Remy And Blue

I think Blue and Remy look particularly beautiful when they're grazing near the county road, a scenic picture for passersby:

 If you've been reading this blog, you know that both horses began to get grass founder (laminitis) from eating too much sugary, green grass. I began putting grazing muzzles on them during the day and locking them in the barn at night to keep the problem from worsening. Life since then has been a struggle to keep them in their muzzles and find the discarded muzzles when they slip out of them:

 A blog reader suggested the yellow flagging ribbon, and it has worked admirably. I can see that they are still wearing their muzzles from a distance by checking for the bright yellow flagging:

 Remy still loves attention and it is often difficult to photograph him because he's rushing to get to me for more petting:

 Blue was always more shy and reticent, but a hidden bonus of the new muzzles is all the extra handling they get. Both boys have become even more tame and gentle than they were previously:

 They come back to the barn eagerly at 5:00 each evening for the scant 1/4 cup of grain I give them (too much would worsen the founder). I remove their muzzles for the night and they seem happy:

 They graze all day long but the muzzles slow down their consumption:

 I had to put cow collars on them to which I tie the muzzles in order to help keep them on. I learned, though, not to tie them with baling twine because Blue sometimes slips off the muzzle and then gets his legs caught in it as it hangs from the collar. Now I use small Chihuahua collars with a quick-release feature (you can see the red collar on Remy in this photo). The problem is that they go through about four of them per week:

 I did use baling twine for Remy one day when I ran out of Chihuahua collars, but he's never gotten entangled in one like Blue has:

 Both boys have become more accustomed to their muzzles. They don't like them, but they don't fight them like they did at first:

 And both boys seem happy and healthy:

 One added benefit of this new system is all the extra exercise I get as I walk the pasture, searching for the shucked muzzles. In this case, one of them had slipped out of the muzzle, cow collar and Chihuahua collar. They sure do keep me on my toes:

Winter Red Poll Ladies

The Red Poll girls are all fat and happy, enjoying their hay now that winter has fully arrived:

I roll the bale feeder to a new location with each new bale, leaving a bed of old hay which they use for lying down. This is Rosella, luxuriating in the soft hay:

And I sometimes carry their grain out to them if they won't come into the barn. It's part of my effort to get them used to coming into the barn each day once again. Notice the mackerel sky in this photo:

Their coats have become less red and more brown, something which happens each winter:

Scarlett, long one of the least friendly cows, has decided I'm not such a bad guy after all:

Rosella got too fat for her LG cow collar, so I took it off of her and bought an XL collar. It took nearly a week to get her to allow me to put it on her, but she now looks spiffy in her new blue collar and red ear tag. Sadly, I discovered that she too has a crack in a hoof claw. I am giving them all grain and extra minerals now in an attempt to stop their hooves from cracking:

They are a peaceful group, and don't bat an eyelash as I walk among them:

Some mornings when I ring the bell to call them in for grain,they will walk almost to the barn and then stop, refusing to go any farther. If I continue ringing the bell, a few of them will usually (not always) come in for grain. I carry out a bowl for each of the others. I don't give them much because they're already fat, but a little grain with minerals seems wise, both for their health and to get them used to coming into the barn when called like they used to do:

Jasmine seems to be feeling much better. She stands as much as the other cows, keeps up with the herd, and eats with gusto. That's her with a mouthful of hay:

Like the horses, they are not phased by the snow and cold. When the cold winds begin, however, they won't like it and will move to the east side of the barn for protection. Of course I'll then move the bale feeder there too:

Rosella, chewing her cud in the morning sun:

A happy herd: