Posts Tagged ‘horses’
Eaten Tree
There was a time when the willow tree was happy and healthy inside the space that we fenced off for our small paddock. Knowing full well the threat livestock pose to trees within their confines, we tried several versions of barriers intended to keep the horses from chewing the bark. It was fine with us that they munched the hanging branches. It gave the tree a look of being well-trimmed at all times.
After the first few attempts to protect the tree trunk proved insufficient –read: the horses just chewed up whatever we tried using– I chose to wrap the tree with hardware cloth. In time, even that protection broke down under the constant rubbing and biting from the horses, but it no longer appeared to matter by then. The tree was beginning to fail from the compression of the soil around the roots and we suspect, the heavy dose of horse urine that stagnated there as well.
Even when provided two years free of horses in that paddock, the gorgeous willow tree continued to show evidence of an ongoing downward spiral. Based on that, when we found out that new horses would be coming to live with us, we decided we would no longer do anything toward protecting the trunk of the tree.
This is what unobstructed access to the trunk of the tree looks like after two years:
I’m a little surprised by how interested the horses are in the roots. They’ve almost chewed more roots than bark at this point. At the very top of the image, you can see the horses also like to reach up to chew well above their shoulder height. Since we’ve given up on the tree, I see the chewing of tree bark as taking away some of the pressure on the boards and fencing around the overhang.
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Busted Post
When we noticed a large gash on Swings’ side a few days ago, I probably should have searched further for the possible cause but I assumed it was either from one of the other horses or the fence up by the overhang where they spend the majority of their time.
Yesterday, we had a farrier appointment that had me closing gates and putting halters on the horses in preparation. When I came to the gate by the round pen I found an alarming sight.
I’ve worried that the individual cross boards might not hold up against the weight of the horses when they push against them but I never expected they might snap off one of the 4×4 posts. Oops. Most likely, too many horses were trying to squeeze through that gate opening at the same time, and at high speed and Swings smacked into the fence. That must have been quite a scene.
I won’t be able to replace it until the ground thaws so I’m planning to splint it for a temporary fix. I need to buy some big wood screws first, though. Until then, that gate is closed to further traffic.
There was a bit of wind yesterday that contributed to unsettling the horses before I started putting halters on them and closing gates. Getting haltered just riled them up even more. I worried that this would make things much harder for the farrier, Heather, but she breezed through all except for Light. The delays of Light’s skittishness over being constrained and having her feet picked up were not atypical behavior. We’ve changed our minds several times about what her issue might be but we’ve found that simply out-waiting her reluctance without adding to her anxiety has allowed Heather to give reasonable attention to all four feet during the last two sessions.
We are grateful that Tom and Johanne from This Old Horse always show up to support Heather, which takes some pressure off us in managing the horses’ behavior. It also feels good to have them get a fresh look at how the horses are doing.
Other than a broken fence post and a big scuff on Swings’ side, the horses were assessed as looking good and doing well.
Now it’s time for me to put on my fence-repairing carpenter’s hat.
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Hanging Ball
Lately, there are two very different reasons the horses have been confining themselves close to the shelter of the barn overhang. I was showing off the mud yesterday but that has now turned rock-hard because the air temperatures have plummeted to single digits with a wind that feels like someone set the clocks back to January. The snow down the hill from the overhang that was melting two days ago has become dangerously glazed again with the re-freeze creating a hazard that the horses wisely choose to avoid.
Just in time, I hung up a fresh boredom-busting treat, Uncle Jimmy’s Hanging Ball that Light immediately went for.
The enticing grains held together with a sweet molasses coating are hard to gobble because the ball is hung high and swings away from any attempt to get a big bite.
Sometimes I feel like it’s cruel to tease them with this but watching how they don’t give up over time and eventually the ball starts to show signs they are getting nibbles off it makes me think it is serving the intended purpose of giving them a challenge that helps fight boredom.
