RicelandMeadows

June 25, 2026

This little guy made his debut a few days ago. We call him Chester, Chet for short. He and his momma conspired for him to be born in the mud! There was a whole 3 acre pasture, but mom chose a big mud puddle! Why?, I have no idea!

The picture doesn’t show too well, but believe me, he was a muddy mess! Mom decided to retain her placenta, so both mom and baby spent a week under veterinary care and my supervision. It’s been a long week. Medicine given several times a day. Temperatures taken, shots given and care administered, by a tired and even cranky farmer. I’m happy to report that mom and baby are doing fine…The tired cranky farmer and his loving helpful wife, however, need a nap!

We started on and have almost finished our outdoor arena. This will allow us to “get out of the mud”, when training horses.

We stripped the topsoil and laid down a base of stone.

A very coarse sand will go on top of the stone. A French drain filters water through washed stone and drains into the nearby pond.

We see many wonderful things. 2026 foals bounding around the paddocks, moms and babies grazing on the grass, mud being displaced by gravel and rainbows illuminating the sky.June has been a crazy, busy month. Progress has been good on several projects.

Sadly, we did lose one foal. She was stillborn. When that happens, it’s never easy to bear. We waited 11 months for the baby to arrive, only to watch a mare softly nicker to an unmoving baby. This part of farming keeps us humble. Losing a foal, makes you push yourself even harder to save a sick one. My heart breaks for the grieving mare.

We have a 5 babies so far this year. We are expecting one more. Losing a foal, having a sick baby and mom are not good things, but it could be much worse. So, as I shake my sleepy head and sip a little more coffee, I will count it all as joy. God is good and He is in control.