Days Are Sunnier With Horses

I had been moping about and feeling sad about the loss of my herd long enough when I started browsing Facebook posts for horses for sale this summer. I found a dandy paint gelding in Eau Claire only to learn it was a scam. Thankfully I didn't lose money! The seller (aka lying scumbag) played it to the end when I drove to Eau Claire with the trailer and cash. No horse. As Dr. Phil would say, "The most dangerous lie has an element of truth." The truth was the location, and details of the equestrian center where the horse was supposedly located. Also the house number and knowledge of the highway that had construction going on. I let the center know that someone was playing around, too. Disappointing but also unnerving to have had the unpleasant experience.

It gave me pause as to what I wanted my next horse ownership experience to be. I could buy the expensive horse (which didn't exist) but I would also need a buddy horse. One for company for each other but also to be able to have my friend come ride with me. Expensive horse x 2.

My needs: a horse that can take me on a nice quiet walk a couple times a week. What I like to do is to take CARE of horses. The daily stuff. Feeding. Cleaning up after them. Pats and treats. Wanna ride today? No? Ok, we will go another day. A little ground work with handling on the ground. Climb the pedestal, weave through barrels. An easy ride down our safe and easy trails. All the stuff that builds confidence and connection. 

My solution came the next week after the scam. Ryon's Rescue Pen in nearby Cannon Falls, MN, announced on Facebook that they had some nice horses coming in. I checked them out right away and found a "quarter horse" 15.3 hands high and estimated at 25 years old. I saw his little video walking toward the camera and away. That was it. A plain bay gelding. Perfect! I wanted a lady friend for him and found a paint mare, registered, lots of chrome and fancy. In fact her registered name is Fancy Lady Husler. She is 23 years old. Put her in my PayPal shopping cart as well. This is not how horse shopping should be done but that's how it happened!

I took friend Lisa with me to Cannon Falls to pick up these two souls. I learned the mare was being separated from her friend. That made me sad that they should be separated and there was an amount of sad whinnies. In spite of that they loaded up like experienced troopers. We arrived at Catfish Corner just before the rain storm that had followed us home.

Fresh off the trailer and wondering what the heck is going on now. They lit into the grass and just took a deep breath. Being in a horse lot with strangers is daunting enough. Not knowing if you are going to be sent to death or brought to safety was my thought for their standoffish behavior. I would call it being shut down. They didn't know who to trust and they didn't respond to me at all. In fact, avoided me. Treats were refused. No apples or carrots. I could get up to them but there wasn't anything "there". Having a label with a number stuck on the shoulder doesn't inspire confidence in the future. 

This behavior continued for the first couple weeks and with lots of undemanding time they decided I wasn't so bad. It was the bag of fenugreek treats that got them going! Only the best for my beauties. 

The first vet visit was to get them vaccinated since there were no records and an extra vaccination is just cheap insurance. My dear vet, Kristen, confirmed my thoughts. The gelding is a Standardbred. Probably an amish castaway buggy horse. She thought over 25 years old. He has some ribs showing but more groceries can fix that. His hoof problems are being treated. Then I told her about the freeze brand on his neck and she said standardbred registries are very precise as they have a long history in racing. I should look into it. And I did.

The brand came back to a successful trotting horse named "Keep It Real" which had earned over 600K in race winnings! Could it be? Well, it wasn't. Through further research the real "KIR" had a star on his forehead which was confirmed in a photo of his racing days. My guy did not. Even through other interpretations of the brand there was not a reasonable outcome. No worries. I love him anyway. I have named him Silas. It's a good solid name for a horse that looks like he came from solid stock, worked hard for a living and now has won the lottery in his advancing years. He has the home that will see him to his end of days and we will enjoy each of those days in the meantime. 

My pretty paint mare is now called, Rosie. Rosey Posey with the little pink Nosey! The vet and I speculated her past might have included showing in halter as she's so pretty. She might have been a brood mare and had pretty babies showing signs that she carried young ones. I called the former registered owners but didn't get a response from their Iowa stable. Their website looked slim on horses so I'm guessing she aged out of their program or the owners of the stable are retiring. I left word that she is now at her last home in case they were interested. Most who unload horses at auctions could not care less. 

