Hot and Dry

There isn't a lot to say about our weather except hot and dry.  I don't mind the hot but the dry part is getting old fast.  We are supposed to be really hot the next few days as we have been the last couple of days.  I have to say it has not been that bad.  I even went for a three mile run at noon yesterday. I do need to state a disclaimer that I like hot weather and function well in it and - as everyone who has read this blog for five minutes knows - I really dislike cold weather.  My opinion aside even the horses aren't complaining.  Despite the high temps the humidity has stayed very low.  I saw today that the humidity was only about 17% and there was a breeze all day.  Amazingly I hardly broke a sweat as I was working.  I have been a lot hotter at much lower temperatures when the humidity was high.  

As I mentioned above the horses agree with me.  Around meal times they are in the run-in sheds as they are all next to the gates and they hang out in them while waiting to be fed.  Otherwise they have been out in the pastures grazing, grooming, rolling, playing and dozing in the sun.  We have two horses with anhydrosis (non-sweaters) that we have been watching very closely and they have been fine, it is the humidity that gets to them.  If you felt something really odd happen this afternoon I'm pretty sure the earth rotated off of it's axis for a moment when Jason said it wasn't that bad.  I just stared at him like I had forgotten how to talk.  Jason always complains about the weather in the summer. 

At this point it does look like we will be writing endless posts this summer about how dry it is and the lack of rain.  In May and June we have reached a 15 inch deficit in rainfall.  Of course in December and January we had the opposite problem and it was more like it would never stop raining.  I guess Mother Nature has decided it is feast or famine around here with rain. This time last year we were doing our second cutting of hay and bush hogging the pastures for I think the third time because they were growing like crazy. Oh well, there isn't much we can do except live with it and complain about it and we have both of those things well covered!! 

_______________________________________

Faune and George hanging out

Largo going after an itchy spot with Clayton hanging out

Silky, Lightening and Snappy; sorry about the black spot!

chestnuts only in this picture; Renny, Chili, Fuzzy and Murphy

Thomas

Lightening, Noble (yawning) and Fabrizzio

Kennedy and Stormy

Lucky and Lightening grooming

Lotus and Asterik grooming

Started Riding at 80, Still Riding at 101

This is a story that is meant to be shared.  CTV Ottawa news had a story about a gentleman in Perth, Ontario who began riding at age 80 and is still riding at age 101.  Below is a short synopsis from the CTV Ottawa site of what is on the video.  Click here to go to the original source and to see the video.  I just loved watching the video, especially at the end where his new young horse is introduced.  I love his attitude and the fact that he clearly intends to keep riding for a long time!

ottawa.ctvnews.ca 

Published Friday, Jun. 22, 2012 6:17PM EDT 

Bill Monovan has spent more than 20 years of his life riding horses at a pasture in Perth.

He spent his first 80-some years having little experience riding them.

Monovan was born in October 1910 and lived through the Halifax Explosion in 1917.

Almost every day, he drives to the pasture about 45 minutes west of Ottawa to ride his horse Max.

“I lost my wife Marian ten years ago,” he said. “If not for horses I’d be in an old-folk’s home.”

Monovan competes in a very technical discipline called Western riding and said he does it without aches and pains.

"When you're in the saddle on the horse, you're halfway to heaven," he said. ‘It has been my life . . . without it I would be dead.”

With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Terry Marcotte

Read more: http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/perth-man-still-riding-horses-at-age-101-1.849912#ixzz1yxEXJcpD

_____________________________________________

All of us horse people already know the healing power of horses but I love it when non-horse people have the opportunity to be exposed to the power of horses.  I truly believe this man when he says without horses he would either be dead or in an old-folk's home.  What a guy, I would love to have the opportunity to meet him one day.  I also hope to follow in his footsteps and still be riding when I am 101.  

