This 'n That

[SandyG]

A little brisk around the corners this morning, but the kids seem to know the warm weather is coming - as they rest in the hay and soak up the heat from the sunshine! Fun to come into the barn in the morning and not have a pack standing to get out of the cold - instead they are all outside either eating or sleeping! But once the sound of the feed tank is heard, in comes The Herd! And by this time in the season, Joseph, Ella, Clyde Mare, Gracie, Helen, Miss April, and Josephina know exactly where to stand!! Amazing creatures, aren't they? The majority of that herd is blind, remember!!!

Thoughts of the coming days entered my mind as I listened to the weather this morning - all blankets off, all tank heaters off, time to clean stock tanks, time to burn the burn pile! AAAAhhhhhhh . . . .

[SandyG]

Some of our more tender ones still have wind breakers on this morning - my hands are cold after being out for an hour! The warm air will move in today and so tonight we will disconnect the tank heaters, relieve some of their blankets and even try to open a few of the doors that have been blocked up for winter. A nice February thaw is more than welcome!

Helen's condition is changing as I can tell from the discharge which has a presence of fresh blood now. As Laddee taught us, there are stages and there is no need to panic as the stages change. It is just the process being visible. Helen is so proud and so wants to be clean that this weekend I will devote a good amount of time to cleaning her and re-establishing her self-esteem and self-image. Such a proud and independent woman! Difficult for her heart as well as her airway, I'm so sure.

Enjoy the sunshine!!!

[SandyG]

I fed as late as I could so that the sun would have a chance to warm the temps up into the 40's. That way, everyone with the exception of Graice is naked in the sun!!! Rolling and scratching and thoroughly enjoying the feel of the sun on their withers, they are a playful group.

And for my own treat, I let Helen out of the barn very first so there was no one for her to dodge as she took her perimeter survey. What a sight she is! Brown and shining with her head held high and her mane flowing in the breeze! What a wonderful girl she is. My heart wants her to live many years yet but my mind tells me that her years in the silo will take her from us way too soon. But for now, for each day, we will clean her neck, hug her and kiss her, shower her with treats and feed galore, and just remind her of her beauty and the joy she brings to us many times each day. Every day. Every single day for as long as she is gifted to us.

Enjoy this spring day!

[SandyG]

Can't rave enough about this spring thaw - what a gift!

Today, big rounds and little squares of hay need to get moved since we are, after all, returning to February at the end of the week! And I need to do a deep cleaning of Helen today and maybe spend a bit of one-on-one time brushing her - but only if she will tolerate not being outside with her pals!! She does NOT like it when I pull her into the barn for spa time!!

The rest of the day I'm going to clean stock tanks, pick sticks up (Believe that???!!!) from the yard, and just be outside to enjoy the day. So glad to be home on a day like today!

Hopefully you have a glorious one today!

[SandyG]

After 20 years, I'm finally getting the warning signs of spring!!!

Putting hay out yesterday, I opted to feed the big ones in the corral where the hay pad has a nice bed of ice under it. The other herd, however, meant crossing the pasture and doing my best to stay out of the deep ruts made last year when the semi wrecker had to come to retrieve the buried skid loader!!! I managed to get one bale into the barn for the coming heavy snow day but opted to not attempt to put more bales in the pastures - even on their hay pads. It was the distance I needed to go without a bale on the front for weight . . . I just knew that if I tried it, the skid loader would not float and we'd be stuck again!

So, I'll wait for the colder temps and watch for the next above freezing day - then right before it thaws again, I'll move hay and supply them for the coming month. Hopefully, by then, the "goo" will have dried enough that the skid loader can be successful in dropping bales and returning empty.

Lesson learned!!! FINALLY!!!!!

[SandyG]

Windbreaker blankets are on the fragile ones - good ole' PONY! kissed me (he actually licked my jacket) as I put his on him this morning. PONY! loves his blankets!!! Hay is in the feeder tanks ready to distribute tonight and we have a new round bale in the middle of the barn floor. The huge kids have four new bales of hay so they will be fine and the heavier blankets are set out ready for tonight. The tanks are topped off and the heaters are plugged in again (including the barn cats' bowls, too) and so I think we are ready!

