You know that it's truly winter when the temperatures don't rise above 60 degrees and the lows dive down into the low 30's.
Well tonight we are expecting a low of upper 20's with windchill estimates in the mid 20's! Everyone who has a blanket will be wearing one!
In the next month we will be attempting to gain access to an adjoining 20 acres of gorgeous property. This property is currently unoccupied but is only partially fenced. There is areas of pasture and areas that are heavily shaded by massive oaks - a nice place to take a leisurely trail ride. One side of the property backs up to the West side of Greener Pastures (behind the mobile home). The property stretches out into a square shape and opens up on SW 75th St.
The owners live in another state and plan to one day retire on their property, but for now it sits vacant. We would love to utilize this wonderful space for our boarders, whether it be pasture, cross-country field, or just for trail riding.
We will keep you posted!
It's been fairly quiet and chill out here the past few days. We'll be staying home with the horses on New Years to make sure everyone stays calm during the fireworks.
See you at the farm!
Every day, a little something about your horses
Monday, December 28, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tis the season
Happy Holidays from everyone here at Greener Pastures!
Since my last blog a few days ago Greener Pastures has received 40 cubic yards of custom blended shavings, 16 750lb coastal round bales, and many e-mails from horse parents looking to board with us.
We wish we had a hundred acres this close to town and could offer board to everyone who was interested! But in the last 3 months we have had to turn away 12 horses. Some of our current boarders are waiting for pasture space to open up so that their stalled horse can be pasture boarded instead. This is a beautiful, convenient place to spend time with your horse - no wonder people are banging down the door!
We are just entering winter and everyone is tolerating the cold very well. It's those warm days that throw them off!
Bodhi and Casanova are enjoying their new herd which consists of head-gelding Magic, easy-going Dusty, and picked-on Tav.
This morning Magic was feeling frisky and chased Bodhi. But Bodhi doesn't tolerate being picked on (take notes, Tav!) so he kicked up, double-barreled, three times in a row until he whacked Magic in his massive chest. Magic, annoyed, gave up and walked away. Poor Mag just wanted to play!
Our wonderful farrier, Lana, has recovered from her car accident and over the course of 3 days got our barn all caught up. She trimmed Tie, Bodhi, Magic, Betsy, JW, Satin, Dancer, Jedi, Ufir, and Molly. Lana is a nurse specialist at the ICU at Shands VA hospital. She's been a nurse for 30 years and a farrier for 27 years. Lana is highly educated and firmly believes in continuing education (she's forever going to conferences and getting CE credits to keep up with the latest). Lana has tremendous patience. For example, when Karma the donkey arrived and was diagnosed with white line disease, Lana asked me if I minded if she take a look at Karma's hooves. I was thinking "Of course! But who wants to volunteer to do an angry donkey?" Karma has a sketchy background and was not trusting of humans. Lana strategized the best plan to get Karma's hooves trimmed quickly, safely, and with the least amount of stress possible. You can imagine how frustrating it is to handle a mistreated, naturally stubborn donkey jenny with painful feet. With soothing whispers, gentle patting, and a snug rope attached to a cement wall, we trimmed Karma's feet, opened up the nasty areas and treated them. Karma recovered quickly after Lana did her magic.
Jedi is a stud at heart. The kind of stud that has no manners and thinks only of himself. Lana patiently dealt with his overgrown hooves even while he fought and struggled against the cross-ties. She gave Ufir time to stretch her arthritic legs before asking her to pick them up, and helped Molly find just the right height on her hoof stand that was most comfortable for her arthritic, popping hock.
Lana doesn't advertise, doesn't have business cards, and doesn't gossip like a farrier. She's a great friend, does a great service, and we are very lucky to have her as our hoof podiatrist!
I hope you are having a great holiday!
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
Since my last blog a few days ago Greener Pastures has received 40 cubic yards of custom blended shavings, 16 750lb coastal round bales, and many e-mails from horse parents looking to board with us.
