Flying horses with EZ 2 Spot Ranch

Precious minis to the UK today

2012-03-01T07:50:00.001-08:00

Tanner and 3 adorable miniature horses are winging their way to Prestwick, Scotland today. Although the departure was slightly delayed, everything went smoothly and they will be arriving in just a little while.

We are currently gathering horses for upcoming quarantine groups and have space available for Luxembourg, Kuwait and Dammam, Saudi Arabia. If you can use any of these spaces, let us know and we will book them for you.

On the way to Dammam

2012-02-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

Henry and six lovely Arabian horses left Houston this morning, flying to Luxembourg and then on to Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The flight was delayed by about 12 hours, but all's well that ends well and everything went smoothly at loading time. We expect them to arrive in Dammam early Saturday morning as was originally planned.

Thank you to Abdullah, Mohammed, Haytham, Saeed, Asem and Mishal for sharing your horses with us. Thanks also to Vidya, Dhafer and Abdulrahman for your kind assistance in getting everything together for this shipment.

Our next adventure is to Scotland on the 29th of February and then back to Dammam in March.

We have learned of a rate increase that will be effective March 1st ...so please be sure to check with us about the new rates when you book your next shipment.

Kuwait

2012-01-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

Who knew the weather in Kuwait could be colder than it is in South Texas? Well, that was the surprise that Terry had today when he and three beautiful Arabian horses arrived in Kuwait City. Current temperature in Kuwait City is 45F/7C. It is warmer than that in Luxembourg at the moment. BRRR!!!!

Everything went very well on the journey and the horses are on the way to their new home stables. Thank you Khalid, Abdullah and Burhan for sharing your horses with us.

Terry will be back in sunny south Texas tomorrow and we will be flying horses to Dammam, Riyadh and Amsterdam next week. Our daughter,Kris, is going to fly with me to Amsterdam, while Terry and Henry will go to Saudia.

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful staff here at the ranch. We have no concerns when we deliver your horses to you anywhere in the world because we know that Megan, Fernando and Tanner will keep the home fires burning and do their usual great job of caring for the horses while we're away.

We are gathering horses now for a quarantine group that will start on January 30th. Let us know if we can be of help to you or if you have any questions.

For our European clients, remember that we have lowered our rates to Amsterdam. It is now $4800.00 per horse - including stallions! And this includes a visit from our farrier for a hoof trim AND a new halter and leadrope for travel day!

Amsterdam and Doha

2012-01-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

Terry and I are back at the ranch now after a brief but very pleasant visit with our clients in Dammam. All the horses traveled well and it was so nice seeing several of their new owners at the airport.

Yesterday, our friend, David Notman, accompanied an Arabian mare and four miniature donkeys to Amsterdam. Thank you Carole, Peter and Sarah for sharing your animals with us. We look forward to hearing from you when they have arrived home safely. And thank you, David, for taking care of the animals on the flight and at the Animal Hotel. Enjoy your visit to Amsterdam!

The final trip for this week will be when our staff member, Tanner La Grone, delivers three beautiful Arabian mares to Doha, Qatar on Friday. Thank you, Abdullah and Mohammed for sharing these horses with us.

We are starting our next quarantine group for Saudi and the EU next week. We are pleased to announce that we have been able to lower our rates for full-size horses to Amsterdam. The new rate is $4800.00 (USD) for mares, geldings and stallions alike. In addition to providing quality care during the quarantine period, we also provide a free hoof trim, a free halter and a free leadrope for each horse. If you have a horse to ship to Amsterdam, we would love to have the opportunity to work with you.

On the way to Dammam

2012-01-06T01:24:00.000-08:00

It is a beautiful, sunny morning in Luxembourg ... quite a treat after yesterday's rain and snow showers ...and all is well. Terry and I arrived here last night with nine beautiful Arabian horses. The horses are resting in their stalls at the moment ... and Terry and I are resting in the Ibis Hotel. We will fly out tonight for Dammam, arriving in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday,

Thank you, Dhafer, Osman, Mohammad, Abdul, Salem and Fahad for sharing your horses with us. We look forward to seeing you in Dammam tomorrow.

Catching Up

2011-12-12T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wow. It has been such a long time since I've posted. My apologies to everyone ... especially those whose beautiful horses we have shipped since the last posting.

Terry and I made our last flight of the year on November 30th when we accompanied horses to Luxembourg and then on to Dammam. Tanner La Grone, one of our ranch hands, made his first-ever trip to Luxembourg with us and then on to Kuwait. Everything went well with the horses and I want to give a very big Thank You to our dear friend, Mohammad Agha, for taking care of Tanner during his visit to Kuwait. Your hospitality and friendship are greatly appreciated, Mohammad, and we hope to have the opportunity to repay the favor when you come to visit us in Bigfoot some day.

Many thanks also to Abdullah, Dhafer, Jamal, Salehm Ahmad, Burhan, Adwan and Lafi for sharing your horses with us. As always, it was our pleasure to work with you and we look forward to future opportunities.

Henry is on is way home now from another trip to Kuwait. Thank you, Ayman and Yasser for sharing your horses with us. We look forward to helping you again in the future.

Next week, Jolinda and Mac will fly to Amsterdam with two more containers of horses. Thank you, Mandy, Kevin and Desiree for the opportunity to work with you and your horses. They are doing fine. Jolinda has been coming over to the ranch to spend time with her traveling companions prior to flight day and they are becoming great friends.

We are gathering horses now for quarantine groups that will begin next week and are looking forward to a wonderful new year of Flying Horses with EZ 2 Spot Ranch.

Horses to Amsterdam and beyond

2011-11-18T12:05:00.000-08:00

Six lovely horses left Houston on Wednesday afternoon for their flight to Amsterdam. Thank you, Hans Silvius and Florence Pierreaux, for accompanying these horses to Schiphol and for sharing your lovely mares with us.

Barlnk Tuffys Coosa, IBA Fantasy and J Los Secret, three gorgeous paint mares,went home to France with Florence. We have heard from her that they arrived safely and are doing well.

Shes Finally Famous, a beautiful QH mare, has arrived safely at home with her new owner, Bjoern Lauer. We have heard from Bjoern and are happy to report that all is well with her. Thank you, Bjoern, for sharing Lila with us!

Brego, a sweetheart of a QH gelding, went to join his family who moved from the USA to Switzerland. We have heard from Tammy Boron that he is home now and all is well. Thank you, Tammy, for sharing Brego with us.

And Abilene PCF is on her way to her home in Italy. She should be arriving very soon to meet her new owner, Giovanni Pietrarelli. Thank you, Joao and Giovanni, for allowing us to be a part of Abilene's journey. She is a beautiful mare and I know you will enjoy her.

It was a pleasure for us to work with each of these horses and we appreciate the opportunity to work with their owners, as well.

We will be starting our next quarantine for shipping to the EU on November 28th and we have spaces available ... so let us know if you would like to add your horse to that group. They will fly in early January.

Horses arrived safely in Dammam

2011-11-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce that our latest shipment to Dammam arrived safely and all the horses are now in their new homes. CargoLux was delayed - again - but other than that, everything went smoothly with this shipment. Thank you, Osman, Mohammad, Saeed and Ahmad for sharing your amazing horses with us. It was truly a pleasure caring for them and working with you. Thank you, also, to our groom, Henry Quintanilla, for your flexibility and willingness to go the extra mile when faced with unexpected challenges.

We are gathering horses now for our next shipment to Dammam, so let us know if you would like to add your horses to this group.

And on a personal note, Happy Birthday to our darling granddaughter, Madison Elizabeth Jurek, who is 11 years old today. We love you so much, Maddie, and can't wait to see you when you are back in the USA!

Free transport from APHA World Show

2011-11-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

We are very excited to announce that we will be providing free transportation to our quarantine facility for all overseas horses that are purchased at the show, currently going on in Ft. Worth, TX. Megan and Tanner will be at the Will Rogers Center all day tomorrow, so give them a call on the ranch phone +210 861 4191 and let them know who to see about picking up your new horse.

We are starting a quarantine group next week for a flight to Amsterdam on December 19th ... and we have a few spaces still available in that group. Spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so don't delay! Your new horse can be home for Christmas!

If you have any questions, give me a call at +210 861 0269 or Terry at + 210 244 3404 or drop us a line at ez2spot@hotmail.com.

