Relaxed

This weekend I had an opportunity to attend a beautiful and quaint wedding in Minneapolis. Surprisingly, it felt like a mini vacation. I felt more relaxed after that short 36 hour adventure than I have in weeks. I still can't seem to get anything accomplished at home but I'm relaxed even with the pressure of winter soon upon us.

The horses are starting to get their winter coats in. I finally get to see the horses too. The flies aren't as terrible now so the fly masks aren't on all the time. In the summer, I don't get to see the horses' eyes but in the winter I don't get to feel their coats. It's a catch 22 some days.

The only horse not putting on a winter coat is Flower. I may be screwing her winter coat up. We had a cold, drizzly period where I left a sheet/blanket on Flower until the weather improved. So she unfortunately hasn't had an opportunity to start working on her winter coat. I'm keeping a close eye on the weather and temperatures. She may have to be blanketed all winter. Although, she has gained a bit of weight so I might let her go without a sheet if the weather improves. The next few days are supposed to be chilly and then back into the 70s! I love fall weather and I really hope that it lasts. My goal is to get as much weight on Flower before the first snowflake falls. So far after two months of pumping her full of grain (and now beet pulp), Flower seems to be gaining weight. I was also worried about Queen. She didn't come back from last winter as well. But with the twice a day grain and daily beet pulp, Queen is looking good too (for being 33 years old).

Sam is on my watch list. He's dropped a bit of weight and I can't seem to get it back. He's on daily grain and beet pulp but I have to keep an even closer eye on Sam because of his ulcers. I need to order a few months worth of ulcer medicine in case anything flares up. The ulcers take away his weight. I may have to look at the possibilities that he'll either be a super hard keeper this winter or the other alternative. But I don't like that idea so we'll wait. It may be this will be his last winter and he'll enjoy one more summer and we'll go from there. He's following in Bob's footsteps it seems (even if Bob's feet were 9 inch pie plate!) Sure do miss that big guy.

I have exciting news about Savanna and Prize but we'll wait to share that one for now. I have to keep you all in suspense on some things don't I?

Mayhem is just a dream. Every time I feed the mares (both morning and night), I have to tie Mayhem to a tree. She just stands there without any complaints. She's such an amazing girl.

I decided that since Mayhem is going so well that I better start working with Sahara. She has a 180 personality to Mayhem. Sahara will be a struggle for me. I think she has that "go getter" attitude but wants to do things her way, which doesn't fly. It's my way or no way. We pushed a bale in to the blind pen last night. The other three (Thor, Babe, and Prince) chow down on alfalfa while I halter and lead Sahara. She's getting better about being haltered and standing next to the running tractor. I also looped the lead rope around a post. I wanted to see how she would react to being "tied" without worrying about a wreck (it was getting too dark to worry about a major catastrophe). She tested the lead rope and worked her way free but she didn't freak out like I had expected. I'll have to start working with her every day to get her to stand tied. She leads alright but there's a lot of work to do on her. I'm always shocked at how small she is compared to Mayhem. Sahara looks like a weanling not a yearling. I should get the two girls together for another picture to show the difference in what good care versus neglect/starvation can and does do to the growth of these young ones. I also wormed Sahara with a small dose of Panacur. I need to keep up with it to get her better. I left her alone to be a horse for the past few months, now it's time to be a part of the "family" and play nice.

Speaking of blind horses, Thor is now on my watch list. He's lost a little bit of weight even with a round bale in front of him 24x7. I'm sure it's just old age. He's 23 years old (although I don't consider that old). But the weight around his spine is sagging and his hip bones sometimes show when he cocks a leg. He's not as plump as I had hoped so he's no on my watch list. I might put Babe on my watch list too just because she's getting up there. I'll have to come up with a different arrangement for feeding time. Prince is "in your pocket" and I don't want him disturbing Babe and Thor from their meal. Maybe once I have Sahara standing tied patiently I'll be able to add a little bit to Thor and Babe's diet.

I'm trying to come up with a solution for the blind pen. With four horses in the pen, I need a better shelter. I have an idea but it'll cost some $$ because there's not enough time to build another open front. We started building an open front last fall (October-ish) and it's still not finished. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get it finished this weekend or next. I really don't want to say that it took us a full year to build an open front. Maybe smaller is better.

I'm also looking to buy a smaller hoop building for where Rabbit and Savanna are at. The older mares will go in the barn this winter but there's only so many stalls. So I have to come up with options for stalling horses in different pastures and locations. This winter will be more interesting than last because we have more to care for this winter. We'll see if my plan works. But I need to do some major cleanup before all that happens. I'm guessing we'll be making at least one trip to the dump if not multiple trips. But it'll feel good to have some of the clutter gone and be ready for winter. I'd be panicking if I hadn't come back from a relaxing mini vacation.

The days are getting so much shorter that I struggle with finding time to get everything done AND get pictures. We'll see how the next few days go to see if I can snap a few pics and get them posted. I'm sure you're all getting tired of me rambling with no pictures. Now that I'm back and relaxed, I'll hopefully be able to post more to keep you all in the loop.