____________________________________________

Snappy, Lucky and Lightening waiting for breakfast

Renny, Johnny and Sebastian

Maisie and Lily

Traveller and Cuff Links

Darby, Alex and B-Rad

Wiz and Dutch grooming

Silky and Norman

Johnny and Tiny

Grand

The D Word

Farmers are usually too well grounded to be superstitious. But using the capitalized "D" word to describe a period of dry weather during the warm season is almost unheard of until it's too far gone to do otherwise. Unfortunately, as of today we have reached that status here; we have moved beyond being "a little dry" and we are officially in a Drought. With typical summertime temperatures in place, one rain no matter how big or how welcome, is unlikely to do us a whole lot of good.

Compared to most farmers, dry weather only causes a moderate amount of concern around here. Our first worry is always securing an adequate hay supply to get us through winter and however long the drought lasts. Thanks to some forward planning we started implementing a couple of weeks ago when it started to get really dry we have bought significantly more first cutting hay this year than we did last year to supplement our own first (and possibly) last cut.  Unless the weather changes soon hay prices are going to go nowhere but up and we wanted to get as much ahead of that possibility as we could.

Our second concern is always water. Our aquifers are such that wells in this part of the world tend to fail fast when the weather gets dry which, of course, is right when you need them most. To that end, we don't even try to rely on well water during dry weather. Every spigot at the farm is connected to the county water line at the highway which simply eliminates that worry.

I've talked about it several times before, but the (hopefully) once in a lifetime drought of 2007 remains at the front of my memory. For all my farming neighbours I sincerely hope this isn't the beginning of another summer like that.  It is not unusual to have dry spells in the summer in the southeast, however since 2007 dry weather tends to bring out very unwelcome memories.

_________________________________________

Clayton and Toledo grooming

Fabrizzio and Noble grooming

Traveller, MyLight and Cinnamon

Elfin and Thomas

Chili after taking a drink

Lotus and Gus hanging out in the trees

George relaxing in a shady spot

Snappy, Lucky, Fabrizzio, Silky and Walden

Johnny and Rampal grooming

Fuzzy, Murphy, Wiz, Dutch and Sebastian

Pasture Managing Your Human

This was way too funny - and accurate - not to share.  Just about every one of our residents could have written this post as I have been on the receiving end of every single one of these training strategies countless times through the years.  This was written by Jitterbug, a draft cross mare who live is Kentucky, and originally posted in the blog section on the Chronicle of the Horse website.  You can click here to see the original post.

______________________________________

Pasture Managing Your Human

As any of us with our own green space knows, pasture management can be difficult. Throw a lead-rope wielding Human into the mix, and your long day of culling your field’s clover crop just became a juggling act.

Keep It Simple

Lest you forget, Humans are often a little Stupid. The shorter you can make your message, the better your chance of success. The reality is that monitoring the relative heights of your field’s bluegrass, clover, bermudagrass and fescue grasses is a 24-hour job, and it’s simply not conducive to being in a stall for half the day, no matter how well-decorated it may be.

When your Human comes toodling into your workspace offering to bring you inside, Just. Say. No.

Send A Clear Message

I’ve seen many friends use a “blind gallop” approach to evasion when they see their Human coming. The problem with taking off at a run is that it doesn’t reinforce to your Human that your objection to coming inside is your workload.

Besides, running is exhausting, and sweat ruins the stylish mud application you put on your coat.

I prefer a “stroll and sample” approach. Learn to recognize your Human’s vehicle (I like to tag it with a nice poo stain if it’s reachable), and when it appears, without making eye contact, amble unassumingly in the opposite direction of the gate. Keep grabbing mouthfuls of grass as you walk to let her know you’re at work

.

If you start out close to the gate, wait for her to go grab a lead rope and try to wander as far away from it as possible when you’re out of the Human’s line of sight; this will make her assume she’s going a little nuts (-ier).

Think Like A Hungry Statue

While your lazy Human carries on with whatever whistling, calling, bucket-banging routine she uses to coax you to do the walking for her by coming to the gate (Oh sure, she wants you to do cantering half-passes for an hour but can’t be bothered to walk across 8 acres), it’s time to play deaf. Do not lift your head from your lunch, do not bat an ear, and do not move your feet. Humans are highly sensitive to body language and will take even the slightest change as reinforcement.

