Terrible Realization

I had a terrible realization yesterday. It hit me right smack in the face. And it was a huge blow that made me step back and in fact brought me to tears.


We are a Sanctuary for the old and the infirm. Everyone is growing older and there is no way to stop the inevitable. You can prolong it but you can't stop it.


The last horse we lost was Babe in September 2013. That was three and a half years ago. That's a long time to go with no stress of making that final decision.


I realized yesterday that Rabbit's time with us is not going to be as long as I'd hoped. We'll see what the vet says but in reality if we can get the lameness issue resolved, she wont' be with us for very many more years anyway. That thought smacked me across the face...hard.


I am afraid we are going to experience a wave of goodbyes.


I hadn't noticed it...well that's a lie. I did notice but turned a blind eye.


Dude is in slight pain. I may start him on buteless as well. But his hips are bothering him. I had hoped with the trims that he would be feeling better. He's not. He's still showing his discomfort. This type of weather always causes him some...ice and mud are no good for a horse with bad hips. But I realized that he too will have a shortened lifespan because of those hips. Another blow that hit me hard.


Then I looked at Lace. She's been off the last two or three days but that's because of her knee. She slips and slides in this mud so I am guessing she did something to her large knee. The farrier looked at her knee and said part of it is hard and part there is fluid on the knee. I'm guessing the fluid is from dealing with the  mud but I can only guess. But she was really sore after the trim... I'm sure she'll be fine tomorrow. She even did her own personal stretches during the trim session so I know she knows all about stretching. I may have to start her on stretches too. But that knee is going to take Lace out as well.


For the first time ever, we'll be dealing with physical ailments instead of old age and not keeping weight on. That's going to be even tougher on me. It's easier to see the weight loss and know when the time is to say goodbye but these ailments that cause pain is even worse to deal with.


But I hate the pain.


I have been keeping a watchful eye on Junior and Jim (29 and 30 respectively). They are both doing fantastic. Junior is actually at the right weight but how long will he last... same goes for Jim. His teeth are in exceptional shape so it wont be the teeth that take him out.


Oh the joys of caring for senior horses. So stressful.

Wishlist Thursday?!

I didn't get my act together and missed Wishlist Wednesdsay. So instead, it'll be Wishlist Thursday at the end of the day! 

So this Wishlist Thursday is for over the fence feeders. We have a couple and use a few rubber dish pans but we can always use more. South Dakota winters (and horses) are hard on the feeders. And with the hard keepers, we are using the dishes/feeders daily.

The two pics are from years ago when we had beautiful Babe and kind hearted Thor. Both have been gone to greener pastures for a few years now. I'm still using old pictures and although the horses continue to change, the needs never do.

Miss you Babe and Thor

Babe

Thor

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday: Back to January 2011. The three wearing blankets are all gone to greener pastures with the sun shining on them. Our South Dakota winters are tough on the older horses so we do everything we can to ensure they stay warm on those bitterly cold days.

Queen

Babe

Brego and Sam

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday is of Babe. With it being so blasted hot, thought it  might be nice to see some "cooler" weather pictures. We lost Babe in September 2013. The place hasn't been the same without her. She taught us so much.

With a Heat Advisory in affect until Friday, I just wanted to remind myself that in another six months, we'll be dealing with another type of advisory...wind chill advisories..eek!

Wishlist Wednesday

This Wishlist Wednesday, we wish for fly masks. Fly season is right around the corner and our horses are hard on fly masks. Some fly masks don't even make it one season !

Wishlist Wednesday

Our Wishlist Wednesday wish is for hoses! We found a 120 foot hose so now we don't have to hook up as many hoses and have so much extra to try and run water through. But if we could have another 120 foot hose, I'd only have to manhandle two hoses instead of three or more.

But we could always use shorter hoses. Our SD weather is hard on hoses and we use them year around.

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday. Feeling nostalgic looking at pictures from long ago. This is Babe. She taught all of as the Sanctuary so much. Trust, dignity, respect, willingness, acceptance, love. What a graceful lady. We miss you Babe.

We said goodbye to Babe a few years ago. The void she left behind will never be filled.

Mounted Shooting

I ended up leaving Babe and Mayhem in the pasture last night. It was more out of pure exhuastion rather than anything else. I loaded up Chaos to take him to a Mounted Shooting practice to see how he would do. But before we could go, I needed to get Babe and Mayhem out on grass, along with Skippy. Everyone was happy to get out on grass.

