Typical Scenes Around The Farm

So much for avoiding dirty horses with the gravel! I always thought Lucky rolled after eating because he was conveniently located in dirt or mud. Apparently that was not the only motivation.

Lily and Missy grazing; nothing too exciting here but a typical scene of horses quietly grazing

O'Reilly and Lucky enjoying a grooming session.

Trooper and Bella playing. Trooper is our 3-legged black lab mix and Bella is a border collie. Don't feel sorry for Trooper, he is always the instigator and loves to play rough and run hard. He usually wears Bella out!

Chili, Teddy, and Silky grazing. Chili is a Quarter Horse and he worked cattle and was also a trail partner. Teddy is a Quarter Horse retired from dressage. Silky is a large pony who showed in pony equitation.

Snappy, Lucky and Mr. O'Reilly. Snappy is a Polish bred gelding who competed through the four star level in eventing, and then he became a winning show hunter. Lucky is a Quarter Horse and retired trail horse. Mr. O'Reilly is an Irish bred gelding retired from the jumpers.

One of my favorite pictures of MyLight. She is such a sweet mare and I love her expression in this picture. MyLight is a Thoroughbred and retired from dressage.

Harmony and Missy grazing together. Harmony is a Thoroughbred and retired polo pony. Missy is a large pony and spent most of her life working on a dude ranch.

Thomas walking through the pasture. What a handsome guy he is! Thomas is a Holsteiner and retired dressage horse.

Ogie and B-Rad hanging out. Ogie is a Thoroughbred and retired eventer. B-Rad is a Belgian Warmblood and retired jumper.

Trillion and Faune grazing. Trillion is a Dutch Warmblood and Faune is a Selle Francais. Both were perpetual winners in the Regular Working Hunters and they even competed against each other.

Asterik and Winston grazing. Asterik is a Holsteiner and he showed on the A circuit in both the hunters and the jumpers. Winston is a Thoroughbred and retired show hunter.

Homer, Trigger and Baby. Homer is an Irish bred gelding, Trigger is an Appendix Quarter Horse, and Baby is Dutch Warmblood/Thoroughbred cross. All three are retired show hunters.

Homer, Leo, Elfin and Thomas. Leo is a Dutch Warmblood who competed through 4th level in dressage before becoming a show hunter. Elfin is a Thoroughbred and retired show hunter.

Where Does the Time Go?

I've mentioned before that we are often contacted by individuals who want to start a retirement farm. In fact we are contacted so often about this I actually put a page on our website called 'Run the Numbers' as I did not have time to type out the same information over and over. I have come to the conclusion that just about every horse lover who has a few acres and room for a few horses thinks a retirement farm is the perfect way to blend their love of horses into a profession. I can say first hand that it is a wonderful way to spend your days! However I do find that most people who contact us under-estimate not only what their costs will be in regards to caring for the horses, but severely under-estimate the time cost as well.

One thing people often overlook in their questions is that there is more to running a farm than just farm work (and farm work takes up PLENTY of time). There are lots of administrative things that need to be done. Scheduling and organizing appointments for the farrier, dentist, vet, etc. come to mind. Tomorrow is another farrier day, and we have a farrier day almost every week. When I'm finished writing this post I will be using my records to make out my list of horses that will be seeing the farrier tomorrow. In addition to the usual farrier, dental and vet records I also maintain a blanket chart that lists the blankets and sheets that come with each horse so that I have a master list for reference if needed. I also note on the chart if I re-waterproofed the blankets, had any of them repaired, or if I need to contact an owner to have a blanket replaced.

Feed and hay deliveries also need to be arranged. To a point feed deliveries are somewhat automatic. However our feed usage varies up and down through the seasons, and of course we also have shavings and other supplies like salt, replacement buckets and various random items brought with our feed deliveries. So you need to stay on top of all of your supplies, not just feed, to make sure you have everything you need on hand. When I actually sit down and look at the items QuickBooks categories I am always amazed at how much stuff we go through in a year. Wormer, fly masks, brushes, fly spray, mane and tail detangler, buckets, feed bags, shampoo, ointment, bandaging supplies . . . the list is endless . . . it is kind of staggering when I look at what we go through in a year. We spend so much money with Valley Vet Supply ordering replenishment items they are forever sending me free gifts and rebate coupons. I never used to receive these when I was only buying supplies for my own horses! No matter where I order supplies from I always order in so much volume I can't even remember the last time I actually had to pay shipping on anything.

