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First Flight Farm is Now Accepting Client Mares For Foaling Services
I have been asked by several people whether we board horses or would foal out mares for others. We do not generally board horses, but we have foaled out mares for friends in the past. Until recently I was unaware that there really are very few places that offer this service to outside mare owners. Few veterinarians are willing to do it because doing so would not only tie up stall space needed for other clients with sick/injured horses, but providing this service would require 24 hour staffing at their clinics to monitor the broodmares which often seem to prefer to foal in the middle of the night! Boarding stables are usually very busy places with lots of people and horse activity, not exactly a low stress peaceful environment for a pregnant mare. Boarding facilities are also generally not equipped to deal with a mare and foal and do not have large enough stalls or separate pasture/turnout areas they are willing to dedicate to them.
Having a foal proof safe environment is very important during the first few months of a foal's life. Foals are often mischievious by nature and need to interact with other foals to learn proper herd behavior. Foals, like children in a play group, would prefer to play with other foals and if given the choice will tend to leave the older horses alone. If foals are put out with only older horses they are often seriously hurt when they get bored and attempt to pester the wrong adult horse. Like most parents, the mares certainly appreciate a little down time as well, so both benefit from a living arrangement where they have the company of other mares and foals.
For these reasons, after discussing the subject with our vets, we determined that this is a service we can offer to mare owners that is very needed and we are already very well equipped to provide. We have the facility, the staff and the experience and we have been told many times we are quite good at what we do!
Our knowledgeable and experienced staff will treat your mare as one of our own as we prepare for the arrival of your foal. Once he or she arrives, we will follow up with excellent postnatal care to give your foal the best possible start at life. Listed below are our available services:
· Milk calcium tests two weeks from the due date
· 24 hour foaling stall video surveillance with state of the art camera equipment, housed adjacent to the barn so as not to disturb the mare
· Halter style Breeder Alert system which notifies all farm staff of possible imminent foaling via either pager and phone
· Large 12x24, clean, open foaling stalls with rubber mats and deep straw bedding
· Spacious daily turnout
· Daily feeding of hay, grain, any medications, and owner provided supplements
· Specialized, highly trained foaling attendants (with 4 year Equine Science degrees) present at the birth, equipped to handle most emergencies
· Immediate call to our board certified veterinarian to perform a well-baby check, placental examination, injections, IgG testing to ensure proper antibody transfer and administration of dewormer
· Accurate record keeping of important milestones
· Halter breaking, lead training, and basic ground manners training available
· Mare and foal boarding up to weaning age is also available
Call or email us for more information and pricing.
 Amadeaus at 4 mos.
The weather was beautiful and despite missed flight connections for the judges which pushed our start time until almost 1 PM, everything went smoothly once they arrived.
Our horses did very well again this year.
Our newest mare Marmie's Promise (TB) was accepted into the Main Mare Book.
2011 filly Oriana (Connery x Olivia) was awarded Premium Status and got much praise for her wonderful conformation, movement and temperament which the judges indicated would make her a lovely hunter prospect.
Amadeus (Ampere x Preference) ruled the day, however. What else can I say? This colt has it all. He is magnificent. His walk, trot and lovely uphill canter as well as his regal carriage, beautiful color and markings scream "look at me!" to all who see him.
Amadeus was not originally going to stand for inspection with GOV, I had intended to register him with KWPN (both parents are registered KWPN), but the GOV judges saw him while he was being photographed by the onsite event photographer before the inspection started. They REALLY wanted this colt in the GOV and were very disappointed when I told them he was not one the foals we were presenting to be inspected that day. The judges all had been instantly drawn to him and commented to me that he was one of the nicest foals they had seen. After all the other horses had been inspected, the judges approached me again about Amadeus. They asked that I bring him back out so they could see him again. Following much discussion regarding the pros and cons of registering with KWPN vs. GOV, and pointing out that his 2011 GOV registered half brother, A La Dressage, recently sold for a record 200,000 Euros at the Vechta auction, the judges finally convinced me to allow them to inspect Amadeus for registration with the GOV. He was awarded Premium status as well as Foal of Distinction and the judges also indicated he is a definite stallion prospect.
