Melody is like a magician! She's managed to undo her stall latch twice now! The first time she managed to open her stall door she was only out for a short time, thankfully! Last night she managed to undo her gate latch and was probably out all night!
I was running late this morning so Hubby fed the animals by himself. He got in the barn and found Melody laying down, all stretched out. He said she looked like she was dead (and he actually thought she was)! He was able to get her to her feet and led her to her stall. She didn't want to go back in her stall but he got her in anyways. He took a look around the barn to see what all she had gotten into during the night. He found that she had gotten into the tack room and spilled the horse treats all over the ground, managed to get into the chicken feed and ate some, and probably ate a bunch of hay!
He turned Star out and left Melody in. He didn't want her to go out in the pasture and eat more rich grass and cause her to colic. He topped off her water bucket and finished chores. He said she was acting normal, no sweats and the only stress she seemed to have was that Star wasn't with her. He called the feed store (local) and asked what the ingredients of the chicken feed were because we had a horse get out and eat some. They said not to worry because it was all natural ingredients, many of which are in our horse feed, just all ground up.
Hubby had to leave for work but said she had drank a bunch of water and could hear gut sounds. He hadn't noticed any new poop yet but would check on her in an hour.
When he came back to check on her, she had pooped (looked normal) and finished her water so he refilled it.
It appears she's going to be ok. But it was a scarey morning! It could've gone a much different direction! We are going to have to come up with a different latch on her gate to keep her from getting out again...
Until next time!
Lynell
Showing posts with label Feed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Feed. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Star & Melody's Shenanigans
We've completed the bute pills regime for Star now. She's doing much better now but still ouchy in the spot at the end of her ribs. Might have a cracked rib in there, but there's really nothing we can do for that. The swelling has gone down to almost nothing now so the vet doesn't think we need to do another blood test, but if the swelling reoccurs definitely need to have him come out again. She was feeling so good the other day that she was bucking and leaping around in her turn out withe Melody! I can't even tell you how happy I was to see her acting that way!!
Speaking of Melody...I was bringing Star to her turnout and left Melody in her pen in the barn by herself. She didn't care for that at all! She got to bucking and leaping in her pen while Star and I were walking away. That stuff never phases Star...she had one thing on her mind and that was her turn out! I went back to get Melody and she met me at the gate. She tried to be patient while I put her halter on. I could see it in her eye that she was anxiously waiting to get past the gate. As I opened the gate she pushed past me and got the end of the lead rope and jerked around. Naughty, naughty. I don't tolerate bad gate manners - too many accidents happen at gates (or anywhere with a naughty horse)! We did a few more passes in and out of the gate until she walked through like a good girl. Then we were on our way to the turn out. Star was standing at the gate waiting for us. Melody was practically dragging me all the way to the turn out, so I decided we would do more leading work. We would walk away from the gate/turnout, then circle back. Every time we would turn away she would whip her hips around and face me like she was saying "Umm, you missed the gate lady!" and then pull on the lead all the way back to the gate again. We did this for a while...I'm not sure how long it took but I know my hands were cold by the time she "calmed down". I decided we were at a place I was comfortable with ending so we headed back to the gate. We were almost to the gate when she reared up and started bucking and jumping with all fours off the ground. She never came at me or tried to strike me so I waited for her to finish. Then we were off to the round pen for some work.
Once she got her bucks and kicks out, she actually worked really well. On a side note: Our December weather here has been unseasonably warm with temps in the 40's most days so the footing in the round pen was fine for working. I was very pleased at how well she listened and had retained what work we had done in the fall. To be honest, I haven't done much since we had the major snow storm in November. To end our work session, we worked on her bending. She still has issues with that so we will keep working on that. Then she was finally out with Star and happy about that! They played together for a few minutes and then got the serious business of finding blades of grass that could be eaten.
That's all for now!
Quote for the day:
"It is a fine seasoning for joy to think of those we love."
Speaking of Melody...I was bringing Star to her turnout and left Melody in her pen in the barn by herself. She didn't care for that at all! She got to bucking and leaping in her pen while Star and I were walking away. That stuff never phases Star...she had one thing on her mind and that was her turn out! I went back to get Melody and she met me at the gate. She tried to be patient while I put her halter on. I could see it in her eye that she was anxiously waiting to get past the gate. As I opened the gate she pushed past me and got the end of the lead rope and jerked around. Naughty, naughty. I don't tolerate bad gate manners - too many accidents happen at gates (or anywhere with a naughty horse)! We did a few more passes in and out of the gate until she walked through like a good girl. Then we were on our way to the turn out. Star was standing at the gate waiting for us. Melody was practically dragging me all the way to the turn out, so I decided we would do more leading work. We would walk away from the gate/turnout, then circle back. Every time we would turn away she would whip her hips around and face me like she was saying "Umm, you missed the gate lady!" and then pull on the lead all the way back to the gate again. We did this for a while...I'm not sure how long it took but I know my hands were cold by the time she "calmed down". I decided we were at a place I was comfortable with ending so we headed back to the gate. We were almost to the gate when she reared up and started bucking and jumping with all fours off the ground. She never came at me or tried to strike me so I waited for her to finish. Then we were off to the round pen for some work.
Once she got her bucks and kicks out, she actually worked really well. On a side note: Our December weather here has been unseasonably warm with temps in the 40's most days so the footing in the round pen was fine for working. I was very pleased at how well she listened and had retained what work we had done in the fall. To be honest, I haven't done much since we had the major snow storm in November. To end our work session, we worked on her bending. She still has issues with that so we will keep working on that. Then she was finally out with Star and happy about that! They played together for a few minutes and then got the serious business of finding blades of grass that could be eaten.
That's all for now!
Quote for the day:
"It is a fine seasoning for joy to think of those we love."
-Moliere
Monday, December 8, 2014
News
The vet called Friday afternoon with the news. Her white blood cell count was good but her red blood cell count was low signaling that she is anemic. The vet said that he wasn't too worried about it. He would come back in a month or so and take another blood sample to make sure the red blood cell count didn't drop anymore. In the meantime, we were to "worm her real good" to make sure it wasn't because of worms. I have the horses on a regular worming schedule but I re-wormed them all again on Saturday, just to be on the safe side.
Star has been feeling great since we started her on the Bute pills. We were worried she wouldn't eat her grain with the bitter tasting Bute pills in it, but she cleans up her grain dish - every last bit! The swelling is still there but has gone down and she's been trotting around in her turn out. I have her with Melody in her turnout and I think I'm gonna leave it that way this winter. We seem to have peace within each grouping, so why mess with it?
Gunner's swelling has gone down a little. The vet said he should be back to normal within a week so I'm keeping an eye on it to make sure it does.
I've been doing more groundwork exercises with Melody whenever I lead her in or out of the turnout. She's been introduced to the tarp. I first had her walk on it - no big deal. She sniffed it a little and then walked on and stood with no problem. The next time she walked right onto it, no questions asked. The next time, instead of walking on it, I rubbed her with it. She was alert at first and then got bored. I repeated all the tarp stuff with her for about a week and then moved onto laying it across her, over her head, neck, back and butt. She did some dancing but nothing major. Those lessons were repeated over the following week until she was bored with that too. It doesn't take much for her to be ok with what we work on. She's very trusting and has a good head on her. She came in from turnout the other day with a mystery cut on her face. I have NO IDEA where that could've come from. It's healed up nicely now, though. Being a light colored palomino Melody is absolutely filthy, and you can see every spec of dirt on her! I can't stand it!! Zoe is a buckskin and her cream color gets really light in the winter too but she keeps herself clean, but not Melody! I think she finds the smelliest, muddiest spots in her turnout and rolls, and naps there!! I'm looking forward to the warmer weather already so I can get her clean again! Yuck! I should try to snap a picture just so you can see how nasty her creamy coat is! Oh well, nothing I can do about it. We brush her the best we can but it doesn't get the deep down stuff...
