Random Lunch – 04/30/09

 

I think Megalia exploded. 

 

 

This sort of crime scene is happening all over the farm right now.  Most the horses look like they’ve been affected by mange and spend a good deal of time rubbing against trees.  If I had time to go around and pick up all the piles of hair that I pluck off the horses, my compost pile would be incredibly happy.

Ellie has a new update over on Rescue Recoveries today.  I got pictures of her this morning right before the rain hit.  Let me know if you think she looks any better, because with me seeing her several times a day every day, I don’t always notice  a little improvement here and there. 

Toad Fest ‘09

Every year, for one day only, my friend Anne is treated to the spectacle of dozens of fornicating toads in her pond.  This excites both of us, in the same way the loads of rotted manure that we picked up yesterday excites us. 

Get your mind out of the gutter.  We’re excited because both of the things mean that Spring is here, not because we have some kinky toad fetish.

The whole toad orgy starts by swimming up to the bar and ordering a couple of wet flies on the rocks.

 

It quickly turns into a fumble on the second yard line with 10 seconds of the game remaining.

 

Football is such a violent sport.

 

I really think Anne should have a photo blog of her own.   She takes WAY better pictures than I do and has an awesome camera.  Besides, it would give her a new hobby and me one more blog to check out on a daily basis.   And maybe, just maybe, it would encourage her to bring her camera over to my place and help me get better pictures of all these adoptable horses.

{HINT}

However, Anne needs encouragement.  So if you liked these pictures and this one, let her know in the comments.  Hopefully between you guys giving her gentle encouragement and me beating her with a 2x4, she’ll get the hint and start her own photo blog.

Babies

Before you go voting on names for the colt and filly, let me shed a little light on their personalities for you. He’s a quaking in fear little teddy bear, and she’s a don’t look at me or I’ll kill you terror on hooves.

That about sums it up.

I was on call or work this weekend, and you all know what that means. I wasn’t able to escape the house for much barn time, but I did spend a little time with them last night at dinner. The colt let me walk up behind him and groom him all over and he actually ate for the first time since he’s come here. I actually think he didn’t have a clue what grain was. No matter how often we’d put the bucket in front of him before, he’d ignore it and pretend it wasn’t there.

While I was grooming the colt, Glenn was trying to make nice with the filly. She promptly pinned her ears back and went after him with teeth bared and front hooves striking. Okie dokie then! This is the second time she’s gotten defensive around us, so it looks like I’m going to have fun with this little girl!

I did work with her on Friday night and tried to teach her how to lead. She did pretty well with me and we’ll work on it more tonight. Hopefully we’ll be able to get her brother into the bachelor pad with Maverick tonight, too. Not that he’s shown any desires to make babies, but I’d rather he not have the chance!

Random Lunch – 04/24/09

It’s so warm and wonderful out today that I took my laptop out to the porch to work.  The bunnies have provided endless entertainment, the chickens visit regularly to see if I’d like to throw out some scratch, and I’ve had snoring dogs surrounding me all day.   I also left Ellie out in the yard to graze after her brunch earlier. 

It all started innocently enough.

 

But then she figured I may want to feed her again and it warranted closer investigation (read:  begging).

 

 

The next thing I knew, I had a muzzle in my lap.

 

Thankfully, she didn’t sneeze on the laptop.  I hear they don’t particularly react well to moisture, but I wouldn’t know that firsthand. 

What a let down!

You guys have really failed me this time. Only one person suggested names for the new youngsters! You can’t possibly expect me to come up with names on my own, can you??? Just remember that if you don’t come up with good names, then Glenn will want to name them. And we know what happens when he’s allowed to name animals. It’s not pretty!

So what’s the deal? Out of ideas? Forgot how to add a comment? Going on strike because I have so many horses?

Oh wait, that’s me.

Or did you just need better pictures? If that’s the case, then here you go. Now get those creative juices flowing!

The filly let Glenn scratch her neck yesterday. Progress!

She’s got a ways to go before we can trim those toes, though.

The colt is still standoffish, but at least he’s coming a little closer today. Today will be when we try to lasso him at dinner time and get him in the bachelor pad with Maverick. Wish us luck!

Indy and Prince both went to their new homes last night and both were incredibly good about it. They each got off the trailer and settled right into their new home without any nervousness. What good boys!

Two steps forward, three steps back

Indy and Prince both go to their new homes tonight, but as I mentioned earlier, their “replacements” are already here.

A family not far from where I got Ellie had bought a spotted draft stallion and several Paint mares a few years ago from the Krazy Kolor breeder down the road from me. Eventually they realized that stallions and mares turned out together produce offspring, and the neighbor’s weren’t particularly happy when the whole herd would escape and trample through their yards. I know exactly how those neighbors felt!

They tried selling the horses, but in this economy no one really wants an unbroke horse or a yearling that you can’t even get close to, even if the price tag is only 100 bucks. You’d even lose money if you bought them and hauled them up to Sugarcreek for the meat buyers.

Now, this family is very nice and their horses are well taken care of for the most part. The two untouchable youngsters are wormy and have long splitting hooves, but the older horses are all fat and healthy. The family just can’t afford to replace their fence and don’t have the knowledge or time to train any of them.

