New To the Forum

busydoin'nothing · Post by **busydoin'nothing** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 9:07 am

Hello, I'm new to your forum and hail from Missouri. I'm an avid reader and was glad to find your Library forum. When I'm not busy reading and attending to life in general, I'm kept deliriously happy with raising and training miniature horses. I'm married, no children in human form, but 23 in horse form and 7 in dog form. That plus a house full of books makes my life complete.

I'm looking forward to being a part of your forum!

Bonnie

Sundancer Farms

pina · Post by **pina** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 9:10 am

WELCOME to the garden, you'll love it here.:-6

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 9:11 am

a warm welcome to you! :-6

babygirl · Post by **babygirl** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 9:13 am

Welcome to FG have fun i look forward to reading your posts

I love horses too xx :-6

Jives · Post by **Jives** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 9:39 am

Wow! Miniature horses! How cool is that?

Welcome, Bonnie, I loved your webpage. My family lives in New Mexico now, but my grandmother was from Eldon, Missouri, by the Lake of the Ozarks, is that where you live?

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 11:48 am

Hiya Bonnie welcome to the Garden, your horses are adorable

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 11:53 am

Hi Bonnie, welcome to FG! You sound like someone I could get along with just fine. Animals and books. Two of my very favorite things! What kinds of dogs do you have?

Looking forward to talking with you! :yh_peace

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 12:06 pm

Hey Bonnie...I just poked around your website for a bit, and it's absolutely fascinating! Could you tell us more about these horses? How did these miniatures come to be? And Boone, he's 18??! What is the life span for these guys? I'd love to hear more...

capt_buzzard · Post by **capt_buzzard** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 2:21 pm

Welcome to Forum Garden,

busydoin'nothing · Post by **busydoin'nothing** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 2:27 pm

Hello All and thank you so much for the warm welcome! What a great group! :-6

Thank you too for the comments on our little horses, we're very proud of what we've accomplished over the years with them.

Jives, I'm way up north of where your Grandmother lived, we're tucked away in the northwest corner of the state, about 75 miles east of St. Joseph. The area where your Grandmother lived is very pretty, one of the prettiest areas in the state I think.

BabyRider, thank your for your comments Animals and books are truly a source of pleasure and joy! Who needs more?? :wah: As to dogs, I have a mishmash, mostly rescues from one situation or another. I have two purebred Cockers, (non-rescues) and the rest are mixed breeds who needed a chance. Our most recent addition is a Jack Russell Terrier, she too is a rescue and what a bundle of energy and joy she is!

As to the Miniatures, condensed version, all Miniature horses evolve from the Shetland Ponies which used to work the mines in Europe. The mini's and Shetlands you see today are far removed from the first US imports through selective breeding. They can live into their 30's, but so can their large counterparts. One of my most treasured horses in my life was a Quarterhorse who lived to be 32, and I rode him right up to the time he left this journey! He was a little slower then, but he got us where we needed to go..

We train some of our mini's to harness and they really seem to excel at this. Almost as though they're born to it. The Miniatures are not a purebred horse, per se, but rather their registry is based on height, thus considered a "height breed". The Shetlands, though they too are restricted to height limitations, do share a richer heritage than the Miniatures as they're an older and established breed with pedigrees tracing back to the 1800's. The Miniatures are a fairly new breed in comparison. They are for the most part very tractable, with affectionate and steady dispositions. You get a few which are more challenging, but for the most part they're incredibly easy to get along with. We just love all of our's and can't imagine being without them.

Again, thank you everyone for the warm welcome and the interest! I think I'm going to like it here!

Bonnie

Sundancer Farms

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 2:50 pm

Uh-oh...another one with the huge soft spot for "down-on-their-luck" dogs. If I had the room, I'd probably have 10 dogs by now. The fiance is quite happy we don't have the room!

Your horses sound like so much fun! I wondered if they had come from Shetlands. How about the ones that pull a cart? What kind of load can they handle?

I think I'm going to like having another animal lover here...

:yh_bigsmi

busydoin'nothing · Post by **busydoin'nothing** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:24 am

Good Morning BabyRider! How many dogs own you?? My heart is always warmed and strengthened when I meet someone else who knows the value of those "second-hand" dogs. I have shared my life with many and all have been treasured and cherished.

The mini's can pull a good deal of weight. It's actually easier for a horse to pull weight than carry it. If your harness is properly fitted, and the cart is well made to fit the horse, and just as important, the horse is physically fit for the job, they can go and go without tiring. Our little stallion loves to cart and when he gets out there he just trots on down the road and I often get tired before he does.

Bonnie

Sundancer Farms

minks · Post by **minks** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 4:46 pm

greetings busy, nice to see another animal lover too. All my pets have been rescuee's from either SPCA or unwanted pregnancy's. Currently my dog and cat were unwanted accidental pregnancies.

Hope you enjoy your stay at the garden.

Cheers

devist8me · Post by **devist8me** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:04 pm

Welcome to the Garden from a fellow Missourian....Springfield area. I too, checked out your web page..very nice! Post away so we can get to know you.

