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 Grain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grain. 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, December 5, 2014
The Vet
Since the cold weather set in, I started to separate the boys from the girls. Tyson wasn't letting anyone in the lean-to so that meant Star ALWAYS ended up out in the weather. She's gonna be 20 years old next year and I don't need her getting stuck outside in the bad weather we are having so I moved the boys to stalls at night and a different turn out during the day.
Before, the girls got along really well. All three could stand the in the large lean-to comfortably with no issues. Well, there's issues now! Zoe decided she was queen and wouldn't let ANYONE into the lean-to. So I moved her to the stall at night and brought her back out with Star and Melody during the day. This was going great - or so I thought!
It started when I noticed that Star was losing weight. I ended up working with hubby around the barn one day last week and that's when I realized that Star wasn't moving around in her turnout. She would stand in a corner, appearing to be scared to move. That's when I saw Zoe start blasting Star with both back feet right into Star's side!!! Star had nowhere to go so she stood there and took it. WTH?! I was UPSET to say the least! I took Zoe out and put her out with the boys. That was enough of that! If she can't play nice with Star then she will have to go out with Tyson, who is head honcho and will keep her in line! Once Zoe was out, Star let out a big sigh. She immediately walked over to the water and drank for what seemed like forever!
The next day, I went to check on her. Her spirits were up but I noticed she wasn't acting quite like herself. Star isn't a cuddly horse (unless you have treats). She's very sweet but isn't the one who will hang her head on your shoulder or nuzzle your hair. That day, all she wanted to do was rest her head on my shoulder and kept nuzzling me on my neck. In all the years I've owned her, she's NEVER done that. I looked her over carefully and didn't see anything physically wrong with her. So I chalked it up to her "thanking" me for taking Zoe away.
The next night (hubby did chores for me in the morning because I was running late to work) I went to check on her again and this time there were HUGE lumps on her right side and a long swollen area beneath her belly. She was tender to the touch but let me touch her. I called the vet and he called me back right away and told me it could be an allergic reaction and to give her a treatment (with the heaves medication). I did as I was told, hoping that the vet was right. The reason we were wondering about allergies was because I had just switched her to a pelleted grain (no dust) so I immediately stopped feeding that grain to her. I gave her 3 treatments as instructed by the vet and kept an eye on her. I thought I had seen a change for the better one night...
But the next day, she was worse. She wouldn't even let me touch her on that side anymore! I was immediately concerned and called the vet. He said he would come over first thing the next morning. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there for the vet appointment so hubby was there instead. That was today...he agreed with us that these lumps were probably from getting beat up by Zoe and she might even have a cracked rib. He gave us Bute pills that we are to put in her grain (2 daily) to help with the pain. Hubby pointed out her weight loss and the vet said the stress of being out with Zoe would cause her to lose weight, and then hubby pointed out the swollen area beneath her belly. The vet wasn't sure what the cause for that would be so he took a blood sample. He said he would get the results this afternoon and call us. If it's a tumor, he should be able to remove it fairly easily. But we will just have to wait and see.
While he was there, we had him clean Gunner's sheath. I wasn't sure if he had ever had that done before so the vet took care of that. He said Gunner was very dirty and also agreed that it appeared he had never been cleaned before. Or if he had, it had been a LONG time since the last time. Tyson was done a few months ago so we didn't have him done again. It would be nice if we could get them all on the same schedule next year so we don't have to pay for so many farm calls! I guess that's something I will have to work on next year!
Needless to say, our vet bill is gonna be a big one! With this business with Star, our cows getting preg-checked, Gunner's sheath, and puppy check-ups...it should be a good size bill next month. But, I would do it all over again - LOVE these animals!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."
Before, the girls got along really well. All three could stand the in the large lean-to comfortably with no issues. Well, there's issues now! Zoe decided she was queen and wouldn't let ANYONE into the lean-to. So I moved her to the stall at night and brought her back out with Star and Melody during the day. This was going great - or so I thought!
It started when I noticed that Star was losing weight. I ended up working with hubby around the barn one day last week and that's when I realized that Star wasn't moving around in her turnout. She would stand in a corner, appearing to be scared to move. That's when I saw Zoe start blasting Star with both back feet right into Star's side!!! Star had nowhere to go so she stood there and took it. WTH?! I was UPSET to say the least! I took Zoe out and put her out with the boys. That was enough of that! If she can't play nice with Star then she will have to go out with Tyson, who is head honcho and will keep her in line! Once Zoe was out, Star let out a big sigh. She immediately walked over to the water and drank for what seemed like forever!
The next day, I went to check on her. Her spirits were up but I noticed she wasn't acting quite like herself. Star isn't a cuddly horse (unless you have treats). She's very sweet but isn't the one who will hang her head on your shoulder or nuzzle your hair. That day, all she wanted to do was rest her head on my shoulder and kept nuzzling me on my neck. In all the years I've owned her, she's NEVER done that. I looked her over carefully and didn't see anything physically wrong with her. So I chalked it up to her "thanking" me for taking Zoe away.
The next night (hubby did chores for me in the morning because I was running late to work) I went to check on her again and this time there were HUGE lumps on her right side and a long swollen area beneath her belly. She was tender to the touch but let me touch her. I called the vet and he called me back right away and told me it could be an allergic reaction and to give her a treatment (with the heaves medication). I did as I was told, hoping that the vet was right. The reason we were wondering about allergies was because I had just switched her to a pelleted grain (no dust) so I immediately stopped feeding that grain to her. I gave her 3 treatments as instructed by the vet and kept an eye on her. I thought I had seen a change for the better one night...
