Tough Love Season

Tis the season for tough love when you are a horse owner!

Spring is around the corner - the weather is changing - everyone wants to be out.....

But for the horses, this is what I call 'Tough Love Season'!

They want so badly to be out kicking up their heels, rolling off those shedding winter coats and nibbling on the fresh sprouts of Spring grass.



However, if they were out kick up their heels and nibbling up that fresh spring grass, there'd be no nice, lush field of green come July. And though they are rather pissy with me right now - they'd be beyond pissy come July ...or June....or August, if all they had was a dirt pasture to stand in and pass the time!





So though they stand with long faces and 'feel sorry for me looks', it is tough love keeping them in on these nice days. It is what is better for them [and their summer sanity] in the long run :)

*I should note, too, that they still get out of their stalls :) We take them on strolls through the orchard and let them nibble some grass. Whenever it seems 'decent' out in terms of how muddy it is, they do get to romp around in their 'sacrifice pasture'. And Gypsy, my precious old gal, gets run of the barn aisle during the day while we are at work to ensure she gets those legs stretched!

The First Snowfall

This morning the snow finally started falling! I am not sure who was happier; the horses or the husband!!

The horses have been dying to get out for a good romp. They have been out here and there over the past 2 weeks, but not very long as the pastures have just been a complete swamp to the point where they were sinking as they stood!



Notice Apollo on the left, other side of the fence, in this photo. And you can barely see Gypsy's head on the right. She has no ambition to romp around like a nut with the rest of them :)



I love Romeo's mane in this picture!

Ahh, Peace & Snow!



Sad, Heartbreaking, Poor Horses

Ok, my heart is just breaking :( I receive so many emails for horses needing homes :( And what hurts even more is the reasons these horses need homes and the almost certain futures I know many of them will face. Here are two I received recently that break me. I took out names of horses and parts of the emails....but you'll get the drift.

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First Email:

I have a wonderful horse named --- whom I rescued back in 2005 and have been working with as much as possible ever since. However, my husband and I are moving to [out of state] and there is just no way we can afford to take him with us. I have tried selling him but haven't had much luck since he is still a work in progress. When I rescued him, you couldn't even touch him. To keep him from going to a meat market I bought him for 800 an started working with him with a friend of this lady's that helped me for several months. Later I hired a trainer for him that worked on him daily starting with desensitization all the way to riding him. I have seen dramatic improvements in him but I will say that he must be worked with daily in order to stay ridable. He is now very calm horse and he absolutely LOVES kids, but he is still skiddish when it comes to anything involving a saddle or bridle. He is a VERY smart horse and knows that if he pushes his weight around he will often get his way, so he'll need a stubborn owner.

Anywho, I was hoping I could ... talk to you about giving --- to you. I have a feeling that if I leave him where he is he will end up at a meat facility the first month board isn't paid. We are moving in early February and would like him to be out of his current barn by the end of January if at all possible. I believe that to the right person he will make an amazing partner and it truly breaks my heart to leave him behind, but I really don't have any other options

This email pulls so badly at my heart strings because this horse reminds me so much of my Apollo. And this owner is right; this horse NEEDS to find the RIGHT person otherwise, if it is lucky enough to end up with someone instead of on a trailer destined to be meat, if it isn't the right person, it will continue to find itself in these sad, sad situations. ;( And what also kills me is, the way I read this, it sounds to me that when they have to move, they move. And the horse stays behind. And the owner knows full well what will most likely happen to this horse. This owner has had this horse for 5 years!!!! How can you just walk away; turn your back. I am sure they don't want to and I am sure they probably wouldn't chose this if they could, but still??? How can you just walk away like you never knew this horse, let alone for 5 years? How can you just ABANDON IT???? To me, it is the same as moving and leaving your dog or cat locked up in your old, abandoned house!?

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Second Email:

I am in a very tough situation in needing to find a new home for my horse. She had a bad accident in her stall almost 4 weeks ago. She got cast at some point at night and kicked through the wall. Her legs had some major trauma to them and the right hind leg is still trying to recover since an infection has set in. I have had major vet bills and from all of this I am unable to afford to keep her and don't have the help, time, or experience to deal with the condition of her leg. She needs her leg to have special care with antibitiocs, dressing, and wrapping for a couple of months. Let me know if your facility would be able to help with her rehab or know of someone that can help, since I am no longer able to support her.

