Ollie Who?

I mentioned Oliver briefly in my last post. He's our latest addition to our herd, and future Cedar View Rockstar.

We found Oliver for sale way up near Duluth, MN in a little town called Solon Springs. Knowing it was going to be a long day, we left the house at 4 am and headed west. We had a few other stops to make along the way to look at other potential buys, but nothing we looked at was "the one".

Upon arriving at Oliver's home, we met with his owner and her family. Oliver was standing quietly near the round pen, with his lead rope just draped over the rail. He's really quiet and calm and just takes things in stride. He was all brushed up nice and was curious of us strange folk pokin' and proddin' him. His ground manners are impeccable, and my hat goes off to his owner for teaching him to be a good boy.

And it helps that he's got great breeding. This is his sire:

Hot Roddin' Zip has produced a good number of world champs. His foals are sought after in these parts. You can see his website and his facebook page.

Apparently even horses have their own fb pages.

His dam is Invest in a Machine, a daughter of the great Fleet Machine:

Here's a video of Sara's first ride on him:

You can see that he's far from being finished, but Sara works better with a clean slate. He was thin and out of shape, but he did what was asked and was willing about it all.

So, as you've figured out, we brought him home with us. He loaded just fine and trailered quietly. It was a 5 hour trip home, and he never fussed.

Here he is on his first day at Cedar View:

Here's a pic of Ollie and Mater. I like this pic because it allows for a nice comparison of the two body types, and you can clearly see the muscling and overall finished look that Mater has:

But in time Ollie will be buff and as handsome as Mater. He's put together very well with a nice shoulder, a deep set hock, a decent barrel, and a short back. He really has the potential to end up to be a really nice mover.

We brought him home on August 15th and let him eat and settle in for two weeks before we did anything with him. He's a smart one, for sure. Very fun to work with on the ground. Sara does on the under saddle stuff - I haven't ridden him yet. Here's a video of those two working on trotting and pivots and backing:

And here they are working on his lope. He spooked at Cowboy the cat at 3:37. If that's his spook, we'll take it:

He sure is a wonderful boy to have around. He's filling out nicely, he's settled in with the herd - heck, he even plays with Hank. Most horses don't mess with Hank, but this Ollie is a goofball.

We've got high hopes for this fella. Follow along to see his progress.

Happy 1st Day of Fall!

Getcher mudboots and umberellers out!

I put on my boots and floppy rain hat to go feed this morning in the light rain. Checked the rain gauge quick to see that we got about 1-1/2" overnite. After dragging the hay wagon thru the mud out to the drylot, I found no one was around.

No one was at the feeder.

No one was under the shelter.

No one came trotting up when I whistled.

As I dragged the little wagon thru the mud and rain, I could barely make out an outline of this big "thing" in the middle of the next pasture. In fact, it went all the way across the pasture, neatly dividing it in two. Cedar View River was flowing, and the horses were stranded on the far bank. There they were, all long-faced and wet. A ten foot wide meandering stream was keeping them from the yummy hay in the wagon. The water had to be a scary six inches deep in places.

Hank let out his pathetic hey-hey-hey that he likes to do during feeding time. I laughed. I knew it meant "Bring that wagon over here. You have boots!".

"But you have four-wheel drive", I thought.

As I spread the hay into their four piles up on my side of the wild river, Mater was the first to dare the depths. Schlop Schlop Schlop. He made it! Then came Hank, Honky, and Oliver. Oliver always comes last after he assesses which pile isn't claimed. I checked to see if the mud sucked off Mater's shoes, and they were still there. Honky was crabby. Again. The rain just ruins her hair, and she wants to look her best for Hank.

Just another day in paradise. Schlop Schlop Schlop