Pilgrim's 2009 Foal

It nevers ceases to amaze me how fast these little foals are up and running after birth. Yesterday morning Toad Hill's Pilgrim had her foal (June 25) and today it is trying out for the Olympics in the 100 meter run. Behind her is mom, trying hard to keep up and protect the youngster.

Chariot Measurements

So you want a chariot and don't know where to start? Of course you need to know if you are going to use one or several miniature horses and how large they are. You also have to take into account your height and weight.One way to figure out some things is to observe what other chariots look like and actually measure them. At the Central Pony States Club this weekend (June 20th and 21st) I was able to measure a chariot that D. Carlton brought to the show. This was the second of three chariots he has had built. This one is really designed for one rider, but the third was a little wider and could accomodate two riders easily.

Below is the vertical shaft that is welded to the frame. This image depicts just one way you can connect the frame base to the shafts.

In the next photo you can see how a single hitch fits over the vertical

shaft. The vertical shaft is about eight inches long with multiple pin holes drilled into it. This allows

adjustments based upon the the height of the

team.

The photo to the right and the one below this column shows the connection of the shafts to the chariot.

Finally another view of the hitch for a single horse is shown below. The team horse hitch was not at the show, but this single hitch may give you some ideas.

Notice that the wheels on this chariot are about 26 inches. If you increase the diameter of the wheel you may need to adjust the heigh of the axles. You do not want to have the chariot too high off the ground in relation to the size of the horses.

Also, the height of the chariot is 31 3/4 inches from the frame base to the top of the shell. The shell is made of a shower liner. The trim was purchased from a trophy shop, they sell the top and bottom trim in four foot lengths. The little knobs on top were cabinet knobs. Obviously you have to be creative.

The owner of this chariot will be at H.A.M.E. show and hopefully I can take movies at the show.

Other views of this chariot: Slideshow

Other images of chariots:

Bo Step

Details of Bo's, Hal Bryants, and several others. Other Chariot Photos

Toad Hill's. Buttermilk's First Foal

Friday, June 12th, and I thought since I had already put in 36 hours at work I would sleep in. Dream on... at 5 AM the horses were running around the yard and towards the front the house. I figured something was up, so I immediately went out to see what was happening.

There was Buttermilk, Willow and Pilgrim swarming around a new buckskin pinto foal. I picked up the baby and headed towards the barn with all three mares following. I knew immediately that Buttermilk, the only buckskin was mom, so I let her in the stall, put down the foal and made sure everyone else was locked out.

Now I had checked the mares the night before, and Buttermilk was the least likely to foal soon...fooled me.

Anyway, everyone was fine, mommy and foal settled so I fed them and them the rest of the herd. So much for sleeping in.

Little buckskin filly is sired by Toad Hill's Rusty Spot.

Below is the list of Rusty's foals this year - they have not been named yet:

Sorrel overo
Buckskin pinto
Willow is yet to foal.

Rusty is away in Arthur learing a trade, and will return after being trained to drive ( no not a car, but a cart).

Chariot Harness

While searching the internet for more information on miniature horses and chariot class I ran across a link that showed a chariot harness. There are many other photos of this sample harness, but look at another example of this harness makers craft.

The harness below on the white horse is called: Turquoise Showring Style Costume . The next one is: Tan Showring Style Arabian Costume Have you figured out what you are looking at yet??

Perhaps this last one will help:














If you guessed that all tack was created for a Breyer Model Horse contest, your faster than I was.

Link to the Chariot Harness, all photos.

I would like to thank Heather Downing for giving me permission to put some of the photos of her fantastic harness online. Quite honestly I was blown away by the detail and accuracy of the work that she has done on these.

Take the time to go to the various links, if you have not been exposed to the hobby of resin model horses and costumes this is a good opportunity to see some of the best.Above is another view of the chariot and harness.

Fancy Pants - The Transformation

March, 2009 - Fancy after being clipped and in better condition.

February, 2009 - Fancy with head and neck clipped. By the way, someone asked about his teeth. Judge for yourself by clicking on this link to see them.

Summer, 2008 - Fancy after shedding out, but very overweight. Still, you have admit, he is a nicely colored blue roan with black points. It's hard to believe this mini is the same one as in the next photo after this one.

Tail of the Biggest Loser:

Since coming to Toad Hill, Fancy Pants has undergone a wonderful transformation. When I first went down to photograph Fancy, it was late evening in November. He was owned by an Amish family and was in full winter coat. I was photographing him for registration papers. I was able to get Fancy registered in both AMHA and AMHR, the biggest challenge beening the photographs. These were taken at night, in a barn with generated power since the Amish do not use electricity. After taking the photos I drove back home in a driving snow storm and it took three hours to go what would usually take only 90 minutes.

Below is one of the registration photos that was taken that night.

As an Amish mini Fancy learned a trade as a driving horse. You can read about that at this link.

Fancy was bred once in 2006 while down in Arthur. I have tried to find records of any offspring prior to his time in Arthur, but have been unable in either AMHA or AMHR stud books. This little guy at least was proof that Fancy can through blue roans.

Fast forward to 2009. Fancy has two foals on the ground this year. Follow the links to see a solid, possibly roan filly and the other a really colorful colt out of T. H. Kiss Me Kate .
The request for a DNA kit has been sent into AMHA. It appears that previous owners did not bother since they did not bred Fancy. I already have put in two AMHA/AMHR mares with Fancy for the 2009 season so getting that paperwork completed is high priority.

Apache Gal's Foal

Apache Gal had her foal today, Friday morning - May 22. Sire is Toad Hill's Paint Me Picasso. Apache Gal is 20 years and still a great mommy.

First photo, more to come.

Kibbles 2009 Foal

On Saturday morning, Kibbles had her foal, sired by Toad Hill's Rusty. This little kid is a buckskin pinto.

Kibbles Before and After

Kibbles was bred to Toad Hill's Rusty for a 2009 foal. I took several photos of her several days before she foaled.

Kibbles was foaled 4/14/2003. She has had several nice foals including T. H. Grapenuts and T. H. Lincoln Award.

In 2009 she produced a foal by T. H. Rusty and will be published later on page.

Sire: Spragues Buckeye (AMHR/AMHA 30.25", buckskin). His sire is NFCS Yankee Clipper (AMHA-28.00", sorrel), his dam is 4GS Hemlock Brook Silver Jane (AMRA - 33.50", grey)

Dam: Koch's My Angel Baby (AMHR/AMHA 33.50", chestnut pinto). Her sire is Little Hoof's Midget Mite (AMHR/AMHA 29.75", bay), her dam is Koch's Little Brandy (AMHR 36.00" chestnut)