Jika · Post by **Jika** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:27 pm

hey busydoin' nothing!....like the tag and welcome to FG. i'm the token aussie (i think) lol

look forward to hearing more about missiouri and the farm goings-on.

happy posting, cheers Jika.

busydoin'nothing · Post by **busydoin'nothing** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:24 am

Again, thank you for the warm welcomes! You guys are a great group! It's heartwarming to see so many fellow "secondhand dog" lovers here. Don't you wish there was some way possible to give them all homes. Last year after bidding a very difficult farewell to two of our senior boys, a 16 year old Chihuahua, and a 12 year old Doberman, we let the wounds of goodbye heal and then made the trip to the shelter to give another dog in need a chance. That is one of the most difficult, heartwrenching things to do. I knew I could only add one more dog and the dogs I had to leave behind haunt me to this day. :-1

devist8me, I like your area of MO better than our's, it's much more scenic down your way. We're just kind of flat and boring up this way. But I love our farm and find lots of things to intrigue me in the meadows and fields around here.

Jika, one of the horse transporters I hire for out of state sales is an Aussie and I just adore him! Everytime he comes and picks up or drops off a horse, he keeps me in stitches.

I'll be sure to invite all of you to our foaling cam next Spring! We run a cam on the web and I send out invites to join us for foaling. If you're there at the right time and the right moment, which is ALWAYS determined by the mare, so it could be anytime in a 24 hour period, you get to see one of these little ones being born. It's truly a remarkable moment, I've been through many foalings with my mares and each time a baby makes it safely to this green earth, I am left in awe and with a huge lump in my throat.

Bonnie

Sundancer Farms

Jives · Post by **Jives** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:28 am

busydoin'nothing wrote:

I'll be sure to invite all of you to our foaling cam next Spring! We run a cam on the web and I send out invites to join us for foaling.

If I'm right, a "foaling" would be the birth of a baby horse with the attendant juices and liquids and general messiness. Ummm.....I'm bowing out of that one.

I am left in awe and with a huge lump in my throat.

and I'm left with my breakfast on the floor.

:wah:

minks · Post by **minks** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:35 am

oh fabulous I think the foaling would be amazing to watch count me in. Oh jives it wouldn't be that grim.

busydoin'nothing · Post by **busydoin'nothing** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:47 am

Jives wrote: If I'm right, a "foaling" would be the birth of a baby horse with the attendant juices and liquids and general messiness. Ummm.....I'm bowing out of that one.

yes, that would be the normal process Jives

That's okay, it's not something everyone could partake of.

Jives wrote: and I'm left with my breakfast on the floor. :

Okay, I'll be sure to leave you off the invite list, but you should come and see the baby after the birth, that's always fun to watch them check out the world for the first time

busydoin'nothing · Post by **busydoin'nothing** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:49 am

minks wrote: oh fabulous I think the foaling would be amazing to watch count me in. Oh jives it wouldn't be that grim.

I'll be sure to add you to the invite list Minks! I'd love having you there!

minks · Post by **minks** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:56 am

busydoin'nothing wrote: I'll be sure to add you to the invite list Minks! I'd love having you there!

In my late teens I spent a lot of time around horses, very little experience with the mini's but they are popular round these parts. I think your foal cam is an amazing idea. I would invite my daughters to watch too.

busydoin'nothing · Post by **busydoin'nothing** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:12 am

minks wrote: In my late teens I spent a lot of time around horses, very little experience with the mini's but they are popular round these parts. I think your foal cam is an amazing idea. I would invite my daughters to watch too.

Minks, that would be great! I have some other viewers who watch with their children and the kids get really attached to the mares and worry and fret because they've watched them day after day and night after night. It's kind of funny. I run a message board during foaling and keep everyone updated on the mares and their progress toward foaling. We have lots of fun, I think you'll really enjoy it. We start in April of next year.

Tombstone · Post by **Tombstone** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 1:32 pm

Welcome! You sound buuuuuussssyyyy!

pina · Post by **pina** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 1:42 pm

I'll be sure to invite all of you to our foaling cam next Spring! We run a cam on the web and I send out invites to join us for foaling.

Bonnie

Sundancer Farms

What a great idea!....:)Be sure to put my name up their along side Minks.

busydoin'nothing · Post by **busydoin'nothing** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:24 am

Tombstone wrote: Welcome! You sound buuuuuussssyyyy!

Thank you. I do keep busy, but sometimes I just do nothing..

busydoin'nothing · Post by **busydoin'nothing** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:29 am

pina wrote: What a great idea!....:)Be sure to put my name up their along side Minks.

Will do! I'll just drop over here when we begin bringing the mares up for foal watch and let you guys know where you can go to watch, if you want to participate you can. I love the company during "Mare Stare"!

:-6

busydoin'nothing · Post by **busydoin'nothing** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:33 am

tmbsgrl wrote: Welcome Bonnie. I am glad that you decided to join. I love horses. I have always had a love for them. They are such beautiful animals. I recently took my 4 year old daughter on her first horseback ride. She loved it. Hope you stick around. Happy posting.

Thank you! They are wonderful creatures to spend your life with. I've had horses for over 30 years. Went through a period where I'd decided I wasn't going to do the "horse thing" any longer and sold all my horses. That lasted less than a month and I couldn't bear not having a horse in my life. Sometimes I think it's just something that's in your blood. Beware if your daughter loved riding, it can turn into a lifetime passion.