Memorial Weekend

Tradition normally calls for us letting the horses out onto pasture over Memorial Weekend. Last year was an exception because of the terrible drought we’d had (and subsequently lost 90 percent of our pasture). We’d kept the horses off to reseed last year until the first of July.

This year the horses STILL aren’t out onto pasture over Memorial Weekend. But usually I start putting horses out on the lawn the first of May. Unfortunately, it was so cold the first part of May that the grass didn’t grow and pasture wasn’t even a fleeting thought in my mind when the first of the month rolled around. We also needed to haul manure out which meant that we couldn’t have horses out on the lawn or fencing up.

Another kink in the lawn pasture is that now that we have a toddler on the move, I can’t throw up some electric fence and call it good. Our toddler will either touch the electric, or run passed the electric into the herd and spook the horses. So it took me until this past week to form a plan that would work for everyone.

I took off early from the paying job on Friday so that I could start getting the horses adjusted to grass. We have to have the horses adjusted to grass in two weeks. So I started hauling corral panels out. I thought we had enough and I’d tried to step it out (to measure the length and see how many corral panels I would need and if we had that many). I spent 1.5 hours hauling and putting up corral panels. There were a few swear words involved but at the end, I had a solid fencing that I wouldn’t have to worry about my toddler or the horses getting on the wrong side of the fence.

While I hauled panels, I haltered Rabbit and Mayhem and tied them up so they could munch on grass. BAD IDEA. Rabbit got her foot caught and she freaked out. Luckily she didn’t freak bad when it caught around her front foot. She stood while I unclipped her. The same thing happened again, but with her bag leg about a 20 minutes later. I know better than to tie them long but I couldn’t let them out and I want to start getting them used to grass as well. I thought it would work but I was wrong! Luckily Rabbit didn’t freak out too bad and I was able to help get her unstuck. I think she was giving me the evil eye though.

I put the mares away and haltered the boys and let them go onto the grass. I ended up having them run through the barn. It’s always an experience the first few times that they are haltered and let onto the lawn. Some will question my reasoning for haltering when there’s solid fencing. It’s for me to catch them. I know that if I let them out without a halter, some of them would play keep away. And that’s not a game that’s allowed at the Sanctuary.

The horses were out for about a half an hour to an hour and then I had to lead them back in to their drylot. I let them out again for a little bit on Saturday. I locked them out of their drylot during the time they grazed. I guess they were full because when I called for them, most came at a trot back and through the barn.

We went camping over the weekend (although came home to throw hay). But I let the horses out on the lawn again on Monday for a couple of hours. It’s amazing how quickly they can demolish the grass on the lawn. I thought it would hold for a lot longer. I was off on my thinking! But after a few hours on grass, I figured I’d better start chores. I had all the hay thrown out onto the drylot. While I was getting hay, I heard them galloping around. I’m not sure who started the shinanigans. I’m guessing Maverick. But I called for the boys to come (and that it was suppertime), and they all came at a trot to and through the barn. Hopefully we get into this routine quickly. I took halters off and that was the end of it. I’m starting to consider not putting halters on tonight. With the corral panels up, there’s really no need now that the horses are coming on their own. It’ll be a different story when we finally put them out onto pasture. I’ll have to post a few pictures from when I released them onto the lawn on Friday. I don’t remember the last time I took pictures of the herd. Life has really gotten crazy as of late.

I’m hoping that in two weeks that I can put the horses out onto the big pasture. I still need to spray and this time I’m going to divide the pasture so that I can hopefully rotate to save the pasture. I’m afraid we are going into a drought.

It usually rains over Memorial Weekend and we only got a few sprinkles on Monday. Although we did get a soaker rain overnight and everything was soggy. If the weather keeps up with beautiful weather, lots of sun, and rain overnight, we could have a gorgeous summer. But there’s always that thought in the back of my mind that we are going into a drought. If we do, more horses will be in trouble this year. And I’m not sure if we are in a position yet to help any of them. At this very moment, we aren’t. So I’ll continue to keep an eye to the sky and pray for more beautiful weather.

Also, we started a new tradition, totally unrelated to the Sanctuary but I want to share. I also want to take note of all those that have gone before us. May we always remember them. If there's time, I would like to post a few pictures of those horses that have gone before us. May they always have a spot in our hearts.