Spotted Draft (Apollo) & Kingston video uploaded - FOR SALE!!

We just sent two of the best geldings we had worked with in a while to their new homes (Chief and Dandy) and are excited to have two newer guys - Apollo and Kingston- coming through training now that are filling their void for unflappable and fun horses to work with!

We have an intro video up of Apollo and Kingston now and you can view it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIMoGCrYdLA

Apollo and Kingston have both done incredibly in our training and are going to be ready for their new homes very soon.

Apollo is a 4 year old Spotted Draft gelding standing about 17hh and weighing in around 1500-1600lbs. He is the definition of gentle giant! He is smooth to ride and extremely responsive. Apollo is very brave and will try anything that is asked of him. He will make an incredible all around family horse and is certainly a great choice for any level and sized rider!

Kingston is a 4 year old Percheron/Paint cross gelding that is wrapped up in a small horse package. He currently stands about 15hh and weighs about 1200lbs.

Kingston is super laid back and even. He is also a very brave little guy and is very willing. Kingston gets along very well with everyone. He is a very unique color. I would say he is grey and white more than black and white. His black is roaning or greying around the edges and I would say that he will eventually be completely grey and white.

We will have more of these two guys as time goes on. They are available for purchase now and will stay with us until they have finished training in May or June 2009.

Thanks for taking the time to read about these two gorgeous geldings!

Headed home........

Well, Chief and Dandy just left our Minnesota ranch and our headed to their new homes in NY and NJ.

JD, with Cowboy Express (http://cowboyexpress.org/) just picked them up and is headed east.

Chief and Dandy are two exceptional horses and we know they will go on to many great years doing great things with their new owners! Chief and Dandy are two of the best minded, most calm and unflappable horses we have had through here in a long time. It was a pleasure to work with both of them for all parties involved. Both geldings will be missed....if they could only all be this easy!!

We can't wait to post their updates once they settle in to their new homes. :)

New horses finishing up training.....

We have our next "round" of trainees coming out of our program in the next few weeks. While two of them are already sold (sold prior to completing training), we do have one - and he is a GREAT one - that is still available - "Chief". He has not yet finished training, although he will in the next few weeks and be ready for his new home.

Chief is a stunning all black (small star) percheron/paint cross. He is extremely level headed, brave and easy going at his young age!
You can see all his info on his page at www.HickoryLakeRanch.com

We hope to have his full sales video up by next week and will "officially" offer him for sale (put his ads out) by the end of the month. Our trainer wants to "polish" him up before he goes to his new home.
This is a really great horse! Don't miss out on this one and your opportunity to purchase him at a slight discount and before he is available to the general public!
All the best,
Jess

ANOTHER great update!!!

I just love these updates! Here is another note I just received from Carol, who purchased one of our horses back in Dec. 08., "Ravin".
Enjoy :)

SENT VIA EMAIL 2/3/09:
Hey “proud mom”,

Thought I’d catch you up since New Year’s. I have to take the camera out there with me sometime soon. I wanted to get you all (y’all) some pictures of her home life by now. Hope just a few words will do for now. I know you’ll like hearing this -------

We’ve had our rides on every weekend but one this month, and a few short ones on weekdays just before dark. I keep tacking her up even if the weather is miserable for days. I don’t want her to forget what she learned in Minnesota and I want her to stay ready for our riding times whenever they occur. She is one cool cucumber, standing still for mounting on the most frigid and windy of days or nights, when even I’m too cold to stay longer and ride, and she is ready, patient and probably wondering why I’m dismounting and untacking her so soon. She follows me everywhere while I’m doing chores and doesn’t even flinch an inch when I toss something as noisy as a piece of tin roof that sounded like thunder when it hit the other pieces in the stack. She cuddles close whenever I’m still and I cuddle back, knowing with a heart like her’s, that she’s missing her people in Minnesota and equine buddies too. I pinch myself when I realize she’s letting me into that heart too. I can’t believe she’s already here instead of arriving in March. I just makes me pinch myself again. The only bad news is you didn’t ask enough money for her! I knew that the first night I saw that Friesian trot in the pasture!

I’ve made arrangements with a local lumber yard to deliver some beams to start making the control pillars. Can’t wait.