Our long awaited Ampere colt out of Preference finally arrived at 4 AM 3/26/2011. His name is Amadeus and he is quite stunning! He is very big and is a lovely mover. Amadeus is for sale, if you are interested, contact me. I posted some video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFsbcSg86Fg
First Flight Farm has now become a distributor for "The Hay Hut". If you are not familiar with Hay Huts, this is a REALLY big improvement over the traditional hay rings for protecting round hay bales. Around here we use several round hay bales in our pastures to keep the grass from getting overgrazed. We were always wasting so much hay using the old hay rings due to rain and the large amount of hay that got trampled into the mud during the rainy periods. Another problem we frequently had was some of the horses were rubbing their manes on the bars of the hay rings. Adventurous horses even occasionally manage to get inside traditional hay rings when the hay level gets low. This is not fun and potentially can result in injuries. After much research, we discovered "The Hay Hut". This innovative product covers even the largest round bales completely, providing protection from the sun and the elements. Up to 16 square bales can also be stacked in a Hay Hut, something you cannot safely do with a traditional hay ring. Eight windows provide access to the hay from all sides and reduce the likelihood of the horses becoming territorial and preventing less dominant horses from getting to the hay. Climbing through the windows of a Hay Hut is not an option for even the most adventurous of horses. If you are interested in checking the Hay Huts out for yourself, come see us or contact me. See more information about The Hay Hut at the manufacturer's website:www.hayhuts.com.
 Saraya has grown up quite nicelyWe have some new video up of Saraya, our 2009 GOV Premium filly by Sarkozy (by Sandro Hit), out of Donnabelle (by Donnerhall). See her video at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjW7EYtuUqY
 Wellington is quite elegant.Wellington 2009 GOV Premium colt by Wynton (Jazz) out of Preference (Jonggors Weyden) is really developing nicely. His movement is incredible. Wellington has a delightful personality and a very good work ethic. He loves to please you. Whoever is lucky enough to get him will have a horse that has the heart, sound mind and natural talent which can take them to whatever level they aspire to reach. We will be gelding the colts very soon, so if anyone is interested in a stallion prospect, speak up quickly! Wellington (Wynton x Preference): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4sSryTYZaU
 Wynston is quite a big boy now, 16.3h and growing!Wynston our 2009 colt by Wynton (Jazz) out of Olivia (Don Kennedy - Argentinus) is beginning to look like an adult horse now. He is not yet two years old, (born 3/17/09), but it is hard to believe that when you are next to him. His personality remains wonderful and his willingness to please is great. The boys were still a little "woolly" in these photos but he is shedding out to the beautiful dark liver chestnut color like his mane. Wynston is now for sale to an approved show home. He is very versatile and has the ability to become a hunter, jumper or a dressage horse. His bloodlines are strong in all of those disciplines. He is very bold and loves to jump, but he is quite elegant for dressage as well. Call me if you are interested. We will be gelding him soon, so if you are interested in a stallion prospect, speak up quickly. Wynston (Wynton x Olivia): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Jgv_NJOvM
 Olivia with her new filly.Welcome to our new filly! Olivia surprised us 2/25 (her due date was supposed to be 3/5) with a 10:30 AM delivery of her gorgeous new filly by Connery. She was put out in the round pen while her stall was being cleaned and when Jenna went to get her 15 minutes later she was just getting up from foaling! Mama and baby are both doing well. I arrived in time to get some video of the filly standing for the first time. Watch it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amEgjSzWUVY
 Such a pretty filly!
 Here is the new Connery filly enjoying a nap outside at 2 days old.We have some new videos of Wynston and Wellington up on YouTube. Check them out: Wellington (Wynton x Preference): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4sSryTYZaUWynston (Wynton x Olivia): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Jgv_NJOvMWe will be putting up video soon of Saraya. (Sarkozy x Donnabelle) Wynston, Wellington and Saraya are for sale. Let me know if you are interested in these excellent young 2009 prospects. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our Ampere foal out of Preference (she is due to foal at the end of March). Keep checking back, this one should be pretty exciting!
