Cold Front

The last few days have been a blur. I've been meaning to write a post but get lost in the paying job, caring for horses, caring for a toddler type stuff. The other night right as I was finishing chores (late and in the dark), the wind really picked up. The weatherman had warned that the cold front was coming. And it sure did. That evening while we were sitting in the house, Mike mentioned that it sounded like a plane was flying over head because it was that windy.

I'd actually contemplated putting blankets on some of the hard keepers because of the wind but the weatherman said the temps were supposed to get into the 40s and I figured having blankets on would be a hindrance.

Wednesday morning I stepped out to do chores and was lost in my own thoughts. When I walked out of the hay barn, I noticed that we had flurries. I hadn't expected snow! Luckily it only stayed at flurries and nothing  more.

Last night I was again late getting out to do chores. I'd debated long and hard about putting the mares and Junior into stalls to keep them out of the wind. But that was before I'd actually gotten out to do chores. The wind was out of the north and the temps were plummeting into the subzero temps so I was worried that they'd be dealing with subzero wind chills as well. But the wind seemed to hit the trees on the north side of the Sanctuary and create a buffer for all the pens.

And I can't figure out if I'm over feeding everyone or if the horses simply don't like the hay I'm throwing out. I'm using two different bales. Both bales come from the same field although that field I'm discovering has different types of grasses/hays within it. The ponies were the first to stop eating everything I threw out but I assumed it was because I'd been over feeding with this cold front that was supposed to blow through.

But then the mares and Junior also didn't polish off everything. But I sometimes over feed them as well. But this morning, only Bo and Zeke were nibbling at a pile of hay while everyone else stood by the barn (acting like there was wind when there wasn't). I threw out more hay and only a couple of the herd decided to come out of the leanto. I guess they are disgruntled with me at the quality of hay. It's not my favorite type but its' all I have at the moment for them to eat. I knew I had hay snobs but I didn't realize it was that bad. Of course the amount of hay I was throwing out for the past couple of days was a bit more than I normally do so maybe everyone is full. I don't know. It's so hard to figure out what those horses are thinking.

I now have Bo on my watch list. I think his right front leg is bothering him. If he's coming up lame, I'm going to have to find him a soft place to stay for a little while. I'm not sure if he stepped down wrong because some of the other herd was chancing Bo and Zeke last night or if he has an abscess working out or what. But with the ground as hard as it is, he's showing signs of discomfort. It happened a couple of years ago as well so I'm wondering if he simply stepped down wrong but I just don't know. Bo always seems to put me into a conundrum over one thing or another. If it's not his weight, it's his legs, if it's not his legs, its' his weight. I swear I simply have no luck with any bay horse on the place. Call me superstitious but I don't think we should take in any more bays.