Wow! It has been almost 2 months since my last post. I have been very busy bringing up Velvet. All has been rather well. No horse catastrophes so far. Velvet suffered a small cut on her hind leg and it seems to be healing well. I have suffered from a few nips, but that is becoming a thing of the past and tonight when I was training Velvet she stepped right on my foot. Ouch! Velvet has grown and changed so much. She is on her third round of shedding. Since she has been here she has gone from bay to an almost white Grey color and now she is roaning into her summer coat. The in between stages were funny.
Velvet is now about 14 hands and almost 1 year old. Her trust in me is improving greatly. We were having hoof lifting/holding issues, but this seems to be improving greatly. She seemed to be missing trust, but since she has come around she is like a different horse. We have been working on training "over", "Side"(my cue for her to move only her front legs sideways), picking up objects, "Yes" and "No". We did a little lunging and play follow the leader around the field, at last I am the leader! lol! I used to follow her around the pasture. I am excited that she is a quick learner and look forward to trick training her this year.
Velvet has become a life saver for me and I cannot begin to say how much enjoyment I get from her presence.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Spring is on It's Way...I Think?
Yesterday the weather was 60 F and today it is in the teens. We had a lot of fun yesterday, playing and frolicking, but this morning as the temperatures began to drop we prepared for an extra cold night. The low will be in the single digits.
In the warmth of the day I felt like a wild life photographer trying to capture pictures of a wild horse with out getting hit with a flying hoof. She was excited to play and really went all out, my favorite shot was a frontal of Velvet bucking, but it was a little blurry, since I was scrambling to stay out of her reach.
During the week I only see Velvet in the light of the barn and some subtle things go unnoticed, such as how much she has grown and the changes in her coat of many colors. She has been shedding all week and Saturday morning in the daylight I could really see how much she is changing. She is shedding out to a beautiful light roan, but in patches all over the place. Her face hairs are roaning a lot and over her back she has reached all light roan, except over her rump, which is also lightening up slowly. Her tail is almost all silver on the top and the rest is black. Luckily the new light roan hairs are still long, not as long as her baby hair, but will still protect her for tonight's cold weather. According to the forecast we will have 2 very chilly days and then another warm up. I hope the goats can stay warm during this short cold spell, goats just do not acclimate well to sudden drops temperature. I added 2 bales of straw to the barn over top of the wood pellets, so the goats could snuggle deep. I also have a heated water tub outside for all of the animals, but the wind today has been so cold I felt like my cheeks were freezing off. I have been carrying bucket after bucket of warm water to the barn so that everyone will get plenty of water without being frozen in mid step going to the tub. It is also a great way to monitor who is drinking and how much and from the amount of water I have been carrying today it seems that everyone is drinking well. I will carry one more bucket tonight and then throughout the night after the bucket freezes then they will have to venture out, but given it will only be about a 6 hour time span until I bring new warm water it is likely they will snuggle down and won't drink too much if at all during the night.
Last week I did my due diligence and researched at least 20 articles on different techniques for hoof lifting. Funny how some articles said one thing and others said something completely different and contradicting, which left me at a loss for why my Velvet was acting so strangely when I pick up her hooves. She is a very willing giver, but consistently slammed down her hoof as soon as I picked it up, she got very nervous in the backend and would raise her head and I could tell she was thinking of kicking out by the swishing of her tail. During grooming I brush and touch her legs and hooves all over and she is relaxed and falling asleep, but when I actually start lifting she becomes a nervous wreck. I did not have this problem with my colt 27 years ago, so I pondered on it for quite a while. We even had an episode where Velvet tried to walk away while I was holding her hoof, she almost fell to her knees, but I released the leg I was holding and she regained her balance. She started to lick and chew, but through research I have also found that there are various opinions on what the horse is doing. I agree with the one theory that says the horse may or may not have learned something, but she IS thinking over what just happened, good or bad. In Velvet's case I feel as though she realized that I would give back her foot if she was in danger, since many horses fear their leg will not be released when they need it, causing hoof lifting issues. Since that time, I have held Velvet's hooves longer and she relaxes a little. We still have a long way to go to be ready for the farrier, but now she is not threatening to walk away or kick out. She is big and gangley and I certainly can't blame her for feeling unbalanced and nervous on 3 legs.
