Dancer is a stereotypical anxious Thoroughbred. When she was being fed in the pasture she would trot in big circles, nervously waiting for her grain. When I first started working with her, even on the ground, she showed an extreme lack of confidence.
I discovered something that has made a huge change in her own personal confidence, not just her comfort level with a person, but her bravery even when alone.
Dancer is a hard-keeper. Even when she's fat her belly hangs down, pulling the skin tight over her ribs, giving her that underweight appearance. During the summer instead of restricting her to a stall for 8 hours with hay, I let her free-wander around the property to graze the lush grass with the option of coming into the barn where her fan was blowing. At first she would stick very close to the barn and only graze in a 10 foot perimeter. But once that grass was gone in that area, she started venturing further and further into the mysterious land of her own TB imagination. It was a huge turning point when she successfully passed by the pump house all alone. I was amazed at how her confidence was developing. It was as if she would talk herself through situations and eventually become familiar and comfortable with once horrifying objects.
That said, I want this for every horse. Knowing that individual horses learn differently, I was curious to see how other horses would respond to this same confidence-building freedom.
John and I started allowing the girls (Shellie, Betsy, Satin, Dancer) to walk from their pasture to the barn at evening feeding time. We let one horse out at a time and they walked about 40 feet, sometimes past a wheelbarrow or a tarp. John would wait in the barn with all the stall doors closed. I would call out to him, "Here comes Shellie." and he would open up her stall and occasionally encourage them in.
Satin, Dancer, and Betsy never had any issue. Satin and Betsy are very food driven. Dancer doesn't want to be a non-conformist, so she always goes right for her stall. Shellie, on the other hand, remains true to her young age. She has never once walked from the pasture to the barn. No, she takes a scenic route each time, sometimes trotting aimlessly around the barn playing hard to get (we just let her do her thing, under supervision). Sometimes she teases the donkeys or picks an argument with a horse already in their stall. Eventually, I walk up to her and gently reach my hand under her head and take the bottom of her cheek in my hand. She walks very calmly to her stall and finally ends her adventure. She doesn't like to be walked by her mane and will often become annoyed at this. "Don't tell me what to do!" Instead, she prefers you ask or encourage her. She's a sweet girl!
The girls seemed to enjoy this little deviation from the norm so much that when we moved them way down to Pasture 3, we decided to allow them the same freedom. We started by walking one or two horses and allowing the other two to follow. Now the girls are permitted to exit the pasture on their own and make their way down the long path, past scary objects like horse trailers, cages, shadows, the pump house, and more!
Their evening routine has become this:
Satin, who is night blind but also the most food obsessed, is usually the first to start walking. Betsy and Dancer follow right behind. They generally walk the entire distance unless Shellie decides to trot up behind them and herd them like the alpha mare she is, in which case they may brake into the trot. Shellie is always hard to convince to leave the pasture. I have to encourage her by the cheek to leave the pasture. By the time I get down to the barn, Satin is standing at her stall with a front leg raised, crying starvation. Betsy is hanging out a few feet away, keeping out of grumpy Satin's reach. Dancer is being forced to trot around the barn by Shellie but usually ditches Shellie after two laps around the barn. Once those three girls are in and munching their grain, Shellie's loneliness sets in and she finally comes into the barn.
These girls really seem to enjoy their daily dose of freedom. The only problem is I always feel guilty leaving Molly behind in the pasture. Maybe soon I will let her free roam with access to the barn and her girlfriends (Jedi and Ufir apparently aren't good friends).
We've now allowed the 4 girls to walk from the barn to their pasture in the mornings. Sometimes we will let them explore for 10-20 minutes before going down and opening the gate for them.
Pokey and Goose are still adjusting to their freedom. Most of the time they trot around a few feet and stand their, not really sure which way to go. Eventually, Pokey will realize that there is food waiting for him and will come into the barn. Once he's eating, Goose cries for her best friend and rushes into the barn. With time they will likely calm down and enjoy their short walks from Pasture 1 to the barn.
We rarely use even a rope when bringing JW to and from the barn. He'll usually follow you where ever you're headed, and will definitely follow you if you're carrying grain. He enjoys watching the girls free-walk and will often trot around the pasture as they walk by. If he's in the stall he's constantly flirting with the girls and dropping hay outside his stall door to lure them over.