A funny side story about ordering items. The last time I ordered paste wormer apparently there was a special where for each tube of Equimax you ordered they sent you a free pair of Epona socks. Well, I ordered 55 tubes of Equimax (most of the horses need more than one tube by weight and a couple need almost two full tubes) so you can imagine my surprise when I opened the box, which seemed to be a lot larger than 55 tubes of wormer would require, and there were 55 pairs of socks waiting for me! Needless to say my sock drawer is beyond over-flowing and some of them will be given to Goodwill! I left the box of socks sitting by the door for a couple of weeks because I didn't know what to do with all of them. Jason did a double take when he saw the box and wanted to know if I had accidentally hit a button twice when I ordered myself some socks. So I had to explain, "well, you see I ordered paste wormer and I didn't realize . . . "

There is also the bookkeeping side of things. Monthly board invoices need to be sent (being paid for your work is always a nice bonus!), vendors need to paid, tax reports need to be filed, just all of the usual bookkeeping things. I don't think I need to explain in detail the importance of accurate financial records.

Next on the list is equipment maintenance. All of the equipment needs to be serviced regularly. The trailers need to have their annual service so the bearings can be re-packed, floors and wiring checked, brakes checked, etc. The tractors, the utility vehicles and all of the other farm equipment needs to be serviced regularly as well with routine fluid changes, replacing fuel and air filters and whatever else needs to be done.

Certainly not to be forgotten is the time that needs to be set aside for communicating with the horse owners. The most important thing we do for our clients is give them regular visuals so they can see for themselves how their horses are doing. It takes time (a lot of time!) to take all of the pictures and videos so that we can share them with our clients. Of course then there are the steps of downloading from the camera, uploading to various sites like this blog, uploading video to YouTube, and e-mailing pictures and videos directly to people. I enjoy taking the pictures and the videos, but the downloading, sorting, uploading and sharing I will admit gets tedious and is quite time consuming. Don't misunderstand, I enjoy updating people on their horses, just at the end of another long day of farm work sitting down at the computer to download, sort, upload, and e-mail is not always terribly appealing. A long, hot bath with a good book is much more alluring!

It is getting late and I am sure I am forgetting some other activities. But in short your time goes to a lot of things, not the least of which is the hands on daily care of the horses and maintaining the farm. There is always something that needs to be done, whether I am outside or inside. It is a good thing I am easily bored and don't like to watch much TV!

Some of the Big Boys grazing; Levendi, Elfin, Apollo and Ivan. Levendi is an Oldenburg and Elfin is a Thoroughbred, and both are retired show hunters. Apollo is a Hanoverian (all 18.1 hands of him!) and is retired from dressage. Ivan is a Thoroughbred and retired jumper.

Faune, Asterik and Winston grazing together. Faune is a Selle Francais and retired show hunter, Asterik is a Holsteiner and retired from both the hunter and jumper rings, and Winston is a Thoroughbred and retired show hunter.

Trillion; Trillion is a Dutch Warmblood and retired show hunter

Leo (Dutch Warmblood) in the front, then Levendi (Oldenburg), Dustin (Westphalian), Tony (Dutch Warmblood), Apollo (Hanoverian) and Homer (Irish). This group represents retired hunters, jumpers and dressage horses.

Sparky and Traveller are grazing in the very back. Traveller is a large pony and retired pony hunter. Norman is hanging out on the far left and he is a medium pony and retired pony hunter. Sky, Bridget and Bonnie (my girls) round out this group of happy grazers.

Apollo and Leo are grooming each other in the back while Ivan and Trigger graze.

The Big Boys were playing again, Trigger looks happy as he runs along with his tail flagged. Bella the dog is running along with them.

Dustin pauses for a moment with his flagged tail, looking for another reason to start running.

Leo and Apollo decided to join in the running

Harmony and Cuff Links grazing quietly. Harmony is a Thoroughbred and retired polo pony. Cuffie is a Welsh pony and retired from the pony hunters.

Happy Birthday Bear and the Big Boys Play

We had more gorgeous weather this weekend, with our streak of 70's and sunshine continuing. We are getting really spoiled with the weather the last few weeks. It was a great weekend for being outside and everyone on the farm, people and animals, were smiling.

Today (Sunday) was Bear's 10th birthday. He certainly doesn't act any differently than he did when he was two! Bear celebrated his birthday in style. He had some pieces of ham and steak for his birthday dinner and of course followed that up with a piece of cake. I must add it was a tiny piece of cake as Jason was very opposed to him having any at all. What a party pooper.

Bear didn't need to make a wish because he gets everything he wants anyway! Well, he was trying to eat the cake while Jason held him back so maybe he doesn't get everything he wants.

