ca 1985 flaxen chestnut Belgian mare

Duchess is Chyna’s sister.  The sisters were given to Blue Star Equiculture by Morris Adams, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was unable to continue to care for the girls.  Chyna and Duchess were Blue Star’s first working team, and supported the herd throughout 2009 with their labor, teaching the Pathfinder kids how to work with horses as they built our permaculture garden together.  They participated in Morris’s funeral in November 2009, when he sadly passed away, pulling the hearse with his flag-draped casket to the cemetery.  

Duchess is the older sister, and has a touch of arthritis now, but both Duchess and Chyna LOVE to work!  They were "retired" when Daisy and Kelly moved to the farm and took over their work load, but We have since discovered that Duchess and Chyna really miss working with our drivers - they get SO excited when they get to go do a job.  They can't work as long or as hard as some of our other teams, but they enjoy getting out now and again.  This past fall (2010) they worked at Palmer Nostalgia Day, the Civil War reenactment in Winchendon, and at Bright Nights.  They have even had occasion to work with Daisy and Kelly as the lead horses in a four horse hitch!

When Duchess and Chyna came to the farm, they were very attached to one another, and kept to themselves, despite the friendly overtures of Tom, who was quite smitten with them.  Eventually, though, as they got used to their new living situation at Blue Star, they began to venture apart and are now rather comfortable doing different things in the pasture, though they still like hanging out together - especially at mealtime when Duchess and Chyna get to go in their special stall under the barn.  Duchess's favorite spot is her stall.  From there, she can see through the half-door / window into main barn and "supervise" breakfast and dinner preparations.