Friday Rambling and Stress

I thought I heard once that the winds in South Dakota had actually decreased over the past so many years. It’s been at 5-15 mph for the past few years. I thought I heard that the winds were going to increase. I don’t know if that’s true or not but the past two days sure makes me think it’s true. On the bright side, the wind will help dry out the land after getting three inches of rain. The bottom of the pasture is once again flooded out.

I know there is grass in the pasture but the horses keep eating the same stuff over and over and it’s down to the dirt. I’m worried. I added more horses to the pasture and lost the bottom portion to water/mud. I’m sure I’ve over grazed the pasture but everyone is still fat and happy. I want to avoid feeding hay until I absolutely have to.

Mike and I were talking last night about the weather. What we are receiving now, is the same weather we received last October. We had one month of dry last year (November) and then we went into the winter from hell. Mike was talking with a friend who said he remembers the winter of ’69 where they received so much rain before winter hit and that was the year they had to dig down to get to buildings.

I’m worried. I can only hope that we won’t get bad weather this winter but I’m starting to get very worried. I’m not sure what will happen if we have another winter like last year. I’m not sure my sanity can take it. I know it may sound dumb, but I think we are in the middle of a weather change. Every so many thousand/million years we change (dinosaur age/industry age/etc.). I think we are moving into a different age but since we’re living through it, it’s impossible to track.

All I know is that I’m worried. I don’t have enough stalls for the horses I have. I’m not sure if I have enough hay for the horses that I have. And I know I haven’t paid for it so who knows how much it will cost me.

But I’m worried. I’m seeing a lot of good horses getting dumped right now. I’m so torn. I’m maxed out in both space and money and yet there are about four that are pulling at me. The last one I just saw today on an ad. All but one I’m guessing are in their 20s (15, 22, 27, and the last is unknown). The 27 yr old won’t last long and that’s why they are dumping her. Their story is that they lost her companion so they want to find her a good home. Why not go and find her a companion instead?!?! I just don’t get it. The kicker is, the 27yr old mare is close to the 15 yr old mare that has only one issue and that’s pulling back when tied. It’s not a bad issue and it can be resolved. The 27yr old is free and the 15yr old is $150 but I’m wondering if I could talk her down. The 22yr old and the unknown age horse are both from the same people (the same person as we got Joe and Thor). The 22yr old is going blind. He’s blind in one eye and almost blind in the other. The unknown age horse is a draft cross mare and I fell in love with her when I saw her picture. I’m not sure if any of these are a true rescue case. The true rescues are at the auctions which I’m guessing will be coming up soon. I’m positive people will begin dumping horses the minute the roads clear up enough that they can pull their trailers out.

What surprises me is that all four horses (1 gelding and 3 mares) are all in Iowa. The 27 yr old and 15 yr old are only a few miles away from each other so I could do a two-fer trip home. The 22yr old and draft cross mare are living together and only about an hour away.

But I bought the six horse trailer and need to start making payments (and get the hitch on the truck). Never mind that I still need to pay for the alfalfa (and hay but that won’t be until January).

The other catch is that if I bring any more mares home, I’ll be out of pasture land. I should have moved Babe and Queen earlier and I did use their “winter” pasture this summer and it worked out ok. I also ended up using the lawn more as pasture this year. I still have a few more places I can fence off (no point in letting that grass go to waste). Not having the ponies at Borderlands made a difference but I need to take that into consideration too. But I can also manage putting the ponies in smaller places and having the lawn last a little bit more than others. I need to move Rabbit and Mayhem this weekend. Rabbit discovered the alfalfa bale that I need to get rid of. Rabbit absolutely cannot have round bales. I need to go to the vets and talk with them about my options for treating her heaves. They aren’t bad but I know how she feels when I hear her breath rattling around in her lungs. It makes my lungs hurt just thinking about it.

I can’t put Rabbit and Mayhem in with Babe and Queen because the fence isn’t good enough to hold Mayhem. I’m not sure how to keep Mayhem in. But it may be that we need to simply drylot Rabbit and Mayhem until I can wean Mayhem. Problem is, I’ve never done that before. The previous owner said I could do it at four months but they recommend six months. So now I’m in a bind. I think Rabbit will get along just fine with Babe and Queen. It’s Mayhem that I’m concerned about.

And if I bring those other mares home, I’ll be pushing my luck with pasture. The little pasture that Babe and Queen are on won’t hold that many horses. So I know the answer is no but I can’t help listening to my heart instead of my head. My head can just figure out how to make it work.
Rabbit is really starting to grow on me. I’m a little irritated that she keeps finding every cocklebur and is completely matted with burs and she won’t let me pick them off. But when she sees me she knickers to me. I know it’s only the grain talking but I’ll take it. I sort of miss not getting knickers from some of the horses. It’s a rather welcoming, enjoyable experience.
I know I’m rambling but I’m really torn. What do I do? I know the answer but I can’t seem to come to grips with it. There are just so many horses out there and I know I can’t save them all. But I really want to help. These horses aren’t yet in danger of slaughter and horses at the auction are in immediate danger. But if I could keep them out of the auction circuit, all the better.

I told Mike that for my birthday, I want to go to the Mitchell Horse Sale. It’s the day after my birthday and I plan to go no matter what. It’ll get him out of having to find me something.  I won’t be able to bring a horse home but I can at least note the prices of each horse and the condition that they are brought in. I haven’t been to an auction in a number of months. I have no idea what the prices are for horses right now but I’m 100% positive that they are going dirt cheap.

So what do I do? Save my pennies, rub them together to make more and go get one or two that I have my eye on? Or do I sit back and watch them fall into the wrong hangs, or do I wait for a horse that needs me at an auction? If I were an actual rescue where I could adopt out, I could possibly see myself bringing in more horses. But since it’s only my paycheck paying for the Borderland horses and no funds coming in otherwise, I know I have to be careful in my decisions. I hate being a grownup and making grownup decisions.