Bear eating his token piece of cake while Gracie the cat looks on. Bear takes after me and he looooves cake! Gracie thought she wanted cake as well so we gave her some, but she didn't eat it.

The Big Boys are often a source of entertainment and today was no exception. Leo and Thomas were having a grand time playing with each other and running around. I see all of the horses running and playing from time to time, but none of the others have extended run and play sessions like the Big Boys have sometimes. I happened to have my camera with me and captured some of it on video. Unfortunately the sun was close to setting so the picture quality is a bit grainy due to the lack of light. I think you can get the gist of how much fun they were having though! Overall it was a very pleasant weekend, and hopefully this week will bring more of the same.

Leo and Thomas are our playful duo. At about 32 seconds they trot across the pasture together. I would NOT want to be the judge of that hack class! At 2:50 they gallop around the field again, and at 3:15 Levendi joins them while they run. At the very end we also see Homer, Chance and Elfin.



Mr. O'Reilly and Chili grazing together. O'Reilly is an Irish bred gelding who showed in the jumpers. Chili is a Quarter Horse gelding who worked cattle and was also an excellent trail horse in the Colorado mountains.

Snappy; Snappy is a Polish bred gelding who competed through the four star level in eventing with the famous rider Mark Todd of New Zealand. Snappy was then sold to a rider in the U.S. and crashed at a cross country jump (rider error). After having tendon surgery on both front legs after the crash Snappy began a new career in the hunters. He won a lot, including being champion of the World Champion Hunter Rider Children's Hunter final at the Capitol Challenge Horse Show.

Lightening; Lightening is an Arabian and is a retired trail riding partner.

Cuff Links grazing and acting as the lookout while Harmony naps. Cuffie is a Welsh pony and is a retired pony hunter. Harmony is a Thoroughbred and retired polo pony.

Harmony was sleeping hard and looked like she was smiling, I could see all of her teeth.


I disturbed her nap and she was giving me a really groggy look here; she was not happy with my intrusion!

MyLight; MyLight is a Thoroughbred mare and is retired from dressage.

Missy; Missy is a Quarter Horse pony and worked at a dude ranch for most of her life. She was repaid for her service by being sent to a kill buyer. Thankfully the family that owns her now rescued her and she taught one of their daughters how to ride.

Buffy; Buffy is a Thoroughbred mare and retired show hunter.

Trillion; Trillion is a Dutch Warmblood and showed in the Regular Working Hunters. He won everyshere and at one point was the top horse in the country in the Regulars. He was circuit champion at places like the Winter Equestrian Festival. We joke that Trillion reminds us of Winnie the Pooh and he should walk around hugging a Honey Pot.

The dogs heading down the driveway to the barn. Back to front we have Bugle, Bear, Bella and Trooper.

Leo; Leo is a Dutch Warmblood who showed through 4th level in dressage before becoming a show hunter.

Trigger and Baby; Trigger is an Appendix Quarter Horse and Baby is a Thoroughbred/Dutch Warmblood cross. Both are retired show hunters.

Traveller; Traveller is a Welsh pony cross and retired from the pony hunters.

Friday Pictures

Sparky the donkey and Traveller. Traveller is a large pony who did his share of winning in the pony hunters.

Faune; Faune is a Selle Francais (affectionately known as the 'Big French Guy' since he is 17.3) and was a very successful show hunter.

Something caught Lily's attention. Lily is a Quarter Horse/Warmblood cross and showed in the jumpers. Lily is extremely photogenic when she wants to be and I tend to collect great pictures of her.

Trigger grazing with some of the Big Boys. Trigger is an Appendix Quarter Horse retired from t he hunter ring due to navicular. With his four stockings, blaze, and his dappled, chocolate palomino color he certainly tends to catch people's notice!

Levendi looking at something with interest. Levendi is an Oldenburg and retired from the hunter ring.

Elfin and Trigger taking a moment to touch noses. Elfin is a Thoroughbred who showed in the Amateur Owner hunters. Elfin likes to be in the middle of anything and everything!

Tony; Tony is a Dutch Warmblood and was one of the top Amateur Owner hunters in the country during his career.

B-Rad and Asterik; B-Rad is a Belgian Warmblood who showed in the jumpers. Asterik is a Holsteiner who showed on the A circuit in both the hunters and the jumpers.

Slinky in the back and Lucky in the front. Slinky is a large pony and he specialized in pony equitation. Lucky is a Quarter Horse and retired from the trails.