With all that's been going on, not much progress with Zoe lately. She's been itching for work so I did lunge her the other day. She was happy about that! We are going back to working on leadership exercises to help build a better working relationship before the riding happens again. Not that it's a bad relationship but more that we haven't been working together for a while now and I want to start off with a trusting relationship. Make sense?
Well, that's all for now!
Quote for the day:
"He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything."
Star has been feeling great since we started her on the Bute pills. We were worried she wouldn't eat her grain with the bitter tasting Bute pills in it, but she cleans up her grain dish - every last bit! The swelling is still there but has gone down and she's been trotting around in her turn out. I have her with Melody in her turnout and I think I'm gonna leave it that way this winter. We seem to have peace within each grouping, so why mess with it?
Gunner's swelling has gone down a little. The vet said he should be back to normal within a week so I'm keeping an eye on it to make sure it does.
I've been doing more groundwork exercises with Melody whenever I lead her in or out of the turnout. She's been introduced to the tarp. I first had her walk on it - no big deal. She sniffed it a little and then walked on and stood with no problem. The next time she walked right onto it, no questions asked. The next time, instead of walking on it, I rubbed her with it. She was alert at first and then got bored. I repeated all the tarp stuff with her for about a week and then moved onto laying it across her, over her head, neck, back and butt. She did some dancing but nothing major. Those lessons were repeated over the following week until she was bored with that too. It doesn't take much for her to be ok with what we work on. She's very trusting and has a good head on her. She came in from turnout the other day with a mystery cut on her face. I have NO IDEA where that could've come from. It's healed up nicely now, though. Being a light colored palomino Melody is absolutely filthy, and you can see every spec of dirt on her! I can't stand it!! Zoe is a buckskin and her cream color gets really light in the winter too but she keeps herself clean, but not Melody! I think she finds the smelliest, muddiest spots in her turnout and rolls, and naps there!! I'm looking forward to the warmer weather already so I can get her clean again! Yuck! I should try to snap a picture just so you can see how nasty her creamy coat is! Oh well, nothing I can do about it. We brush her the best we can but it doesn't get the deep down stuff...
With all that's been going on, not much progress with Zoe lately. She's been itching for work so I did lunge her the other day. She was happy about that! We are going back to working on leadership exercises to help build a better working relationship before the riding happens again. Not that it's a bad relationship but more that we haven't been working together for a while now and I want to start off with a trusting relationship. Make sense?
Well, that's all for now!
Quote for the day:
"He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything."
-Thomas Carlyle
Friday, April 18, 2014
Melody's Turn!
Melody's biggest hang up right now is mud puddles so we tried to cross a
puddle that was by the barn door leading to the turn out where Star was. Her first
time through she jumped it and bumped into me. So we turned around and
went back into the barn. She spooked on the way in because one of our
rodeo bulls was next to the gate by the barn and he spooked. At this point she was getting frisky.
We headed back out across the puddle...she RAN through the puddle, right past me and when she got the end of the lead it brought her to a sudden stop. I turned her to go back inside and she gave me a half rear and tried to go the opposite direction. I held my ground and was able to keep her feet moving by zig zag walking in the direction of the barn. We went back into the barn and it was no big deal this time. Then back out of the barn like she'd never had an issue at all. The only time we have gate issues is when there is a puddle so I really don't think gates are her issue...just puddles.
I figured that was good for today and let her go out with Star...meanwhile Zoe has been calling and screaming for Star the entire time (I had put her in her stall). So when I went to get Zoe back out I could see she was seriously stressed about being away from Star. She was covered in sweat (not from when I worked her because I had her dried out before I put her away) and had paced by the stall door to the point that the shavings had been pushed back.
I put her halter on (which she dove into) and lead her out. She was a very good girl so I let her be with her friends. I guess she has become buddy sour over the winter so we will have to work on that. Might have to pasture her by herself like we did before when we were training. I do that because if she gets insecure in her training or work, I want her to look to me for security and not rely on her buddies waiting for her. Make sense to anyone?
Well that's all for now!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
We headed back out across the puddle...she RAN through the puddle, right past me and when she got the end of the lead it brought her to a sudden stop. I turned her to go back inside and she gave me a half rear and tried to go the opposite direction. I held my ground and was able to keep her feet moving by zig zag walking in the direction of the barn. We went back into the barn and it was no big deal this time. Then back out of the barn like she'd never had an issue at all. The only time we have gate issues is when there is a puddle so I really don't think gates are her issue...just puddles.
I figured that was good for today and let her go out with Star...meanwhile Zoe has been calling and screaming for Star the entire time (I had put her in her stall). So when I went to get Zoe back out I could see she was seriously stressed about being away from Star. She was covered in sweat (not from when I worked her because I had her dried out before I put her away) and had paced by the stall door to the point that the shavings had been pushed back.
I put her halter on (which she dove into) and lead her out. She was a very good girl so I let her be with her friends. I guess she has become buddy sour over the winter so we will have to work on that. Might have to pasture her by herself like we did before when we were training. I do that because if she gets insecure in her training or work, I want her to look to me for security and not rely on her buddies waiting for her. Make sense to anyone?
Well that's all for now!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
-Thomas A. Edison
Thursday, April 17, 2014
My Perfect Angel
Star was a dream! After the disastrous time with Zoe, I thought with all the calling Star was doing for Zoe that she was going to be a pain too but she was amazing! She moved out at a beautiful flowing trot, head in at shoulder height, stretching her back out. Her canter was nice so I didn't make her do it too much - she is old ya know! We did some nice W/T/C transitions up and down, in both directions and called it a day. Zoe was calling, more like SCREAMING to her the ENTIRE time, my kids were jumping on the trampoline (which is fairly close to the round pen where we were working), Tyson and Gunner were making noises at her (their pasture is across the driveway from the round pen) and she acted like nothing was going on around her at all.
I gave her some big pets and loves and told her what a good girl she was but all she really cared about is the green grass...so I let her eat some of the yard...don't tell Hubby. ;-)
I took her to the turn out after a few minutes of grass (can't over do it!) and let her go. She absolutely loves to roll so the first thing she did was find a spot to roll. She rolled in several different spots!
Melody was all done with her breakfast so I took her out....
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"All of our sweetest hours fly fastest."
I gave her some big pets and loves and told her what a good girl she was but all she really cared about is the green grass...so I let her eat some of the yard...don't tell Hubby. ;-)
I took her to the turn out after a few minutes of grass (can't over do it!) and let her go. She absolutely loves to roll so the first thing she did was find a spot to roll. She rolled in several different spots!
Melody was all done with her breakfast so I took her out....
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"All of our sweetest hours fly fastest."
-Virgil
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Naughty, Naughty
After feeding the other morning, I went to visit with Zoe in her stall. I brushed her a lot (she's shedding) and when I was done she was wanting something more. She stopped eating and just looked at me (not typical). So I grabbed her halter and thought I would take her to the round pen and do 5 minutes of work. Maybe she was bored. On our way out, Star started to call for her. She got worried. As we entered the round pen Tyson called to her and she called back. Ahhh, maybe she was in heat? Didn't matter to me, she is usually very good despite her heat cycles. We started round penning and man did she want to run! I only asked her to trot and she got to running! I slowed her down (with my voice commands) but I could see she was aching to go faster so I gave her the command. I didn't ask for it long because we've been out of work for so long and I didn't want her to get sore. We did a little more work and then I caught her up again. She seemed relaxed; licking her lips, head dropped. She wasn't breathing hard or sweaty, obviously in better shape than what I thought after being out of work for a long winter!
We walked out of the round pen and then she perked up again. Star was STILL calling and it was very worrisome to Zoe. She likes to be talked to so I started to talk to her and decided to go for a walk around the property, checking some fences along the way. She was interested but very distracted by Star calling to her. At one point she was so distracted that she bumped into me so I sent her out on a lunge circle (I had a long lead rope) and she shaped up. So I thought we would call it quits at that point and turn her out. We headed back through the barn, where Star was still calling, and back out to the turn out. As I unhooked the lead Zoe spun around and ran past me almost knocking me over! The barn was completely open, nothing to keep her from running out into the driveway, yard or street! A slight panic attack occurred on my part, and then I realized that she only ran to be by Star. So I quickly shut the front barn door so she couldn't run out there and possibly get hurt or hurt someone. When I went to get her she bolted and ran out the back of the barn. To the arena. I took that as a hint that she needed to be worked more...
I got the lunge and lunge whip and headed out the arena, shutting gates behind me. This naughty mare wasn't going to blow by me anymore - except she did but this time she wasn't going anywhere! I put the whip down and then she decided to see what I was going to do. I caught her and could see she was "up". We got right to work on the lunge line, W/T/C transitions up and down. Star was still calling. Zoe was focused on me at this point but was still obviously worried about Star. We changed directions and did the same W/T/C transition work. She was offering some great trot work, canter was messy. She kept cross cantering, where her front would be on the right lead but her back legs would be on the opposite lead. If I urge her to go faster, she will fix herself. When we got some good transitions and lead work done, I called it a day. This time she was breathing heavy and had sweat on her neck, but she was licking her lips and her eye was soft again. I cooled her down and put her away.
I figured if Zoe was this naughty that Star might need some time in the round pen or on the lunge too...
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones."
We walked out of the round pen and then she perked up again. Star was STILL calling and it was very worrisome to Zoe. She likes to be talked to so I started to talk to her and decided to go for a walk around the property, checking some fences along the way. She was interested but very distracted by Star calling to her. At one point she was so distracted that she bumped into me so I sent her out on a lunge circle (I had a long lead rope) and she shaped up. So I thought we would call it quits at that point and turn her out. We headed back through the barn, where Star was still calling, and back out to the turn out. As I unhooked the lead Zoe spun around and ran past me almost knocking me over! The barn was completely open, nothing to keep her from running out into the driveway, yard or street! A slight panic attack occurred on my part, and then I realized that she only ran to be by Star. So I quickly shut the front barn door so she couldn't run out there and possibly get hurt or hurt someone. When I went to get her she bolted and ran out the back of the barn. To the arena. I took that as a hint that she needed to be worked more...
I got the lunge and lunge whip and headed out the arena, shutting gates behind me. This naughty mare wasn't going to blow by me anymore - except she did but this time she wasn't going anywhere! I put the whip down and then she decided to see what I was going to do. I caught her and could see she was "up". We got right to work on the lunge line, W/T/C transitions up and down. Star was still calling. Zoe was focused on me at this point but was still obviously worried about Star. We changed directions and did the same W/T/C transition work. She was offering some great trot work, canter was messy. She kept cross cantering, where her front would be on the right lead but her back legs would be on the opposite lead. If I urge her to go faster, she will fix herself. When we got some good transitions and lead work done, I called it a day. This time she was breathing heavy and had sweat on her neck, but she was licking her lips and her eye was soft again. I cooled her down and put her away.
I figured if Zoe was this naughty that Star might need some time in the round pen or on the lunge too...
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones."
-Jules Verne
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Little Updates
Since my last post, Melody casted herself one more time (the next day) but hasn't since. Hopefully that means she figured that out now...Other than that, Melody has been a good girl. She's so dang cute! I can't wait until spring when she sheds out and we can see what color she's going to be. I mean, we know she's a palomino but how dark/light will she be? I've found that she enjoys ear scratches - she will stop eating for an ear scratch!
The other day I let the horses out and Tyson was feeling great! He was running, leaping, bucking, kicking and rearing! He hasn't done that in over a year because he was lame (injuries). I was thinking that Tyson was going to be lame for the rest of his life so seeing him acting like he was a yearling was very encouraging, to say the least. He didn't show an ounce of pain while he was playing and wasn't sore when I brought him in or let him out the next day. Is it possible he's finally healed??? Time will tell!
Zoe has been such a good girl. I've been having my children lead her in and out of her stall and her ground manners have been impeccable! Better than Star's, in fact. Last year at this time she was pulling and pushing when being handled but not now! She's been lowering her head for my kids to halter her too - just a peach! I can't wait to start riding again when the weather finally breaks, I have good feeling about her! The farrier always makes comments about how nice she is too (great legs, feet and attitude). I know I've said this before but she's a sensitive and tuned in horse, just a great mare and I love her dearly!
Star has been a good girl too, like always. Her only fault is when it comes to food. When she knows there's food in her stall she will try to pull through you to get her food making it difficult for my kids to lead her into her stall. That angers me to no end so I have to lead her in myself to keep her in line. She doesn't try to push past me because she knows I don't put up with that but she does with the kids. Grrr...
Brother-in-law's horses are being good boys too. They don't have stalls (we only have 4) so they live outside with a large 3 1/2 sided lean-to for shelter. We keep bedding in there so they can lay down and stay warm. I don't think they are used to that but they certainly enjoy it! They are in need of a trim soon so hopefully we can get that scheduled before they leave on March 13. The vet came out yesterday to do their health papers for traveling. They have a long ways to go and will be stopping every 6 - 8 hours to stretch and get a little exercise/food/water (if they aren't eating or drinking in the trailer) so that will make the trip a long one. The trailer they will be in is a Sundowner 3 horse slant gooseneck with living quarters. Brother-in-law has a beautiful trailer that is well maintained and the horses are accustomed to trailering so hopefully the trip will go smoothly. The horses haven't been bad while they were here but I will be glad to have 2 less mouths to feed! Hay prices aren't cheap these days...
Well that about sums it up for now. This weekend is the Michigan State Horse Expo. I plan on attending on Saturday. I haven't been able to get there in several years so I'm really looking forward to it!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Our attitude towards others determines their attitudes towards us."
The other day I let the horses out and Tyson was feeling great! He was running, leaping, bucking, kicking and rearing! He hasn't done that in over a year because he was lame (injuries). I was thinking that Tyson was going to be lame for the rest of his life so seeing him acting like he was a yearling was very encouraging, to say the least. He didn't show an ounce of pain while he was playing and wasn't sore when I brought him in or let him out the next day. Is it possible he's finally healed??? Time will tell!
Zoe has been such a good girl. I've been having my children lead her in and out of her stall and her ground manners have been impeccable! Better than Star's, in fact. Last year at this time she was pulling and pushing when being handled but not now! She's been lowering her head for my kids to halter her too - just a peach! I can't wait to start riding again when the weather finally breaks, I have good feeling about her! The farrier always makes comments about how nice she is too (great legs, feet and attitude). I know I've said this before but she's a sensitive and tuned in horse, just a great mare and I love her dearly!
Star has been a good girl too, like always. Her only fault is when it comes to food. When she knows there's food in her stall she will try to pull through you to get her food making it difficult for my kids to lead her into her stall. That angers me to no end so I have to lead her in myself to keep her in line. She doesn't try to push past me because she knows I don't put up with that but she does with the kids. Grrr...
Brother-in-law's horses are being good boys too. They don't have stalls (we only have 4) so they live outside with a large 3 1/2 sided lean-to for shelter. We keep bedding in there so they can lay down and stay warm. I don't think they are used to that but they certainly enjoy it! They are in need of a trim soon so hopefully we can get that scheduled before they leave on March 13. The vet came out yesterday to do their health papers for traveling. They have a long ways to go and will be stopping every 6 - 8 hours to stretch and get a little exercise/food/water (if they aren't eating or drinking in the trailer) so that will make the trip a long one. The trailer they will be in is a Sundowner 3 horse slant gooseneck with living quarters. Brother-in-law has a beautiful trailer that is well maintained and the horses are accustomed to trailering so hopefully the trip will go smoothly. The horses haven't been bad while they were here but I will be glad to have 2 less mouths to feed! Hay prices aren't cheap these days...
Well that about sums it up for now. This weekend is the Michigan State Horse Expo. I plan on attending on Saturday. I haven't been able to get there in several years so I'm really looking forward to it!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Our attitude towards others determines their attitudes towards us."