Tonight I will bring them in, feed them, and close up the door so no one gets wet in the snow and high winds. Then, when the skies stop emptying themselves, we will open the door and they will run outside to play in their dry blankets over their dry backs. And no one will be coughing or fighting off pneumonia!

Helen really didn't want to leave the barn this morning but I promised her tonight she would be in where it is dry and out of the winds....and so we ventured out and she began her typical perimeter check. What a girl she is!

Be careful, everyone! This is a spring storm that can be dangerous - just because it is warmer doesn't mean we don't need to be cautious!!!

[SandyG]

Everything in me wants the sun to melt the snow and bring spring back to us! But my "farmer" in me needs the snow to stay on the ground and freeze again tonight to build up a bit of float for the skid loader - we need to move round bales and NOT get stuck in the mud!!!

The horses are such easy keepers - everyone was thrilled to come in out of the blowing snow yesterday afternoon and no one made a fuss over night as we waited for those winds to die down. Thank heavens it was above zero last night or that would have been a brutal night! The sounds were those of blizzards we have fought through in the past!

Winter blankets are in use again and the heaters are back on in the tanks - but then again, as my Mother used to say: Look at the map, Sandy, and then look at the calendar. Now what were you saying???

[SandyG]

A steady breeze but not what I would call a wind . . . abundant sunshine . . . and horses without canvas covering their bodies . . . a glorious day at THE FARM!

Helen will get her deep cleaning today, tanks will be cleaned, and the treat bucket refilled. I'm so proud of the progress that Billy the Bully is making! Here is a dier - a mean creature but not by nature! He was raised a single horse and it showed! Insecure, greedy, and young, strong, and with sight! What a combination he was! But in two years I can see progress. I still do not turn my back on him and I do not attempt to take him out of his pasture but I can at least hook and feed him now instead of having to coax him into a stall where I could close the gate!

The thanks go to Jeri-Ann and Beauty! These two lovely, enormous mares each taught him a lesson after he had tried them just a tad too much. Jeri-Ann has powerful back legs, as Billy found out, and Beauty has an enormous head sitting on an exceptionally strong neck - as he found that out, too! We little humans can only try to instill habits but the lessons - now those come from his peers!

Enjoy the sunshine . . .spring is just around the snowy corner!!!

[SandyG]

This is for sure the season for pneumonia - damp, windy, wet, and below freezing at night. The weaker and older ones tend to cough a bit on nights like this and sure enough, I heard PONY! coughing as he was resting in the (wet) hay. So, I made room for he and Hollie in with Helen and they are all in tonight to stay dry - out of the snow and rain and that wind that is getting a bit strong already.

By this time of the season, they are all so adjusted to the routines that I barely need to talk at all - other than to tell them how beautiful they are, how much I love them, and "thank you" when they back out of the tie stalls for me. They are such well behaved teenagers!!!

Helen is tentatively heading into Stillwater next week to find a different trach device that will be less difficult to insert and hopefully, too, less bulky and complex. Honestly, she needs a silicone tube with elastic around the neck. Simple, simple, simple but we cannot find such a thing out there! Now is when I miss our Dr. Anne - or McGyver as her peers called her!

Both Helen and I would appreciate you keeping her in your prayers and positive thoughts. Such a strong willed and elegant mare - I am so very honored to have her in our barns. So honored and grateful.

Good night.

[SandyG]

I made a note on my 2017 calendar last night before I retired for the day: "Two geese heading north about 6pm - honking!"

Yup. The noise of their honking brought me out of the barn and into the driveway looking up and circling around until I saw them - two geese up in the air honking and flying north. What a glorious sight to see! And on the earliest date that I can ever remember - March 1st!!!

In the fall, as I see the flocks practicing and then disappearing, it is sad for me as it signals the close of another summer. Summer is the season of faith to me - we humans plant seeds in the dirt and wait for food to appear. If that isn't faith, I don't know what is! And so when we harvest those foods and the earth is brown again, it is the close of a growing season and time to hunker down and await the arrival of spring. And last night, these two lone geese gave me the spirit and the excitement of spring!

