Winter, Candy Canes, Vet, and Cinderblocks

Sorry, I couldn't think of anything to name this post.

Knock on wood, we haven’t had too much excitement lately. I almost consider that a victory! The weather was beautiful this weekend so I snuck out for a few hours Sunday to do some cleanup in the hay shed. I’ve been neglecting the loose hay and thought it best to get it cleaned up before the predicted snow started to fly. We also spent a good portion of that time moving and stacking pallets that the hay used to sit on. The horses were happy to get a midafternoon snack and I was happy to get everything cleaned up.

In our efforts to get things cleaned up, we needed to park the big trailer. No problem, park it by the barn so it’s out of the way of snow but can easily pull it out for drill team practice. I’m now taking Zeke (non-rescue) and Jim (rescue) to practices so at least we’ll have one representing the sanctuary! We unhooked the trailer, parked the truck, and I started chores Sunday evening. I scored a Weatherbetta fly sheet for $15 at Tractor Supply. Hellooooo clearance! So glad I checked. I’m not sure who will wear it but I couldn’t pass up that deal. It was originally $64. Crazy! I’ll admit that I’m a total clearance/deal shopper! We unloaded the grain and I asked Mike to put the flysheet in the trailer. I was too lazy to find a spot in the messy tack room (it needs a severe cleaning overhaul). Well, as I’m dumping grain into the barrels, Mike asked if he could get my help right away. Apparently, the ground was thawing and along with the placement of the concrete cinderblock, the cinderblock broke into five different pieces. It’s a good thing Mike saw the broken cinderblock when he did. I can’t imagine what kind of damage we would have been dealing with had the trailer fallen. I’m guessing we would have been facing replacing or repairing the jack. We were both thanking our lucky stars that Mike caught it when he did. It sure didn’t take long for that cinderblock to break. So for those that may possibly use a cinderblock to hold up your trailer, put a piece of wood underneath the cinderblock so there’s less strain when the ground freezes and thaws.

It’s a good thing we spent the time on Sunday cleaning. We had to run errands all day Monday and dealt with dropping temps and wind during evening chores last night. I decided that I better get a blanket on Rain because the winds were strong and the weatherman predicted snow. I had a different blanket on Rain earlier but he managed to break one of the belly band clips so I switched him over to his old blanket (that Jim now uses). It needs to be repaired but I figured it would hold well enough for this cold snap. Hopefully I’ll have time to figure out how to even repair the darn thing (either of the blankets for that matter). I swear I’m not allowed to have anything nice!

The wind was pretty fierce last night while doing evening chores. I wasn’t sure the “Habitat for Horses” shelter was going to survive the east wind. Luckily it did but it’s already taken a beating. I guess I should have put it in a different spot. Mike contacted the manufacturer to get new parts already. Hopefully next summer we can come up with a better location or better anchoring system. I’m sure he’ll put his skills to good use and figure something out. Last night when I went to feed Babe, Thor, and Queen, I couldn’t find Babe. I couldn’t imagine Babe being in the shelter what with the wind blowing and making such a racket in the shelter. So I climbed over the gate to investigate, thinking maybe she’d gone down and I couldn’t see her. Nope, she’d been in the shelter with all that racket and hadn’t heard me hollering for her. When she emerged, she started in on her whinnying telling me I should have come and got her sooner! That girl cracks me up.

I was in Walmart and went through the clearance section. They had boxes and boxes of left over candy canes. I stocked up. I think we are set now for a long time. Babe’s owner told me that Babe loves candy canes so I had to stock up on them. I wanted to see if some of the other herd liked candy canes too. It’s about half and half. But we are stocked up for a little while anyway. I’ll never be able to look at candy canes again without thinking of Babe!

Thor and Jim have an appointment with the vet this Friday. I want to get their teeth floated. Since bringing Thor home last summer, I haven’t had his teeth floated. He’d dropped some weight earlier this winter but I’m now graining him. But I don’t want to take any chances so I’m hauling him in to get his teeth floated. It’ll have to be a hand float instead of a power float. I don’t want to upset him. We are also going to work on his hooves. Ever since he went totally blind, he’s been really uncomfortable. It’s only been in the last month that he’s settled down to the way he used to be. I didn’t want to stress him out by trying to load him into the farrier’s stocks to trim his feet so I had to make the decision to let his feet go longer than what I want. But since he’ll be tranquilized for his float, we’ll be able to work on his feet and not worry about getting stopped on or kicked. Now that we are using Jim for the drill team, I want to make sure that he’s ready for the extra work. Jim has a tendency to lose weight over the winter. It’s nothing drastic but because I always keep a close eye on everyone, I could tell that he’d lost a few pounds. He’s on grain and he’s packed the pounds back on but if there’s any chance the weight loss is due to his teeth I want to nip that in the bud right away. Jim likes beet pulp but only in moderation. I guess he doesn’t like the amount I typically give to Flower. Last night he turned up his nose at it. I guess I have to put it in Sam’s old beet pulp dish for him to like it. Go figure. If they can snitch it, it’s a wonderful treat. If it’s something I give them, they aren’t interested.

This Friday is also the Mitchell Horse Sale. I’m planning on attending. I can’t bring anyone home. I promised Mike that I would sit on my hands. But I didn’t promise that I wouldn’t be waving my butt in the air to bid! If anyone wants to go with, I’d sure love the company. They are expecting 40 horses through the consigned section and who knows how many through the loose section. I’ll be there with pen and paper in hand to write down stats. It’ll be an exhausting night. I’m sure to drive home in tears. The consigned horses start at 6:30pm followed by the loose horses. I sure hope I’m not one of the few people left in the stands at the very end.

I had thought winter was here but the colder temps and snow finally made it last night. I guess I need to start paying attention to the weatherman now that winter is finally here. At least it waited until mid-January before coming. On the bright side, it’ll be moisture into the pastures, which we greatly need.

I’m not sure if I’ll post again this week or not. There really hasn’t been anything too exciting as of late to report, which is exactly what I like and need right now. Luckily 2012 has been a fairly quiet year so far with no emergencies. I think it’s about time we finally get a break.