Bodhi and Casanova absolutely adore JW. Their young cries remind me of a 4 year-old child getting dropped off at day care. But they find comfort in one another and I will often see them sleeping nostril to nostril or munching on hay with their shoulders pressed up against each other. Too cute!
But soon we will be introducing Bodhi and Cas to Magic, Tav, and Dusty. We will try JW with Pokey and Goose. I don't anticipate any issues with the geldings, but we'll see how Goose accepts old man JW.
Every day, a little something about your horses
Monday, November 30, 2009
Hot bran mash
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings everyone was blanketed with the exception of two horses (Satin and Bodhi). The lowest temperature dropped to about 36 degrees on Friday night. Each frigid morning the horses all snorkeled in their steamy hot bran mash soaked in their grain. Warm mushy goodness for their spoiled bellies.
Jedi and Ufir, the two geriatric Arabians, are getting much more tolerant of having their blankets put on, but you have to get them while their eating or the chances of you catching them is extremely slim. Many times when a horse tries to tell me something I usually listen and oblige, but in the case of the oldies, I felt that I knew better. Perhaps both Jedi and Ufir know that they would be just fine without these artificial coats, but I'd rather be over protective than have them shivering when a cold wind blows across their muscle-less bodies.
Next time you are out at the farm, take a peak at Jedi - he's finally putting on some weight after a dental float, tons of soaked grain and T&A cubes. Let me know how he looks to you!
As I mentioned above, I listen to what the horse is trying to tell me. Magic, who is a perfect gentleman when putting on his blanket, refused to let me put it on him Saturday evening. It was late, around 8:00pm, so the sun was long gone and the temp was about 50 degrees. I checked the blanket for irritants thinking he had a bad experience the last time he wore it, but found nothing. It turned out to be a fairly warm evening and didn't dip below 40.
That's not to say that if a horse decides to be ornery about something that I give him whatever he wants. It's a case by case basis.
You can be sure that your horses are toasty warm every night and getting their bellies warmed on cold mornings.
Jedi and Ufir, the two geriatric Arabians, are getting much more tolerant of having their blankets put on, but you have to get them while their eating or the chances of you catching them is extremely slim. Many times when a horse tries to tell me something I usually listen and oblige, but in the case of the oldies, I felt that I knew better. Perhaps both Jedi and Ufir know that they would be just fine without these artificial coats, but I'd rather be over protective than have them shivering when a cold wind blows across their muscle-less bodies.
Next time you are out at the farm, take a peak at Jedi - he's finally putting on some weight after a dental float, tons of soaked grain and T&A cubes. Let me know how he looks to you!
As I mentioned above, I listen to what the horse is trying to tell me. Magic, who is a perfect gentleman when putting on his blanket, refused to let me put it on him Saturday evening. It was late, around 8:00pm, so the sun was long gone and the temp was about 50 degrees. I checked the blanket for irritants thinking he had a bad experience the last time he wore it, but found nothing. It turned out to be a fairly warm evening and didn't dip below 40.
That's not to say that if a horse decides to be ornery about something that I give him whatever he wants. It's a case by case basis.
You can be sure that your horses are toasty warm every night and getting their bellies warmed on cold mornings.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Blankets, blankets, blankets
Yes, cold weather creates more work here at the barn because everyone needs their coat, but the way I see it is at least the horses aren't standing around the water troughs begging to be hosed off, right? I personally would much rather the sweltering Florida summer heat over any temperature below 60, but many of the horses thrive in the chill!
With expected temperatures to drop below 40, possibly even down to 36, John and I set out to feed in the evening, blankets in hand. At least since it has been cold a few days now all the creepy crawlies are, sadly, dead, and I don't get too nervous pulling blankets off the racks. As a matter of fact, not one single insect came scrambling out of the blankets.
All the horses are excellent when it comes to blanketing with the exception of Jedi. But he's a cranky old man and is allowed his quirks. Oh, and Ufir decided she was comfortable with her fur coat and made sure blanketing her was out of the question. At least I got her underweight counterpart blanketed! Even sweet Molly got her jacket this evening.