News from an old friend

2011-11-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

We received this email a few days ago from Monique Stam of Holland. We always will remember Monique and Scout. She had fallen in love with him while attending a riding camp in California. Her parents helped arrange to buy him for her and we had the privilege of taking him to Amsterdam for her. It was such fun for us to see the look on her face when she was reunited with her equine friend at Schiphol Airport back in 2008.

Monique wr

ote:

I’m not sure if you remember me but I’m the girl who took the great pinto Scout to Holland in 2007-2008.

I hope you are doing fine! I just read an message on a Dutch Horse forum that somebody got 2 pinto’s out of Texas and I asked her if she had done that with you. And she did! How great is that!

So I just thought, maybe you like a short update…

I had such a great time with Scout! I never noticed that Scout have done a big trip around the world. He was just to Holland like he always has live here. We had some great years together.

We did a lot of riding in the forest and dressage. We won 3 dressage competitions and one includes a cross country! Everybody loved him and asked where he came from. I always said he came all the way from California to Texas and then to Holland. I always mentioned that you guys did a great job ;)

Unfortunately a year ago he got lame. We went to the vet and the discovered that he had a serious way of bone spavin/arthritis in both of his hind legs. Normally they can give him an injection but his case was so serious that it wouldn’t help. So we put him in the pasture for almost a year and hope with rest and just some walking he could live with it. In May this year it got more serious and when he tried to canter in his pasture (I was running and playing with him) he just stopped and couldn’t move one of his legs. At that moment I knew it was over. We went to the vet and he took x-rays again. The bone spavin/arthritis was more serious that the year before and the vet said it was the worst case of spavin he ever saw. So we took him home and in the weeks after we said goodbye. We took some beautiful pictures with him and in July we put him down. I stayed with him to the end and he was so calm, like he would say, it’s okay.

I still miss him so so much!!! He was sooo special! I think I never get a horse like he was!

I’m now looking for his bloodlines etc. just to get more information about him. I’m even wondering if there are any filly’s of him walking around somewhere…

Well, just want to let you know how this beautiful fairy tail ended. Unfortunately not the way it should but having him here with me the last few years were like a dream come true…

Hope you are doing great !! I attached three pictures of him, the first 2 were made a week before we put him down, the other one I think from 2 years ago.

Monique

Amsterdam,Prestwick, Luxembourg, Dammam and Doha

2011-10-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

This has been a very busy week, with 21 equines flying out to various destinations around the world. And, as happens from time to time, there have been some flight delays.

Fancy Me Wisely, Pearl of Justice and HHAA King of Bling were all set to fly out to Amsterdam on KLM's Tuesday afternoon flight with our groom, Anne Figley, when all of a sudden the flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems. Poor critters! They had to be taken back to the TDA Animal Facility and stalled overnight. They finally got out the following afternoon, but it was a bit of an ordeal for everyone - equine and humans alike. Thank you, Anne, for taking such good care of the animals during a difficult situation. Thank you Toni, Lykke and Frank for your patience.

Then it was on to Prestwick, Scotland with five of the cutest miniature donkeys ever - BR Liberty, BR Pixie Dust, FOF Cats Cheetah, Flight of Fancy Raven Beauty and, last but definitely not least, Lil Angels Texas Tease. They all traveled well and should get home today. Thank you, Rebecca, for sharing them with us. I know they will be very happy in the UK.

Luxembourg was the next stop with two beautiful paint fillies (Shesa Classy Brooks and My Precious Maria) and two adorable little P.O.A. mares (Santee Charisma and Santee Spanish Delight). Everything went well with their shipment. Terry had the pleasure of meeting with both Sylvain and Lara this morning before they left for France with their new horses and ponies.

Dammam is the next stop for April at Arabesq, Beauty of the Mohave, Portia SF, AA Gabriella Bea, AA Diva, Malika Bint Dalim ... and Terry . Abdullah and Dhafer, the flight is delayed til 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. I'm not sure exactly when they will arrive, so you might want to check with CargoLux in Dammam tomorrow morning.

Henry will finish the adventure when he delivers Fireflash LNW, Pablo Paez and Three Above to Doha on Monday. Thank you, Mohammad and Haytham, for sharing these cool horses with us - and best of luck in your upcoming endurance races.

We started a new quarantine group this week for twelve horses going to Dammam and Kuwait, and will start another group next week for Luxembourg and Kuwait. We have space for a few more to Luxembourg.

We are moving into the holiday season now, so please be patient if there are delays or scheduling challenges with your horses. 'Tis the season!

On the way to Dammam

2011-10-14T06:11:00.000-07:00

Wow! So much has happened since our last post! Let me try to recapture the highlights. Our trip to Harbin,China was amazing. We were treated with such hospitality and have memories that we will cherish forever from our visit with Mr. Cheng, Mr. Song and their friends and associates. Thank you, gentlemen, for such a wonderful introduction to your country and culture. We are very excited about being part of your new venture and look forward to many more visits to Harbin.

After our visit to China, we had an opportunity to stop by Seoul, Korea and visit briefly with our son, Matt, his wife, Maria and our grandchildren, Madison and Luke. What a special treat that was - to get to see them in their home in Inchon. Thank you, guys, for picking us up at the airport and taking time to show us around. We love you and can't wait to see you when you PCS back to the USA.

Then it was back to the ranch ... a few days of R & R at the Gulf Coast ... and now we are on the road again, traveling with nine beautiful Arabian horses to Dammam, Saudi Arabia. We are in Luxembourg right now and will fly out to Dammam this evening. Thank you, Mohammad, Thamir, Ahmed, Saleh anand Haytham for sharing your horses with us. We will see you in Dammam early tomorrow morning.

For our clients in South Africa and the GCCs ... we need for you to know that the airfreight rates are going up on November 1st, so this is going to mean a price increase. Contact us for the new rates.

Have a great day!
Dianne

Greetings from Dubai

2011-09-18T11:24:00.001-07:00

Terry and I are in Dubai, waiting for our flight to Beijing, and we thought we would take a moment to say hello and thank you to our clients.

We had the privilege of meeting and sharing a cup of coffee with Catherine dela Baer and her husband in Luxembourg. Catherine has a lovely Rocky Mountain Mare by the name of Mullins Julie. "Mullie" flew very well and I know that she and Catherine are going to be very happy together as they trail ride in the beautiful French countryside. Catherine, thank you for the gifts that you brought us and please keep us updated about Mullie's progress. We can't wait for the baby to be born!

We also had the privilege of meeting Anthon Grevelink and his lovely wife. Anthon imported two precious mini donkey jennets, Nikki and Solstice. They were so much fun to have around and they traveled very well. It was such a pleasure getting to know the Grevelinks and learning about their life in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium. We hope to have the opportunity to visit some day. Thank you for the invitation, Anthon!

Maryline Tournier's two mini donkeys, Cinderella and Asia, were also in the Luxembourg shipment. Thank you, Maryline, for sharing your little jennets with us. It was a pleasure caring for them and working with you again.

Terry flew out from Luxembourg with three very nice endurance horses. They all traveled well. Thank you, Ahmad Abdullah, for sharing them with us.

My flight was next, with three Arabian horses to Kuwait. Many thanks to Mohammad Agha and Mr. Ali, Merjah Al Mutairi, Abdulaziz, Saad Tamimi and Hussain Albloushi. It was a pleasure working with you and your horses.

And Henry is still in Luxembourg with his three horses for Hamad Al Marri. Hamad, Henry will be there on Tuesday morning. Thank you for sharing your horses with us. We appreciate the opportunity to work with you and your horses, as well.

Now Terry and I begin our journey to Harbin, China, where we will meet with Mr. Cheng about a very exciting new project. Mr. Cheng, thank you so much for the invitation. We are looking forward to meeting you and learning more about your new venture.

We start a new quarantine group on Monday, September 19th and the next group will start on October 3rd. We still have some space available in the October 3rd group, so let us know if you have a horse that is ready to get started.

Til then,
Wishing you all Happy Trails!
Dianne

This N That

2011-09-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Wow! Where does the time go. I can't believe it has been such a long time since I've posted news on this blog!

Belated thanks to Leonie, Sussie, Lisbeth, Marije, Julie, Kirsten, Annalies and Naser for sharing the lovely animals that we shipped to Amsterdam on August 31st. We appreciate having had the opportunity to work with you and your animals and look forward to next time.

Thanks also to our grooms, Tom, Lori and Phil, for accompanying these critters. We appreciate the opportunity to work with you.

