New Hay Feeder

Jan 152012
 

I took advantage of a recent sunny day to build a hay feeder I had been wanting to do for a long time. It’s made from a piece of hockey barrier netting about 10′ x 12′, a few plastic coated cup hooks, three 2x4s and a sheet of exterior grade plywood. The posts had been put in my the barn owner in preparation for a shelter.

It is filled from the back without opening or closing anything. It will easily hold a small square bale, maybe even more. For now, I’m having them fed their usual meal of two to three flakes each. I may try going back to 24/7 free choice at some point. I’ll have to wait for the roof though, so the hay doesn’t spoil.

Lily eating from the new feeder

I had planned to split the net and have half hang to each side. That would make two separate feeding areas, so that a dominant horse wouldn’t monopolize the hay. I may still do that, but for now, Beau and Lily are sharing nicely.

I could see feeding stations like this in a couple of areas of a paddock paradise track, with an A frame roof off the two poles. It would provide a bit of a rain and wind break, along with a feeding station, without having to build a full shelter.

The Golden Light of Fall

Oct 132011
 

This photo is from last year, but it does capture a bit of what last night’s ride was like. Though we came back in near full dark. I have flashers and a reflective safety vest to wear, so were were okay for the short bit we had to ride on the road. It was a fabulous evening! Lily moved out and rated back down with ease. We mostly trotted with a bit of rocking chair canter thrown in. The air was crisp and became chilling on the last stretch. I was grinning throughout the day at work today just thinking about it. Horse therapy is the best!

So that is one think I am thankful for. More importantly, I’ve been thinking a lot about lately the wonderful children I share my life with. I feel so very fortunate to be their parent. And I look forward to when they both return from their adventures out in the wide world.

Gurunam is in South America for her study abroad. Here is a recent blog post with photos from her visit to Iguazu Falls. Look it up. It seems like a fantastic place! Apparently, when Eleanor Roosevelt visited, she said, “Poor Niagara!”

Photo courtesy of Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa

And Hargobind is at Miri Piri Academy in Amritsar, India. He has been taking part in forty days of early morning sewa at the Golden Temple. They recently celebrated Diwali and Bhandi Chhor.

My trip to India this fall was another experience for me to grateful for. There is much to say about that. I am still considering what I would like to write about it. On a pracitcal level, it was very nice to get to know the staff and see the school grounds. I found that India had not changed all that much since my visits back in the ’80′s. Yes, people have cell phones and there are a few more cars, but much still remians the same.

I love this time of year when the light turns to gold and the temperatures start to drop. And even the darkness that falls early. It is a time of reflection.

Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.

Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

How:

  • Sit back, take a few deep breaths, and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog. If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments here instead.
  • If you blog, please link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.

    • Visit these other blogs that often participate in Thankful Thursday:

  • Tired Dog Ranch
  • Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch
  • Earth Dancer Spanish Mustangs
  • The Pony Expression
  • From the Horse’s Back

    • Equinox = mud season

    Sep 212010
     

    Sunday the sun came out after several days of torrential rain, with more forecast. I grabbed the chance to get out to the barn. I arrived to find this lovely mare to greet me. I didn’t take the photo until after I brought her in to consider my plan of action.




    I figured that I would take it step by step. It was warm enough outside, so out came the hose. There is no other way to really groom this much wet mud off a horse. If it is dry, a metal curry works great. There is a method using damp, hot towels that can be quite effective. I didn’t have a pile of towels and hot water though!

    After watching the brown water the consistency of chocolate milk stream off of her (both sides were covered equally), we went for a walk. Down the road in the sun we walked. I took the opportunity to correct a bit of barging ahead that Lily does sometimes. When that was issue resolved, I walked at her hip and ground drove her one reined. It was all a good readjustment of roles. I guess her time off had increased Lily’s self importance somewhat. Now she understands again that she is welcome to her opinion, but mine overrules hers!

    I also fitted her winter rain sheet. Though Lily doesn’t seem to want to be seen in this one. It’s not as nice as her other sheet. A bit baggy around the shoulders, I think.




    I didn’t end up really riding, just hopped on bareback and took a turn down the road once and back. Here is the product of the bath, a shiny dappled dun coat.