But when we finally got home at 10:30pm, I didn't have the energy to tromp through the pasture to find the two mares and put them back in their pens. I decided I'd leave it up to them to manage in the pasture. This morning, Babe was asleep on the south side of the red shed. Mayhem noticed me but wouldn't leave Babe's side. I am so glad that I paired thsoe two together. Hopefully Mayhem will learn something from Babe.

It was nice to take Chaos out and show him off, specially considering he's a rescue. Unfortunately time has not allowed me to really work with him much over the past couple of years. I need to really focus on him and Maverick and get them going a lot easier. But for sure Chaos will make a great mounted shooting horse. After the initial shot, he stood as cool as a cucumber the entire time. I need to do some ground work with him. Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in some time this weekend and get him going a little bit easeir before the next mounted shooting practice.

Overall it was a great evening with great people, great weather, and great horses. I couldn't have asked for a better night.

Babe Time

Poor Babe. I really haven't been around her much other than to make sure she has food, water, and shade. I did end up putting Mayhem with her and she's been enjoying the company. Just last night I saw her push Mayhem around. I could see the expression of delight when she pushed Mayhem out of the way. When Babe was in with Queen, Queen pushed her around and when Babe was in with any other horse, she got pushed around. For whatever reason, Mayhem knows her place and lets Babe push her around. I really do like having the youngsters in with the oldsters. It makes the older ones feel young again and the young ones learn a lot from the older ones.

But I digress. Last year I didn't do much with Babe. I was too pregnant by this time last year to do anything with her except feed and water (and it was too stinking hot). The year before we tried shaving her much to my chagrin. It was a learning curve and that's all I'll go into detail about that topic. This year my time is very limited on what I can do with the horses.

Luckily the Bear went down early so I had a little bit of extra time to hang out with the horses. I decided to grab a brush and see what I could do.  Otherwise, I was going to put a call out to see if anyone with horse experience would want to come out and groom her (of course that offer still stands). But when I started brushing her, huge clumps of winter hair started coming off. I was so excited. Babe stood absolutely still. I think she really enjoyed the grooming. I have groomed her earlier without any affect to her coat. I guess the hotter weather is finally making her shed out. I was able to get the majority of her winter hair off of her but there's still a little bit more I want to get off. We'll see how it goes. I do believe she has cushings disease but I haven't tested her and at this point, I don't want to put her into any undo stress.

While I was grooming her, Mayhem decided to come over and supervise. I think all the bad habits she was picking up from Rabbit are gone. I really do like this pairing combination. Babe has a calming affect (on pretty much everyone). I have a feeling my parents were hoping I'd bring Babe up for the summer instead of Ivan and Brego. Everyone that ever meets Babe falls in love with her. She's just one of those hard to find, awesome horses. I know that she has a daughter that is almost exactly the same temperament as Babe. If/when the time comes that Chase needs to retire, we will open our doors for her also, even if we are full.

I let half the big herd out onto the lawn last night. I was surprised to find Bo right there at the gate, even with Dude and Chaos near the gate. I am surprised that Bo isn't more bothered by Dude but I guess when it comes to food, Bo doesn't care who is in charge. It's nice to know that Bo will push in when it comes to food. Although  I know Ivan does push him around. It's a weird herd dynamic. But I was able to get some of the harder keepers out on the grass. It is so nice to have horses on grass. I know they are happy, except for when the mosquitoes start coming out. Hopefully I can pull the hard keepers back out so they can eat down the grass more. I am anxious for next week so that I can let the big herd out onto the pasture and then focus on getting the  mares and ponies used to grass.

No rest for the wicked...or wait, is that weary? Either way...

Hospital Ward

Last night we rearranged pens again. Hopefully this arrangement will work. We put Bo back in with the big herd Saturday but he seemed like he was off more Sunday and Monday. But on Tuesday when I looked, he didn’t seem as bad. But I don’t want to risk him getting hurt again or being off still. I don’t  know what’s wrong but my theory is that if he stays off concrete, doesn’t get pushed around, and stands on fairly soft ground (soft for it being almost December), then maybe he’ll come out of whatever it was. Maybe it was something neurological, maybe it was a severe pinched nerve. Who knows?