Terry and I took a few days after the August 31st shipment to accompany our young Polish friend, Nina Mroz, to California where she has now started a 2-week externship at an equine veterinary practice. We enjoyed spending some time with our daughter and son-in-law, Dawn and Scott Perfect and their children, Tyler and his lovely bride, Serena, Tanner, Tommy and Toriana. What fun it was catching up with everyone and spending time in the beautiful California weather!

Terry, Henry and I will fly out on the 14th to deliver horses and donkeys in Luxembourg (Thank you to Catherine, Maryline and Anthon!) ... and then we split up to deliver horses in three different places. Henry will go to Doha, Qatar (Thank you, Hamad) . Terry will go to Dammam, Saudi Arabia (Thank you, Haytham). And I will go to Kuwait City, Kuwait (Thank you Mohammad, Hussain and Merjah).

Terry and I are very excited about the next leg of that trip. We will meet in Kuwait City and fly to Harbin, China to meet with a new client there. This will be our first trip to The Peoples Republic of China (other than a very short visit to Hong Kong some years ago) and we are really looking forward to it!

Back with more details and photos later.

Dianne

UK, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia trips

2011-08-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

Whew!!! August is flying by so quickly we can barely keep up.

Terry, Henry and Bob safely delivered Fiona's horses, Wilson and Amber, to Prestwick on Thursday. The barn seems so empty without those two ... especially Wilson. Fiona, it was such a treat meeting you and caring for your special horses. Thank you for sharing them with us.

Henry's flight was delayed a bit, but he finally delivered a group of beautiful Arabian horses to Dhafer and Naser in Dammam, Saudi Arabia on Saturday. They arrived in the middle of the day when it was very, very hot outside, but all is well and they are safely and happily in their new home now. Dhafer and Naser, thank you for sharing your horses with us and for taking such good care of Henry. He called to tell me about your kind hospitality. We look forward to sending your next group of horses to you very soon.

And Terry is having a wonderful time in Lebanon. He had the joy of delivering a lovely group of Arabian mares to our new clients, Yousef and Abdul this weekend. He has had the opportunity to visit their stables and he has been treated to fantastic home-cooked Lebanese and Brazilian meals at Yousef's lovely home. Thank you, Yousef and Abul, for your generosity and kindness ... and for sharing your horses with us. I can't wait to see the photos that Terry has taken during his first visit to Lebanon. I hope to be able to go along next time so that I can meet you in person.

Before shipping day last week we had a wonderful time with our family here in Texas. Our son and daughter in law who live in Korea (Matt and Maria and our precious grandchildren, Madison (age 10) and Luke (age 4)) joined us at our little weekend retreat in Rockport for a few days of fun in the sun. And then, to make the weekend perfectly complete, our daughter Kris drove down from her home in Buda, TX to join us for one evening. It is a rare and very special time when we get to have everyone together at the same time in the same place - and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Hello from Holland

2011-07-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, We have had such a busy month that this is the first opportunity I've found to bring everyone up to date on what we're up to!

I am in Holland for the weekend, having delivered a group of beautiful horses on Friday. Thank you, Sandra and Nasser for sharing your horses with us.

Terry is on his way back from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the moment, where he also delivered some wonderful horses. Thank you Haytham and Saad for the opportunity to work with you and your lovely Arabian horses.

Yesterday our Dutch partner, Robert Veen of Animal Transport Services and I went to Belgium to visit with friends and clients. It was a lovely day and I had such fun meeting with Sandra Van Den Hoff and her Tennessee Walking Horses and meeting with Rob's friend, Hilda and her delightful family, clients and the students at her riding stable. Hilda provides riding opportunities for children with disabilities and I was privileged to meet a couple of "her kids".

Our next shipments will be to Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Prestwick, Scotland and Beirut, Lebanon on August 10th. This will be our first shipment to Beirut and Henry is very excited about the opportunity to visit that country. Terry is looking forward to visiting with friends in Dammam and Bob Riley will be reconnecting with his Scottish roots after he delivers horses in Prestwick.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we have just started a new quarantine group for shipping to Amsterdam and Dammam ... and we will start our next groups for Europe and Saudi Arabia on August 8th. We still have a few spaces available in that group, so let us know if you'd like to reserve one for your horse.

We are gathering horses now for Kuwait and Qatar, so let us know if you have anything for either of those destinations. Spaces are available.

We had the privilege of assisting with the birth of a magnificently beautiful Arabian filly last week. Congratulations, Sami, on a terrific baby. I don't know when I've seen such an exquisite face.

And our mini babies are growing more adorable every day. We are still waiting for the last one of the season to arrive. If you would like more information about our mares, babies and 3-in-1 packages that we have for sale, please let us know. We are seeking good homes and are offering them for sale at very reasonable prices.

On a personal note, congratulations to our grandson, Tyler and his new bride, Sabrina. We look forward to visiting you in California next month.

And our son, Matthew, daughter in law, Maria and grandchildren, Luke and Madison, are visting in Texas, on leave from military service in Korea. We are going to spend a few days together this week at our little vacation spot in Rockport, TX this week - fishing, crabbing, boating, swimming and going to the beach. Can't wait!

Such Fun Meeting Clients in Amsterdam

2011-07-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Terry and I had such a great time in Amsterdam last week. We always love it when we can personally deliver horses to their new owners and see the smiles and tears of joy that come when they finally see their horses after waiting such a long time. It was our pleasure to meet Tanguy van der Kerchove, Michelle Philippe, Valerie and Thierry Lallaine, Ellen de Looze, Petra Toelle and their colleagues and family members on Wednesday morning at Schiphol Airport. Thank you all for sharing your beautiful horses with us and allowing us to share in your joyful moments at the airport. We look forward to seeing photos and hearing from you as the horses settle into their new homes.

Today, our groom Henry delivered four ponies to Dawood Davids in Johannesburg, South Africa. I am sorry that I was not able to be there, but have been told that everything went very well and the ponies arrived safely. Thank you, Dawood and Omar, for the opportunity to work with you and your ponies. We are looking forward to the next shipment.

We will go the airport on Wednesday for this week's shipments to Saudi Arabia and Amsterdam. Thank you, Abdullah and Razan Basonbul, Mohammad Al Dossary, Yousef Al Rashid, Toni Kurzrock, Celia Limon, Leonie Prinz and Hans Silvius for sharing your horses with us.

If you have any questions about shipping horses to anywhere in the world, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help.

Arabian Horses For Sale

2011-06-23T04:20:00.000-07:00

As you know, we are in the business of shipping horses - not selling them. However, we find ourselves in a unique position at the moment and we have five Arabian horses that are now available for purchase. There is a very nice grey stallion, 3 mares and a young colt. If you would like pedigrees, photos and more information about any or all of these horses, please send us an email at ez2spot@hotmail.com.

Congratulation to Petra Toelle of Germany!

2011-06-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Junior (aka EZ Mye Texas Justice) will be going to his new home in Muenster, Germany next week. Congratulations to his new owner, Petra Toelle, for purchasing our last son of our World Champion Halter Stallion, Justice For All. I know that there are going to be some beautiful Appaloosa babies at Petra's farm in the coming years and we are so happy to have the opportunity to send such an outstanding young stallion to the EU. We are confident that Petra will give him a wonderful new home and make his Daddy proud!

Three tiny bundles of joy

2011-06-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

We have been blessed with three adorable, healthy mini babies in the last month. Still waiting for three more and then we'll be finished with this year's breeding season. This is our stallion, Conder's Breaking The Waves (aka Surfer)'s first foal crop and we are very proud of him!

Let us know if you have any questions about the babies or their Mamas. All are available for purchase!

They're on their way!

2011-06-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

Terry and Henry have just landed in Luxembourg with the horses that they will be delivering on Saturday - Terry to Dammam, Saudi Arabia and Henry to Kuwait City. Everyone is traveling well and doing fine. Many thanks to Mohammad, Mr. Ali,Same,Mohammad Khaled and Mansour for sharing your horses with us. Thank you, also to Ahmed and Saleh for your assistance with transportation in Saudi Arabia. We appreciate the opportunity to work with each of you and with your beautiful horses.

We are starting a new quarantine group soon for shipments to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and to Doha, Qatar. We currently have one space available for Riyadh and two for Qatar. These spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you would like to book one for your horse, please contact us right away.

21 equines flew out this week!

2011-05-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a busy week we've had! We were delighted to have the opportunity to send 21 equines to various destinations in the world this week. On Thursday night Henry and Terry flew with 6 Arabian horses, 1 quarter horse and 4 miniature donkeys to Luxembourg. Everyone traveled well and they are all doing fine.