Surprisingly, I have yet to see the barn birds claiming ownership of these sweet grain treats. It seems like it would be obvious bird food. Just in case they are chipping away at it when I am not around, the length of time the treat lasts tells me they aren’t cheating the horses of nibbles. In fact, that would probably help the horses out because when it is completely round at the start, all they can really accomplish is to lick it.
How many licks does it take to get to the center of an Uncle Jimmy’s Hangin’ Ball?
The world may never know.
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Mud Returns
Pick your adage: Be careful what you wish for. What could possibly go wrong? You never know how things will turn out. How much worse can it get?
It’s March. We are ready to be done plowing and shoveling snow. We are looking forward to seeing the ground again. We want the snow to melt. However, the ground doesn’t suddenly thaw out all at once. Just like it freezes from the top layer on down, it melts in the very same way.
Well, the top layer has thawed just beyond the overhang and it is now a muddy, mucky mess. The water can’t soak into the ground because the next layer down is still frozen solid. Water is just standing in hoof-sized pools.
My perpetual quest to clean up manure beneath and around the overhang promptly becomes an unwinnable battle when fresh droppings land in the pockmarked slurry of muck the horses keep walking in. It is a Sisyphean task that I nonetheless continue to wage despite the mess and my limited success.
Meanwhile, the space beneath the roof suddenly becomes an even more luxurious oasis than it usually is.
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The long day of drizzling rain was beginning to become sleet blown sideways by gusty winds when I went down to feed the horses at dinnertime. Beneath the overhang, it was calm and dry. Once again, I found myself praising the location and orientation of this barn.
The mud might be around for a long time to come in the days and weeks ahead but we are already starting to get antsy for conditions to allow me to get back to landscaping projects and Cyndie to try walking the uneven terrain down to the labyrinth. We have hopes of being able to promote World Labyrinth Day on May 6 this year if the ground dries up enough for hosting larger gatherings by then.
I’d like to offer a shout-out to friends, Patty and Steve who plan to visit us in April to experience Wintervale in person for the first time. Here’s to the gift of unexpected connections/reconnections that seem divinely inspired. Thanks for reaching out to us, Patty!
We are three days from the vernal equinox. I’m sensing spring is preparing to be sprung. Is that too much to wish for?
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Energized Horses
Fun horse energy is a wonderful thing to experience up close. I walked out into the paddock yesterday with no agenda beyond hanging out with the horses. It was around the time when they are often nodding off peacefully in the bright sunshine but something had them fired up much more than usual. I stood and marveled at their antics for a long time before realizing how great it would be to share what I was witnessing.
By the time I was able to start recording, they were rounding the turn on their last lap past the round pen and returning to the comfortable safety of the paddock near the watering station.
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It’s possible they were on alert from the vehicle delivering the next two-week supply of feed and the sound of the woman tossing (13) 50-pound bags in an organized pile on pallets in the barn. I stepped out under the overhang after helping her unload and the horses were all down by the round pen. While I stood there and watched them for a moment, I became acutely aware of the loudness of the trickling water running in the gutter and downspouts from snow melting off the metal roof.
That sound may have also been an unnerving trigger for the horses that caused them to suddenly behave so rambunctiously during their normal quiet time.
At one point, I was standing in the very center of the round pen as they galloped around, sprinting in and out of the paddock, reversing direction in an instant as if that was the whole point of the exercise. They would fall in line in a very specific order that reflected my impression of their herd hierarchy –Swings-Mix-Light-Mia– whenever Swings would come to a stop. Suddenly, Swings would begin to turn and they would all flip around and take off running again.
Eventually, Mix and Swings ran right at me in the round pen after Light and Mia had made the turn out into the pasture. They all ran around for a bit with each pair on either side of the round pen fence. Then Light and Mia came running in to join the other two in the round pen. Four unpredictably frolicking horses and me all inside the round pen at the same time was too much for me and I bolted to move from dead center to against the fence by the door while they leaped and spun.
Horses reared and kicked, Swings gestured as if she wanted to lay down and I let out an involuntary chuckle of giddiness to be in such close proximity, witnessing such a beautiful spectacle of equine energy. When they all took off out of the round pen again, I thought to pull out my phone for recording whatever they had left.
