the other side of the coin

One of the things I love most about our little farm is what it teaches me, every single day. In the minutiae of a day's chores and meanderings bloom a hundred little lessons.

This morning I woke up to fog, and the remains of what appears to have been an all-night, deep soaking rain.

Here in the southeast, we've been in a drought situation for about a year. There have been months where the ground in our yard cracked, looking like something from another planet, due to the dryness.

We lived through a terrible flea season, a worse than usual fly season, and listened to ever-alarming news reports about the dire water situation. Hay crops dried to nothing.

But then autumn came and we witnessed one of the most spectacular show of leaves I've ever seen. Apparently one blessing in drought is that it makes for gorgeous fall color.

Every time it rains now, I rejoice, because we need it. But here on the farm, I'm also reminded of the platitude - that other side of the coin.

The horses trudged in through mud for their breakfast, and I trudged back out to the field with them throwing hay, wondering if I should really be letting them out. Their hooves tear up the field when it's so wet, and they roll and get truly coated in mud. But it's warm, and the sun keeps peeping out, and I know they want to be walking and grazing and rolling, so I let them.

I think about the thrush issue, and keeping their feet dry. Remember the dust last summer, the hard ground and arena footing. The cost of hay. The stress of finding good hay.

How can I complain too much, when either side has its difficulties? And, of course, its blessings.

This looking at both sides and dealing with what IS, right now, becomes a way of life, day by day, here at November Hill. What a gift it is.

trim notes

Our natural hoof trimmer came this morning - cold enough out that my fingers are still warming up here at the keyboard! A mug of Lady Grey should help with that!

I'm starting to pick up on subtle changes in the horses' hooves that create imbalance, and am noting what our trimmer is doing to correct them. It was a happy sight to see them all lining up in stalls instead of retreating to the far corners of the paddock. He's so easy with them, and takes such time along the way. And he brings a box of cookies so they get their treat at the end.

I'm tracking each horse very carefully and he leaves me written notes as well so we can look back as needed to see the progression.

Today, Salina had no chips and good improvement in frog growth. He balanced the walls and beveled/rolled edges. We'll continue to treat frogs with the mixture of antibiotic/antifungal ointments and do at least one borax/calendula soak over the next 6 weeks.

Cody had some fairly remarkable improvement in sole thickening all around. He needs no treatment for thrush/yeast and got edges rolled and beveled. His feet are looking the best they ever have - such a relief. This is the horse who couldn't keep a shoe on. I think he was trying to tell us he simply didn't need them! We'll soak just for preventive maintenance and to acclimate him to the soaking process.

Keil Bay had good wall growth, improved frog tissue, and his heels are spreading! No chipping or peeling, which is great. His tenderness is almost completely resolved in front. The hoof boots are helping. His walls were lowered and balanced, and edges beveled and rolled. Will continue treating with ointments and soak 1x before next trim.

Apache Moon needs treatment for yeasty frogs plus soaking 1-2x over next six weeks. Good wall growth and normal trim for his near-perfect hooves. It's those pony genes!

One extra note - our trimmer showed me how important it is to have the proper tools - his new box of rasps were made in the company's new plant. The teeth on the rasp are too sharp and pointed, making his work much harder today. Having handled a rasp and practiced with edges, I learned firsthand how a good tool makes a world of difference.

Rafer got a visual check only - he was trimmed 3 weeks ago and doesn't need one. He'll join the line-up next month.

I'm feeling so much more confident about their feet now. The lifestyle changes we've made are working well - cutting way back on processed feed, increasing to free-choice hay, spreading the hay all over the field in small piles to keep them moving all day instead of standing. And plenty of time in the arena with the screenings, which really clean and polish their feet as they move.

Projects to work on: putting pea gravel in water trough areas to give them yet another stimulating hoof terrain. And I'm working on designing a soaking station that they can stand in almost like a very shallow pool - 20 minutes with a flake of hay in a hay bag and all four feet soaked simultaneously - no buckets, quick and easy. A good thing when you have four horses.

incantation

This was yesterday's "word of the day" on the sidebar, and the word kept slipping through my mind all afternoon and evening, pure proof, if I needed any, that a word and its melodic syllables can color one's entire day.

I incanted against the extreme wind of yesterday afternoon and evening, murmuring little phrases that I hoped might calm the gusts. I incanted by tucking my head as I walked up the hill, against that strong wind, and by pursuing methodical tasks to lesson its impact in the barn: tightening a hinge, closing doors, tying a window shut. Stacking the dressage markers inside the arena so they wouldn't blow into the back field.

Each time I came inside to edit novel pages, that word, in-can-ta-shun, urged my thoughts as I read and marked with my pen and typed into my word document.

It's still with me this morning, even though the wind has gone and the sun is coming out and I have an hour to write before horses come in from hay for their breakfast, which will be its own incantation. The measuring of good -smelling feed and black oil sunflower seeds, Glanzen and vitamins and trace minerals, apples and carrots.

Incantation to thrive.

sunday morning

Horses fed and done with their morning romp, Corgyn stretched in the sun, all cats accounted for, including Dickens E. Wickens, who is having himself a Sunday morning siesta.

I still have a ton of chores to do, but I'm punctuating the day with writing time. When editing goes well, my posts on the blog increase!

I'm approaching a place in the novel I'm editing where everything shifts, and the momentum is building. My excitement is building too.

evening with horses, solo

Today when I got home from my novel-writing workshop, I went straight to the barn to finish up chores before dark. Salina had refused to eat her breakfast because I've added a new supplement, so I gave her a second chance and she was ready. I have to separate her from Rafer now, or he'll nose in and eat right along with her!

I turned the radio in the barn to NPR, promised the geldings I'd come let them out of the back field in a minute, and mucked out my last stall of the day while Salina ate.

It was near 70 degrees and a pitch-perfect Saturday afternoon. The sun was shining, horses were happy, and there was no place else I had to be. When Salina finished I put her back in front with Rafer and then let the boys join them. I tossed some more hay, and decided to scrub water troughs and watch the herd. Yesterday I took a chair out to the front field and sat in the edge of a little copse of trees. Rafer stood with me much of the time, his head on my shoulder, and Salina stayed close too. Today, though, I watched from the water troughs.

It wasn't long before the galloping began. I kept my eye on Rafer, to make sure he was able to stay safe with the big guys running. At one point they all ran down the hill, out of sight. As they circled and came back up, all I could do was listen to the thunder of hooves and hold my breath, hoping Rafer was out of the way. When they crested the hill I saw all the horses in one long line, and little Rafer was in the lead! It was hilarious to see this tiny donkey leading the way.

I finished my chores just as dusk fell, and everyone came up to the barn, ready for quiet time and hay. I love when I've gotten everything set up ahead of time, and all I have to do is open the stall doors and let them walk in. Keil Bay loves having his hay waiting for him.

As much work as it is solo, there's also something gratifying and very peaceful about doing evening chores alone. Nothing else quite compares to walking the little path from barn to house, knowing they're all settled in, safe and satisfied.