Posts Tagged ‘horses’
Fresh Greening
We’ve survived a few days when the morning temperature teetered around the freezing point with no noticeable damage to new growth sprouting everywhere we look. One of the early above-ground wild plants to show signs of leaves is the black raspberry bushes.
Here’s hoping it will be a good year for the berries.
The grass has gotten bushy enough in spots to warrant mowing. I pulled out the electric push mower to get after the back side of the barn. The ground is not yet firm enough to support the weight of the riding tractor. That exercise went so well, I decided to give the labyrinth a go.
It was my first time walking the labyrinth since the ground thawed. There were many stones pushed sideways and/or toppled by the combination of frost heave and burrowing rodent activity. Mowing was a bit of a hassle. It felt good to finish and move out to the much easier cutting of the area beyond the stones.
I’m expecting the growth of grass blades will pick up dramatically now and I will soon be mowing some section or another almost every single day until we happen to reach a stretch of very dry weather.
Mowing is easy compared to the landscaping project I’ve decided to do myself. The first order of business before improving the grading on each side of the garage will involve sealing cracks that have formed in the concrete blocks. That’s one more thing I have no experience doing but I will shop for materials and then fake it.
The other fresh greening happening is inside on the table in our sunroom where garden plants Cyndie started are bursting out of the dirt with impressive spurts of growth. I suspect they will be transplanted to the great outdoors very soon.
We’ll be eating fresh produce in a blink.
And speaking of things happening in a blink, in just over a week it will be one full year that Asher has been in our family. I think he has accepted us as worthy keepers.
In April, three years ago, the four thoroughbred mares arrived at Wintervale. At the time, we didn’t know if they would stay any longer than the summer grazing season. The fact that we are transitioning them onto green grass again for the fourth year makes it pretty clear we settled into keeping them here year-round. At this point, I dream of them never needing to ride in a trailer again.
It would be great if they would offer their opinion on the subject. I certainly wouldn’t want to keep them here if there was somewhere else they’d rather be.
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Asking Nicely
It’s hard to resist clear communication from animals when they ask nicely. This morning, while I was doing some “housekeeping” in the farther reaches of the paddocks, Mia walked up to me to check if I might be thinking about opening the gate to the field.
I wasn’t, but when Cyndie noticed (with a chuckle because of the way Mia was standing almost on top of me) she suggested I could accommodate the request. The last few days we have been giving them afternoon time on the grass and then coaxing them back in by serving their feed. In this case, they were just finishing their feed so there wouldn’t be the same incentive to come in on our schedule.
Before I caved to the request, I crossed between the two paddocks by ducking under the board over the waterer to pick up one last pile of manure. On that side, Light came down and picked up where Mia left off in pressing up against me in an attempt to persuade their desired outcome.
I couldn’t resist. They were granted 30 minutes on the grass. Coaxing them back in took a couple of tries, but they eventually complied. Maybe they know there will be another opportunity later in the day. It’s all an exercise in gradually pacing the change in diet to allow time for their gut biome to adjust.
Based on my work as an Equine Fecal Relocation Engineer, things appear to be progressing well thus far.
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Just Thursday
There wasn’t anything unusual about yesterday compared to any other Thursday. I got Wordle in 4. We did the morning horse chores after I walked Asher. Cyndie heated servings of an egg bake from the freezer for breakfast. Even though I was listening for the arrival of a truck to pick up the tractor, I never heard a thing.
When I stepped outside with Asher after breakfast, the tractor was gone. I think our house is soundproof.
Instead of getting one particular project started and finished, my methods of late tend to lean towards picking away a little bit at many tasks simultaneously. While walking Asher, I grabbed the hedge trimmer to cut down last year’s stalks of our tall Japanese Silver Grass at various locations around the property.
Later, I spent some time turning and reshaping old compost piles in hopes of reactivating the process that fell dormant over winter.
In a spontaneous decision, we suddenly decided to cut down an entire section of the lilac tree in our front yard.
The bark was peeling off the trunk. We tried wrapping it but that didn’t lead to the tree healing the wound. When the wrapping started falling off, we noticed a mushroom growing out of the side. Even though there were signs of new buds on the branches, we decided to cut the whole section off to avoid the tree wasting energy on the doomed portion.
That tree was there when we bought the place over 11 years ago and has continued to get taller and taller every year. I don’t know what to expect from it next. We’ll see what removing one of the five “trunks” does for the remaining portions.
While I had the chainsaw out, we headed into the woods to remove the latest tree that had fallen across one of our trails. I also brought down a medium-sized tree leaning against others at a 45-degree angle. We keep adding to the dead wood lying on the ground in our forest because trees fall more often than we can consume the wood.
