Kentucky Winter!!!

So I had to Change my picture. One of the days this week I worked 4 till midnight rather than 7am till 4pm. That morning I went riding! It was great to get out but it was really icy so we just walked but it was still nice. Oh yeah, it is Kats horse, his name is Damnation. He is a 6 yr old Ex race horse that was give to her. We can go ride whenever. It is great.

Well. Yet again I have been really bad about updating this silly thing. Well I have to start cuz as part of my requirements for KEMI I have to keep a journal. So here we go.

As of yesterday we have just 7 foals on the farm and sadly we lost an 8th.
Going way back now but I think it is very important…LOL
On the 12th of Jan. we started our KEMI experience. That first week went by in a blur and was a great time. There are pictures below of what we did as previously explained.

The Saturday of that week we did not work but went out to Keeneland to the sale. We hung out with Kat and the Owners of Margaux farm! It was cool to see what went on back there and all that had to go into it. We met Russel our Yearling Manager and some of the guys.

Kat gave us the option to start work on the next day, Sunday, or on Monday. We chose Sunday and she got very excited as it was a test to see if we were really willing to get to work.

The first few days were just a lot of cleaning and moving horses. All the horses are turned out most of the time but have to come in at least once a day to be checked over. I work on what is called the Annex. It is about a 10 minute drive from the main farm and consists of 3 barns and many pastures and paddocks. The 3 barns are Farley, Maclin and Clark 5. Clark 5 is mostly barren mares that will be bred as soon as the season starts. Maclin is mostly Yearlings and a few Mares that need to be on the walker daily. Then there is Farley. This barn is also mostly yearlings but more mares come to this barn weekly. They are also open and need to be bred soon.

In the Mornings we go to each barn and turn out the mares that stayed in over night and bring in the yearlings that were out over night. Everyone gets fed and watered. After all 3 barns are done we have to take the yearling temperatures. If all is good then it is time to start cleaning. There are about 20 stalls in each barn that have to be cleaned daily!! It is a lot to clean. As time goes on I have more and more responsibilities and am getting better at all that has to be done. I know know without being told what needs to be done and can always find something to do.

We have had 7 live foals like I said. I have helped with 4 of them. I was on night watch on Friday night. This is where we run around the entire farm and make sure everything is ok… LOL it was crazy but a learning experience. Well there was a mare that was about ready to pop but she had been like that for days. So I had one last barn to run to and I was only gone for about 10 mins. Well when I came back there was a foot sticking out! So I called Kat who was on call. By the time she got there the head was out too. So I broke the bag so the foal could breath. But then she got stuck. So we had to pull! Once we got the foal out the mare went into shock and almost fell on the baby… Anyway we got them both going ok and everything turned out ok. Though it was very scary for a while there. It was a little filly out of Leeward Passage.

We also had another foal this afternoon at about 4:15. It was very unusual but cool cuz it meant we did not have to lose any sleep.

On another note, I NEVER thought I would be saying that 40-50 degrees is warm. But it is… LOL It was Very cold here getting into the negatives often at night. I wear 3 layers to work… underarmor , jeans, and bibs (or coveralls as some call them) You will see me wearing them in the picture with the baby. We have had a Huge snow and Ice storm over the last few days and so it is just now satring to melt. But i got some cool pictures.

I am getting muscle in places that I never have before though and that is cool. I hope to be nice and buff by the time I am done. :D

Well here are the picture and a brief description.

Hope you like.
Miss you all
Love

Evelynne




Ashford Stud – HenrytheNavigator



Ashford Stud – Giants Causeway


Ashford Stud – Thunder Gulch


Ashford Stud – Loin Hearted


Three Chimneys – Smarty Jones Winner of 2 legs of the Tripple crown


Three Chimneys – Big Brown! Winner of the Kentucky Derby


Darley – Rockport Harbor


At Darley statue of Affirmed.


At KESMARK. A rehibiitaion center. A Water tread mill


At KESMARK. A swimming pool for horses! 16 ft deep


Bri and Drake at Harveys


Me, Tanya, Sara, and Jen at Harveys


Statue of Astride, the first Kentucky Derby winner. Tanya and I at Churchill Downs!!! It was FREZING.


Inside Churchill downs in the museum. Big browns colors


Inside Churchill downs in the museum. The Gate


Outside Churchill


First Palomino thoroughbred to be sold at Keeneland. Ever


About to go out


Keeneland. Where the horses walk out to the track.


Bench


Morning workout


Hierloom Wish and Baby


Tanya and baby


Me and Baby


Frozen yearling


Frozen Car


ICE!!!