We wish we had a hundred acres this close to town and could offer board to everyone who was interested! But in the last 3 months we have had to turn away 12 horses. Some of our current boarders are waiting for pasture space to open up so that their stalled horse can be pasture boarded instead. This is a beautiful, convenient place to spend time with your horse - no wonder people are banging down the door!
We are just entering winter and everyone is tolerating the cold very well. It's those warm days that throw them off!
Bodhi and Casanova are enjoying their new herd which consists of head-gelding Magic, easy-going Dusty, and picked-on Tav.
This morning Magic was feeling frisky and chased Bodhi. But Bodhi doesn't tolerate being picked on (take notes, Tav!) so he kicked up, double-barreled, three times in a row until he whacked Magic in his massive chest. Magic, annoyed, gave up and walked away. Poor Mag just wanted to play!
Our wonderful farrier, Lana, has recovered from her car accident and over the course of 3 days got our barn all caught up. She trimmed Tie, Bodhi, Magic, Betsy, JW, Satin, Dancer, Jedi, Ufir, and Molly. Lana is a nurse specialist at the ICU at Shands VA hospital. She's been a nurse for 30 years and a farrier for 27 years. Lana is highly educated and firmly believes in continuing education (she's forever going to conferences and getting CE credits to keep up with the latest). Lana has tremendous patience. For example, when Karma the donkey arrived and was diagnosed with white line disease, Lana asked me if I minded if she take a look at Karma's hooves. I was thinking "Of course! But who wants to volunteer to do an angry donkey?" Karma has a sketchy background and was not trusting of humans. Lana strategized the best plan to get Karma's hooves trimmed quickly, safely, and with the least amount of stress possible. You can imagine how frustrating it is to handle a mistreated, naturally stubborn donkey jenny with painful feet. With soothing whispers, gentle patting, and a snug rope attached to a cement wall, we trimmed Karma's feet, opened up the nasty areas and treated them. Karma recovered quickly after Lana did her magic.
Jedi is a stud at heart. The kind of stud that has no manners and thinks only of himself. Lana patiently dealt with his overgrown hooves even while he fought and struggled against the cross-ties. She gave Ufir time to stretch her arthritic legs before asking her to pick them up, and helped Molly find just the right height on her hoof stand that was most comfortable for her arthritic, popping hock.
Lana doesn't advertise, doesn't have business cards, and doesn't gossip like a farrier. She's a great friend, does a great service, and we are very lucky to have her as our hoof podiatrist!
I hope you are having a great holiday!
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Rain, rain, go away
It is so muggy at the barn that the cement walls were literally dripping. All the horses were brought in the for the night around 7pm, but after they finished eating John and I decided to turn them all back out to the pasture. The barn air was thick and hot. At least if they were in the pasture they could feel a nice breeze. The low overnight didn't get below 65 degrees. The body clipped horses seem un-bothered by the heat, but the thick-coated horses are miserable.
The lawn mower seems to always have issues. For those of you that don't know, the mower belongs to the property owner but we pay for all the repairs. Just last week we trailered it to the shop to get a tire fixed. A few days ago it decided not to start. We brought the battery to our mechanic, Clyde's on SW Archer Road, when we went to pick up the PT Cruiser for repairs. The battery was so low on charge that it couldn't be measured by their equipment. We asked if it is safe to jump the battery with a car and they gave us the okay ( The mechanic said, "Well, I don't know if yer s'posed to, but I do it." ). We go home, put the battery back on the mower and jumped it with the PT Cruiser. Viola! Problem solved! For now...
We'll be getting a HUGE delivery of shavings in the next week! I am so excited! These shavings come from our previous producer, The Shavings Bin, and are of the highest quality. A percentage of the shavings are kiln dried making them highly absorbant (when the pine shavings absorb the urine, it helps with odor and moisture. If I were a horse I would NOT want to be smelling my own urine and sure as heck wouldn't want my porous hooves to be soaking in it!). This new delivery will have less of the big flakes and more of the easier-to-pick, small flakes. I made sure that the small flakes still provided plenty of "fluff" for them.
