Putting in Hay

I had such high hopes of being productive last night. It didn't happen.


I thought we would need to put hay in the big herd and we definitely needed a bale for the ponies (been throwing small squares for a week). But when I went out to check the big herd, they still had plenty of hay left. We'll probably put hay in this weekend instead. It's just odd though because we put hay in two weeks ago and here's still hay. We had a terrible cold snap and yet there's still hay. Although I'm comparing it to last year when we had hay/alfalfa bales and they would power through a bale in just over a week. This hay is straight hay and not the high quality hay that we normally get but it's what we were able to buy due to the lack of rain this past summer.


No one is losing weight so I guess we should be ok. I am also figuring that I absolutely overfed them during the cold snap with the high quality small squares and alfalfa, along with grain so I'm guessing that hay isn't as appealing as their previous meals. I wish we would have been able to get the other hay but hopefully this year we can go back to our normal hay provider.


We had thought of putting hay in but I don't like the thought of wasting any when it's so darn expensive. So we'll wait another day or two before we put hay in. With the temps in the teens last night it felt like a heat wave. I could get spoiled with teens above rather than teens below zero!


Yesterday morning I threw out a small square for the mares and Junior and they didn't even polish it all off before I put them back in their normal pen. Trying to lead horses half way across the property in subzero temps at 5am didn't seem like the most ideal method of horsemanship so I put them in the pen closest to their stalls yesterday morning. I figured they'd eat all day and power through the bale. Nope. I think they too were stuffed on alfalfa and grain. Of course Junior doesn't eat nearly as much hay. I've found that the older they get, the less hay they eat. I guess that's why I like our old hay supplier because his hay is soft, green, and supple rather than this hay we have now.


I'm keeping a watchful eye one everyone to make sure there isnt' any weight loss.


I took a quick peek at Bo and I'm very happy with his condition. His leg is almost completely healed. There will be a scar, but that's to be expected with such a huge cut. The air pocket that covered his entire right shoulder, a portion of his neck and wrapped around his chest is nearly gone as well. The only air pocket I could find last night was a tiny one on his chest. I am excited for these improvements. I'll have to write about Bo's health in a little while. He's a fighter.


There's so much to do right now but we'll see how much I get done. With kids wanting to snuggle at night, it makes it really difficult to be productive after they fall asleep. I think most nights I fall asleep before them. I'm so ready for daylight savings and much longer days. But all in do time. I must be patient.