    I contemplated leaving her out with her sheet on, but it was too warm. (sigh) Both sides were soon coated again. At least it was relatively dry mud, not quite like the previous layer.



    I am looking forward to the week of sun that’s forecast. I want to haul in some loads of hog fuel. Her paddock has to be dry to get my two wheel drive truck in … and out! It’s getting dark just after seven these days. That will only progress earlier and earlier, now that we are at the equinox. I am sure that Lily will have more rest time this winter. It’s all for the good I suppose. For now, I will enjoy every sunset and every breathtaking ray of light that streams through the clouds.


    Sunday Treat

    Aug 292010
     


    Wah!

    Aug 272010
     

    I guess that this is officially a Thankful Thursday post, even though it is going out on Friday, as I am SO grateful for this ride today.

    Who's that Perfect Mare?

    After the last month or so of short, walking rides, today was a breakthrough. I’ve been working on getting Lily to stretch out, take longer, looser strides and relax her back.


    She had gotten in the habit of taking short, choppy strides before she went totally lame. I could not get her to go on the bit. Any attempt at contact sent her head in the air and rushing or skittering crookedly sideways. So the riding that I did do last winter was loose reined, trail rides. I had hoped to get her okay with contact again at some point.

    Then she went lame and it was all on hold. For a while, I thought it could be permanently on hold.

    It is possible that the way I was riding her contributed to her lameness. I had been riding her in a jaquima meant for Paso Finos and was asking her to gait. The jaquima does lift her head. She goes very lightly in it and on a loose rein seemed fine. I don’t think that this was the primary cause of her lameness, but it might have been a factor. I do believe that she had an injury of some sort. If it really was an avulsion fracture or a ligament injury, I really don’t know. The summer of rest certainly helped her. The supplements she’s been taking have helped her. We are currently using Ligand-3 from Foxden Equine. I wet a week’s worth with olive oil and add it to her feed. She gobbles it right up.

    The turning point seemed to be her recent treatment from Ferronato Shen. I had heard very good things from a friend about the work she did. Her evaluation and massage session with Lily turned up a very tight back as her primary issue. I won’t go into more detail than that on my blog. Needless to say, I believe that Ferronato was correct. Now I rub down her back after every ride and am very conscious of how I ride and handle Lily.

    Since I’ve started riding her again, it is in a french link snaffle that fits and a new to me Ortho-Flex saddle. The difference lately is really good. She reaches out in her stride. We had gotten up to a couple of miles of walking.

    Leg yield on the way home. Not so easy to do with one hand on the reins and one taking the photo.

    So enough of the preamble and on to the breakthrough! Today, we rode down to a local outdoor arena. On the way, she wanted to explore a new cow pasture. Once in there, she broke into her huge extended trot and started cantering. She was feeling really good! And I felt good too! But I cut it short, as I really do want to take it slowly.


    After stretching her legs like that, I asked for light contact, her neck arched right up and she gave it to me. We did some circles, spiraling in and out and leg yield. Her head would pop up, but she would come back when asked. It was lovely and even better than years ago, when I rode her Training Level.


    It really has been two years since Lily and I have done any work in earnest. I leased her out for the first half of 2008. I had too many horses at the time and she was the most trained and easiest to find a leaser for. When she came back, I bred her to Paisano. Then she went to Tired Dog Ranch to foal out. There were a few rides here and there. I could tell each time that something was off. There were mild resistances from Lily. Though she would do what I asked, it was not with the willing, happy attitude of the past. It was really just a feeling more than anything I could put words to. I guess it’s not a bad thing that her physical issues came to head this year. Whatever it was, it seems to have worked it’s way out and we are on the other side.

    So now, I have a second chance to begin again, training Lily. I have learned so much in these two years and I look forward to having the chance to apply it. It is like a new world for me. To have Lily back and sound again is a gift beyond measure.

    (And, by the way, the “Wah!” title is not a cry, but the Wah! of bliss.)

    Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.

    Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

    How:

  • Sit back, take a few deep breaths, and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog. If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments here instead.
  • If you blog, please link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.
    • Visit these other blogs that often participate in Thankful Thursday:

  • Tired Dog Ranch
  • Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch
  • Earth Dancer Spanish Mustangs
  • The Pony Expression
  • From the Horse’s Back


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