One good outcome of the recent winds was that a previously snagged limb finally fell to the ground. It had been up there for years. It was just beyond the reach of my pole saw. I was able to cut down the rest of the tree, but this one section was hung up in the collar of another tree and we couldn’t shake it loose. Given enough time, it eventually came down without our help.
Toward the latter part of the afternoon, we gave the horses the next increment of time on the fresh pasture grass. Before our time limit was reached, Swings and Mix had come in of their own accord. I was doing some equine fecal relocation work in the paddock and Light came in to check on me. Mia stayed out gobbling grass.
When Cyndie presented their buckets of feed, I had to walk out and talk Mia into coming in.
It’s a special treat when a horse follows your lead without requiring a lot of coercion. My charm can be irresistible.
Just another Thursday in our little paradise.
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Underwhelming Opening
It was what one local meteorologist called a “San Diego weather” day for our region yesterday. Blue sky, light breeze, gentle warmth, comfortable humidity, few in the way of pestering insects. Julian graciously agreed to help me pound fence posts that our freeze/thaw cycle pushes up. 
It’s very rewarding to experience easy success when a post drops a half-inch with each strike, especially because plenty of others barely move an eighth of an inch at a time. Our main goal is to get the bottom wire of the fence back down to less than 18” from the ground, per a guideline I read for horses. Mission accomplished.
In the middle of the afternoon, Cyndie agreed to open the gates to the hay field for the horses to start adjusting their digestive systems to fresh grass again. I took a position to record their reaction to renewed access to their fields.
They didn’t even notice. Maybe they were purposely ignoring us. My video was pretty underwhelming. With a little coaxing from Cyndie, Mia and Mix started an approach. As they picked up some momentum down the slope from the barn, Light and Swings took notice and soon followed.
They barely walked beyond the wood fence to begin feasting on fresh chomps of grass. Nothing wrong with that, but we always compare it to the time they took off running like the racehorses they once were upon that first opportunity on the field in spring.
We only gave them a short first shift before bringing them back in. Interestingly, that got them running more than going out did.
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Shedding Underway
’Tis the season of flying tufts of horse hair. It gets a little complicated when their heavy shedding coincides with their days confined to the massively muddy paddocks. The tufts don’t fly as much when they are caked in layers of mud.
Cyndie spent a little time yesterday brushing all four horses for as much as the mares would allow. Each horse has a different level of acceptance for being brushed.
I watched Cyndie try to win over Light with offers of treat bites with varying degrees of success. It got me laughing to see Cyndie trying to multitask brushing Light’s hindquarters with one hand while fending off Light’s face with her other hand. Light kept turning back to beg for another treat.
It is no small thing to fend off an insistent Light where treats are involved.
I leaned over Light’s back and snapped a close-up of the layers of hair.
We both knew that freshly brushed horses rarely stay clean for very long. By the time we returned to the barn to feed them in the afternoon, Cyndie reported they had all taken a roll in the mud.
Thus begins the cycle that will repeat multiple times in the days and weeks ahead.
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Stepping Between
When making my way through the swampiest areas of the paddocks, the trick I employ is to choose my steps between the potholes of hoof divots. Where the horse hooves have pushed up gashes of earth, I push the mess back down. When I allow myself to be distracted by the scoopful of manure I’m carrying, a misstep into a water-filled divot delivers an immediate signal from the wetness in my sock up to my brain, reminding me that these boots leak.
We weren’t expecting to wake up to another fresh blanket of snow yesterday morning. It was mostly harmless because there wasn’t that much and it didn’t require any shoveling. By the end of the day, it had all melted, leaving behind just enough moisture to keep things messy for another day or two.
Sunshine is coming. That should brighten everyone’s moods. Maybe kick the grass blades into gear. That would make the horses happy, I suspect. They do an impressive job of finding every spot within the confines of the board-fenced paddocks where new grass is sprouting.
It’s too bad they can’t figure out a way to walk around that doesn’t obliterate the turf that they would love to eat.
In my meanderings around the paddock, I marveled over the difference between places where it appears they must step gently and the surface packs down versus the damage they churn up when stepping with urgency.
At feeding times lately, Mix has been getting worked up in anticipation and for some reason takes it out by harassing Light and Mia. Yesterday she kept chasing them into muddy areas I’m sure they would otherwise choose to avoid. That kicks up an unnecessary mess.
Swings came over and gave Mix a piece of her mind, as if to get her to leave the other two alone. That works as long as Swings stays around. When she moves back to her feeding spot on the other side, Mix ramps her antagonism back up again.
Light and Mia seem to take it in stride, albeit with muddier hooves. As soon as buckets of feed get distributed, everybody calms down and tends to their meal.
That’s when I make my rounds, doing my best to step between all their many divots.
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Nervous Wreck
Last night I watched the last two “elite eight” games of the women’s NCAA tournament and found myself feeling more nervous about the situations of the games than the athletes who were involved.
