Another beautiful March day!

Alli decided she wanted to come in the tack room too....what a funny girl!

Pregnant Nemo  :)

The scary windmill

Today was another absolutely gorgeous day!  Alli was full of spit and fire!  You can definetly tell that spring is in the air.  Our first obstacle was to get by the big scary windmill that was spinning in the wind in the front yard. She is such a funny girl....she almost jumped on top of me when she first saw it, but then if I simply tell her it's okay, she walks right up to it to touch it with her nose and suddenly everything is okay.   I am amazed how quickly she is learning.  She definetly had some energy she had to burn today....she had a few bucks and kicks to get out of her system before she could really get down to business today!  The horses are all pretty fuzzy still from winter, but are starting to shed out nicely into their beautiful black summer coats....it's amazing how much hair they lose.  I spent some time grooming Nemo and working with her in hand.  Unlike Alli who truly seems to come out and work and learn, I think Nemo has truly enjoyed her time off.  The baby was moving all over the place today while I was grooming her!  Makes me even more excited for the little one to get here.  We decided that we are going to feed live video to the blog for the month of May in Nemo's stall to be able to check on things any time of day or night....definetly excited about that!!  Hopefully we will get everything figured out in time!   Hope everyone enjoys the new pics!  :)

Any ideas??

So, as most of you probably already know, we are expecting a filly (according to ultrasound), or for the non-horse people, a girl baby horse, due on May 18th.  The friesian breed has a requirement each year that the name of all horses born in that year to have names that begin with a certain letter.  This year is "J", "K" or "L".  We have come up with a few names (Kinsley being a favorite of Alyssa and I), but was wondering if anyone else has any ideas?  Feel free to comment below.  Beautiful weather again today....hope everyone has been able to enjoy a bit of the sunshine!

Couldn't ask for better weather!

Had the day off from work today and was happy to see the sun shining...it's about time!!  Jim, Alyssa, my mom and I met with Bill Heiser last week to come up with a game plan for properly preparing the horses for the keuring (a "judging" where officials come from the Netherlands to inspect friesians and give them a score that is based 60% on movement and 40% on conformation, or how well they are built) which will be held in Marshfield, WI this year in September.  We had a fabulous dinner and are all very excited to have the  wonderful opportunity to work with Bill!  Dahlia (or Alli for short) is our main project for the time being since Nemo is pregnant.  She will be two years old in May so we are focusing on working with her on the ground by lunging and long lining her to develop good movement and muscle tone.  She seems to catch on to things quickly and definitely aims to please you-what a fun horse she is!  She also likes to have some fun along the way and see what she can get away with.  She will be trotting along quietly and suddenly stop to buck and kick just to see what you will do...lol!  I will quietly tell her to "quit it" and she just goes right back to what she should be doing.  She makes me laugh!  Today we decided to put out a 12" diameter PVC pipe in the snow in order to build muscle tone by having her trot over it.  I thought she might be a little skittish at first, but instead she quietly walked up to it and started pawing at the pole and quickly had it twisted throughout her legs....what a silly girl she is!  She then tried standing on top of the pole just to see what that would do.  I started lunging her again and she was like a pro and happily trotted right over it without any hesitation. 

Nemo, our six year old mare who is in foal to Nanning, on the other hand, has the luxury of quietly watching from her pasture while she muches on her hay.  She has been spoiled rotten and has been living the high life! We have been extra cautious with her after the tragic loss of Nanning.  She basically eats, sleeps and  gets her daily massages from my mom.  I spent some time with her grooming and giving her a backrub that she absolutely loves.  She nuzzled me the entire time and was even salivating by the end...too funny!  My mom and I were both very excited to have the opportunity to feel the baby kick for the first time today!  I can't believe her due date is just over two months away!

How it all began....

I have dreamed of owning a friesian since I was a little girl.  I was blessed with the opportunity to grow up around horses and they have always been an important part of my life.  My dream of becoming a friesian owner finally came true.  My boyfriend's daughter (Alyssa) had also wanted a a horse of her own since she was a little girl.  I started to teach her how to ride on my old (and blind) 28 year old arabian mare Firelove.  She was a natural around horses and quickly fell in love.  My boyfriend (Jim) and I decided to make both of our dreams come true in the summer of 2009.  We purchased a five year old friesian mare that was in foal to the beautiful stallion Anne.  Since it was both mine and Alyssa's birthdays in May and June, we decided that we would all become co-owners of these wonderful horses.  My dream of finally owning a friesian came true and Alyssa couldn't have been more excited to have a horse she could call her own!  Since that time, I have fallen even more in love with the breed.  Friesians have proven to be everything I had dreamed they would be and even more.  They are kind, gentle, smart and the most loving animals ever!  I feel blessed each and every day to have these amazing creatures in my life!

Waiting to go into the show ring at Dane County Fair 2010.

Nemo and Dahlia enjoying their first frolic in the field!

Dahlia a.k.a. Alli playing with our boxer Quincy

Dahlia (1 year old) Summer 2010

Sun Prairie Corn Fest Parade August 2009

Just getting started.....

Hi there!  My name is Melissa and I am excited to finally be able to share our wonderful friesians on the web.  We are the proud owners of two friesian mares, a coming two year old filly (sired by Anne) and a six year old studbook mare (by Ouke).  We are patiently awaiting the birth of a Nanning filly that is due May 18th.  Due to the unfortunate loss of Nanning this past June, this may be the last foal born to such a magnificent stallion.  He was an incredible example of the friesian breed and will be deeply missed forever.