Is it Spring Yet?

You know when it's cold outside when...

...your nose freezes when you walk outside.
...tears freeze on your cheeks.
...there is frost on the horses.

16 degrees F. at 1 pm. Supposively the warmest part of the day. Sigh. I don't even want to look at the calendar to see how many more days until spring. I'm sure the ground hog is going to see his shadow. That's the only news I won't be surprised by. Sigh.

The horses like running around and soaking up the weak sunlight. At least the exercise is good for Elias' leg. I need to check the AQHA site to see if Roger won. Wouldn't that be great!

So, off to work. At least interviews the last two nights have revealed some great results. Can't say anything right now, but it is promising :)

Trying to keep the stock tank water liquid. Buckets in the stalls are big popsicles. Sigh. I hate cold and winter.

Who's in the Inn

Aspey



Buddy


Lacey


Elias


Smokey


Abner (the newest addition :)

When I am an Old Horsewoman

When I am an old horsewoman...
I shall wear turquoise and diamonds,
and a straw hat that doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my social security on
red wine and carrots,
and sit in the alley-way of my barn
and listen to my horses breathe.
I will sneak out in the middle of a summer
night and ride the old bay gelding
across the moonlit meadow
if my old bones will allow.
And when people come to call, I will
smile and nod
as I walk past the gardens to the
barn and show, instead of the flowers
growing, stalls filled with
fresh straw. I will shovel
and sweat and wear hay in my
hair as if it were a jewel.
And I will be an embarrassment
to all who have not yet found
the peace in being
free to have
a horse as
a best friend,
a friend who waits at
midnight hour
with muzzle and
nicker, and patient eyes
for the kind of
woman I will be
when I am old.

Author Unknown

And then there were SIX!

Ohy, vey. I'm up to my eyeballs in stupid.

Here's the phone call. Remember that pony we adopted from you in September? Well, we started having problems with him before Thanksgiving, snapping at our little girl. So we put him in his stall for a day for punishment. Then he snapped at our step-daughter. So we thought he was lonely, so we got another horse. Now we are still having problems with him and we don't want to keep him because he is keeping our daughter from going to see her new horse. Is your trailer dug out?

So I show up with the trailer and get "well, we didn't mean you had to do it today! What are we going to do because our new horse isn't used to being alone? We just wanted him to be the nice pony that we adopted from you 5 months ago."

Ok. DUH! We are having problem with the pony. In November - and we are just calling you today on January 11th? Because we want to know if your trailer is dug out from the 10 inches of snow that got dumped last night. But you don't want me to pick him up today because you want to have time to say goodbye?

The time to call me would have been in November. I would have come and worked with you and the pony to make sure that the match continued to be good. So, when you can't handle the PONY that you adopted, you went out and BOUGHT a HORSE? A MARE?

Don't call me and ask if the trailer is dug out and then not expect me to come pick him up when you say you can't take it any more.

I don't make or keep many friends when dealing with animals, as I do WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE ANIMAL. I don't particularly care that he is a friend of my husbands. If the pony is not wanted, then it will come home. No. Your adoption fee for September won't be refunded. Nor the cost of keeping his feet trimmed. Or hay. Or grain. Or wormer. Welcome to the reality of horse ownership.

You think the pony cost you money? Now you are PAYING payments on a HORSE? That has NO return policy. What is going to happen when you can't handle the mare and the person who sold it to you doesn't want it back?

Nope. Thanks, but no thanks. Don't call me.

I thought the Inn was full. Well, we're shuffling around in the barn and creating a stall in the aisle. Sigh.

He is a cute little pony. But he is a pony. And when you (a 5 year old girl) ALWAYS bring treats down and feed him out of your little hands, and then you don't bring treats down and he tries to nibble at your little hands, suddenly he's dangerous. And he bumped her head with his head. Left a black and blue on her cheek bone. Yep. They have hard little heads. The pony, that is. And she is just the right height to bump heads. Where is her parental supervision? Where is her helmet? Oh, she doesn't like how it messes her hair.

I have very little time for people who THINK they know how to take care of horses because they like to feed it carrots.

So, now we have 4 horses and 2 ponies out back. Think I need to bite my tongue and not say that the inn is full and there is no more room. There's one other that is adopted out there and won't fit in the aisle. Gulp. Guess that reminds me I haven't heard from her in a couple of months so I need to check on him, also.

Hmm. Wonder how the horse that has never been alone is handling not having a horse within miles. Oh, well. Abner is safe and warm. The other one isn't my problem at all. Thank God!

