The Horsey Boys

When my sister visited, she made it a point to stop and say hello to the horses. Blue, as usual, was shy:

But Remy never had a shy day in his life. He's a love sponge:

The two boys are so bonded that I can't imagine them ever being separated:

They spend all day out on the pasture, sometimes staying with the cows, sometimes going off on their own:

Sometimes they separate from each other, but not too far and not for long. They always keep an eye on each other:

The muzzles have by now become routine and I haven't had to go searching for a shucked muzzle in many weeks:

Each night I give them a tiny bit of grain (too much would be bad for them) and then they spend the night in the barn with hay and water. I put the hay down in four spots, separated by bars to keep them from fighting over it:

The vet said they both look extraordinarily healthy except that Blue is still a bit too fat:

On the day I did fence repair, both horses came along to "help" me:

And they make a pretty picture for folks driving by on the county road:

Remy likes the company of his cattle friends. They tolerate him but don't seem to return the affection he feels for them:

One morning I went out to the barn and discovered that they'd opened some gates and raided the hay supply. They keep me on my toes:

The Red Poll Girls

Violet and Scarlet watched me with interest as I snapped their picture. Someone behind them apparently wanted to get into the picture too but was squeezed out:

Life is good for six red cows and one white calf:

Jasmine and Gracie:

Gracie again. Some of my cows have lost weight, but Gracie seems to be fatter than ever:

One morning it was obvious that Rosella was in heat, so I called the A.I. (artificial insemination) technician. Then I lured Rosella into the barn with grain and locked her inside. She didn't seem to mind much, though she'd have preferred to be outside with her herd:

When the A.I. man arrived, I got Rosella into the squeeze chute and closed the head lock on her. She's used to this and was not alarmed:

The A.I. man got out a straw of frozen semen from a champion Red Poll bull, warmed it up and inserted it. It was all finished in short order and Rosella rejoined her herd:

Jasmine is looking very good this summer except that her hooves are beginning to grow too long again:

Finding good, tasty grass took more time and travel during the drought, but now that it's growing rapidly again, there's plenty of time for napping:

They cover every inch of their pasture, making sure they don't let any grass get too tall:

Little Lucky isn't all that little any more and I've taken a series of photos to use when I advertise him for sale. He's not very old, but he's big, strong and independent:

The Red Poll girls are a peaceful bunch, spending their days together as a family: