One of Those Mornings

Saturday morning was one of those mornings. Not one of those ideal mornings where it feels like the universe is in perfect harmony, but more where it feels like you just want a do-over. I'm feeding one of the first groups of horses and three of the horses are not at the gate waiting. I don't think much of it and assume they are probably on their way or just out of sight.

I call for them as I get feedbags on the others but I don't see them and no one is coming. I walk around some looking and see two of my missing horses, B-Rad and Ogie, standing in the shade under some trees. Usually once I'm spotted with feedbags every horse on the farm will come on the run. They just stand there looking at me. I keep calling their names louder and louder. They just keep looking at me. I'm screaming at the top of my lungs as they just stand there and stare at me. If someone had been watching me I'm sure they would have wondered what was up with the crazy screaming person. Finally they decide the fun has worn off in making the food lady stand there screaming and they come for breakfast.

Two horses down and one still MIA. Where is Alex? Instead of hiking around I decide to make a tour around the pasture in the Kubota utility vehicle. I take an early morning drive in the Kubota and don't find Alex. Now I'm getting really worried. I am envisioning all kinds of terrible things, you know how it goes. I make another lap of the pasture and I'm still not seeing Alex. Then I detect some movement in a grove of trees. Alex was camouflaged in there and it was only the swishing of his tail that made me notice him. I shoo him out of the trees and assess that he is perfectly fine except for the fact that he is 3-legged lame. He is doing the classic abscess walk. I am sure I was not his favorite person as I made him walk through the pasture and too the barn.

I set Alex up with his breakfast and his foot in a soaking boot in the barn and leave him munching and soaking while I go feed another group. All were present and accounted for thank goodness and ate contentedly. Next up were the mares and ponies. I notice I am short a horse again, Missy isn't with the others waiting at the gate. I get everyone started eating and start hiking through yet another pasture. Thankfully I found Missy very quickly, she was asleep in the run-in shed. Whew, at least that problem was easily solved.

On to the next group of horses. I bet you don't even need me to tell you that yet again there is one horse missing and not waiting at the gate with the others. I don't see Chili anywhere. I get the others started eating and proceed on to another hike through a pasture. I find Chili in one of the favorite hangouts in the woods. He looks perfectly fine but he isn't moving. I get closer and realize he has managed to get one of his front legs through a vine and he can't get it out.

I try lifting his leg to free it but can't get it high enough to get it out. It looked like he had walked around the tree a couple of times and tightened the vine and gotten it higher up his leg. The vine is too thick for me to break it, I can't lift his leg high enough to get it out so I start shooing him in the opposite direction to get him to walk the other way and loosen the vine. Chili goes along with this plan and obligingly walks a couple of circles around the tree. This does the trick and I am able to lift his leg up enough and Chili is free. The rest of breakfast feeding was blessedly routine and uneventful.

Clay

Levendi and Leo


Dustin, Trigger, Baby and Chance

Ivan and Homer walking through the pasture (Levendi and Leo in the background)

a typical scene

Ogie, Winston, Faune, Asterik and B-Rad

O'Reilly, Teddy, Snappy, Lucky (Silky behind them) and Clay

Lightening and Teddy

MyLight, Harmony and Missy

Lily and Missy