It's Coming

It's coming! And faster than I can imagine. The signs are in the air.

90 days from fog is precipe. That puts the precipe in October. Hmmm, can you imagine what we'll get in October?!?!

60 days from the Kattydids signing is the first frost. That puts us into September!

It's the end of July and it's freezing. I was wearing a sweatshirt to do chores! How can that be?!?!?!

We had freezing cold rain this evening too. Poor Queen was shivering like crazy. She couldnt' get warm. Babe was just fine. I had to put a medium weight blanket on Queen tonight. I couldn't stand the thought of her standing out in the cold, shivering. So I rummaged around and found a half way clean blanket. It fit her pretty well. But it's the end of July... the END OF JULY and I'm having to blanket a horse?!?!?! What the heck is going on?

I let Bob out of the barn here tonight and the thermometer on the house said 59 degrees! WHAT!?! It's the END OF JULY!

Craziness. I think I better start preparing for a long, cold winter. Isn't that sad?! I'm thinking of winter at the END OF JULY!

Even the trees are starting to turn already. The fire bushes in front of the house are even starting to turn. Some of the trees on the way to work are starting to turn too. How can that be?!? It's the END OF JULY! It's supposed to be 90 degrees out during the day at 70 degress at night! How can it be in the upper 50s?

I don't get it. I guess maybe that's why I'm starting to panic. Or nest. Or call it whatever you want.

But it is the season. And I think other people are starting to think the same thing. I've been on CraigsList a lot here lately and I'm starting to see a bunch of people culling there horses. And for super cheap. Makes me sick to think of where they are going to end up. Wish I had more land, money, and training ability.

I best start preparing for a long winter and for possibly bringing in more horses, cuz IT'S COMING!

Still Alive

We are alive at Borderlands. Been a busy weekend. I'll post later today/tonight about our adventures in idiot bales (round 1 and round 2). I'll also post about our busy cleanup day Saturday to prepare for fencing.

Until then.....

More Idiot Bales?

I might have more idiot er I mean small square bales of grass hay. Found an ad on Kelo which is the same guy we'd called last week I think. Mike was going to do me the favor of calling to see if they were still available. If the ones in Parker are still there I'm buying them sight unseen. I know that's a bit dangerous but for $2.50 I'll risk the gas money to go pick them up. If they aren't good I'll sell them this winter. Maverick doesn't need top quality.

Mike was going to call the other hay guy to let him know when we plan to pick up the 150 bales in Madison. We unloaded the flatbed last night of the windbreak material. Having stuff on the flatbed was the only real holdup for getting the hay so far.

If it all works out, we'll head up to Madison tomorrow morning to pick up the 150 bales. I'm getting them for $3 per bale. Not too bad but not the greatest I bet. Hopefully we can make it in one trip. I don't want to take two trips so the trailer might get overloaded.

I'm hoping that while Mike heads off to work tomorrow I can spend the day unloading the hay. That way we'll have a free trailer for Saturday to pick up the hay in Parker (if they haven't already been sold). 100 bales at $2.50.

I know I shouldn't worry about hay. I can always contact my good hay guy and he'll find me some but I'd really like to be self sufficient. And if I "accidently" bring another horse home I want to make sure that I have enough. I did find a horse that would work perfect for trail riding. I wish that the email address would work. I may have to call tonight.

But for now I'm starting to feel less stressed about the hay situation. There's no better feeling than a winter supply of hay sitting in anticipation of being eaten! I love the feeling a full hay barn has on me.

I also had it figured that 150 bales should get me through five months of winter. I'm not really sure if that's true. But if I give a bale a day to a horse that would get me through five months. But since I'm planning on just using it as filler for Maverick and Brego (since they still need to do some growing), I don't have to try and make it last as long.



ok.. Just got off the phone with Mike. We have HAY!

Round 1 -- 150 bales at $3 per bale in Madison. We pick them up first thing tomorrow morning. While Mike is at work I'll unload them so the flatbed is ready for Round 2!
Round 2 -- 100 bales at $2.50 per bale in Parker. We pick them up 9am Saturday morning.
No sleep for the wicked or is that weary? Either way, we have HAY!

I'm feeling less stressed as the minutes fly by.

More Maverick Time

Monday night I decided to let Maverick into the bigger drylot. I locked him in so that he couldn't escape out into the pasture. I needed to fill both his water tank and the mares' water tank while I was at it. I prefer to lock the horses out of the drylot when I'm filling tanks. Chaos is too hard on the hoses otherwise.

I will need to put a breakaway halter on Maverick when I do finally let him out into the big herd. I don't know that I'll be able to walk up to him to catch him. I can't catch Rain or King so why would it be any different with Maverick. But I do want to be able to just walk up to Maverick without him walking away. So we'll see. I didn't have him out in the big drylot for very long.

I also moved the pony pasture to where I was planning on putting them while we were on vacation. The mosquitoes were too bad in the other place I had planned. This way hopefully the grass will be back and lush enough for them to enjoy while we are gone. The creeping charlie/creeping jenny was actually taking over. So I guess it's a good thing I'm running the ponies in there for now. If the grass doesn't come back I'll have to get their permanent pasture built a little bit quicker and a little bit more secure.

Last night Mike had to work late so it was just me and the four legged babies for the evening. I decided I'd better ride Maverick. It's been awhile since I've been on him. The days are getting shorter so there isnt' as much riding time.

Whenever I put the saddle on Maverick he turns into a different horse. For the life of me I can't get him into anything but a very SLOW walk. I like it but I'd really like to get a wet saddle blanket out of him at some point. I'd like to either move him to the big dry lot and work him in there or bring in some obstacles to work around in Maverick's drylot. It's getting boring just riding around, not even in circles. I'm still trying to figure out how to get him to respond better with turning.

I'm actually thinking I may switch bridles again. I just bought a regular snaffle bit. So I may put that in a bridle and give myself some long spit reins instead of the single reins. I need to be able to pop him on the butt with the reins to get him to move quicker. Also, the bridle is set up for Chaos who I think has a bit bigger head. I'd like to keep the bit loose for now since Maverick is still learning but he fiddles with it so I'd like to try something different. I want to have a bridle for each horse so I don't have to fiddle with readjusting every time (and because I can't remember how each horse fits the bridle). This way if I ever do decide to take both Maverick and Chaos out for a ride at the same time, I'll have enough tack to go with.

Lord knows I have enough tack to outfit almost every horse. I swear all the horses combined have a bigger wardrobe than I do!

When I got done riding Maverick, I decided to give him a better grooming. I need to start fiddling with him more. He's really a hands off type of horse. So instead of letting him get his way I groomed him down and braided his mane. He actually stood like a champ. I was impressed. I still need to convince him that when I come with fly spray he doesn't have to walk away from me or be tied up. He's not fond of flyspray even if it does help with the flies. Not sure how to convince him, if I ever will. Darn Maverick.

After I finished fiddling with Maverick I did normal chores. I wish I would have had the camera earlier in the day. Sam has taken to following Bob in the afternoons around grain time. They were both up, standing in the leanto waiting. They both popped their heads out over the gate. I sure wish I would have had my camera. The scene would have been picture perfect.

As the sun was setting I decided that I needed to get the alfalfa bales moved into the hay barn. Mike wasn't home yet and the dogs needed some time to run. So what better way to kill some time than to move alfalfa bales. I had to move the 25 bales that were wet into the hay shed instead of the hay barn. Letting them sit on pallets single file really did seem to help out quite a bit. Some were still pretty heavy so I hope there's no mold. I guess I'll find out this winter. Still makes me angry. I should have insisted on getting a different batch.

I must be out of shape because moving 25 bales was a workout for me. But I now have the bales in the barn and that freed up some space in the hay shed for the 150 idiot bales we have waiting for us. I'd like to clean out the area again where the hay bales will go but we'll see if I have time.

I'm not sure when we'll get up to get the hay bales. I'm sure the hay guy is getting anxious for us. But Mike has been working long hours. He'd hoped we could go up tonight but the flatbed is still loaded down with big sheets of tin that we'll use for either a wind break or for an open front (I'm hoping we can still build an open front this fall in the small drylot where Maverick is at).

I'm not sure were we are going to put the tin but I need to unload it tonight. I guess that'll be my project for tonight. I guess that also means Maverick gets a repreive from my fat butt sitting on him. We'll see how it goes though. I'd really like to get up and get those hay bales. I feel so much better with hay sitting in anticipation of the winter months. It's a secure feeling. Maybe once the hay is in the barn this panic feeling I've been having will go away.

Chaos's Second Major Trail Ride

Saturday we had our first official trail ride for the Minnehaha County Saddle Club. We scheduled the ride for 10am at Newton Hills State Park. Dad volunteered to go with me so I wouldn’t have to go alone. It’s a bit of a drive; we headed out about 8:30am.

Since King has a bum shoulder, Dad rode Rain again and I rode Chaos. Chaos did very well. This was only his second serious trail ride and he keeps improving by leaps and bounds. (He’s only been ridden three times outside of Borderlands so far.) Parking was a bit tricky. I hate that parking lot so of course I lost my temper (as normal when it comes to the truck/trailer). But we finally got settled, met all the people who were going to ride, and headed out.

We rode for about an hour. Rain and Chaos did very well. We rode in mostly wooded areas which is completely different for both Rain and Chaos. We had a bunch of hills to climb up and down. Poor boys had a workout. Chaos was completely out of shape but he’s so young it didn’t bother him. Rain has been trail ridden but he’s out of shape so was huffing and puffing. But I think that was more out of excitement than anything else. I wish we could have stopped to take a few pictures but there wasn’t any place to pull off the trail.

After riding the trails for awhile we decided to head back and have our potluck and schedule more rides. I was anxious to head back out on the trails so Dad and I ditched everyone and headed back into the woods. Without the security of the herd, Rain became very flighty. Poor Dad had to deal with Rain’s nervousness and quick reactions. Not good for a guy with vertigo!

But we managed to get Rain calmed down, and headed back out to the trails. We did encounter a few objects that Rain spooked at. You know the average rock, clump of dirt, and bicycle. Chaos only spooked because Rain spooked, otherwise he would have gone on as normal. I guess Dad and I should have switched but with Chaos only having one other major ride under his belt I didn’t want to offer. Dad had to get off Rain a couple of times. It was the safest thing to do. So here my safe little gelding wasn’t so safe after all. Poor Dad ended up getting into some itch weed to add insult to injury… well, I guess it’s better than having Rain spook and Dad getting dumped.

We rode for another couple of hours and got back to the trailer about 3pm. It was a good ride although I wish we would have had more time to ride the trails backwards. I also wish we could have had another couple of horses along so that Rain wouldn’t have been so spooky. But it did the horses good. I think we need to haul the horses over to Newton Hills a bit more next summer so we can get them into shape for when we head to the Black Hills.

This trip was the farthest I’ve driven in awhile. It was also the longest that Chaos had ever been in a trailer. He did very well. Only once did he get upset and make the trailer rock. But it was to be expected, since we drove past road construction. The last two times he got sweated up just a little but this time around he wasn’t sweaty at all. But it could be that we were on interstate for awhile and the sweat dried. I guess he just needs more trailer time. I need to start loading Chaos and Maverick into the trailer and drive around the section, unload, reload, and drive around. It all takes time.

But all in all it was a good experience for both the horses and humans. I’m not sure we’ll get back down to Newton Hills again this summer. I’m hoping to get down there one more time this fall. The trees would be gorgeous. But we’ll have to go with a few more people from the other saddle club. They are a bit better about humoring me with pictures.

I'll add pictures later today.

