pony pony pony!

I had an entire blog post ready to write about how the pony, who is trying hard to step into the role of herd leader, and is a good example of everything we humans DON'T want to do when joining with our horses. He is bossy, pins his ears at the other horses, sneaks into their space and then tries to bully them out of it, has no qualms at all about nipping at them or shoving them with his nose or hind end, and basically, this summer, has been a huge pain in the you know what to his herd.

I've been watching him, curious about his methods, which in some ways remind me of humans engaging in bossy, demanding, I want to make you do this just because I CAN kind of behavior.

The real herd leaders here, Keil Bay and Salina, each have their own style of leadership. Salina tends to be a bit more punitive than Keil Bay, but all she really has to do to assert her role is to flag at the geldings and generally, they listen.

Keil Bay is incredibly benevolent. Although he will sometimes lunge toward one of the horses he usually behaves like a good friend. He will share his stall, his tub, his hay pile, and he is highly sought after by each of the other equines for company.

When I look at the herd it's Keil Bay I would most want to emulate. He has a presence that is based in respect and his good nature.

So of course today the pony shifted gears. It was his day to be on the near side of the barn. Instead of barreling in and stirring up Salina, he cheerfully went to the end stall and stayed put while I served breakfast tubs. He joined me as I carried out the empty tubs, doing his best to help clean them out.

He came up to help as I was cleaning water troughs, standing with me as I worked.

At one point when he decided to walk through the barn aisle, and was in fact halfway through the barn doors, I called out "No, Little Man, don't go through there. Stay over here!" He stopped, backed out, and walked a few feet away to graze.

Did he intuit my negative blog post and do a 180 just to throw me off track? Did he turn over a new leaf? I have no idea. I do know he was very happy to have his turn on the near side of the barn, and Keil Bay and Cody were so happy they stood together in Keil's stall on the other side and communed in the peace of three open stalls and no pony.

We were all very happy that the temperature was in the mid-80s yesterday and today. Next week when it hits the triple digits (why oh why did I look at the 10-day forecast?) we'll see how the Little Man's cheerful demeanor holds up. Today though, I enjoyed having a painted pony who seemed quite content with his role in the herd.

heartbreaking story of ponies in Australia - please read and act

You can read the full story HERE on Billie Dean's blog.

still looking for the lazy days of summer

I'm not sure what happened - I had an image of myself wafting gently through July, with nothing on the schedule, keeping horses and myself cool, reading books, writing books, and generally relaxing after a busy spring.

Instead the schedule is so full I've got it split off onto four different calendars so it doesn't completely overwhelm me.

Today I purposefully slowed down while doing morning chores at the barn. I mean literally slowed down. I walked more slowly, did things slowly, stood and gazed at the barn calendar (I only put horse things on it and all the horse things are good things - massage, trims, chiro) so it looked blissfully empty save these healthy, happy pamperings the horses actually look forward to doing.

Amidst what we always called "June bugs" - the green flying beetles - which now seem to appear in July - and donkeys doing dust baths, geldings getting hosed, and Salina gleaming in the sun, I went from one chore to the next without any hustle or bustle at all.

Cody joined me as I completed my final chore - rinsing breakfast tubs and scrubbing them with vinegar. He wanted a second hosing, so I stood and sprayed where he loves it best, right under his jaw bones. He held his head up and lifted his upper lip in the air. We both were soaked by the end of it, but we're having the three hottest days of the summer this week, so it felt good.

I didn't eat lunch until 4:15 p.m. and just about the time I finished I realized I needed to run to the feed store before they closed. One errand led to another and it was nearly 8 when I looked at the clock again.

This evening, I heard a ruckus in the front field. The horse across the lane was whinnying to the November Hill geldings, who were responding by running around in a big loop that included the front fence line. It was exciting to see such activity going on in such hot weather, so I walked down to enjoy the show. Of course as soon as they saw me they came galloping, and the show came to a stop.

Dickens joined us, lying like a tuxedoed lion king in the dusk. Salina and the donkeys were happy up at the barn, grazing in the near darkness.

Back in the house I was greeted by several loads of clean laundry that needed folding, a big feline hairball on the sofa cover that instantly put me a load of laundry behind, and an odd sensation that I needed to go open a bin I have in the dining room that has some horse items needing to be taken to the consignment shop. Where do these sensations from the blue really come from, and why do I listen to them?

Somehow, there was water in the bin. I have no idea how it got there, but the entire bin of items were moldy and needed immediate attention. So add about 5 more laundry loads to the list.


Except for crazy urges to look in bins and make work for myself, I did manage to have an almost lazy day. Tomorrow is going to be crazy busy, so I needed it.

unrest on the hill

We made it through the July 4th craziness with not much fanfare (on the 5th I had to make a drive up the lane in my pjs to stop some very late night fireworks and was helped by a sudden thunderstorm that rolled in out of nowhere), but have had lots of little chores to do here this week that have taken up all my time.

Salina has been going crazy with a very badly placed tick bite (the bite itself happened over two weeks ago) and in the process scraped up the wrinkly flesh right between her hind legs. I'd been washing it and gently scratching it for her each morning, using a calendula tincture which had helped it to heal. I realized late one evening when she went out that she was backing herself into our reclining bonsai pine tree and using a section of dead branches to very indelicately take care of that itch! We spent that evening pruning the pine tree of all its dead branches, cleaned up a few other trees, and ended up with a fairly large pile that needs to be burned. Which we couldn't/wouldn't do yet because of the dry landscape.

I was afraid she would back into the pile itself and get tangled up, so we rotated the herd to the front field. She immediately went into the copse of trees up top and found a new place to rub on - I had visions of her impaling herself so she had to stay in with the donkeys that night as it was already dark and we couldn't see to prune!

That area got taken care of yesterday so she was able to turn out as usual last night.

We've had rain Tuesday night, rain yesterday during the day, more rain last night - it's finally starting to catch us up to where we need to be for grass to grow again. But between fireworks on Tuesday night, thunder and lightning several days in a row, us pruning at odd hours, and Bear Corgi going on a wild chase last night in the dark, the herd has been stirred up.

Our wildlife neighbors have been stirred up as well. Yesterday I heard a crow cawing while I was doing chores in the barn. Cody was standing in the end stall nearest the house looking out so I walked to where I could see what he was looking at. The crow - I actually think it was a raven because of its size and the shape of its beak - was perched on the fence post right by Cody's back door, looking and cawing. Cody seemed to be communing with him. If I'd had my camera, it would have been a fabulous photograph!

Later in the evening I saw a doe and tiny spotted fawn right by the fence line. They didn't run, but stood so I could see them. The doe seemed too small and young herself to have a fawn. Husband said maybe the deer herd who share the property around us are having a teenaged pregnancy issue!

It's been a bit of a hectic week here.

I'm declaring today the official end to unrest on the hill. It's time to get back to the lazy days and nights of summer!

sad news: Fugly blog is for sale

I have not been a daily reader, but periodically loved getting a hit of someone so to the point and honest in her reporting about bad horsemanship and bad horsekeeping practices. Sometimes it feels good to hear someone say what really needs to be said in a situation.

Go read THIS POST for a wonderful list of things she hopes folks have learned from reading the Fugly blog over the years. It should be printed out and posted on every horseowner's wall.