Bodhi and Cas laugh in the face of winter! We don't need no stinking blankets! Actually, their coats always feel warm in the mornings without their blankets, so I would venture to say they aren't wimps. They won't need a jacket until it dips below freezing.
Magic hasn't grown much of a coat but he does have a nice layer of fat under that speckled skin. I still blanketed him because I'd rather him be a little toasty than too cold. We'll see how warm he feels under his blanket in the morning.
Tav, Dusty, Pokey, and Goose are pros with their blankets and never give any trouble.
Shellie, a 5 year old, acts her age but in a very kind way! She hasn't been around the block yet, but she is a sweet girl and tries her best not to be a stereotypical Thoroughbred (like Dancer!).
With everyone snuggled up in the barn with oodles of hay, we closed the barn doors and as usual, released the donkeys to free roam.
It's expected to drop even lower tonight, possibly below 35! So make sure you get your visits in while the sun is still shining :)
With expected temperatures to drop below 40, possibly even down to 36, John and I set out to feed in the evening, blankets in hand. At least since it has been cold a few days now all the creepy crawlies are, sadly, dead, and I don't get too nervous pulling blankets off the racks. As a matter of fact, not one single insect came scrambling out of the blankets.
All the horses are excellent when it comes to blanketing with the exception of Jedi. But he's a cranky old man and is allowed his quirks. Oh, and Ufir decided she was comfortable with her fur coat and made sure blanketing her was out of the question. At least I got her underweight counterpart blanketed! Even sweet Molly got her jacket this evening.
Bodhi and Cas laugh in the face of winter! We don't need no stinking blankets! Actually, their coats always feel warm in the mornings without their blankets, so I would venture to say they aren't wimps. They won't need a jacket until it dips below freezing.
Magic hasn't grown much of a coat but he does have a nice layer of fat under that speckled skin. I still blanketed him because I'd rather him be a little toasty than too cold. We'll see how warm he feels under his blanket in the morning.
Tav, Dusty, Pokey, and Goose are pros with their blankets and never give any trouble.
Shellie, a 5 year old, acts her age but in a very kind way! She hasn't been around the block yet, but she is a sweet girl and tries her best not to be a stereotypical Thoroughbred (like Dancer!).
With everyone snuggled up in the barn with oodles of hay, we closed the barn doors and as usual, released the donkeys to free roam.
It's expected to drop even lower tonight, possibly below 35! So make sure you get your visits in while the sun is still shining :)
Cool Thanksgiving Morning
Happy Thanksgiving!
It only got down to about 50 degrees last night, but it was crispy cold in the early morning. All the horses dove in to their hot bran mash mixed with their grain. I like to give them a hot wheat bran mash when the temperature changes pretty suddenly. Lately it has been in the upper 50's in the evenings, so the dropping temps in the morning was a good enough excuse for me to spoil them all.
As the sun began to rise, all of the fence boards that have been saturated with rain the past few days started to steam. It looked like smoke coming off the fences!
John and I moved a new round bale into Pasture 1 for Pokey and Goose and Pasture 2 for JW, Cas, and Bodhi. We used a "skid" (a 5 foot piece of chain link attached to the ball) to drag a round bale instead of our usual method of pushing it with the front of the truck. This worked fabulously well except for the fact that our truck's transmission is about to crap out. The truck was hesitating and surging forward for the 10 minutes we used it. We decided to give the truck a break and had to hand-push the next round bale. These bales are about 800 lbs each and are HARD to roll with only two people! JW and Cas tried to help by pulling the bale into the pasture as Bodhi stood back and watched.
It should drop temperature all day with a low tonight of 38 degrees! Blankets!
It only got down to about 50 degrees last night, but it was crispy cold in the early morning. All the horses dove in to their hot bran mash mixed with their grain. I like to give them a hot wheat bran mash when the temperature changes pretty suddenly. Lately it has been in the upper 50's in the evenings, so the dropping temps in the morning was a good enough excuse for me to spoil them all.
As the sun began to rise, all of the fence boards that have been saturated with rain the past few days started to steam. It looked like smoke coming off the fences!
