Relocating

With Sahara’s absence, Thor became upset. I had hoped that he would settle down quickly but he knew he was missing a horse. I decided it might be wise to try putting Queen in with Babe and Thor. I don’t like the location as it isn’t quite as protected but Queen wouldn’t get pushed around like she has been for the past few months. I’m not convinced I’ll keep this arrangement because Queen still has to be stalled at night when the temps drop. She’s just too old to withstand super cold temperatures even when she has shelter to go in to and a snug blanket.

Queen seemed pretty content after I gave her some alfalfa and grain. All three seemed to settle down. In fact, Babe seemed the calmest out of the three. Queen watched over the fence to spot Flower and Flower continued to whinny but she eventually settled down when I threw her a flake of alfalfa. She’s been attached to Queen since the day we brought her home. I kept a close eye on Flower at first to make sure she didn’t try and take down the fence. She seemed to settle down last night and all was quiet this morning. But we’ll see where everyone is standing this afternoon before I make my final decision on who goes where.

Queen wasn’t at the round bale this morning so I’m not sure that I’m convinced she’ll stay. But for now she’ll stay with Babe and Thor and have 24x7 access to hay and a lot less pushing. If she seems depressed, I’ll put Queen back and she’ll just have to deal with being pushed around. After the snow flies, I may simply put her back anyway. I know Queen doesn’t like change (neither do I). But she’s been getting pushed around for a month or more and that irritates the holy heck out of me. You respect your elders. I know that isn’t the case in the horse world but I’m the boss mare and it’s my rules.

Babe’s mood definitely improved after Prince went to Gentle Spirits. She’s much calmer. I hadn’t realized how upset she’d gotten but she’s definitely back to the Babe I remembered. Poor girl. I feel bad for not having noticed it sooner and making her put up with a naughty paint for so long. I’m hoping that with Queen back with Babe, those two will bond again. Queen was always in charge of Babe so hopefully Queen will feel up to being “boss mare” again, although I don’t think Babe cares because there’s food right in front of her nose all the time.

We did get a few things accomplished yesterday when Mom, Dad, and Grandma came down. We finally finished tarping all the hay and got the remaining loose hay from a round bale scooped up and tossed over to the horses. Now the aisle is clean again and we can get the truck or tractor in to the drylot if necessary after the snow flies.

We’ve missed out on any snow so far. I expect we’ll have a brown Christmas. It won’t be the first or the last brown Christmas. I do hope for some snow so that the pasture is covered and protected from the horses and so that the horses stop picking up cockleburs. Teach me not to get out there sooner and spray those damn plants when I had the chance. Now I’ll be dealing with cockleburs all winter. And I’m not talking one or two cockleburs at a time. I’m talking 50 to 100 at a time. Not as easy to pull out when it’s cold, dark, or I’m in a rush to get somewhere with a horse. I’ve relegated myself to being the scuzzy rider who shows up with burs everywhere. Yup, I’m “that” person.

I’ll keep you all posted on Queen’s progress. Not sure if she’s checked out her new shelter or not. I know Babe has a couple of times. I had to go in search of Babe the other day (yes, I lost a blind mare in a small pen). I think she almost prefers the shelter. If Babe could just figure out how to get the round bale in to the shelter, I think she’d be in heaven.