As I wind my way back to health, slowly increasing what I can do each day, I am thankful for all the well wishes I have received, and work on making my plans for the winter. Mostly, I have everything all set up to be simple when it comes to chores; all hay stored indoors and small square bales instead of the big rounds that I usually buy that require the use of the tractor to move as well as pitchforking the hay into a sled or wheelbarrow to put in the desired feeding area- this year, I can just toss the required amount out into the shelter or the barn. Also- the automatic waterer is the only one needed this winter, as I won't be using the big barn where Beamer was which needed water to be pumped from the stand pipe into my insulated tank that Ted built for me. I often had to take a heat gun to the stand pipe handle to free it up when the weather got really nasty.
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Having only two horses definitely makes the work load lighter, but it sure seems odd to me.
I did find a farrier that Velvet ok'd , a young lady just starting out with barefoot trimming. Velvet loved her. Gussie tolerated her. So that is something I can check off my list- I don't have to attempt to trim the mares!
The mares got covered in deer tick bites, nasty lumps that have a yellow crust to them similar to rain rot. Vet said they are deer tick bites and to deworm with ivermectin and spray the mares with Virkon. Done. I did some research on those ticks- they aren't the kind that latch on and suck blood like the wood ticks. Apparently they like pasture with long cover as they are not fond of sunlight and don't we just have pasture with a lot of long grass and tall weeds. We are looking into getting a rough cut mower in to fix that, although it may have to wait until next spring. We are hoping that the recent numerous heavy frosts will have knocked off the ticks, which usually make their first appearance in September, so that gives us some time.
We got an update on Boe via facebook- he is doing really well and they love him. They renamed him Willy.
Also I have been getting Theo updates, he is thriving and growing. As with all the Beamer babies (like Willy) he has an exceptional mind and they have been working on getting him soft to lead- their 4 yr old daughter can lead him and it's the cutest thing- if he hits the end of the lead rope she scolds him and he softens right up to her.
I am looking to breed Gussie next year, I have a couple of choices which I will be deciding on within a couple of weeks. I will keep you updated on that!
5 comments:
It has been a long time since you had just two horses! Fun to read about Theo...he sounds wonderful!
That is just too cute about the four year old leading Theo. Love it. Boe looks great. I bet your life is a lot easier. My hard keepers were Cowboy and Little Joe, who passed within days of each other. It made my work much lighter, too, and felt very weird. We put round bales out the other day, and the horses basically take care of themselves now. Although, they are picky about rain, and like to be brought in from that.
That will be weird choosing a stud other than Beamer. I'm curious which one you'll find.
It is good to look for ways to work smarter not harder, especially during inclement weather. Nice updates on the youngsters!
Yikes! I missed you were sick. I'm glad you are back on the mend. Winter plans seem solid. Two horses will be a big change for you, but I'm a bit envious.
Two will definitely be easier. And ticks! Not my favorite. I had not heard of using Virkon. Interested to hear how that works for you.
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