Maybe they napped after that. I went inside because it was COLD out there yesterday, but my soul was fully charged by osmosis due to volumes of unbridled horse energy.
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Cyndie Leaves
It’s not the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last. One minute she was here, the next minute she was gone. Cyndie has flown to Florida to spend a little time with her mom and our daughter where the water isn’t frozen.
Before she left, Cyndie took advantage of one of our pleasant afternoons to visit the horses and seized on an opportunity to untangle some of the “fairy knots” in Mix’s mane.
Mix almost stayed put long enough for her to get them fully separated. Combing out the rest of the mane with some conditioner will have to wait for another day. I look forward to a time when Cyndie has regained her full mobility and can return to bringing her precious energy to the horses in the paddocks every day again.
Hopefully, a little sunshine and exercise in the swimming pool will do wonders for the rehabilitation of her ankle.
Her scenery has definitely changed. One might even describe that as an improvement. (Individual opinions will vary.)
I am holding down the ranch on my own in her absence, which isn’t all that different from the previous four months of her restricted ambulatory abilities. The main thing that changes is my diet becomes a lot less fancy. She did make a point of baking a fresh batch of cookies before she left, so the management of my self-control and willpower won’t be getting a break.
Full disclosure: The primary incentive for managing my consumption of cookies is not for health reasons. I need to pace myself so they will last until Cyndie’s return.
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Warm Chill
I’m no meteorologic expert or physics genius, but this I know: It’s a weird counter-intuitive situation when the temperature rises above freezing while there is still a solid snowpack on the ground. The chill can feel deeper than when there is a biting cold of below zero (F).
Yesterday was one of those days. The surface beneath the horse’s hooves by the barn was getting muddier and messier as the hazy sun melted the frozen ground. The substantial snowpack everywhere else was evaporating into the atmosphere, bringing up humidity which increases the transfer of cold radiating from the ground.
The result was a warm day for wintertime that feels oddly chillier than a person thinks it should.
It’s impressive how effective the snowpack is at making it seem like you’re walking through the refrigeration aisle of a grocery store. It makes me want to put a frozen pizza in the oven.
Last night after I fed the horses dinner, I attempted to split the herd in two so I could close the gates and reduce competition for space under the overhang. A snow squall moving through overnight threatened to bring mixed precipitation and we didn’t want a tiff over territory to force any of them to be left out where they would get soaking wet.
When I returned to the house, I told Cyndie she could revoke my “horse whisperer” credentials. I was entirely unsuccessful in luring any of them to pair up on the far side of the overhang. Frustrated, I left with all the gates open. It would be up to them to work it out when the precipitation got nasty. The afternoon temps have been warm enough that we have chosen to leave their blankets off for the time being. The occasional precipitation like this can complicate things and we end up second-guessing our decision at times.
They didn’t want to cooperate with my plan last night so I’m going to trust they knew better than I did about how to deal with a little wet overnight snow.
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Self Braided
Two of our four horses have a habit of repeatedly getting their manes tangled into braided snarls. Since none of the four have shown interest in standing still to receive grooming, I have done nothing to interrupt the development of the tangles Mix and Mia have been developing for the last four months.
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They seem to bother me more than they do the horses. I asked the folks of “This Old Horse” if they thought the horses minded having those tangles. In their impression, the answer was basically, “No.” That triggered my decision to just leave their manes alone.
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I’m thinking the fix, if and when it might happen, may involve scissors more than a brush or comb. I also believe it will be a two-person project so that one person (John) can occupy the horse’s attention while the other (Cyndie) does the detangling. Most likely, treats will be offered as part of the process.
The only downside I see of combing out their manes for Mix and Mia is that it won’t last. They have proven their natural talent for self-braiding often enough for us to know the tangles will likely continue to reappear. The prevention for that will come when those two decide they like having their manes combed out. As soon as that happens, we will be happy to groom them regularly and often.