The way I clean stalls is different than most barns. I learned from upscale, large breeding barns such as Churchill Farm (Appaloosas), Kimberwicke Arabians, StarQuarry Farm (Hanoverians) and Hawksfield Farm. Incorporating their management practices with my ethics, I do what's commonly called "turn-over" every time I clean I stall. Turning-over involves removing all manure and urine, and then lifting a tossing every last bit of shavings in the stall. This essentially fluffs the stall every day. The horses pack down the shavings in just a few hours, resulting in compacted, uncomfortable footing. Fluffing the stalls gives them cushion and encourages them to relax, lay down, and be happy.
This morning Betsy, who is typically very submissive, showed her dominant side to Satin. Satin cannot stand conflict and all it takes to make her move away is to pin your ears at her. Betsy simply approached Satin with ears pinned. The funny thing is, Dancer, who is also very submissive, then came up to Betsy to scare her off... and moments later Satin came back and moved Dancer away. An interesting dynamic - no one is really more dominant than the other, it just depends on the individual and what they feel like putting up with at that moment (for those of you that are familiar with birds, you can see the similarity in bird behavior. There is no real hierarchy, just winners and losers that change every day). Shellie is always the aggressor and gets what she wants, when she wants it.
The results are in: Casanova has the littlest winny on the whole farm. It was a close call between Cas and Bodhi, but the final vote went to Cas as he made little baby girl sounds at feeding time. Way to go Cas! You're truly a cutie!
The lawn mower seems to always have issues. For those of you that don't know, the mower belongs to the property owner but we pay for all the repairs. Just last week we trailered it to the shop to get a tire fixed. A few days ago it decided not to start. We brought the battery to our mechanic, Clyde's on SW Archer Road, when we went to pick up the PT Cruiser for repairs. The battery was so low on charge that it couldn't be measured by their equipment. We asked if it is safe to jump the battery with a car and they gave us the okay ( The mechanic said, "Well, I don't know if yer s'posed to, but I do it." ). We go home, put the battery back on the mower and jumped it with the PT Cruiser. Viola! Problem solved! For now...
We'll be getting a HUGE delivery of shavings in the next week! I am so excited! These shavings come from our previous producer, The Shavings Bin, and are of the highest quality. A percentage of the shavings are kiln dried making them highly absorbant (when the pine shavings absorb the urine, it helps with odor and moisture. If I were a horse I would NOT want to be smelling my own urine and sure as heck wouldn't want my porous hooves to be soaking in it!). This new delivery will have less of the big flakes and more of the easier-to-pick, small flakes. I made sure that the small flakes still provided plenty of "fluff" for them.
The way I clean stalls is different than most barns. I learned from upscale, large breeding barns such as Churchill Farm (Appaloosas), Kimberwicke Arabians, StarQuarry Farm (Hanoverians) and Hawksfield Farm. Incorporating their management practices with my ethics, I do what's commonly called "turn-over" every time I clean I stall. Turning-over involves removing all manure and urine, and then lifting a tossing every last bit of shavings in the stall. This essentially fluffs the stall every day. The horses pack down the shavings in just a few hours, resulting in compacted, uncomfortable footing. Fluffing the stalls gives them cushion and encourages them to relax, lay down, and be happy.
This morning Betsy, who is typically very submissive, showed her dominant side to Satin. Satin cannot stand conflict and all it takes to make her move away is to pin your ears at her. Betsy simply approached Satin with ears pinned. The funny thing is, Dancer, who is also very submissive, then came up to Betsy to scare her off... and moments later Satin came back and moved Dancer away. An interesting dynamic - no one is really more dominant than the other, it just depends on the individual and what they feel like putting up with at that moment (for those of you that are familiar with birds, you can see the similarity in bird behavior. There is no real hierarchy, just winners and losers that change every day). Shellie is always the aggressor and gets what she wants, when she wants it.
The results are in: Casanova has the littlest winny on the whole farm. It was a close call between Cas and Bodhi, but the final vote went to Cas as he made little baby girl sounds at feeding time. Way to go Cas! You're truly a cutie!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Warm, cold, rain, clouds
Dear Florida, please make up your mind. This every-other-day cold spells with rain or heat in between is... annoying!