So last night after everyone had their grain, Mike and I hauled corral panels in to Babe’s pen. We divided the pen into two smaller ones. I have nowhere else to put Bo otherwise. I don’t want him in with the mares and ponies. I don’t think that’ll give him any relief. And right now there’s no round bale in front of them so not as ideal for gaining weight quickly before winter sets in. 

The dilemma is water.  We have the 100 gallon tank with heater in the pen but dividing it means that someone won’t get the warm water. We opted for Babe to have the big tank even though she won’t drink that much. We need to encourage her to drink so that’s who gets the big tank. Mike is working on a new game plan for Bo so that he can have warm water all the time too. We divided the pen so that Bo would have 24/7 access to the round bale. When we push in a new round bale in another week or so, we’ll rearrange the pen a little bit different to give Babe a bit more space.

 Babe was very upset last night when we brought Bo over. She didn’t realize that she was in a pen by herself because she could still hear Bo. I know she was depressed being alone and now maybe this setup will work better. Bo can’t push Babe around and maybe will simply keep his head in the hay bale until he’s fat (which is hard to do).

Where Babe and Bo are currently used to be the pony pen, and then it turned into the naughty timeout pen. Now it’s the hospital ward. Babe is recovering from her head wound and Bo is recovering from his leg injury or whatever is wrong. So the pen is not so lovingly dubbed the hospital ward until further notice.

This arrangement will work out well for me. It’ll make graining Babe and Bo easier. Last night I fed Bo in the barn and had Zeke, Jim, and Rain in too. Rain snuck under the chain dividing him from Bo and stole some of Bo’s grain. I gave Rain an earful when I found out he was snitching. Ivan wants to be in the barn at all times too. He loves his grain.

The weather is supposed to be fairly nice this weekend. Hopefully I can pull out the temporary fence in the mare pasture before the ground freezes. So not looking forward to winter. We have just a few more little projects to do outside before winter sets in. It’s nice to be able to tick off a few of the projects on our list. I can pass on the snow but we do need precip soon. We are still in a drought and if we don’t get anything soon, we are going to be in a world of hurt soon. We need rain and at some point, I’d even be fine with snow (just not yet).  If we go into another year of drought I’m afraid of what’s going to happen to the horse market even more. But I guess that’s a topic for another discussion.

I can’t believe that it’s almost December. I’ve always been at least one or two months behind. I lost half my summer and all of the fall with the G-Bear’s arrival (but it was worth it). Now it’s time to buckle down and get a few more projects done before the end of the year. I’m looking forward to 2013 and all the adventures we’ll be having.

Wordless Wednesday

Babe enjoying some grass.

The Old Girls Crack Me Up

Those old mares crack me up. When I least expect it, those old mares know how to lift my spirits, even when I’m not really down in the dumps.

This morning I was out doing my normal morning chores in the dark. I threw hay over the fence for Rabbit and Mayhem. I am not sure if Babe heard me or not. I didn’t think I had made that much noise. I ended up climbing over the fence to take Rabbit’s blanket off (no leg straps so I’ve been readjusting and I think she’s getting tired of the adjustments). I tried to move the hay a little bit farther away from the fence. The wind blows and they end up losing half their meal.

The last few days I’ve thrown the hay along the fence line of the blind pen. There was a bunch that had blown threw and I figured it was a lost cause. I hadn’t seen the hay the night before or even this morning. I figured it had either blown away or been covered in snow.

As I was pulling Rabbit’s blanket and moving hay, Babe wandered over. There’s just enough of a gap between the blind pen shelter and the fence. I know both Babe and Thor have wandered over for some odd reason. While Babe was wandering up the little aisle, I told her good morning and her ears perked up.

That silly Babe wandered all the way to the corner and stood there looking for hay. So SHE’s been the one snitching the hay and making sure nothing goes to waste! For being completely blind, she can sure find the hay!

Now that the storm has passed, I decided I would let Queen and Flower out of the barn. Queen was more than ready to get out. Flower doesn’t really want to move so she wasn’t too thrilled. Any other horse and I would have to halter and lead them to their designated pen but not Flower and Queen. I dumped their beet pulp into dishes, opened the gate, and scurried out of the way with their breakfast in hand. Queen came rushing out of the barn for her morning meal. If Flower wasn’t lame, she would have beaten Queen to the beet pulp. Without a halter, lead rope, or even a piece of twine those two girls walked into their pen. Only those two girls would mind their manners so well and do what I ask without me even saying what needs to be done. I think we are on a “Respect Each Other” policy.

And then there’s Maverick. He pretty much told me that he’s been missing my interactions with him. I was climbing over the gate to start morning feeding and Maverick was right there in my way. I make sure to watch where I swing my leg with Maverick. But he stood his ground. I gave him a pat and he still wouldn’t move. So I took his head in my hands and gave him a great big hug. He stood there soaking up all the attention. He melted my heart tonight and now I feel guilty that I haven’t been doing much with him. I guess I know what I’ll be doing, having some Maverick Time.

Lost a Horse

This morning I managed to lose a draft horse in a drylot. It’s not the first time I’ve lost a horse but it is the first time I lost one in a smaller area. I’ve lost the entire herd in the pasture. Of course I blame that on the hill that is our pasture. I’ve walked the entire pasture to discover that they managed to wander into the big drylot or were on the other side of the hill that I didn’t happen to walk all the way around.

But this morning I lost Thor. Babe had her head buried in the round bale (typical for her). All I ever see of here these days is her butt. Queen was snoozing by Babe but let out a whinny when she saw me. She’d missed her alfalfa last night because we were late in doing chores (starting chores at 9pm means I cut down on just about everything). I thought Queen’s whinny would set Thor or Babe off but it didn’t.

I grabbed a couple flakes of alfalfa, climbed the gate, tossed alfalfa to Babe and Queen, and went in search of Thor. I had a feeling Thor was standing in the newly constructed shelter. I’ve never actually seen him in it and was wondering if he’d ever used it before. Sure enough, Thor was in the shelter snoozing away. It’s so hard to wake a sleeping horse, and even harder when they are blind.

I made a bit of noise and promptly put the alfalfa to his nose. For Thor, that’s the best way to wake up, with a nose full of alfalfa. He “sees” through his nose. Babe “sees” through her ears. It’s amazing to watch how those two have managed to adapt to their disability.

Thor went to town on his alfalfa and I left him there. I was rather tickled that he was in the shelter. I wasn’t sure if it would be something either Babe or Thor would go into as it’s a tarp building and makes noise. If you can’t see it but you use your other senses, will that bother them. Apparently not. I’ve had to give Babe her alfalfa in the shelter too. I expect I’ll find all three in that shelter at some point.

Surprisingly enough, the shelter is pretty small once you put Thor in there. Oh sure there’s room for all three, but Thor really filled the shelter. It’s supposed to fit a vehicle and it fit Thor perfectly. Beings that both Babe and Thor are blind, I wondered if they would even go into it. I guess my worries are over. They both know where it is at and will go into it when they want. Wish I had one or two more of those garage in a box shelters. They really do work nice for the horses. It’s not permanent by any means but it is additional shelter if they so desire and works perfect as a wind block.

So the lesson for today is: if you lose a draft horse, carry some alfalfa.

Queen

I was still on the fence deciding what to do with Queen. I think she told me this morning. It’s not as ideal for her (and Flower hates it), but Queen is relaxing and becoming boss mare of her herd of three.

This morning when I went out to do chores in the dark, Queen was curled up next to the round bale feeder. I think she was struggling to keep her head up. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve seen Queen lie down. Being in with Rabbit, I don’t think she could get up fast enough and get away but with Thor and Babe, she’s perfectly content to curl up on some loose hay and snooze (and steal their food without them even knowing). It’s still not a completely ideal situation but it’s better than before. I think Queen may very well miss Flower but has relaxed enough that she doesn’t mind. Or it could be that she prefers the other hay instead of the big rounds. I’m betting that’s more the case than anything. That girl loves to eat. I swear she follows me with her eyes when I throw hay for the big herd.

Last night Queen put Thor in his place. Poor Thor was just trying to smell out his food and Queen interfered. Queen let out a squeal and a half-hearted little hop. Thor simply backed up. He’s still not comfortable being blind and not being the one to protect. But he fell in love with Queen last year when I put him in with Babe and Queen after Joe’s passing. I’m still on watch though to make sure that Thor is adjusting to a new member in his little herd. I’m not sure he really wants to share his round bale. Every time he’s at the round bale, Queen is standing off to one side. When Queen is eating at the round bale, Thor is standing at a different corner of the pen. I don’t think he’s hungry but I’m sure he’s missing Sahara. Poor guy has lost so many. I wish I could explain to him what’s going on.

Flower does not like this set up. I’ve found her close to the fence next to the main herd. Where she stands, she can keep an eye on Queen. I know she misses Queen but she was getting a bad attitude (thanks to Rabbit). Apparently Rabbit is a bad influence on these mares. Unfortunately, Mayhem has taken to hanging out with Rabbit. I don’t think it’s the mother/daughter bond. I think it’s because Rabbit gets her away and is boss mare. Mayhem thrives on leadership. As long as Mayhem doesn’t pick up those bad boss mare habits, I guess I’ll let them stay together. But if I see some bad habits forming in Mayhem, I’ll have to pull one or the other for a little while. Next year’s summer pasture setup is going to be interesting too. Not exactly sure how we’ll deal with everyone but I’m sure we’ll come up with something.

The weatherman is talking rain or flurries for late today and tonight. I need to remember to grab Queen’s blanket for tonight’s feeding. She still gives me the stink eye whenever I get near with a blanket or a sheet. But I have learned, that she’ll just deal with it. If I tell her she can’t bite me and I stop for just a second adjusting and buckling her blanket, she’ll just give me a stink eye. If I keep at it, she’ll bite me. Thank goodness for big heavy winter coats. I’d love to buy her some Whinny Warmers but they are $50 for four. They are like tube socks that keep the horse’s legs warm. Queen has arthritis and I think it would be a fantastic idea but I don’t think she’d let me mess with her legs. I’m not sure if the other two older mares would benefit from them either. I’m sure they’d just knock my head off. I guess it’s a good thought. But wouldn’t Queen look cute in her blanket and some leggings? Just picturing it makes me smile. I can just see the look on her face. I’m sure I’d be able to put those Whinny Warmers on her front legs once and then she’d start biting me harder than when I put on her blanket. I’ve left Babe’s light weight blanket on because that pen gets a bit more breeze and is less protected from the winter chill. She doesn’t seem to care one way or the other. I’m sure blanketing is more for me than anyone else (except Queen).

I’m still wondering what this winter will bring. Today is the shortest day of the year. I’m glad that we’ll soon be getting longer days so I might actually get something accomplished outside. When it’s dark by 5pm, it’s really hard to get motivated to do anything but basic chores. Lately I’ve been sound asleep by 8pm. Guess I’m playing catch up from this summer when we wouldn’t even come in the house until after 10pm. But I am looking forward to longer days. I’d like to see the herd in the daylight more than just on the weekends.

Relocating

With Sahara’s absence, Thor became upset. I had hoped that he would settle down quickly but he knew he was missing a horse. I decided it might be wise to try putting Queen in with Babe and Thor. I don’t like the location as it isn’t quite as protected but Queen wouldn’t get pushed around like she has been for the past few months. I’m not convinced I’ll keep this arrangement because Queen still has to be stalled at night when the temps drop. She’s just too old to withstand super cold temperatures even when she has shelter to go in to and a snug blanket.

Queen seemed pretty content after I gave her some alfalfa and grain. All three seemed to settle down. In fact, Babe seemed the calmest out of the three. Queen watched over the fence to spot Flower and Flower continued to whinny but she eventually settled down when I threw her a flake of alfalfa. She’s been attached to Queen since the day we brought her home. I kept a close eye on Flower at first to make sure she didn’t try and take down the fence. She seemed to settle down last night and all was quiet this morning. But we’ll see where everyone is standing this afternoon before I make my final decision on who goes where.

Queen wasn’t at the round bale this morning so I’m not sure that I’m convinced she’ll stay. But for now she’ll stay with Babe and Thor and have 24x7 access to hay and a lot less pushing. If she seems depressed, I’ll put Queen back and she’ll just have to deal with being pushed around. After the snow flies, I may simply put her back anyway. I know Queen doesn’t like change (neither do I). But she’s been getting pushed around for a month or more and that irritates the holy heck out of me. You respect your elders. I know that isn’t the case in the horse world but I’m the boss mare and it’s my rules.

Babe’s mood definitely improved after Prince went to Gentle Spirits. She’s much calmer. I hadn’t realized how upset she’d gotten but she’s definitely back to the Babe I remembered. Poor girl. I feel bad for not having noticed it sooner and making her put up with a naughty paint for so long. I’m hoping that with Queen back with Babe, those two will bond again. Queen was always in charge of Babe so hopefully Queen will feel up to being “boss mare” again, although I don’t think Babe cares because there’s food right in front of her nose all the time.

We did get a few things accomplished yesterday when Mom, Dad, and Grandma came down. We finally finished tarping all the hay and got the remaining loose hay from a round bale scooped up and tossed over to the horses. Now the aisle is clean again and we can get the truck or tractor in to the drylot if necessary after the snow flies.

We’ve missed out on any snow so far. I expect we’ll have a brown Christmas. It won’t be the first or the last brown Christmas. I do hope for some snow so that the pasture is covered and protected from the horses and so that the horses stop picking up cockleburs. Teach me not to get out there sooner and spray those damn plants when I had the chance. Now I’ll be dealing with cockleburs all winter. And I’m not talking one or two cockleburs at a time. I’m talking 50 to 100 at a time. Not as easy to pull out when it’s cold, dark, or I’m in a rush to get somewhere with a horse. I’ve relegated myself to being the scuzzy rider who shows up with burs everywhere. Yup, I’m “that” person.

I’ll keep you all posted on Queen’s progress. Not sure if she’s checked out her new shelter or not. I know Babe has a couple of times. I had to go in search of Babe the other day (yes, I lost a blind mare in a small pen). I think she almost prefers the shelter. If Babe could just figure out how to get the round bale in to the shelter, I think she’d be in heaven.

Best Blessings

Our Thanksgiving weekend was packed full of amazing friends and family. As I reflect over the past few days, I am still thankful for everyone’s support.

On Thanksgiving day we loaded Prince to take him to Gentle Spirits. Prince wasn’t so sure about loading but after a little bit of time, he decided that it was alright and he loaded like he’d been doing it for years. I guess as long as it’s his idea, he’ll do it. We unloaded Prince at Gentle Spirits and put him in their round pen. Instead of introducing him to the Renner, SD herd, Gentle Spirits decided to put him in to the Sanctuary in Forest City, IA. He’s in with a few of the older horses (if my memory serves me correctly) so that they can observe him and begin his evaluation for more training. We were blessed to enjoy Thanksgiving with Gentle Spirits. Let me just say one thing, those ladies know how to cook! We had a wonderful afternoon and I met some amazing horses that are up for adoption through Gentle Spirits. Those ladies are fabulous. If there is a local rescue to support (besides Borderlands!! ), I strongly urge you to support Gentle Spirits.

While at Gentle Spirits, I saw Savanna. Let me say, she looks fantastic. She’s almost downright fat. I’m so happy to see a nice full butt and no ribs or hips sticking out. I knew once Prize was weaned and she could concentrate on herself that she would pack on the pounds. I’m ecstatic that she was able to put on so much weight before winter actually hits. I’m sure once the snow flies, she’ll be up to her right weight and by this spring she’ll be downright fat. Thank you Gentle Spirits for doing such a fantastic job on Savanna. I’m so glad she gets a second chance at life and that you’re helping to find her a home that will love her forever. She deserves just that!

We fell into a food coma Thursday night but woke fairly early to do final prep work for our winter supply of hay. The weatherman forecasted a calm day, so our hay guys decided to deliver the hay. I ordered extra hay not knowing exactly who we would have with us. The guys arrived with a semi and a flatbed full of hay. They had to run back to get a second flatbed full of hay after lunch. By 2pm the hay guys were back and quickly unloading the bales and putting them under cover. There really is nothing more comforting than a barn full of good quality hay. By 4pm all of the hay was stashed away into the hay shed and hay barn. I need to figure out how many round bales the blind pen will run through and then use up the remaining round bales for the big herd before I switch over to the good big squares. Once the herd gets a taste of the big squares, they’ll refuse to eat the round bales. The only misgiving I have with the hay is the price. Now that I have the hay sitting in my buildings, I have to come up with the cash. After having just paid last year’s hay bill, I am not excited to try to find the money for this year’s hay already. Luckily I’m not paying the standard price for this hay but it is higher than last year. So, if anyone would like to donate towards the hay, it would be most appreciated.

Babe seems to be enjoying Prince’s absence. It does feel a little weird not having him here. Even though he was only with us for four months, he was such a ham. Of course, I’m sure Babe is happy not having someone snitch food right from her mouth. She does seem to be calmer already. I still haven’t decided yet what I’ll do for herd arrangements. Queen seems to be in the “outs” with the other mares in her pasture. I’d prefer to keep her in that pasture because it has better protection but she’s getting pushed around even by Flower. I still haven’t figured out what their disagreement was all about. But it may be that Queen would be happy with Thor, Babe, and Sahara. We’ll see though. I’m still just trying to get things done before the ground freezes and I can’t do any more fencing repairs.

We were planning on putting up a temporary shelter in the blind pen but I didn’t read the instructions before pulling the box out. Apparently we need three hours and at minimum two people with lots of tools that seem to have gone MIA. I swear all of our tools disappear. We finished putting up the snow fence on Friday but had to go in search of yet another pair of pliers as the ones we were using disappeared. I swear tools simply grow legs and walk away.

Saturday we didn’t do much with the horses. But I did get to enjoy some quality family time and hide inside away from the 40mph wind. I also didn’t get to do much on Sunday as I was having an “off” day and thought it would be safer if I stayed away from heavy machinery or for that matter most of the tools that I could find. If it could break, it did. I thought it would be safer to hide in the house instead.

I still can’t bring myself to call the vet for Sam and Sahara. I’m putting it off for another week. I’ve been using some power ulcer medicine and that seems to be helping although it’s not a cure-all but rather just a mask. Sam is slowly losing his weight and I know the inevitable is coming. It’s just hard for me to let go.

I’m hoping the weather holds so I can get a few more outdoor projects done before winter sets in. We’ve had such a fantastic fall that it’ll be hard when the ground freezes and the snow flies. But I’ll take every opportunity to enjoy this nice weather. There won’t be much time to do anything extra with the horses until the end of the week. I have a few errands to run and by the time I get home from work on any given day, it’s already dark. I need to start planning to work on my projects during the weekend. We’ll see how that goes.

I did get to see a few pictures of Prize this weekend. Prize is now proudly renamed Jett. I’ll post a few for everyone to see later. He’s growing like a weed. It warms my heart seeing all of these horses grow and discover themselves. Watching Savanna and Prize (aka Jett) grow and become super healthy is the best blessing.

Weekend Update

It seems we missed out on the freezing rain and snow. Hopefully we'll be able to do some last minute fencing. I had hoped to do some fencing this weekend but the weather forced me inside. Alright, not really "forced" me, but the weather wasn't pleasant on Saturday and it was darn right cold Sunday. To be truthful, I was pretty well played out by the time the weekend rolled around.

The sun was shining Sunday when I went out to do morning chores. Sahara was stretched out soaking in the sun (some days it's good to have a black coat). I could tell that Babe was starting to fade. She just had that look about her. Prince and Thor were busy at the hay bale.

While I was feeding the big herd, I heard Babe. She was nickering, but to who I have no idea. She is rather talkative, which normally gets Thor to talking too. But when I looked, Sahara was stretched out fast asleep and Babe was curled up. I can say I've only heard/seen a horse nicker while laying down less than a handful of times. It was so hard not to bust out laughing.

I'm not sure if Babe was telling her herd to leave her alone while she took a quick nap, was trying to figure out where everyone was, or if she was nickering herself to sleep. And what do you know, I didn't have my camera to catch the scene. Babe looked way too cute all curled up.

Queen, on the other hand, gave me the stink eye Sunday morning. I'd thrown a canvas sheet on her Friday while she was eating her grain. I didn't want her getting chilled because they were predicted freezing rain. Any bit of rain and Queen can't get warm. Of course I didn't have any grain Sunday morning but I thought the hay would be good enough.

Nope. Queen turned her head a couple of times to give me the stink eye. Each time she did, I told her she wasn't allowed to bite me. Queen HATES to be blanketed but it's the nature of the beast now. She's too old to not be blanketed but I have to be very careful when I do throw a blanket on her. Thank goodness for big heavy coats. Whoever said horses don't have feelings never met Queen. How many horses give you "the look" when you go to blanket or unblanket them.

I can't believe that this week is Thanksgiving. I'm so far behind. I've spent all of this fall repairing things that have broken. But it comes in waves. We'll spend one entire year simply fixing things that break and one year building new and then return to fixing other things that break. It's frustrating and never ending but I guess that's the price we pay for moving in to an old farm that once had cattle.