-Earl Nightingale
Monday, February 17, 2014
Cast
We came out to the barn to do some work when we found Melody cast in her stall. She was laying on her side right next to her stall wall, unable to get up. She wasn't moving.
Hubby grabbed a hose (it was the first thing within reach at the moment) and wrapped it around her back feet and rolled her over, then let go of the hose and within a minute, she stood up. She was calm but you could see a little scared. Hubby went to put her halter on and she shied away. He was patient and was able to get the halter on within a minute or two.
She wasn't done eating her hay but I thought it would be a good idea to turn her out anyways. Usually when I turn her out, she can hardly stand waiting for me to let her go so she can run and play. This time she just stood there. I went to get what was left of her hay out of her stall and when I came back she had walked away. I left her hay and made sure she had water.
I checked back on her a few minutes later and she had made her way over to the hay and was eating again. She had me a little worried at first, but she was back to herself, thank goodness!
So now we are wondering if she's going to be a chronic caster (is that a real term?) or was this a one time deal? Anyone out there have any experience with this? I have to admit...this was our first horse to ever cast itself... Any input would be appreciated!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing."
Hubby grabbed a hose (it was the first thing within reach at the moment) and wrapped it around her back feet and rolled her over, then let go of the hose and within a minute, she stood up. She was calm but you could see a little scared. Hubby went to put her halter on and she shied away. He was patient and was able to get the halter on within a minute or two.
She wasn't done eating her hay but I thought it would be a good idea to turn her out anyways. Usually when I turn her out, she can hardly stand waiting for me to let her go so she can run and play. This time she just stood there. I went to get what was left of her hay out of her stall and when I came back she had walked away. I left her hay and made sure she had water.
I checked back on her a few minutes later and she had made her way over to the hay and was eating again. She had me a little worried at first, but she was back to herself, thank goodness!
So now we are wondering if she's going to be a chronic caster (is that a real term?) or was this a one time deal? Anyone out there have any experience with this? I have to admit...this was our first horse to ever cast itself... Any input would be appreciated!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing."
-Oscar Wilde
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
New Arrivals
Last week my brother-in-law called from Arizona (his new home state as of December). His friend agreed to take two of his horses for a few months until he could come back for the horses (probably in March). The two horses that his friend ended up with was Sisco, Zoe's sire now a gelding (don't even get me started on that subject), and Dash, Zoe's only foal...a stallion. Brother-in-law's friend agreed to take them but they would be turned out with his Longhorn cattle. That was fine because both horses got along and have been exposed to cattle a lot (roping). After a week of being with the cattle, Dash started beating up the cattle so the friend had to stall the two horses. Then this past Sunday, the "friend" decided he was going on vacation and called brother-in-law to tell him that no one was going to be around to feed/water his horses so he better get some one to pick them up or come out twice a day to take care of them. We got a call from brother-in-law on Tuesday night, informing us of the situation. Seriously, the horses hadn't been fed or watered since Sunday night. Hubby and I were NOT happy - with anyone in the situation!! How could people let these horses be without food or water since Sunday night and then call us on Tuesday night (10 pm) to beg for help!!! Why did all the parties involved wait that long to get this figured out? This put us in a tight spot. We don't have enough hay to feed anymore mouths through the rest of the winter nor do we have the room! But we couldn't knowingly let those horses sit in stalls without food or water!
Hubby's parents came over and helped us dig out our trailer and then stayed with the kids while we drove 1 hour away to pick up the horses. Thankfully, the driveway was plowed so we didn't have to park in the road. We got the horses out of their stalls, expecting to have our hands full but they were very calm, lethargic maybe. We didn't expect to have any trouble loading them in the trailer because brother-in-law travels with his horses a lot but they apparently didn't like our trailer. The interior lights weren't working so it was dark and I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. Eventually we were able to get them both on the trailer, just took some extra encouragement. We went back to the barn and took the last two bales of hay (brother-in-law supplied the hay so it was his) and were on our way. I'm glad we went that night not only because those horses were hungry and thirsty but also because we got several inches of snow that night and the roads were all country roads that rarely saw a plow. That trip would've been so much worse if we would've waiting until the next day.
So the boys are in the front horse pasture now. They have a nice lean-to but we don't have anymore stalls. We put fresh water and hay out for them that night and went to bed. It was now 2am. We were tired and both had to work in the morning.
The boys have settled in nicely and definitely have perked up. I tried to take pictures of them but they both kept putting their noses in my face. This is the best picture I could get of them.
Let's just say the brother-in-law owes us big time!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."
Hubby's parents came over and helped us dig out our trailer and then stayed with the kids while we drove 1 hour away to pick up the horses. Thankfully, the driveway was plowed so we didn't have to park in the road. We got the horses out of their stalls, expecting to have our hands full but they were very calm, lethargic maybe. We didn't expect to have any trouble loading them in the trailer because brother-in-law travels with his horses a lot but they apparently didn't like our trailer. The interior lights weren't working so it was dark and I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. Eventually we were able to get them both on the trailer, just took some extra encouragement. We went back to the barn and took the last two bales of hay (brother-in-law supplied the hay so it was his) and were on our way. I'm glad we went that night not only because those horses were hungry and thirsty but also because we got several inches of snow that night and the roads were all country roads that rarely saw a plow. That trip would've been so much worse if we would've waiting until the next day.
So the boys are in the front horse pasture now. They have a nice lean-to but we don't have anymore stalls. We put fresh water and hay out for them that night and went to bed. It was now 2am. We were tired and both had to work in the morning.
The boys have settled in nicely and definitely have perked up. I tried to take pictures of them but they both kept putting their noses in my face. This is the best picture I could get of them.
Let's just say the brother-in-law owes us big time!
 |
| Sisco is the bucksin (actually a dunskin) and Dash is the Perlino (white) |
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."
-Ernest Hemmingway
Monday, February 10, 2014
It's been a while...
I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately. I haven't been able to do any riding because with 3 feet of snow and temperatures in the single digits, I can't ride outside or get the trailer out to go anywhere! So my riding/training with Zoe is at a stand still, unfortunately.
Nothing new to report with Tyson. He lost a little weight with the frigid temperatures but the weight is already back on. Ever since his major injury he's been a 'hard keeper' not to mention accident prone. I think he gets bored so he gets into trouble...he's a character, let me tell ya!!
Star is sweet as always. She's handling the winter very gracefully and enjoying her warm stall at night. Have I ever mentioned how she starts her Harley at feeding time? If not, keep reading...if so you can skip to the next paragraph... Star makes noise, a nicker maybe, that sounds just like a Harley motorcycle starting up! She kinda growls or grumbles with an eagerness to it. Hard to explain but it makes me smile every time she does it! The only time she does it is at feeding time - so stinkin' cute!
Melody has been the one that gets the most training done lately. She had her first trim with the farrier so we had worked on picking all of her feet before hand. She amazed me again with how quickly she caught on! Hubby helped me with this task because he's so strong! I didn't want to have her be able to take her foot away from me so Hubby helped out with her back feet. She fought him BIG time the first time he picked her back foot up. The second time wasn't near the struggle as the first and the third time she just picked it up and stood relaxed, like she's been doing this for years! We went to the other side and the struggle for the other hind was 'half-assed' and then she just stood there like she was supposed to. She picks her front feet up fine - has been since the second day we had her home! When the farrier came, she did fine with her front feet and only fought her back foot a little, just to see what she could get away with, I think. She did her other back foot just fine - no fight whatsoever! We will keep working on leading and her feet but other than that, I don't like to baby the babies. In my experience, foals who have been babied end up pushy and spoiled. I want her to be respectful and attentive to my every move, not uninterested. I know everyone has their own views on this but that's ok. I just know what has worked for me and what hasn't. I take her out and work with her on stuff about once a month or so, like yesterday I had to work on walking calmly through gates. She developed a want to run through gates so that she can get to playing so that was a lesson needed right away. But her next lesson with something new won't be for a couple weeks since we did the feet thing. Does that make sense? I address the issues right away that show themselves but teach her new things every 4 - 6 weeks and refresh the stuff already learned. I hope that makes sense...