The horses with furry coats, like Betsy, are not tolerating the warmer days. Poor Betsy was even sweating in 70 degree weather yesterday because it had been 40 degrees the night before. A cold front came through on Thursday, dropping overnight temps to 35 degrees! Friday stayed incredibly chilly with a high of 49. Friday night wasn't so bad and stayed at 50ish. Now it is Saturday - cold and rainy! It's been raining all morning. We got blankets off just in time and brought them to the barn to keep them dry. Tie, Pokey, and Goose are snuggled up in their stalls to keep dry.
At feeding time this morning, Molly was Ms. Brave and came trotting up all excited. She even tried to steal some of Jedi's food! This is quite unlike submissive Molly - but it was a joy to see her all full of herself!
We still have not moved Bodhi and Cas in with Magic, Tav, and Dusty. We want to be less busy when we decide to make the change so that we can be here for long periods during the first few days, just to be sure all is well.
The name plates for the stall horses arrived and are super nice! I especially like Satin's: "Satin, Mommy's Brat"
They are currently just resting on the stall window until we attach them to the stall doors.
If anyone else would like to purchase a stall plate - hey, even pasture horses can have name plates, too! Just let me know and I can send you the link. I got them off ebay for about $9.00 each (includes the name plate holder) plus shipping. Fun!
The pair of red shouldered hawks are still around which means they must be nesting nearby. They love the jump field and can be seen perusing the pasture for tasty critters atop the standards. If you have a moment, take some time to watch them. The thicker, slightly larger one is the male. The lighter-colored, more petite one is the female. It's neat to watch them swoop down and land on something (they seem to miss most of the time. Or maybe they are practicing). Then they proceed to dig with one food at whatever they think they caught. It's like they are stomping on it. Fascinating!
All the horses appear to be in good spirits and have been taking turns galloping across their pastures. Yesterday, the four mares, Betsy, Dancer, Satin, and Shellie went for a run around. Shellie is almost always the instigator. She runs with crazy in her eyes. Dancer follows close behind because she can't be more than 5 feet from Queen Shellie, and she usually looks like an anxious mother running after Shellie. Satin runs, rears, and spins, just for the fun of it. She really enjoys a good buck. And Betsy mostly trots behind because that's the thing to do. I think I hear her saying, "Girls, do we really have to do this again?" And Shellie replies, "YES! It's good for the soul!"
Yes, I talk for the horses ALL the time!
I hope you are enjoying the winter weather! Feel free to bring some holiday decorations for your horse's stall or for the barn!
Cheers!
The horses with furry coats, like Betsy, are not tolerating the warmer days. Poor Betsy was even sweating in 70 degree weather yesterday because it had been 40 degrees the night before. A cold front came through on Thursday, dropping overnight temps to 35 degrees! Friday stayed incredibly chilly with a high of 49. Friday night wasn't so bad and stayed at 50ish. Now it is Saturday - cold and rainy! It's been raining all morning. We got blankets off just in time and brought them to the barn to keep them dry. Tie, Pokey, and Goose are snuggled up in their stalls to keep dry.
At feeding time this morning, Molly was Ms. Brave and came trotting up all excited. She even tried to steal some of Jedi's food! This is quite unlike submissive Molly - but it was a joy to see her all full of herself!
We still have not moved Bodhi and Cas in with Magic, Tav, and Dusty. We want to be less busy when we decide to make the change so that we can be here for long periods during the first few days, just to be sure all is well.
The name plates for the stall horses arrived and are super nice! I especially like Satin's: "Satin, Mommy's Brat"
They are currently just resting on the stall window until we attach them to the stall doors.
If anyone else would like to purchase a stall plate - hey, even pasture horses can have name plates, too! Just let me know and I can send you the link. I got them off ebay for about $9.00 each (includes the name plate holder) plus shipping. Fun!
The pair of red shouldered hawks are still around which means they must be nesting nearby. They love the jump field and can be seen perusing the pasture for tasty critters atop the standards. If you have a moment, take some time to watch them. The thicker, slightly larger one is the male. The lighter-colored, more petite one is the female. It's neat to watch them swoop down and land on something (they seem to miss most of the time. Or maybe they are practicing). Then they proceed to dig with one food at whatever they think they caught. It's like they are stomping on it. Fascinating!
All the horses appear to be in good spirits and have been taking turns galloping across their pastures. Yesterday, the four mares, Betsy, Dancer, Satin, and Shellie went for a run around. Shellie is almost always the instigator. She runs with crazy in her eyes. Dancer follows close behind because she can't be more than 5 feet from Queen Shellie, and she usually looks like an anxious mother running after Shellie. Satin runs, rears, and spins, just for the fun of it. She really enjoys a good buck. And Betsy mostly trots behind because that's the thing to do. I think I hear her saying, "Girls, do we really have to do this again?" And Shellie replies, "YES! It's good for the soul!"
Yes, I talk for the horses ALL the time!
I hope you are enjoying the winter weather! Feel free to bring some holiday decorations for your horse's stall or for the barn!
Cheers!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Clear skies, clear eyes
The rain puddles are almost dried up here at the farm. You can be sure that on icky-weather days all the horses are getting their bellies filled with warm, mushy wheat bran. Those that get alfalfa cubes get the soaked in nice, hot water.
Dancer and Goose are still in love. Their odd relationship drama is probably due to Dancer's current estrus status. But of all the horses she could flirt with, why Goose? Perhaps because Goose is the most receptive to Dancer's advances? I'm not really sure, but I find it fascinating to think that these horses make individual choices.
Maybe it can be explained on a basic, instinctive level; Goose is an alpha mare. Dancer is a very submissive, yet maternal mare. Somehow these two personality-types compliment one another? The same theory can be applied to any horse relationship - why does one horse get along so well with another horse in particular, but not with horse "X"? Complimenting personalities? Just like humans, right?
So when choosing which horse is stalled next to who, and which horse is pastured where, I always take into account complimenting (or conflicting) personalities. Horses spend all day with each other, forage, and their pasture environment. They spend most of their time grazing, so we offer quality forage and safe, digestible, seasonal grasses. They spend part of their time resting in their pasture; under the shade of the gorgeous oaks during the summer and in a spot of sunshine in the winter. And they do all of this with the companionship of other pasture mates, so I make every effort to allow the horses to choose their friends. After all, they are the ones having to spend time with one another all day long, every day. They deserve to be allowed to make an individual choice, no?
Dancer is not pastured with Goose. I imagine that their little romance is a fleeting one and will subside as quickly as it came on. But perhaps not. And if Goose and Dancer decide to remain BFF and continue to express their desire to be together, I will gladly make arrangements to accommodate this! This is one of the best part of my jobs: making horses happy.
In that same vein, Bodhi and Casanova are very attached to JW and the few attempts I have made at changing this herd have resulted in lots of crying from all parties. I plan to give it one more try in the near future, this time with Cas and Bodhi in with Magic, Tav, and Dusty. My hope is that their new friends will act as a diatraction to their loss of their old friend, JW. However, the only way to distract JW will be to put a mare in front of him. He may be moved in with Dancer, Shellie, Betsy, and Satin. JW is retired - he deserves a harem!
If you see an old, skinny, grey-faced buckskin wandering around the barn, have no fear. Tie seems to enjoy freedom - it brightens up his demeanor. We will be allowing him to roam the barn area during the day. I will be watching him closely to see if he is bonding with any other horses. Feel free to sneak him a carrot. No one deserves a free carrot more than a late-30's starved old man!
Everyone seems to be tolerating this cold-warm-cold weather. Goopy eyes are clearing up. Runny noses drying out. Fur coats thickening.
Feel free to comment!
Dancer and Goose are still in love. Their odd relationship drama is probably due to Dancer's current estrus status. But of all the horses she could flirt with, why Goose? Perhaps because Goose is the most receptive to Dancer's advances? I'm not really sure, but I find it fascinating to think that these horses make individual choices.
