Notification came out today (March 26th, 2008) that the University of Kentucky's
work on the Champagne Color Genetics in the horse (and mule) is completing and the cat's out of the bag so I can now post
to the public that my Champagne Mule, Tessa, as well as my other champagnes have been tested and believed to be Champagne.
Once the paper is published on their findings, they will be certified. They have been part of the study done at U of
K and I consider that historical.
Those that are verified will receive certificates and although they are already
registered champagne with the International Champagne Horse Registry (ICHR), they will have additional proof to verify their
"Champagness"!!!!
2007 had triumphs as well as loss here but we look to the
future. Tessa will be 3 in the spring and will begin her training as my saddle mule. TJ is just a yearling but
he's surpassed our expectations, not only in height (gee goodness this boy is gonna be big) but in temperament, trainability
and willingness. He's going to be the perfect mule for my husband.
Bo had a great year with his first mule foals. Tucker and Sweetheart are developing into a couple
of super mules. They are well gaited, good looking foals.
Studley has much to be proud of. His first 2 pony foals were just perfect! I'm
very proud of these little pups. Ponies, in our area, have been considered to be ornery, stubborn and difficult for
kids to handle. We are changing some minds and can't wait to get some shows under our belts.
All of our mares have done us proud and we are really looking forward to 2008 for a couple more MFT ponies
and gaited mules. We have always bred for gait here but when the opportunity to buy a lovely, wonderfully bred
Arabian mare in foal to the most awesome Friesian, I could not pass her by. Macarena is 14.2
hands and will be bred to Studley in 2008 for our first Sport Pony.
Catch the details on the mares pages and return often for updates. 2008 will
be a year to check back.
Proud NAVY Mom
Five Hills is a small family farm in Southwest Missouri, in the
heart of the Ozarks. We're about equal distance from the Lake of the Ozarks, Pomme de Terre lake, Lake Stockton,
and the lakes around Branson. We're also in the heart of MFT country. In addition, Missouri has always been known
for it's mules, they are even our state animal. My husband was never interested in horses until several years ago when
we moved out to our farm and met some neighbors that had a small jack and mules. He decided he had to have one of those long
eared critters and we got started with a couple mules out of QH mares and his little jack. I had my doubts, but to put
it mildly, I am mule crazy now too.
From that and my love for our Missouri Fox Trotter mares, I educated
myself and developed a plan. We also have a registered MFT for sale and as the MFT/draft crosses are foaled we will see
where they fit into our life here.
As the time passes, I also look forward to grandchildren and ponies,
so of course those ponies must be foxtrotters! And would you know, just at the right right time the MFTHBA opens a registry
for what else?? The Missouri Foxtrotting Pony Registry! Read more about it on Erin's page and see what the excitement's about.
*If you know a lot about mules, we'd love to hear from you, I never stop learning.
*If you know nothing about mules, we'd love to hear from you, I will share what
I've learned.
O Horse Equestrian Directory - Extensive human-edited directory of horse sites organized
by category and region. Features horseback riding stables, horse tack shops, and other equine resources.
Everyone has their own page with photo's and information. Take a look around,
there is a menu on each page either on top or to the side to help you navigate from one page to the next. Be sure to
check out the links to more photo's. You can click "Back" to return to the main page.
To help ensure that the pages don't take so long to download, the photo's are displayed
as thumbnail size. To see any of the photo's in a larger size just click on it. It will open as a new window
to view in full size. Just close that window when you're done.
We don't consider our mules, horses and ponies a business,
it's all pleasure.
