Evening Chores in the Rain

Last night's chores took forever. Anything out of the norm always adds extra time. Everything is soaked and flooded. I knew right away when I got home that I needed to get started on chores ASAP. I'd already had Bob's beet pulp soaked overnight so that it would be ready right away. Unfortunately I must have filled his dish with too much water so I couldn't give him any warm water with his grain and beet pulp. I'm afraid I rushed Bob on his grain.

Sam was right with Bob so I let them both in and grained them. Luckily Sam doesn't have as much and eats quicker. Although I do think he's learned Bob's art of milking it for all it's worth. I felt terrible for rushing him. While Sam was eating I ran to get the mares.

I was able to get Babe first. She has such a thick coat that the water made her look almost like a Curly Horse instead of a Appy. I lead her into the barn to get her out of the wind and rain. I rushed back for Queen and we trotted back to the barn. Mike was a sweetheart and tried to wipe off the worst part of the rain on the mares. Babe was loving it. The mares were rather disgruntled in not getting to right into their stalls. Sam did not want to go back out into that rain and was procrastinating.

While waiting for Sam, I pulled Zeke and Maverick out and tied them in the hay shed. Zeke was standing there shivering and I'm sure he was exhausted from walking around in the mud. Maverick needs the exercise but he's a bit rough on poor Zeke. So into the hay shed they went. Unfortunately the box stalls aren't ready so I had to simply tie them in the shed and wait. I think they were happy to get out of the rain and mud.

I kept checking on all six of the horses. I finally had to kick Sam out so that I could get the mares in. Rushed around to get their warm mash while Bob was still eating his grain. While I was in the house getting warm water, I grabbed Bob's waterproof blanket. I would have just thrown a sheet on but I don't have a big enough sheet that's waterproof. I figured if I couldn't keep him in the barn that I would at least blanket him so he'd stay dry overnight.

I finally had to kick Bob out. I felt like a TERRIBLE horse mom. Bob was rather displeased. He went right into the leanto and didn't once move while I was out doing chores. Luckily Mike was out and helped lead Zeke into the barn. Zeke is really starting to impress everyone. With just small hand movements and even less movement in the halter Zeke would do exactly what Mike had told him to do (even though Mike didn't know he was asking Zeke to do anything). Mike was definatley impressed.

I led Maverick in to the barn. Always at one spot Maverick gets a bit spooky. This time he tossed his head around making me realize that I need to spend more time with him on ground manners. I rushed Maverick in and then rushed Zeke in so that they could dry off.

In between waiting for everyone, I pulled the ponies in to their leanto to munch on hay. I felt bad that I couldn't feed King his medicine but with the rain I figure he'll just have to deal with it.

After finally getting Babe, Queen, Maverick, and Zeke settled in the barn, Tommy and Skippy settled in their leanto, Sam and Bob grained I decided I better check the rest of the herd! King, Sam, Bob, Rain, and Dude were all standing in the leanto. I checked Rain to make sure he wasn't shivering. I think Bob was still mad he was kicked out of the barn. But if I have Bob in the barn I have to have Rain in the barn.

I realized at that point that I was missing a horse. I couldn't find Brego (never mind the fact I'd forgotten that I was missing another horse!) I started thinking the worst so I headed out to the pasture. King and Sam decided to follow. I figured if Brego wasn't up waiting on Sam, something bad must have happened (not remembering that Chaos was still out in the pasture too!)

I barely got into the pasture with Sam right on my heels. Sam started whinnying for Brego and up over the hill comes Brego and Chaos (that's when I realized I'm a bad horse mom and forgot one of my kids!) King had followed along behind and trotted on out to meet Brego and Chaos. And would you believe it, he trotted sound! The medicine and soft ground must really be helping.

So I turned around and headed back through the sloppy mud. Chaos was right behind me (practically in my pocket). As I was more than half way to the big drylot pen I saw something black come out of the grass. Whatever it was started waddling. Then I realized it was a SKUNK!

I started to freak out. I didn't want it to come my way. I was trying to figure out how to get out of its way. Luckily but unluckily it didn't head my way. I did start to yell at it to make sure it didn't come my way and towards the horses. Unfortunately the skunk jumped all the mud puddles and headed right up the drylot towards to haybarn and that's where he went. I was SO upset!

I didn't dare to looking in the haybarn, knowing he might be in there still. I never did smell him although I walked right across his path. It usually happens that when Mike goes in before I do, some varmit decides to show up.