Thank you Davy and Frank of Belgium for sharing your animals with us.

Terry will leave Luxembourg for Dammam with 3 horses on Sunday. Abdullah, Terry is looking forward to seeing you early Monday morning. Thank you for sharing your horses with us.

Henry will also leave Luxembourg on Sunday. He is taking 3 horses to Kuwait. Thank you, Ayman and Sulaiman, for sharing your horses with us. Henry looks forward to seeing you both at the airport.

Yesterday we loaded 1 Quarter Horse, 1 Arabian Horse, 1 miniature donkey and 8 miniature horses for their flight to Amsterdam. Our grooms were Ed Gosen and Suzanne Harland. Thank you, Ed and Suzanne, for taking such good care of the animals on the flight. I've been told that everyone flew well and all arrived safely in Amsterdam this morning.

Many thanks to Petra Toelle of Germany, John and Janet Lee of the UK, Eva Rubins of Sweden and Celia Limon of France for sharing your animals with us. It was a pleasure working with each of you and we look forward to helping you with future shipments.

We also started a new quarantine group for the EU and and one for South Africa this week. We will be starting new groups for the EU and Saudi Arabia next week.

Surfer's First Baby!

2011-05-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

We are very pleased to announce the birth of Surfer's first offspring, a beautiful little palomino filly, as yet unnamed. Her dam is Lucky Four Gold Surprise and her sire of course is our little champion stallion, Conders Breaking The Waves. She was born on May 5th. Mother and baby are doing fine.

We welcome all suggestions for a good name for the baby. Megan has been calling her "Surfette" because her daddy's barn is "Surfer". I

have been calling her "Misty" because she is very light in color, like a misty dawn would be. I'm thinking "Misty Break of Golden Dawn" or "Misty Golden Dawn is Breaking" or ???? I want to get the sire's name in there somewhere. And this is just the first of the foal crop. We'll be in need of lots of names before foaling season is over. Let us know your thoughts!

Holiday in Poland

2011-05-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful time we had in Warsaw last week, visiting with the Mroz family. We met them four years ago when the youngest Mroz, Janina, was an exchange student in the USA. She spent a few weeks with us at the ranch during the summer following her high school graduation.

Well, Nina is all grown up now and is a third year veterinary student at the university in Warsaw. She will be returning to the USA this summer to continue her studies by way of externships. She will spend some time here at the ranch, assisting Megan with health, grooming and training responsibilities and learning about the equine export business. She will spend some time with our veterinarian, Dr. John Clader at his clinic, Chapparal Veterinary Center and she will travel to California for a two-week stint at Pacific Crest Equine Clinic. In the meantime, we will make sure she gets a refresher course on Texas culture. We are very excited about having her visit with us again.

Nina's parents, Jagoda and Marcin and their dear friend, Maria, were the most wonderful hosts during our visit to Warsaw. Jagoda treated us to fabulous homemade Polish food - pierogies and saurkraut, Russian salad, wild mushrooms and special regional soups (borscht and zurek, to be specific) that were fantastic. We went to museums, toured a salt mine outside of Krakow and learned a lot about Polish culture and history.

On our last day in Poland, we were invited to the Mroz's country home. What a treasure that is! We made memories that will last for the rest of our lives - and established friendships that have no borders! Thank you, Jagoda, Marcin, Janina and Maria for an extraordinary experience!

Easter Greetings From Amsterdam!

2011-04-24T07:46:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter from Amsterdam. Leonie Prins' Mountain Horses and I had a great flight from Houston to Amsterdam, arriving bright and early on Friday morning. They all did really well and things went so smoothly upon arrival that we were finished within just a few hours of arrival. It was so much fun meeting Ann, Marley and Leonie's mom at the airport, as well as seeing Anna and Leonie again.

On Saturday, Robert Veen of Animal Transport Services and I spent the day at Leonie's farm. We were treated to a tour of both of her properties. It was so nice connecting with old equine friends from previous shipments and spending some time with Leonie's wonderful staff and family. The horses are all in great shape and we were very impressed with Leonie's total operation. If you are considering buying a horse from the United States and have any questions or concerns, we highly recommend that you contact Leonie Prins for professional assistance. She is doing an excellent job!

Many thanks to Leonie and family for the delicious lunch and generous hospitality. This is a visit that I shall always remember with fondness.

Today, Easter Sunday, I went to Amsterdam's famous Koekenhoff Gardens. What a beautiful display of nature ... and a great way to spend Easter. People from all over the world gather here once a year to celebrate God's gifts of flowers and natural beauty. Amazing!

Tomorrow morning I fly to Warsaw to reunite with the Mroz family. I'll write more soon! In the meantime, I hope you had a very happy Easter!

Dianne

Horses have arrived in Amsterdam and Luxembourg

2011-04-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

We are happy to announce that horses have arrived safely in Amsterdam and Luxembourg. Thank you to Coralie, Yves, Meghan, Davy and Romaric for sharing your lovely horses with us. As always, it has been our pleasure caring for them for you and we look forward to working with each of you on future shipments.

Thank you also to our grooms, Henry and Tanner, for taking such good care of the horses on their flights. Henry is off for a week's adventure, traveling from Luxembourg to Spain ... or Turkey? I'm not sure if he has decided on his final destination, but wherever he goes, I know he'll have fun.

Tanner, one of our live-in ranch hands, is in Europe for the first time in his life ...and he is so excited! Thank you to our dear friends, Trisha and Dennis Kjuipers for your kind hospitality and taking care of Tanner during his visit. We appreciate you so much, and look forward to seeing you in Texas in the fall.

Our next trip is scheduled for April 20th/ 21st - and we are going in all sorts of different directions. Terry will fly horses to Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Henry will deliver a group to Kuwait and Tanner will take a group to Qatar. I will fly some horses to Amsterdam for Leonie Prins and will spend Easter weekend visiting with Dutch friends. Amsterdam is so beautiful this time of year. I can't wait to see the tulips in bloom again!

Terry will join me in Amsterdam on Easter evening and we will travel together to Krakow for Easter Monday festivities. Then it is on to Warsaw to spend a few days catching up with our friends, the Mroz family - Jagoda, Marcin and Nina. We are delighted to announce that Nina is going to work at the ranch this summer, honing her equine skills as she takes a short summer break from her studies in veterinary school.

What a Beautiful Baby!

2011-03-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Susanne Schell of Germany on her beautiful new filly out of Rawhide Ransom. It is always such a joy to see healthy babies and to know that we had the opportunity to play a role in caring for the mares and taking them to their new homes. She is gorgeous. Thank you, Susanne, for sharing the pictures.

We are looking forward to the birth of several new babies from clients' mares to be born here at EZ 2 Spot Ranch this Spring. We also have several minis of our own who are in foal to our outstanding little stallion, Conders Breaking The Waves. Watch for baby pictures as the new foals come into the world.

Visit with Davy Dapsens and Thanks to Clients

2011-03-14T09:55:00.001-07:00

What a great time Terry and I had in Luxembourg this past weekend, visiting with Davy Dapsens of Belgium. Davy came to Findel Airport to pick up his new grullo mare, Tru Blackburn Breeze, and we enjoyed sharing coffee and conversation with him on Saturday morning. It is always such a treat to meet our clients in person - and this was no exception. Thank you, Davy, for sharing your lovely horses with us. It is truly a pleasure working with you!

Thank you, also to Victoria Clark for allowing us to share a part in her family's move from the USA to Romania. The "kids" did well (3 Irish Sport Horses, 1 Connemara and 1 Anglo Arabian). We enjoyed the opportunity to work with you and your horses.

Thank you to Andrew Swales of the Hamerton Zoo Park in London for sharing your mammoth donkeys. They were so much fun to have at the ranch and we shall miss them. We hope to come and visit the zoo one of these days!

And finally, thank you to Farah Boodai, Antonio Fernandez, Mohammad Al Marzoud, Abdullal Al Qenaei and Adwan Aladwani of Kuwait for sharing your lovely Arabian horses with us. Terry enjoyed flying with them and meeting some of you at the airport. He is on his way back to the USA today. We look forward to the opportunity to work with each of you in the future.

We are currently gathering horses for our next shipments to Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Beirut and Doha. If you have horses ready to go to any of those destinations, please let us know and we'll be happy to get things underway for you.