Off to finish wrangling plywood - hopefully the battery is charged for the screw gun so I can finish with the last few screws in the hinges to the door. Sigh.

People suck. Horses RULE!

The Warmth of a Horse

The Warmth Of A Horse

When your day seems out of balance
and so many things go wrong ...
When people fight around you
and the clock drags on so long ...
When some folks act like children
and fill you with remorse ...
Go out into your pasture and wrap
your arms around your horse.

His gentle breath enfolds you
as he watches with those eyes ...
He may not have a PhD
but Oh, he is so wise!
His head rests on your shoulder
you hug him good and tight ...
He puts your world in balance
and makes it seem all right.

Your tears will soon stop flowing,
the tension will be eased ...
The nonsense has been lifted.
You are quiet and at peace.
So when you need some balance
from the stresses in your day ...
The therapy you really need
Is out there eating hay!

Anonymous

I'm not lost!

Hi, everyone. I'm not lost in the snow banks or taken up refuge in the barn. Though it feels like I have spent most of my time there and at work these past few days. Wednesday we had a real bad ice, snow, sleet, freezing rain day. School was cancelled all over the place. I even made sure that none of the volunteers went in to the Library where I work and I didn't go in, either. (That's my day job - I'm an assistant librarian, among other things :)

So, Thursday, I don't usually work, but this week was necessary. Friday work. Saturday morning, work.

When I'm not working I'm in the barn cleaning stalls, dosing medicine - still. Sigh. Poor Elias. Every time I go in to see him, it seems, I'm giving him another shot. We started out with 3 a day, now down to 2 a day. Once in the morning and again at night. Roger, the Vet, is in Colorado - or in the air, even as I type. He will be on TV Saturday and Sunday! Back early next week. Sigh.

The swelling in his leg is going down, a little more every day. It's almost back to normal. I will take pictures tomorrow afternoon, hopefully. We are supposed to get another storm tomorrow.

I posted some bright, sunny pictures of flowers I took this summer up at the Library as I can't stand to see the snow piles through the windows! We are also having a display from a local photographer who takes pictures in WARM places of coral reefs and exotic underwater life! I can't wait to have that in February!

So, Aspey seems to have gotten over her choke thing. Um, but I'm still NOT feeding her the hay replacer pellets that made her choke in the first place. Feeding it to the guys, who seem to have no problem with it.


For those of you who might want to have a horse but don't have the means and/or place to keep one, consider making a donation to a local rescue - or a not local rescue - check them out, make sure you agree with what they do and they have a good reputation. Two that I support - sometimes not always with money - are www.springhillrescue.com Spring Hill Horse Rescue. They just took in 110 animals around the first of the year and they were beyond capacity before that. Even $5 for a bale of hay feeds a horse for a day! The other is www.NewEnglandEquineRescues.com New England Equine Rescues. They cover all of New England.

Keep everyone warm, with plenty of good food and LIQUID water - horses cannot get enough hydration from snow - and if it's warm, all the better! They don't like cold water in cold weather. Kinda like eating ice cream when it's freezing out. Chills them like it does you (sorry, not me. Lactose intolerant. Don't like the stuff because it makes me feel like I'm breathing liquid fire!)

Support a rescue. Support a Humane Society.

Eek. I have to do what?!!?

Here we go again. At least it isn't an emergency call. A box this time. Full of antibiotics. Two types. One antibiotic, twice a day. One, once a day. BIG syringes. For the next few days. Until all the meds are gone. Sigh.

At least his leg doesn't look like a stove-pipe. It looks like it has a little more definition. Not good enough, though, it seems.

So. More meds. More walking. Sigh. Another vet bill. Sigh.

On a totally different note, set your live feeds and your timers on your television to watch the AQHA Fort Dodge Versatility Ranch Horse Championships :Competitions
Location: Denver Colorado: Date/Time: 01/14/2009 8:00 AM - 01/15/2009 8:00 PM Roger will be representing Vermont. Go, Roger!

At least the weather outside was nice - in the high 30's today. Already cleaned stalls, did water and set up for tuck-in time tonight.

Now I have to go cat wrangling. Brought my girl friends cat to the spay/neuter clinic today. After I followed her around the basement because she went out of the cage, up my arm and jumped off my shoulder. That's ok. No damage done. But no more babies. Yeah. Way too many of them running around these days, anyways.

Off to basketball.

:)