When I went out to fill the horse water troughs in the pastures this morning, I found the hose frozen once again. I hoped it wasn`t completely frozen over and that snapping the hose would crush the ice inside and allow the water to flow again. But it wasn`t happening so it was back to hauling buckets of water from the barn. Not pleasant. So I thought I`d be swift and transport the buckets with the help of the wheelbarrow. Well I emptied about half the water to the bottom of the wheelbarrow by the time I reached the pasture. Instead of it being a grr moment it became a light bulb moment. Oh yes, I am the studious farmer.
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The one thing I hate most about our barn is it is new. Now obviously there are some perks to it being new but generally what you see is what you get. Old barns not only have a ton of character but they seem to go on forever meaning there is room after room. My barn is just the one room. So I have to crowd all my animals, equipment, straw, and hay into this one area. It gets very congested. Just before Chloe came home I was actually successful in cleaning up the aisle way. But with winter coming, I want to make sure I have enough room for everyone to come in from the cold or a severe storm if need be, so we went to work in reorganizing the setup once again. We seem to do this anytime a new critter enters the barn. We separated the goats from the mini's aka the pig, pygmies and Heathcliffe (mini lamb), but by doing so the sheep lost their pen. Since they spend the majority of the day outside in the pasture, we would simply find an empty stall for them overnight. (We don't leave them out overnight as we don't have a LSG and the area is popular for coyotes.) But recently, they have been starting to escape the pastures and we spend far too much time rounding them back up. So they have lost the freedom to graze in the great outdoors....at least until spring when we will relook at the pasture fencing and situation. We are setting up a third stall in the barn for the sheep where they will spend their days and nights. It`s not an ideal solution as it does mean I loose valuable space but until I get the pasture figured out and a LSG then they will have to settle with living indoors.
When I set out to buy a horse for myself, the main reason was to accompany Farm Girl on trail rides so she didn`t have to go it alone. It has taken a couple months of bonding, training, rebuilding my confidence, and then finding the right horse that would best suit my needs. I adore Aussie but he`s far too stubborn for me. I attempted to take him out again today, but he wanted nothing to do with it and just kept wanting to turn back. Farm Girl tried to correct him out in the field but by then I wanted nothing to do with him. The whole point of horseback riding is suppose to be fun and relaxing. Not stressful. So I rode him back to the farm (which of course he was only too happy to do) then put him back in the pasture and collected Chloe instead. Chloe is proving to be the perfect horse we were promised. Though a tad slower than Aussie (heavy sarcasm there--she's a lot slower), she is completely safe to ride and does exactly what is asked of her. I`d put anyone on her. So after tacking her up, I jumped on her back and me and Farm Girl headed toward the farmer`s field behind our property. We kept going and followed along the property fence line. Until where it opened to a narrow pass-through for trackers and other such farm equipment. Chase had a sudden attack of nerves and didn`t want to go through. Guess he preferred the wide open fields. Chloe did not have any such fears, and only went happily ahead enabling Chase to follow behind only to pass us once we cleared the opening as he likes taking the lead---and, you know, Chloe walks so dang slow. The field is not in the most perfect condition for horse`s hooves and I don`t doubt Chloe was taking it nice and easy for that reason. At least that`s the excuse we`ll give her. When we reached the dirt road with it`s grass shoulders, she relaxed considerably and even picked up her pace. The road is one of those one-lane back roads that has no winter maintenance. Though I feared it, I had wanted a vehicle to pass us to test how road safe Chloe was and to put my own level of skills and trust to the test. Though a truck had driven past as we approached, none made an appearance while we made our way down the road. But surely we would get another chance when we approached the paved road our farm is located on fifteen minutes later. As before, a truck flew down the road on our approach but not a single vehicle appeared again as we rode the stretch home. But we did come across a dead livestock bin and a scary mailbox. Chloe reacted just enough for me to correct her. The farm finally appeared on the horizon. Still no vehicles, which I suppose I should be thankful for as I really have no idea how she will react. But the previous owner told me she was road safe and since she`s been honest about everything else regarding Chloe so far, I don`t doubt she was being honest about this as well. As she recognized home, we lost Emma who went to play in her favourite jaunting grounds (aka the graveyard and path that connects it to our property). The path runs parallel to the road but at an incline. Chloe`s head perked up for the first time on our ride to watch Emma run along next to us at the top of the hill. Then Emma disappeared. We had just reached our driveway when she reappeared and leaped out from the top of the hill in front of Chase. Chase gave a start and went to turn and run but Farm Girl immediately got him under control.
It was at that point that I realized Farm Girl was not only without her saddle, but without her helmet. A big no-no when riding on the road. But we had forgotten all about them as we hadn`t really intended to leave the farmer`s field when we headed out, but Chloe was behaving so good that we just kept right on going. As for how Chloe reacted to Emma`s sudden burst from the top of the hill? She came to a complete stop and lifted her head to a ninety degree angle. Then relaxed and moved on when I reassured her all was fine. I could kick myself for handing Chloe over to Oldest as she is the perfect horse for me. But truthfully, I couldn't ask for a better horse to put my inexperienced child on. Am thinking I might just use her to teach the boy how to ride as well. I got to ride my horsey in the field along with the girls and their horses. And Emma too of course. Aussie was eager and enjoyed our outing very much. He even jogged a little bit. That was interesting. He must have forgotten he was suppose to be a slow and lazy horse. Haha, but we had a great time and are looking forward to go again.