Upcoming Shipments - Amsterdam and Beirut

2011-03-06T14:16:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready for a busy Spring shipping season and are putting together groups for several different destinations. At the moment, we have space available for two horses to go to Amsterdam and for one horse to go to Beirut. These spaces will be filled on a first-come, first served basis. Just give us a call or send us an email to reserve your spaces in the next quarantine group for either destination.

We are offering "Junior" for sale

2011-03-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, we were once in the Appaloosa business. That's where we got our name "EZ 2 Spot". We owned the World Champion Halter stallion, Justice For All, for many years and he produced many beautiful babies for us. Well, we are staying so busy with our international transports that we just don't have time for showing or breeding horses these days. After quite a lot of thought, we have decided to offer "Junior", our last remaining son of Justice For All for sale.

He is a beautiful horse, ready to go to work for you as a breeding stallion and show horse. If you'd like more information about him, give us a call at +210 861 0269 or send us an email at ez2spot@hotmail.com.

Terry Writes From Luxembourg ...

2011-02-26T08:03:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am in Luxembourg (Europe) waiting to go to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (again). I seem to be spending a lot of time here lately, which in a way is a good thing. It gets me out of Dianne's way for a while! :) Problem is, it's lightly snowing/raining AGAIN. I saw enough of this white stuff in December. Don't need it anymore!

It was nice meeting Sylvain and family for breakfast this morning. Thank you, Sylvain, for sharing your pony mares with us. Thanks also to Davy for sharing your QH stallion. He was a perfect gentleman throughout the whole trip and we enjoyed taking care of him for you.

Henry was supposed to travel with this group, as I had just returned from Dammam, Saudi Arabia 3 days before. Only problem is that his visa wasn't approved by the Saudia government in time for him to make the flight. That puts me "on" again, as my visa is for 5 years. That's what we do here...take care of all of our clients and their horses to the best of our ability. Even when it becomes somewhat difficult, customer service is number 1!

The horses that are going to Riyadh (there are 3 of 'em) are two babies (less than a year old) and one older mare who is blind in one eye and has diminished vision in the other one. She really is a sweet mare. She just gets afraid at strange sounds and quick movements. Can't say as I blame her though. I just get in the container with her and talk to her softly and after a few minutes she calms down and puts her head near mine as if to say "Boy, that was scary. I'm glad you're here for me"!

Tomorrow we load back onto the plane (we have been resting in europe for 1 1/2 days) for the remaining six hour flight so Saudia. Then 25 hours back home to do it again. Sometimes I think I should sprout wings!

Terry

On the way to Dammam

2011-02-18T07:13:00.000-08:00

Terry and his beautiful equine companions are on the way to Dammam, Saudi Arabia at the moment. They left Houston on Wednesday night, stopped for a rest in Luxembourg and will continue their journey tonight, arriving in Dammam early on Saturday morning. The horses are traveling well. Thank you, Ali, Dhafer and Mohammad for sharing your lovely mares with us. It has been a pleasure caring for them and working with you.

Next week we are off to Amsterdam, Luxembourg and Riyadh. We will start our next EU quarantine group next week and we still have one space available for Luxembourg. There are several potential takers for that space, so if you want it, let us know right away. It will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

A special note to all of our friends and clients in Bahrain ... our thoughts and prayers are with you and your families as we wish you safety and peace during these turbulent times.

Visitors from the Netherlands

2011-02-06T08:24:00.000-08:00

What a great time we had last weekend when Leonie Prins and her assistant, Anna, came to visit! Leonie and Anna live in Holland. They provide a great service to people throughout Europe who are interested in buying and importing Rocky Mountain Horses and Kentucky Mountain Horses from the United States.

We have had the pleasure of working with Leonie on quite a few shipments. She has a lovely mare, Docks Pretty Woman, in quarantine with us right now. It was really fun for us, helping Leonie and Pretty Woman get to know each other again - and getting to know each other better, as well.

We spent one day here at the ranch, visiting with horses and enjoying one of Terry's famous barbecue dinners. The next day was spent in my home town, San Antonio, where we introduced Leonie and Anna to Texas history at the Alamo, took a walk along the famous San Antonio River Walk and enjoyed great Tex-Mex food at Mi Tierra Restaurant. What fun we had! We were sad to see them go and hope that they come back to visit again soon.

If you are interested in learning more about Rocky Mountain or Kentucky Mountain Saddle horses, get in touch with Leonie. She will be glad to talk with you and answer any questions that you may have. Her email address is ljprins@solcon.nl.

We have a small guest house here at the ranch and we are always happy to welcome visitors from all over the world to come and stay with us for a while.

Space Available

2011-01-31T06:13:00.000-08:00

We are gathering horses now for our next quarantine groups to go to Amsterdam and to Kuwait. At the moment, there is one available space remaining in each group. These spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you have a horse ready to go to either destination, please let us know and we will reserve the space for you.

Horses Arriving in Kuwait Today

2011-01-29T05:17:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful group of Arabian horses are arriving in Kuwait today! Some are going to be in the upcoming show and we can't wait to hear the results. Thank you Mohammad, Abdul, Burhan and Ayman for allowing us the privilege of spending some time with your horses. Best of luck in the upcoming show and please be sure to send us show pictures. We'll post them here for all the world to see.

Thank You!

2011-01-24T03:40:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Irina, Sarah and Monica for sharing your horses and donkeys with us. They arrived safe and sound in Amsterdam on Saturday. It was our pleasure caring for them and working with each of you. Sarah, please send baby pictures. I can't wait to see Abby's foal (or foals?)!

Thank you also to Mohammad, Osman and Saad for sharing your beautiful Arabian youngsters with us. It was such a pleasure working with the babies and delivering them to you in Saudi Arabia. We look forward to your next shipment to Dammam.

And thank you to our grooms, David Notman and Henry Quintanilla, for ensuring the safe transport of the animals in these two shipments. Terry has been down with the flu this week and was not able to fly. We are so grateful that we have such reliable and professional people who take care of the horses on flights that we cannot take ourselves.

Exciting New Year Is Underway!

2011-01-16T00:39:00.000-08:00

We are off and running with an exciting new year! 2011 brings with it the promise of many new opportunities for us to take horses and donkeys to new destinations all over the world. We are especially excited about exporting equines to Viet Nam, China and New Zealand for the first time this year. There is also a possibility of some new routes opening up to Central and South America this year. We will keep you posted as things develop in that area.

Unfortunately, the new year may also bring increases in rates. We've heard rumors that fuel surcharges are going to increase on all the airlines - and fuel costs in the US are going up at the moment. We don't have the amount or the date of the increase yet, but please be aware that this may be on the horizon.

I am in Luxembourg now, having delivered horses here on Thursday night. Many thanks to Cedric, Anne, Jean and Laeticia, Natasha, Susanne and Sylvie. Our groom, Phil Peich, delivered horses for Coralie in Amsterdam on Friday morning and Terry is on his way home from Dammam, Saudi Arabia after delivering horses there for Saleh Al Hamad and Ahmed Najaf. Thank you all for sharing your horses with us. As always, it has been our pleasure to work with you and your equine friends.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or if we can help you in any way.

Caveat Emptor

2010-12-29T16:39:00.000-08:00

Since the beginning of civilization, buyers have been warned to be careful when making purchases. "Caveat emptor" - Buyer Beware - is advice that still holds true in today's marketplace. While most people in the USA who sell horses to overseas buyers are honest and honorable people ... it is always wise for the buyer to be careful and make sure that they are being treated with fairness and honesty and respect.

We had an experience some time ago in which a breeder in the USA was going out of business. She sold the last of her remaining horses ... not of the highest quality ... to an unsuspecting buyer in another country. The horses arrived at our facility in poor weight, with health and behavioral issues. One mare in particular arrived with a serious health issue that went from bad to worse and became life threatening. The new owner needed to be made aware of these issues.

When we suggested to the seller that we should communicate directly with the new owner, the seller refused to give us her contact information. Her excuse was that the new owner did not speak English, so she insisted on doing all the communicating herself in the new owner's native language. What we suspect was really going on was the seller was misrepresenting the horses that she had sold and she didn't want the new owner to learn the truth about what she had bought until they arrived at their new home.

When we insisted that the sick mare be treated by our veterinarian for her life threatening illness, the seller chose to provide the least expensive treatment option. We followed up with a great deal of labor-intensive after care - provided at no extra cost. We were delighted that we were successful in keeping the mare alive and nursing her back to good enough health to ship on schedule.

However, when the horses arrived, the new owner was unhappy with them and held us responsible for their condition. This could have all been prevented if the new owner had contacted us in the beginning of the quarantine. We always take photos of horses when they first arrive and are more than happy to send them to the new owners ... but we need to know how to get in touch with them in order to do so.

So, if you are shipping a horse from the USA, regardless of language barriers, get in touch with the quarantine facility and ask for current photos and information about the horse's condition, behavior and health. There are plenty of translation programs on the internet that can help us overcome language differences - and prevent the new buyer from being misled by a dishonest seller.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

2010-12-29T16:31:00.000-08:00

When I was a child the cowboy movies and TV shows I watched always had the narrator saying things like, "Meanwhile, back at the ranch". I always thought it would be so much fun to really have a reason to say that - and now I do! So ... meanwhile, back at the ranch, I finally got home from Qatar on the night of the 26th of December. I love traveling the world, meeting new friends and experiencing different cultures, but I also love having some time at home with Terry. Just as Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, "There's no place like home!" After my unexpected, unplanned adventures this past Christmas, those words most definitely ring true for me right now.

Terry and I are now looking forward to welcoming 2011 quietly together at the ranch. And then it's off and running with an exciting new year of traveling the world with horses. Happy New Year to you all!!!

Merry Christmas from Luxembourg!

2010-12-24T02:21:00.000-08:00

It is Christmas Eve ... and the snow continues to fall in Luxembourg ...and flights continue to be cancelled and rescheduled. Terry was able to complete his journey and deliver horses in Riyadh earlier in the week. He is back at the ranch in Texas now, keeping the home fires burning.

Henry and I are still in Luxembourg. We may get to fly out tomorrow morning to Doha and Dammam ... or we may still be stuck. It all depends on the weather conditions. Things don't look very promising right now. As I look out my window, snow is failling quite heavily and the streets and sidewalks are covered in ice.

However, the horses and humans are alright. We are safe and warm, with food, bedding and shelter,so things could be worse!

Merry Christmas, everyone, from Texas and Luxembourg. We wish you peace, joy and happiness and we look forward to an amazing New Year filled with new opportunities and adventures are we fly horses all over the world.

Let It Snow ... Let It Snow ... Let It Snow!

2010-12-20T03:35:00.000-08:00

What an adventure we're having this Christmas week! Terry,two of our grooms, Henry Quintanilla and Sandra Young and I traveled to Luxembourg with horses last week, with the plan to deliver them to Kuwait City, Dammam, Riyadh and Doha.

Well ... this is Monday ... and Terry, Henry and I are still in Luxembourg, along with 12 horses. The snow let up for a while this morning and Sandra was finally able to get out with her six horses to Kuwait. The snow is beautiful - and quite a sight for South Texas natives to enjoy ... but we're eager for the weather to clear up so we can continue the journey and deliver the horses to their owners.

We had hoped to get the horses out to Riyadh tonight and to Qatar and Dammam tomorrow, but the airport is closed again and the snow is falling steadily. We still don't know when we'll be able to leave.

Thank you, Ayman, Mohammed, Ahmad, Saeed, Dhafer, Yasser and Majed for your patience as you wait for your horses to arrive. And thank you, Henry and Sandra for your flexibility.

A Christmas Miracle - Breezy Has Been Rescued from Scam!

2010-12-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

Many of you may remember having received my email a few months ago about some former employees of ours who had been fired for incompetence, chronic alcoholism and theft - and then they got together and decided to create an "isolation facility" that they called "Terra Ceia". They designed and published a website and started contacting our clients, using the data base that they had stolen from our office while we were away delivering horses to clients. Wow! What a nightmare that turned out to be! Happily, they were only able to lure one victim into their web of deception. But that was one too many.

Last week we learned that they had told a client in Europe that they were going to finally ship her horse (after having had the mare for two months) on December 1st. Well, December 1st came and went ... and so did the container that they were supposed to be sharing with another isolation facility ... without the horse. They did not call. They did not cancel the space. They did not pay the freight forwarder the money that they had been paid in advance for the flight. They simply did not show up at the airport.

Then they contacted the European client and said that they were going to take her horse to another shipping company in Miami and ship her from there. The client became very concerned, as she had paid in advance for the quarantine and shipping ... and did not receive her horse. She did not want her horse to go to another unknown facility. She sent emails that were not answered. She called and left messages that were not answered. She was being ignored ... and they had her horse!

That's when we became involved. The client asked us to find her horse and get her away from these people. So ... we did! Here's what happened.

Given what we know of these individuals' characters, we thought it wise to go with law enforcement officials to keep the peace. So, we drove to Cameron, Texas and went directly to the sheriff's department. We had called them the day before to make arrangements for this visit. When we arrived, a deputy sheriff went to "Terra Ceia" to find out what was going on. Then he called and asked us to meet him there.

While we were enroute to the address that the client had given us, we had a call from the deputy that made our hearts sink. He had talked to the owner of the property and was told that they had moved out, lock, stock and barrel, a week prior to our arrival.

We also learned that the seven barns, hotwalker, paddocks, trucks and trailers that they advertised on their website did not belong to these poeple. They belonged to the owner of the property. They had been leasing one barn and living in the barn for the past 90 days. We were told that they had not been able to make their payments and had been causing so much trouble and failing to hold up their end of the bargain that at the end of the 90 day option period, the owner of the property asked them to leave.

Well, we were really blessed to be accompanied by a dedicated law enforcement officer. Deputy Hoyt got a phone number for the female perpetrator - called her - and after she feigned ignorance, he explained the consequences of international horse theft. It didn't take him long to convince her to bring the horse to the place where we were waiting to pick her up.

After a very long and stressful night waiting for these people to find a friend who could come and pick up the mare (They don't own a horse trailer!), it all came to a peaceful and happy ending. So, to make a long story short, the mare is now safe and sound at our facility - has started quarantine - and will go to her new home in Europe in January. It feels really good to be able to be help create a happy ending to what could have been such a sad story.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Miracles do happen!

Raven in Amsterdam

2010-12-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Nienke, for sending the photos of Raven from Amsterdam. BRRR ... it looks really cold in all that snow. It was such a pleasure working with Raven and her traveling companions.

Thank you to Cedric, Toni, Leonie, Toril, Vero, Ayman, Ali, Abdullah and Abdulaziz for sharing your horses with us. We appreciate having had the opportunity to ship them for you last week and look forward to working with you all on future shipments.

Thanksgiving!

2010-12-03T15:40:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it is important for us to sit back and reflect on the blessings in our lives. Thanksgiving is a perfect time to do this. Terry and I are so richly blessed in our lives and our business that we want to take a moment to say "Thank You" to the people who make this all possible.

First, we want to thank each and every one of our clients, here in the USA and all over the world for allowing us to spend time with their horses and help them travel safely to their new homes. Thank you for the kind hospitality that we receive when we arrive in your home countries. We have learned so much about different countries and cultures and are delighted to be able to say that we have friends all over the world. We appreciate you all very, very much!

We want to thank our staff for the great work that they do, working together as a team to keep the barns clean and safe and the horses in excellent weight and condition. Without you, we would not be able to do what we do. Thank you Jose, Juan, Fernando, Megan, Nancy and Tanner for everything that you do for EZ 2 Spot Ranch.

Thank you also to Ron, our hay broker and horse hauler, to Mike, our farrier and to George, our supplier of halters, leads and anything else that we need. Your support services are critical to the success of EZ 2 Spot Ranch and you are greatly appreciated.

Thank you to Dr. John Clader and the entire staff at Chaparral Veterinary Center. What a great job you all do for us. We are so lucky to have such a professional team behind us for all the veterinary services that go into shipping horses internationally. Special thanks to JoMarie for keeping up with the crazy scheduling!

Thank you to our group of dedicated professional grooms who fly for us! Special thanks to Henry Quintanilla for always being up for an adventure and to the Wurschy Groom Squad who are ready to fly at the drop of a hat. We appreciate you! Deanna, Wolfgang and Henry are in the air right now, flying horses for us to the Netherlands and Kuwait. Sandra and Jolinda will fly out on the 15th ... and of course, Terry and I get to do our fair share of time in the air. Thank you all!

Thank you to the entire USDA staff in Austin, TX and to Dr. Soroko at the port of Houston, TX. Dr. Soroko, our hats are off to you for always being there, no matter what time of day or night it might be ... and for your good humor and professionalism. You are a credit to your profession! Thank you for being you!

