Slop and playing horses!!!

I got off work today at 1:30 and was home by 2:00. I have to be at my gramma's by 6:00, but I figured I muck a couple of stalls first. Squirrel's and Thai's were REALLY sloppy. So I turned Squirrel into the arena and took three wheelbarrow loads of poop soup out of her 12 X 12 stall. I think a LOT of it is run-off from the snow melt. It just seeped in there. But also, it's so sloppy in her run, she decided she wanted to go in the barn. (Dirty, rotten, nasty horse!!!)

She was DEFINITELY needing some turn out time! She bucked and struck and played! SO FUNNY!!! I had to backfill her stall with clean dirt which came from the buildup around the arena rails. It was damp, but much drier than the stall was before!

I didn't have time nor the energy to do Thai's stall, it's just as bad or worse than Squirrel's, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow or Saturday.

Jazzy's stall had packed poop, but no urine, so I turned her out and clean her stall. Same thing!!! Bucking and farting and having a blast! At least with her stall, I didn't have to backfill it.

Saturday, everyone gets turned out for an hour or so each to burn off some excess energy.

Since I was in the barn, the horses were, of course, dying of starvation, so I grained them all. Honey's pen doesn't have a place for me to hang a bucket, so I use a big rubber feed pan. She was done eating about the time I headed back to house, and I looked over, and there she was pushing to pan under the fence! Such a good girl! I'd been wondering what the deal was...I kept finding it outside the fence and I though that Mike was maybe grabbing it when he went out to feed. NOPE!! My Funny Honey was giving it back to me!

We are down to 5 bales of hay so tomorrow, we are off to the farm to load up 2 tons. I wish it was MY farm, but no. They have WONDERFUL hay! Even first cutting was decent, though a little sun bleached. I'm going to strike a deal with her - create an account. Pay like $100 a month, in advance, so it's not such a big hit all at once when we go get hay. And during the summer, when we don't feed so much hay anyway, we have her owing us! Sound like a good idea?? Yeah, I know, I'm a frickin' genious!

The weather has been pretty good to us since the weekend. It was breezy today, but at least above freezing. And the rain and snow showers expected for yesterday swung south of us. Every time I get the urge to move, I remember what winters are like here...and read about what they are like elsewhere. I think I'll stay here.

Enjoy your New Year's Eve Festivities and don't drive drunk! Stay safe! And..hug your horses and give them a carrot or two from me and Mike and the rest of the gang here at the Funny Farm!