Mr. O'Reilly, Snappy and Chili. O'Reilly is an Irish bred gelding and retired from the jumper ring. Snappy is a Polish bred gelding who competed through the four star level in eventing and finished up his career as a show hunter. Chili is a Quarter Horse and he worked cattle and also hit the trails.

Faune and Sebastian; Sebastian is a Connemara/Irish Draught cross that excelled at everything. He was an excellent foxhunter, and also showed in the hunters, jumpers and in eventing. What a fun horse he must have been to ride!

B-Rad and Ogie; Ogie is a Thoroughbred and retired from eventing.

Lily, Cuffie and Missy are all spread out. Cuffie is a welsh pony and retired from the pony hunters. Missy is a Quarter Horse and is a large pony, she worked for many years on a dude ranch before being adopted by her current family. The dude ranch had sent her to a kill buyer and she was rescued in the nick of time.

Buffy and MyLight; both are Thoroughbred mares. Buffy is a retired show hunter and MyLight is a retired dressage horse.

Ivan and Elfin; Ivan is a Thoroughbred and retired from the jumper ring.

Billy, Jo (world's cutest fainting goat along with Mina) and Bubba grazing in the shade.

Cue the Green Acres Music Again . . .

My last post was about farm projects not going as planned. It seems if there is one thing you can count on with farming is that things rarely go as planned. Farm equipment has a penchant for breaking at the most inopportune times.

I had just gone into my house to eat lunch on Monday when my phone rang. It was my Dad and he said he needed me to come get him because "he was broken down." I immediately wondered what in the world could possibly be wrong with his car as there certainly shouldn't be a problem with it. I asked where he was and he said he was by the pond. I still wasn't with it 100% in this conversation and I said "your car is broken down by the pond????" I instantly realized just how stupid that statement was as the only way to get to the pond is through the pastures. He said that his Gator had died on him by the pond and he needed me to come tow him in with my Kubota utility vehicle.

So I went back outside without eating my lunch. I got in the Kubota and then went and got the towing rope and the towing chain. Sadly I knew exactly where to locate both of these items since they get used more often than would be desirable. I drove through the pastures and worked my way over to the pond. My dad and three of the dogs were waiting to be rescued.

Trooper was wondering why they weren't going anywhere anymore; Bugle napped on the front seat

Bush hung out by the pond while awaiting the "tow truck"

My dad used the tow rope to get the two vehicles hooked up. All of the dogs waited around for us to get things moving again. Apparently walking was not an option to any of the stranded passengers. They simply waited for the Gator to start moving again and then loaded themselves back up.

Trooper and Bugle waiting for us to get this show on the road again

After the tow line was secured we started working our way back to the barn through the various pastures. We had almost a mile to cover to get the Gator and passengers back to where they started. I spent a lot of time looking behind me to make sure the Gator was still attached and following along properly. Everyone was in their usual positions, dad in the driver's seat, Bugle in the passenger seat, Trooper on the floorboard and Bush in the bed. The only thing different from the typical scene was that the Gator wasn't actually running! We certainly made quite an interesting visual as I towed my dad and three dogs through the pastures. I had the theme song for Green Acres going through my head the whole time, it just seemed so appropriate for the situation.

My rear view (Trooper on the floorboard is kind of hidden against Bugle in the passenger seat since they both have black fur)

We made it back to the barn uneventfully and the dogs were able to avoid (horrors) walking all the way back. It was actually highly entertaining and I was giggling the whole time as I towed everyone along.

The sun is setting earlier and earlier these days and I took a few pictures of the gorgeous fall sky as I was feeding this afternoon. Sometimes I forget to really appreciate the beauty that surrounds me every day.

In one direction I saw pretty shades of pink

In another direction everything had an orange tint

Aside from the emergency towing session things have been relatively quiet this week. Tomorrow is a farrier day so I need to wrap this post up and prepare my list. Farrier day is typically on Fridays but this week it is Wednesday. Tomorrow will be a very busy day bringing horses in and out of the barn all day. Our lovely weather is supposed to continue through the rest of the week, with more high 60's and low 70's with sunshine. Weather wise tomorrow should be a perfect day for the farrier and another perfect day to be outside with the horses.

Thomas introducing himself to MyLight's mom during her visit this past weekend

MyLight with her mom

L-R Bridget, Sky and Norman with Sparky the donkey behind them

B-Rad, Winston and Faune

Mr. O'Reilly and Lucky

The Big Boys grazing

Trigger and Homer

Ivan with Elfin behind him

Missy and MyLight

Farm Projects . . . Gone Wrong

The last few days have been . . . interesting to say the least. We've been very busy with several different projects plus we had all of the usual stuff to be done around the farm. The barn is now freshly re-painted. It is so clean and glaringly white you need sunglasses to stand there and look at it. It looks great. The barn was pressure washed on Thursday and then painted on Friday. Thankfully neither job involved me!