In the warmth of the day I felt like a wild life photographer trying to capture pictures of a wild horse with out getting hit with a flying hoof. She was excited to play and really went all out, my favorite shot was a frontal of Velvet bucking, but it was a little blurry, since I was scrambling to stay out of her reach.
During the week I only see Velvet in the light of the barn and some subtle things go unnoticed, such as how much she has grown and the changes in her coat of many colors. She has been shedding all week and Saturday morning in the daylight I could really see how much she is changing. She is shedding out to a beautiful light roan, but in patches all over the place. Her face hairs are roaning a lot and over her back she has reached all light roan, except over her rump, which is also lightening up slowly. Her tail is almost all silver on the top and the rest is black. Luckily the new light roan hairs are still long, not as long as her baby hair, but will still protect her for tonight's cold weather. According to the forecast we will have 2 very chilly days and then another warm up. I hope the goats can stay warm during this short cold spell, goats just do not acclimate well to sudden drops temperature. I added 2 bales of straw to the barn over top of the wood pellets, so the goats could snuggle deep. I also have a heated water tub outside for all of the animals, but the wind today has been so cold I felt like my cheeks were freezing off. I have been carrying bucket after bucket of warm water to the barn so that everyone will get plenty of water without being frozen in mid step going to the tub. It is also a great way to monitor who is drinking and how much and from the amount of water I have been carrying today it seems that everyone is drinking well. I will carry one more bucket tonight and then throughout the night after the bucket freezes then they will have to venture out, but given it will only be about a 6 hour time span until I bring new warm water it is likely they will snuggle down and won't drink too much if at all during the night.
Last week I did my due diligence and researched at least 20 articles on different techniques for hoof lifting. Funny how some articles said one thing and others said something completely different and contradicting, which left me at a loss for why my Velvet was acting so strangely when I pick up her hooves. She is a very willing giver, but consistently slammed down her hoof as soon as I picked it up, she got very nervous in the backend and would raise her head and I could tell she was thinking of kicking out by the swishing of her tail. During grooming I brush and touch her legs and hooves all over and she is relaxed and falling asleep, but when I actually start lifting she becomes a nervous wreck. I did not have this problem with my colt 27 years ago, so I pondered on it for quite a while. We even had an episode where Velvet tried to walk away while I was holding her hoof, she almost fell to her knees, but I released the leg I was holding and she regained her balance. She started to lick and chew, but through research I have also found that there are various opinions on what the horse is doing. I agree with the one theory that says the horse may or may not have learned something, but she IS thinking over what just happened, good or bad. In Velvet's case I feel as though she realized that I would give back her foot if she was in danger, since many horses fear their leg will not be released when they need it, causing hoof lifting issues. Since that time, I have held Velvet's hooves longer and she relaxes a little. We still have a long way to go to be ready for the farrier, but now she is not threatening to walk away or kick out. She is big and gangley and I certainly can't blame her for feeling unbalanced and nervous on 3 legs.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Good Days and Not so Good Days
Lately, Velvet has seemed very bored. The goats are very limited in playing the way she wants and the ground has been snow covered. Velvet is chewing on anything she can chew on, window frames, doors, you name it! She is becoming quite bold also, trying to walk all over me and trying to play rough horse games. What do I do? Well, first I decided she is not getting enough training attention. So for starters I took her out on a long lead rope and started teaching her to lunge only for about five minutes walking and trotting, bucking and jumping...she was not used to giving to the halter at a long distance and I now have a sore elbow from hanging on when she exploded. Still it was a good thing. We went to the barn for grooming and more training. Velvet is very good at backing and she is pretty good at moving her hind quarters away from me when I ask her, she even side passed a step when I applied light pressure to both her hindquarters and also her shoulder. I am very proud of her! She is also very good at stepping toward me when I say "step forward" while using a "come here" hand motion. Sounds silly, but she will be in great shape if she goes deaf! By the way, my not deaf Dalmatian also responds very well to hand signals. "whoa" is still fantastic even from a distance, once she starts saddle training "whoa" combined with seat pressure will make her a fine stopper!
