Crickhollow Farm

Memorial Day with the Horses

Since it's Memorial Day, and we actually have it off, Bonni & I rode this afternoon.  We were going to do so yesterday, but it was so hot and the flies so horrible, we opted to groom and hand-graze instead.  Today was much better on all counts, though, so we took Merry & Rocky to the north paddock for a little ride (the arena was a bit too wet after the storms last night).

I finally got to try out my new Courbette bridle I got cheap at the Expo.  It matches my saddle perfectly and looks gorgeous on Merry.  I think the old caramel bridle will become Morgana's.  I'm quite pleased with that purchase.

Merry started out the ride being a bit of a dork.  He settled down okay, but there's something about starting out in that paddock that puts him on edge.  Not sure if it's the girls nearby (though he doesn't pay them much mind), the size, or if it's just because it's different that's the issue. He was dancing around like a dork and I actually had Bonni wait to get on Rocky because I didn't know if he was going to explode into some idiocy or what and didn't want to set Rocky off, too, if he did.  I got him moving forward and he was fine, but it's one of those things where you wish they could talk so you could ask them what the hell they were thinking.

Now Rocky, after starting out only wanting to trot, was a bit of a slug for the most part, but he did okay in the end.  Bonni was able to get him moving again after each petering out moment and no major battles ensued. 

I cantered Merry a little bit here and there during the ride.  He has a hard time keeping it up in the small space, but he picked up both leads absolutely perfectly, so I'm pretty happy about how he did.

After our ride, I washed Merry.  I wish I had a proper wash stall, with warm water & everything so I could really scrub him, but I got a fair bit of dirt washed off him with just the hose and a bucket.  He looks so nice and shiny, and it really helped to get his mane & tail washed out (and then ShowSheen'd to a fair-thee-well).

So it was a nice day.  I'm glad Bonni was able to stop out again (twice in one weekend!) so we could ride together.  It's so much more fun to ride with someone, and easier to get motivated to do it, too.

Perfect Weekend for Horse Activities

Finally we got a perfect weekend for spending outside, doing things with the horses.  Warm, sunny, and not too windy.  It was great.

Saturday started with mucking and giving lessons, after which we did a little tackbox cleaning over lunch.  Then Bonni & I tacked up Rocky & Merry & went for a ride down in the arena.  Yes, there are pictures this time.

Merry did really well.  We got in some canter work -- on both leads!  It's not the prettiest yet, I pretty much just let him have his head and let him balance as he will, but he doesn't feel confident in the gait with me up yet.  Prettiness will come with time and a better balance.

Rocky did well, too.  He was petering out towards the end, but Bonni was able to get him moving again without any battles, so it's all good.

 

Good Day

It was a beautiful day today, fairly warm & sunny, though the breeze was a bit chill at times.  Bonni & I had conspired to have the day off (it was supposed to be vet day, but she had to cancel unexpectedly) and Diane was able to get it off, too, so I had a full day out in the barn. 

Diane came out in the morning & helped me get my whiteboard hung up in the barn.  We also pulled Morgana out to groom & I longed her a little (a very little -- her attention span is rather short & I don't want to make work a negative thing).  We also groomed Annie after we put Morgana back out.  By some miracle she has not rolled yet, so she's looking pretty clean for once.

Bonni came out later in the afternoon & we took Rocky & Merry into the back paddock for a ride.  Sadly, I didn't think to get anyone to take pictures.  Rocky was super good.   Merry's never been ridden with anyone else before, but other than a couple small snitty moments, he was quite good as well.  (During one snit-moment I asked Bonni how she liked having the well-behaved horse for a change.  She liked it just fine.)  Merry settled down fine and we ended quite relaxed. 

No idea how long we rode.  I didn't have my watch on & didn't think to check the clock in the barn as we went out.  We just did a bit of walk-trot until I started getting thirsty and both boys were behaving nicely so we could end on a good note.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend so we can try for a repeat performance (hopefully with fewer snits on Merry's part).

Green Grass

I have managed to get the horses out on grass a couple of times this past week.  They haven't been allowed out on it for very long -- we need no colic or founder here -- but they were very excited about getting out at all. 

Merry knew what was going on as soon as I started shifting the temp-fence panels around and got himself quite worked up.  It was particularly hilarious that first time, because Rocky had no idea what was going on.  Poor guy just stood up in the door to Zahr's stall and watch in confusion as the other boys went bolting out into the green as soon as I opened the gate.  I actually had to call him down and talk him through the gate.  He's an odd one, is Mr Rockmeteller.  (This is where I have to admit that, in my mind, he's not Rocky after the fictional boxer, but after Rockmeteller "Rocky" Todd of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves & Wooster stories.  He's just that sort of hapless goof that populates those stories.)

Getting them back up off the grass is always a challenge -- I can usually get Merry & Zahr running & wound enough that they'll barrel up into the paddock & I can shut the gate behind them.  Rocky & Gimli I have to go fetch with a lead rope.

The girls all had to be fetched with the lead, too.  Although, I didn't nearly have the battle with Morgana that I sometimes have in the past.  Once I had the rope on her, she came along well enough.  No tricking her by backing her towards the gate this time.

Unfortunately, with all the rain we've had in the last day, & look to be getting over the next few, it'll probably be a while before I can get them back on the grass again.  I don't want them tearing it all up because the ground's too wet.

While I didn't have the camera when the boys went on their big tear their first day out, I did get some photos of them out grazing (and one of Rocky pacing the fenceline, looking forlorn after I locked them back in the paddock -- I won't post that one 'cause he'd just rolled in the mud and looks entirely too gross in it).  I'll post a few of the best here.

Happy Birthday, Merry!

It's Merry's birthday today!  Hard to believe that the weanling I bought whilst I was in law school is now a strapping lad of eight.  How time flies! 

Weekend Recap

While it's frightfully chilly right now, it was fairly nice this weekend.  Well, yesterday was very windy an a bit uneven temperature wise, but Saturday was pretty darn nice.  After Connor's lesson, I pulled Merry out for a short ride (bareback because I'm lazy & didn't want to take the time for the whole works).  He started out lazy and not wanting to move much & ended not wanting to stop, the contrary creature. 

Contrary though he be, Merry is also a handsome devil.  He was particularly so yesterday -- I got the fence set up to let the boys out into the arena for a short while, and he was really excited about it.  Went and pretty much flung himself through the gate as soon as I swung it open for him.  After a bit, something got him going and he started running, herding everyone else along with him (yes, even Rocky) in the arena & back up into the paddock & out again...  I had a thing of treats I shook to try distracting them all with so they wouldn't get too wound and do something stupid, and Merry would come barreling up to me to get one.  Of course, he couldn't stand fully still for it.  He'd arch his neck and sort of dance in place for a bit before taking off again.  He's at his most beautiful when he's like that; tail flagged, mane & forelock tousled, muscles all bunched up like coiled springs, nostrils flaring.  The perfect desert horse.

Almost Like Spring

The weather here today is downright pleasant.  Sunny, with next to no wind (those who have visited the farm will understand what a rarity that is), it was a lovely day to be out doing barn chores.  I swapped into one of my not so heavy-duty winter barn jackets and still ended up taking it off for a while.

Yes, I was mucking in jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt for a while today and we're not yet out of February.  It's weird.

Annie is starting to shed now, not a day after I was telling Bonni that she hadn't started yet and that normally she would be doing so by now.   Animals do love making liars out of us.  I should try to go after them all with some grooming implements tonight.  Knock some mud off of them (for a brief time, anyway) and work the wind-knots out of Merry's mane.  He's terribly prone to them.  I should keep him in braids, but it just seems warmer to leave it loose in the winter.  He probably wouldn't notice the difference so long as I was consistent.

The horse all were being pests today whilst I was mucking.  Zahr kept trying to open the outer door to his stall and Myf was even poking at the outer door in Annie's stall.  I was using the Deere & spreader today (no snow!) and that was inciting Myf & Morgana to riot, the goofs.  It was entertaining to watch them tearing around the paddock as I'd drive past, though.  I think they're all getting a little stir-crazy.

I also took advantage of the weather & lack of snow to bring up a couple of loads of hay with the Deere.  It makes me feel all productive, even if it wasn't a lot.  Still, I should have enough up now that I won't have to go drag any up through the rain/snow mix they're predicting for most of next week.  I'm not looking forward to that.

Horses at Play

The horses were being quite wild & playful this afternoon.  As I was getting ready to go out to give them their evening hay, Myf & Morgana were being goofs on one side of the barn whilst Zahr and Rocky were being goofs on the other. 

Myf was on a rope twirling binge, which seemed to make Morgana jealous.  Myf would buck and run a bit, but mostly she just twirled and twirled...  Morgana stood nearby at one point, looking like she wanted to have the rope, but getting her face too close would have meant getting hit with it.  It was hilarious.  Myf did eventually drop the rope and they went careening around, bucking & hopping.  The jolly ball was even put into play at one point.