After she’s finished embarrassing herself with a display of waving, hopping and handstands trying to get your attention, a somewhat less-lazy Human will probably begin walking your way.

Get Friends Involved

If, during your “stroll and sample” approach, your human gains too much ground on you, you might try throwing in a few trotting serpentines to induce a little dizziness. If the Human persists, call on your friends for help (whether they’re ready for it or not).

If you go out in a group, feel free to approach a grazing buddy and give him a firm nip on the butt or a head-tossing charge. Stirring up the group will remind your Human that not only is she outsized by you, she is also outnumbered.

Persistence Is Key

As with any area of human management, it’s critical to remain patient and persistent. It may take several rounds of buddy-chasing and wandering around in circles before the sweaty Human gives up on that lame “coming inside away from grass” idea—but she will learn from the experience, and it will help her retain your message for the future.

Jitterbug is a Michigan-bred Professional Draft Cross who skillfully avoided saddles until age 5. Since then, she has been lauded for her talent in successfully managing humans while training herself to one day achieve eventing greatness. Jitter and her human live in central Kentucky. 

_____________________________________

Elfin, Thomas and Hemi (with Grand and Moe in the background) waiting impatiently to eat

Calimba and MyLight

Cuff Links

Walden (Slinky hiding behind him), Lucky and O'Reilly

Rocky and Toledo

Titan and Romeo

Largo and Tiny

Cuffie, Lily and Norman

 Sebastian and Chili

After the Meal

I recently did a post on how we do feeding time at the farm.  Sometimes after the meal is much more interesting than feeding time.  I've posted many pictures of Sam walking around licking the air after eating.  As requested I finally took a video of him in action.  He will keep this up for a good 20 minutes most days.  Even as his group moves out after a meal to get back to grazing Sam is walking with them while licking away.  When everyone else starts grazing Sam usually stands there and licks the air for awhile.  Sometimes instead of licking the air he will walk up to another horse and start licking them.  This often leads to a grooming session as in the video below:

Sam licking, then grooming Murphy, and then B-Rad joins in the fun at the end.  Why I stopped recording when B-Rad came up to make it a three way grooming session I have no idea.  That was stupid!

Then there is Romeo.  After he eats he sucks on his tongue and his teeth.  He also does this while he is eating.  When he has food in his mouth he periodically takes a minute to suck on it as if he is savoring the taste.  If you give him an apple slice he sucks the juice out of the slice before chewing it.  This is an old video from December 2010 that I have posted before of Romeo doing his post meal routine.  This actually is not one of his better efforts but it is the only video I have:

It's hard not to smile when we watch this!

__________________________________

Three Amigos; Stormy, Largo and Clayton

Kennedy, Rampal and Johnny

Some days I feel like I can trip on the deer as I walk around.  We've even seen them eating the horse's salt.

Grand and Elfin

Walden says the trees taste good

Silky taking a nap

I can never get enough of this view, I love my "office."  Asterik, Silver, Romeo, George, Gus and Lotus are the grazers.  Faune and Winston are in the shed.

Winston and Faune

The post breakfast view yesterday morning.  No one in this pasture was hanging around to have their picture taken, all I saw were their better ends as they left immediately aster eating.

welcome to Griselle, our new residemt

FAQ's - Commercial Shippers

A question that we are asked regularly is for recommendations for commercial shippers.  Many of our residents are from outside our local area so we have certainly had our fair share of experience with commercial shippers through the years.  A lot of people have concerns and worries about shipping their horses commercially.  I can honestly say I don't have them.  When I ship my horses commercially, which I have done several times in the past due to long distance moves, when I have a bought a new horse that was several states away , etc. I have used a shipper that I trust.  

Quite frankly I have a lot less anxiety and more peace of mind using a trusted commercial shipper than hooking up my trailer and hauling myself when the haul is more than a few hours.  I've logged thousands and thousands of miles towing a horse trailer (easily pushing 100,000 miles at this point) and I know how many things that can go wrong that are totally out of your control as a driver.  My worst experience ever was with a drunk driver years ago and it was a nightmare. I ultimately ended up euthanizing my horse.  For hauls longer than a good day of driving or for cross country trips I am in favor of working with a good commercial shipper.  These people are pros at what they do and I like working with professionals. 

