Happenings This Week

Earlier this week we put the ponies in with Rabbit and Mayhem (much to Rabbit's dismay). I wish it hadn't been so dark otherwise I would have gotten some really good action shots. Those ponies did hot laps around the pen, bucking and rearing and getting everyone else all stirred up. Even the big herd was riled up, racing around watching those ponies. Mayhem joined in with the running and bucking. She must have watched Zeke a few times because she kept her tail raised like an arabian instead of the Quarter horse that she is.

Rabbit was most displeased by having ponies in her pen. I thought maybe she would have a tough time adjusting to two little monsters in her pen now that she's blind in the right eye but he doesn't seem to care. She put the ponies in their place every once in a while. For being blind in one eye and a little lame in the backend, she can still flatten her ears and take two huge lunges at the ponies to get them to move. I secretly think she's loving having the ponies in the pen to boss around. Mayhem is too laid back for her to boss around so Rabbit doesn't really have anyone to pick on. Now she has the ponies to pester. It looks like she's annoyed but I really think she enjoys the company. I had the ponies in with Rabbit a couple of years ago and it seemed to work out just fine. So hopefully this arrangement will work out for winter.

I'm also starting to believe in miracles. I was devastated to see Bo so lame. None of the tests came back with any reasoning for his lameness. The next step was x-rays but I needed to hold off on doing that until after paying a few vet bills down (which are still sitting on the kitchen table). But before we moved Bo and Babe to their winter pen, I noticed that Bo was moving around a lot better. He is still a little off but not to the same degree. I figured Bo would go lame again when we moved him to the winter pen because he was pacing the fenceline. He did get a little bit more sore than I'd wanted but he seems to be getting better. We still don't know what happened to him but he seems to be improving. I expect it's something neurological, which is devastating but Bo seems to be able to go through anything. I can't keep him as quiet in his winter pen because it's not adjacent to the big herd. But if it seems like Bo is getting better, I may put him back in with the big herd. But it'll be a few more months before that happens I'm afraid. Through all that he's been through, he's still a happy-go-lucky horse.

This weekend is supposed to be nice so I'm hoping to get over to the neighbor's and tear down the temporary fencing. I've been meaning to get over there since we brought the horses home at the end of October but there doesn't ever seem to be any time. I want to get a few things buttoned up before winter really sets in. We still need to do some serious fencing in the drylot. We had a dead tree take down some fence and only because we keep the horses occupied with round bales have they not escaped. So I'm hoping this weekend to do some serious fencing so that when the first serious snowfall arrives, we'll be ready for winter.

I also heard a report of a mountain lion in the area. Someone saw a mountain lion chasing a deer a few miles north of where we live. I was a little concerned for the ponies, until I realized they are in with Rabbit and she's bossy enough to take a mountain lion down. I was also worried about Bo and Babe but they are closer to the house and I can keep a close eye on them through the kitchen window. It's a little un-nerving but I guess that's the price we pay for living in the country.