A beautiful morning.

I sit above my barn; no sun but no rain.  It was just dry enough to sit on a rock and watch the kids as they eat. 

No running around like crazy today they are both alert and watchful, so large animals must be near by.

 As you can see... I've thrown out hay and their feed is soaking! I always soak their feed come fall and winter I try to take hot water to allow them a nice hot meal for breakfast and dinner.

 

 

A quiet end.

I sit above my barn, watching the horses graze, hearing the woodpecker somewhere behind me.   Life is sweet; sour and even painful at times.   I am thankful it has been a good day for me, one day at a time trying to enjoy my horses and the quiet of this little plot.  I am VERY thankful of the simplicity of this little place. 

 

 

The morning started late today... my shadow long, and my horses out to pasture.

 

I am allowing the horses out more and more each time I go feed.  It makes my day longer but it also gives me time to breathe deep, think quietly, and allow myself some me time.

 



The view this morning from the front pasture looking back up to the barn, gate open, horses out and about.

 

My sweet little girl, just after having her rain coat taken off.  It was a beautiful sunny day and horses need the sun as much as we do.  Besides I do not want her blanketed all the time as she rarely gets a winter coat and a blanket only slows it coming in as well. 

 

The blanket, washed on sanitize setting ... re sprayed is now out on the line to dry....

 

Fat boy... my sweet boy... is out and about this morning eating like a rhino and pushing everything around he can find.

 

 

Soft easy morning.

Very little to say.

My horses are good thanks 2 a neighbor.

My little girl is pissy.   Where is my food mom?

My fat boy content..

Celebration of life.

While I have gone to a few funerals in my short years,  I have to admire the different last stance of my dear Aunt Gale. 

 

Aunt Gale knew at a young age she only wanted to see the good in people.  She didn't care that it cost her dearly in many ways...it was important to HER that she knew she had done all she could.

She shared her life and children with a man she cared for deeply; till there was little to no return.  She shared her days at work with each coworker as family.  She shared a love for humans who were misjudged, misfortune, and misguided.  We were are equal in her eyes... she was a rare human... but as was mumbled behind me at service... she had the best teacher her mother, my Nannie.

 

She had time to plan her goodbye to the world.  She wanted no visitation, as life is intended to be lived and her friends knew who they were.  She did not like  sitting around the gone... she did not care for grave site standing as earth consumed the vault.   She wanted a celebration, she wanted those left behind to celebrate her life, their life, and those to come. 

 

She choose things so VERY different from anything the family had ever done... but finally... for once in her life it was about her... her wishes,her wants, her hopeful memories she could plant in the minds of her grandchildren.  So.. playful beautiful balloons were handed out and released at the end of the celebration of her life. It was actually beautiful... and I for one admire how she planned, talked it out with my sister, made her agree to request we had never considered.  She had mentioned all the different request to several.. but it was up to my sister to protect Aunt Gale's plan... a job I would have refused in an instant. 

 

I spent my young years following around my Aunt, and my cousin Dickie, then anyone else when they were not around.  My Aunt was the older sister I did not have.  That taste of understanding when generation gaps are painful during teenage years.  She was my breakfast / coffee club confidant.  She was more to me than I can describe.

 

I love her
I told her.
I made sure she knew. 

I miss her more than any other human I have lost thus far.  My throat lumps with even a hint of her or thought. My eyes well up beyond sight.  I think of the good. I try so hard not to dwell on the lost but what she wanted. I will be a basket case for a while to come!

 

 

As we discussed what had to happen.. She said as much as I,  that she loved me.  That she loved us all... Betsy Amanda Danny after her kids and grandkids...of course...  all as it should be.

 

Grief can be overwhelming for some,  and for some life shattering.  We each have our own way of feeling, processing , and expressing that grief.  Her choices being so different were bound to bring this out even more so.

 

I was happy to stand back... as she and I often did at these things... and be lucky enough to see the beauty she wanted us to see... the way she wanted us too. 

 

 

Gale a caterpillar now a butterfly.

Gale grasping and being beauty.  Simple beauty of balloons rising into a perfect blue sky!

Gale free of earthbound agony grief or pain.

Gale a direct messenger of a higher power.  A rare human.  A missed mother, sister, aunt, class-mate, neighbor, or friend. 

I know it is not in focus but it was the best I could do with a phone instead of a camera.

