UPDATE: Pudge is staying home with Sue

Sue has decided that she is not ready to give up on owning a baby. She is keeping Pudge.

I think this is a really good thing. She has spent a lot of time and money, and emotion on the little dude. She's just not ready to walk away.

Pudge is now at an amazing place, pastured with another foal who was recently weaned. Can you imagine? Two weanlings pastured and playing? Definitely something to sit at the window and watch!

Sue sat with the property owner and expressed her frustration. They had a long, involved discussion, and in the end, they both learned some things and at the end of the day, they came to an agreement on the best path forward.

While Pudge is most welcome here, (in truth I would LOVE to own him!) I'm very pleased that Sue isn't going to give up. Horse ownership can be both rewarding and heartbreaking.

But mostly rewarding!

To blanket or not to blanket….

This subject has come up on several different blogs and discussion boards, so I thought I’m throw out my two cents worth.

I have a neighbor, Pam, who will blanket all three of her horses when the temperature drops below 40 degrees. Pam rides every day if she can. The wind and cold of winter doesn’t bother her. Her horses stay fit year round. The only time she DOESN’T ride is if it’s raining or snowing, and that’s because she doesn’t want her tack to get wet. Well, ok, who DOES?

Her thought is that the horses’ coats stay smooth and they don’t get as sweaty, therefore, cool down times is shortened. I totally get what she’s doing and why she’s doing it.

But I don’t ride every day. I “might” ride once a week in winter. I don’t like the cold. I don’t like the wind.

So I don’t blanket. UNLESS…. I’m at a barrel race or open ride indoors somewhere, my horse is sweaty, and I’ve work her up to the closing time and can’t cool her out inside. I’ll cool down outside for as long as I can, then I’ll but on a blanket and let her dry out under the blanket. This might happen twice during winter.

The next afternoon, during the warmest part of the day, I’ll pull her blanket and within 20 minutes, she’s a big fluffy poofball again.

Even in the deep cold of winter, my horses don’t wear blankets. As long as they have shelter from the wind driven rain, sleet or snow, they’re fine. My stalls are open to runs, giving them free choice to stay in, or go out. Nine times out of ten, they choose OUT.

But the way that my horses live isn’t the way other horses live. They may be stalled and given turn out at some point during the day. Is this a heated barn? If not, the chances are pretty high that the INSIDE of the barn is colder than the OUTSIDE. I know that this is the case at one of the indoor arena that I barrel race in during the winter.

There really is no “RIGHT” answer. Each horse owner does what she/he feels is best for the horses in their care. My neighbor has said on more than one occasion that she blankets to make herself feel better, not because the horses need a blanket.

It’s Dark! grrrrrr

We rolled the clocks back. Now instead of feeding in the still dark morning and riding in the last 45 minutes of evening, I’m feeding in the dark and feeding in the dark. Riding is an option days off. I can’t even turn out because it’s too dark. Luckily, my horses have good sized runs.

So I thought I’d adjust my contact with the horses to just grooming at night. During the week, I can pull of the horses out, brush out manes and tails, body groom them, clip them up if necessary.

We’ve had rain almost everyday since we turned the clocks back. And of course, my delicate little darlings absolutely MUST stand out in it so they can watch the house, just in case I head for the back sliding door to come feed them, again… ROTTEN BRATS!!

Then there’s the two new horses that INSIST on peeing in their stall or on their plate. By plate, I mean the mats that I throw their hay on.

I know there are some people that would say “Welcome to my world” in regards to the rain. I don’t WANT your world. I want MY world. My world is the desert. Average yearly rainfall is like 7 inches…FOR THE YEAR! It’s DRY here. If this keeps up, we are going to be green and moldy and mossy by spring. The desert will have disappeared and we will have become a tropical forest, lush and green and MUDDY.

/end rant and grumble…heading off to pitch some Halloween candy from the gal down the hall….

What do you do?

What do you do when you’re being bullied? This is a problem I feel is affecting a friend. She has a weanling I’ll call Pudge. “Sue” spent a LOT of money to buy Pudge, vet him, get his health papers, and ship him. She spent time reading voraciously to learn how to feed a foal, what to look for, “games” she could play with him that would ultimately train him and teach him trust. In all things, Sue has thought ONLY of Pudge and his well being.

In the past two months, she has moved Pudge to six (SIX!!) different boarding facilities. Not because he was being abused or anything, but because the barn owners wouldn’t feed according to Sue’s plan.

Sue has talked with a vet to lay out the best plan for Pudge. The whole program is really not that hard. Free access to quality hay (provided by Sue, staged and tarped for easy access) and Equine Junior, Northwest Supplement, and a joint supplement (to help this baby grow sound). How hard can that be?

Well the first barn owner didn’t turn Pudge out where he could REALLY run and stretch his legs. He was confined to a nice sized stall with a 15 X 12 runout. His only turnout was in an indoor “arena” (more like a round pen). He wasn’t even turned out in the large outdoor arena because the barn owners didn’t want to be hassled with trying to catch him.

Another place had barbed wire – so NOT going to happen.

Another place didn’t want to be hassle with feeding him his grain and supplement. Sue had pre-portioned the grain and supplement in ziplock bags, and placed them in a plastic garbage can outside Pudge’s pen. HOW HARD CAN IT BE???? All the barn owner would have to do is open the can, pull out a baggie of grain, and dump it in the bucket.

At another place, the barn owner ARGUED with Sue about how Pudge was going to be fed. Said barn owner had done a lot of research and she knew best. Apparently the point lost on this woman was the fact that SUE owned Pudge!

So, Sue has been moving Pudge around, looking for a place where Pudge would be safe, where he’d be fed as prescribed, and turned out for long periods for exercise. She hasn’t found it.

Sue called last night and offer to GIVE Pudge to me. It breaks my heart because I know that Sue loves Pudge and she only wants what is best for him. She would rather give him away than see him lacking in any part of his early development.

Things have not been finalized yet. Pudge will ABSOLUTLY have home with me if that is Sue’s final decision. I would LOVE to have him. And he will become a regular on this blog, so that Sue can keep tabs on him.

NOTE TO SUE: You have definitely been bullied and taken advantage of. It is absolutely WRONG that these people have nickled and dimed you, changed Pudge’s feed program, and pushed you to the point where you are so frustrated that you’re willing to give Pudge up.

He has a home with me if that is your decision. I told you I was full, but after talking to my other half (Who is actually still very much in love with the little monkey!), we can spend a day re-stringing hot tape to make a pen for him. He will be well cared for and with you, we have an open barn policy – you are most welcome to visit anytime you wish.

Boss Mare is so....BOSSY!

I did a little shuffling around today, moving horses around. I switched Jazzy and Squirrel. I switched Honey and Dobbs.

Then I opened the gates and turned everyone out. I have 6 stalls, and 4 pasture runs. Honey, while her ankle is still swollen, was bearing weight, so she and Dobbs were turned out.

Jazzy's new run is next to Millie's, and they share a pasture. Jazzy would NOT allow Millie out in the pasture. She would let Millie stand at the gate, but every time Millie walked out onto the grass, Jazzy would run her back.

At one point, Millie got brave and charged down the fence line to the other end of the pasture. I lost sight of them, then shortly, Millie came SCREAMING back to the barn and Jazzy stood at the gate with her ears pinned. The point was clearly understood, and Millie didn't leave the relative safety of the barn for the rest of the day.