But the next day, she was worse. She wouldn't even let me touch her on that side anymore! I was immediately concerned and called the vet. He said he would come over first thing the next morning. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there for the vet appointment so hubby was there instead. That was today...he agreed with us that these lumps were probably from getting beat up by Zoe and she might even have a cracked rib. He gave us Bute pills that we are to put in her grain (2 daily) to help with the pain. Hubby pointed out her weight loss and the vet said the stress of being out with Zoe would cause her to lose weight, and then hubby pointed out the swollen area beneath her belly. The vet wasn't sure what the cause for that would be so he took a blood sample. He said he would get the results this afternoon and call us. If it's a tumor, he should be able to remove it fairly easily. But we will just have to wait and see.
While he was there, we had him clean Gunner's sheath. I wasn't sure if he had ever had that done before so the vet took care of that. He said Gunner was very dirty and also agreed that it appeared he had never been cleaned before. Or if he had, it had been a LONG time since the last time. Tyson was done a few months ago so we didn't have him done again. It would be nice if we could get them all on the same schedule next year so we don't have to pay for so many farm calls! I guess that's something I will have to work on next year!
Needless to say, our vet bill is gonna be a big one! With this business with Star, our cows getting preg-checked, Gunner's sheath, and puppy check-ups...it should be a good size bill next month. But, I would do it all over again - LOVE these animals!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."
-Leo Tolstoy
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
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Lame
In other news, we are battling lameness with Star again. I suspected that she had some arthritis starting in one of her hocks but the soreness was coming from the other hock. I started her on some joint supplements and she seems to be responding very well. Part of me wonders if she took a bad step out in the pasture because we rode her on a Saturday afternoon and then on Tuesday she was LAME. Three legged, couldn't trot, LAME. The other day I went out with her grain and she trotted up to me, without pain so I think we are heading in the right direction. I haven't tried her in the round pen yet, that's coming soon. If she's good, we will try riding for a few minutes and go from there. I don't want to re-injure her so we will take it slow.
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it."
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it."
-George Halas
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
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Fuzzy Wuzzy
It's finally shedding season at our barn! The horses are itchy all over and would rather have scratches than their dinner - or at least Zoe did. She finished up her grain and I was taking the grain dish out when I gave her a quick scratch. She picked her head up out of her hay and just stood there. So I continued to scratch and pull hair out (I didn't have a brush with me). She didn't move a muscle! I bet I scratched her neck and chest for a solid 5 minutes before I stopped and let her eat. I was COVERED in blond hair. Yuck.
I picked up some Cowboy Magic for the girls. I will be ready for their first bath at the first opportunity, just waiting on the weather to warm up. They are so yucky and gross from the winter and mud! Last year Zoe rubbed part of her mane off so I am going to work on getting that grown in so her main will be nice and even. She has a really thick black mane and it's gorgeous! Her tail is really long and has waves in it too. I can't wait to get the detangler in and get to work on that tail!
When I went in Star's stall to get her grain dish, she tolerated me while I scratched her. She'd much rather eat at that point. She's very food oriented. For example, when I first started working with Star she could only be caught if I chased her into her stall or had a grain bucket with me. It was a long summer but at the end, she was coming to me to get caught. Just had to have treats in my pockets every time I visited her.
I was told when I bought Zoe back that she can be hard to catch at times (which was not the way she was when I sold her) but since she's been home, she waits for me at the gate and dives right into her halter. I wonder if she remembers me from when she was a young filly? She still has all of her scratchy spots that she did when she was a baby and follows me around like she did before I sold her. She's definitely more reactive than she was before but I'm guessing that's because of her lack of training/handling since I sold her. I'm just so happy I have her back. This is her forever home and she doesn't have to worry about the expectations of anyone else but mine - and I'm pretty easy to get along with. I digress....
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness."
I picked up some Cowboy Magic for the girls. I will be ready for their first bath at the first opportunity, just waiting on the weather to warm up. They are so yucky and gross from the winter and mud! Last year Zoe rubbed part of her mane off so I am going to work on getting that grown in so her main will be nice and even. She has a really thick black mane and it's gorgeous! Her tail is really long and has waves in it too. I can't wait to get the detangler in and get to work on that tail!
When I went in Star's stall to get her grain dish, she tolerated me while I scratched her. She'd much rather eat at that point. She's very food oriented. For example, when I first started working with Star she could only be caught if I chased her into her stall or had a grain bucket with me. It was a long summer but at the end, she was coming to me to get caught. Just had to have treats in my pockets every time I visited her.
I was told when I bought Zoe back that she can be hard to catch at times (which was not the way she was when I sold her) but since she's been home, she waits for me at the gate and dives right into her halter. I wonder if she remembers me from when she was a young filly? She still has all of her scratchy spots that she did when she was a baby and follows me around like she did before I sold her. She's definitely more reactive than she was before but I'm guessing that's because of her lack of training/handling since I sold her. I'm just so happy I have her back. This is her forever home and she doesn't have to worry about the expectations of anyone else but mine - and I'm pretty easy to get along with. I digress....
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness."
-Lusious Annaeus Seneca
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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