 

 

 

 

kids, balloons, and a beautiful day... who could ask for more.

 As Aunt Gale would say... Have A Blessed Day!

 

 

 

Wet day.

A nasty day... but we needed the rain.

While the rain helps my pastures, it creates a horrible footing for the horses.  But washes out the fish tank and fills my cistern. 

Horses are out on the wet pasture... but not as long as normal. As the rain creates more sugar in the deprived pasture and is more rich than just last night.

Horse management is all day everyday...

a wonderful day.

I drove home at 3am this morning.  I could not sleep where I was and ... life is too short to worry about sleeping when you really just want to get your day started.

Birds arrived... I got them settled

Horses had plenty of hay so... I took my time getting over there.  When I did I Unlocked the gate to allow Sweet Pea to graze as I took Navarre out for a short ride. 

A ride that tested his patience, as I made him stop to talk to several people along the way.  I think he wanted to get the ride over and be done.  I was enjoying my stops along the way and only concerned about how long Sweet Pea was grazing. 

We made it down the road, did a few circles as we headed back up as he wanted to trot... No trotting on the road in my book SO.... working his hind end tends to make him more tired along the way and makes him listen without having to use my legs or arms like crazy.   One simple hind end request in rhythm and he jumps at the command.  

An enjoyable ride and when I got back to the barn Sweet Pea had not pushed the gate open, had not gone out to graze... but was screaming her head off for sure.  (I do NOT allow Navarre to yell back if I am riding! )  One of my rules!

I then came across a friend again and in doing so, took her home and went to see her new home.  I am so happy for her.  She of course offered for me to come over any time... AND wanted to allow the horses to graze on her four acres at any point needed.    Life for her will be a little more settled when she gets moved, and I can only be happy for her and her family.

There are never photos when I ride... I am too busy paying attention to what is going on... Cars speeding by, trucks with straight pipes, and my favorite the mail carrier with a horrible muffler hanging off..... ? should be a noise law on his old car!   But Navarre did wonderful.  My only upset was the turtle that had been run over in the road.  I hate when someone hits a turtle.  They hurt little and move so slow how can you not go over it, go around it?  Why hit a turtle of all things?

At any rate my day settled by feeding the horses, playing with all the birds again.  Making sure my young charges were happy and full for the night.  They are covered and have quilts for night chills.

I can only hope your day was half as good as mine.

Supplements

Supplements.
I have to use supplements... I would rather never use them but One horse does not survive without them.


Oil in a diet does SEVERAL things...

1. moistens feed...
2. Creates Heat... Corn more than Rice... but I use both... Rice in morning and Corn at night but only in the winter... Otherwise all rice... again ... MORE in the WINTER and barely enough for PPSM for Navarre in the summer.
3. in the intestines it helps to protect their delicate lining.  
4. it assist me in making sure my supplements stick to their feed.

Supplements...   Once again I HATE supplements... I wish I could feed them ONE thing, grass and water.  Life would be so much easier, and in the long run better for my horses if they didn't need them.

Once a month no matter where I live, travel or exercise plan... I do a sand colic treatment.  Clay soil will cause sand colic so I use this once a month for prevention.  I do it first day on each month for seven days.   30 dollars a month compared to 10 or more thousand dollars for surgery due to colic; I'll do the preventative any day.

SALT... I have a horse that will not lick on any type of salt... I have tried them all... White... Mineral (brown)  all the way down to the expensive Himalayan salts (PINK).... nothing... So I have to add it to his feed because he RARELY drinks water and will dehydrate easily!   My salt lick for my mare goes bad before she gets through it!
  I use an apple flavored electrolyte.  KER orange is my favorite but it gets harder and harder to order.


Selenium ... Like I said earlier in my hay! My area has none left in the soil... 99% of the US does so you only have to test for it once... Most areas are a LITTLE depleted but it is added in most all feeds see your label!   I add it with Vitamin E for both horses... it is the cheapest form!

Navarre has MAJOR medical issues so he gets Vitamin E with and again without selenium.  He gets muscle herbs because his PPSM makes his body EATS HIS MUSCLE TISSUES!!!!! to put it mildly. He gets a 1/2 cup oil morning and night for PPSM as well....

Sweet Pea is such a hard keeper I give her bacteria for her gut (HARD KEEPER) brand name from Tractor Supply!!! easy to get!

