Today, I’ve pretty much been worthless…
I’ve checked on the horses and cats, but mostly, I’m not sure where the time went.
I think I’ve just been in a daze, shuffling around the house looking in the wrong boxes for things I think I need.
HORSES
The horses seem to be hanging around the waterers and not venturing out around their paddocks. However, I did see that Norma Jean (the donkey) found the tree shade in her pasture first. The others followed. I could see them from my bathroom window.
Finn, BG and Wrigley found the small shade tree in their pasture, but seemed to be more interested in what the mustangs were doing.
The mustangs hung around the waterers… Gwen did find the shelter and she stayed in the shade all day. Interesting that – I thought the mustangs would stay in the shelter and Gwen would want to be around the water. I was wrong.
I have discovered two things: The ground, when wet, is like a slippery clay slide. This will be interesting during rainy season (oy). I also discovered that the ground is very sandy so I will have to figure out the best way to feed on sand. I have hay bags. And, I have Sand Clear. But I’m going to do some research.
Anyway, the great news is that no one suffered any colic.!! I swear by SayWhoa to Colic!
I can see Annie, Norma and Dodger’s shade trees from my bathroom window!
CATS
I let the cats out of the office (they were driving me crazy) and now they are hanging out in the backyard and garage. One cat, the Barn Manager, is not wanting to leave the office. So, she may just end up as the Office Manager now. She’s sitting by the window here as I type.
Here is their tree stand from the outside. Small, but it works. I added a water bucket right near them.
DOGS
Scouty was very happy. That is until Hubby brought home a new foster dog. I think Scouty wants to be the only dog. But, Hubby would like to foster dogs with some sort of trauma until he can find a dog that he feels should live with us. In the meantime, Scouty has to learn to share.
This is Finn, Wrigley and BG. They hung out here most of the day. But, they did find their shade tree. It is small, but it casts a long shadow.
BEDTIME…
I will recover soon! I have so much to do! Especially rigging more shade for Finn, BG and Wrig!
The mustangs and Gwen stayed on this side of their pasture, too, which is too bad because the other side is much prettier. Only Gwen used the shade in their shelter. ( Remi, Rojo, Sam and Gwen)
I’ve used PortAGrazers for years! A great product.
I too have a matted patio as well as stationary mangers. But my girls favorite are Port-a-Grazer. Although initially expensive, I have been using the same Port-a-Grazers for over 5 years. I have one for each horse although all are loose in the same corral. They are easy to load, very durable and the double as toys. My girls like to knock them over and over to ‘shake up’ the hay. You can also tie/clip them to a post if you don’t want to chase after them.
Thank you… but doesn’t the hay in the manger fall to the ground? I assume they put mats in the manger.
I figure I will put down mats where I feed – same as I had in grass valley. Our ground is not level so the mats will
be sliding around… but, I can move them back.
I live in sand near Tucson. My horses rarely eat from the ground. Everyone has a manger or stall matts to eat their hay or soaked pellets. I have had horses here for 13 years and have not had sand colic – knock on wood. People who allow their horses to eat from the dirt are taking a chance. My Arabian moves her manger to where she is most comfortable morning or night. The minis have stationary mangers and they fly into their stall to eat. They also have a matted patio for hay during the day. I see a lot of folks here feeding out of old tires. I have been told that the horses can ingest the metal from the radial tires. You new place is lovely and this time next year it will feel like home!!!!