Hooves are another story. She still has reservations about holding them up after she picks them up, but I see her improvements. Her front far side is the main trouble here. She is good all the way around until I get to the right front leg that is when she wants to take a step into me, but we are working on that. She is also learning to "stand", which to me and her is standing quietly and not chewing or playing. I found that snapping my fingers on her near side at her chin immediately stops any chewing activity. Funny, though, this has not worked from the far side, so when I am on her far side I simply reach under her chin and snap my fingers on the near side and she stops and stands quietly. I found that she learns much better from a small gesture such as snapping my fingers far more than a small swat on the neck as a matter of fact she gets cranky. I feel much better this way. Man handling is not an option, nor do I believe in it. She is approaching 14 hands starting her 9th month and I am 5'3". I am NO match for her! We are also working on tying. I have found a unique way to tie her and if she would become frighted she could easily pull free. I place her lead rope over the bottom of the dutch door and place it near the hinge end. This way she gets some tension when she pulls back, but if she gets frightened I can easily release the rope.
Overall she is doing very well with the somewhat limited time I have been able to spend with her. She is a giant cutie!
Hooves are another story. She still has reservations about holding them up after she picks them up, but I see her improvements. Her front far side is the main trouble here. She is good all the way around until I get to the right front leg that is when she wants to take a step into me, but we are working on that. She is also learning to "stand", which to me and her is standing quietly and not chewing or playing. I found that snapping my fingers on her near side at her chin immediately stops any chewing activity. Funny, though, this has not worked from the far side, so when I am on her far side I simply reach under her chin and snap my fingers on the near side and she stops and stands quietly. I found that she learns much better from a small gesture such as snapping my fingers far more than a small swat on the neck as a matter of fact she gets cranky. I feel much better this way. Man handling is not an option, nor do I believe in it. She is approaching 14 hands starting her 9th month and I am 5'3". I am NO match for her! We are also working on tying. I have found a unique way to tie her and if she would become frighted she could easily pull free. I place her lead rope over the bottom of the dutch door and place it near the hinge end. This way she gets some tension when she pulls back, but if she gets frightened I can easily release the rope.
Overall she is doing very well with the somewhat limited time I have been able to spend with her. She is a giant cutie!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Boosters and Health Check
Last Friday was vet day again and I was prepared. I had a list of questions and could hardly wait to get them answered. Let me back up to the week before last. Almost 2 weeks ago on Friday night I went to feed Velvet her last meal of the day, but she refused her feed, she seemed very tense and I could see fear in her eyes. Needless to say I felt panic creep over me, but I did not lose my head. My first thought was early onset of colic even though she was not showing any normal signs. I thought what will I do, but then I knew, she was still standing so we went walking and walking turned into trotting and then trotting turned into a playful horse who was bouncing around at the end of the lead rope. Happy that she bounced back to normal, but concerned, because I still was not sure what had happened. I only fed Velvet a nibble of feed, since it could have been colic related and allowed her access to hay and water. I went to bed uneasy and went out to check on her 3 hours later and she was still fine. Velvet was fine all weekend and if you have read the previous post she was jumping off the foundation wall.