 Lovely Quiana, age 7 mos. at her GOV Inspection. She was awarded Premium Foal status.The 2010 GOV Inspection here was a success in our new covered arena. The rain held off until later in the afternoon. We had a good turnout of spectators as well as participants. I wish to thank all of those who worked to help us pull this event off smoothly despite repeatedly arena construction delays and a stretch of unusually heavy rains. Special thanks to my wonderful husband Rick, my tireless farm staff Jenna and April, friends Kathy Kich, Gary Cooper, Eva Oldenbroeck, Joshua Tabor, Dawn Polunsky and Vickie Kinder. You made this happen. At least now we know the weather cannot literally "rain on our parade" any longer so future years promise to be easier and less stressful for us all. The horses seemed to have fun as well as you can see in the photos. We were lucky to have photographer Robbin Cresswell cover the event this year. She did a wonderful slide show video that you can see if you click on the following link: http://animoto.com/play/u6fdGkvGJceMcCsm05kOvg?utm_content=main_link%3Futm_source%3Dfacebook
 Quiana is growing up very nicely. I cannot wait to see how she compares to her beautiful half-sister Quinoa. Another nice photo of Quiana Quinoa received her GOV Mare Approval. She is quite lovely and very tall, almost 17 hands at age 3 1/2. Quinoa is a nice mover. She is now under saddle and is very comfortable to ride. Another photo of Quinoa's trot. Tettiana is growing up nicely as well. She has such a pretty face! Her body is pretty nice, too! I love this filly! Tettiana just could not quite grasp the idea that she was supposed to TROT for the judges! We did actually finally get her to trot, though. She was also awarded Premium Foal.
We finally got the date for the 2010 GOV Inspection. It is going to be Monday, September 20. If anyone wishes to bring a horse for inspection, volunteer to help with the inspection or simply come to be a spectator, call or send me an email. The new covered arena should be completed by then, so weather will no longer be a problem like it was last year! 6/11/10
First Flight Farm will begin offering Foaling Out services beginning in 2011. We will accept outside pregnant mares for boarding and will allow them to stay until after weaning of the foal if desired. All necessary pre-foaling care and post-delivery care for the mare and foal will be provided.
Each mare would have a 12'x 24' foaling stall equipped with 24 hour video surveillance and electronic foaling monitor beginning 2 weeks prior to due date (unless signs indicate this would be needed sooner). Attending staff on duty 24 hours per day. Pasture turnout will be available with other pregnant mares and mares/foals for the all important socialization skills foals need to learn to be good members of a herd.
Our staff is excellent at working with young foals, so the necessary basic foal training such as leading, tying, loading, feet handling, batheing, clipping and grooming will also be offered. If you are interested in these services, please contact us.
I am so excited to announce the arrival of our newest filly! She is out of Tirana, by Plaisir d'Amour. Her name is Tettiana and this one is definitely a keeper! I told Tirana earlier in the day that I wanted a dark bay or black filly with some chrome and that is exactly what she delivered a few hours later. Tirana and Tettiana are both doing great. She is a very good mom. 3/14/10
It is hard work to keep up when you are only 14 hours old! 3/14/10
Tirana is a very proud mama! 3/14/10
This filly is very friendly and has an outgoing personality. I could not have asked for a nicer foal. She is definitely a credit to her wonderful sire Plaisir d'Amour and her maternal grand sire French Kiss! 3/14/10
All that running makes her very hungry. 2/13/10
Quiana 3 days old 2/13/10
 FINALLY a nice day so we can play!
We are calling her Quiana, which means "Living with Grace". It is a very good description of her. 2/13/10
 Our new Quaterback filly out of DonnabelleWe welcomed our first baby of 2010 February 10 at 12:48 AM. Baby "Q" (still unnamed) by Quaterback out of our Donnerhall mare Donnabelle is very tall, friendly and very energetic. She is very well built and is every bit a Quaterback offspring. I cannot wait to get her outside. The stall is as much room as she will have to run until the freezing wet weather lets up a bit.
Donnabelle is a wonderful mom.
Happy New Year!! Since our two Wynton colts, Wynston and Wellington are for sale, we have had several requests for video clips of Wynston and his dam Olivia. Here are links to the YouTube clips of the first freejumping sessions with each horse. You will be able to see the way they move. Neither one had ever been through a freejumping chute, so you can see that they caught on quickly, both got better each time and clearly seemed to enjoy it! A special thank you to Eva Oldenbroek and Joshua Tabor for their assistance with the video! Olivia : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1-ykYri5L8Wynston: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpLxlCQWLlkOlivia is currently in dressage training and will be shown this year by Eva Oldenbroek. They are doing very well together. 1/1/2010
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We are already looking forward to next year
and another crop of outstanding foals.
