Sam and his Blanket

Winter is finally here. We've lucked out having a nice November so I was hoping to keep that going in to December. I guess winter had to get here at some point.

I started Sam on his alfalfa first last night so that I wouldn't have to stand around waiting for him when I planned to kick him out of the barn. I followed my normal routine and was just about finished with chores when I turned around and realized it was snowing. DRAT! It was supposed to be just flurried but it sure didn't look like flurries to me!

I'd already fed the mares and I didn't figure they would be too keen on stopping their grazing to be stuffed in a stall for the night. Instead I found Queen's blanket and proceeded to have a temper tantrum as the snow piled up. The last time I used Queen's blanket I couldn't get the leg straps unbuckled. Queen is a very "regular" mare and unfortunately she's also messy (need I say more). So the snaps/buckles were pretty well "glued" shut.

I tried to convince her she could just lift her legs and she would just magically stand in the right spot so I could get the blanket up over her. Umm, yeah that didn't work. So I had more foul words and another temper tantrum and went in search of a needle nose pliers, which did the trick. I think Queen's coat is nice and thick now. Twice I brushed off snow and she was nice and warm. But I felt better knowing she would have a blanket on to protect her from the blowing snow and the gail force winds that were predicted.

I went to let Sam out and feed the big herd. Sam went right out of the barn and wandered around but wasn't interseted in the hay. I decided then that I wanted Sam back in the barn. He's just too thin to handle the snow and wind, even if they are up close to the barn and have a run-in. I had to convince Sam to go back in.

Sam originally came from the Amish so he's not used to being pampered. Each owner since then has pampered him more I'm guessing. I'm hoping he thinks he's in the life of luxury. I finally got Sam back in the barn but couldn't leave him alone. I decided I would pull Zeke since he's the lowest in the pecking order. He's fat enough to handle the snow and wind but I needed someone and Brego does NOT need to stand in the barn. I thought about bringing Rain in instead but Rain and Sam had a falling out so I try to keep those two away from each other.

This morning when I went to do morning chores it was again snowing. Flurries my foot! I'm sure glad I had a blanket on Queen. I did the standard morning chores of throwing hay, breaking open waters, and hauling more water.

When I went to let Sam out, he didn't want to go. He poked his head out the door but proceeded to back up in to his stall. Smart guy! He's starting to learn what it's like to be pampered. I think he's starting to like stall life. I decided that it was just too cold and windy for him to be thrown out with the rest of the herd. I decided that I would try my hand at putting a blanket on him.

I tried blanketing him once before and that didn't go well. But I am wondering if he didn't catch on quickly after seeing Bob blanketed and also Queen. He wasn't too sure about the blanket at first but after smelling it he settled down. I might have helped that the blanket smelled like Bob. The last time (which was Sam's first time of ever having a blanket on) I tried putting the leg straps on and proceeded to almost get my head knocked off. This time Sam was a complete gentleman.

Once I had the blanket on he was finally willing to go outside. The blanket doesn't fit him at all. It's six inches too long. I could probably squeeze him in to a size 84 but I don't have one that size. I'm hoping that the way his body is shapped that the blanket will stay put and I can come up with some type of solution for shrinking it to fit him better.

I think Sam was happy to have the blanket on. He seemed like he didn't mind this time around. It's only his second time of wearing a blanket so I'm pretty pleased with how he handled it. When Mike gets back from training, I'll have to get some pics of Sam in his blanket (Mike has the camera).

I'm hoping the "flurries" will stop so that the one inch of snow is all we get for a little while longer. Snow slows down my chores. Freezing cold temperature really slows down my chores. I guess I just need to get in the mindset that we are in fullblown winter now.