Sale day for Gussie is almost here, and I am really happy with the way she is riding. Here is a link to the website for the sale she is entered in: Western Breeders Horse Sale. She is lot 149, and will be the twentieth horse through the sale ring on Sunday.
I made some progress with Chickory yesterday! Andee is getting quite trusting, and both duns really love their grain, so I held their grain bucket instead of tying it to the fence. Andee came right up and started eating and let me scratch her forehead. Chickory, after some hesitation, came in and nipped Andee to get her out of the way, and snatched a mouthful. After realising that I wasn't a horse-eating monster, she came back for more and even touched her nose to my hand! I think taking my time with her is going to pay off in earning her trust.
We had an electrical short in the auto-waterer recently which resulted in the mares getting a shock when they went to drink. We got it fixed right away, and with a small amount of coaxing got them to drink again. Except Coyote Belle. She was sure that waterer was an evil monster just waiting to zap her lips. After a couple of days, she still wasn't drinking, even with leading her right up to it and scooping it to her, so I resorted to grain. I put it in my hand and made her reach down to the level of the water bowl to eat it and progressed to putting the grain on the edge of the water bowl. The first day, she ate a little from there, but wouldn't drink. I watched her the next morning, and she would come up and look at it, but wouldn't drink. So I did the grain thing again, and this time put water in my hand with the grain and then put my hand right down into the water and got her to eat the grain there. Finally, she took a drink! At last! Good thing, because I couldn't think of anything else to try.
3 comments:
I'm glad that Chickory is coming along. It's always nice when they discover that you're not a monster waiting to eat them.
We had sort of the same thing happen with our cows, but they got over it within a day.
In the barnyard, we have a little off set hotwire running over the water trough and Nick somehow got his ears stuck in and it freaked him out and wouldn't drink there for a good six months. The funny thing was that fence was off at the time, he's deathly afraid of electric fencing. The next he was in that paddock, I wasn't going to pack anymore water to him. After three or four days of grain and making him stand there and eat it right next to the trough, Nick finally took a drink from.
Now he'll drink out the trough, but standing as far away as possible and stretching his neck out to drink. It's quite comical to watch.
At least you got her to drink again. Packing water would have been a lot of work. Remember you used to go to Hall Siding Creek and pack water for Black Rose and Sabre? A 5 gallon bucket in each hand to keep your balance. I watered them for you a few times when you were either gone or working. Things sure have come a long way since then, haven't they?
Yes, PMG, I'm getting too old to pack water! And I wouldn't want to go back to those bad old days....
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