Maybe it can be explained on a basic, instinctive level; Goose is an alpha mare. Dancer is a very submissive, yet maternal mare. Somehow these two personality-types compliment one another? The same theory can be applied to any horse relationship - why does one horse get along so well with another horse in particular, but not with horse "X"? Complimenting personalities? Just like humans, right?
So when choosing which horse is stalled next to who, and which horse is pastured where, I always take into account complimenting (or conflicting) personalities. Horses spend all day with each other, forage, and their pasture environment. They spend most of their time grazing, so we offer quality forage and safe, digestible, seasonal grasses. They spend part of their time resting in their pasture; under the shade of the gorgeous oaks during the summer and in a spot of sunshine in the winter. And they do all of this with the companionship of other pasture mates, so I make every effort to allow the horses to choose their friends. After all, they are the ones having to spend time with one another all day long, every day. They deserve to be allowed to make an individual choice, no?
Dancer is not pastured with Goose. I imagine that their little romance is a fleeting one and will subside as quickly as it came on. But perhaps not. And if Goose and Dancer decide to remain BFF and continue to express their desire to be together, I will gladly make arrangements to accommodate this! This is one of the best part of my jobs: making horses happy.
In that same vein, Bodhi and Casanova are very attached to JW and the few attempts I have made at changing this herd have resulted in lots of crying from all parties. I plan to give it one more try in the near future, this time with Cas and Bodhi in with Magic, Tav, and Dusty. My hope is that their new friends will act as a diatraction to their loss of their old friend, JW. However, the only way to distract JW will be to put a mare in front of him. He may be moved in with Dancer, Shellie, Betsy, and Satin. JW is retired - he deserves a harem!
If you see an old, skinny, grey-faced buckskin wandering around the barn, have no fear. Tie seems to enjoy freedom - it brightens up his demeanor. We will be allowing him to roam the barn area during the day. I will be watching him closely to see if he is bonding with any other horses. Feel free to sneak him a carrot. No one deserves a free carrot more than a late-30's starved old man!
Everyone seems to be tolerating this cold-warm-cold weather. Goopy eyes are clearing up. Runny noses drying out. Fur coats thickening.
Feel free to comment!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
34 degrees
This morning, Sunday 6th, is currently about 34 degrees! At least it's not raining today like it did all day yesterday morning and afternoon. You can bet that like yesterday, everyone will be getting hot bran mash with their grain.
Last night at feeding we let the 4 stall mares walk from their pasture to the barn on their own. They are all very comfortable with this now, with the exception of Shellie. Shellie isn't fearful so much as she is excited. She's forever trying to get the other lazy girls running. Last night Satin, Dancer, and Betsy went right into the barn and waited to be let into their stalls. Shellie, of course, did not. Usually she wanders around the barn perimeter, chatting with the horses in the pasture. But tonight Tie was out of the pasture eating his grain and cubes. He was tucked away down the driveway and in the dark. But Shellie spotted him and immediately dominated him and started stealing his food. John ran over and shooed her away. She stayed close in case John turned his back.
Eventually she gave up and put herself away.
Dancer has taken to Goose, and vice versa. Saturday we allowed Goose to hang out in the barn aisle while we fed. She apparently became best friends with Dancer during that period, and when the time came to turn everyone out Goose called and called to Dancer. Dancer, the loyal friend that she is, refused to walk down to her pasture and instead stood at Goose's pasture gate, nuzzling her. I should mention that Dancer is in heat - that explains their behavior, sort of.
Then in the evening when the girls walked to the barn, Goose was in her stall calling. Dancer stood at her stall winking and squirting while Goose nibbled her neck. You would have thought that Goose was a stud! Bizarre!
Blankets will stay on until the chill is alleviated by the rising sun. Fingers crossed that the sun comes out!
Last night at feeding we let the 4 stall mares walk from their pasture to the barn on their own. They are all very comfortable with this now, with the exception of Shellie. Shellie isn't fearful so much as she is excited. She's forever trying to get the other lazy girls running. Last night Satin, Dancer, and Betsy went right into the barn and waited to be let into their stalls. Shellie, of course, did not. Usually she wanders around the barn perimeter, chatting with the horses in the pasture. But tonight Tie was out of the pasture eating his grain and cubes. He was tucked away down the driveway and in the dark. But Shellie spotted him and immediately dominated him and started stealing his food. John ran over and shooed her away. She stayed close in case John turned his back.
