msu stallion expo 2014

Jaime, Kyle, Terry and I traveled into enemy territory (Go Blue!) to have some fun at the Michigan State Stallion Expo. We did some shopping, talked with a bunch of feed reps, got some free samples, and saw some horses. The one thing I wanted, a saddle pad, I did not find. But, oh well, there is always the interweb!

Arab

There was a table that was doing hay testing. We brought a bag of Shyloh hay and a bag of round bale to be tested. I am happy to report that Shy's hay is of good quality and perfect for her. I guess it is a little light on the calories, but for an "apocalypse horse" like Shy, it is all she needs. Yay! 

Knabstrupper

I also saw Janine from Hoofprints of Kaspin, as we seem to meet every year there. It was fun to catch up and chat about our horses and the freezing cold winter.

Gypsy with a mustache!

Of course, I made my way to the Haflinger booth and saw the Haflinger that was there to represent the breed. As I was admiring him and thinking he could be Shy's dad (haha, they both have poof-locks, take photos with their eyes close, and smile), a old German guy started talking to me about the horse. It was not his horse, but we got to talking and he was a hoot. He tried to convince me to breed Shy and drug me over to the Great Lakes Haflinger booth to talk to the people there. I explained that Shy would not make a good horse mom, as she tries to throw minis across the pasture and I cannot imagine what she would do with a foal! Then his wife came up and we talked about the Haflingers that they used to own. 

Poof lock and eyes closed!

A little bit later, I found the owner of the Haflinger at the show and talked to her. Haflinger people are so nice!

noms

Heritage Hills Hitch Farm was there with their Belgians. Jaime knows the owners, the Lovelands, and we spent some time talk to them. They hitched and unhitched their horses four times that day! That is a lot of work! 

I like his eye

noms

I was going through their harness boxes (with permission) asking all kinds of questions about the different bits they use for the horses and how they determine what works for them as a team. Terry was asking all kinds of questions, too. The Lovelands were fantastic and took time to answer everything for us. 

I have a fascination with these!

He really was that high up!

To end the day, the Stallion Expo puts on a little show. We missed the beginning, but met up with some old friends and watched the rest. It was a cool show and we had a ton of fun catching up. I got some photos from the show, but they aren't that good since we were further away from the arena. Enjoy!

Dan Steers of Double Dan

Andulusians

Heritage Hills Hitch Farm

Fresian and mini, cute performance of them doing the same movements and tricks

Cool to watch this guy ride, ended up riding bridless, then put a blindfold on the horse. 

msu stallion expo

I went to the Michigan State University Stallion Expo yesterday with Jaime and Kyle. So much fun!! It was like a mini Equine Affaire. Vendors, tack, education, and horses! 

I got to meet Mary Procopio of New Horizon Haflinger Farm and her amazing stallion Stellar TVR. Mary wrote an article a while back on Haflingers being Warmbloods. Shy discussed it in one of her musings. It was a very interesting article and she said she is writing another. I can't wait!

Drool

Look how handsome Stellar is! I had instant forelock jealousy. And if there was ever any doubt about his Haflinger-ness, he passed the test. Jaime had a plastic bag and it made a noise. Stellar stopped what he was doing to investigate. Later, same thing, he walked over to Jaime to check it out. I have a theory that Haflingers are not afraid of plastic bags because they know food comes in them. 

We talked to a rep from ADM nutrition. When Shyloh was getting grain, she was getting Ultra-Fiber, a high fiber, low starch, low NSC grain. They make a few different feeds and mineral supplements and I really like their concept of Forage First. I would like to get Shy on their mineral supplement, but first we need to convince the local feed store to carry them. And bonus, ADM feeds are made in Michigan! We got large samples for all our horses. 

I also got to meet a fellow Michigan blogger and Haflinger owner at the expo! Janine from Hoofprints of Kaspin was there. And though we only had a few minutes to chat, it was fun to meet a blog friend.

I took a ton of photos. . .

Arab in costume

Donkey! Looks like a mini Tony

Gypsy Vanner 

Two rowdy mini studs

I liked his color

I liked his paint pattern in the back. I thought he looked lame on his rear left. . .later in his stall we saw a masseuse or chiropractor or something working on his rear left. My eyes are getting better!

Belgian Hitch team from Heritage Hitch Farms in Adrian, Mi

Leader mini!

So cool!

Love me some Double Dan!!

Amazing at liberty work!

Zelda the Zorse. Zebra and Belgian, 16 hands, 1600 lbs!

Cowboy Dressage. . .

More Double Dan!

Step one. . .

Step two. . .

Step three!

Look at the height!!

And made this video of the show they had in the evening. The Michigan Multijurisdicional Mounted Drill Team and Colorguard that were present at the presidential inauguration came in to sing our National Anthem. Double Dan Horsemanship came out twice to present. I love them! There was also a Pasa Fino show, a Zorse, and a six horse Belgium hitch. I was pretty much in heaven! Enjoy!