Winter Blahs

We have had so much rain this year! It's good for the hay crop next summer but it sure is rotten horse weather. Everything is muddy. We haven't been able to spend any time with the horses so they are just getting fat and sassy. Fancy got off to her new home last month. I haven't heard anything but I'm sure she's doing fine. I'm looking forward to Spring, warmer and longer days.

Updates

Wow, it has been so busy around here that my poor horses have been pretty much ignored (I'm not sure they mind so much.) Maverick,Shawnee and Radar are having a great time romping in there new 2+ acre enclosure. Radar (our mini donkey) and Maverick have fun playing tug-of-war with different objects and Shawnee enjoys being Queen of the World (meaning the boss). We love to see them run and play. Maverick will be 3 this spring so it will be time to start some serious training. This may even be the year we start riding him lightly. Fancy is still just a hard nut to crack. I think Jim and I have decided that if we can find her the perfect home with someone willing to spend a lot of time with her we'll let her go. One less mouth to feed would be a good thing and we're just not making any progress with her. I'm hoping that with Christmas break coming up (we're home-schooling) the girls and I will have some quality time with the horses.

Persistence pays

That Fancy is one stubborn horse! Still, she's not quite as stubborn as I am. I decided the other day that I wasn't going to back off until she let me touch her. She/we went round and round in the round pen for probably an hour before she finally stood still and let me touch her. I was able to stroke her hindquarters for several minutes before I walked away. I'm about to head down and go at it again with her. Hopefully it won't take an hour today.

Fancy breaks Out!

Well with the help of Maverick Fancy broke out. Maverick is a notorious fence pusher. He managed to push a couple of the fence panels apart and He and Fancy had a few glorious hours pretending they were wild and free again (well free anyway.) I came home from work last Friday to find the two of them grazing on green grass. My heart stopped when I saw Fancy loose. I wasn't sure how I was ever going to catch her again. I blocked the driveway with my van and did what any horseowner with loose horses does....went for the grain pan. It worked. Maverick followed the grain pan and Fancy followed Maverick. She is now in one of the larger lower paddocks. I've been wanting to move her down there for months but didn't have a way to do that......Maverick moved her for me. What a guy!

Maverick

Ashley has become Mav's good friend. She loves to lead him around. He is like a big gentle puppy dog and loves the attention. It is good for Ashley to have a horse "friend". Pal has always been so grumpy with her that he hasn't been much fun. A little girl has to have a big horse neck to hug!

Fancy

Taylor was able to pet Fancy today. We penned her up again to renew our efforts to handle her. Taylor visited her this morning with a bucket of grain and Fancy allowed her to stroke her face as she was eating. It was very exciting. I am ashamed that we've had her almost a year and this is as far as we've gotten. Life is settling down, the weather is great...no excuses we need to spend lots of time with her.

Freedom in Captivity

I was out admiring the horses yesterday. They are fat, happy, and carefree. In contrast I was reading about a bunch of mustangs that were gathered in Nevada recently, brought to the holding facility, and were very sick with salmonella. The water holes are drying up at an alarming rate and many are contaminated. Many of the horses have died....natural selection? I have always held a rather romantic view of the wild mustangs running free and that is a beautiful image but the truth is that the wild ones face many dangers and obstacles. I'm glad my three are carefree in their captivity.

More Space

We finished fencing the remaining couple of acres of our property. The horses have plenty of roaming room now. There is also a lot of summer grass left to pick at. They are having a good time. Maverick and Shawnee are enjoying their reunion. Fancy is still in the arena as we still don't have her haltered. I did recieve the papers to get Mav titled. I just need to get an authorized signature stating that I've taken good care of him. He's very spoiled! Now that the cooler Fall weather is upon us there is no excuse for not furthering his training. I'll post of picture soon of our "free roaming" herd.

Fancy Free

We decided that we just couldn't leave Fancy couped up any longer. She is not nearly gentled yet but it just seemed cruel to confine her 24/7. We built a chute out of panels and worked them down the steep bank and into the arena. She didn't hesitate much to walk down the embankment and then proceeded to kick her heels up and run around. She is a beautiful mover! We put Maverick in with her and you'd think the two had been best friends their whole lives. What fun to watch them interact.