Eventually she gave up and put herself away.
Dancer has taken to Goose, and vice versa. Saturday we allowed Goose to hang out in the barn aisle while we fed. She apparently became best friends with Dancer during that period, and when the time came to turn everyone out Goose called and called to Dancer. Dancer, the loyal friend that she is, refused to walk down to her pasture and instead stood at Goose's pasture gate, nuzzling her. I should mention that Dancer is in heat - that explains their behavior, sort of.
Then in the evening when the girls walked to the barn, Goose was in her stall calling. Dancer stood at her stall winking and squirting while Goose nibbled her neck. You would have thought that Goose was a stud! Bizarre!
Blankets will stay on until the chill is alleviated by the rising sun. Fingers crossed that the sun comes out!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Drizzle drizzle rain drops
It has been raining now for nearly 24 hours and it is still drizzling strong with no signs of a reprieve. The pasture horses are taking refuge under the cover of trees, remaining relatively un-soaked. The temperature did not drop nearly as low as it was predicted. This morning at 3:30am it was in the mid-50's. All of the "below 50" horses were blanketed.
The stall horses were towel dried and those needing blankets were tucked in. John and I went back out to the barn around 10:00pm and spent an hour added clean, dry shavings to everyone's stall before blanketing them. I figured they would want to roll and better and more comfortable if they got to roll in fluffy shavings.
The donkeys are released from their pasture every evening and last night they hid under the cover of the barn, munching the remaining round bale that we pulled into the barn. I left the shavings stall door open and pulled shavings down onto the mats for them. When Kurly is wet his hair curls - too cute!
Jedi, Ufir, and Molly were moved to pasture 4 across the way.
We still have plans to move Bodhi and Casanova into Pasture 5 with Magic, Dusty, and Tav. JW and Tie will likely be pastured together and in the evenings when JW is put away in his stall we may allow Tie to hang out in the barn aisle, so long as Kurly isn't too pushy with him.
We will be getting a new truck load of shavings very soon. When choosing where to purchase shavings my top priorities are high absorption, dust-free, kiln dried. The last batch of shavings was from a company called "The Shavings Bin", www.theshavingsbin.com. You can see a picture on their website of our delivery in August. These shavings were a 50/50 blended mix of "Shavings" and "Dust". The dust is actually just smaller, curled flakes. Although the bulky flakes makes it more challenging to clean stalls, it adds cushion for the horses' comfort, and that's our highest priority!
I highly recommend the following horse toys for Christmas. If you purchase a toy for your horse and would like me to refill it with treats on a regular basis, I would be happy to! Anything to enrich the life of your best friend.
Toys:
http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Graze-Treat-Toy-Green/dp/B0006G56UM/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_2
I purchased mine from Drs Foster & Smith website
http://www.nose-it.com/
This one looks like fun! You can get it fro mebay for $29.99
If you have other Christmas ideas, share them here for everyone to see.
Stay dry and see you at the barn!
The stall horses were towel dried and those needing blankets were tucked in. John and I went back out to the barn around 10:00pm and spent an hour added clean, dry shavings to everyone's stall before blanketing them. I figured they would want to roll and better and more comfortable if they got to roll in fluffy shavings.
The donkeys are released from their pasture every evening and last night they hid under the cover of the barn, munching the remaining round bale that we pulled into the barn. I left the shavings stall door open and pulled shavings down onto the mats for them. When Kurly is wet his hair curls - too cute!
Jedi, Ufir, and Molly were moved to pasture 4 across the way.
We still have plans to move Bodhi and Casanova into Pasture 5 with Magic, Dusty, and Tav. JW and Tie will likely be pastured together and in the evenings when JW is put away in his stall we may allow Tie to hang out in the barn aisle, so long as Kurly isn't too pushy with him.