The pairings for 2010 will be:
Preference with Ampere
Donnabelle with Quaterback
Tirana with Plaisir d’Amour
Also available in the tank we have frozen semen from Quaterback, Wynton, Fidertanz, Furst Romancier, Status Quo, Plaisir d'Amour, Romanov and Stedinger.
For more information on these pairings contact me.
For more information on the other incredible stallions we have available for possible breeding, please see the Stallion Gallery.
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This is our new farm logo, compliments of my longtime friend Kathy Kich of ASENZ marketing. Her 27 y/o gelding dressage horse Justin has been a member of our horse family for the past 20 years. He is the last of the original horses that we brought with us from San Antonio.
We are proud to announce the arrival of "Wynston" our first colt by Wynton, out of our Oldenburg mare Olivia. He arrived pretty much on schedule on St. Patrick's Day. Wynston is very tall, and elegant like his magnificent father and also has the intelligence, personality and good looks of his beautiful mother. With his incredibly deep pedigree strength in both disciplines, he will no doubt make someone a wonderful dressage or jumper prospect. Wynston is for sale. 3/18/2009
Here is Wynston on his trip outside with Olivia, 1 day old.
 Meet Wellington! Preference presented us with a lovely colt by Wynton, born June 13, 2009.Our second colt of 2009 arrived in the wee hours of the morning. Preference was her usual great Mom and had her dark bay colt without a problem. She is such a pro! Wellington was very content to relax in the straw for the first hour, but once his nap was over, he was quickly up, active and was quite a talker. No problem with the milkbar. Unlike his 1/2 brother Wynston, Wellington was somewhat shy at first, but is very friendly and outgoing now.
 Wellington, about 8 hours old.
 Our beautiful Donnabelle, by DonnerhallFirst Flight Farm hosted a new annual GOV Inspection October 14, 2009. Unfortunately we were forced to move the event at the last moment to the indoor San Antonio Rose Palace due to the incredible torrential rains that just would not quit for the several weeks leading up to the event. This was VERY unusual weather for October in central Texas which is normally quite lovely. Of course the sun came out the day of the inspection, but there was nothing we could do to dry up the standing water in the arena here at the farm. Thank you to Monica Adams for the lovely photos and Cynthia Jones for doing the video of the event. Also I wish to thank all of our participants who were so gracious about the last minute changes, my friend Vickie Kinder who provided wonderful refreshments for everyone during the event, friends Kathy Kich who assisted the judges, her husband Gary Cooper, my tireless and very tolerant husband Rick and my brother-in-law Mark who helped with set-up and clean-up both at the farm and then again at the Rose Palace and of course Eva Oldebroeck of Indian Creek Farm and my wonderful barn staff Jenna Patnott and Leslie Brown for beautifully preparing and handling my horses and making my life so much easier. I could not have done it without you!!! A special thank you as well to Michele Woodford of Favored Bay Farm for providing the gorgeous ribbons for all of the Premium foals! We certainly have some really great people, not to mention lovely horses here in central Texas. Hopefully next year the weather gods will be kinder to us and we can actually have the event here on the farm!
 This mare is absolutely lovely. Donnabelle is in foal to Quaterback for February 2010. Olivia (Don Kennedy x Ornella) was accepted into the GOV Main Mare Book.
 Olivia (Don Kennedy x Ornella) Tirana (French Kiss x Teodora) was accepted into the GOV Main Mare Book. Tirana is stunning.
 Tirana is in foal to Plaisir d'Amour for a March 2010 foal.
 Wynston has grown up quite nicely! This is him at his inspection, 7 mos. old. Wynston is for sale. Definitely the class clown, Wynston had a wonderful time showing off for the judges. Wynston had fun! This colt has lovely movement on the flat, but he has also demonstrated a talent for and love of jumping, no doubt due to his Argentinus grandsire bloodlines. Wynston (Wynton x Olivia) Wellington is incredible. The judges and spectators alike were quite taken with him. Wellington is for sale.
 Wellington is so beautiful! He will make someone an incredible dressage prospect for the future. Sire Wynton and dam Preference will be proud. He knows he is a fine colt! His disposition is as nice as he is. Definitely a Premium colt.
 This is the lovely filly Saraya, by Sarkozy, out of Donnabelle. She is very much our princess around the barn. She was chosen as a Premium filly. Saraya will be a future broodmare for us. She is very correct and has a great disposition.
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