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get."
Nothing new to report with Tyson. He lost a little weight with the frigid temperatures but the weight is already back on. Ever since his major injury he's been a 'hard keeper' not to mention accident prone. I think he gets bored so he gets into trouble...he's a character, let me tell ya!!
Star is sweet as always. She's handling the winter very gracefully and enjoying her warm stall at night. Have I ever mentioned how she starts her Harley at feeding time? If not, keep reading...if so you can skip to the next paragraph... Star makes noise, a nicker maybe, that sounds just like a Harley motorcycle starting up! She kinda growls or grumbles with an eagerness to it. Hard to explain but it makes me smile every time she does it! The only time she does it is at feeding time - so stinkin' cute!
Melody has been the one that gets the most training done lately. She had her first trim with the farrier so we had worked on picking all of her feet before hand. She amazed me again with how quickly she caught on! Hubby helped me with this task because he's so strong! I didn't want to have her be able to take her foot away from me so Hubby helped out with her back feet. She fought him BIG time the first time he picked her back foot up. The second time wasn't near the struggle as the first and the third time she just picked it up and stood relaxed, like she's been doing this for years! We went to the other side and the struggle for the other hind was 'half-assed' and then she just stood there like she was supposed to. She picks her front feet up fine - has been since the second day we had her home! When the farrier came, she did fine with her front feet and only fought her back foot a little, just to see what she could get away with, I think. She did her other back foot just fine - no fight whatsoever! We will keep working on leading and her feet but other than that, I don't like to baby the babies. In my experience, foals who have been babied end up pushy and spoiled. I want her to be respectful and attentive to my every move, not uninterested. I know everyone has their own views on this but that's ok. I just know what has worked for me and what hasn't. I take her out and work with her on stuff about once a month or so, like yesterday I had to work on walking calmly through gates. She developed a want to run through gates so that she can get to playing so that was a lesson needed right away. But her next lesson with something new won't be for a couple weeks since we did the feet thing. Does that make sense? I address the issues right away that show themselves but teach her new things every 4 - 6 weeks and refresh the stuff already learned. I hope that makes sense...
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get."
-Mark Twain
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Brrrr...
We are experiencing very low temps and a lot of snow right now which makes it hard to want to spend time outside. The older I get, the less I enjoy the snow - maybe one of these days our family will move somewhere where the winters are shorter and a lot less snowy!
Anyways, due to the extreme temperatures not much has been going on in horsey land at our house. Hubby is working like crazy to get our stalls finished up. All that's left are the bars. The floors are in and the walls put up. Can't wait!
I was feeding last night and it looks like Star might be losing some weight. My guess is that between Tyson and Zoe she's getting pushed off her feed (she eats the slowest). Tonight I'm gonna pull her out and feed her separately. I usually like to feed each horse separately, especially in the winter when there isn't any pasture, but without stalls it's pretty hard. I was making three piles (with their grain dishes) hoping that everyone would just stay at their pile but that's not working anymore. Needless to say, those stalls couldn't get done fast enough!
In other news, middle daughter decided that she didn't want to take riding lessons where she was at anymore. I'm not going to lie, I was upset because of selfish reasons. I really enjoyed our Monday's at the barn! I felt like the people at that barn were my kind of people and we really clicked! It was a dressage and western dressage barn but they were very accepting of everyone and their different horses and backgrounds. The way they were teaching middle daughter was very much like how I was taught to ride. But middle daughter was tired of riding on a lunge line and was bored. She felt like they did the same things over and over again. I tried to explain to her the importance of repeating the same exercises (muscle memory) but she had her mind made up. It didn't help that hubby also felt like she was moving too slow. I tried reasoning with them that rushing through could mean that important lessons might not be learned. But I was overruled and we ended lessons at that barn. I hope that one day soon I will be going there again for whatever reason, like maybe western dressage lessons??? Who knows?
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"This is what I learned: that everybody is talented, original and has something important to say."
Anyways, due to the extreme temperatures not much has been going on in horsey land at our house. Hubby is working like crazy to get our stalls finished up. All that's left are the bars. The floors are in and the walls put up. Can't wait!
I was feeding last night and it looks like Star might be losing some weight. My guess is that between Tyson and Zoe she's getting pushed off her feed (she eats the slowest). Tonight I'm gonna pull her out and feed her separately. I usually like to feed each horse separately, especially in the winter when there isn't any pasture, but without stalls it's pretty hard. I was making three piles (with their grain dishes) hoping that everyone would just stay at their pile but that's not working anymore. Needless to say, those stalls couldn't get done fast enough!
In other news, middle daughter decided that she didn't want to take riding lessons where she was at anymore. I'm not going to lie, I was upset because of selfish reasons. I really enjoyed our Monday's at the barn! I felt like the people at that barn were my kind of people and we really clicked! It was a dressage and western dressage barn but they were very accepting of everyone and their different horses and backgrounds. The way they were teaching middle daughter was very much like how I was taught to ride. But middle daughter was tired of riding on a lunge line and was bored. She felt like they did the same things over and over again. I tried to explain to her the importance of repeating the same exercises (muscle memory) but she had her mind made up. It didn't help that hubby also felt like she was moving too slow. I tried reasoning with them that rushing through could mean that important lessons might not be learned. But I was overruled and we ended lessons at that barn. I hope that one day soon I will be going there again for whatever reason, like maybe western dressage lessons??? Who knows?
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"This is what I learned: that everybody is talented, original and has something important to say."
-Brenda Ueland
Friday, August 23, 2013
Tyson
So where is Tyson among all the Star and Zoe updates? He's been living the good life. No riding, just brushing, eating and pooping with the occasional visit from the farrier. His life is good.
I don't think that the lack of riding bothers him a bit. He's always been on the lazy side but if we didn't take him out to brush him after we were done with Star, he gets really upset. He wants his attention too!!!
Middle daughter sat on him bareback a month or so ago just for fun. Naturally, he didn't care. But that's all we are going to do with him. He is still quite lame and can't trot at all. He bobs his head at the walk occasionally as well, so I started him on the same joint supplements as Star. The head bob is gone now so it must be helping him too.
Almost every day (I say almost because I admit, there are days where I'm just feeding and running because of family commitments!) I do a thorough walk-around. Checking his knees, fetlocks, joints and hooves for any signs of soreness or heat. I noticed this last time that the foot that he hurt really bad this past winter seems to have new growth coming in. Like maybe he's regenerating some new hoof where it had been torn off??? This is the foot that causes the severe lameness issues so I'm only slightly hopeful that he will keep growing that hoof and maybe someday be somewhat sound again. One can only hope...
And now to end this post with Mr. Handsome, himself... (that's what I call him, Mr. Handsome. I think he likes it!)
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Don't give up. Don't lose hope. Don't sell out."
I don't think that the lack of riding bothers him a bit. He's always been on the lazy side but if we didn't take him out to brush him after we were done with Star, he gets really upset. He wants his attention too!!!
Middle daughter sat on him bareback a month or so ago just for fun. Naturally, he didn't care. But that's all we are going to do with him. He is still quite lame and can't trot at all. He bobs his head at the walk occasionally as well, so I started him on the same joint supplements as Star. The head bob is gone now so it must be helping him too.
Almost every day (I say almost because I admit, there are days where I'm just feeding and running because of family commitments!) I do a thorough walk-around. Checking his knees, fetlocks, joints and hooves for any signs of soreness or heat. I noticed this last time that the foot that he hurt really bad this past winter seems to have new growth coming in. Like maybe he's regenerating some new hoof where it had been torn off??? This is the foot that causes the severe lameness issues so I'm only slightly hopeful that he will keep growing that hoof and maybe someday be somewhat sound again. One can only hope...
And now to end this post with Mr. Handsome, himself... (that's what I call him, Mr. Handsome. I think he likes it!)
Quote for the day:
"Don't give up. Don't lose hope. Don't sell out."