Mike did go out later in the evening to see if the skunk was in the haybarn but he'd already disappeared. I'm sure it's the same skunk that I saw about a month ago and that I sometimes see around the section. I set the trap after I saw the skunk and will keep my fingers crossed that we'll actaully catch the little bugger.

By the time I got in, after two hours of chores, I was completely soaked and a little rattled. At least it's not snow!

Summer is Gone, Fall is Leaving, Winter is Fast Approaching

I just looked at the weather and they are predicting a 20% chance of snow Friday night. Well, I guess that correlates to my 90 days from fog theory. Of course it will snow, there's a horse sale on Saturday!

I am not prepared yet for snow or winter or cold. The horses all have a decent winter coat, some have better than others.

I can't remember the last day we had sun, much to Trouble's dismay. It's rained every day except Sunday so far this month. Sunday we spent the entire day fencing so no riding. I desperately need to ride Maverick but now it's too muddy. I may have to suck it up and ride on our driveway and tear that up so I can at least put time on him.

My farrier did say that if we get a lot of precipe in October, the rest of the winter will be fairly open. So now that's another Old Wives Tale I'm going to try and keep track of.

I know I shouldn't be surprised that we are getting this type of weather. A year ago Mike and I were working on the garage when an ice storm blew threw while we were trying to finish putting on the garage roof and getting it shingled.

The weatherman stated we had an inch of rain in the past 48 hours. I'm thinking we've had more. Of course the drylots all slope down and also take the brunt of the runoff from all the outbuildings.

Maverick and Zeke's drylot is now a swamp. I was literally up to my ankles in mud and water . I'm expecting to pull them tonight so they aren't standing in a quagmire.

The other swamp, er I mean drylot, isn't as bad since the horses don't have to stand in it all the time, churning it up. Maverick is always on the move chasing Zeke. I'm not really sure what to do for those boys. I may see if I can't get the box stall cleaned out and the door latching correctly on the new box stall so I don't have to pull them into the barn again.

I'm not sure where the year went. Summer I spent the entire time making sure the horses were comfortable, cool, and protected from flies. Fall I spent the entire time making sure the horses were protected from flies. Now that winter is fast approaching, I'll spend all my time making sure they are warm, dry, and comfortable. I spent two hours last night just doing chores in the rain. And I really didn't spend any time with the main herd (King, Chaos, Brego, Rain, Dude).

King seems to be doing better although I didn't get a chance to give him his medicine. I need to build a couple temporary stalls in the leanto.

I sure hope that the snow holds off at least until mid November. I still have a lot of cleaning in the mare pen to accomplish. I should have been cleaning it out all summer after the ticks disappeared. Now I'll be cleaning in the mud, wet, and cold. But it has to be done ASAP.

Goodbye Summer; so long Fall. Hello evil Winter.

Dude the Gentleman

I called my farrier Thursday evening to schedule an appointment for Dude and Tommy. I'd been meaning to call for more than a month but the days keep slipping away. When I called, my awesome farrier said let's go Friday at 5pm! WOO HOO!

So Friday about 4pm I went out to pull Tommy and Dude so that I could get them a bit dried off from the mud. Of course pulling Tommy means pulling Skippy. With the wind and rain we were having I decided we would do the trimming in the hay shed.

I also decided to pull King out so that my farrier could look at his feet. We have been tackling King's feet for two years to get them to the right shape, angle, and lenght. With King's muscle problems (still need to post on that) we havent' done any riding on him so his feet are actually doing better (lenght/angle wise) without shoes.

Every time I try to have Dude trimmed, he turns into a complete unruley mean son of a gun. I decided on Friday to try something different. I figured that tying Dude up and making him stand would make him angry. Instead I let him eat some of the loose hay and let him keep moving around, enjoying the time out of the wind and rain.

My farrier arrived right on time (as he always does) and went to work on Dude. I was afraid Dude would be a handful. He proved me wrong! My farrier started on Dude's left front hoof. No big issues there. My farrier moved to the right front hoof. No major issues there. Dude did think he should lean on my poor farrier while he was filing down the hoof. Let me just add, Dude is overweight. He has a fat ridge on his back where water can pool he's that fat. Leaning is a bad habit I need to correct!

