the equine pantry is overflowing

I went by the feed store today to see if any of my orders had come in. She had two of my new items, and I was so eager to get them I piled the bags in the car (it's raining, so the truck was not an option) and headed home to unpack the equine groceries.

The laundry room and feed room are stuffed to the gills.

In the laundry room right now I have beet pulp pellets, alfalfa pellets (finally found the pure ones, no animal fat added!), vitamin E soft gels, l-carnitine powder, coconut oil, and something new I'm giving after de-worming called Ration Plus.

In the feed room there are more alfalfa pellets, whole oats, steam-flaked oats, whole flax seed, my mineral/vitamin mix, rice bran, wheat bran, iodized salt, and Quiessence.

I'm still waiting for the timothy balance cubes on order.

I'm fairly organized with all this stuff but it is not what I'd call convenient - when I head out to feed, I have two gallon-sized iced tea pitchers (the kind with lids that have strainers so I can rinse, soak, and then drain the beet pulp pellets), a loaf pan that serves as a deep tray for the l-carnitine powder, the coconut oil liquefying in its warm water bath, and the Vitamin E soft gels. During the winter when there's not much green out in the fields I give chopped apples and carrots with dinner, so usually the colander holds those. Now I'll be adding a container of alfalfa pellets to that, as I want them to soak a little before feeding too.

In the feed room, I have two large cans, one medium, and a number of smaller ones, so that the various items can be stored safely. I use masking tape and a black marker to label everything, and I have a small table for the very small containers and for the actual mixing.

This week I'll be adding a scale to the feed room, and a grinder for the flax.

I actually love making feed tubs, but sometimes I wish I had a dedicated space out there that had all the amenities:

A big double country kitchen sink with hot and cold water.

A refrigerator.

Airtight pull-out bins with the right size stainless steel scoops in each one.

A big white board with multi-colored markers.

A nice big island with clear space for mixing.

A smaller counter with scales and grinder.

XM radio and access to my iTunes library.

A big overstuffed chair so I could sit down.

As long as I'm dreaming, let's add a washer and dryer over in the corner.

May as well throw in a stove/oven because who knows when I might need to heat up something.

All that would be nice, but I suppose the way it is now, with Salina and the donkeys lining up outside the door, Keil Bay doing his most musical whinny across the aisle, and the quiet patience of Cody and the pony keeping the balance, is really not to be topped.

The best thing about the equines who live here is that they are very enthusiastic about mealtime, hang out with me while I prepare the tubs, and then the reward, the real music, is listening to them eat, and knowing they're each getting something they love that's also good for them, individually.

sometimes he just needs his own spot in the sun

dun gone crazy

With the ATV chaos, I forgot to write about the game my daughter and I had going yesterday while we were tacking up and then riding Cody and Keil Bay.

We have a history of this kind of game. One version - giving our animal family members and ourselves Ben and Jerry ice cream flavors. So the pony might be, for example, dark chocolate swirl with a Thelwell core.

Yesterday my daughter started coming up with what I call "Quarter Horse names." They can get pretty silly.

She decided Rafer Johnson would be "Dun Got A Dollar."

I countered with the pony. "Dun With Work."

She came back with Cody. "Dun Not A Dunce."

Yuck!

So she changed it to "Dun Lost My Money."

I decided Keil might be "Dun By the Bay."

Salina: "Dun By Midnight."

Redford: "Dun Won The Lottery."

Somehow we got off on a Charlotte's Web tangent.

What would Charlotte write about each of our herd members?

About the pony: "some pig!"

Poor Apache Moon. He puts up with a lot.

ATVs and neighbors

Did you ever hear the old saying, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?

There is only one thing I CAN say: their house is for sale and I wish them a speedy and lucrative offer.

Sigh.

trim notes for the end of winter

Our trimmer arrived at 8:30 this a.m. and since it was so cold I'd gone out early to feed breakfast tubs in hopes that everyone would be warmer as a result. I think it helps that they are not waiting for breakfast while being trimmed!

The geldings went first, and then the pony. This six weeks I not only touched up Keil Bay's hooves but I also did Cody's. So far I am making some positive difference. No one is getting long and ragged between trim times. All three had huge amounts of wall growth, and considering the wet winter we're having, they are all hanging in there wrt thrush/yeast. I have a feeling the diet balancing is going to do away with that issue once and for all. Should know by the first trim of the summer if that's indeed true.

Salina was next after the geldings, and we opted to do her trim in the little barnyard, in the warm sunshine. At one point B. was doing her hind hoof, and Rafer Johnson was behind him, resting his donkey head on B's shoulder, while Redford was in front of him, resting HIS donkey head on the other shoulder. We all got the giggles at the idea of donkeys that refuse to be caught for trimming. Ours will not leave B. alone - they get as close to him as they can, and seem to consider it a privilege to have a turn.

When trimming Rafer Johnson, B. said "if you could put what you've done with this boy in a bottle people would pay a thousand dollars for it." Rafer was standing quietly, relaxed and snorting with donkey happiness. It was a meditation in contentment. After all he went through with his broken leg, it makes me very happy to see that Rafer is so at ease with having his feet and legs handled. We tried hard to make that experience one that would have no lasting effects, and I think we have succeeded.

And I can't say enough about how much B. adds to everything we do. His demeanor is always calm and easy, he wants the process to be positive for the equines, and he goes out of his way to do things that attend to their comfort. It is not uncommon in our barn to see the horses drop their heads to lick and chew while B. is trimming. We're so grateful for that.

Redford was waiting for his turn and he too stood quietly. He was not quite as relaxed as Rafer, but you could see he was trying hard to be. Salina stood and nickered to let them know she was there, almost as if she were being an encouraging mother.

Overall, everyone is doing well and we are hopeful that when B. returns the beginning of April we might have some warmer weather!

My daughter and I came inside for cocoa and pumpkin cake. I am still not completely thawed out, but am getting there.