The best part of the last few days was that MyLight's mom came to visit her for a few hours on Friday. She and her boyfriend were having a short mini-vacation in middle Tennessee this weekend. They were lovely people which is a good thing since they got to witness some of the madness that is running a farm! This was their first time visiting the farm and they certainly got their taste of how Green Acres we are around here.

In addition to the barn being painted on Friday I also had two more loads of gravel delivered. I liked the first three loads of gravel so much I had two more loads delivered! Of course they were not supposed to come until late in the afternoon on Friday, but they showed up mid-morning instead. I was riding Sky when they called to let me know they were a few miles away. Awesome (<--- said with sarcasm). Thank goodness I A) had my cell phone and B) answered it as I would normally not do either of those things while riding. I jumped off Sky in a hurry and went to meet the gravel trucks. As I was directing the first truck to the various locations it needed to go to deposit gravel, I told the driver of the other truck that he would be going to a different area of the farm and to wait for me to show him where to go. I was busy opening and closing gates and directing the first truck.

He didn't wait. I saw him going through the gate and heading up the hill through one of the pastures while I was in another field with the other truck. Then he stopped moving because the dummy was stuck. If he had waited for me LIKE I TOLD HIM TO I would have directed him around the wet spot since I knew where it was. So the other truck has to stop in the middle of unloading and go pull out the stuck gravel truck.

Chaining the trucks together

Great, I have an 80,000 pound gravel truck stuck in my pasture. To say I was not happy would be an understatement. Thankfully the other truck was able to free the stuck gravel truck without too much drama. The giant crater the one truck left in the pasture would certainly suggest otherwise though.

One successfully un-stuck gravel truck

So the truck is able to carry on through the gate without getting stuck again since I was there to tell the driver where to go. GRRRRRRRRR. We get to another gate and I ask the driver if he thinks he can get through the gate as he has to make a hard right turn due to some trees. If he can't just dump the gravel where we were and we'll move it with the bucket on the tractor. He says he can make it. He didn't.

MyLight's visitors showed up at about this time to witness part two of the gravel truck disaster. Now we need to take one side of the gate off the hinges so the truck can finish maneuvering. I go to the barn to get the tools. Of course the barn doors are shut tight because the barn is being painted. The barn doors had also just been painted. I have to go in anyway. They've removed the handles from the doors while painting. So I have to shimmy myself in between the doors that are coated in WET PAINT and get paint all over myself to get tools to remove the gate and free the gravel truck AGAIN.


We get the gate removed, the truck carries on to where I want the gravel dumped, and then we put the gate back on. We drive the trucks back to where we started so the first truck can finish dumping its load and then they finally leave. I spent almost two hours dealing with those two gravel trucks. Jason finished spreading the gravel piles on Saturday. Thankfully that went off with no disasters are mishaps.

Sunday's project was to load up the manure spreader and spread the compost pile. This should be an easy project. Jason uses two tractors, one to load the spreader and the other to pull the spreader. I open and shut gates for him. The first load was spread with no problems, as expected. Jason loads up and I open gates for him to spread load number two. Problems. The chains that move the contents through the spreader aren't moving, thus nothing is coming out and being spread.

Jason loading up the manure spreader with compost

Jason, myself and my Dad spend about an hour trying to determine the problem with no luck. Everything appears to be working just fine, except it isn't. Finally we decide that this load is going to have to be pitched out of the spreader with a fork so we can have an easier time identifying the issue. So Jason got to climb in and throw out about a thousand pounds of compost with a pitchfork. That put him in a really good mood.

Jason acting as the manure spreader; he could totally have a second career at this if he is looking for a career change. He did a fine job.

Then Jason and my Dad took turns crawling around under the spreader to ascertain the problem. Once the spreader was empty it apparently started working somewhat normally again. Perfect, it works as long as you don't have anything in there! Apparently this means something is loose. I don't think they ever determined what was loose. I guess the Kubota utility vehicle will be spreading some compost this week.

Jason attempting to find the problem with the spreader

Everyone had had enough of farm projects gone wrong for awhile, so I guess the repair of the manure spreader will wait until another day. Thank goodness the weather has continued to be perfect, low 70's and sunny. If it had been cold and windy, raining, or even just cold, I think we would have all killed each other. As it was we managed to remain in (mostly) good humor. Miracles do happen.

