Phantom was out zooming around the pasture today! He is such a pretty guy and a real sweetheart!

The weather has shifted and I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the ponies today. Between the shedding and the mud baths, I had some very willing candidates who barely moved a muscle when I was out brushing. I can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon this time of the year! 
*Note: The pictures are of the ponies before they got brushed down!

It’s been a rather cold start to the week but all is well with the ponies. They have been enjoying the extra hay and today’s lovely sunshine!

I’m so happy we have snow again, it just doesn’t feel like a Minnesota winter without it!

I received a super fun update from Daisy’s owner in Washington State. Daisy has a new friend, her half brother Firefly Mist!

Firefly is the first foal by our stallion Cyclone II and he was born in Texas on May 30, 2011 (just a few months before we bought Cyclone). Because we bought Cyclone sight unseen and had him shipped up to us, I never had the chance to meet Firefly. Hopefully I’ll be able to swing out for a visit in the future but for now their wonderful owner sends me plenty of pictures! Aren’t they just adorable together!

*Photos posted with permission from their owner!

Can you guess which bay is which?
Here are the choices:
- MCC’s Duchess of the Clouds (Duchess)
- Assateague’s Spirited Lady (Lady)
My first two Chincoteague ponies were solid bays named Hope and Liberty. We bought them from a family in Wisconsin and while they have both passed on, I have never been without a solid bay (or two) on my farm.

Pregnancy update for Pixie, she is now 6 months along and should be our second mare to foal in 2025. However last year she went several weeks over her due date so it’s possible one of the other mares will beat her to it!

So far she has been 2 for 2 on producing colts. She had her first foal (a bay pinto) back in 2011 and her second foal (a Smokey black pinto) in 2023. Because she is homozygous for tobiano, we know she will have a tobiano but it will still be interesting to see what she has with Cyclone this time!

Possible colors:
25.00% - Red (Chestnut/Sorrel) Tobiano
25.00% - Palomino Tobiano
18.75% - Bay Tobiano
18.75% - Buckskin Tobiano
6.25% - Black Tobiano
6.25% - Smoky Black Tobiano

Kenzie seems to be enjoying the lovely weather we have had the past few days! She is about 7 months pregnant now and seems to be well adjusted to our routine here on the farm. We had visitors yesterday and of course she was soaking up the attention like all the other ponies.
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She is carrying our only Phantom foal for 2025. So far she has been 2 for 2 with homozygous splash fillies, it will be interesting to see if the trend continues or if she decides to mix it up this time. Either way it will be a wonderful foal that I can’t wait to meet!

I have been preparing for Winter here on the farm and that has included moving a few ponies around. Because we didn’t breed Thistle this year she got moved to one of the mare pens while Mac moved into her old pen that shares a fence line with Cyclone. While Cyclone wasn’t to happy that Thistle left, he did enjoy roughhousing with Mac over the fence and they seemed to become fast friends. It was rather entertaining to watch and I was amazed to see how close Mac is to Cyclone’s height at just 18 months. It will be fun to see how tall he is as a two year old.

Cactus went to his new home today! While I will miss the sweet boy, I know he has a fabulous family who will give him all the love and attention he deserves!

Cactus watching his daddy (Cyclone) over the fence and a quick picture I got before his nose was up to the camera!

I have some extremely exciting news to share but first, let me start at the beginning. ⬇️

Trailer loading practice for Cactus. It didn’t take long and he was hopping in and out like a pro! He is such a good little fellow <3
Here is a video: ​https://youtube.com/shorts/V4H9yStngS0?si=CWt2JNZ3umaQ5TTC