After hooking and feeding this morning, I joined the horses standing in the sun on the west side of the barn. Their coats were hot from the heat of the sun - another signal that spring is arriving! No one is giving up any winter coat hair yet but I can't believe it is very long from now . . . Josephina is most irritated with me as I pull on her chest hair every morning. So I've started to rotate the horses to await that first handful of hair in my hands.

I am eager to dig in Liz-Beth's and Lanna's Memory Beds to add that "finished" look. Both of them will be mulched and bordered this spring and we need to plant a shade tree on Lanna so she and her BFF are protected from the heat of the summer sun. And this spring, I may even enjoy one of my least favorite chores - picking up sticks! If my Mother were here, she would advise me that picking sticks is a privilege - your yard, another spring to witness, and trees to remind you of your "smallness" in this big world . . . . something like that. As I have aged a bit, I see now that my Mother was a very wise and spiritual woman. What a joy it would have been to have known her with me as an adult woman.

Enjoy this day! Mom would have told you what a gift you had been given and advised you to use it well and to benefit someone else with your gift! See? I listened!

[SandyG]

I'm sure we are all grateful that those gale force winds have moved on!!! Man O' Pete! I had put new bales of hay into the pastures on Monday and they stood untouched! The horses opted to stay out of the wind rather than fill their tummies. Now THAT says volumes!!!!

But this morning, many did not come into the barn for breakfast and instead chose to stand and work on eating the bales. Now THAT's normal!!! We have winter blankets on due to the cold nights and the wind chills that will be sub-zero all day tomorrow. This is March, isn't it???

Everyone seems healthy and I see a bit of "normal" shedding going on - but no one is yet turning loose of their winter coats. Although, I now see geese coming north and honking their arrival quite frequently. Again, this is the earliest that I remember the geese returning home!

Could it be that working in Lanna's and Liz-Beth's Memory Beds is just a bit away?

[SandyG]

Merry Christmas! It seems that we are just now heading into winter, doesn't it? When I opened the feed bin this morning, out of habit I check the thermometer in the barn. This morning it read TWO DEGREES ABOVE ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dear Heavens!!! That means, in the wind, it was a below zero temp! YIKES!

Winter blankets are once again - read that as still - on everyone and the tank heaters are running wide open. The doors are partially closed to block the wind and hay is disappearing like crazy! From their eating rate, it appears that the cold with be with us another 48 hours! In fact, I need to move hay again tomorrow and I had better take full advantage of it since the grounds are frozen hard again. Geez. That may be about the only good thing about this return of the winter air!

Okay....I feel better after ranting. Thanks for listening.

Clyde Mare seems to be dropping weight rapidly. She did this again last spring - when the cold left us, so did all of her weight. It took all summer to get her plump again. I'm going to deworm her and watch to see if a bit of Weight Builder in her feed helps her. Those legs suck her energy right out of her.

Gracie is working her way tot he top of the herd. What a character! She lays down where she wants to lay down and expects the others to walk around her - which they do. She goes where she wants to go and when she wants to go and simply bites the legs of anyone who gets in her way! And she drinks when she wants to - if other horses are drinking, she simply sticks her head in under their necks! Obviously, they have to pull their heads out of the water tank but that isn't a concern to Gracie! Really a personality to watch as she develops her place in The Herd!

Even Billy the Bully is a tad less frightening even though I still don't turn my back on him. But at least the totally random outbursts seem to be lessening. Now there's a mess created entirely by his human. Too bad, too, since he is a gorgeous creature! Sharp minded, physically outstanding, and, of all things, he can see! What a remarkable horse he would have made someone if only he had not been so neglected and abused.

Be safe and stay warm! The birds are still telling me that spring is right around the corner!!!

[SandyG]

Today in the warmth (?) of the day at 2pm, I was out getting the skid loader started and had 3 of the 11 bales moved when I went over to the Gelding's Side and found Josephina in the hay - not by choice, it appeared. I dropped the bale I had on the spear and the spear attachment over to the side and parked. Going over to her, I saw that she was exactly in the same spot and facing the same way as her pal, Faline, was on the day that she crossed. Nothing was mentioned to her but I vowed that we would not lose Josephina today. THAT was for certain.