They originally wanted me to take all 10. Yikes! No way! Then they decided to keep two. Ok, that’s a little better. I told them I would take the youngsters and the stud, but only if they got him gelded first. Once they found out how much it cost to geld him, they changed their mind and wanted to keep him. But Doc is still going out on Thursday to geld him! Yippee!

Last night I brought home the 2yo filly and her yearling brother. Their mother is staying with the family and they didn’t realize until I pointed it out last night that she is pregnant yet again. The babies have never been handled, but getting them in the trailer wasn’t too difficult. We just closed off any avenue of escape in the barn and gently pushed them towards the trailer. Once they were on, I tried getting halters on them, but they didn’t want to have anything to do with me. I worked with them again once I got them home and did manage to get a halter on the filly. I didn’t have one small enough for the colt, so I went ahead and backed the trailer up to the pasture gate and let them out with the herd. I would have preferred putting them in the quarantine paddock, but I knew my electric tape fence wouldn’t hold them in and catching them once they were out would have been nearly impossible.

There was some running around, but overall they were assimilated rather easily into the herd. I think the herd is getting used to all these horses coming and going and now it’s just a quick matter of laying out the hierarchy for the newcomers. Being babies, the two quickly agreed to being on the bottom of the ladder and buddied up with Ellie who is the same size and less intimidating.

The colt isn’t gelded yet, of course. I would have loved putting him in the bachelor pad with Maverick if I could have only put a halter on him. But don’t worry, there won’t be any unexpected pregnancies on this farm! A couple of weeks ago a storm brought down a tree across the fence between the bachelor pad and the main herd, and Maverick got busy with the ladies all night until we realized what had happened the next morning. I spoke with Doc about it, and he suggested giving all the mares the “morning after” shot next month just to make sure. So even if the colt does manage to cover any horny mares, it won’t do them any good.

We’ll try to lasso him today or tomorrow and get him in with Maverick until Doc can come out and get him gelded. Maverick still hasn’t dropped the second nut, so I’m just going to have to bite the bullet soon and haul him to Ohio to be gelded. Doc doesn’t have the facilities yet for a surgery like that. I was trying to hang on until he did, but it doesn’t look like it will happen soon enough. At least he can geld the new colt out here in the pasture. Woohoo!

Glenn went to pick up Frisky this morning. She’s the only one of the 10 that is supposed to be broke to ride. She and the filly will also be getting the abortion shot since I know they were exposed to the stallion.

Wow, I really get to rambling sometimes, don’t I? Anyhow, without further adieu, say hello to Frisky.

And here are the youngsters in all their furry worminess. First one up is the colt:

Filly:

Sorry for the terrible pictures, “untouchable” also means very camera shy! And guess what? The youngsters have no names. You know the drill – get to it! :)

A taste of the Philippines

A friend and coworker of mine that lives in the Philippines shared some photos of a floating restaurant a few hours from where she lives.  And because she shared, I felt the need to share.   I’m  also sharing because I want something like this in my yard.

 

Or one of these.

 

I could probably do without one of these.

 

 

On a side note, I brought home two more rescues last night -- two yearlings, not even halter broke.   They’re practically feral, although I did get a halter on the filly while she was in the trailer last night.  It took about 20 minutes, but it was rather uneventful. The colt wanted nothing to do with me or that halter.  Pictures and story to follow later today!

I’m so glad it’s Monday

I never thought I’d say that, but I actually mean it.  Glenn came back from school on Friday night and he’s been lashing me with the whip all weekend.  On Saturday we spent most the day putting up 200’ of woven wire fence on the quarantine pasture.  Yes, I said most of the day.  Because fencers, we are not.  We have a woven wire fence stretcher that works wonders when you know how to use it and don’t need to use it between each and every fence post on a crooked and hilly stretch of fence.  I imagine it would be really nice to use on a straight run of 20 or 30 posts.  Too bad this is West Virginia. 

We spent all day cleaning house and rearranging furniture on Sunday.  And I’m not just talking a quick pick up and vacuum.  We actually dusted, yaw’ll.  And scrubbed.  And mopped.  It was horrible, I tell ya.  Just horrible.

We did let Ellie out with the main herd Saturday morning and boy, was that ever uneventful.  Everyone accepted her without a squeal or kick from the bunch.  She didn’t even bother with the mares, but went straight for the bottom of the gelding pack and worked her way up to the top.  First, she spent some time hanging with Indy while he cribbed on every fence post he could find.  She found that boring (who wouldn’t?) so moved on to Quest.  Quest looked down at her, gave her a quick sniff, then led her off to the barn for dinner.  After everyone ate,  she and Gentry went off to graze apart from the rest of the herd.  On Sunday morning she and Junior were hanging out in the barn together and Junior wouldn’t let any of the other horses get close to her.  

She still shows up at the small gate by the house right on schedule for her other meals, then races up the hill of death to be back with the herd when she’s done.  This is one very smart little pony!  I just hope she’s not too smart for my own good.

A room with a view

 

Between ticks, worms, shedding, and her current skin problems, Ellie will use anything for a scratching post.  After I took this picture, she swung around and used the rabbit hutch.  I’m pretty sure the bunnies are scarred for life now.

If you haven’t already, go check out Ellie’s update over on Rescue Recoveries. 

Put on a happy face

 

Or the face that says “insert cat here”. 

 

Whichever one floats your boat.