Bel is 25 year old today. She will get a massage, some extra grooming and lots of Stud Muffins!

Ups and downs... I'm talking about the weather! Its been crazy. Yesterday was 63 degrees, right now its 37 degrees with snow showers expected tonight and tomorrow. The ladies don't know if they should grow a winter coat or shed it out! So far, we have had a mild winter, so, I guess I shouldn't complain but I sense that the constant fluctuation in the temperatures isn't good for the ladies. They are all eating just fine but not a one seems to be thriving like they should be this time of year. Kentucky winters are not usually severe and typically make great horse weather. I have more trouble in the summer than in the winter...but this year is different.

Seems the wet weather pattern from last year has continued, though. 2011 was the rainiest year ever recorded in our area and it hasn't let up yet! I praise the TCA for our gravel EVERY DAY. I simply can't imagine how deep our mud would be if we hadn't received that grant.

The ladies and Elmhurst are happy with their schedule. They eat their breakfast by 6 am and go out for the day. By 4:30 they are ready to come in for dinner. If dinner is late, they get grumpy. At least some things can be counted on NOT to change on a daily basis.

Our friend, James, is responding VERY well to the chemo! His prognosis is good and he even got to leave the hospital! Thank you for all your prayers and keep it up!

Greetings!

If you're reading this blog (and, obviously, you are), we'd like to know about it.

Is it important for Jeanne to let you know some of the day-to-day stories of the horses and people involved with the Haven? Would you like to hear more? Hear less? Find out something different about us?

We just want to make sure there is someone out there listening to us and reading this blog.

See that "Add Comment" section below? Please use it and let us know: How are we doing?

Our friend James is ten years old. He comes to the Haven often with his parents and younger sister. James is an active boy with a heart bigger than most people. He adores the ladies, looks at them with loving eyes, knows all by name and most of their likes and dislikes.

James is very ill. Out of the Blue, late last week James started getting tired easily. Over the week end he had a bloody nose and began showing signs of great fatigue and bruising easily. His very alert Mom knew right away that something wasn't right with her active son. Immediately she took him to the family doctor who sent them straight away to UK Children's Hospital. Today James was diagnosed with Leukemia. Poor little buddy starts Chemo today and will be in the hospital for a month or more.

Please include James in your prayers. And ask Great Spirit to send Angels to hover around him, to heal him and to bring his family comfort.

James, his Mom and dad and little sister are great friends to the ladies and I. Its time for us to pray with all our hearts.

There comes a time in everyone's life when they have to admit that there are forces at work in which they have no say. Here at OMRH, that force is ELMHURST!

Elmhurst is the grand son of Our Mims...my best friend. Our Mims passed away in 2003 but before she left I made her a couple promises. First, that I would help older mares as much as I possibly could. That is how OUR MIMS RETIREMENT HAVEN started.

The second promise? I would look for her offspring, and their offspring, to bring them HOME, here, for me to take care of them.

When I received a phone call from Rocking Horse Ranch in California had Elmhurst and wished to share him, to get him back in the limelight, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Our board members did, too. We began preparing for the KING to come.

Elmhurst arrived in early October, 2011 and, quite quickly, took over management.

I let him though because he is a champion. He won the 1997 Breeder's Cup Sprint in amazing form, coming from last place to set a track record. Besides that, he is GORGOUS! He isn't just pretty, he is a drop dead GORGEOUS horse.

He is also quite a cuddler. He would crawl right into your lap if you'd let him. Elmhurst freely gives hugs and kisses, can't get enough of the ladies (horse and human) and would rather spend time with me than the rest of his royal subjects.

I realized, just recently, that Elmhurst has snuck some things by me...he has very skillfully acquired some pets of his own.

First, let me tell you about Rex. He was the guinea-horse to see if the ladies would tolerate a man living among them and he arrived a few weeks before Elmo.

The ladies liked him just fine and Rex is an excellent riding horse, too, so he earns his keep giving trail rides to tourists and lessons to children. I tried to put Rex in with the hoodlums but Elmo said "NO! He is my BRO and that's that!"

Sigh, Rex now resides in the stall next to Elmhurst.

Next, Elmhurst adopted one of the barn cats, Chandler Bing. Chandler is often seen on Elmo's windowsill and a few times was caught cudling up to the big man himself.

Some of you may know that I am now in the pony business with a friend of mine. We look for small ponies, buy them, retrain them to sell for "little" kids. I got the idea because we had such a hard time finding a GOOD pony for my three year old grand daughter.

(Secretly, ponies make me happy. They are almost too cute to be legal.)

Anyway, the first pony we bought is Nacho-Redman, a sweet little gelding with a heart of gold. It was love at first site for Elmo. He is so smitten with Nacho he often just whinnies and nickers if Nacho is too far out of sight.

Now Elmo just needs to come up with the funds needed to buy out my pony-partner.

Other than those new additions, you should see Elmhurst when a young female human is in his pasture. Oh, he usually trots right up to introduce himself. Just before Christmas, my daughter brought a friend up to meet him. I thought Elmhurst was going to break down his stall door to get to them! Oh, and the love-talk! He has this low, throaty thing he does… makes all the girls swoon!

Including me.