With our retirement farm I don't know how many commercial rigs have pulled  into our driveway through the years but it happens several times a year.  There was one terrible experience where the driver tried to force us to meet them at a truckstop at 2am to pick up a horse (although the horse was in fine shape on a very nice rig) but every other time has been great. Oh, and no we didn't go to the truckstop and they did deliver the horse to our farm as they were supposed to do.  That one experience aside the communication from the shippers has been good and the horses have arrived safe and sound with all of their stuff that shipped with them.  

I always hear and read about all of these nightmare stories of horses being seriously injured and the owners not being notified, or horses being on the trailer a lot longer than anticipated, but we've never had that experience.  I would like to think it is because we try to steer people to the shippers that we have had good experiences with instead of sending them off to shop around for a shipper based on price.

Here is my list of shippers that I would recommend.  To make my list they have been to our farm several times and we have had nothing but positive experiences.  There are other shippers that have been here only once and done a fine job, but I want more than one experience in order to give them a recommendation. My top two choices are as follows, and I could not possibly pick one over the other, they are both outstanding.

1.  Tapp Horse Transporation - I like Tapp so much I am going to write about them.  Bill and Lynn Tapp are based out of Kentucky.  They are far and away our preferred shipper for east coast runs (they don't generally do coast to coast runs) and they or one of their drivers have been to our farm at least 25 times over the years.  They have also hauled my horses on three occasions.  I've never had anything but a good experience with them and their drivers.  The horses always arrive in good shape, they communicate with me about what is happening and when they will arrive.  Nothing has ever gone awry when any horse coming to our farm has been on a Tapp truck, but if it were to happen then in my opinion it was unavoidable.  They are GOOD at what they do.  They don't have a website, probably because they stay so busy from referrals. You can reach Tapp at 859-873-5474

2.  Jeff Green Horse Transportation - I like Jeff so much I'm going to write about him as well.  He is based in our local area and I've known Jeff for years.  He is an excellent horseman as well as a great driver.  Like Tapp he is GOOD at what he does.  You've seen many pictures of Jeff's trailers in my moving day posts. He has top of the line equipment. We are lucky to have such a great person to work with right in our backyard. Just as with Tapp, if something were to ever be less than perfect when Jeff is hauling your horse (we've only ever experienced perfect) then it was unavoidable.  It would never occur to me to wonder if my horse was going to be mishandled in any way while on one of Jeff's trailers.  Jeff also does not have a website, again probably because he stays busy from referrals, but he does have a Facebook page (that he never updates!) with his contact information.  

From this point on this list is not in order of preference.

3.  Equine Express- http://equineexpress.com/; has been here a few times with horses that were making the trip to our farm from the west coast

4.  Bob Hubbard Horse Transportation - http://www.bobhubbardhorsetrans.com/; Bob Hubbard has brought several west coast horses as well

5.  Fairway Horse Transportation - http://fairwayhorsetransport.com/

6.  Creech Horse Transportation - http://www.creechhorsetransportation.com/

7.  Brook Ledge - http://www.brookledge.com/

8.  Johnson Horse Transportation - http://www.johnsonhorsetransportation.com/

I may have left someone off this list but off the top of my head these are all shippers that have been here a few times and we've always been pleased on our end with their service.  The communicated well with us and the horses arrived in good shape.  There are some others that have been here once or twice that have done a good job but I like to have more of a history than one or two trips before making a recommendation. I hope this post was helpful to anyone looking for a commercial shipper!

_________________________________________

Trigger, Thomas and Hemi

Chance and Leo

Thor

Chili and Lighty

Calimba, MyLight and Cinnamon

Silky and Traveller

Maisie and Lily

Asterik, George and Gus waiting to be fed

Lucky, Noble and O'Reilly

Johnny and Lighty