John and I moved a new round bale into Pasture 1 for Pokey and Goose and Pasture 2 for JW, Cas, and Bodhi. We used a "skid" (a 5 foot piece of chain link attached to the ball) to drag a round bale instead of our usual method of pushing it with the front of the truck. This worked fabulously well except for the fact that our truck's transmission is about to crap out. The truck was hesitating and surging forward for the 10 minutes we used it. We decided to give the truck a break and had to hand-push the next round bale. These bales are about 800 lbs each and are HARD to roll with only two people! JW and Cas tried to help by pulling the bale into the pasture as Bodhi stood back and watched.
It should drop temperature all day with a low tonight of 38 degrees! Blankets!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Who's Who?
Not much going on at the farm on this dreary, rainy day. It rained from 1:00am this morning until about 8:00am when the sun finally shown it's face. I kept the stall horses in until it stopped raining, hoping to keep them dry. But at about 10:30am the rain started up again! Everyone kept munching their hay so I let them make the choice to stay out. No one seemed bothered by the rain and took turns napping under the cover of the trees.
Last night John and I gave Bodhi and Cas a new round bale. Of course it got drenched in the rain over night and the young boys weren't making a dent in it. So rather than let the wet hay sit around and go to waste, I moved Bodhi, Cas, and JW into Pasture 2 (that's where the bonfires are held) and gave them some fresh hay (but not a full round bale) and moved Betsy, Dancer, Satin, Shellie, Jedi, Ufir, and Molly into Pasture 4 to eat the wet hay. They have already eaten through the moistened hay! Shellie was quite the chicken as we walked from the barn to a *new* pasture. She was asking, "Where are we going? Why are we going this way? Where are my friends? Aaah!" But she's a very good girl and survived walking past the pump house. Dancer followed blindly behind us (I was walking them both, but Dancer decided to trip over folded up tarp, scare herself, and pull out of the rope around her neck. I let her go and she calmly just followed Shellie and I).
Jedi, Ufir, and Molly had a silly gallop around in the new pasture. The three oldies are fun to watch!
Betsy and Satin were lazy and calm as usual and walked together down to the new pasture. They both went straight for the hay and unlike the rest of the herd, they had no desire to gallop around. I told them they were pathetic and that even the 27 year old Jedi got his heart rate up this morning.
Pokey and Goose were served fresh, dry hay in a wheelbarrow. I love watching Goose get snippy with Pokey around their hay. Pokey seems to care less about her drama, but Goose is always making ugly faces and squealing at him. Pokey just continues to munch, munch, munch.
Magic, Tav, and Dusty were nice and wet this morning. Although I was surprised to see that Magic's tail was fluffy and dry, but the rest of him was wet! Maybe it was blowing in the wind?
Tav continues to urinate at feeding time, every time. Oddly enough he didn't do it this morning, Dusty did! Dusty stretched and urinated RIGHT WHERE Tav always does it! Weird!
Bodhi and Cas were good boys and walked together to Pasture 2. Cas was a bit snorty but was comforted by Bodhi's laid back demeanor. These two youngin's love JW, even when JW turns his butt to him in dominance.
Lots of limbs have been falling from the huge oak trees - they get so heavy when they are soaked that they finally come toppling down in a loud crash! The horses never seem bothered by it. I'll be keeping the lookout for limbs falling on fences or low-lying limbs that should be trimmed. Also because of all the rain we have a few standing puddles. But from what I hear around Gainesville, our property is very dry in comparison to most!
More to come!
Last night John and I gave Bodhi and Cas a new round bale. Of course it got drenched in the rain over night and the young boys weren't making a dent in it. So rather than let the wet hay sit around and go to waste, I moved Bodhi, Cas, and JW into Pasture 2 (that's where the bonfires are held) and gave them some fresh hay (but not a full round bale) and moved Betsy, Dancer, Satin, Shellie, Jedi, Ufir, and Molly into Pasture 4 to eat the wet hay. They have already eaten through the moistened hay! Shellie was quite the chicken as we walked from the barn to a *new* pasture. She was asking, "Where are we going? Why are we going this way? Where are my friends? Aaah!" But she's a very good girl and survived walking past the pump house. Dancer followed blindly behind us (I was walking them both, but Dancer decided to trip over folded up tarp, scare herself, and pull out of the rope around her neck. I let her go and she calmly just followed Shellie and I).
