm and another full time job around here, so never any time off.

We need to update our testimonials and would like to ask you send us some feedback regarding our program and facility, instruction etc. Perhaps if you have some time, you could complete the evaluation part on the web site and let us know your thoughts. Please include your name so we can display it on the web site. Many of you complete it and just put down that everything was excellent, but we need some written thoughts and information. We get a lot of verbal positive feedback, but would like to see some in writing. Thanks in advance.

I will be sending out a reminder shortly about our $100. register and pay in full by December 1st discount. We already have quite a few registrations for the 2007 season. You can once again register and leave the dates empty and contact me once you know which weeks you would like to reserve. We had many take advantage of this discount last year and consequently all our camps were filled to capacity earlier than ever last year. This discount applies to all weeks except for the last week which is already discounted.

We are just in the last stage of getting our hay in. We use approximately 150 ton a year and that is a lot of bales. The helpers are just unloading as I am writing this update. I have to go and prepare lunch for them, but promise to update this column more often. It always takes a push to get writing but once I start it actually doesn’t take too long. After lunch is finished I plan in taking advantage of the sunny day and de burr the horses again. I thought I cut the burrs all down, but on a 100 acre property you are bound to miss some. The horses always seem to find them.

Later,
Hilda