The Zen of Grass Eating

I tend to graze Dude and Bestie quite a bit since they only get half day turnout. I find it very relaxing. There's just something about standing there, lead rope in hand, with not much else to do except maybe curry or brush them if I've managed to carry the necessary items out. But mainly I just stand there and watch them eat. There's something mesmerizing about it. They're just so totally focused on that single activity that I become totally focused on it also for the time we're out there together. And I've noticed that other people do the same thing. If there's no one to talk to, it just seems pretty common to stand there and idly watch the horse do his or her thing.

Today I grazed them both (separately, of course; I'm not crazy) and watched their eating styles. Bestie tends to be very methodical, covering an entire patch and taking huge bites before moving on to the next patch. Dude grazes a spot, then moves to another spot, then might move back to the first spot; totally random. Maybe it's like when people eat corn on the cob (now available fresh locally!) ... there's the typewriter style of eating straight across the cob, then starting a new row (me); the people who rotate the cob in a circle; the people who eat totally randomly all around the cob. What makes horses (or people) methodical eaters or random eaters? Who knows? That's a bit too deep to get into when I'm on the end of the lead line. The zen part of the experience is standing there with my head totally empty of any other thoughts, just watching my horses happily eat their grass. Grass is good. Life is good. Ommmmmmm.

Hose the horses. Hose the horses. Hose the horses.

OK, it's a bit ridiculous how we've had a pretty cool and rainy summer and now all of a sudden we are having total sweatbox days. It's like going from one extreme to the other. And I hate to be a whiner (I first spelled it without the "h," a little slip there since I was just thinking about having a nice cold glass of white!), but it's kind of hard to adjust to. It's funny how you adapt/or not to weather patterns. This one we're experiencing now is totally similar to the summer weather I spent years and years coping with in Virginia, and it wouldn't have fazed me at all there. But I also lived with A/C 24/7 there and had no barnyard animals.

Beginning on Thursday, all I've done is muck their stalls, graze them until the flies drive them or me crazy, and hose them down. Too hot to muster the energy for lunging or riding. One day I think I lasted maybe 4 minutes outside with Dude. When the flies starting swarming both his face and mine, that was IT; we both had a meltdown. Today was hot, but the flies weren't as bad. The horses came in around noon and hung out the whole afternoon in their stalls, which is actually pretty comfortable for them since most people have fans hung on their stall doors. I hosed Bestie, then Dude, and while I was hosing him off the hose burst a small hole and I got soaked, which felt pretty good, but I think I looked a little scary going into the grocery store later.

I guess tomorrow is supposed to the the doozy ... 90 degrees. I know some people scoff at 90 like it's nothing (my Florida-resident sister, for one), but heck, this is the North Country. In another month we'll have nights in the 40s and I can whine about that. :)

Baby Bestie

Last night I finally got around to filing a big stack of old vet and farrier receipts and this year's Coggins tests in Dude and Bestie's binders, and I came across this photo of Baby Bestie. It's actually on her registration papers. Sometimes when I arrive at the barn and she turns to look at me, she'll be in this exact position. It's kind of funny to me because it's such a "caught in the act" shot. Wish we had one for Dude too; I would've loved to see him as a colt.

Weather today: 85 degrees, 72 percent humidity. All the horses had their stall fans on, but it was still sticky in the barn. I could feel the sweat trickling down my back, ugh. Cleaned their stalls, refreshed their water, hosed them both down, and headed down the road for an ice cream cone. :)

New product from the Sore No More line

I am a HUGE fan of Sore No More; I mean, it's probably my favorite horse product ever. Part of that enthusiasm comes from the fact that I use it on myself (SNM and Bag Balm take care of just about everything, in my opinion!). For bug bites and sore muscles, it can't be beat. And that's the word around the barn (although I don't know that the makers endorse it for human use). One other positive point, it doesn't have that mentholly smell that some other muscle rubs have.

In any case, because of my love for SNM, I was pretty psyched to open up my recent issue of the Botanical Animal e-News and see that they have a new product. It's called Sore No More Sports Salve, and it seems to do what Sore No More accomplishes, plus more ... hydration of skin and shelly hooves, and helping hair to grow back from cuts and abrasions. Interesting. Of course, I'm wondering, can I use it on myself? :) Can't wait to get some.

Wild horses

My dad just sent me an article from South Dakota Magazine about a woman who is the president of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros (ISPMB). It was interesting reading not only for the insights into the hierarchy within bands of wild horses, but also for the details on the personal commitment of this woman, Karen Sussman, to the Society's goals. She first became involved in the early 1980s, and moved the site for the ISPMB from Arizona to South Dakota when she moved there in the late eighties.

According to the article, the ISPMB currently has 350 horses on 680 acres of land near tiny Landry, South Dakota. Some placement of horses outside the refuge does occur, but the ISPMB's main goal is to preserve the bloodlines and culture, and to research behavior to better understand the horses and their "communities." Sussman even uses some of the wild horses in therapy situations, bringing them into contact with adults in alcoholism programs. Kudos to her for her activism.

I couldn't find the article on the magazine's website and so could not include a link here; however, the ISPMB has a very informative website, and in addition to details about their efforts offers links to other press coverage plus everything from horse sponsorship to travel information to visit the refuge.

A brief photo essay of Dude's primary concerns in life

Flies. Flies are bad. Bring me in. I'm on the verge of a meltdown. Maybe if I stare pointedly at my lead rope she'll put the camera away and BRING ME IN.





Hay. Why is that hay sitting way down there? Clearly the help around here doesn't "get it."

Photo shoot

Brought my camera to the barn today because Bestie's next door neighbor and boyfriend Jet is leaving. He actually has a big long Quarter Horse showname involving "Cowboy" and "Jet," but I can't remember what it is. He's about the only neighbor that Bestie has gotten along with. She and Ariele used to make awful faces at one another, and she'd squeal like crazy at Jet's predecessor, Roadie. So it's kind of sad that he's going home. If he had more white on his face, they'd be twins ... they do have the same back right sock marking. He's super sweet. In the photo, he's banging his grain bucket and she's saying, "Hey, big boy, how 'bout being neighborly and giving me some grain?" What a cute couple.