Monday morning I made an appointment with the vet to get Velvet's boosters and prepare my list. Friday morning was the big day! The vet came and I explained the incident and the vet's first thought was choke. As soon as she said that I knew that was it. I had seen that fearful look in my old mare years ago when she had choke. Anyway, the vet said make a warm mash out of her feed and then proceeded to check her throat. The vet discovered an unusual bump on the larynx tube. She went on to explain that she thought one of the rings on the Larynx may have been crushed due to a hard blow, so I will be feeling it periodically looking for any changes as time passes. Continuing with her exam, the vet checked her hernia situation and as I suspected it has not changed and there is a little fluid sac, very small, which may be permanent. The vet offered another option for hernia treatment if Velvet did not grow out of the hernia, so to speak. This treatment consists of injecting the area with an irritant causing the tissue to grow closed. I read about this and I think I prefer this option over surgery, but it has its own set of risks, but there is still time for the hole to grow closed, so I will just keep rubbing the area and hope that it closes on its own in the meantime. Alright 2 questions down and a couple more to go. Next was leaping off the foundation and will it cause damage? Velvet did not demonstrate while the vet was there, but we discussed the possibility of injury being so young, so we are resolving the matter by filling in the drop off. I already have it half way filled in and hopefully the rest of the way done this weekend. My other questions answered themselves just through normal communication with my vet. From day one my vet did not care for the name I chose for Velvet, but I liked it and it suits her well, so I did not care in the least. This was my vet's second trip to see Velvet and as she petted Velvet she rubbed her fur the wrong way showing the funny pale blue coloring under her sparse bay top coat and she smiled and said she had a beautiful color like her own mare. She went on to explain that her mare was the same when she was younger and looked so pretty when she moved, because the muscle movement was exaggerated by the hair movement which showed the light undercoat. Velvet got her boosters without too much fuss and we headed to the truck for the bill. While we were there my vet pulled out her phone and showed me her two horses and while she wrote the bill I sent to get the pictures that I had. First I showed her how skinny Velvet was the day I brought her home and then I showed her Velvet's parents, finally the best photo of all. The photo from the website that I chose Velvet from. She studied it for a moment and said what everyone says when they see this picture..."Are you sure you got the right horse?" I always say of course, there was not another foal on the website that had those black knees! Velvet has really changed since her first photo. Check out the slide show and the pictures in my blog for Velvet when she was still in Canada and what she looks like now.
Monday morning I made an appointment with the vet to get Velvet's boosters and prepare my list. Friday morning was the big day! The vet came and I explained the incident and the vet's first thought was choke. As soon as she said that I knew that was it. I had seen that fearful look in my old mare years ago when she had choke. Anyway, the vet said make a warm mash out of her feed and then proceeded to check her throat. The vet discovered an unusual bump on the larynx tube. She went on to explain that she thought one of the rings on the Larynx may have been crushed due to a hard blow, so I will be feeling it periodically looking for any changes as time passes. Continuing with her exam, the vet checked her hernia situation and as I suspected it has not changed and there is a little fluid sac, very small, which may be permanent. The vet offered another option for hernia treatment if Velvet did not grow out of the hernia, so to speak. This treatment consists of injecting the area with an irritant causing the tissue to grow closed. I read about this and I think I prefer this option over surgery, but it has its own set of risks, but there is still time for the hole to grow closed, so I will just keep rubbing the area and hope that it closes on its own in the meantime. Alright 2 questions down and a couple more to go. Next was leaping off the foundation and will it cause damage? Velvet did not demonstrate while the vet was there, but we discussed the possibility of injury being so young, so we are resolving the matter by filling in the drop off. I already have it half way filled in and hopefully the rest of the way done this weekend. My other questions answered themselves just through normal communication with my vet. From day one my vet did not care for the name I chose for Velvet, but I liked it and it suits her well, so I did not care in the least. This was my vet's second trip to see Velvet and as she petted Velvet she rubbed her fur the wrong way showing the funny pale blue coloring under her sparse bay top coat and she smiled and said she had a beautiful color like her own mare. She went on to explain that her mare was the same when she was younger and looked so pretty when she moved, because the muscle movement was exaggerated by the hair movement which showed the light undercoat. Velvet got her boosters without too much fuss and we headed to the truck for the bill. While we were there my vet pulled out her phone and showed me her two horses and while she wrote the bill I sent to get the pictures that I had. First I showed her how skinny Velvet was the day I brought her home and then I showed her Velvet's parents, finally the best photo of all. The photo from the website that I chose Velvet from. She studied it for a moment and said what everyone says when they see this picture..."Are you sure you got the right horse?" I always say of course, there was not another foal on the website that had those black knees! Velvet has really changed since her first photo. Check out the slide show and the pictures in my blog for Velvet when she was still in Canada and what she looks like now.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Circus Horse, Eventer or Mountain Goat?