-Christopher Reeve
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Boot Camp
Saturday morning I woke up early. I didn't want to oversleep and I was way too excited to sleep anyway! My plan was to feed and then give her a bath. I threw some hay and filled the water and then went inside for my coffee. I went back out after about 45 minutes thinking she would be done. Apparently she doesn't eat her breakfast very fast because she had a lot left to eat! So I changed my plans. I decided to just do a really good grooming and trim up her bridle path. That would save me a TON of time!
So with all of this extra time now, I got the truck hooked up to the trailer, made sure the current Coggins was in the truck and went inside to start getting my family ready. My youngest son is very hard to wake up in the morning, we call him the bear, so it takes some time to get him up and ready to go. He growled and moaned until I threatened to throw water in his face (works every time!). Ok, so let me tell you that by this time it was 8:30 am and I put all the kids to bed the night before at 9 pm. Plenty of sleep. Hubby said he wanted to leave at 9:30 am to give us enough time (we had to be there at 10 am) so these kids needed to get breakfast and dressed. On a school day it we give them an hour or so to get ready so I figured we had better plan on the same time frame.
At 9:00 am I got Zoe from her breakfast. She was still eating. Seriously. Still eating. I tied her to the trailer and did a thorough grooming. She was as shiny as a horse without a bath can get. Her mane was nice (except for the spot where she rubbed her mane out and is starting to come back in so it stands straight up!) and her tail was gorgeous. I trimmed up her bridle path but left her whiskers and her fuzzy ears alone. No point in taking the fuzz off with all of the flies - we're not going to a show so I never trim up those areas. I sprayed her good with fly spray and cleaned her feet. Then it was time to go! Hubby was impatiently waiting for me to load Zoe. While I was grooming, he had loaded the kiddos in the truck so he was ready.
I led Zoe into the trailer but she only put her front feet in and stopped. WTH? She always loads so I didn't know what was different this time. Oh wait! The smell is probably different than the last time. We own a stock/horse combo gooseneck trailer and a neighbor (our feed guy) borrowed the trailer to haul some steers. When we got it back, it was disgusting. We cleaned it the best we could but I'm sure that's what she was smelling and wasn't so sure about. I just gave her a little time and coaxed her a little and she jumped the rest of the way in. I shut the door, climbed into the truck and we were off!
The drive was uneventful and we got the the trainer's barn in plenty of time. Zoe was calling excessively when we arrived. There is a beautiful, palomino stud there and he wasn't even interested in her, although a big bay gelding was VERY interested. He answered her every call. It didn't take long and the trainer was out at the trailer. We talked some business talk about what she was going to do, what I expected, money, etc. Then it was time to unload. Zoe was a hot mess in that trailer. She had pooped and it was on the runny side so her backside was messy and of course she stomped in it so now her feet were messy and she was all sweaty. I guess all that grooming and extra TLC that morning was for nothing. Dang mare. Zoe unloaded fine but was very alert. She was good but had to be reminded a couple times that she can't push me around just to see what was around her.
We put her in her turnout behind the barn. She was being penned next to two geldings on one side and a big gelding on the other. She immediately set out to sniff the perimeter - not caring about the horses in the pen next to her. At this point the stud actually acknowledged that she was there only by looking her direction. He never called to her the entire time we were there - amazing!
We did some more small talk and it was time to go. As a side note, I really like her. I think she has the right methods for training. She's not a bully but has expectations of the horse. She expects them to behave and lets them know when they aren't (Zoe needs to be reminded of that). She knows what she wants and how to ask the horse for it, which is also very important. She said she will work with Zoe everyday and if she misses a day during the week she will make up for it on the weekend. She was going to let Zoe settle in for a couple days and start working on Monday. We've been having extreme heat (in the mid to upper 90's with high humidity) this week so I wonder what all she did. She was going to start on ground work and see what holes are there. She will move on to saddle work once she feels Zoe is ready for it. The pace is going to be set by Zoe so if Zoe decides she wants to learn it could go very quickly. If she decides to be difficult, it will take longer. That's another reason I like her. So I've been dying to text her to see how things are going but it's only been a few days so I don't want to seem over anxious...ya know? I will wait until next week...I guess.
Sorry about not taking any pictures. I was way toonervous excited to even think about taking pictures! Maybe when I go for a visit I will remember to take pictures!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Smile, it's free therapy."
So with all of this extra time now, I got the truck hooked up to the trailer, made sure the current Coggins was in the truck and went inside to start getting my family ready. My youngest son is very hard to wake up in the morning, we call him the bear, so it takes some time to get him up and ready to go. He growled and moaned until I threatened to throw water in his face (works every time!). Ok, so let me tell you that by this time it was 8:30 am and I put all the kids to bed the night before at 9 pm. Plenty of sleep. Hubby said he wanted to leave at 9:30 am to give us enough time (we had to be there at 10 am) so these kids needed to get breakfast and dressed. On a school day it we give them an hour or so to get ready so I figured we had better plan on the same time frame.
At 9:00 am I got Zoe from her breakfast. She was still eating. Seriously. Still eating. I tied her to the trailer and did a thorough grooming. She was as shiny as a horse without a bath can get. Her mane was nice (except for the spot where she rubbed her mane out and is starting to come back in so it stands straight up!) and her tail was gorgeous. I trimmed up her bridle path but left her whiskers and her fuzzy ears alone. No point in taking the fuzz off with all of the flies - we're not going to a show so I never trim up those areas. I sprayed her good with fly spray and cleaned her feet. Then it was time to go! Hubby was impatiently waiting for me to load Zoe. While I was grooming, he had loaded the kiddos in the truck so he was ready.
I led Zoe into the trailer but she only put her front feet in and stopped. WTH? She always loads so I didn't know what was different this time. Oh wait! The smell is probably different than the last time. We own a stock/horse combo gooseneck trailer and a neighbor (our feed guy) borrowed the trailer to haul some steers. When we got it back, it was disgusting. We cleaned it the best we could but I'm sure that's what she was smelling and wasn't so sure about. I just gave her a little time and coaxed her a little and she jumped the rest of the way in. I shut the door, climbed into the truck and we were off!
The drive was uneventful and we got the the trainer's barn in plenty of time. Zoe was calling excessively when we arrived. There is a beautiful, palomino stud there and he wasn't even interested in her, although a big bay gelding was VERY interested. He answered her every call. It didn't take long and the trainer was out at the trailer. We talked some business talk about what she was going to do, what I expected, money, etc. Then it was time to unload. Zoe was a hot mess in that trailer. She had pooped and it was on the runny side so her backside was messy and of course she stomped in it so now her feet were messy and she was all sweaty. I guess all that grooming and extra TLC that morning was for nothing. Dang mare. Zoe unloaded fine but was very alert. She was good but had to be reminded a couple times that she can't push me around just to see what was around her.
We put her in her turnout behind the barn. She was being penned next to two geldings on one side and a big gelding on the other. She immediately set out to sniff the perimeter - not caring about the horses in the pen next to her. At this point the stud actually acknowledged that she was there only by looking her direction. He never called to her the entire time we were there - amazing!
We did some more small talk and it was time to go. As a side note, I really like her. I think she has the right methods for training. She's not a bully but has expectations of the horse. She expects them to behave and lets them know when they aren't (Zoe needs to be reminded of that). She knows what she wants and how to ask the horse for it, which is also very important. She said she will work with Zoe everyday and if she misses a day during the week she will make up for it on the weekend. She was going to let Zoe settle in for a couple days and start working on Monday. We've been having extreme heat (in the mid to upper 90's with high humidity) this week so I wonder what all she did. She was going to start on ground work and see what holes are there. She will move on to saddle work once she feels Zoe is ready for it. The pace is going to be set by Zoe so if Zoe decides she wants to learn it could go very quickly. If she decides to be difficult, it will take longer. That's another reason I like her. So I've been dying to text her to see how things are going but it's only been a few days so I don't want to seem over anxious...ya know? I will wait until next week...I guess.
Sorry about not taking any pictures. I was way too
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Smile, it's free therapy."