Today was another beautiful day and I decided to fulfill a wish I've been wanting to jump onto the back of my horse and go riding behind our farm in the open field along with the girls and their horses. The field does not belong to us but to our neighbours and we have been waiting all fall for him to clear it. I swear, he must have been the last farmer in the country to bring in his beans. Anyway, it`s finally done but then the weather was always crappy and who really wants to go riding and freeze your baguettes off? Not me, but today the sun came back out and it was so lovely and warm but ten minutes before we were to head out, Oldest was called aside by a client so it was only going to be me and Farm Girl. We brought Chase and Aussie in and started grooming them. Aussie was in one of his moods. Actually he didn`t start off that way, but he gets antsy in the cross-ties when Chase is in there behind him so when the boss trails in behind, Aussie becomes unsettled. Then as I started grooming him I noticed his coat was in really bad shape. Not sure what he got into, but it was covered in this crap. It was thick and nasty and took forever to remove. Aussie hated me scraping at him (that was the only way it was coming off) and by the time I got to the soft brush, he was still flinching. There was no way I was going to ride him. He was sore from my intense brushing and I hadn`t gotten all the crap off where it mattered most, under the saddle. So back out to the pasture he went. Thankfully, since Oldest wasn`t able to ride, I grabbed Chloe instead. She didn`t have any of that crap in her coat nor did Chase so we are baffled over what the heck he rolled in. It was something thick and gooey that hardened to a thick mass of crust at the root of his coat. I probably should have given him a wash and shampoo but we were loosing sunshine quickly and the weather was beginning to drop and would have been too cold for a bath anyway. We tacked up our horses and headed out. Farm Girl likes to ride bareback but takes after her mother and doesn`t have long enough legs to swing herself over, so needs the aid of a bucket. I usually think stools and buckets are for whimps and will stretch myself ungracefully to mount my horse the cowboy way. But today I elected to grab that bucket as well and oh my what a difference. I either need longer legs or a shorter horse. Chase and Chloe are the perfect trail horses and I if I`m not mistaken, have fallen in love. That's Farm Girl up ahead and I`m sitting behind Chloe`s head taking this photo....in the field behind our farm! Yay, I was so excited to finally leave the safety of the farm. But my excitement was short-lived We had rode across the field to the woods behind the field. It`s farily far. That`s our farm in the distance. It was our intention to ride along next to the woods around the perimeter of the field and come home on the opposite side. However, we weren`t long at the woods when we heard gunshots. It is hunting season and the hunters are out in full force. So not wanting to spook the horses or, er, get shot, we turned back and headed home. Just at the time when Oldest`s client drove off. I thanked Chloe for a wonderful ride and handed her over to her owner then watched as the girls rode off without me. I`ve got my fingers crossed that we get another mild winter so we can get lots of riding time in this winter.
When we first moved to the country and started buying animals, Farm Girl immediately wanted to start breeding. But being the patient, cautious woman that I am I said no...there would be no unaltered male animals allowed on the farm! Fast forward to now. Meet Heathclifffe, our babydoll ram. Dodge, the Katahdin ram. Flint, our Nigerian Dwarf billy goat. And now, Ceasar the nubian/boer billy goat. Well Ceasar's been here a couple weeks now but with my lack of keeping this blog updated and all, it's new news to you. Meanwhile, Farm Girl keeps hinting that Meadow sure would throw some pretty babies. I must say, I totally agree but that would mean bringing a stallion onto the property. I`ve come a long way since a few years ago, but a stallion? Well at least it will be a miniaturized version and not the full sized one. But the minute we breed Meadow, I just know Farm Girl will be hinting that it will be Sierra's turn.
In my previous post, I briefly mentioned Jewel and then realized I am so behind on keeping this blog updated. Jewel, was one of four females in Emma's last litter. Early on, two females died within the first week. We were devastated because we had wanted to keep a female back from this litter. I adore Emma, she's my favourite dog and I could easily get rid of all the dogs and keep only her. But Emma does not belong to me. She belongs to Farm Girl. And I've always known that some day when Farm Girl leaves home, she would be taking Emma with her so it became my goal to clone her. Okay, I don't really mean "clone" but you get the idea. I wanted my own little Emma. Hence the reason why we began breeding her. From her first litter, I wasn't altogether happy with the puppies. Mainly on account of the stud. The stud was Oldest's dog but I didn't like both his looks or more importantly his personality. So the puppies were cute and all but they didn't fit my standards. Except for one. Who was not a girl. But man I fell hard for that pup nevertheless. I loved him almost as much as I loved Emma. I had every intention of keeping him for myself. But as life would have it, it was not the right time and in the end I put him up for sale. I will admit that I took it hard. I cried for days missing that little guy. So when this litter came around and I had hand picked the stud myself I was very excited about the puppies. And when we got four girls, I was thrilled. But then two died and I was crushed. Not wanting to go through the pain of loosing yet another puppy, I turned my emotions off and decided against keeping a puppy. I remained detached through the entire 8 weeks we helped Emma raise them. As a breeder I was not disappointed. All 8 puppies lived up to my standards. But then Oldest went ahead and fell head over heals in love with the smaller of the two females who she nicknamed Jewel. Which, really, wasn`t hard to see how. But Oldest who has started in showing dogs, was looking to buy another female show dog. Though we live on a farm, there is only so many dogs we can keep. Besides, I really don`t want my house overrun by dogs. Even cute ones like Sam or Jewel. So even though she kept falling deeper in love with Jewel I wasn`t going there. Then when a show dog she was looking seriously at purchasing fell through, she announced she was keeping Jewel. Even though she wasn`t a show dog. Like me, Oldest had wanted her own clone of Emma and found it in Jewel. I have to admit, the longer she has been with us it`s been hard to turn my emotions off regarding her. She`s a lively spirited puppy who looks at me with Emma`s eyes and I melt all over. Still, I can't promise Jewel a forever home here, but then again I`m not ruling it out either.