We go for walks after dinner out to the big field taking turns who leads and who runs free. Rosie likes to explore and has offered easy trots and lopes while at liberty. She's just enjoying being a horse who can choose what she wants to do while she has the freedom. 

I lasted eight months without horses so I'm really holding these two close and enjoying where we are and where I hope we can go from here. I won't have the luxury of having them for the 20+ years I had with the originals but I will give them the best end of life care I can provide. They show no signs of slowing down!

Memorial & Labor Day Weekend Catch Up

The little Vali girl has grown so fast! She's nearly as tall as Winnie and has four times the energy of her five year old elder.

Into everything! She has done a really great job of tending to my Red, White and Blue planter just in time for the holiday.

Bored? No prob. Just dig holes! Chase the chickens and eat anything you find along the way. I should have turned her out to our forestry project.

We hired TCV Forestry to do some trail and brush clearing this spring. One of the larger cut off areas has presented an opportunity to do a plantation of new pine and spruce trees. The original owner of this property planted a bare prairie with various conifers and sold Christmas trees under the title of "Swamp Angel" which she certainly was. I have dubbed the new plantings as the "Edna Engle Memorial Christmas Tree Farm". 

The saplings are so tiny you can't even see there are 65 young ones out there. The space could hold 500! I have a lot of work ahead. Thank goodness I have help now. 

We have had our former neighbor and all around good guy helping us around here for the past few months. Tom has had his work cut out with us as the last ten years have kind of piled up. With me working all the time, and Don in the state he is in, we have had many maintenance chores growing which he has taken over. I should make a list. Our basement has never looked so great. The barn is organized. Loads of pure junk were taken to an auction and we actually made money at it! Clean and orderly garage. Organized outbuildings free of mice and clutter. Firewood stacks growing nearly weekly with his woodcutting skills. I never have to go to the recycling center!

All the basement walls have been redone and and painted. Then THE FLOORS! 

He takes us to Don's Dr appointments and we have developed our system to get him transported in his vehicle. Emergency room visits? No problem. He's there. Even if we don't get Don back until 1 am and he has another 30 minutes to get himself home. Every bit of this is keeping Don home instead of an assisted living situation. Not easy but it's working so far. Bless you, Tom!

He was mistaken for our son at an ER visit. Yup, I had him when I was 12!

Spring at Catfish Corner. The water is up, the water is down. Eagles are bathing when it's low. The geese pair have a flotilla of young out for swimming the neighborhood. Our bird feeders are full of orioles, numerous woodpeckers, rose breasted grosbeaks and the rare redheaded woodpecker. Plus all the other common ordinaries like us!

The Vali Girl has been, shall I say, a handful. If it's not destroying her bed, my plants, digging holes, it's destroying chickens! Six of my lovelies had been lost. She literally plays with them to death. And she's sneaky about it, too. I need eyes in the back of my head to keep track of her. Good thing she's cute.

 

A New Life Arrives at Catfish Corner

Long before the demise of my horse herd a little soul was conceived. We waited for this new one who arrived on Earth on December 3. Little did she know she had a job upon arrival. Perhaps to rescue me from the grief of loss. She came from Kim and Brian Schlomann who operate Bear Kreek Chesapeaks, at Big Bend, WI, near Milwaukee. The same kennel that produced our precious Phoebe who we lost to theft. 

That was a soul sucking event that I would wish on no one. However, the suspected perpetrator has left this earthly realm so I can rest assured that that event won't happen again. 

Having a new puppy in winter has been different! Lots of getting winter coats and boots on just to get outside for walkies and potties. Thankfully she loves her kennel and, other than the first week in bed with us, she sleeps there all night and has been peaceful until she hears me stir in the morning.

I cherish her at this little stage where I can still lift her (21# now!) and give her a cuddle. But that won't last long which will please Win. At 80# he wants to be on my lap but it just doesn't work!

We got out to the big field before the last little snow came it. She pesters Windsor incessantly and, grumpy as he is, I can see he is taking on the role of a big brother as best he can.