I was shocked. Two feet done and Dude behaved. So my farrier decided he'd tackle the back feet. The last time I was at the vets I mentioned Dude's lameness issue and that he's crooked/lopsided. My vet figures he has "bear hump" where some portion of his tail has broken off and is putting pressure on certain places. There is no fix to this problem.

So I warned my farrier about the diagnosis but he tackled the back legs anway! Did I mention I have an awesome farrier. My farrier started on Dude's left hind leg. I could definately tell that this was Dude's bad hip. He didn't do anything mean but you could tell by the expression on his face that he was uncomfortable. My farrier then moved on to the right hind hoof. The expression of pain wasn't there.

I was completely shocked that Dude stood the entire time and didn't try giving my farrier a hard time with any of his feet. If he doesn't want his feet done, it won't get done. So once Dude was done, I tied him up to a post and moved on to Tommy. The entire time my farrier was working on Tommy, Dude stood quietly tied. He normally NEVER stands quietly. He typically paws, rears, and causes all hell when tied.

I put Tommy back and pulled King out for a quick review of his feet. Dude STILL stood quietly. It was like Dude was a completely different horse. It goes to show that I really do need to spend more time with him and give him a bit more attention. The last few times I've dealt with him he's been unruley and tried to bulldoze me down (which he can do in his 1200 lb glory!)

So now his feet are done and they look great. I'm disappointed that his condition is irrepariable but I'm glad to know that he's again comfortable standing on trimmed feet. I should have done it a month ago but time flies.

All in all, two full trims and a quick trim on one of King's hooves cost me $50. Not too shabby! My poor farrier gets all kinds of horses: naughty horses, flat feet horses, horses that lean, small ponies, large drafts, horses that won't stand, etc. Luckily I don't have any that kick. Of course they know if they are too naughty they'll get a workout.

I do need to do some major work with Maverick. He's due for a trim but he's not yet ready for the farrier. I refuse to let my farrier work on a horse that isnt' half way willing to have their feet handled.

So until the next trim for Dude, I need to remember to give him a bit more loving and let him think he's getting away with something (even though I won't let him get away with anything).

We're Almost Done!

We are almost there! We're almost done! Well, at least for the time being.

Sunday was the big fencing day. When we started I didn't think we'd get as far as we did. In an emergency, we could actually use that pasture! YEAH!

During the week Mike finished up the panels so that they were ready for wire. So Sunday late morning Mike, Mom, and I started the serious job of fencing in the east portion of the new pasture. Dad stayed back to work on my second box stall in the hay shed (which I desperately need!)

I must be in better shape than I thought. After pounding in all those steel fence posts, my arms aren't tired. My tendinitic flared up so I had a difficult time holding on to the post pounder but otherwise there are no lasting effects of yesterday's adventure.

We did only put up two strings of wire. I want three strands but figured we should get two strands around the entire perimeter so that later when the mares are already in the pasture we can go back.

The hardest part of fencing yesterday was the north side where we had to fight the shelter belt. Luckily it was a short stretch. The trees are so thick that there's no way a horse could crash through to the fence but I'd never want to even risk the very thought of leaving the old barbed wire up to hold the horses in.

Unfortunately we ran out of clips to keep the wire secure to the fence post. The wire is up well enough that it won't sag or fall down but it's not secure enough to put a horse in. We still need to figure out a small gate on the east side (thanks to the clay mishap) and go into town to pick up the boards for the small wood fence portion.

I'm hoping that by this coming weekend we'll be able to get the rest of the fence done. Dad said that opening day of pheasant hunting season is Oct 17th. I want those mares out of the old pasture and settled in to the new one before opening hunting day starts.

There's plenty of grass in the new pasture. I'm half tempted to throw the corral panels up and move the mares this week anyway. I would prefer to do a little bit more cleanup work before I put the mares in but if I get pushed for time I think I may move the mares anyway.

While we were at Tractor Supply on Saturday I picked up more fence post covers (and forgot to buy fence clips). So after everyone was on their way I went back down and put more fence post covers on the T-posts. I love seeing that line of fence posts with caps and fence wire all strung out just waiting for my mares.

The entire time we were pounding in fence posts, stringing wire, and grumbling about fencing in general, Dad was busily working away on the box stall. We could hear Dad pounding away but I didn't want to take a break to see how it was going while we were in our "fencing groove" so I didn't get to see the box stall until Dad was almost done.