We will be getting a new truck load of shavings very soon. When choosing where to purchase shavings my top priorities are high absorption, dust-free, kiln dried. The last batch of shavings was from a company called "The Shavings Bin", www.theshavingsbin.com. You can see a picture on their website of our delivery in August. These shavings were a 50/50 blended mix of "Shavings" and "Dust". The dust is actually just smaller, curled flakes. Although the bulky flakes makes it more challenging to clean stalls, it adds cushion for the horses' comfort, and that's our highest priority!
I highly recommend the following horse toys for Christmas. If you purchase a toy for your horse and would like me to refill it with treats on a regular basis, I would be happy to! Anything to enrich the life of your best friend.
Toys:
http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Graze-Treat-Toy-Green/dp/B0006G56UM/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_2
I purchased mine from Drs Foster & Smith website
http://www.nose-it.com/
This one looks like fun! You can get it fro mebay for $29.99
If you have other Christmas ideas, share them here for everyone to see.
Stay dry and see you at the barn!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Props
If these posts are fun or comforting, let me know! Leave a comment. Tell me what you want to hear. Ask me how your horse is doing. Let me know if a gate needs to be repaired, if a fence is broken, if a light is out...
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The grass is always greener...
... at greener pastures!
There is much drama surrounding the life of our newest arrival, Tie, a late-30's buckskin Appendix-type gelding with a body score of about 1. In a nut shell, Tie was being neglected. The dwindling grass was enough for the remaining easy-keepers on the property, but nibbles of grass alone were no where close to what this geriatric horse needed. A good Samaritan, one of our own GP boarders, Molly, made the appropriate and legal steps to get Tie help. His blood work came back clean and the vet determined that his only issue was that he was severely underweight. We're feeding him 4-6 times per day and supplementing his grain with alfalfa cubes, hay, and of course, loooove.
Now Tie can relax, eat to his heart's content, and maybe even boss some submissive horses around like the good ol' days. We hope to see him start packing on the pounds and live the rest of his life happy and healthy!
In other barn news, the weather was a tad dreary today with what appeared to be impending rain. No rain so far and the predicted low is in the 60's - perfect weather for spending time with you furry friend!
Pasture changes are in the very near future. We planned to make the moves today, December 1st, but our schedules are overflowing. We will be moving Jedi, Ufir, and Molly across the way to the currently empty big pasture and introducing Tie to their herd. Cas and Bodhi will get to play with their new buddies Magic, Tav, and Dusty in the other large pasture. JW may miss his young pals, but we think he'll be content to hang out with the laid back Pokey and Goose. The four mares, Betsy, Shellie, Satin, and Dancer, will stay where they are currently.
There is rain expected over the next few days, and with rain comes the cold!
There is much drama surrounding the life of our newest arrival, Tie, a late-30's buckskin Appendix-type gelding with a body score of about 1. In a nut shell, Tie was being neglected. The dwindling grass was enough for the remaining easy-keepers on the property, but nibbles of grass alone were no where close to what this geriatric horse needed. A good Samaritan, one of our own GP boarders, Molly, made the appropriate and legal steps to get Tie help. His blood work came back clean and the vet determined that his only issue was that he was severely underweight. We're feeding him 4-6 times per day and supplementing his grain with alfalfa cubes, hay, and of course, loooove.
Now Tie can relax, eat to his heart's content, and maybe even boss some submissive horses around like the good ol' days. We hope to see him start packing on the pounds and live the rest of his life happy and healthy!
In other barn news, the weather was a tad dreary today with what appeared to be impending rain. No rain so far and the predicted low is in the 60's - perfect weather for spending time with you furry friend!
Pasture changes are in the very near future. We planned to make the moves today, December 1st, but our schedules are overflowing. We will be moving Jedi, Ufir, and Molly across the way to the currently empty big pasture and introducing Tie to their herd. Cas and Bodhi will get to play with their new buddies Magic, Tav, and Dusty in the other large pasture. JW may miss his young pals, but we think he'll be content to hang out with the laid back Pokey and Goose. The four mares, Betsy, Shellie, Satin, and Dancer, will stay where they are currently.
There is rain expected over the next few days, and with rain comes the cold!
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