Here we are nearing the end of 2014 and I can't help thinking about how much our country is changing. Personally, I believe the soul of America is ailing. The sense of responsibility and purpose seems to be missing in many of our citizens. They know little of our history, some don't even know where Chicago is or who our first President was. We offer young people part time work here at Chocolate Horse Farm...doing what we do every day....picking up horse poop. It isn't glamorous or a career job, but it is part of maintaining good horse keeping and necessary. One summer, my helper informed me he really didn't like picking up poop. I reminded him that was what he was hired to do and offered him a bit of maternal advise. Don't ask yourself if you like it...just do it. As a mother, I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom floors, cleaned the toilet, and picked up after my husband and children. And no....I did not ask myself if I liked it, I just did it because it needed to be done. I wanted him to know it was his job and that it had a purpose as I explained what we learn from knowing what healthy poop from a healthy horse should look like. We keep house on the inside and the outside.
My concern in mentioning the lack of a work ethic is that it is pervasive and the above story just a small part of it. Showing up has become a big deal. Doing what ever is asked is right up there with it. Talking on the phone is not working. Standing around watching us work is not working. More and more do we meet young people who want to get paid for doing nothing. Is this the world they live in. Free rent, free food, free medical, not to mention free phones!!!? Will one of these eventually take a low paying job in a nursing home? If so, I hope and pray I never have to be in one.
On a brighter note, five fillies came into the world this past spring. Beautiful fillies from four different Sires. The first was Tillie Beans by Talbot's Sparky out of our own Lucy and lovely big five star imported mare. Next came Simon's Isabella aka Izzi....a lovely black and white by a proper cob named Simon who is also a lovely palomino. Her dam is also a Tom Price mare named Producer's Heiress. Beautiful and typical of Tom Price breeding. Number three came the next morning and another Sparky baby, we named Zeva. Dam Lora is full sister and also rated five stars by GVHS to Lucy. She is by far the most personable of the five! A few hours later came number four filly out of CHF Lady Teagan by another stallion standing at West Hill Ranches called Falcon, a lovely buckskin cob. The filly named Lindi after my sister, another horse lover, is spotted with typical buckskin black points on ears, top of mane and tail. Last but not least is petite Mischa by the Midget Stallion out of Sarah whose dam is the Midget mare ....so needless to say she is a wee lass! The girls are all weaned as of this writting and growing like weeds. We will do some work with them in the coming days and return them to the herd till late spring.
We cut back on the goings this past year but still showed off at the Missouri State Fare's best yet, Gypsy Show. With the aid of family from South Dakota, we showed five horses and besides a lot of fun, won our share of ribbons. This year we were in our first serious parade and learned lots about hilly terrain. The most organized parade ....the Lawrence Kansas Christmas Carriage Parade, was the perfect place to begin. And I think we will repeat the event in 2015.
My concern in mentioning the lack of a work ethic is that it is pervasive and the above story just a small part of it. Showing up has become a big deal. Doing what ever is asked is right up there with it. Talking on the phone is not working. Standing around watching us work is not working. More and more do we meet young people who want to get paid for doing nothing. Is this the world they live in. Free rent, free food, free medical, not to mention free phones!!!? Will one of these eventually take a low paying job in a nursing home? If so, I hope and pray I never have to be in one.
On a brighter note, five fillies came into the world this past spring. Beautiful fillies from four different Sires. The first was Tillie Beans by Talbot's Sparky out of our own Lucy and lovely big five star imported mare. Next came Simon's Isabella aka Izzi....a lovely black and white by a proper cob named Simon who is also a lovely palomino. Her dam is also a Tom Price mare named Producer's Heiress. Beautiful and typical of Tom Price breeding. Number three came the next morning and another Sparky baby, we named Zeva. Dam Lora is full sister and also rated five stars by GVHS to Lucy. She is by far the most personable of the five! A few hours later came number four filly out of CHF Lady Teagan by another stallion standing at West Hill Ranches called Falcon, a lovely buckskin cob. The filly named Lindi after my sister, another horse lover, is spotted with typical buckskin black points on ears, top of mane and tail. Last but not least is petite Mischa by the Midget Stallion out of Sarah whose dam is the Midget mare ....so needless to say she is a wee lass! The girls are all weaned as of this writting and growing like weeds. We will do some work with them in the coming days and return them to the herd till late spring.
We cut back on the goings this past year but still showed off at the Missouri State Fare's best yet, Gypsy Show. With the aid of family from South Dakota, we showed five horses and besides a lot of fun, won our share of ribbons. This year we were in our first serious parade and learned lots about hilly terrain. The most organized parade ....the Lawrence Kansas Christmas Carriage Parade, was the perfect place to begin. And I think we will repeat the event in 2015.
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