Two Little Horses In Their Corral

Despite their initial rebellion, Blue and Remy have settled into their new routine of days in their corral and nights in the barn:

They have slimmed down, shed their winter coats and begun to shine in the sun:

They always seem hungry in the evening and are anxious to get into the barn and eat more hay:

Of course there is not much grass left in their corral - except for that patch just above and to the left of Blue's head in this photo. I believe they won't eat it because they've been pooping there:

They wrestle, run and play - and then they nap:

And return to the barn each evening for fresh hay and clean water:

Sometimes I see them looking longingly at the green grass outside their corral, but too much of it will kill them, so I must restrict their access:

There is a nice Box Elder tree in their corral for shade and I use it to tie them to while moving them, one at a time, between the barn and corral:

Alas, I've discovered that it's a female tree and full of seeds, which are extremely poisonous to horses:

A horse woman said I'd be better off leaving the tree but providing more hay during the day so they won't be tempted to eat the seeds. Apparently they don't much like the seeds, but eat them when they're hungry and bored. If the seeds begin to accumulate on the ground, I'll leave the horses in the barn and rake them up:

She had another suggestion which I took - to enlarge their corral a bit. I moved the south fence line about eight feet over, putting the posts in the ground during the day and then moving the wire in the evening after the horses were in the barn:

You can see the strip of longer grass in this photo, though it was all eaten and the new section no longer visible by the end of the first day. But for now, the little guys are behaving well, looking better than ever and living a happy, healthy life:

Little Horses In Their Corral

It's taken a few weeks to get Blue and Remy accustomed to spending their days in the new corral and their nights in the barn:

Remy was especially rebellious and our walks between the barn and corral (in both directions) became frightening for me as I thought he might accidentally (or intentionally?) hurt me:

But over time, both little guys have calmed down and seem now to enjoy their new lives:

I throw a brick of hay over their fence each morning because they have almost no grass left in there to eat. That is, after all, why they're in there:


My Amish neighbor trimmed their hooves the other day and said it was obvious they'd had laminitis (grass founder) but were healing nicely:


And sometimes their friends, the cows, come and lie down just outside the fence as if they want to keep them company:

It may be anthropomorphism on my part, but I really think both cows and horses enjoy these closeness sessions, even though separated by an electric fence:

Remy, being the most clever and mischievous, is the first to be led out in the morning and first to be led back to the barn in the evening. In the morning, I tie him to the Box Elder tree while I go to fetch Blue from the barn:

I tie Blue to the tree in evening so I can safely lead Remy back to the barn for the night - but that doesn't stop Remy from being mischievous:

I took this shot from the road one day while the cows were visiting the horses. It seems to have become a ritual:

And I took this picture from inside the horses' corral just as the cows were moving on. Things have been blessedly peaceful recently:

A Horsey Emergency

The pasture grass has been gradually turning green, but I didn't think it was yet anything to worry about:

Nevertheless, I did notice that Blue was lying down more than normal:

 It appeared that Blue's hooves were already going bad, a case of Grass Founder, caused by too much high sugar, green grass. I was loathe to put their muzzles on again this year and begin the same daily battle with the horses which I had last year:

  The grass kept greening and then Remy began lying down much of the time also:

 One cold afternoon I put out a new hay bale and all the cows came over to eat from it. The horses were nowhere to be found:

So I drove out to the farthest corner of the field and found them both, standing still in the sleet and driving winds, looking miserable:

 Worse, Remy's hooves were badly tipped, a sure sign of painful Founder (laminitis):

It seems that the front of their hooves becomes painful, so they tip them back to relieve the pressure. It was obvious that I had to do something immediately and couldn't  put it off another day:

 So I drove back to the barn and parked the tractor. Then I grabbed two lead ropes and walked out through the driving sleet and snow to where I'd found the horses. I led them slowly back to the barn and locked them inside. Remy seemed happy to get out of the weather and to lie down on soft hay:

Blue did likewise, and I determined to keep them in the barn, eating only hay, until I could come up with a better plan:

I got moveable posts and set up a small corral for them inside the main fence (in case they escaped the new fence, they'd at least be inside the big fence). The Box Elder tree was inside their new corral for shade and I tied yellow flagging ribbons on the new wires to help make sure they noticed them. They've spent a few days in there so far, and I've brought them into the barn at night. It may get more difficult when their grass is all gone but just outside their fence is lush, green pasture. Time will tell:

Blue And Remy

It's early spring and Remy is finding lots of green grass to eat, probably more of it than he should eat. In this photo, it appeared that the cows were watching with amazement as he binged:

Both horsey boys are eating well and enjoying the slowly improving weather:

Gracie and Blue found a soft, dry place to nap in the afternoon sun:

And I continue to bring out hay bales, though the end is in sight:

Blue's hooves seem to be getting sore from eating too much fresh grass. He lies down too often and doesn't seem to want to get up. I will have to do something soon:

Are you talking about me?

But they are a happy pair, enjoying springtime:

Nobody needs to walk to the stock tank for water:

And nobody is going hungry:

As you can see, the pasture is greening up rapidly:

One morning I found Blue on the east side of the barn, looking wistfully across the road at the north field, which was even greener than the field he's in:

Remy was there too, but he was busy gobbling up grass by the old silo base. I need to find a way to limit these boys' grass consumption. Stay tuned for how this turns out:

Around The Farm

The grass has been gradually turning green and the winter hay supply is almost gone:

 Blue and Remy are about to begin their annual battle with me over wearing muzzles to keep them from developing founder, a crippling hoof malady. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it this year:

 But for now they are happy. Blue is especially lovely as the wind lifts his mane:

 And Remy is all cuddles and sweetness as he trots over to greet me in the pasture:

 The both seem to be finding more than enough to eat in the short, dead grass of the south field:

 And neither one is in danger of getting too skinny:

 And speaking of tubby animals, the Red Poll girls have certainly not gone hungry. Here, Amy and Rosella were sharing some hay:

 The herd was waiting and watching as I brought a new bale out to them:

 Violet had all the hay she needed and preferred to just nap on some waste hay:

 A new bale, just delivered:

 My six hardy roses arrived and I lined them up on the kitchen counter to replace spilled soil and give them all something to drink:

 Then I moved them to the back room, where they will share a big, east facing window with the seed trays (which are not yet planted). Spring is arriving rapidly and I am struggling to keep up with it: