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A Calf Runs Through It

October 12, 2015

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So the other day I look out my office window (upstairs of my house) to see people walking through my woods.  A showing was here at the same time so I popped my head out to find out if it was them.  The individuals from the showing spoke to those walking through my property.  They said a calf escaped from a neighbor’s property and was running through my farm.

I went to feed that evening to find the horses still freaked out about the intruder.  I called them for dinner and they wouldn’t  come up.

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So I walked a little closer

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They were all just staring at me. I have never had them not want to come up for dinner so I walked out to them.

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Finally Apple was like “oh hey Mom,  OK I trust you and will follow you back to the barn for dinner”

IMG_0047But Chex needed a special invitation.  I had to walk back to get him, he was getting upset everyone was leaving him but was still too freaked out to go with them.

IMG_0049They all successfully came to the barn to eat dinner but it took a little while even after that to calm down.  I had no idea they would be that upset by a little cow.

The next morning all was well on the farm and I was feeling nostalgic for the farm and realizing the beauty of it and that I was leaving it all behind.  I took these pictures of George with the morning sun coming up behind him.

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Bare foot video describes why it makes sense

April 28, 2015

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All of my horses are barefoot.  This video is makes a compelling case for going with out shoes.  It also goes with what my ferrier does.  He doesn’t cut the horses frog or pare out the sole.

Warning this video is graphic.  It is an actual horses’ hoof cut in half, so there is some blood, tissues (lamina) and bones (coffin) involved.

Calming Signals: Are You Listening?

April 22, 2015

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Great article. I really need to stop, listen and observe more. “Calming signals in horses are somewhat similar and include looking away, having lateral ears, yawning, stretching down, licking lips or eating to calm themselves. Can you recognize them? Calming cues communicate stress, and at the same time, release stress. It is modeling behavior for us; they want us to drop our stress level, or aggressiveness as well.” Next time your with your horse look for these calming signals.

Relaxed & Forward: AnnaBlakeBlog

WMcalmingcueIf you are standing next to your horse and he looks away, do you think he’s distracted or even disrespectful? When your horse yawns, is he sleepy or bored? If he moves slowly, is he lazy? These are important cues from your horse, are you hearing him correctly?

When it comes to communicating with horses, some humans are a bit like a self-obsessed rock star who throws a temper tantrum and trashes the room, but then assumes everyone wants his autograph. By equine standards, we ignore those around us and begin by screaming bloody-murder and escalate from there. Part of respecting a horse is remembering that their senses are much keener than ours. We can whisper.

It is just like man’s vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions.  ~Mark Twain. 

Horses give us calming signals, just like dogs. Norwegian dog…

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Happy Easter

April 5, 2015

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A few shots of Casey and Riley kicking up their heels. They had a little run around before I went for a ride.

Quora – question on horse behavior

March 19, 2015

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I thought I would share this quick read on horses and to relate to them.  Click here.

Listen with all your senses

February 4, 2015

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listen

The best things are yet to come.

January 29, 2015

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Forget the past

The Horses on the new Paddock Paradise track

October 25, 2014

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Some photos of the herd enjoying the new Pasture Paradise Track that we put in the weekend before.

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Dreams of Nash

October 21, 2014

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Last night in that half awake half asleep state I thought of Nash. He was walking beside me breathing on my hand.  This was the way we always walked.  I had my right hand on his lead and his nose was up against my hand.  I could feel his warm breath.  I have  had a few horses through out my life but I never felt as connected to one as much has Nash.  Maybe it was because I truly rescued him and he came from an abusive past that he felt safe at GSF and knew he was home.  The grieving process is interesting, I have had a blessed life with out a lot of the loss of those closest to me, but I can honestly say I am still grieving the loss of my Nash.

This past Saturday after we finished working on the new fence my friend’s and BF surprised me with a beautiful collage of my favorite pictures of Nash.  I feel truly grateful to have such awesome pictures of him taken by Judy and given to the farm as a donation to his hernia fund.  (Here is the original plog post about it.)  The pictures captured his heart and I will treasure them forever.

We were all coming up from the back field.  Bringing the ATVs and Tractors back up to the barn.  They were all acting a little suspicious as the BF was trying to intentionally slow me up and not rush through the barn.  He had me “help” put the tractor away (he didn’t need any help). I heard him check with my friends that they would meet us on the other side of the barn.  As I walked in I noticed all of them gathered at the far end of the barn.  I knew something was up, but for the life of me couldn’t figure out what.  Then they presented me with this:WP_20141020_16_08_03_Pro__highres

I could not believe they had all done this for me.  So quickly after his passing and it even included his name plate from his stall door.  I was so blown away that tears started streaming down my eyes.   They all came in for a group hug and I noticed a glimmer of tears in some of their eyes too.  Thank you all for this beautiful gift!  I will treasure it forever.  I look at it every day as it hangs on the wall beside the front door in the great room.

Nash Update Day 3

October 9, 2014

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Nash is not eating barely anything. He is chewing really slowly when he does and seems like he forgets to swallow. I tried twice to get the doxy in him today. First time it poured right out of his mouth. Second time. I had to stick my hand in to get him to open his jaw and I think he swallowed most of it. Last night since 10. He didn’t drink water. But yesterday day time had like a half a bucket. The only thing he seems to want to eat is grass and now this morning he is only nibbling here and there. Still walking like he is drunk, which seems to have gotten a little worse.

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