I am sure every foal owner wonders what their horse is going to turn out like. Foals can completely change colors as they grow into adults and they are almost always growing this way and that, but what about personality and performance? If you have an adopted crossbred foal with little to no background you have a guessing game on all counts. Velvet is rather dark bay in color right now with a very light under coat and some roaning, but last summer her photo showed her as a very light bay roan with a lot of blue and I was told she was born black. This summer I suspect she will lighten up considerably, especially since she is already starting to lighten up and it is only January. I can guess from her current build what she may be suitable for, but cannot say for sure what she could fulfill, well until today.
Today like any other day I did the morning chores and spent quality time with Velvet and the goats. As I watched Velvet doing her own thing she came to the edge of the old barn foundation, which I have seen her jump down from one other time. It is a short drop to the ground, about 25", but I would not have thought she would have made jumping off into a habit, let alone trying to climb back up the same way she came off, which I stopped immediately. She would surely hurt herself trying to climb up. She obeyed my action to stop her from climbing back up and all was well. I went into the house to do some work and as the clock ticked by it was time to make lunch. While I was making lunch I kept watching her out the window. The goats had all laid down to chew their cuds and Sunny just happen to lay directly below the foundation wall where Velvet has jumped from. The goats are all rather large, Sunny being the largest at 36" shoulder height and a very high head set. Velvet, likely bored with the resting goats stood at the edge of the foundation looking down. Then in a split second she jumped down right where Sunny is laying. All I could do was gasp as I watched her clear Sunny with no effort at all! Sunny never moved an inch as a matter of fact I am not sure that he even noticed. What a potential catastrophe that could have been if Velvet had landed on Sunny or if he became startled and leaped up. It turned out well and was quite impressive. She is unshakable and is appearing to be a natural of something, but that is the question. Is she a natural at imitating the goats jumping off the wall? Is she a born trick horse? Is she an eventer, fearless and brave? I guess I will not truly know for some time, but I do know I will not be setting any jumps up where she can get to them for fear she will free jump just for fun while she is still too young. I can say for sure that the unknowing is always exciting with Velvet. She is always doing something out of the ordinary. I can barely wait to find out what riding her reveals.
Today like any other day I did the morning chores and spent quality time with Velvet and the goats. As I watched Velvet doing her own thing she came to the edge of the old barn foundation, which I have seen her jump down from one other time. It is a short drop to the ground, about 25", but I would not have thought she would have made jumping off into a habit, let alone trying to climb back up the same way she came off, which I stopped immediately. She would surely hurt herself trying to climb up. She obeyed my action to stop her from climbing back up and all was well. I went into the house to do some work and as the clock ticked by it was time to make lunch. While I was making lunch I kept watching her out the window. The goats had all laid down to chew their cuds and Sunny just happen to lay directly below the foundation wall where Velvet has jumped from. The goats are all rather large, Sunny being the largest at 36" shoulder height and a very high head set. Velvet, likely bored with the resting goats stood at the edge of the foundation looking down. Then in a split second she jumped down right where Sunny is laying. All I could do was gasp as I watched her clear Sunny with no effort at all! Sunny never moved an inch as a matter of fact I am not sure that he even noticed. What a potential catastrophe that could have been if Velvet had landed on Sunny or if he became startled and leaped up. It turned out well and was quite impressive. She is unshakable and is appearing to be a natural of something, but that is the question. Is she a natural at imitating the goats jumping off the wall? Is she a born trick horse? Is she an eventer, fearless and brave? I guess I will not truly know for some time, but I do know I will not be setting any jumps up where she can get to them for fear she will free jump just for fun while she is still too young. I can say for sure that the unknowing is always exciting with Velvet. She is always doing something out of the ordinary. I can barely wait to find out what riding her reveals.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Unseasonably Warm
January south western Pennsylvania has been in the 20's and 30's for as long as I can remember, but not this year! The weather is unseasonable warm. We reached at least 56 F today and the air is really damp. By Tuesday we are supposed to hit 60 and back in the 40s the next day. I can't complain, because I am not a cold weather person. Velvet not only has a winter coat, but also baby fur. She was feeling a bit warm on her chest and oh my, she and the goats are just starting to shed! Seeing this makes e want cold weather soon, because we usually have rather cold weather from January through March. I have seen a foot of snow and below zero temperatures in mid March.
