My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
Yesterday, Curly and Zelda staged a jailbreak, knocking down the electric fence and wandering through some thick brush. When the ground is frozen the electric fence doesn’t work that well, and with winter blankets to protect them, I doubt they felt much of anything. Unfortunately, Curly did not emerge unscathed. She managed to slice her […]
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Zelda has been testing me. I was traveling for a few days last week, and when I haven’t been working her regularly, she forgets that I’m not Curly and she tries to boss me around. She will drag me toward the best grass, try to nip me when I put her saddle on, refuse to […]
Read MoreI understand why some people want their horses in individual turnouts — they are afraid they will get hurt. Freedom is always covered with scrapes, cuts and bite marks. It’s not from meanness. He plays hard. And often. Luckily, Willow seems to enjoy the game as much as he does. And even if he does […]
Read MoreHow many hours a day does your horse sleep? I hadn’t thought about it much but I came across a statistic that made me tired just thinking about it! What’s your guess? 8 hours? 10 hours? 5 hours? 3 hours? The answer is 3 or less. Lots of people are surprised to see our horses […]
Read MoreToday I got to the barn to find that the horses were playing musical pastures again. Curly was in with Freedom and Willow and Zelda was on the other side of the fence looking annoyed. It turns out that Curly is a limbo dancer. Someone had pulled down two rails of fencing and she had […]
Read MoreZelda has upped her game of tag. When I went to hunt her on Saturday, she started by running laps in the pasture. Then she decided that Curly needed to join in her game. I think that Zelda is part Border Collie because she’s very good at herding. Of course, Curly is a good sport. […]
Read MoreGotta love herd dynamics. Herd dynamics took on a new twist this morning. As usual, Zelda was the first one out so that she could take possession of “her” hay. Then she decided that she had to roll and started searching for the perfect spot. She rolled, got up and rolled again. Andy watched with […]
Read MoreEvery morning when I turn out Curly, Zelda and Andy they perform a complicated and highly ritualistic dance of power around the flakes of hay (and there are many flakes in many piles). Freedom and Willow are easy. Freedom is in charge so he eats where he wants. Willow understands this. They are perfect pasture […]
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