Rambling

I saw another shooting star last night while doing chores. Not sure if that's a good sign or not.

I pulled Thor from the mare pasture last night. After having the farrier look at Thor, I decided I'd put Thor in with the mares so he wouldn't be on dirt/concrete and pestered by the geldings. Well, last night was the last straw for that. I DO NOT tolerate kicking a blind mare. Thor made it clear that he was going to protect Queen and not Babe and lashed out at Babe when she bumped into him. He also managed to demolish one of those over the fence plastic feeders.

Into the big herd Thor went. He was not thrilled but I won't tolerate kicking a blind mare. I didn't see Thor this morning so I'm guessing he was out in the pasture snoozing. I did come up on him yesterday morning while he was sound asleep and dreaming. He spent a large portion of his time curled up in the mare pen these last few days.

Thor does seem to be doing better so I wonder if it wasn't a stone bruise. We are going to wait before we make another attempt at going to the vet. I'll not even mention the hassle of getting Thor to the vet on Monday.

Both Babe and Queen seemed relieved when I pulled Thor out. Wonder what will happen when I put Rabbit in their herd. No luck in finding her heaves medicine at the local shops. Guess I'll order some for her. She does seem to be doing better but I think it has something to do with allergies (now that the combining is done and there isn't as much dust).

Mayhem has become a total diva. She walks right up to me and patiently waits for me to groom her. She is getting a bit naughty so we'll need to start working on manners (and working on halter breaking her).

I was worried that Sam was starting to lose weight. I think his ulcers are back. I was told to try Tums so we bought some but I haven't had a chance yet to try it out on him. I also discovered a better way to grain him. I've always had to deal with soupy grain because of the beet pulp. Now that I'm dealing with pellets instead of shreds life is easier and getting even easier. Sam now gets three separate dishes for his grain mash. One for soaked beet pulp, one for soaked hay pellets (going to switch him over to alfalfa pellets), and one for soaked senior and calf manna. It only took me a year to figure it out. Sam is enjoying his grain. I've also taken to feeding him a small amount of soaked hay pellets (which will switch over to soaked alfalfa pellets) in the morning. He doesn't seem to look as bad as last year (although he had ulcers and a cold last year).

I'm keeping a close eye on everyone to make sure they aren't losing any weight. So far everyone is plump and sassy. I don't have the herd up to full hay ration just yet. Was hoping to wait until the first of December but I don't think that's going to happen. The temps are starting to plummet so we'll see how everything goes. It's about time to turn on the water heaters too.

I'm also debating on when to wean Mayhem. The day before Thanksgiving she'll turn five months old. I'd really like to keep her with Rabbit until she's a full six months old but that puts us right at Christmas. I'm worried that Rabbit won't have enough weight on her yet. She's still thin along her ribs and topline. She's also not putting on her winter coat like I'd prefer. Her belly is starting to get her coat on but nothing else. I did keep a waterproof sheet on her a few days back so I hope that didn't cause any problems. I just don't think she can handle trying to stay warm during a downpour. I need to get more pictures of Rabbit so everyone can see how well she has progressed (and how big Mayhem has grown).

I'm struggling to do chores these days. Still haven't adjusted to daylight savings time. I seem to be doing chores in the dark these days (both morning and night). We also have a pack of coyotes. It bothers me that they are so close. I just hope that they stay away and don't bother the really old and the baby.

No measurable snow as of yet but I'm sure that will change very soon. And then it will be back to the daily grind of winter chores I need to regroup my thinking and figure out how I'll handle winter chores. It means hauling warm water from the house out to the barn and taking in beet pulp to soak.

I'm in communications with another very new horse rescue/sanctuary. If something falls through, we may be getting an old, thin mare. We'll see. Luckily the people involved want to do the right thing (and were totally uneducated about slaughter). Every time I talk with this other rescue, I get so enthusiastic about rescue and education. I really do need to sit down and get things figured out. There's so many who are uneducated about slaughter. Maybe that will be my winter project I'll work on after chores are done and the horses are tucked in for the night.