The Many Colors of Gergi - Liver Chestnut Akhal-Teke Mare

Gergi is a 4 year old purebred Akhal-Teke mare who is with us on commission. Aside from twinkle-toe gaits which give her the appearance of literally floating wherever she goes... the most remarkable thing about this sweetie-pie might just be... her color! 

Gergi is the most beautiful shade of dark liver chestnut... with highlights:

Gergi

2008 Akhal-Teke Mare

Liver Chestnut!

http://www.akhalteke.cc/akhal-tekes-for-sale-3814421806.html

Cross-Country Schooling at Home - May 26, 2012

Today the weather was GORGEOUS. Finally.
The footing was dry, the grass was green, and the sky was blue... it couldn't have been nicer for riding outside. We had a blast schooling the horses in the big front pasture at home. After a long winter of jump grids... cross-country is such a thrill. Even the little stuff. And it's a good thing we're doing it because we have shows coming up in June! Now that the weather is consistently cooperating, we have a lot of schooling to catch up on before we're ready to compete. Due to technical issues (darn it!), I opted to work with Ulduze from the ground while I watched the other girls ride. The bonus to not riding on a day like today was that it gave me a chance to catch some great photos...

One of our favorite jumps... the canoe!

It looks tiny... but you can't take the little boat for granted.

And doesn't Kegas look CUUUUTTTTTEE?!!

Sonja & Kegas, 2005 purebred perlino Akhal-Teke gelding 

Our friend Orissa is back!!! She is from Maine but lives in Chicago and is working as a biologist at the Friday Harbor Labs - University of Washington. She is an excellent equestrian and this will be the second summer in a row that she will be riding with us. 

We feel very lucky to have her and never want her to leave! 

She and Paelka make a great team:

Orissa & Paelka, 2004 purebred Akhal-Teke gelding 

Amrita & Paktaly, 2005 purebred Akhal-Teke gelding 

Marina & Napoleon, 9 year-old Super-Pony

Marina and Napoleon are flying over everything these days... including the rock:

Amrita & Paktaly

Sonja & Kegas, over the log pile... this is the first time they've jumped this one!

These two are probably my favorite photos of the day... 

Marina and Napoleon just look so awesome over these coops:

Tomorrow we go to Mount Vernon to pick up Pipi and baby filly, Hallygul, and Tina from the vet clinic. Both mares were there for artificial insemination. It sounds like Pipi did everything right on time and the semen was very good. PHEW!!! But Tina, on the other hand, has been a bit misleading about her heat cycles. She pretty much has all the vets stumped. So we are bringing her home to watch & wait for a while... if she didn't take this time around, we may hold off on breeding her this year. 

I don't envy people who have to rely solely on A.I. It's been a stiff gamble! The next few weeks will be torture while we wait to find out the results from all this stallion out-sourcing. 

Cool Connection... impaled by a flag at Jersey Fresh!

I'm sure this has made the rounds and is already old news... but our friend Orissa shared this article about Will Coleman's horse Cool Connection getting impaled by a flag on XC last weekend at Jersey Fresh. The flag went into his abdomen and came out through his anus. YIKES!

Cool Connection must have been channeling his inner cat... he survived!

http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/one-cross-country-accident-we-can-prevent

Akhal-Teke Takes 7th Place at Barebones 50 mile Endurance Ride

Scott Sears DMV of Connecticut and his Akhal-Teke gelding Aeolus finished 7th at the Barebones 2012 50 mile endurance ride held in Cornish, NH. Barebones 2012 was sponsored by the Vermont Equine Riding And Driving Association LLC. Here is the VERDA website:


http://www.verda.org/Verda/Home.html 

Aeolus (aka "Clyde) is a 2001 purebred Akhal-Teke gelding by Alp x Samsa.

The photos above are from their Barebones 2012 ride... and below is a photo from 2011:

Good Luck to Scott & Aeolous!

We wish them a very successful season!!

For more great photos and stories about Akhal-Tekes in equestrian sports... check out the Akhal-Teke Association of America's web page: 

TEKES IN SPORTS.

Lessons in the Rain

Tomorrow we head to the veterinary clinic on the mainland with two more mares: Pipi (and filly), and Pallas Athena. Both girls are in the line-up for A.I. Wish us luck!!

~~~~~

This afternoon I taught natural horsemanship lessons to a few of our young students, in the rain! It wasn't cold, so nobody minded getting a little wet (especially since they got to ride bareback...).

Here's my niece, Lilah, heading to the outdoor arena with Kegas:

I love the expression on Pasabi's face in this one:

Ula played with him today:

Mia has been having fun with Napoleon lately:

Kegas definitely wasn't this clean when Lilah got him from the pasture this afternoon. All the girls helped brush him because he was such a dirt-ball. They did a fabulous grooming job because he looks positively pearly in these photos:

Pasabi is very good at stretching his neck down when he's on a circle, but sometimes he's a bit silly about it and does laps with his nose brushing the sand...

Ula is in love with him because he is just so sweet (and handsome!).

After games... everybody hopped on for a ride!

Mia & Napoleon:

Lilah & Kegas:

 Ula & Pasabi:

When we were all done with lessons, the rain stopped and the sun came out.... and it turned into a beautiful evening. Though the rest of the country is boiling... us Northwesterners are still wearing rain jackets and hats. But tonight there was light in the sky at 10 pm... which means summer is really coming!

Pipi's Filly Gets a Turkmen Name

Today we gave Pipi's buckskin filly a name. And at 6 days old... it's about time! 
We decided a Turkmen name was only fitting for such a lovely butterfly... so we busted out some resources and came up with...

Hallygul

(pronounced like hallie - guel)

The meaning of Hallygul is... "a girl with a birthmark that is as beautiful as a flower."

In the above photo you can see her little beauty mark... one small black spot!

www.akhalteke.cc

Penta, frolicking

http://youtu.be/YFV5G31_3vU 

Marina and the Foal

Yesterday evening Amrita got some positively precious shots of our student, Marina, visiting with Pipi and her brand new foal. The little one is 3 days old and seems to be getting more adorable every minute. While I promise not to bore you with endless posts full of foal photos... I do think these deserve their due publicity!

Pipi is a beautiful cremello Akhal-Teke mare who was imported from Germany. 

She is Gelishikli line by Mazan x Guldesse. 

You can see photos of her sire on the following post:

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2012/02/brothers-golden-akhal-teke-stallions.html

We still haven't chosen a name. The staff here at Sweet Water Farm needs to take a day off just so we have enough time to sit down and pick one out! Rest assured, we will give her a good one!

And in other news... On Thursday we hauled Pallas Athena to the mainland and came home with Sheherezad, Ayal Pikira, and a load of gorgeous green hay. "Tina" needed an ultrasound to confirm everything is healthy for breeding and determine where she's at in her cycle (mid-way). "Pika" and Sheherezad had been at the clinic for artificial insemination. They are both in top form, but very happy to be home! We ended up using a different stallion for each mare. I never really knew how stressful A.I. could be until this experience... but I am happy to report that our girls held up their end of the deal and did everything on schedule. Now all we can do is wait (impatiently...) to find out if the breedings were successful. It's soooo hard not knowing! 

First Foal of the Year - A Golden Filly!

Here she is!!

Announcing our first foal of the year... a golden filly! 

Mama and baby are both doing great.

Purebred Akhal-Teke Filly 

Born May 17th 2012

bred by Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Teke 

www.akhalteke.cc

Dam:  Pipi (Mazan x Guldesse)

Sire:  Pan Tau (Perchat x Melusine)

Something interesting... she has hazel eyes!

The obsession has begun... 

Click "Read More" to continue!