Jedi, Ufir, and Molly had a silly gallop around in the new pasture. The three oldies are fun to watch!
Betsy and Satin were lazy and calm as usual and walked together down to the new pasture. They both went straight for the hay and unlike the rest of the herd, they had no desire to gallop around. I told them they were pathetic and that even the 27 year old Jedi got his heart rate up this morning.
Pokey and Goose were served fresh, dry hay in a wheelbarrow. I love watching Goose get snippy with Pokey around their hay. Pokey seems to care less about her drama, but Goose is always making ugly faces and squealing at him. Pokey just continues to munch, munch, munch.
Magic, Tav, and Dusty were nice and wet this morning. Although I was surprised to see that Magic's tail was fluffy and dry, but the rest of him was wet! Maybe it was blowing in the wind?
Tav continues to urinate at feeding time, every time. Oddly enough he didn't do it this morning, Dusty did! Dusty stretched and urinated RIGHT WHERE Tav always does it! Weird!
Bodhi and Cas were good boys and walked together to Pasture 2. Cas was a bit snorty but was comforted by Bodhi's laid back demeanor. These two youngin's love JW, even when JW turns his butt to him in dominance.
Lots of limbs have been falling from the huge oak trees - they get so heavy when they are soaked that they finally come toppling down in a loud crash! The horses never seem bothered by it. I'll be keeping the lookout for limbs falling on fences or low-lying limbs that should be trimmed. Also because of all the rain we have a few standing puddles. But from what I hear around Gainesville, our property is very dry in comparison to most!
More to come!
GP's blog, explained
I hope you're as excited as I am about Greener Pasture's new blog!
Why?
I try to approach managing the barn as if I was boarding here. What would I want? Ideally I would clone myself so I could spend time with my horse and also so I could be certain that my horse was receiving excellent care. Well, I can't be cloned, so I must trust that my horse is receiving loving care from someone else. That's hard! I know when I have boarded my horses I never knew for sure that my horse was being fed consistently, if she was being pushed around by other horses, or if she felt comfortable in her environment.
As horse moms and dads, we want the best for our babies and we will always worry about them!
My hope if that this blog will give you a little less worry when you're away.
What?
What will I be writing? Basically, this blog will contain the same types of little tidbits that the "Your Horse's Notables" binder keeps track of. More personal notables such as lameness will remain in the barn binder. Your horse may not be mentioned every day, but I will be blogging about everything! You should be able to stay updated on your baby even if you can't make it to the barn!
I particularly enjoy discovering each horse's individual personality. There's no such thing as a bad horse, so even if your horse is dominant or cranky, we love them just the same! We allow the horses to be themselves, whether nervous ninnys, slow in the brain, grumpy old farts...
When?
Starting immediately! Yay!
Who?
Me, Kathy, the barn manager lady, will be the one blogging. I feed 'em, fix their fences, fill their water, hose them down, handle them daily, and give them love every day.
Updates should be daily, so check back often!
Why?
I try to approach managing the barn as if I was boarding here. What would I want? Ideally I would clone myself so I could spend time with my horse and also so I could be certain that my horse was receiving excellent care. Well, I can't be cloned, so I must trust that my horse is receiving loving care from someone else. That's hard! I know when I have boarded my horses I never knew for sure that my horse was being fed consistently, if she was being pushed around by other horses, or if she felt comfortable in her environment.
As horse moms and dads, we want the best for our babies and we will always worry about them!
My hope if that this blog will give you a little less worry when you're away.
What?
What will I be writing? Basically, this blog will contain the same types of little tidbits that the "Your Horse's Notables" binder keeps track of. More personal notables such as lameness will remain in the barn binder. Your horse may not be mentioned every day, but I will be blogging about everything! You should be able to stay updated on your baby even if you can't make it to the barn!
I particularly enjoy discovering each horse's individual personality. There's no such thing as a bad horse, so even if your horse is dominant or cranky, we love them just the same! We allow the horses to be themselves, whether nervous ninnys, slow in the brain, grumpy old farts...
When?
Starting immediately! Yay!
Who?
Me, Kathy, the barn manager lady, will be the one blogging. I feed 'em, fix their fences, fill their water, hose them down, handle them daily, and give them love every day.
Updates should be daily, so check back often!
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