I absolutely love the second box stall! It's going to come in handy! There's still a few things that need to be done (add a handle to the stall door, etc.) but at least the major portion of it is done. Dad was able to remove the auger and the old water trough too. So now both stalls are bigger. I still need to clean out the other box stall. Apparently mice have decided to store the mouse poison in the old box stall, so no horses in there until I can get it cleaned out. I sort of wish it was already cleaned out and the new stall was ready to go. It's been raining all day and Maverick and Zeke have been standing in mud/slop all day too.

I've decided that with all this rain I'm going to pull the mares and put them in the barn tonight. But with all the added rain, Maverick and Zeke's drylot is now a swamp. So I'm going to pull them out and put them in the barn. I don't want to run the risk of them getting thrush (since I've never dealt with that before). I'd rather give them a break from standing in mud. A nice, dry barn with secure footing is exactly the break they need for the night.

Putting those four horses in the barn will simply mean I have to get up earlier to do chores. I'd intended to switch my schedule to go in earlier (and leave earlier) but after hearing rain at 5:00 this morning I decided I'd sleep in a little longer. Now I'm kicking myself. I really want the mares in earlier in the afternoon/evening. I guess we'll see how fast I get rolling tomorrow and how long it takes me to get everyone situated in the morning.

I suppose there is always something going on at Borderlands!

Saturday Horse Auction

I decided that I've missed a lot of local horse auctions this summer and wanted to see what people were dumping off at the local horse salebarn.

We arrived around 4-4:30pm and they were still on tack. I have yet to figure out when to show up to see the horses go through without having to sit for hours watching the tack portion (or missing the entire horse sale).

I figured that there would be thin horses. I was surprised. All but one horse had decent feet. Only the babies looked like they needed some TLC. I didn't stay long enough to see what the prices went for. We looked at each horse and then stopped in to see where they were at... still on tack so we left.

What was standing waiting to run through included:

• Two weanlings that desperately needed to be wormed. One had super runny boogery eyes and the other had some hair loss around its eyes. I didn't look to see if they were colts or fillies.
• One palomino gelding that had a hernia. Very pretty but you could tell he'd shut down and was trying to forget where he was at. Made me think he'd been there before. He wore a pretty halter
• One sorrel and one black standing in a pen. Both fat and furry. Both wore halters but the black's halter was broken. I think the black was a mare but I don't know for sure.
• One yearling/two year old (I can never tell) paint. More interested in eating the poor quality hay than watching what was going on.
• One yearling that desperately needed to be wormed. Along with him/her was a shetland/mini (I can never tell). I didn't see what either was (gelding/stud/mare)
• One shetland who was rather irritated that he was tied. He was the only one tied out of the entir bunch.
• One sorrel and one black bay. Black bay was super curious and came right up to search for treats. I figure he was either two or three. He was the only one with cracked/dry feet. Really liked him. (I don't know if they were geldings or mares but it's easier for me to say he for some reason).

There might have been one other horse but I can't remember now. I figured for a cold, drizzly day there would be more horses. I was glad to only see the handlful. Usually drizzly days bring out all the weird people who spend their entire day at a horse sale but never buy a horse.

Of course it made me sad to see a horse trailer pull out empty, knowing that he simply dumped his horse and drove away. I don't think I could ever have the heart to leave an auction with an empty trailer.

I really wish I would have stayed to see what the prices are currently at. I also need to find out if they will be having two sales a month or if they are going to back down to only one sale a month. Last year was the first year they did one sale a month during the winter months. Good for me so that I can actually enjoy my Saturdays instead of trying to figure out how to plan a trip to Kramers AND get everything else done while sitting there in the cold.

I really was surprised to see so few and to actually see most in fairly decent condition. I've gone in the past around this time of year and seen WAY too many thin horses standing in line. It does make me wonder. I KNOW those thin horses aren't getting fat. I know they are standing out in some pasture starving. I really wish there was something more I could do to help.

I'll be going this Saturday to the Sioux Falls Regional Livestock Horse Sale. I'm not sure I'll go to the catalog sale but I may try to make it for the non-catalog portion. I'm curious to see what the catalog, non-catalog, and loose horses go for.

I can't decide if I should drag along a trailer or not. I am sure Mike will kill me if I bring home yet another horse (especially after this weekends fencing adventures!) I am for sure going to list prices. I have the last sale that occured back in May. I need to hunt those papers down and then see if there is any correlation in price. Obviously there will be lower prices now going into fall but I'm curious to see none the less.

October Already!

