Pasture BedTime

What an absolute gorgeous morning. No wind (well enough to blow hay into my hair but not enough to be too annoying), warm temps (I didn’t require coveralls, heavy coat, gloves, hat, and scarf!), and the horses were happy to see me. I love mornings like that.

Yesterday after getting home from the paying job, I realized that the horses weren’t hanging over the fence waiting for me. I had my suspicions but left it at that.  I’ve been putting them out on the lawn since last week. I’m not sure if they are ready to be on pasture for a full day or not so I was planning on letting them out on the lawn for a couple of hours.

When I climbed over the fence, no one was around. As it happened, someone figured out that the gate wasn’t completely closed.  I’m not sure if it’s been like that for awhile but I had my suspicions. Luckily the herd wasn’t far from the gate. They were barely into the pasture when I caught them. I hollered and almost everyone came up at a slow saunter. At least they came up. I want/need to get them trained to come up when I call. Everyone but Ivan and Bo were willing to come in so I got the rest of the herd out on the lawn and went back for Ivan and Bo. Ivan came up and gave me this innocent look with his droopy lip. I kicked him out onto the lawn and went for Bo.

I had to grab some twine and lead him into the drylot to convince him he didn’t need to be out on the pasture. After I let him wander, he stood right by my shoulder. If he was my only  horse, I think the bond would be 100 times stronger. There’s just something about him. He’s chosen me and I’ve chosen him. He’s still way too thin for me to ride him but I need to figure out a few things to put weight on him. I need to start reinforcing that bond and start doing MY part.

When it was actual feeding time, I kicked everyone back into the drylot and decided that I would let the mares and ponies out on the lawn. When I came around the corner, they were all standing in a circle with their heads together. When I came around the corner, everyone lifted their heads like they were telling secrets. Makes you wonder what they were talking about. I let Rabbit and Mayhem out at first and then went back to get halters for Tommy and Skippy. I’ve learned my lesson with those ponies. Halters are a MUST when they are on grass. They are such stinkers to catch.

I left them to graze and play and went to fill their water tank. We’ve been in the upper 80s for the past week so I need to keep better tabs on the water situation. I topped out the water tank and got the big herd fed. By the time I was ready to put the mares and ponies away, it was getting dark. Surprisingly, I was able to catch Skippy first but the other three tried to play keep away. I was able to get Rabbit and Mayhem back in the pen with very little problem but Tommy was a pill. I finally caught Tommy after a lot of running (on his part not mine). I desperately need to get the gate fixed. I don’t want to be taking the horses in and out of that gate often but that’s the only gate I can use. So the half-arsed method worked for awhile but we need to get it fixed ASAP if I want to use the pen this summer.

I had planned on keeping the geldings on the lawn until the middle of next week but I’m thinking that I may put them on the lawn for the day tomorrow and then let them go into the pasture. I haven’t walked the pasture so I have no idea what it looks like. From the brief moment I was out there, it looks pretty nice but with 10 mouths eating all the grass, I’m not sure if it will hold up. I guess we’ll wait and see.  I am planning on taking Brego and Ivan up to Madison  (i.e., the “summer resort”) for a little while but I need to get Ivan’s feet trimmed first. Yet another phone call I need to make but don’t seem to get around to doing it .

Once the geldings are on pasture, I can get the mares and ponies used to grass. We’ll see how it goes. I want the mares in their pasture but the ponies will have to stay on the lawn. It’ll make it a bit interesting with Garrett around. I may have to pull ponies off the lawn while he’s out playing. I don’t want a toddler discovering electric fence. Or worse, getting in with the ponies.

I have a huge long list of things that need to get done around the place. I have no idea if I’ll be able to get them all done or not. But it would sure feel nice if we could get a few items marked off the list. Mike got the new tractor out and was pulling volunteer trees up out of the yard. Hopefully we’ll start focusing on making the place not look to ratty. So much to do and so little time. Anyone want to come out and help? We have all sorts of activities to work on! I’ll feed you too!