That Which Doesn't Kill Us...

My horses are country horses. They have lived thier lives in pastures surrounded by other horses, cows, dogs, wide open views, the occasional pickup truck... Now we live in town. We haven't put up a fence between our backyard and the front yet, and so the horses can see it all. The street, kids yelling and riding bikes, delivery trucks and neihgbors filling the street with party guests, construction crews, lawn mowers and bar b ques.

There is always something to look at, better than standing in a stall all day. And always something new for them to think about, which I think is a good thing. Now on our street, everyone has between 3/4 and 1 acre, some of our nieghbors use that space for a couple horses or cows, some collect derlict vehicles, some run thier snow machines or 4-wheelers. All good opportunities for horses to think. The way to make them calm, reliable, 'bomb proof' horses, is to expose them to as much as possible, thier seeing that these things don't kill them literally makes them stronger. Mentally anyway, so I don't hesitate to let them experience life.

Bubbles was a fun one, little girls blowing bubbles probably doesn't happen much in the wild.

A trash can knocked over and rolling down the street in the wind- Tuff's expression plainly said:
'Didn't I hear somewhere that trash cans eat horses? I'm sure I heard that!'

This morning it was a marathon bike race. They were used to 4 or 5 kids on bikes but dozens and dozens of brightly colored racers was apparently highly unsettling. By the end, they were fine with it which is a relief, 'cause can you really call you horse 'bomb proof' until you've taken him to a triatholon?

That Time of Year

Boy, I guess I've taken a break from my blog for a while, haven't I? Well, I've been busy. First of all, the weather suddenly became glorious and I just can't stand to be indoors during the first really nice days in spring.

Tickles and Tuff have shed out beautifully and are looking good. We've been clearing the pasture and planting grass and building and repairing fences. All the Thouroughbred foals have arrived and are healthy. Derby Cat won another race yesterday, it was simulcast but our local track was having satillite problems and we missed it. We did remember to bet on her this time though and made some $$. The second of our horses has his first race next month. Fingers crossed.

And my 6 year old learned how to ride her bike with no training wheels. That was exciting! Though I don't know why, she's been riding her horse with no training wheels since she was 2.

Anyway, I'm so glad that winter is gone again. I'm formulating plans for my horses for this year. I always like to set goals and list steps to get there, I may or may not get there, in fact I usually get side tracked, or off on tangents or find some hidden talent one of them posesses and change direction completely. That's how I got into jumping with Tickles, my plan had been barrel racing, but I just couldn't get her interested. I was messing around with her bareback one day and there was a small cross-rail set up for a horse I was working earlier and popped her over it to test her reaction. Well, suffice to say we decided to go a different direction.

But that's how it goes with horses, with kids, with life! Things don't always turn out the way you plan but they often do turn out.

The Spring Tease

We've had a few "spring teaser" days, as I call them - warm sunny weather - where all the mud almost thinks about drying out. Of course, it's all very short-lived and the rain and mud are always just around the corner. But I'm getting hopeful!

For now, my anti-mud device is my own invention: sheets of plywood. You see, I don't like horse feeders. I don't believe the health risks are worth feeding in a hay rack that requires a horse to eat with its head up. Horses are designed to eat off the ground. I've used feeders designed with this in mind, but they're so enclosed - I wouldn't want to eat with my head down a dark hole! Inhalation of dust aside, horses are too easy to sneak up on when they can't see their surroundings. So, I don't use them anymore.

A horse's long head is designed to eat off the ground and still have a field of vision.

The problem mud creates is where to feed the horses. The rest of the year I can throw hay on grassy areas or at least in a large water trough that can't easily be tipped. But throwing it in the mud is gross. It gets wasted when mashed down and even with a trough, the ground around it is turned to soup by the next day. I don't like my horses standing around in soup.

So, I've layed out sheets of smooth plywood over about 20 square feet. Stall mats would work too, but my husband gets the plywood free from work. My horses can stand with their feet dry and eat off a flat surface o the ground; and basically, no hay gets wasted. On windy days a trough on the boards can keep the hay from blowing away, and I don't worry about them breathing in dust on windy days.

So, just because my babies are pasture-bound during the "spring tease" doesn't mean they have to eat with their hooves stuck in the mud.