I can't believe that it's already October 1st. It was just yesterday that August 1st rolled around and I was unprepared at that time too. It does appear that fall is going to be short around here. The west part of the states is looking at snow. They can keep it!

It's raining now. I will have to have another look at the weather tonight to decide if I put the mares in the barn or not. I hate having to put Queen in a stall with her arthritis but I would rather she be warm, dry, and a little stiff than windblown, wet, and freezing. I know she's a tough cookie but I'd rather pamper her in her last few years.

I did try something new with the girls last night, much to their dismay. I decided I would see how beet pulp would go over with them. Let me just say, those mares absolutely, without a doubt, hated beet pulp. (On a side note, I tried beet pulp with Sam and he absolutely hated it too!)

Normally when I give the mares their grain, they totally devour their mash. They typically have mash up to their noses, scarfing it down. I threw the first bucket over the fence for Queen and she gingerly ate the top portion. I threw Babe's grain over and ended up dumping it into a different dish on the ground. She took two bites and turned up her nose.

Both girls hardly ate their mash and wandered around. I am betting they were hoping I would toss out the old and bring new. So least to say, the beet pulp idea is out. I had thought that the beet pulp may help put a bit of extra weight on them. Guess not.

When I tossed their hay over the fence a little later, I did notice that they had polished off most of their grain. I'm sure they did it under much protesting (but I'd walked away from their puckered faces and looks of disgust.) hahahha

I guess I'll stick to the standard mash for them from now on. I have also started their warm mash routine. It was so cold the other evening that I wanted to make sure they had something warm in their bellies before I headed in for the night. The warm water makes soaking their grain go so much more quickly. I hate hauling warm water from the house to the barn but I don't hate the fact I dont' have to stand around watching the grain soak up the water. So I guess I'll keep my trap shut about trudging around with five gallon buckets full of warm water.

I may have to start guarding Bob while he eats his mash. The cats have taken to snitching his food. It makes me SO mad! I originally started feeding the cats the same time I feed the big drafts. But some of the cats will pass on the cat food and go for Bob's food. That's a BIG NO NO! I put one cat in the kennel but I don't have a big enough kennel to stuff all the cats in while Bob eats. I guess I'll have to stand guard or give the cats different food to tempt them away from Bob's food. Any suggestions on how to keep cats away from warm mash?

Tonight will probably be a quiet night. It's raining and I'm guessing it's going to rain all night too. I may put the mares in tonight. I worry that they will get chilled. Bob can go into the leanto to get out of the rain if he prefers. If Bob is in the leanto, Rain will be in the leanto also. He's a fair weather horse.

We really need to get the second loafing shed built so I don't have to worry as much about the horses. There's enough dominant horses to push the non aggressives out of the way. That means the non aggressives stand, shivering in the cold rain. I always get so furious with those bullies! If I had two leantos, then there would be enough room if the chose to get in out of the rain. In some cases, they prefer to stand out in the rain (crazy horse!)

Let's hope that October is a quiet month and that the bad weather/winter weather holds off for at least another month (if not two months!)

New Blog

I created a new blog last night to list all of the potentially at risk horses listed on Craigs List in the areas surrounding Borderlands. When I say "at risk" I'm mainly focusing on horses at or under $500. I may list a few over $500 but it'll depend on the information on the horse if I list or not. These horses may not be at risk but with the prices as low as they are, the owner may decide to up and send the horse to auction and take an even lower price. I've seen loose horses go for $500 to a kill buyer.

I know it may not be much and people may not even see the blog but at least I'll know I'm trying to do something for these horses with uneducated owners.

The new blog is "Midwest 'At Risk' Horse Listings"
http://atriskhorselistings.blogspot.com/

My thinking is to have a post for each major area:

• South Dakota
• Sioux Falls
• Minneapolis
• Minnesota
• Nebraska

I may need to break down the Minnesota listings more but for now I'll leave them as one post entry. I can't seem to figure out pictures so there's no pictures included in the posts. If you want to view the ad and possible pictures of the horse for sale, just click on the link.

It may be that the links won't work after a very short period of time. It'll depend on if the owner pulls the ad. I'm sure after about a month the ads will be irrelavent but I needed to do something now.

I don't know how long I'll keep the new blog up. But I know I had to do something, especially going into fall with this economy the way it is. I can't bring them all home but I can try to spread the news.

If you have any ideas for a better layout or a better way to get these horses more viewing time, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Suggestions are always welcome.