Where Did the Week Go?

This week is flying by. Much to the horses’ enjoyment, they have been mowing down the lawn all week in preparation for their release to the pasture. I haven’t walked the pasture since Mike sprayed or fertilized but we’ve had decent amount of rain and heat.  I’ll still pull the horses off the pasture at night to try and make the pasture go that much farther. I expect we’ll have to constantly spot spray and most likely fertilize once more (as long as I can come up with the cash). 

After five days of being on the lawn, the horses have done a fantastic job of eating down the grass. There’s still quite a bit there so hopefully after the long weekend, I can start getting Mayhem, Rabbit, and the ponies adjusted to grass. But I can now see some of the noxious weeds and spray those to eradicate them. I’m sick of seeing weeds.

I’m tossing around the idea of hauling Rabbit to Madison. She’s such an alpha mare and is too hard on Queen. If Rabbit is on “vacation” for the summer, that would be less stress on the mare pasture next to the road. We lost our fall/winter pasture as my emergency backup pasture for the spring/summer due to the accident in February.  If I don’t haul Rabbit to Madison, she may join the “Pony Club” and have to hang out during the day with the ponies. I really want her on grass now. Her heaves are really starting to kick in even with being on medicine.

Queen is looking tough too. I may have to start graining her twice a day (which is what we did last year and it seemed to help). She gave me the stink eye last night when I didn’t let her out on the lawn. It rained and I wasn’t feeling the greatest to manhandle the big gate to let her out. She’ll get out tonight so everything will be better. Every morning I give her a handful of grass just as a peace offering for making her wait 12 more hours until I can get home to let her out.  She’s not impressed that the big herd is on the lawn. She likes to be closer to the house and barn for some reason. She really is a people-horse.  She’s such a doll. I just love her. You can just see the years of wisdom when looking at her.

Ivan has gotten a bit naughty when it comes to going out on the lawn. He’s losing what little ground manners he had. The other day I pulled Brego into the barn and Ivan spent the next half an hour going from the lawn to the drylot looking for Brego. I’ve never seen Ivan move that fast in my life. In the almost two years of caring for Ivan, I’ve never seen him move faster than a slow trot. But when he was searching for Brego, he was moving at a good lope. He could be a pretty flashy horse if he wasn’t so darn lazy. His whinny makes me laugh every time. So the entire time he’s searching for his buddy, he’s whinnying this high pitched whinny. It’s so unexpected because I just assume he’s a big horse and will have a deep whinny. Nope. In fact, it reminds me a bit of Dictator and Ace. Dictator had such a high whinny (even though he was a rangy old-style Quarter horse), and Ace being the petite Arabian, had a deep whinny. It makes me think of Ivan and Zeke. Ivan has such a “girly” whinny and Zeke (who people mistake for a mare), has that deep throaty whinny. It’s an odd comparison.

The other evening while the herd was out on the lawn, Maverick decided to roll. You know what that lazy boy did? He rolled, and then instead of getting up, stayed curled up and started eating. How lazy is that?

Every once in a while someone will forget their manners when I let them out onto the grass. Because it is just the lawn, and I only have to strands of electric (that aren’t on but SHHHH don’t tell them), I insist on haltering them and leading each horse one by one through the gate. King, Ivan, and Bo have forgotten their manners. King rushed the gate so hard he splintered off the corner of the gate. Of course he received a stern talking to. Rushing me and the gate is not allowed. He had to stay in “time out” for a little while. Even Dude got a little naughty and went into “time out” while I lead the others out into the pasture. Haltering and leading each horse out is a pain in the butt but I’d rather do that then have mass chaos with everyone running and bucking all at the same time.

Tomorrow morning I’m letting the big herd out into the pasture. I’m a little worried but they should be ok. I expect everyone will be happy to stretch their legs and run. I’ve had the big herd locked in the drylot since March to keep them off the pasture.  I’ll try to snap a few pictures of the herd once they hit the pasture. I took a few more pictures last night in between the rain drops. I’m sure not all the pictures are flattering but some always seem to go downhill just before they get on pasture for the summer. I am still trying to figure out how to resolve that so it doesn’t happen.

Not much more to report right now. All that’s been going on is nightly lawn time for the big herd and letting Queen eat down the grass by the blind pen. Almost everyone is shed out already and are enjoying the grass. I know it’s time to let them out on pasture. They are actually starting to waste hay. That’s the last sign that it’s time to let them out (and traditionally I wait until Memorial Weekend). I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the pasture holds the entire summer and that the work Mike did has helped the pasture. I guess we will just wait and see.

If I don’t happen to post again, have a happy and safe Memorial Weekend. Remember the ones that have gone before us and appreciate those that are still with us. Have a great Memorial Weekend.