Seizing the moment, I spent a lot of not so painfully cold time outside with the horse and goats. Since it was wet the goats just hung around near the barn, but Velvet obliged and went out in the field with me to play a little bit. She was not as active as other days being that it has not been this warm since I got her. Since it was so warm I was able to spend quality time with Velvet, just sitting with her outside while she ate her hay and walked with her grazing. I want to create a deep bond with her. She is not just a horse to ride. I want her to be a faithful companion. I want her to trust me fully. Trust takes the human and horse bond a long way and is well worth it.
At 10:30pm I did my last feeding. At this point I bring Velvet inside for the night and the goats are usually already in, but since it was so warm the goats were laying just outside the barn, but as soon as I appeared they ran inside. Velvet on the other hand was outside somewhere and she was the one I needed to feed. I found Velvet as she nickered when she heard me call her. She was a about 150 feet away from the barn. I walked out to feed her and planned to walk her right in, but after she ate and before I could do anything she turned and hurriedly walked the other direction, so I figured I would bring out the hay, get Velvet's halter and bring her in. Normally, I just use a lead rope around her neck or nothing at all, but tonight was different. I got the hay and as I was putting it in the rack I noticed one of my goats was startled. It was Velvet, she came running back to the barn door and was standing outside. I walked outside with just the lead rope and she seemed startled and a little nervous. I brought her inside and she practically trotted in, which is unusual. Once the door was shut Velvet was still feeling edgy. I talked to her and she nosed me and started to relax enough to munch on hay. I guess she thought she was brave while I was out there in the dark with her, but once everyone was inside she was not so brave. I was very happy to see that she felt some peace once I talked to her and petted her. All is well now.
Seizing the moment, I spent a lot of not so painfully cold time outside with the horse and goats. Since it was wet the goats just hung around near the barn, but Velvet obliged and went out in the field with me to play a little bit. She was not as active as other days being that it has not been this warm since I got her. Since it was so warm I was able to spend quality time with Velvet, just sitting with her outside while she ate her hay and walked with her grazing. I want to create a deep bond with her. She is not just a horse to ride. I want her to be a faithful companion. I want her to trust me fully. Trust takes the human and horse bond a long way and is well worth it.
At 10:30pm I did my last feeding. At this point I bring Velvet inside for the night and the goats are usually already in, but since it was so warm the goats were laying just outside the barn, but as soon as I appeared they ran inside. Velvet on the other hand was outside somewhere and she was the one I needed to feed. I found Velvet as she nickered when she heard me call her. She was a about 150 feet away from the barn. I walked out to feed her and planned to walk her right in, but after she ate and before I could do anything she turned and hurriedly walked the other direction, so I figured I would bring out the hay, get Velvet's halter and bring her in. Normally, I just use a lead rope around her neck or nothing at all, but tonight was different. I got the hay and as I was putting it in the rack I noticed one of my goats was startled. It was Velvet, she came running back to the barn door and was standing outside. I walked outside with just the lead rope and she seemed startled and a little nervous. I brought her inside and she practically trotted in, which is unusual. Once the door was shut Velvet was still feeling edgy. I talked to her and she nosed me and started to relax enough to munch on hay. I guess she thought she was brave while I was out there in the dark with her, but once everyone was inside she was not so brave. I was very happy to see that she felt some peace once I talked to her and petted her. All is well now.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Mucking Fun!
Mucking out. What wonderful exercise, bending, stretching walking, pushing, pulling, fresh air, and lifting. I am a 5'3" light weight, but I am surprisingly strong, well I have to be or else I could never carry on the way I do cleaning the barn, baling hay and carrying 50 pounds of animal feed around. For some mucking out a stall or barn is a big chore, but for me it is a ritual. I clean wet and dirty spots every evening after work and then the weekend comes and I am out there doing a thorough cleaning and add new bedding to replace anything foul that I missed in the dim barn light. It is a part of what I do. This morning I woke up really quite tired and wondered how I was going to do my extensive barn cleaning, but once I got out there I forgot all about being tired. I feel very happy when I walk inside the barn after a thorough cleaning. What a great accomplishment!
Today I stopped to pick up some more bedding pellets and as I lifted the 40 pound bags I noticed they seemed lighter than before. It has been almost two months since I started using the pellets and when I first started lifting those bags they felt heavy, especially since I was lifting several in one session, but now my muscles have gotten accustomed to the weight making my life a little easier.
Velvet, my filly and the three goats love Saturday barn cleaning. First all four are sent outside to stay out until I am finished, otherwise I could not clean with everyone under foot. I tried that and it definitely does not work! They all take turns coming to the door and check on my progress. First the goats stand on the edge of the door frame and eyeball me until I pay some attention to them, then Velvet comes over, hangs her head over the door patiently waiting to come inside and roll. As soon as the door is opened they all rush in. The first thing Velvet does is lay down and roll, she really likes the pellets, apparently they make good back scratchers.
Overall of course I would rather be riding, but a clean barn makes for happy, healthy animals. Besides, I cannot ride the goats or Velvet for that matter being that she is just 9 months old. Don't forget the added bonus of mucking...focus and all your stress goes away!
Today I stopped to pick up some more bedding pellets and as I lifted the 40 pound bags I noticed they seemed lighter than before. It has been almost two months since I started using the pellets and when I first started lifting those bags they felt heavy, especially since I was lifting several in one session, but now my muscles have gotten accustomed to the weight making my life a little easier.
Velvet, my filly and the three goats love Saturday barn cleaning. First all four are sent outside to stay out until I am finished, otherwise I could not clean with everyone under foot. I tried that and it definitely does not work! They all take turns coming to the door and check on my progress. First the goats stand on the edge of the door frame and eyeball me until I pay some attention to them, then Velvet comes over, hangs her head over the door patiently waiting to come inside and roll. As soon as the door is opened they all rush in. The first thing Velvet does is lay down and roll, she really likes the pellets, apparently they make good back scratchers.
Overall of course I would rather be riding, but a clean barn makes for happy, healthy animals. Besides, I cannot ride the goats or Velvet for that matter being that she is just 9 months old. Don't forget the added bonus of mucking...focus and all your stress goes away!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Home Life
Since Velvet has come home she had a lot of adjustments to make. She was no longer a member of a herd of horses, but instead appointed the herd leader of three companion goats, Trouble, Sunny and Peanut. They had been impatiently waiting for a new leader after Snow my older horse went to Rainbow Bridge last spring. For the most part the goats feel very safe when a horse is around. Velvet does not seem to miss horses, but she does get bored and playfully taunts the goats.
These crazy goat critters find that it is an easy short cut to duck under the horse. I guess they know the concept of a shortcut being a straight line! They are adjusting pretty well to Velvet, however Velvet is quite rambunctious and they were used to the gentle giant. When Velvet gets bored and wants to play she goes in the barn and rounds the goats up, herds them out and gets all excited as the goats run for their lives (lol, not exactly). It is comical to watch and so far so good, everyone is happy and healthy. Velvet is 13 hands entering her 9th month and she has no idea how powerful she is, but she is learning.
