Stable Thinking

Don't Fence Me In

2008-11-22T08:08:00.000-05:00

So, as you may recall, I fenced in an area for my Big Red Train (now known as Red) with electric polytape, minus the electricity. This is working great for Red- he feels that a fence is a fence, and stays put. To be honest, if he did wander a little bit, I wouldn't be that upset- as long as he shows up at the gate to meet me for dinner, I don't really care which side he's on.

And this is a good thing, because what works for Red is NOT working for the deer. They think cold tape is the best thing ever, because they can jump over, under, and through it with no risk of getting shocked. Great.

So I went down to go collect my fabulous pony last night, and find electric fence strewn all over his little area, with him grazing calmly in the middle of it all with a couple of deer. Holding him in? A single strand that the deer must have left up as a joke- at ankle level.

I truly do have the best horse in the world.

Feeling good

2008-11-21T10:01:00.000-05:00

Winter's come early- it's snowing outside! I just got in from turning out all the ponies, and outside the window it's like a Christmas card.

I'm clearly doing something right with the old man- All the horses have been coming in at night, and I can't leave him out as the only one- he's pretty social, for all that he's being turned out alone. So he's been coming in too, even though I worry about him getting too stiff in a stall overnight. Then there's a morning like today, and all my worries just sail off into the sunset (sunrise?).

Because his field is literally the farthest from his stall of any horse/field combo, I've taken to hopping on him and letting him carry me down with him. And because my pony is spectacular in every way, I can do this with a single leadrope on his halter. And this morning, trotting down to his field, he very nearly broke into a canter, and then when I crawled off of him and set him free, he took off, bucked, spooked at a rock (which has been there the whole time) and galloped around for a few minutes before settling down to graze.

Guess he's not feeling too bad, then.

Out with the old, in with the new

2008-11-12T20:16:00.000-05:00

My poor pony- his world has been turned upside down.

Because of his living arrangements (lots of grass, little shelter), he received his first turnout blanket that he'll actually wear. This is different from the millions of blankets I bought him last year, and inevitably returned because of some small aesthetic feature. This year, in the interest of not stressing the Train, I gave up on a couple of the things I really wanted in favor of fit and function.

Now, last year I did find two blankets that had both an acceptable shape and waterproofed exterior- the New Briton blankets from Schneider's and the Weatherbeeta Taka Contour. The Taka, however, only comes in navy/berry (purple is NOT a part of my pony's color palette!) and chocolate, and the New Briton blankets have the adjustable shoulder elastic deal that I could never get to lay flat. Plus, it looked gross. So they were both a wash.

Ultimately, he ended up with a NorthWind Light Weight Turnout from Dover Saddlery. I had actually considered this last year, but turned it down because of the classic aesthetic issue I have with turnouts- the flat back.

I mean, doesn't that horse just look like a square?

But once I dressed the Train up and turned him out, he doesn't look half bad!

In other news, the poor old boy got (to my knowledge) his first ever pair of shoes. He's been sore on the rocky parts of the trail lately, and I he's always been short strided on hard surfaces, so I decided to try him in shoes to see if it makes a difference. He's also got a joint supplement on board designed for joints, hooves, and hair, so hopefully that'll bring back a bit of his youthful exuberence.

Living Arrangements

2008-11-03T09:29:00.000-05:00

The Big Red Train (or maybe Big Red Fratboy) has had his live-in girlfriend removed. Not for any infraction on his part, I should be clear, but because she trashed the room. As in, broke my pretty fence and trailed it all over creation.

I didn't actually see it happen, so I have no clue what went down. All I know is I got called out of the barn to come catch Rosie and put her elsewhere, since she broke the fence.

This coming just after Jamie and/or Leah pushed Seri over the fence into the next field. I found that one with a broken board between the mare's field and the baby's field, and Seri in with the babies. Seri went into the field Cricket was in, Cricket went into the foaling stall/small turnout. Next day, Leah and Jamie moved into a field I had wanted to rest over the winter, Seri moved back into the mare's field, and Cricket stayed put. All was well, until Rosie destroyed my poor pony's house.

The Train then spent the night in the small turnout Seri had used, across from one of the Big Scary Stallions, and Rosie went out with mares. And as soon as I fix his fence, poor the Train will be out by himself again, since apparently I can't trust anyone else with his fence. I has suspected that that might be the case, but I had hoped that with him there, no one would mess with it. Guess not!

So complicated.

And to follow up:

2008-10-25T16:58:00.000-04:00

Worst. Saturday. Ever.

Ok, maybe not the worst. Just... damp, cold, and rainy. Not a fun way to spend the day. So what did yours truly do all day? Oh yeah, she put up fencing for her pony. Did I mention it was rainy? Definitely came back to the house totally soaking wet... at least it was warm out, so I wasn't cold. The only thing worse than being soaking wet is being cold and soaking wet.

Despite the ickiness of today, I'm actually pretty excited. My Big Red Train comes home tomorrow! He's got a lovely paddock full of nice grass to chew on, and a friend to go out with if he can avoid picking on her... he's too old and wise to really get into it with anybody, but damn can he lay those ears back when it comes to running them off food buckets! Hopefully Rosie will be smart enough to let it go, and get back to eating. She's a bit on the skinny side, but some good grass and not so much running around should help her fatten up a bit. Right now, the poor girl is out in the rain trying to salvage some hay from the soaking wet piles by the fence. It'll be just as wet down in the new field, but the grass will be better and I'll probably fit both of them with sheets to keep them warm in the wet. And he gets to get started on his brand new special feed- hopefully, he'll bulk up a little but not be an idiot. Can't wait to see him fat and happy, waiting by the gate every single morning.

And on that note, I'm going to bed for a few hours before work tonight. Hopefully, sweet pony dreams are on their way!

Best. Saturday. Ever.

2008-10-18T21:44:00.000-04:00

Soooo.... Yeah. This has very little to do with the farm, but I'm posting it anyway.

My horse is finally coming home!

He's not technically my horse- he belongs to a dear older fellow in York, PA. I met him (the horse) in high school when he came to join our riding program. He was a tad unsuitable at the time for teaching lessons, so I got a new project horse- my equine one and only Big Red Train, Chewy.

As he and I grew closer we worked out a deal- if he would take care to not leave me behind, I would take care of him. He could spook and run for home if he wanted- but he had to take me too. I would protect him from the big scary things, bring him food and make sure he had water. We formed a partnership that is indescribable.

When I left for college, I left my Big Red Train behind at the high school. I wanted so bad to take him with me, but knew he didn't belong to me and would be in safe place I could visit. A couple of weeks later, he was gone.

I -lost- it.

I called the barn manager, who explained that he had gone home to his original owner to be a trail horse. He gave me the number of the owner's daughter to see if I could arrange a visit. She worked it out with her dad, and got me directions up to the farm. I went up to see him the next weekend I was home.

This started an excellent relationship between me and the owner. I was given a standing invitation to come ride whenever, a key to the barn, an invitation to stay in the guest room for the weekend, and more advice then I could ever properly thank him for. When I needed the BRT back for camp, to camp he came. He stayed the summer, and left for home when I left to go back to school. He eventually returned to my old high school when the township decided to put a sewage line through his pasture, and there he stayed until my senior year of college, when I had enough money saved up and enough free time to bring him down to school for my last semester. He was too old at that point for me to ride in my equitation lessons- the best guess between dentist and owner is somewhere between 25 and 30 years old. All we did was bum around on the trails, and hang out together eating grass. To specify, he ate the grass- I mostly watched.

He went back to PA after the school year- a recent graduate, I had exhausted my horse boarding fund keeping him near me for those 4 months. And then I moved to the farm.

The arrangement for a working student here is pretty simple. I feed twice per day, 6 days a week. I maintain the property, and keep the owner apprised of the horses' general condition. In exchange, I get a free room and food, a small weekly stipend, and most importantly to me, free board for one personal horse.

I went to see the owner today. I'm very fortunate in that he understands how much this horse means to me. I put on the Chew's halter, clipped on my 10' leadrope, and climbed aboard. We ambled our way down to the house- direct rein to turn left, neck rein to turn right. A slight drop in contact to let him know it's ok to graze. That's the scene the owner walked into when he left the house.

And the first words out of his mouth- "So, when are you hauling him out of here?"

This is a man who, in his own words, never sells a horse. He gives them away to people that deserve them and love them and will take care of them, and always with the understanding that they will come back to him if things don't work out.

I suspect I'm going to get my Big Red Train for keeps this Christmas :)

Needless to say, the instant I got home, I started laying out a field to fence for him. He'll stay behind electric tape until some of the horses recently sold and those due to go home from training leave. Hopefully, he'll be coming home for good within the week.

This horse and I have something so far beyond special, I can't explain it. He has never tried to dump me somewhere. He's afraid of everything, but when he spooks it's 'down'- he'll sink about 2 feet and be ready to jump up... and he won't move a muscle until I'm ready to hang on. None of this 6 foot lateral translation Arabian style for him! He's saved my life more times than I can count- mostly, of course, from stupid stuff I shouldn't be doing anyway. He's my buddy when I'm feeling down, and he's never once forgotten or ignored me if I haven't been able to see him for a couple of months. He's the one I can ride with just a lead rope around his neck, or a halter and a single lead- he's not much on education, but he tries his best to understand whatever it is I'm asking for and deliver.

He is the reason this blog is titled "Stable Thinking". Even beyond the play on words- yes, horse people are stable thinkers, hah hah- my mind works better when I can go see him. In high school, he helped me through several tumultuous breakups, and he never once told on me when I'd cut a class- or two- to cry in his mane. In college, he was distant, but when I really needed him- for a weekend to vent about a bad exam, for a summer to relax and refocus- he was there. And when I ultimately needed him nearby to get me through that stress-laden final semester- he was there.