We Have Idiot Bales

I have idiot bales. My other hay guy just called! Yeah

I'd had Mike call a guy north of Sioux Falls a few weeks back. He's the hay guy we bailed on. Turns out he had more for the second cutting. I'm buying 150 ditch grass hay bales. It's nothing special, but I needed something to offset Maverick's appetite. He can eat SO much hay. I need to get him on grass soon. I have exactly one month to get him adjusted to the herd. I hope I can catch him once he's in the herd.


Awhile back the neighbor said to come over and pull some fence posts along the gravel road. While Mike was making the treck back down the ditch to the approach I took some pictures. I should add a few more. The above was right at the end of my driveway. Everything looks so green.

The below pic is after Mike, our farmer friend, and I threw 50 bales of alfalfa onto the flatbed. I was a bit disappointed that half those bales started to get wet. I'm hoping my drying system has fixed the issue. It was so wet when they were baled and sitting on the flatbed. I really don't know if my fix worked or not. But no matter what I need to get those bales out of the hay shed and into the hay barn.

This was the view as we were pulling out of the driveway to pick up the bales. Nothing like waiting until dusk to throw bales. I knew we needed to get the bales out of the field asap. They were talking rain the next day. And low and behold, we had rain the next day. Luckily the bales were in the shed but I waited too long and some started to mold while sitting on the trailer. I hope that my fix works. I'll have to post a few more pics of our alfalfa bale adventure some other time.

I'm just excited we have hay bales, even if they are ditch hay. I'm paying $3 a bale. I'm sure that it's too much for what it is but the guy was willing to call us instead of the other way around. I'd seen his ad on CraigsList and thought maybe we should call but later on in the day he called us! AND I don't have to pay in cash (which is a pain to run to town). I think this guy is pretty honest so hopefully the small bales will be good enough. I'm not sure if I need to put in another order from him or not. I don't know how many bales Maverick will go through. I'd like to have an emergency stash of hay for this winter but I don't know. I don't really know how much to spend on small squares.

I know I'm spending more on small squares of ditch hay than per ton of the dairy quality hay but I won't know what the big squares are going to cost me until the middle of winter which for me is unacceptable. I want to know how much it's going to to cost me before I agree to it. But that's not the case with this hay guy. It's rather frustrating. Maybe I'll see if I can do some more wheeling and dealing and get a few more small squares just to appease my mind.

Shorter Days

I decided today I would sneak in to work a little early so that I could sneak out a little early and head to a tack sale. I realized awhile ago that the days were getting shorter. But today was a wakeup call to me.

I know that it's only the middle of July but I swear it felt like September or October today. When I went out to do morning chores, it was predawn and the yard light was still on. I had to do chores in the morning glow instead of sunlight. Felt a little odd.

The temps are way off today too. This morning when I went to do chores it was 48 degrees in JULY! That's crazy! And they are saying the high will only be 72 degrees. That's definately NOT July weather. We had 90 degrees in March/May. How can we have low and comfortable temps in July?!?! I don't get it.

But this morning's chores gave me a feeling of impending winter. I think that's why I've been so stressed. This cooler weather has me spooked. It feels like we are headed for an eary winter but I can't think that right now. I just dont' think I'm going to get everything done before winter sets in. I sure hope I can settle down and get some stuff done.

I'm surprised that I can already feel the onset of fall/winter already. I don't normally get that feeling in July. Usually I dont' get that feeling until the end of August or sometime in September after our yearly vacation. I hope my premonitions are wrong and we have an open winter. I don't think I have enough hay yet to get me through a bad winter.

I know everyone keeps saying we are due for a bad winter soon. It's been over 10 years. But maybe it'll be another few years before we have another one. I'm simply not ready. Hopefully I can get a bunch of stuff done in the next few weeks to help ease the stress.

Should be a fun day tomorrow. We have a trail ride scheduled with the new saddle club. I'll try to take a bunch of pictures since I know what Chaos is going to be like on the trail. I'm excited but a bit nervous since I don't really know anyone there. But it should be fun no matter what. I've only ridden at Newton Hills once before. I'll try to blog about it tomorrow if I'm not too tired.