Leo, Thomas and Chance

There are multiple expressions in this picture (that was taken a couple of weeks ago BG - before gravel). Levendi looking very alert, Apollo is yawning, and Ivan looks asleep. Teddy is grazing in the background.

Baby trotting through the pasture with Levendi and Homer behind him.

A foggy morning; Sebastian, Trillion and Faune walking with B-Rad, Winston and Ogie standing in the back.

Trillion, Faune and Asterik emerging from the fog

Faune walking with a purpose; he is heading in for breakfast

Asterik was right behind him

Silky, aka Slinky, down for a roll

That feels good!

Lucky decided to get in on the action as well

Lucky contemplating his options: get up or roll some more. Life is tough around here.

Silky, Lightening, Teddy, Clay and Mr. O'Reilly

Pleasant Days

I have to say this has been a really pleasant week on the retirement farm. The weather has been so lovely everyone - horses, donkey, cows, humans, dogs, cats, goats, roosters - has been in an exceptionally pleasant mood. I realized as I was grooming one of the residents the other day that he had not made any ugly faces at me. This particular resident (I won't name names!) is usually a super grump during grooming, but doesn't really do anything other than pin his ears, make ugly faces and toss his head. I could not believe I was able to curry and brush him without so much as a snarky face in my direction! Between the sunshine and the exceedingly pleasant temperatures everyone has had a smile on their face.

It looks like we are in for more exceptionally pleasant weather through the weekend and next week. I am certainly not complaining about that! Perfect weather for barn improvement projects. Today the barn was pressure washed in preparation for being repainted tomorrow. After spending what felt like a zillion hours priming and painting run-in sheds last summer you can rest assured that I am not manning either the pressure washer or a paint brush! It is kind of nice to watch someone else do a big job like that and know that you won't have to do it!

When I was uploading the pictures for this post they kind of depressed me. These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago and I can't believe the difference in the pastures, not in a good way, in just two weeks. It is amazing how much better our pastures looked just two weeks ago! Every year when February rolls around I look at our pastures and I think they will never come back. Happily they have every year so far!

I hope everyone has a great weekend with beautiful weather and happy horses. Quote of the day: "God forbid that I should go to any Heaven in which there are no horses."

Sparky and Bonnie hanging out

Traveller having a bath

Hanging out after breakfast; MyLight, Harmony, Cuffie, Lily, Buffy and Missy

Mr. O'Reilly and Chili

Winston, Sebastian, Asterik and Trillion

Clay

Lightening

Slinky enjoying a vigorous roll

Teddy, Snappy and Mr. O'Reilly

Lucky and Slinky

I love this picture of Lily and Cuff Links; with their matching poses it looks like Lily has her own Mini-me

Thoughts on Fencing

I know I have mentioned more than once that I am not a huge fan of our miles of four board wood fencing. People are always so surprised when I say that so I thought I would explain my perspective. I love the look of wood fencing as much as the next person, I will definitely admit that. Nothing is more attractive to me than a horse farm with pretty green pastures surrounded by board fencing . . . kind of like where I live right now! Even in our large pastures though the wood fence always seems to be an accident looking for a place to happen with the horses. On top of that I also find the wood fencing to be extremely high maintenance.

We could cut down on some of the maintenance such as fence chewing and broken boards by running a strand of electric along the wood fence. However one of the caveats here that we have to work with is no electric fencing anywhere. Unfortunately we have to live with that restriction and no amount of griping is going to change it so I don't dwell on it too much. However, even a strand of electric still won't eliminate the problem. The confirmed cribbers and wood chewers learn quickly enough to just drop their head down to the next board where there isn't an electric strand.

On the rare occasion that we have an injury here, almost 100% of the time it is related to the wood fence. A horse either rolls too close to the fence and gets a leg(s) through it or they stand by the fence and kick out at something or stomp at a fly and get a leg through it. It doesn't matter if the fence is brand new, if a horse puts a leg or a hoof against a board with enough force or momentum it is going to break and splinter, period.

I do think it is very important to have a solid perimeter fence though. This doesn't necessarily mean a wood fence but two strands of sagging electric probably aren't the safest choice for a perimeter fence. On the same hand I would like to have more flexibility with cross fencing. Once you have permanent fencing in place, be it board fence or no-climb wire mesh fence, centaur fencing, or whatever it may be you have lost your ability to be flexible.