Thank you to Mauricio Cano of the Texas Department of Agriculture for taking care of the export pens and always being there to help out when we need a hand preparing the containers and loading the horses. We appreciate you!

Perhaps most of all, thank you to the wonderful equines who enrich our lives every day. What a great life we have, getting to care for beautiful horses of so many breeds and the precious donkeys who come our way. It just doesn't get any better than that.

So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you all for being in our lives. We are richly blessed!

Dianne

Luxembourg in November

2010-11-06T09:00:00.001-07:00

I am fortunate to be spending a nice quiet weekend in Luxembourg. The weather today is cold and wet, so I've opted to spend the day staying cozy and warm inside the hotel, looking out at the beautiful fall colors on the nearby trees and enjoying the changing seasons. Many thanks to Susanna, Jon Luc and all the other wonderful staff members here at the Ibis for taking such good care of me.

Meanwhile, Terry is enjoying his visit to sunny, warm Bahrain, eating fresh dates and drinking tea as he visits stables and talks about horses and tack and other such things with clients and friends.

Many thanks to Veronica and Wil, Tanguy, Noemi, Ros, Tony and Hilary, Inez, Anthon, Maryline, Osama and Faisal for sharing your horses and donkeys with us. Everyone traveled really well on both trips and arrived safe and sound. It has been a pleasure working with you and your animals and we look forward to the opportunity to work with you in the future.

More photos from recent trips to Saudi Arabia

2010-10-31T16:47:00.001-07:00

Some photos from recent Saudi trips

2010-10-31T16:32:00.000-07:00

Whew - Busy Time!

2010-10-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

I just realized that it has been quite some time since I last posted a blog. Whew! We're chasing ourselves around the world this time of year. Just got back from yet another wonderful visit to Saudi Arabia - Riyadh this time. Thank you Sami, Majed and your associates for your generous hospitality during our short visit. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the authentic Bedouin-style meal of chicken and rice. The desert is lovely this time of year, very cool and peaceful at night and the stars are amazing.

We got back to the ranch on Tuesday, after a bit of a delay in New York on our return flight. We're relaxing for a few days, and then it is off again next week. Terry and one of our regular grooms, Peter Wurschy, will accompany 5 miniature horses and 3 Arabian horses to Amsterdam. Peter will stay for a short vacation in Amsterdam and Terry will continue to Bahrain with the Arabian horses. At the same time, I go to Luxembourg with 5 precious miniature donkeys and 3 Rocky Mountain Horses. Looking forward to some quiet time in Luxembourg!

We're starting our next EU quarantine group on November 8th, and are in the process of preparing horses for shipping to South Africa, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in December.

We're very excited about some upcoming opportunities for shipping to China, Brazil and Colombia in 2011.

Our visit to Dammam, Saudi Arabia

2010-10-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

What an extraordinary visit we had in Dammam, Saudi Arabia last weekend! Thank you, Abdulaziz, Dhafer, Mohammad, Ali, Khaled and all of the other gentlemen who made us feel so welcome. The horses all flew really well and offloading went smoothly.

When the horses were safely loaded into their trailers and on their way to the stables, Ali drove us to guest quarters at Abdulaziz's beautiful stable. We were pretty tired, so we had a nice rest time in the early afternoon. Then we were treated to a delicious lunch of kebab, rice and a mezzah platter. When the evening arrived, it was time for visitors. We sat outdoors in the cool of the evening and enjoyed tea, coffee, dates, pomegranite seeds and lively conversation.

After visiting for a while, we went to another stable where we were treated to a tour of the beautiful facilities. Several of the horses were exhibited for us - magnificently beautiful horses that are cared for so very well. It was truly a joy to see them all working in the arena.

Then it was time for dinner! We were treated to an authentic Bedouin-style dinner, with cushions on the floor, lots of tea and coffee and dates, followed by a delicious feast of camel meat served on a bed of rice. We ate with our hands and enjoyed every minute of the experience! After the feast, a young man came around the room with a container of burning aromatic wood and we cleansed ourselves in the smoke. This was followed by a spritz of refreshing cologne and then the evening was over. Time to go back to our lovely guest room until we had to go the airport early the next morning.

Terry and I felt very honored to receive not only the spectactular hospitality of our Saudi hosts, but also some very lovely gifts of Lebanese sweets and I received a gorgeous hand-embroidered silk abaya and sheila. I will wear these with great pleasure on next visit to Saudi next week when we take horses to Riyadh.

Again, thank you so much to our hosts for making this trip one that we will cherish forever in our memories.

Dammam, Saudi Arabia - Horses and Kebabs

2010-09-29T03:55:00.000-07:00

We're heading out for the airport this morning with a lovely group of Arabian horses that Terry and I will accompany to Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Thank you, Khalid, Haytham, Othman, Ahmed, Abdullah and Saleh for sharing these wonderful horses with us. As always, it has been our pleasure working with you.

Our visit in Dammam will be brief, because we have horses to fly to Amsterdam next week, but while we are there, we are looking forward to enjoying authentic Saudi kebabs. We've been on a kebab recipe quest for a while and want to thank all of our friends from Saudi, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for sharing their favorite kebab recipes with us. We've been working on getting just the right blend of spices and we think we're getting close. We prepared chicken and beef kebabs last week to share with friends in Rockport, TX and the reviews were great. Everyone loved them and asked us to bring more! So, thank you, dear friends, for helping us enjoy the wonderful tastes of your part of the world! Yummy.

You Can't Please All the People All The Time

2010-09-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

Wow, are we frustrated right now. Terry is on his way home from Luxembourg where he delivered a group of quarter horses for a buyer in France.

When we went to pick up these horses from the seller's farm, it took four hours to load them. They had not been trailer trained and were as wild as March hares. Several of them were underweight and had various scratches and minor injuries. One mare had an abscess on her foot that looked pretty bad. The seller said that it had just appeared that morning.

They traveled very badly, with lots of kicking and carrying on in the trailer and when we received them here at the ranch we wondered what kind of miracles we were going to be able to perform by flight date. Luckily, we had about 6 weeks to work with them, as the buyer hadn't paid for them yet and we agreed with the seller to board them for two extra weeks (at no charge to her) before starting quarantine.

We got them into stalls and started working with them, hoping for the best. The abscess went from bad to worse. We had the farrier and the vet out to look at it. The first course of treatment that the veterinarian recommended (soaking in epsom salts) didn't help. By the next week, the mare was actually in danger of losing her foot ... and her life.

We contacted the seller (who insisted on doing all the communication with us, rather than putting us in touch with the buyer directly) and she said to take the mare to the vet's clinic for 3 days of intensive care. The vet had recommended two weeks, but the seller didn't want to pay for more than three days. She actually expected us to pay for the veterinary care, but our contract is clear about whose responsibility that is!

We took the mare(and her nursing foal) to the clinic and picked them up after three days(transport was at our own expense - 100 mile round trip twice). The vet said that she had responded well to the treatment and he was cautiously optimistic that she might live. The key to saving her life was in the daily care that needed to be provided from that point in time. Following the vet's instructions, we carefully and thoroughly cleaned her foot and changed the dressings every other day for the entire time she was with us, making sure that the foot stayed completely dry at all times. We also administered medication every day for a period of time after her return to the ranch. This took a lot of staff time and commitment (at no extra charge). The mare's foot improved such that she was actually able to ship on schedule. The vet said it was a miracle and we agreed!

Meanwhile, we continued working daily with the others in the group, trailer training, worming, having the farrier out to trim their hooves and feeding them extra feed and weight building supplements ... all at our own expense. We didn't charge an extra penny for the extra care and expense that this particular group of mares needed.

By flight day, they were all significantly improved. They walked into the trailer and the flight containers like old pros, with no challenges whatsover (thanks the the time and effort spent trailer training them!) We were really happy to be able to put them on the plane and deliver them to their new owner. They all were dressed up in new halters( also provided at our own expense) and Terry accompanied them across the ocean.

There was a lot of turbulence on the flight and Terry was in the containers with these mares throughout, keeping them calm and risking his own safety. He was slammed up against the side of the container at one point in the flight and has the bruises to show for it. But this is all part of what we do ... all in a day's work ... all part of the service we provide.

So, here's where the disappointment comes in. After all the extraordinary care that we provided, we got a nasty email from the buyer saying that the horses arrived in France in terrible condition and that we did not care for them properly.

She said they were underweight. I sent her "before and after" photos and she didn't mention that again. When a horse arrives at quarantine underweight, there is only so much that can be done before flight time. We did the best we could do, and the before and after photos clearly showed significant improvement in their weight.

She said they were wormy. We have records showing that they were wormed on August 1st. We always worm horses when they begin quarantine, as a normal course of action.

She said their feet were in poor condition. We have the bill from the farrier showing that he trimmed their hooves on August 25th. We always have the farrier out to assess hooves and provide trims if needed, again, just a normal course of action at our facility.

The biggest blow of all was that she said we had nothing to do with saving the mare's life. She said that she is thankful to the veterinarian, but that we had no part in it and she owes us no thanks at all. After all the hours and hours and hours that we spent providing care for that mare - at no cost to her - and she says that we deserve no credit for saving her life.

Wow. It is times like this that make us wonder why we continue being so generous and providing so many extra services at our own expense - both physically and financially. But then we reflect and we know why we do it. Its because we care about the horses and we will continue to be committed to their health and well-being, regardless of the owners' attitudes.

And for every hateful client that we meet, we have at least 100 others who are kind, intelligent and caring people who appreciate the services that we provide. We take a lot of pride and get a great deal of joy from being able to bring horses and owners together all over the world. I guess we can't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch - but this experience certainly has left a sour taste in our mouths.

Tropical Storm Hermine

2010-09-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

There's an old saying in South Texas ... If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute.

We are flying horses and donkeys this week ... and we've been blessed with some interesting weather, courtesy of Tropical Storm Hermine.

Some of the animals flew to Amsterdam on Tuesday afternoon. Terry and Megan drove them to Houston and loaded them into the shipping containers in the midst of heavy rains, thunder and lightning. All went well, however, and they have now arrived safe and sound in Europe. Thank you, Hans and Laurence, for sharing your animals with us. And thanks also to our groom, Bob Riley, for doing such a great job of caring for them on the flight.

Last night Tropical Storm Hermine dumped 4.75 inches of rain on the ranch within an hour's time, along with a magnificent light show that was accompanied by dramatic thunder rolls and claps. At midnight, as Salem, our resident ranch cat, and I were sitting up in bed watching the lightning and listening to the pounding rain on the roof, I was thinking about the 10 horses that we needed to load for the trip to the airport this morning. Loading horses in a thunderstorm is not much fun ... not for for people nor for horses.

I was so thankful that when the light of day dawned, the rain had stopped and we were able to load the horses in the sunshine. Ron and Tanner drove them to the airport without incident and they are all safe and sound in Houston, just waiting for time to load into the containers and fly out on their CargoLux plane. Terry and our groom, Henry Quintanilla, are flying with them ... some to Luxembourg and some to Kuwait. Thank you, Mercy, Isabelle and Ayman, for sharing your horses with us. They will be in their new homes soon.

Now that its evening, the storms are beginning to pop up again at the ranch. Who knows? If we're lucky, Salem and I will be treated to another midnight show!

Vesicular Stomatitis

2010-08-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

There's an equine disease called Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) that occurs from time to time in the USA. It is also called "False Hoof and Mouth Disease", as the symptoms mimic Hoof and Mouth Disease.

Some importing countries require testing for VS for six months after a case of VS has been reported in the USA. Others require the test for every shipment, irregardless of how long it has been since the USA had a case of the disease.

At the current time, all horses being exported from the USA to or through the European Union must be tested for VS, as there were some cases of the disease that were reported at a ranch on the Arizona/Mexico border in the Spring of 2010.

The testing medium that is used for VS for horses being exported is, unfortunately, not a very reliable test and it is fairly common to get "inconclusive" results. Another term for this type of result is "toxic". On rare occasions there will even be a false positive result. Usually the animal in question will test negative with a new blood draw.

However, there are times when the toxic or false positive results come back again and again for the same animal. When that happens, the animal cannot be shipped to a country requiring VS testing.

We've asked a number of veterinarians what could cause the toxic or false positive results and, while no one knows for sure, there are several theories. The most commonly held observation that veterinarians have shared with us is that there may be a correlation between certain vaccinations and toxic or false positive VS results.

In particular, Rabies vaccinations may play a role. VS is a "rabido virus", as is Rabies, so the testing medium may pick up the Rabies vaccine in the blood and mistake it for VS.

If you plan to ship an equine from the USA, it is probably wise to postpone giving any vaccinations before sending the animal to quarantine. Any and all vaccinations that are required by the importing country will be given after the horse or donkey arrives at our facility.

Update from Luxembourg

2010-08-21T01:43:00.000-07:00

It is a beautiful sunny day in Luxembourg. I'm here for the weekend, wsiting for my "ride" back home. I had the pleasure of delivering a group of mini donkeys and horses to Prestwick, Scotland on Thursday. It was a great flight on CargoLux and a smooth landing in Prestwick. Sometimes those cross wind landings can be challenging ... but this one was really nice.

Our groom, Annet, delivered horses to Amsterdam on Friday and everything went very well on that trip, as well. She is enjoying some time visiting family and friends in Germany before she returns to the USA.

Thank you to Sarah, Lisa, Peter and Danielle for sharing your equines with us.

Terry stayed at the ranch to oversee everything there this weekend. We are apart for our birthdays, but we'll celebrate them a little late this year. I turn 60 today and Terry will be 62 tomorrow.

We're starting a new quarantine group for Saudi Arabia on Monday and will start our next EU quarantine group on August 30th.

Terry and I look forward to delivering horses to Luxembourg and then on to Johannesburg, South Africa in early September.

In case you haven't heard, there will be a rate increase effective September 1st. For the EU, mares and geldings will be $4650.00 each. Stallions will be $4700.00. Please contact us at ez2spot@hotmail.com for the rates for other destinations.

Welcoming New Staff

2010-08-17T05:03:00.000-07:00

We are delighted to welcome Megan Moos to the EZ 2 Spot Ranch staff. Megan comes to us with a B.S. in Equine Sciences and a number of years of experience as a trainer and manager at high-quality equine facilities. We look forward to Megan becoming an integral part of our program and we know that she is going to be a valuable asset as we continue to grow.

Another new member of our staff is Nancy Harrop. Nancy helps us out part-time. Her cheerful, upbeat attitude keeps everyone smiling.

It is our goal to provide the highest quality care possible for our clients' horses. We believe that the key to accomplishing that goal does not lie in high-dollar, fancy barns. The key to success is having a competent, professional staff who care about each and every animal and who share a common bond of commitment to excellence.

Lost Luggage

2010-07-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Terry is on the last leg of his trip home from Jeddah. He flew Turkish Air for the first time and had a great experience ... until he got to Chicago and his checked bag did not. There seems to be some confusion about how to file a claim for lost luggage, so tracking it down may be an interesting process.

The good news is that horses arrived safe and sound and Terry will have a few days of R & R here at the ranch. Then its off to Amsterdam! I'll write more about that later.

Veterinarian and farrier visits today

2010-07-26T04:45:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 26th.

We have a busy day at the ranch today. Our veterinarian, Dr. John Clader of Chaparral Veterinary Center, will be here to draw blood and perform health checks on a group of horses that will be going to the EU in early August.

And our farrier, Mike Paschall, is also coming out to have a look at this group. One of the services that we provide to our clients (at no extra charge!) is to have our farrier assess their feet and provide trims, if needed. It is really important to us that the horses be as comfortable and healthy as they can be while they're in quarantine and during their flight.

Terry and the Arabian horses arrived safely in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this morning and all is well. He is looking forward to spending a couple of days visiting our clients' stables there and shopping for kebab spices!

Horses to Jeddah

2010-07-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday, July 25th, 2010.

Terry and six beautiful Arabian horses are up in the air at the moment, somewhere between Brussels, Belgium and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. They'll land in Jeddah early tomorrow morning. So far, it has been a nice,quiet and uneventful flight. We are so happy to have the opportunities that are presented to us to live our lives out of two things that we both love - horses and traveling the world. What a great adventure!

Terry's current mission is to learn, first hand, what spices are needed to make authentic beef and lamb kebabs. Hopefully he will return from this trip with some new information!

Meanwhile, I've stayed back in Bigfoot, TX to oversee the ranch operations. We're finishing up a new barn - Barn # 7, so that we can continue to provide excellent service to our ever- growing list of clients. Visit our website if you'd like more information about us and our services. It is http://www.ez2spotranch.com/.

Dianne