Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

Earlier I promised I'd have three big announcements. Well, the give-away (the one you really wanted to know about) is a bit delayed due to the exceedingly limited shopping availability of small-town living (and my reluctance to purchase items online because I can't see/feel/touch them).

But, two out of three ain't bad, so here we go.

I'd like to announce my new side-line business: The White Rose.

I've always enjoyed taking forgotten relics and making them like-new and usable again, so I've decided that since I only have so much room in my house to do this, that I'd start offering my pieces online! I'm aiming for my online store to be open at the end of the month. In case you're wondering what I have to offer, it will be items like the old schoolhouse rescue chair (click HERE for the blogpost) and similar finds/refurbishes. Let me know if you'd like to be on the emailing list, and of course, once it's set up, I'll have a link here on my blog.

The second big announcement comes in the form of a great white Moose.

Yes, his name is "Moose" and he lives up to his name! He is a giant foal (only two months old right now) and his registered name is Almighty Splashed me. His dam is a ROM earner AND producer and his sire is Almighty, a top-10 APHA World stallion, honor roll leader and son of the legendary Mighty Awesome.

He's my newest show horse!! Thanks so much to Darlene Worthington and her family at Painted Prairie Farm. I will definitely miss Suzie, but as she goes to her new home, she will be in a breeding program fitting her excellent bloodlines and producing potential.

Trivia time: Moose is not a tovero (carrying both tobiano and overo genes) like most "medicine hat" horses. Both his parents carry the splash overo gene and Moose is an extreme expression of that gene, which creates white markings from the ground up. You can see, it almost made it all the way up! Unlike Suzie's white foal which was a lethal due to a double-copy of the frame overo genes, Moose's parents are both negative, so although he's almost all white, he's not a lethal. He's registered as a sorrel overo and does not carry any tobiano gene at all.

Clear as mud?

Moose will be gelded as soon as the flies die out. He's stallion quality without a doubt, but there will never be another Eddie and I'm not planning on owning any more stallions to ever try to replace him. There's no replacement, but there are still awesome horses out there, and Moose definitely is one! I always said if Eddie had been sound I would have gelded and shown him. There's nothing as much fun as a good show gelding.

And he's going to make a PERFECT show horse for me. He's gigantic, is built like a top halter horse (I seriously cannot find fault with him) and he moves like a dream. Seriously.... Like. A. Dream. I've always enjoyed showing geldings the most, too, so we're just going to go out to shows, try our darnest to stay clean (har har har) and have a grand ole time :)

Of course I still plan on showing Paula, too. It will work out perfect--she'll be my senior horse and he'll be my junior horse. I'll be known throughout the show circuit as "that lady with the white horses."

See, I don't need a man on a white horse to come rescue me. I'm my own knight on my white horses. I won't be in shining armor, though. I'm usually found in dirt-stained jeans and my John Deere ballcap.

And that's just fine with me.

(stay tuned--give away will hopefully be revealed this weekend!!!)