-Douglas Horton
Friday, June 21, 2013
A Baby In Our Future?
As I mentioned before, we are breeding Star. On Wednesday, hubby sent me a text that Star was in - plans changed and we loaded her up in the trailer and off we went! Dropped her off where she can be bred. Unfortunately, that's not how simple our day was...
Let me start at the beginning of our day...
I went to work, planning on leaving at 3pm for the Coggins test for Zoe. She had to be to the vet at 4pm. I left work 15 minutes late because I am SUPER busy right now but I got home with plenty-o time to load up and go (the vet is 10 min. away). On my way home, hubby texted me that Star was in heat today so that meant bringing Star to get her bred HAD to be done TODAY. When I got home I changed my clothes (I work in an office), grabbed Zoe and loaded her in the trailer. She's great loading so that was a very quick transaction! :) Good girl!
Off to the vet we went. No issues there either. A perfect angel, she was!
On the way home, we stopped off at the daycare lady's house to pick up the kiddos. Of course she wanted to see Zoe, so we did a little show-and-tell presentation in her driveway. The neighbors were all very excited to see her. We live in a small farm community so having a horse in town is perfectly acceptable. :) Again, Zoe was very well behaved. I was a proud horsey momma!
After we left, we called the stallion owner (brother-in-law) and told him we were coming up soon. He asked us if we could swing by a neighbor's house and pick up another mare that was also getting bred. She was just around the corner so it wasn't a big deal.
When we got home we unloaded Zoe, changed a dirty diaper (tmi???), loaded up some hay in the trailer, loaded up the kids in the truck, loaded Star (who also loads very easily) and we were off. Got to our neighbor's house to get the mare and she also loaded very well. Neighbor had 10 bales of hay we had to load and then we were finally on the road to brother-in-law's house. It's now 6pm.
The drive was uneventful. Unloading both horses was uneventful.
We decided to see how the stud was going to be with Star. If something did go wrong, there were 3 of us to help with any situation that could possibly happen. A little background info on the stud: he's 4 and bred one mare on accident (didn't realize he had "dropped" yet) so he's very inexperienced and we had no idea how he was with his mares. A little background info on us: we've owned stallions before and have handled the breeding ourselves for several years. We know what we're doing.
The stud was very excited at the new comers and Star was probably just as excited to see him! The stud was very well behaved while in-hand. Minded his manners and listened astonishingly well with only a rope halter and lead on. I'm sure brother-in-law was very proud of his stud horse. The two nosed up and Star was quite the lady...yeah right. If you have ever been around a mare in heat with a stud at her nose, you understand. She did what all mares in heat do. Gross. Have some class, would ya??? j/k
Since he was being so good, brother-in-law put the lead rope over his back and let him go. The stud was talking, nibbling and sniffing Star all over. Star was a statue. Stood there waiting, making it very easy for him. He tried at first to climb on her side. Brother-in-law pulled him down. He went back to her face and talked some more. Made his way around to her butt climbed on but couldn't figure out where things were supposed to go so he climbed back off. Almost looked defeated. Brother-in-law picked up the lead rope again and walked him away.
We decided that since he had been a good boy that we would try pasture breeding and let him and Star go. Star stood like a good girl while the stud circled around her, nibbling on her as he went. She didn't mind. Well then he got more aggressive and started chewing. He would go down her front legs, then her back legs, and then down her sides. She got sick of it and started running off. That just made him more aggressive. She started kicking at him when he would bite her. Things were getting worse by the minute. The kicks weren't phasing him one bit and she was really firing them off (and landing 90% of them on either his chest or his sides)! It was time to step in. He wasn't jumping, just chasing her around, trying to control her movements (this is what stallions do). Hubby stepped in and grabbed the stud very easily. Like I said, he's a good horse person and the stud was a good boy when being handled. As soon as hubby grabbed the lead, the stud calmed right down and acted like a puppy again. Star stopped too. She just stood there waiting for him to try again. Hubby led the stud around to make sure he had a handle on him, which he did, and led him over to Star again. Star waiting again while the stud "got ready" and jumped her. He never penetrated but went through the motions like he was supposed to.
By this time the stud was dripping in sweat but wasn't finished yet with Star. But we decided to call it a day and put him back in his pen with his buddies. They all ran around like crazy sniffing him but settled down. We did some thinking about the events that just took place and it's very possible that Star is too tall and he's too inexperienced. We are trying again tonight but this time we are digging a hole for Star to stand in so the angle for the stud is better and we won't be doing pasture breeding with this stud, he's much better in hand.
I fed Star her hay and grain, made sure she had fresh water and we went on our way. Our kids (who stayed in the barn so we didn't have to have the "birds and the bees" talk) were hungry...it was now 7:30 pm and we hadn't had dinner yet. We would've stopped on our way home but our big hayfield was getting baled and hubby wanted to get home ASAP so he could start getting the bales off the field. Needless to say, dinner was out of a can and made at about 8:30 pm. We finally crashed into our beds around 10 pm...it was a long day for us!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it."
Let me start at the beginning of our day...
I went to work, planning on leaving at 3pm for the Coggins test for Zoe. She had to be to the vet at 4pm. I left work 15 minutes late because I am SUPER busy right now but I got home with plenty-o time to load up and go (the vet is 10 min. away). On my way home, hubby texted me that Star was in heat today so that meant bringing Star to get her bred HAD to be done TODAY. When I got home I changed my clothes (I work in an office), grabbed Zoe and loaded her in the trailer. She's great loading so that was a very quick transaction! :) Good girl!
Off to the vet we went. No issues there either. A perfect angel, she was!
On the way home, we stopped off at the daycare lady's house to pick up the kiddos. Of course she wanted to see Zoe, so we did a little show-and-tell presentation in her driveway. The neighbors were all very excited to see her. We live in a small farm community so having a horse in town is perfectly acceptable. :) Again, Zoe was very well behaved. I was a proud horsey momma!
After we left, we called the stallion owner (brother-in-law) and told him we were coming up soon. He asked us if we could swing by a neighbor's house and pick up another mare that was also getting bred. She was just around the corner so it wasn't a big deal.
When we got home we unloaded Zoe, changed a dirty diaper (tmi???), loaded up some hay in the trailer, loaded up the kids in the truck, loaded Star (who also loads very easily) and we were off. Got to our neighbor's house to get the mare and she also loaded very well. Neighbor had 10 bales of hay we had to load and then we were finally on the road to brother-in-law's house. It's now 6pm.
The drive was uneventful. Unloading both horses was uneventful.
We decided to see how the stud was going to be with Star. If something did go wrong, there were 3 of us to help with any situation that could possibly happen. A little background info on the stud: he's 4 and bred one mare on accident (didn't realize he had "dropped" yet) so he's very inexperienced and we had no idea how he was with his mares. A little background info on us: we've owned stallions before and have handled the breeding ourselves for several years. We know what we're doing.
The stud was very excited at the new comers and Star was probably just as excited to see him! The stud was very well behaved while in-hand. Minded his manners and listened astonishingly well with only a rope halter and lead on. I'm sure brother-in-law was very proud of his stud horse. The two nosed up and Star was quite the lady...yeah right. If you have ever been around a mare in heat with a stud at her nose, you understand. She did what all mares in heat do. Gross. Have some class, would ya??? j/k
Since he was being so good, brother-in-law put the lead rope over his back and let him go. The stud was talking, nibbling and sniffing Star all over. Star was a statue. Stood there waiting, making it very easy for him. He tried at first to climb on her side. Brother-in-law pulled him down. He went back to her face and talked some more. Made his way around to her butt climbed on but couldn't figure out where things were supposed to go so he climbed back off. Almost looked defeated. Brother-in-law picked up the lead rope again and walked him away.
