Stormy Girl

Stormy is doing GREAT!  She’s become an incredible farm dog, as well as my constant companion.  Even when Thor and Heidi run off for their morning jaunt, Stormy stays behind with me and helps me with chores.

 

 

We can leave her loose in the yard when we leave home and she just follows us up to the end of the driveway and watches us go, then heads back down to the house on her own.  She’s always in the yard wagging her little stubby tail when we return.  Thor and Heidi need to be locked in the house when we leave because they chase us down the road.  Bad dogs!

 

 

Bad or not, Stormy still thinks Ho is the bestest buddy EVER.  She’s still not sure about Thor.  I think because he’s such a big clumsy oaf that he scares her just a bit when they play. 

 

 

No dog could ever replace Brie, but Stormy is doing a darned good job of mending the hurt that Brie’s passing left behind.

 

The Other White Meat

 

Marilyn and Bacon Butt have been here for a week now, and finally gained enough confidence in their surroundings to come out of the shelter and play today.

 

And beg for food.  Of course.

 

The little buggers are really friendly and even introduced themselves to the dogs today.

 

 

Thor would just like to know how much longer before they’re cooked.

 

Check out that cute little heart on Marilyn’s butt!

 

We’ll breed Marilyn to another hog next year when she’s ready and Bacon Butt will eventually become… well, bacon.  And ham.  And pork loin.  And sausage…  so don’t go getting attached, ok?  Someone please remind me of that when it comes time to haul him to the butcher.

Life is good

 

 

I now have a replacement cord for the camera, so check in this weekend for updates on everyone over on Rescue Recoveries.

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was wonderful and full of tryptophan!

Buddy, Donkey, and Patrick Go Home

Buddy and Donkey went to the same home and spent several minutes just looking around at their 200 acres and wondering where to start eating.  Their adopter will fence in a small area to keep them penned up off all that grass in the Spring, but for right now, they are in heaven!  I do have pictures, however, the latest addition to the house has completely destroyed the camera cable.  So until I get a new one, you’ll just have to settle for the picture of Patrick with his new girls the day they came out to ride him.

 

 

Aren’t they adorable in their little cowgirl hats???  Patrick thought they were the greatest!  They also have a little brother and another sibling on the way.  Patrick won’t be outgrown for many years!

Quiet

I’m going to shut up for once.

 

 

 

 

Oh, but I guess I should tell you that Milo and Mick won the name popularity poll for the two youngsters.   Need I tell you how confusing that is going to be for me?  Geesh!

It’s raining testicles!

 

Sorry, but it is.   Doc finally made it out today to make some geldings and he got Buddy, Quill, Traveler, and Timmy done before dark.  Buddy was the most difficult of the four because one testicle hadn’t descended completely and we had to roll him over on his back so Doc could fish for it.  Each time he’d get a hold of the slimy little bugger, Buddy would suck it back in.  Even in his drugged state, he did his best to hold on to what was his!

Quill was the easiest, as both danglies were right there, just waiting to be snipped.  He was done and back up eating hay in no time.  Timmy was pretty easy as well, but the old guy is taking a little longer to recover and is still out there snoring in the hay. 

Traveler… oh my.   The poor little guy.  First of all, he had a pretty nasty case of spasmodic colic on Saturday night.   There was no impaction, but he was experiencing spasms in his gut due to finally having some nutrients to digest.  He lay in the grass for about an hour and I sat with him to keep him from rolling, since I didn’t know that there was no impaction at the time.  He stopped breathing for a few minutes, closed his eyes, gave one final grunt, and I thought he was gone.   But I still felt a pulse, and a few minutes later he took a deep breath, sat up, and started grazing.  WHEW!  Doc said he may have just been in so much pain that he was holding his breath.  Poor fellow!!

Since then, he’s been doing much better and Doc felt safe gelding him today.   He did well, and was up and eating just as quickly as Quill.  He does have a mild heart murmur, but Doc thinks it may go away, much like Ellie’s did when she got back to normal weight. 

Now, here’s the real gut wrencher.   I didn’t mention this earlier because it simply made me way too angry.  The very fat and well-fed people that starved these horses told me that they had had them for two years.  It was obvious to me that there was no way in hell Summer and Traveler were two years old!  So it made me want to beat the living crap out of those people when they told me they had planted their big fat asses on Traveler to try and ride him!!!!  TWICE!!!!  

According to Doc, Traveler is just barely over a year old and Summer is between 8 and 10 months.

Yeah, let that sink in for a minute.

 

Oh, and Summer’s gums are receding due to malnutrition and her baby teeth are a mess thanks to her only having trees and rocks to settle the rumbling in her empty tummy.

 

Ready to go with me to lynch those white trash pieces of crap now?  I would suggest starving them for a few months instead, but they may appreciate losing a few pounds.

There’s one in every crowd

The sun was out earlier today and all the boys were taking turns snoozing in the hay.  Except for Sky, who has been sleeping most the day away and just gets up now and then to change position and flip sides.  Today was also the first day that I have seen Timmy lay down for some sleep.

 

It’s a good thing the hay was there to hold up his face.

 

Quill just wants to know when it’s his turn.

 

Sky did manage to wake up for just a minute or two while I was snapping pictures.  I’m sorry, but he really is adorable and that’s all there is to it.  I may stop gushing over him in a few years.  Just hang with me until then, okay?

 

 

Then there’s this clown.   He starts out nice and peaceful, respecting the personal space of everyone around him, and not mussing up the hay too much.

 

Then he noticed that I was taking pictures -- what better time to roll on Sky’s head?

 

Sky managed to move just in time.  If he hadn’t, his head would be under Maverick’s butt right about now.