In her new home Velvet has plenty of space to play and let off steam, however she tends to make a couple laps around the field returning to the barn and her buddies after each lap. While Velvet wants to return to her safety zone she has proven to be a reckless horse with more guts than she should have. She has run up a 4 foot pile of old hay run down the other side and jumped off the end of the old foundation, about 2 1/2 foot drop, that is in her pasture. Hmmm...She may be the ideal event horse when she grows up, if she does not get seriously hurt in her crazy play.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Let Me Introduce Myself
I literally have spent my entire life with horses. I feel I have a better understanding of the inter workings of horses than humans and communicate better with the horses also. I grew up on a small farm in Pennsylvania with a school teacher father and a nurse mother. I love my parents deeply, but they never quite seemed to understand my deep passion for horses, but they did their best to continue to allow me to have horses in my life growing up. I have three siblings, two older brothers and one older sister. My father purchased two ponies for the older siblings and the rest is history.
I was sat on a pony before I could even walk and have never stopped since. When I was 1 1/2 years old my oldest brother was holding one of our ponies by the lead rope with me on board. This was normal play time fun, but today had a twist in it that may have locked in my love of horses forever. My Aunt and Uncle had brought my cousins for pony rides, but were packing up to leave. Being an unsuspecting toddler I happily sat on my fuzzy steed watching them drive away. Within seconds my Fuzzy mount turned into a Thoroughbred race horse! She broke loose from my brother's hold and bolted chasing the car. I could hear chaos behind me with my mother screeching in fear and my father yelling stop the car!!! What I remember is seeing the lead rope flapping around, the wind on my face and fear of the unknown. I can still see my terrified father running to try to catch me and my runaway, Goldie. Then the car stopped and so did Goldie. My father pulled me off Goldie's back. Not remembering much else of the incident firsthand, my parents were able to tell me I never shed a tear that day and continued to beg to ride. From that day on I pleaded with my mother to let me ride on my own in the fields and finally that day came when I was 5 years old. A day I will never forget!
Some 30 odd years later I have devoted my spare time to share my experiences with horses, write horse articles and care for my newly adopted Premarin filly, three goats, three cats and my beloved Dalmatian. Currently, I am running a new website that I am filling with horse resources and information. My site is becoming over run with my journal of Velvet a Premarin foal I adopted on October 31, 2007, so I have decided to blog about her and continue to fill my website with informative horse articles. Feel free to visit my site for the early stories of Velvet and how she came to live with me. I will submit one more article about Velvet on the site and the continuing stories will be part of my blog.
www.ehorseplace.com
I was sat on a pony before I could even walk and have never stopped since. When I was 1 1/2 years old my oldest brother was holding one of our ponies by the lead rope with me on board. This was normal play time fun, but today had a twist in it that may have locked in my love of horses forever. My Aunt and Uncle had brought my cousins for pony rides, but were packing up to leave. Being an unsuspecting toddler I happily sat on my fuzzy steed watching them drive away. Within seconds my Fuzzy mount turned into a Thoroughbred race horse! She broke loose from my brother's hold and bolted chasing the car. I could hear chaos behind me with my mother screeching in fear and my father yelling stop the car!!! What I remember is seeing the lead rope flapping around, the wind on my face and fear of the unknown. I can still see my terrified father running to try to catch me and my runaway, Goldie. Then the car stopped and so did Goldie. My father pulled me off Goldie's back. Not remembering much else of the incident firsthand, my parents were able to tell me I never shed a tear that day and continued to beg to ride. From that day on I pleaded with my mother to let me ride on my own in the fields and finally that day came when I was 5 years old. A day I will never forget!
Some 30 odd years later I have devoted my spare time to share my experiences with horses, write horse articles and care for my newly adopted Premarin filly, three goats, three cats and my beloved Dalmatian. Currently, I am running a new website that I am filling with horse resources and information. My site is becoming over run with my journal of Velvet a Premarin foal I adopted on October 31, 2007, so I have decided to blog about her and continue to fill my website with informative horse articles. Feel free to visit my site for the early stories of Velvet and how she came to live with me. I will submit one more article about Velvet on the site and the continuing stories will be part of my blog.
www.ehorseplace.com
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