They each get oil and SUPPLEMENTS above only once a day.    Sweet Pea only needs oil if we are trying to gain weight or it is going to be cold.

I purchase all my supplements in bulk.... BUT I did go to SMART PAK and order 30 days of all the supplements custom for Navarre so when I am gone on emergencies I have no worries. 


All of this is a lot to take in... but ... it has taken 7 years to have to work up to where I am and I desperately cut EVERYTHING back as much as I can keeping a daily, weekly, monthly evaluation on my horses....

I can only hope you are a lucky one, that merely gets a horse you can feed one thing and never have a problem in the world with what you are doing!   I wasn't that lucky... but these horses are mine and they are the reason I work as much as I do as often as I do.

Feed?

What kind? and How much? are the two typical questions I get.

 Processed Feed can EASILY cause COLIC... so in the fall and winter I soak their feed.... ALL their feed not just hay extender and alfalfa EVERYTHING... for BOTH horses. Because I feed my mare large amounts of feed, I soak their food!

 

soaked feed will expand three to four times its normal size... so make sure you have enough water to cover the dry feed so it can expand as much as possible. 

 

 In the COLD of winter I have feed at home and soak it in boiling water before I take it to the barn, or I take boiling water to the barn to feed them.    No I do not expect anyone else to do the same but it makes a big difference for my one horse that does not grow a good winter coat.  As you can only feed a horse so much!

Really?  What do you feed?    Do you ask people what to feed your kids?
I know ... that's harsh! But really we all approach our kids differently.  We are all going to approach our horses differently as well.  I do nothing like my neighbors, and my neighbors do very little like I do. 

I love Purina horse feeds... but they are REALLY hard to get around where I am and Southern States is much more reliable for me. BUT I do drive 30 minutes for special feed for Navarre and 15 minutes out for Alfalfa for Sweet Pea. So I purchase all these in more than I need and keep the extras in my house safe and sound.

Low Starch Performance feed for Sweet Pea

Hay Stretcher,

fortified Rice Bran for Navarre.  (no sugar)

Wellsolve Purina feed for Navarre  (low carb and starch) a necessity for his PPSM...
and the Alfalfa cubes for Sweet Pea 

Navarre is what they call an EASY KEEPER so he needs much less of everything than one would think.  As long as he has grass hay and his supplements he fine.  So he gets feed in order to get his supplements into him and MANAGE his weight.  He gets fat easy and fast...

Sweet Pea is the exact opposite.  It is VERY hard to keep weight on her.  It is hard to feed her enough hay in a single day so I use the hay extender.  Hay extender is one of those things you really need to soak before feeding it to the horse.    The hard keeper above is more like our yogurts with bacteria for easier digestion.  It works for her! I do not waste the money on Navarre.


Feed... you need to read your labels....
I keep my bags till I purchase another three bags and put them in my metal trash cans.  (I keep all my feed in metal trash cans of all sizes... Mice do not chew metal)  WHY do I keep my bags... Because once in a blue moon there is a recall on feed.  I have joined the instant messaging on each of my feed companies... for this same reason.
xmpl... in my area there were several issues with hay and feed this year.  Hay ... I lost... Feed I lost what was in my cans due to the rain... everyday almost all day for over 32 weeks this year.  Our normal rain fall is 20 to 30 inches a year.  We have gotten barely over 60 inches this year.  Feed stores that do not have climate control lost some of their feed that is not plastic wrapped.  My hay stretcher is one of those.  But I had my bags, they gave me numbers and I could double check mine I had and each bag I was going to get in the future so I would know it would be ok ... all from the company.

FEED is given per pound ...
Pound of Horse... Amount of EXERCISE... the more exercise the more feed... BUT it is given on a bag per DAY... this should be divided  into two or THREE feedings a day.  When I am home I feed my mare THREE times a day because I have to feed her so much being a hard keeper.  Navarre...  I feed him as little as I can... and only twice a day.

If your horse Colic's then making sure the amount of processed feeds being smaller and smaller and wetter and wetter portions may be VERY important.  As well as adding an oil...

I'll go over more details about my supplements tomorrow!

Blankets

My personal choice is NOT to use a blanket of any type. 
But I have one horse that requires a blanket when it is a cold rain even at 60 degree day.