For example, if we have a spot come available in the mare field, the only horse that can take that spot is a mare, or possibly the right gelding. If we have a spot come available where the big boys live, the only horse that can take that spot is a gelding that can run with a younger crowd and play. Likewise, if a spot becomes available in the geezer gelding field well, you guessed it, a geezer gelding will need to take that spot. The pasture sizes are set and permanent and it takes away any flexibility. If the cross fencing were, for example, three or four strands of electric fencing (well done electric, not the previously mentioned sagging strands of electric) you could modify your pasture sizes and have a lot more flexibility in being able to accommodate different horses on the farm.

Interestingly when you look up the statistics on fencing in regards to horse safety and injuries, electric is the safest choice for horses. No climb wire mesh is next on the safety list (this should not be confused with 'field fencing' that is wire fence for cows). Board fencing ranks behind them for safety. The PVC fencing (the plasticy stuff that is supposed to sort of look like board fence) ranks even lower, I guess because it sometimes shatters on impact, especially in cold weather. We do have a couple of long cross fences that are the no climb wire mesh, and I have to say that the horses have yet to find a way to hurt themselves on it. I say yet because at some point one of them will manage it, no doubt!

I guess my dream farm would have a solid perimeter fence of either board fence with a strand or two of electric, no climb wire fence, Centaur fencing, or something along those lines. The cross fencing would be some version of nicely done electric to allow for flexibility and variations in pasture sizes. Now that I've said that I will probably wind up with miles of board fencing until the day I die. I guess there are worse fates in life than that!

Thomas strolling through the pasture looking very happy

Lucky and Slinky grazing with a lovely wood fence behind them

The sub rooster looking regal on the bench in front of the barn

Faune and Asterik grazing in front of my arena

Lily in the back with her head up, she was the only one who noticed me, while Cuffie and Harmony graze

Bella

Trillion and Winston grazing while B-Rad and Asterik hang out

Missy and MyLight

Elfin is hiding behind Homer and Ivan is on the right

Missy

Fall Colors

I managed to find a few pictures of the fall colors to post for this blog. Middle Tennessee is not known for our spectacular fall colors, although some years are better than others. Part of the reason is that fall is a long season here, as is spring. The trees don't all turn and peak at the same time. Last year we actually had some decent fall colors but this year has been, at best, lackluster. The colors finally started to pick up some momentum in the last week but then we had some heavy rain Friday evening which washed a lot of the leaves off the trees.

We are supposed to be sunny all week this week (no rain - yay!) with daytime temperatures in the mid to upper 60's. Hopefully as the leaves finish their lazy progression through their color change we'll have another opportunity to try and enjoy some fall colors.

One of my most memorable rides was in the fall several years ago when Jason and I were living in Vermont. My (long since retired) mare Bridget and I were hacking down our road underneath a gorgeous canopy of fall colors, it felt like we were riding beneath an artist's palette of colors. It was the first week of October. The leaves were all at their peak and our road was narrow and heavily lined with trees on both sides. I was riding Bridget bareback and just soaking in the beauty that surrounded us. Bridget is one of those once in a lifetime horses that could win at the biggest shows in the hunters but was just as happy to take a quiet bareback trail ride. I literally had the reins on the buckle and it was one of those times when you truly feel like everything is perfect in the universe. Bridget seemed to be enjoying the scenery as much as I was.

Before I knew what was happening we were spinning around and Bridget was starting to bolt back down the road. I wound up mostly on her neck and managed to hang on somehow. I stopped her, rearranged myself on her back and out of the sideways, hanging off her neck position that I had wound up in. Then I turned around to see what had interrupted our peaceful, communing with nature ride. A huge moose was crossing the road!! I guess he had been in the woods and decided that Bridget and I looked non-threatening and it would be a good time to cross.

When we moved back to Tennessee Jason bought a moose crossing sign and hung it on Bridget's stall door so she could always remember her time in Vermont. The sign is still on her door and every time I see it I think of that ride.

Traveller grazing with two pear trees behind him. The pear tree on the left always changes colors and loses its leaves well ahead of the pear tree on the right.

Not much fall color in this picture! I took this picture on October 19th.

The next few pictures were all taken on November 1st. I managed to find a patch of color in the big boys' pasture.

There is some color mixed in with the green

Clay, Lucky and Chili grazing in front of some fall foliage (yes, I realize it isn't much!)