She gave a little bit of an attempt to get up and so I knew I needed to help her. I unhooked her blanket and cut the straps that were on her bottom side - we can mend those this summer. She needed to get her head over her front legs and over the hump of hay in front of her. She made it up, but that rear right hip was on the bottom and so sorer than usual and appeared sound asleep. She began to panic when she realized she was still tied to that noisy contraption that had pulled her up and so I moved as quickly as I could in the deep hay, the ice underneath, and the drop off on the edge to the slippery goo we call earth. Once she stood for a bit, I was able to unhook her from the skid loader and I let her drag the ropes with her for a while. It took a bit, but I finally had her fully undressed and standing in the hay pad.

She came in and ate her supper and I gave her a good dose of Bantimine to help with the aching, the soreness, and to try to prevent colic. I finished moving the round bales and every time I checked on her, she snorted as I approached her. That figures - I got in and out of that contraption and that contraption was way too close to her for her comfort. I gave her a few treats from my hand and she dropped them all but one - a sign of rejection at about 80%. That's better than full rejection.

Tomorrow will be a big day for her - will she eat her breakfast? Will she be up or down? What condition will that rear leg be in? Josephina is such a sweet, timid, mare and so eager to please. All she wants is attention, love, and a protective place to eat her meals. Standing on those urine lines wrecks their hips. And she was on for 12+ years and birthed an elephant of a baby . . . no wonder that leg is in such poor shape.

So once again, I ask for your prayers and positive thoughts to go up for our Josephina. We need her a bit more and she needs to get her tummy full of green grass! Please!

[SandyG]

She was up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Standing in her corner of the barn watching the doorway and talking to me when I opened the door. Other than being a bit ouchy in her right front when she first starts to walk, she seems fine. Ate a good breakfast but still left her treats behind - she is an old girl, after all, and those are hard treats. However, when I offered her one from my hand, she did take that one. So Josephina is "normal" - always, always looking for personal attention.

I removed the winter blanket I had put back on her for the cold night last night. Hugged her a dozen times. Told her I viewed yesterday as just the wrong place to take a spring nap in the sunshine. Advised her to find a different place today if she just HAD to rest. Hugged her again, and then left the barn. I opted not to medicate her this morning so that she didn't get drowsy or too relaxed to lay down. Tonight will tell the rest of the story - a girl up means all is good and yesterday was just some bad luck. A girl down means her legs and hips are just too darn tired and we have some bumpy roads ahead of us. Especially with the skid loader requiring a jump every time we want to start it . . . .

Your thoughts and prayers for Josephina are very much appreciated and, thus far, are working magic for her!

[SandyG]

I know I am selfish and I know I am self-centered with my postings on these bulletin boards. But at times when we all worry about them and we fear they are faltering, it helps that some of their fiercest admirers email notes of support.

Josephina (and Lady, the Little Belgian Mare and Liz-Beth and Lanna) have a supporter out there that is honestly a non-horse person. However, the day Liz-Beth smelled her hair while this woman sang to her, those marvelous creatures got her! And got her good!!!

I emailed Linda when I found Josephina down - as I did with Liz-Beth's episode and Lanna's episode and the shock of Laddee's sudden crossing. Just wanting to keep Linda informed and aware of the details and the outcomes that were possible. Linda has emailed twice daily to check on her girl Josephina and has even made a special double batch of soft treats for Josephina's old mouth in her support. Linda's email this morning was something I wanted to share. This tells the support of this non-horse person and how she truly understands the world that Josephina is asked to live in:


This continues to be wonderful new, Sandy!

I wish Josephina would have a soul mate again, and a beau to relate to when she wants to.

Love and adoration. Linda

Thank you for your prayers for Josephina. And Linda, you hit it on the bulls eye. Without her pal, Faline, our girl is back to being a loner. I'm thinking it is time to move Big Boy over and see if she can attach to him a bit . . . . ?

Thank YOU to all of you and to you, dear Linda. Josephina sends her love right back to every one of you!