It’s up to them. They are the ones who will show us whether the tangles bother them or not.
I wonder if the only reason Swings and Light don’t develop tangles in their manes is because they don’t like their manes getting messed up.
As the old saying goes, if it hurts when you do “something” then stop doing it.
Based on that, I have no problem accepting that Mix and Mia don’t care about the tangles at all.
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Icy Mess
Let me start by saying that I think climate change sucks royally to the maximum extreme. We have not been blessed with a complete switch to a warmer environment as a result of the trapped greenhouse gasses but instead are suffering a ridiculous mishmash of our old winter weather interspersed with springtime-type rain throughout December, January, and now February.
Conditions for the horses yesterday morning were pretty dreary but they were incredibly stoic about enduring the insult of freezing rain.
It was tricky navigating the slipperiness as I made my way down to the barn. The two chestnuts were down under the willow tree, just standing in the rain. Mix and Swings were up under the overhang, just standing.
None of them looked cold and none of the multiple offerings of hay had been exhausted overnight. There also wasn’t the usual ridiculous amount of manure under the overhang that needed to be picked up.
I raked up any scraps of hay and tossed them on the slipperiest-looking spots. Even if that tossed hay freezes on the ground, it still offers improved footing for the horses.
This is a good shot revealing a view of Mia’s opinion about the weather:
Actually, she had gobbled up all her feed before the others had finished theirs and came over to the gate to see if I had anything else to offer.
By the afternoon feeding, after the precipitation had stopped falling and the accumulated ice had melted from most of the tree branches, the horses actually looked dry. I don’t know how they do it without sunshine or blow dryers, but it does wonders for showing how well they cope with the elements.
Horses seem to convey an understanding that bad weather is a temporary situation that can be outlasted with sheer will and steadfast patience. I have a bad habit of focusing my curiosity on how much worse it could possibly get outside while they are blocking out the misery by looking forward to how great it’s going to feel when the warm rays of sunshine finally return.
We are all hoping that moment happens today since our forecast is teasing the possibility it might.
I would like to work on focusing my attention on how much better the weather could possibly get outside.
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Accurate Forecast
The winter storm proved to be just like the weather service predicted, dumping snow in two waves and totaling somewhere in the range of 15-20 inches at our place. It’s hard to measure with the wind creating a variety of depths across our land. I took a walk with my yardstick and found a drift of over 20 inches in one spot.
I make a habit of cleaning off the lid of our food compost bin every time I walk past it so I can use it as a reference of how much new snow falls since the last time I cleaned it. Yesterday morning, there were spots where the dark cover had no snow on it at all yet the ground beside it was covered by 16 inches of powder.
I found a spot in the yard with only 3 inches but the driveway, which I plowed in the middle of the pause between the two waves, had gained 9 inches of new snow overnight.
Based on the frame of our roof rake, I was wrestling to bring down over 18 inches of new snow on the roof of our house. Much of that ended up hitting me in the face as I worked.
The snow was over knee-deep as I made my way toward the barn to feed horses first thing in the morning.
Mia had a new cut on one of her hind legs. It looked like one of the other horses probably kicked her. Cyndie rallied to gingerly make her way down to tend to the wound while I held Mia in place. I took a picture of Mia that ended up looking like she was standing on two legs.
That’s a weird view, isn’t it? If you don’t think about it, she looks normal but once you let your mind see it as only two legs, it gets hard to unsee.
I also took a picture of a rare moment when all four horses decided it was okay to stand together under one side of the overhang. Most often one or more of the horses will demand a wider bubble of personal space and chase others away.
Today we plan to drive up to Hayward to spend the weekend with friends at the cabin and take in the excitement of the American Birkebeiner ski race. I’m hoping the weather will be as perfect over the next two days as the meteorologists are predicting. Before we head out, I just need to finish a little more plowing and shoveling.
After that, I’m actually looking forward to just sitting in a car for two and a half hours. My muscles deserve a rest.
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Relative Something 