When it comes to critical game situations, I am a wreck. Continuing to play effectively when you have 4 fouls is impressive. Having the clarity of mind to make a key pass in a split-second of opportunity is brilliant. Demonstrating the confidence and steadiness to hit a closely guarded 3-point shot reveals more nerve than seems possible from my experience.
Conversely, when I am working in the paddocks around four beasts who each weigh over a thousand pounds, I’m probably cooler than I should be. The other day, Light kicked out in my general direction so quickly without warning, I think it warped the laws of physics.
Suddenly I was no longer so calm and collected.
The horses have been moodier than normal the last few days. Maybe they are picking up on my tournament-watching energy of late. I think their nerves might be getting a little frayed, too.
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Special Communication
The mess of melting leftover snow didn’t go through the usual overnight pause last night because the temperature never dropped below freezing. I read yesterday that the blanket of white covering the ground melts from the bottom up. When the air gets cold enough overnight, it is easy to walk on the old snow because a frozen crust is created. It wasn’t easy this morning.
The wash of chunks that rolled off the plow blade beside the driveway is melting in its own interesting ways.
…I enjoyed a special interaction with Light in the paddock this morning. After I had filled their hay nets and the horses finished gobbling up all the feed from their buckets, I still had some housekeeping to finish. Light approached and pushed her nose toward my shoulder. I chatted with her while continuing to look down toward my task on the ground.
Light made a little “chomp” at the air by me and I questioned her about her intentions.
“Were you thinking about biting me?” I asked without changing my energy or activity.
I expressed my disapproval of such craziness as Light wandered up to the overhang.
Then I experienced an insight about a possible different motivation behind Light’s original gesture. Maybe it was a “love nip.” Maybe Light was indicating her appreciation for my efforts.
I vocalized, “You’re welcome,” to the air in her absence.
Then I heard Light pooping up under the overhang.
You may draw your own conclusion, but I smiled a special smile as I scooped up behind her in finishing my efforts tending to the mares for the morning.
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Gates Closed
My least favorite time of year for the horses is when the time comes to restrict their access to the fields. Cyndie made the call this week to close gates so the horses are now confined to the paddocks until the grass grows to at least four inches tall. Hopefully, it won’t take long now that the rain and snow have improved conditions greatly for spring growth.
The grass on the back side of the barn is already looking as green as summer.
The labyrinth isn’t looking very summery.
It hasn’t seen any foot traffic since all the rain and snow fell. The undisturbed surface caught my eye. It’s a nice look.
The opposite was happening just beyond the fence in the back pasture. There were some very prominent tracks from some critter that appeared to be getting taller as the rest of the snow in the field was dwindling.
The low angle of early morning sunlight casts a good shadow for each step taken. I have no idea what animal was plodding along inside the fence.
It is much easier to identify the deer tracks in our woods. There has been a lot of activity visible lately by a fair-sized herd. It appears they have developed a taste for the large batch of acorns that covered the ground under one particular tree this fall. We frequently referred to the trail that passes the tree as a “ball-bearing” zone. The large area of disturbed snow and leaves reflects either a high number of deer present or a hyperactive few.
Looking at the evidence of their activity leaves me feeling for the poor horses who have nothing be a few hay nets to graze until the snow disappears. Then they will put non-stop pressure on any new blades that try to sprout inside the confines of the board fences until the day we get to open the fields back up to them again.
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Ensuing Calm
I always envy the stoic way the horses appear to take whatever nature dishes out and emerge from the worst weather with a look of understanding that better days always arrive eventually. Why is my impression one of surprise about the ease with which a nice day shows up after the tumult of wind and heavy precipitation in all its forms?
On Tuesday night, I dashed out after having showered and eaten dinner to run the plow up and down the driveway before the slushy mess entirely froze overnight. It was an exercise that paid off for me yesterday. All that saturated snow around the driveway was rock solid in the morning.
The partly cloudy skies yesterday allowed for enough sunlight to dry up most of the residual scraps of icy snow that lingered.
The afternoon included a visit from the farrier to trim the horses’ hooves. She reported clear signs of new spring growth showing up in their feet.
During my morning rounds of scooping poop, I came across so many frozen plate-sized mud impressions sluffed from their hooves it looked like every step they took in that mess of snow and mud came with a new unwanted sole attached. It reminded me of the time that was happening to me with mud sticking to the bottom of my boots.
Can you tell which direction the breeze was coming from in the image above? Cyndie said the pattern of blown snow had disappeared from the asphalt moments after she took that photo. The dark pavement does hold some of that solar energy for a time after the sun had disappeared below the horizon.
The winds were light and the sunshine plentiful on the day after our 3-day storm. It provided a welcome calm, indeed.
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Relative Something 