I LOVE MY HORSE !
Carol

Gypsy Vanner filly offered FOR SALE

Hello all!

An acquaintance of ours has contacted us to let us know that they have decided to offer "Kiara" their 3.5 year old Gypsy Vanner for sale.

She is stunning, as you can see by her pics. While she has not been through our program and we are not offering her for sale personally, we did want to help get the word out on this gorgeous girl. If you have interest in learning more about her please contact me directly @ hickorylake@yahoo.com and I can put you in contact with her owner - thanks, Jessica :)

Description of Kiara from owner:

"Kiara is a 15hh 3-1/2 year old filly and is registered with the Gypsy Horse Registry of America (GHRA), as well as the Gypsy Vanner Horse Society (GVHS). She is a perfect example of the Gypsy horse - beautiful, gentle, willing to please, and affectionate. We purchased Kiara as a weanling from Miller Stables in Tyler, Minnesota. Her sire and dam (Clononeen Shamrock x Maria) were both imported from Ireland - so Kiara is a first generation American!
Kiara has received one month of professional training under long-lines and saddle. She is not fully broke, but she is super easy to work with and completing her training will be easy. I've never had any trouble trailering Kiara; she loves to be groomed; stands still for the farrier and vet; and I usually worm her without even placing a halter on her head.
Kiara is for sale ($10,500). There are a number of reasons that go into this decision - none of them have anything to do with Kiara. She is - and always has been - in excellent physical and mental health. "

Thunder arrives at his new home!

He made his trip back from Minnesota and training last week. It was like a heat wave for him when he got back here to Ohio. Negative temps jumped up to 30's for him. It didn't last long, though as Cincinnati saw some of the coldest temps in years as the overnight lows went well below zero. Thunder weatered it all well, though.
Destined for another frigid state, Thunder was picked up on Saturday by our buddy, JD Hughes with Cowboy Express, with the intent of heading up Sunday to his new home. The weather and driving conditions took a turn for the worse, though that left Thunder waiting at JD's until today when they could safely travel.
Thunder arrived at his new home in Albany, NY today around 3pm and seems to be very happy in his new surroundings. His new owner's Bob & Jennifer are thrilled with him and are excited to have them joining their family.
We will miss this special guy....he was with us since May of 2008 and we grew very attached ;)
Blessings to Thunder and his new family!
From ALL of us at Hickory Lake Ranch

Having just picked up "Beckett"..........

Beckett is our new recruit joining our trip to MN this month to start training. He is a 3 year old Friesian/Morgan cross gelding. He Stands about 15.3hh and is jet black with a star and 2 white socks.....I will measure him for weight and height tomorrow to verify.
We just picked him up from our frequent stop in Black River Falls, WI (we have friends here that call when they have a great horse for us :).
We had not met Beckett in person prior to this evening in the Perkin's parking lot.....we had to meet there, because the roads to the farm were cover in snow and it saved us having to take the full trailer that far off the interstate under the road conditions.

When he came off the trailer and stepped onto the snow covered pavement he was immediately jazzed and looking all around. Head high, eyes bright and very confident looking, I might add! He was happy and boisterous and reminded me of a young and curious child arriving at the amusement park :)

As I took his lead and asked me to follow him across the lot to my trailer he quickly followed without hesitation. When I asked him to load he did so eagerly and inquisitively....it was like he was saying, "Hey, what's in here?!".
What a total sweetie is all I can say! I secured him into place and then rubbed his face. He eagerly pushed against my glove and watched me with his big almond eyes.

I can already tell having spent only minutes with this young horse that he is a lover. A horse made to be someone's best friend.....and he will get as much or more from the relationship as his human counterpart will!
He is tall and lanky - awkward really at this stage in his development (much like his Friesian breeding would suggest), but in the best way possible. You can see how and where he will continue to fill out and know that he is going to be a beautiful and athletic saddle horse.
Beckett would also be very well suited to driving with his Friesian and Morgan breeding. After saddle training we may add some driving to his resume.
I am so excited to get to know this guy better and look forward to updating this Blog as I do.
I hope to be able to get a short video of his movement tomorrow. It depends largely on the weather, as more snow is current in the forecast :(
Next stop, Minnesota!

www.HickoryLakeRanch.com