Picture Sunday

Figured you were all tired of listening to me ramble on about stuff so instead I'll leave you with pictures.

Prince

Sahara - look she does stand tied...or about 30 seconds at a time.

Thor enjoying his grain mash

Babe - girl after my own heart. This girl loves her grain mash as much as I love my chocolate.

Babe - her age is showing a little bit but she's still a tough cookie.

Thor

Sahara watching Thor and Babe eat

Prince and Sahara

Prince - he's such a looker

Prince - he's definitely a Prince Charming

Spittin' Fire

Poor Babe. She likes her pen quiet with no drama. She hasn't gotten a quiet day in a while. When Thor went blind, we messed Babe's world up by putting those two together. I've since had to rearrange living arrangements much to Babe's dismay. Hopefully things will settle down after a little while and Babe can go back to enjoying her drama free days.

We put a round bale in the blind pen Sunday night. It's not net wrapped so the horses pull half the bale out onto the ground. I was in the pen scooping it up and tossing it over for the big herd (who think they are starving). Thor and Babe were rather disgusted with me. They thought it was grain time. I kept telling them they had to wait but they wouldn't listen.

While I was scooping up hay, something got into Sahara. I have no idea what. Apparently no one has ever told her that her front legs are croocked and that she should take it easy. She took off like a bolt of lightening, racing around the pen. She was running and bucking for the pure joy of it.

Of course, that commotion got Babe into a tizzy. It also set Prince off. He started loping around with his head held high and his tail outstretched (boy is he a looker when he does that). Any time Sahara would take off with lightening speed across the pen, Prince would lope or trot around. At one point both Sahara and Prince were bucking around the pen. Poor Babe. She hates all that commotion.

It was fun to watch Sahara feeling good. She was running and bucking and farting all around the pen. Putting the young ones in with the old sort of tones down their spunk but it sure didn't have that affect on Sahara. It's probably a good thing that no one told her that her legs aren't straight. It sure didn't stop her from a full gallop around the pen. She'd always stop close to Thor. She must find comfort in Thor. That or Thor was her stopping spot for racing around the pen.

Prince looked gorgeous trotting around the pen with his tail out (makes his tail even more luxurious). I was surprised to see him let out a few bucks but apparently he was feeling good last night too. I sometimes forget that he's only 5 years old. He'll stand tied while I feed Thor and Babe and the only thing he does is paw every once in a while and tries to untie himself.

The other day, while Prince was standing tied, King came over and started harrassing Prince. Then it dawned on me, we have two paints one named King and one named Prince. Thought it was rather a neat idea. So now we have a Queen, King, and Prince. Never knew we'd have royalty. At one time we had a Queen, King, and Ace! I don't play poker but it sure felt like we had a full house.

Luckily both Sahara and Prince settled down after just a short time and Babe was able to back to a less drama filled pen. And to not forget Thor, he could have cared less about all the commotion. He just stood their searching for his grain dish. That boy may have lost his sight but he now has a better sense of smell. I did think it very cute to watch Sahara race around the pen and go straight to Thor, like Thor was the "safe zone". Rather cute.

That Sahara. She sure was spitting fire last night.

Heat Wave

The pictures are hard to read but it shows Excessive Heat in pink. That's right, the entire area is in a warning. And did you notice, not even 8:00am and it's already into the 80s. No wonder I was dripping wet after doing chores this morning. Even at 5:30am it was stinking hot.

The next few days don't look like we'll get a break. I'm a little worried for the horses but as long as they have shade and water, they should be ok.

These temps have burned off what little patience I had and melted my temper. Hopefully I can get cooled off.

I tried to give Babe a bath last night so we could shave her. Ya, that didn't go so well. Gave her a bath at 6:30pm and at 10:30pm I was still sopping wet. Apparently, when the humidity is higher than the temperature, nothing dries. I sort of knew that but totally spaced it. We didn't tackle shaving Babe until 8 or 9pm. We didn't get far before the mosquitoes came out. So poor Babe is sporting a bald spot on her side. We got some of the longer hair but there's a big ugly spot where Mike went to town shaving (it was the only dry spot on Babe by that time). Hopefully tonight we can continue shaving her. For Babe's sake, we'll refrain from taking any body shots of her.