Yesterday was a day of new arrivals at the farm. First thing in the morning, my hubby and Farm Girl went into the city to rescue two mistreated chinchillas from a backyard breeder. The poor things, they were skinny and had matty coats with clumps of hair missing in parts of their body particularly the tales. One was so timid and frightened it hasn't left the sanctuary of the little hut I placed in there for their comfort (she's the one hiding behind the other in the picture below). She cried almost non stop for the entire day. Today thankfully, she has finally stopped crying. Later in the afternoon, Farm Girl and I took a road trip to pick up a new addition to the farm, and while we were gone, someone dropped off this friendly guy. He`s a chinese swan goose...or so I`m told, I`m not an expert on geese breeds. His story is unknown to me other than he was found dirty and with a head injury. The woman patched him up but needed to find a new home for him as she couldn`t keep him in the city. Oldest was home to accept him and told me the woman who brought him to the farm was so pleased with our property and repeatedly stated how happy she was to have him living here. She followed up with an email thanking me once again saying, "I'm glad there is someone out there that cares for animals like you". That was such a nice thing to say. I don't consider myself anywhere near to being a rescue farm, but certainly me and the family love animals and are only too happy to be able to help out where possible. The new addition I mentioned earlier that took us on a small road trip, isn`t necessarily a rescue story but rather a case of rehoming. As in a lot of situations, folks often get seduced by the lure of owning a pet that differs from the conventional dog or cat. Pigs are often the victim to this. Why people bring pigs to the city, I`ll never know. Anyway, it hadn`t taken the owner of this little piglet to realize his mistake. Thankfully, he realized early on and quickly set out to find her a more appropriate home. After Lizzie, I swore I'd never own another pig again. But this little gal is so dang cute! She's a teacup potbelly pig rather than a standard potbelly pig so won't grow to be as big as Lizzie. At the moment, she is Jewel's size. (FYI, Jewel is the golden retriever we kept back from Emma's last litter. She's about 10lbs.) She's small enough for us to pick her up and cuddle....though we may not want to. Have you ever heard a pig squeal? It's the most ear-piercing sound. So now we are the owners of two additional chinchillas, who we have named Mabel and Myrtle, a chinese swan goose who we thought Rocky was an appropriate name for this tough little guy, and a teacup piglet who we have named Charlotte...naturally. :)
Well, okay, it's not officially winter yet and we haven't had any snow, but it has been windy and chilly and wet for the last several weeks. So I don't blame the horses for enjoying the warmth and taking a mid afternoon nap. As well, I finally am able to post photos that actually have some colour in them! Chloe literally snores when she sleeps. Just to ease your worries....yep, she's alive! And you can't see it very well in the first photo, but Sierra had crashed in the tall grass. Here she is. She really was dead to the world. Her eyes were closed and everything. I had to check the rising and falling of her stomach just to reassure myself that she was still breathing...and alive. But, wait a minute..... Phew! Sorry pretty girl for interrupting your lovely nap beneath the warmth of the afternoon sun just to ease my own paranoia. But you are far too pretty to let anything happen to. Over in the small pasture, someone else was enjoying the warm sunshine. Oh my gosh I love that little fellow! Oops, woke him too...by accident of course. Can you see why now I love my minis? Seriously, who can resist a face like this? Don't be jealous, Pixie, you know you will always be first in my heart. Aside from the filth (the negative side of owning a white horse) don`t you just want to cuddle up to that beautiful winter coat? And I wanted to point out how pretty all my minis look in their new halters. Finding halters for minis is next to impossible. Mini's heads come in all different sizes and shapes so one universal "mini" halter won't necessarily fit all minis. For example, Pixie has a very small head and wears a suckling size halter as does Tex. Willow is a mini but has a big head and fits into a pony size halter while Meadow who is a pony fits into a mini halter. . But we eventually did find the last one and now everyone has a shiny new halter that fit them perfectly. That included Sierra, who's yearling size head fit perfectly into a pony halter. I got to say it again....ain't she purty??
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