 

Oh well, at least Maverick is happy.  And isn’t that really all that matters??

Better Late Than Never

I finally got around to taking pictures of the other two youngsters that came in with Summer and Traveler.  As you can see, they’re not nearly as bad off as the other two.  If it weren’t for the winter coat you’d see a big wormy belly, more ribs showing, and not much topline.   But at least these guys have some meat on their bones and are much stronger than the other two.  Both are supposed to be two years old.  Neither of them had sores on their faces from growing into halters that were too small, and they were obviously in charge of the herd and got most of the food.  These two boys have been together since they were babies and don’t like to be far from each other.

Meet Youngster #1, a cute little chestnut who loves attention. 

 

 

Youngster #2 is a plain bay gelding with not a spot of white any where on his body.  He was skittish when he arrived, but this morning at breakfast he decided I wasn’t quite so evil after all. 

 

 

There you have it… it’s time for you to come up with some good names for the two munchkins.  As usual, leave your suggestions in the comments and I’ll make a poll for everyone to vote.   If anyone suggests “Brownie” for Youngster #2, be forewarned that I WILL beat you with a bag of bricks. 

Cheyenne Goes Home

No, I don’t have a picture.  It was almost dark when she left and I suck.  Need I say more?

It’s been a very long day, so please don’t pick on me too badly for the short post.   Just go check out Summer and Traveler over on Rescue Recoveries – I’m still way too angry and exhausted to rant about that particular situation here.   Tomorrow I’ll get pictures of the other two geldings that came in today with Traveler and Summer, and I’ll also need your help naming them.   So put your thinking caps on and come up with something good, okay?

Farm Days

Today was Farm Days at Tractor Supply and what a blast!!  We had a great time and met a lot of nice folks and we did a little educating along the way.  I was surprised to find out how many people just didn’t have a clue that there was even a need for horse rescues.  One gentleman asked me if the “rescue” meant that I took the horses and went on rescue missions to save lost or injured hikers.  Good idea, but no.

Donkey was supposed to go today, but Molly made damned sure that wasn’t going to happen.  I went out to catch Donkey last night, but Molly and Sassy kept herding him away from me.  I finally got up to him and as I was bent over putting on his halter, Molly snuck up to my left and the last thing I saw was a big white butt right up against me.  Then she fired both barrels at me before I could move out of the way.  She caught me on the left side of my knee with one foot and my ribs with the other.  Fortunately, I have plenty of padding over my ribs and I just have a nice bruise.  My knee swelled up like a baseball last night, but all was well this morning as I rolled myself out of bed.   Miss Molly and I are going to have a chat about respect tomorrow in the round pen.

All last night I was thinking about who to take instead of Donkey.  Who did I have that was kid-safe, gentle, and not likely to bite off any fingers?  Kita, Willow, Junior, Semi, Stride, Sadie, Cheyenne,  Kenzie, Patches, and Patrick  all fit that bill, but I wanted to take someone that was up for adoption – not our own personal horses or horses that already had a home waiting, and Patrick was already going.  Then I thought long and hard on Maverick.  He hadn’t been off the farm since he got here, he was getting better about being around strangers but was still a little leery, and what would happen when he got there and saw all those people?  Would he be a nervous wreck and scream the whole time?

 

 

I really couldn’t have chosen a better “spokesperson”.  Everyone LOVED Maverick.  Of course.  And he thought all that attention was the best thing to ever happen to him, especially once he figured out that pretty much every short human that came up to him had a horse cookie in their hands.   Both boys got about a thousand treats today, but they were such troopers that I never heard them complain.   Patrick was getting a little nippy and demanding by the end of the day, but Maverick remained mannerly and gentle, never being pushy about getting a cookie or accidentally taking any fingers. 

Now, let me back peddle just a bit.  Last night, the new farrier came out and trimmed Maverick and three others before dark.  He did a terrible job and it didn’t look like he’d ever used a rasp before.  He also let slip that horse’s feet didn’t grow after they reached a certain age.  WHAT?  I’m sorry, but if you’re really that ignorant then you don’t need to come back. 

Then this guy set up a booth right next to ours today. 

 

 

It was fate, I tell ya.  We got to chit chatting and I told him about the farrier I had tried yesterday and how disappointed I was in the job he did on Maverick.  He took a look at Mav and said “yup, there’s room for improvement.  I’ll tell you what.  I’ll trim him for you today for free.”

Um, ok… twist my arm?

 

I can’t put into words how proud I was of this little guy.  He was an absolute CHAMP!  There were people standing all around him, kids running here and there, and a balloon that kept blowing and bopping him on the butt until Anne shortened it’s tie.

Real men get pedicures too!

This was great for both of us, as Mav got a trim and I got a new farrier that actually knows what he’s doing and went to school for it, and he got a few new clients out of the demonstration. 

Oh, and Maverick got a few more cookies for being so well-behaved.  Good thing Anne bought the really large bag of treats.

 

 

No one could believe Maverick wasn’t even three yet and was still a stud.  People just assumed that he was a well-broke gelding because of his wonderful disposition.  The farrier’s father was there and couldn’t stop talking about how awesome Maverick did and how he bet his son wished that all horses he worked under were like Mav.  What a compliment for my baby boy!

Patrick has two little girls wanting him, so I’m hoping at least one of the families will be a suitable match for him.  Maverick generated a good bit of interest as well, so I guess I need to finally get going on getting his danglies removed.  Now that he’s a pro at getting on and off the trailer, I’m not so nervous about loading him by myself to get him to the vet for the surgery. 

 

And just so you know, these two adorable Pygmy goat kids did not come home with me.

 

But it was touch and go there for awhile.