We decided that since he had been a good boy that we would try pasture breeding and let him and Star go. Star stood like a good girl while the stud circled around her, nibbling on her as he went. She didn't mind. Well then he got more aggressive and started chewing. He would go down her front legs, then her back legs, and then down her sides. She got sick of it and started running off. That just made him more aggressive. She started kicking at him when he would bite her. Things were getting worse by the minute. The kicks weren't phasing him one bit and she was really firing them off (and landing 90% of them on either his chest or his sides)! It was time to step in. He wasn't jumping, just chasing her around, trying to control her movements (this is what stallions do). Hubby stepped in and grabbed the stud very easily. Like I said, he's a good horse person and the stud was a good boy when being handled. As soon as hubby grabbed the lead, the stud calmed right down and acted like a puppy again. Star stopped too. She just stood there waiting for him to try again. Hubby led the stud around to make sure he had a handle on him, which he did, and led him over to Star again. Star waiting again while the stud "got ready" and jumped her. He never penetrated but went through the motions like he was supposed to.
By this time the stud was dripping in sweat but wasn't finished yet with Star. But we decided to call it a day and put him back in his pen with his buddies. They all ran around like crazy sniffing him but settled down. We did some thinking about the events that just took place and it's very possible that Star is too tall and he's too inexperienced. We are trying again tonight but this time we are digging a hole for Star to stand in so the angle for the stud is better and we won't be doing pasture breeding with this stud, he's much better in hand.
I fed Star her hay and grain, made sure she had fresh water and we went on our way. Our kids (who stayed in the barn so we didn't have to have the "birds and the bees" talk) were hungry...it was now 7:30 pm and we hadn't had dinner yet. We would've stopped on our way home but our big hayfield was getting baled and hubby wanted to get home ASAP so he could start getting the bales off the field. Needless to say, dinner was out of a can and made at about 8:30 pm. We finally crashed into our beds around 10 pm...it was a long day for us!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it."
-William Penn
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
If At First You Don't Succeed
try, try again. Zoe was back to being pushy last night when it was time to come in for her grain. It didn't help that as soon as I led her out of the pasture our dog, Riggin, jumped behind her and scared her. She immediately let out a huge kick in his direction and almost got him. Probably would've killed him if she had connected that kick to his head like she planned! Anyways, that got her all juiced and more pushy than before. I also wonder if the new grain I put her on is giving her some fire. I know Star has double the energy she had before so it's probably giving Zoe a little extra too. I decided to change grain because the girls had lost weight through the winter and I wanted something with more fat and protein than what I was feeding.
So we worked on our in-hand stuff again. Forwards, backwards, turning and standing. Over and over again. And then again and again. Are you getting the picture? She wasn't getting it this time. I had to make sure she understood that her behavior was unacceptable. There are times that middle daughter will lead Zoe in to her stall for me and I don't want Zoe to push my daughter around. That mare needed to be reminded of her manners. I don't hit my horses - ever. Not my style at all. I show my horses that they are being bad by my actions and my voice. When she invades my space or gets pushy with me I will get big with my actions and my voice. She is a sensitive horse and that's all it takes - usually. Yesterday she still wasn't responding. I admit, I gave her a pop with the halter and lead to get her attention back to me. That surprised her and she *finally* started listening to me.
Once we got to her stall she tried to rush past me so we had to repeat all of it again. Didn't take as long that time. At last we made it into her stall and she patiently waited for me to remove her halter before diving into her food.
Star behaved very well - as always. Her only fault on leading is when we approach her stall she has the tendency to rush into her stall. But a quick stop right before going in is all we need and she backs down again. Only have to do that every once in a while, as a reminder, because most of the time shes' a good girl.
That's about all the horsey news I have for now.
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"The things we know best are the things we haven't been taught."
So we worked on our in-hand stuff again. Forwards, backwards, turning and standing. Over and over again. And then again and again. Are you getting the picture? She wasn't getting it this time. I had to make sure she understood that her behavior was unacceptable. There are times that middle daughter will lead Zoe in to her stall for me and I don't want Zoe to push my daughter around. That mare needed to be reminded of her manners. I don't hit my horses - ever. Not my style at all. I show my horses that they are being bad by my actions and my voice. When she invades my space or gets pushy with me I will get big with my actions and my voice. She is a sensitive horse and that's all it takes - usually. Yesterday she still wasn't responding. I admit, I gave her a pop with the halter and lead to get her attention back to me. That surprised her and she *finally* started listening to me.
Once we got to her stall she tried to rush past me so we had to repeat all of it again. Didn't take as long that time. At last we made it into her stall and she patiently waited for me to remove her halter before diving into her food.
Star behaved very well - as always. Her only fault on leading is when we approach her stall she has the tendency to rush into her stall. But a quick stop right before going in is all we need and she backs down again. Only have to do that every once in a while, as a reminder, because most of the time shes' a good girl.
That's about all the horsey news I have for now.
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"The things we know best are the things we haven't been taught."
-Luc de Clapiers
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Cause & Effect
Today I'm going to touch on the importance of good feed. This past summer we experienced a drought, which is so rare in our part of the country! Although it was a beautiful summer, in terms of it being sunny every day and warm (if not hot) temperatures. This made the summer very enjoyable because you never had to worry about if your plans were going to be rained out. Unfortunately, for those of us who farm or have livestock, that is not a very pleasant summer at all.
Because of the drought, our hay season was cut short. Our hay didn't grow like it normally did so we would wait for it to get taller so it would be worth cutting. But in doing so, the hay quality goes down. The nutrients were slowing draining out of the grass and alfalfa (because it was drying out). This has been evident this winter in our animals because usually our animals come out of winter in bit on the chubby side. This year it's been a struggle keep a healthy weight on them. We are forced to supplement the, otherwise nutritious, hay with grain, of which the price also increased due to the drought. We just can't win!
A typical year we get 3 cuttings on our hay fields, sometimes even 4. This past summer we got 2 cuttings and the cuttings were small. We weren't the only ones in our area with that same problem! Everyone was in the same boat as us and had to buy hay. The hay farmers raised their prices (ya know, supply & demand) and hay still sold out quickly! And because the nutrients are lower in the hay this year, we've had to increase our feed. It's a lose-lose situation this winter, a snow-ball effect.
Sometimes I wonder if we will ever be rid of the snow so we can turn them out on pasture! Fortunately, our pastures are rich with nutrients. We spent the extra money and planted each of our pastures with a good pasture mix and do a pasture rotation for all of the animals. Pasture management is key to keeping your pastures working for you.
I'm not going to get into grain and all of its pros and cons...I've still got much to learn before I post on that subject. All I know is that we are struggling with our hay this year and it's all because of the drought of 2012. I'm hoping this coming spring/summer/fall will be better!
Here's to the warmer weather!
Until next time!
Because of the drought, our hay season was cut short. Our hay didn't grow like it normally did so we would wait for it to get taller so it would be worth cutting. But in doing so, the hay quality goes down. The nutrients were slowing draining out of the grass and alfalfa (because it was drying out). This has been evident this winter in our animals because usually our animals come out of winter in bit on the chubby side. This year it's been a struggle keep a healthy weight on them. We are forced to supplement the, otherwise nutritious, hay with grain, of which the price also increased due to the drought. We just can't win!
A typical year we get 3 cuttings on our hay fields, sometimes even 4. This past summer we got 2 cuttings and the cuttings were small. We weren't the only ones in our area with that same problem! Everyone was in the same boat as us and had to buy hay. The hay farmers raised their prices (ya know, supply & demand) and hay still sold out quickly! And because the nutrients are lower in the hay this year, we've had to increase our feed. It's a lose-lose situation this winter, a snow-ball effect.
Sometimes I wonder if we will ever be rid of the snow so we can turn them out on pasture! Fortunately, our pastures are rich with nutrients. We spent the extra money and planted each of our pastures with a good pasture mix and do a pasture rotation for all of the animals. Pasture management is key to keeping your pastures working for you.
I'm not going to get into grain and all of its pros and cons...I've still got much to learn before I post on that subject. All I know is that we are struggling with our hay this year and it's all because of the drought of 2012. I'm hoping this coming spring/summer/fall will be better!
Here's to the warmer weather!
Until next time!
Quote for the Day:
"Be faithful to that which exists within yourself."
-Andre Gide
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