Office


Sign


Colt


Mares


Berries


Time to go In


Mamma and Colt


Our first two foals 15 days old


Curious

Time Fly's

WOW... I was going to write on here every day. Well so much for that, I guess i will try to do that now. LOL

Well lets see where to start.

So the last I wrote on here was last Saturday.
So we went to our orientation on Saturday night. It was cool. They gave us 6 books to read and give us more info. The best part was the one of the books is an English to Spanish dictionary for horsemen!!! I couldn’t stop laughing. So we all had to stand up there and say where we were from a bit of info about ourselves and what farm we were working on. Afterwards we went to Harvey’s. A local bar where they were holding a fundraiser for a girl who was in an accident. We had a GREAT time and met a lot of people.

The next morning, Sunday, Kat the farm manager took us to the other part of Margaux to look around. I is very different than the main farm but its cool.

Monday morning we met at the Kentucky Horse Park for a short meeting and introduction. After lunch we went to Lane’s End/Oak Tree Division for a safety course and general information. Then it was on to Cobra for a quick Repro class. Then back to KHP to get our cars and go home.

Tuesday we met at Keeneland Racetrack. We got straight on the bus and went to Ashford Stud, Three Chimneys, Juddmonte, and Darley to see all the AMAZING studs that are around. We saw Big Brown, Smarty Jones, Dynaformer, Giants Causeway and many others.

Wednesday we stayed at Keeneland and got to explore EVERYWHERE. There was a sale going on and we watched them sell a yearling for $390,000!!!!

Thursday we went to all the top vet clinics and rehabilitation centers and got tours. It was great.

The best was on Friday though when we went to Churchill Downs!!! It was amazing.

I started work on Sunday and now it is getting very late. I will post pictures with this and write more soon

Miss you all and hope you are well.
Call me if you have time
Love ya

Stud muffin...

So we had an open house today at Margaux. Tanya and I went down to the Stud Barn at around 10:30 to see what was going on. I got to meet Stephen E. Johnson one of the owners of Margaux Farm. It was really great to talk to him and he seemed very excited to have us here.

We also got to mingle a little with some clients and other people that had come to see the Studs.

We have 4 main studs on the farm right now.

Devil His Due,


The Cliff's Edge,


Kela


and Cryptoclearance. This guy is 24!



Tonight we have our orientation and meeting to introduce us to the other interns and owners. I am very excited to meet the other interns and get this all started.

A New Moon

I feel like I am starting a whole new chapter in my life. I am a new moon. I thought that was a fitting way to put it as this evening when Tanya and I were walking around Margaux Farm, there was a New Full Moon.



My life is great. If this is any indication of the year to come then I am very excited. I started the new year with Jeremy and his cousin, Sam. We set off fireworks and hung out. It was nice.

I then had a small going away get together on the 2nd. Just to see some friends agian before I left. We had a great quiet night and I saw some old friends that it had been way to long since I had seen. I will really miss all my great friends in Houston.
The next day I drove out to see Morgan in Kerrville. We had a great time. Brandon, her boy, drove us out to dinner at Maggianos Little Italy. After a great dinner we went to Cowboys dance hall. It was tons of fun.


Morgan and I


Me, Morgan and Brandon in his AMAZING truck...

Just a few days later I left for Kentucky. It was really hard to leave and when I had to say goodbye to my mommy I started to cry. LOL I know that I will see everyone soon but it was still emotional.
And so began my 19 hour drive! I drove 14 hours on Wednesday and stopped in Athens, Alabama for the night. The next morning I got up at 5 am and was on the road at 5:30! I had about 5 hours left and was soooo excited about getting there. I called my mom as I got closer, my tummy was doing summersaults. I was so nervous yet just wanted to get there. I turned down the road and as I rounded the last corner caught sight of the Margaux Sign.







I turned across the small bridge and drove up the long driveway looking for the office. Kat, the farm Manager, met me in the office and showed me to my new home. Tanya, the other intern and my room mate, and I hit it off immediately. Kat took us both to lunch and then we came back to get settled in.

Yesterday, Thursday, Tanya and I went in to Lexington to look around. We found the Thoroughbred Park and HAD to take pictures. This is what followed… LOL













We then came back to the farm to look around and at sunset went out to take some more pictures…


Yearlings


Stud Barn


Sunset


Momma


The Kiss


The Beautiful View I get to see everyday!!

Well I hope that you are all well and that you all keep in touch. Miss you all

Write me some time. PO Box 3846, Midway, KY 40347