Saturday and we have Sophie

uuuuuuuuummmmm....still raining this morning. I slept in a little, got up, let dogs out, had coffee and toast, showered and then left for the barn.
Turn the radio on and listen to Michael Bolton sing "When a Man loves a Woman"....then get to work feeding the prisoners. TarBaby did not clean up all of his hay and he has wasted a bunch...........I hate to throw out hay....such a precious commodity....oh well, it happens.
Ryan shows up and we finish the hay, then grain everyone......then get to cleaning while listening to the radio.
Kim and Matt come and they start to work on the top rails of the fencing............while I.......I leave to go to the Humane Society and pick up a mare.
A mare.
I always try to have geldings at the farm.........mares = drama.........mares plus geldings = more drama. Especially with studly geldings.
But this mare has no where to go.........no where good anyway. She has been starved by her owner. Her feet were long, cracked and infected. She has rain rot along her spine. She had lice. Her owner had so many days to come up with a plan, pay a fine...........but opted not to. Off the hook he is.
The Humane Society had her feet trimmed and had her examined by a vet..........gave her psyllium to help with the sand in her gut........
The first time I saw her, she was depressed, grumpy........ears back when I approached.. warning me that she had had enough of humans...I approached her anyway.....I gently touched her shoulder and she gave me her teeth.......smack ....hard against my arm and then stamped her hind leg............warning me. I gave her a pat anyway and asked her to pick up her foot.....her ears pinned and head swung.........I said enough......stood by her shoulder and asked for her foot again.......she gave it to me but would not look at me....she stood head down, expecting the worst from me, a human. I put her hoof down and gently patted her neck....then stepped away. She looked after me ...like gee, you're leaving me alone now? I walked out and through the gate.......she turned to look again....and then I left the pasture area.
Okay we will take her.
So here it is today and time to go and get her.........I hook the trailer up in the rain and go out to the Humane Society. The attendant helps me with gates and we go to the mare. She looks much brighter eyed today. I ask the attendant if he has experience loading horses......he says 'ummm.......NO>NO I don't." I say, "okay, well you will learn today>". We halter the mare who seems oh so much friendlier today. He says, "this mare bites....she bites hard." I say, "I know>"...he says, "you lead her, okay?". I say yes. I tell him to station himself at the trailer window and that after I load her, I want him to hold the rope and keep her facing him. "okay, he says." Up to to trailer we come and the mare walks right along, no biting.......no fuss. We get to the trailer and she loads.......I should say she JUMPS right in. I hand the rope to the attendant and shut the divider.......then come out and shut the trailer door. I tie the mare and say...okay, we are done. He is visibly relieved. I think he thought there would be some sort of cowboy drama wrangling scene. LOL.
We drive on home, she is quiet the whole way. I bring her out and the boys go wild.........screaming, calling and oh of course, the mare is in HEAT. Drama...I told you....drama.
We put her in a paddock, give her hay, fresh water.........she is quiet for the most part, a little squealing.......
We have named her Sophie.
Sophie is safe tonight.
We are FULL........a few adoptions on the horizon........some foster situations........so we will only be beyond full for a few days.........thank goodness.

We worked around the farm the rest of the day..........fixing this, cleaning that.......buying grain......sweeping floors.......
and tomorrow we will do the same thing again.
A day in the life.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

You give, you take, you give back.