I recently had a massive surge of stress- contributed greatly to being severely bitten by a dog at work and being banned from any and all barns while healing. And when I finally healed, my summer had gone, and with it, my internship at the breeding farm that I worked at, and my contact with horses. And the stress continued. Feeding here Monday morning, the stress started to crack apart, to flake off a little bit. By Friday, I could remember what it was like to be around horses every day, and how happy that made me. Today, sitting on my Big Red Train's back in the afternoon sunlight, feeling the tiny little shifts in his balance as he'd take a step, then wiggle a bit to make sure I was still securely seated- all the stress melted away.

I haven't been this happy in years.

I like it, I love it...

2008-10-14T12:28:00.000-04:00

Sign me up for more!

I am seriously in love with these horses. One of the weanlings had a clumped up piece of what looked like hay on him, on his elbow. When I scraped it off, it revealed a hefty but not serious abrasion. So me and this weanling go into the barn, where we crosstie and get all cleaned up. Mr. Baby stood rock solid while I was working on his leg, and only started fussing when the flies got thicker and I was messing with his tail. Somehow, he must have picked up every burr in the field. Since he was there and being good, and I was there and had a comb, I decided to brush his tail out and get it shiny and smooth again. He sitll looked funny when I finished up- there's nothing sexy about a foal shedding out- but at least his tail looked damn good!

And now, starting off our farm introductions, the large mare's field!

Audi eating.

Seri eating.

Treasure not feeling very photogenic.

Jamie mad at me because I found her halter and put it back on.

Leah pretending she's ignoring me, and eating.

Leah secretly helping me take pictures of everyone else :)

Next up- the babies. Stay tuned!

Welcome to Paradise...

2008-10-13T15:02:00.000-04:00

So my idea of Paradise might be a little bit different from yours.... All I can say is, I'm looking out my bedroom window right now, and seeing fields and horses.

The feeding routine is very manageable- everybody ties, even the littlest baby. Everybody understands that until everyone is tied, no one gets to eat. This makes tying and feeding a very simple procedure. Hay is 2 flakes per adult, 1 flake per suckling, and 1 large/2 small to the weanlings. An extra flake to the oldest mare. Right now there are no stalls to do, just water tubs to keep full- I can handle standing next to a tub waiting for it to fill. There is a lifetime's worth of opportunity here- I just have to reach out and grab it.

Perhaps the first thing I'll do (after I photograph every inch of the place, of course!) is make a list of all the projects, big and small, that I want to tackle. There can be two lists- a general list and a daily list. Today's list? Learn the horses and their names. Find hoses, water tubs, feed bins, hay barrows, and manure piles. Try to devise a feeding plan that gets everyone fed, hayed, watered, and untied without wasting energy. Find tools, nails, boards, and other such repair materials. Try to get all the residents photographed for introduction on the blog :)

It's going to be hard work. To pretend otherwise would be silly. I suspect that a lot of what I learn won't make a lot of sense to me as I learn it- but I'd bet my savings account (a safe bet, actually, but that's another story...) that I'll use most of it sooner or later.

More pictures later :)

Last night in the city

2008-10-12T16:26:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow morning, 8 am, I make the first big step I've made since college- I move out of Chez Mom 'N' Dad and into My Own Place. It's true that in college, I made my own living arrangements- I found roommates and housemates, and never once asked my parent's advice on which building they thought I should live in. But this is different. This is the real world.

The beauty of the real world, of course, is the existance of virtually endless possibilities. This move is not something that just happened- although, in a way, it did. I've been looking for the right fit for months. I've looked at studio apartments in the city, at 4 bedroom houses in the suburbs, considered all the possibilities and complications of living with or without roommates- even went so far as to pick up applications for a 2 bedroom townhouse not far from where I work. But things fell through with my friends, or the area wasn't safe to walk in after dark, or the money wasn't right. For one reason or another, every possibility became another dead end. Finally I relented, and contented myself with spending the winter at my parent's house. Instead of hunting furiously for the perfect place, I browsed the web, glancing at previously obsessed-over websites. Somewhat sceptical, I even looked at Craigslist.

It was on Craigslist that I found it- a short, simple Wanted ad for a barn manager, with a live-in possibility. I've been a city girl all my life- that is, my permanent address has always been inside the city lines. I myself have spent as much time as possible escaping to the country, or at least, the county. What drew me north wasn't the wide open spaces, the lack of neighbors or even the ability to see the night sky without the city glare. It was horses.

I have enough stories to fill up a million pages, from the horses that have been a part of and have influenced my life since I was 6 years old. Maybe someday I'll share some of them, but tonight is about the future, not the past. And for now, the future holds a taste of what I hope to one day achieve for myself- horses, horses, and more horses. I have dreamed of my own stable for nearly as long as I can remember. With no exceptions, all of my notebooks are littered with plans for box stalls, feed rooms, and hay storage. Starting tomorrow, I'll be able to live what I've dreamed of for so long.

It's going to be a wild ride :)