Positives and Negatives ... 
Positive... A rain coat allows me to save money in the long run.  Any time it rains lately my mare goes into shakes... so badly one would normally call the vet.  So after several times of drying her off, blanketing her for an hour, then putting on the raincoat as an after thought.  It is now at the barn for good.

Negatives... Blankets can be dangerous! VERY... but so can crossing the street! ha ha ha...
Your horse can break a leg, twist a gut trying to get it off, tear the blanket to pieces and cost you lots of money.  So I get the strongest I can 1600 denier throws and blankets are needed for my dry lot and pasture horses.  If your blanket leaks OR you put a blanket on a wet horse as an after thought a horse can smell sour... like a moldy towel left in the washer over night in the middle of the summer.  It is gross and you really need to clean your horse!  If you don't it is likely to turn into rain rot! a horrible condition that grows a fungus that eats the skin, makes the hair fall out, and again causes you even more problems.  Not to mention it becomes painful for your horse.   Horses get too hot, in the wrong weight of blanket, they sweat and can get dehydrated if not carefully watched.  This also causes moldy smells etc...


How to fit, measure

This photo will give you room in the tail for pooping.  It may also cause it to droop a little at the chest or rub on the withers.

This type of measuring works better for me!   I find a better fit at a LEVEL measure from chest to center of tail. 

I get about a one and 1/2 inch difference in the types of measurement.  You have to realize this is a complete size! leaving you almost FOUR inches difference in the blanket if measured wrong. 




WHY to use a blanket.
Some people use a blanket just to keep their horse clean.
This is great IF you are showing!   If your not then why wouldn't you allow your horse to be a horse rolling in the mud and getting dirty etc...

Some use a blanket to keep their horse from developing a WINTER COAT. 
This is controversial... and double edged!   by not allowing the horse to develop a winter coat you MUST blanket the horse at all times, thus you may need to change the layers through out the day or at night.    NO WINTER COAT is also a show thing!   When a horse is slicker they look better.
Some clip/ cut their horse's hair again mostly a show thing. 
     BUT clipping is also a preventative thing.  You don't see runners wearing a heavy winter coat?  Your horses winter coat is a is heavy, holds sweat and WILL make it colder while wet after cooling down from a work out.  So if your ride often, ride hard clipping may be a necessity.
     My horses are in the weather and need their coats; I only use a blanket when they need one. And in the winter I ride in the morning and allow the horse to dry in the heat of the day,  I brush them out again at night feeding so hair is fluffy and warm for the night.

Because of choices WHEN is completely up to the owner, but remember if you blanket your horse you are completely responsible for its warmth.  You can't change your mind of blankets or winter coats in the middle of the season!  AND you may need to be around in the middle of the day to change the layers you put or didn't put on your horse.

HOW...
again choices choices choices...

Over the ears, under the tail but merely draped over the body is a cooling/ wicking/ warming blanket and NEVER left on a horse not being attended to.

Belly BAND complete band... I have one of these as a quilted warm blanket, and is rarely used unless she is uncontrollably cold.  Mine is very warm, and does not have a chest strap it pulls over her head and can be hard to use on horses that scare easily.  BUT there is no draft on her belly and when she is VERY cold it matters a great deal.  This band can be the most dangerous for leg issues.

GERTH STRAP only.  I generally only use these when I have to.  They do not stay in place as well BUT are much safer for a horse that lays down a lot and helps to prevent them from getting tangled up in the belly straps shown last.

BELLY STAPS.. there should be two ... I ALWAYS cross mine... one it also helps to prevent her from getting tangled in straps.  But with this type of blanket warm or not there is a draft on their belly at all times.  If it is an old horse this may not be enough even with a heavy blanket quilting.  (kinda like you wearing a short skirt in winter)

Make sure no matter what band type you choose that you use a tail strap OR leg straps.  I ALWAYS cross my leg straps as well.  I rarely have blankets with tail bands unless it is the wicking or cooling blanket for heavy winter workouts.

I use a rain coat for wet weather.
I will be using a mild not quilted blanket for my mare with temperatures under 20 degrees and with WINDS predicted.   Much like a light weight but no rain protection.
I use a several layers as weather gets worse and worse I put on more and more.  As this allows me to put on and take off through out the day.  This is very important!
I put on the quilted banded blanket (again mine slips over her head... off and on) only if it is a last resort.




 

A foggy start to the day.

This is the morning as I walk out the back door.  Color is starting to show but not wide spread.