This email kills me. Someone took on the responsibility of owning a horse, and then when the horse got hurt and racked up medical bills, the owner bails. Most people DON'T have the time or experience (or money) to care for medical issues, but you LEARN. You MAKE the time. This horse has given it's all, I am sure, to this person, and now, when this horse needs it's owner most, the owner deserts it. HEARTBREAKING. And if I had to bet, once the owner washes their hands of this horse, somewhere down the line, maybe soon, maybe later, this owner will get another horse. And if the horse comes up lame, can't be ridden, or has any other issue, they will do the same thing - pawn it off on someone else.

Farrier Visit

The Farrier was out last night to give the horses their pedicures! He used to live a few houses down from us and so he'd just walk over. Recently however, he moved, and now has about an hour buggy drive to our place - but god bless him, he still comes out! That is more than I can say for farriers whose horse power is an engine term!!

Farriers are hard to come by anymore it seems; at least good farriers that is. There is an old saying "No Hoof, No Horse" -- though strong, large creatures, they are yet so fragile. And the hoof is a serious issue on the horse. If the hooves are not healthy, the horse is not healthy. My Amish farrier does a pretty good job and he still comes after he moved an hour [buggy drive time] away so I can't complain!

I keep my horses barefoot; their is no need for them to have shoes. While each of them have completely different hooves, they all have healthy enough hooves to be barefoot...and I am sure they appreciate that!

Apollo has hooves of steel! Aside from a small hoof issue we battled when I first adopted him, that resulted in my having to actually purchase boots for him to wear when he was turned out in the spring time {mud}, his hooves seem to withstand ANYTHING! Gypsy is our problem child when it comes to hooves, and I use that term lightly since they really aren't a 'problem'. She has a softer hoof though and they are rather flat too. Hers chip a lot easier and since she insists on standing her back hooves where she poo's we battle thrush a tad more with her. (Thrush is a bacterial 'infection' of sorts that is not uncommon at all, but if left untreated, can become a major problem for the horse)

Romeo is like a mini Apollo; hooves of steel on a smaller scale ;) And Daisy.....well, the farrier came out this time with a special pair of newly purchased "mini nippers" to use on her since her hooves are the size of tic-tacs compares to Apollo & Gypsy's!

I always ask questions about the horses 'Joe' brings. Last time he rode over on his stallion - boy was he BEAUTIFUL and HUGE. This time, he hitched up his 'family mare'; she is a 7 year old Standardbred. Originally to be a track horse, she wasn't fast enough and Joe bought her from her track owners at 2. She was a doll. She was huge and gorgeous with mule-like ears that Standardbreds often seem to have and her eyes pierced my soul; she was kind and gentle. And she stood there, hitched, without having to be tied as well. What an angel. She can retire on my farm if she wants ;)

And this is a picture of Apollo getting his pedicure with the dark Standardbred mare & buggy in the background. You will notice Amish always have dark bay or black colored horses pull their buggy's. (Not their work/draft horses, as those are Belgian's a lot of times, which are lighter colored horses). I don't know why it is with the dark colored buggy horses and I didn't want to ask...well, I did want to ask, but I refrained! Allen thought this picture looked funny and odd with a stark white horse against the backdrop of an Amish buggy & horse :) You probably won't ever see an Amish buggy horse ;)

Horses

Bear with me. I am not sure where this post is going......

Horses are so strong and courageous. So large and mighty. So powerful and graceful. Yet, so fragile and dependent. So touchy and complex. So intricate and complicated.

Horses teach you patience's. Horses test your patients. Horses teach you strength, and test your strength. Horses prove you wrong. Horses show your true colors. Horses teach you who YOU are.

Peaceful. Complex. Grace. Beauty. Strength. Wisdom [Yes, I believe horses have wisdom]

Bliss. Power. Teacher.
Horses teach you things you never knew about yourself.


Emotion. Personality. Feelings.
Fear. Apprehension. Doubt.
Courage.


Ah yes, so many emotions. One large animal. One captivating scent. One girl hooked forever.