Lily looks nice in front of this tree

MyLight in front of the same tree

I took this picture of the tree in front of the old farm house on October 19th

Same tree on October 25th

And the same tree again on November 1st

Signs of Fall

Everything has been nice and routine around here for the last couple of days. This happens to be just the way I like it! It looks like the rain will be making a return tomorrow afternoon through Saturday. According to our forecast some of the showers could be heavy. After our record breaking drought a couple of years ago I swore I would never complain about rain again. I am still not complaining about it . . . yet (well maybe a teeeny bit).

We are finally starting to see some nice fall colors in the trees. I am running about 2-3 weeks behind with my picture posting so this isn't really reflected in the pictures. The pastures are starting to really decline as well. We have a mix of warm and cool season grasses on the farm. The cool season grasses are still thriving, however the warm season bermuda grass has really been starting to take over the last couple of years, with some pastures being mostly warm season grass. The warm season grass is starting to go dormant. In some pastures it is already completely dormant and brown while in others it is a quickly fading green. I expect that within the next week or two all of the bermuda grass will be completely dormant until spring.

We have a love/hate relationship with warm season grass here, namely the bermuda. The great thing about it is you can't kill it, and it can handle drought conditions. Thus it really started to spread on the farm during the drought a couple of years ago. The bad thing about it is you can't kill it. During normal precipitation years our cool season grasses get good growth for all but about three to three and a half months per year, and growth slows to a crawl during that time. The bermuda grass goes completely dormant a full month before the cool season grasses slow their growth to a crawl, and does not exit dormancy until about a month after the cool season grasses have really hit their stride again. Thus we lose two months of good grazing everywhere there is bermuda grass. So while we were glad to have it around during the drought we would be happy for it to move on now, but that definitely is not going to happen.

Between the fading bermuda grass and the color in some of the leaves it is really looking like fall on the farm.

I'll end this post with one of my favorite horse quotes. I will admit I have a long and lengthy list of favorite horse quotes but I happened to see this one today. Anyone who has ever had a great ride on a horse can summon up a memory that would be perfectly described by this Arabian proverb: "The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears."

I summoned all of my creative resources (I have very few) and named this the "gray horse picture." Cuffie in the front, Harmony behind him, with Buffy and Lily in the back.

Snappy grazing with his new friends. Snappy has had quite an interesting life and travelled the world. He was born and bred in Poland, somehow discovered by the famous New Zealand eventer Mark Todd and evented through the 4 star level. He was sold to an eventer in the U.S. who crashed him at a cross country jump (rider error). After having tendon surgery on both front legs as a result of the crash he took up a new career as a show hunter where he was champion everywhere from the winter Florida circuit to Indoors. Although I rarely get to see it he has an amazing, huge and fluid gallop stride.

Asterik loves to roll! Asterik is a Holsteiner and was successful on the "A" circuit in both the hunters and the jumpers. He unfortunately was retired young due to a freak accident. He stepped on a nail at a horse show and it damaged the collateral ligament in his hoof.

A typical scene to start my morning: Mina and Jo, world's cutest fainting goats, waiting for me to let them out of their stall. The sub rooster (The Don is 'the' rooster) is often hanging out with them in the stall.

Sebastian and Faune grazing with a gorgeous blue sky behind them. Sebi is a Connemara/Irish Draught cross imported from Ireland. He foxhunted, showed on the A circuit in the hunters and jumpers, you could trail ride on him . . . he was one of those horses that you could have fun on and do everything with. Faune, the 'big French guy,' is a Selle Francais imported from France. He won everywhere in the hunters.

Leo is a Dutch Warmblood whose greatest dream in life is to be a hard keeper and to be fed lots and lots of food! He is Mr. Personality and a fun guy to be around every day. Leo showed successfully on the A circuit in the hunters, and prior to his hunter career he showed through 4th level in dressage.

Ivan is a Thoroughbred and retired Grand Prix jumper. Ivan is a mischievous guy and way too smart for his own good. He is an expert at opening stall doors and gates and taking himself on self guided tours of the farm. We have to "Ivan proof" everything.

Clay is a Quarter Horse whose original career was as a race horse. He then became a trail horse. I can absolutely see Clay as a bomb proof trail horse that you could take on the hard trails where you wouldn't want to be riding just any horse. I have to admit I just cannot picture him as a race horse. I've tried. Nothing about Clay says 'speed' to me, especially his personality. When I try to envision Clay as a race horse I hear the buzzer going off and see the gates flying open . . . and I see Clay just standing there taking it all in. I am told he actually had a fairly successful career on the track! Clay is 30 years young and I tell him every day how handsome and spry he looks.

A happy group of mares and ponies. Cuffie and Missy are the ponies and MyLight and Buffy are the Thoroughbred mares.