October Already!

I can't believe that it's already October 1st. It was just yesterday that August 1st rolled around and I was unprepared at that time too. It does appear that fall is going to be short around here. The west part of the states is looking at snow. They can keep it!

It's raining now. I will have to have another look at the weather tonight to decide if I put the mares in the barn or not. I hate having to put Queen in a stall with her arthritis but I would rather she be warm, dry, and a little stiff than windblown, wet, and freezing. I know she's a tough cookie but I'd rather pamper her in her last few years.

I did try something new with the girls last night, much to their dismay. I decided I would see how beet pulp would go over with them. Let me just say, those mares absolutely, without a doubt, hated beet pulp. (On a side note, I tried beet pulp with Sam and he absolutely hated it too!)

Normally when I give the mares their grain, they totally devour their mash. They typically have mash up to their noses, scarfing it down. I threw the first bucket over the fence for Queen and she gingerly ate the top portion. I threw Babe's grain over and ended up dumping it into a different dish on the ground. She took two bites and turned up her nose.

Both girls hardly ate their mash and wandered around. I am betting they were hoping I would toss out the old and bring new. So least to say, the beet pulp idea is out. I had thought that the beet pulp may help put a bit of extra weight on them. Guess not.

When I tossed their hay over the fence a little later, I did notice that they had polished off most of their grain. I'm sure they did it under much protesting (but I'd walked away from their puckered faces and looks of disgust.) hahahha

I guess I'll stick to the standard mash for them from now on. I have also started their warm mash routine. It was so cold the other evening that I wanted to make sure they had something warm in their bellies before I headed in for the night. The warm water makes soaking their grain go so much more quickly. I hate hauling warm water from the house to the barn but I don't hate the fact I dont' have to stand around watching the grain soak up the water. So I guess I'll keep my trap shut about trudging around with five gallon buckets full of warm water.

I may have to start guarding Bob while he eats his mash. The cats have taken to snitching his food. It makes me SO mad! I originally started feeding the cats the same time I feed the big drafts. But some of the cats will pass on the cat food and go for Bob's food. That's a BIG NO NO! I put one cat in the kennel but I don't have a big enough kennel to stuff all the cats in while Bob eats. I guess I'll have to stand guard or give the cats different food to tempt them away from Bob's food. Any suggestions on how to keep cats away from warm mash?

Tonight will probably be a quiet night. It's raining and I'm guessing it's going to rain all night too. I may put the mares in tonight. I worry that they will get chilled. Bob can go into the leanto to get out of the rain if he prefers. If Bob is in the leanto, Rain will be in the leanto also. He's a fair weather horse.

We really need to get the second loafing shed built so I don't have to worry as much about the horses. There's enough dominant horses to push the non aggressives out of the way. That means the non aggressives stand, shivering in the cold rain. I always get so furious with those bullies! If I had two leantos, then there would be enough room if the chose to get in out of the rain. In some cases, they prefer to stand out in the rain (crazy horse!)

Let's hope that October is a quiet month and that the bad weather/winter weather holds off for at least another month (if not two months!)