Life in Lika

Did you know you could milk a horse?? Well, you can. Apparently it is good for auto immune diseases and has much more vitamins and minerals than other milks. It makes sense seeing how fast and strong these baby colts are growing! But the amazing thing about the milking process is that the mare can choose to withhold the milk. If the colt is not near enough, and she does not feel his skin on hers, then no matter how hard you try, there is no milk to be had. I found this very intelligent, and at the same time frustrating. :)












Gospić




Friday market day
















hard working man




lake Kruščica




























Milica and Nightrider








These are the tipis we painted...think they turned out rather well.
























Riverdance on the lookout




looking at the ranch and the valley of velika plan












cheese, walnuts, and pivo...yum!




Emily had 11 puppies this week while we were in the mountain. John was able to be here and witness as they multiplied. All are healthy and well, and look like Medo with spots ranging from light tan to black. This is them 4 days old, now we know why Emily got sooo big. Now she trots around light as a feather!

Meet the Family

We are blessed to be surrounded by such a large and wonderful animal family at the moment. We would like to introduce them all to you, as they are a large part of our daily routines here on the ranch. It is the first time we've worked with a herd of horses (12 to be exact) and getting to see how the hierarchy works within the herd is quite an experience. From the time the foals are born they follow their mothers, even on trail rides. It is a wild herd mentality, but they are well socialized. They live as naturally as possible together on the many acres surrounding the property, and really do just get to be horses.




"Milica"




"Medo" (honeybear)
croatian mountain dog




"Emelie"
istrian longhaired pointer




"Zahir"
croatian warmblood, stallion recently gelded




"Mama"
tobiano pinto pony, alpha mare




"Moon Cloud"
tobiano/warmblood foal




"Starlight" and "Donna"
warmblood/lipizzaner colt and lipizzaner mare




"Stella"
warmblood/tobiano filly




"Ustarte"
lipizzaner/draft cross




"Mache"
tobiano pinto pony




"Attila"
quarter horse gelding




"Riverdance"
anglo-arab gelding




"Nina"
lipizzaner/warmblood filly




"Storm Cloud"
lipizzaner gelding




"Night Rider"
the newest addition, who we just found today as Milica has been keeping him well hidden. Not sure if there are others in the litter, for now he's the only one, and we are glad to have him. :)

Jablanac

A trip to this small ferry town makes for a great day of relaxing and swimming in the refreshing waters of the sea. As much of the water comes from underground caves, the inlet in which we swam also had an underground river running into it. So crystal clear are the waters that you can even see past your toes to your shadow at the bottom.



















Sandy beaches are rare, so you'll find diving spots off village piers.






Zavratnica Protected Landscape

Velebit National Park

We headed up into the mountains for a week. It was full of beautiful valleys and abundant wildlife. We were surrounded by lush greenery and good company.
It was a great first trip!

Welcome to Croatia

Our path has led us to a lovely ranch and retreat in Croatia, close to the mountains and the coast. The landscape is beautiful and the people are kind. We have many more pictures to come, but we head for a week long trek into the mountain in the morning, so for now...heres a few to share with you.