Zahr, meanwhile, was trying, semi-successfully, to get Rocky going.  He did run and buck a bit, but mostly it was Zahr hopping about, trying to harass him into action.  He had his tail flagged and was looking quite handsome, as he does when he gets revved.  He almost got Merry going good, but I think he was more concerned about his (woefully empty, just ask him) stomach than playing.  He kept going back towards the barn and poking around for any bits of hay that might've escaped from lunch.

I would have liked to get pictures but, as it was dinnertime, I knew that all action would stop as soon as I opened the back door.  I just stood and watched from inside for a while, until it looked like Rocky would appreciate the rescue.

Napping Horses

I got a shot of the boys napping after breakfast this morning.  Gimli, Merry, Rocky were standing in this perfect three-spoke configuration & Zahr was off on his own.  Of course, they were behind the tree from where I was, looking out the back door, so it's hard to see.  I didn't want to go out for a different angle because they would have heard me and all turned to stare.  They do it every time.

 

And on that theme, some shots of nap time a few weeks ago.  There was no snow then, so it's not as pretty.

The Zahr & Gimli Exercise and Weight-loss Programme

Success!  After mucking stalls this morning, Diane & I pulled Rocky out of the paddock to use the weight-tape on him.  I've been thinking he wasn't looking as fat as when he arrived, but I was unsure of whether that was because he really wasn't as fat, or if I'd just got used to his fatness.  It's hard to tell when you see a horse every day.  Diane thought he looked less pregnant this morning, though, which was a good sign.  The tape told the real story, however.

Rocky has lost about 27 pounds since he arrived here about a month ago.  We "weighed" him with the tape that first day and, averaging the results, he was 895 lbs.  Today, the average result was 868 lbs.

Keep in mind that this is a 14+ hand pony.  Zahr, who is 14.2+ hh, is usually around 730-740 lbs, and Merry, at 15 hh (and a lot more actual muscle mass, if not as much as he could use to have), is generally around 900 lbs.  (I need to weigh them both again soon; it's been a while and they're really looking good, so what they're at now is what I'd like to shoot to keep them at.)  Rocky obviously has a ways to go, but between burning fat to keep warm this winter, the other guys keeping him moving more, a better tailored diet, and just not being stuck standing in a stall for 13+ hours every day there's some hope that he'll be at a better weight by the time spring rolls around. 

That will help when it's time to start riding again.  Less excess will make it easier to get him fit (or fitter, anyway), since there'll be less working against us.  It'll be much healthier and more comfortable for him, too.  Imagine what it must feel like to have a person get on your back when you're already carrying an extra 150 lbs on your frame.  Not fun!

So, yes, whilst Rocky still has an impressive hay belly, blubber-butt, and fat-rolls behind his shoulders, he's making progress.  He's also making progress on his manners and is learning to back away from his feed bucket when I tell him to and that I'm not a head-scratching post to be rubbed on whenever he wants.  Yay, Rocky!

Rocky Makes a Change

Today, Rocky got properly introduced to the rest of the boys.  Winter is fast approaching (it's snowing as I type), and he'd been hanging out near the others for a while now, albeit with a fence between, so I decided to move him over to the other paddock.  I'm not working for once, so it gives me a chance to watch what's going on, though I try not to stare obsessively.

Wednesday & Thursday this week, these are the sights that greeted me when I went out at lunchtime to toss everyone their hay:

 

This is what happened just before lunch today...  (seriously image heavy)

Farrier Day

The farrier came out this evening to trim the herd.  Everybody is mostly good, or not really bad anyway, though certain individuals can get a bit squrimy.  Zahr is surprisingly the best of them all.  He always has been really, though nowadays he's relaxed as well as well-behaved & spends the time in the aisle angling for treats.

Merry always gets a good grooming on farrier day.  Since he goes first (I long ago learned that he's best behaved for vet or farrier if he doesn't have to wait for others to go first), I pull him out into the crossties to groom whilst we wait.  I got all the tangles out of his mane, tail, & forelock and even clipped his muzzle.  He looks like a proper beauty again instead of a hayseed.  Everyone else still pretty much looks like a hayseed.  Cute hayseeds, but hayseeds nonetheless.

Muzzles and manes may not be tidy, but everyone does have trim little hooves again.  They weren't too misshapen this go around; the ground wasn't as hard or something.  They got long, but not all chippy.  We'll see what they look like in seven weeks when it's time to do this all again.