Sunny Sunday

We had a fabulously sunny day yesterday........temperatures in the 60's.....what a treat for us and the horses! We got a lot done too. Ryan installed a 50 gallon water heater in the barn, so now we can bathe horses! The cement man will come this week and pour our concrete slab, so that we have a wash rack and we will put a roof on it....that way we can use it for a shoeing/vet stand in inclement weather. Ryan had to work really hard all day..........he had to change some electrical connections and install a new electrical box.......thanks Ryan for the hard work!

Kim and I put up a couple of top rails on some stretches of fence, Carerra cleaned paddocks.........Betsy groomed horses (and she didn't get the easy ones either!) Betsy is new to Pony Up and brings a lot of horse experience with her.....welcome!

We got rid of most of our BIG manure pile yesterday thanks to many local gardeners.........they kept us busy all day loading trailers and pickups. It really is nice stuff........the compost at the bottom is very fine soil and absolutely chock full of big red earthworms. The chickens love scratch at the pile for bugs and worms.

All the horses had blankets off and took the opportunity to take dirt naps. Ollie stood over Max while he napped and then Max got up, they played some gelding games (I am the King Stud Horse) and then Ollie napped while Max stood over him. It is cute to watch.

The crabby old bat mare is now officially named Mercy. We groomed her........three (Kim, Betsy and me) of us did. The only part she enjoyed was the neck grooming........otherwise she remained THE VERY CRABBY OLD BAT. I may try some Mare Magic on her or I may call a Voodoo spell caster or we may need a horse whisperer.......I don't know yet....like I have said.... MARES = DRAMA. I do like Mare Magic though.....I actually used it on Winston when he had a case of nerves (when I first bought him)

Breeze is enjoying her new paddock and she has a patch of mud with surrounding grass which she enjoyed yesterday.

We have had Beaver on a diet and we have been wondering why he hasn't really shed any pounds........well, now we know. We watched as Beaver climbed up on top of a railroad tie (which is a base to a wall in his loafing shed, which attaches to the next loafing shed).........and then he reached over the wall divider and helped himself to the "good" hay found in the hay rack.........the kind of hay he is not supposed to be eating. Hmmm. ...back to his circus pony tricks. He is a smart little criminal. He is the biggest reason for our no climb fencing and the top rails and for installing plywood panels on gates.

Suggested reading for this week (if you have the time or can make the time).......

"The Soul of the Horse" by Joe Camp. The book was given to me yesterday by Betsy (thank you)...and I read it last night. Last night? ....... yes, last night. It is a short little book......all of 225 pages and I am a voracious reader, as in once I get started, if the book holds interest, I cannot put it down.......so there you have it. Anyway, it is a great book and I give it a thumbs up. I got some great ideas for Mercy.

I am going to the barn to feed and clean the inmates stalls, listen to any complaints, take their blankets off for the day, make sure water tanks are clean and full.....................and then I am coming home to work on my flower beds for a while.....while the sun is out. I will let the lab hang with me and she will annoy me about every five minutes with a toy or a stick.....or she will be in the pond......I have several little ponds here and there........she knows where each one is and how much water it has and then she will do regular hose checks to see if there is any water there or if she can make it come on. Such a lab....how many ways can you spell LAB? WATER, FETCH, BIRD, WAG, RUN, PANT..........I have not seen her point yet, but I am sure she does it. We are a terrier family...........how did we get a LAB? The Russells do not like to get wet and they don't like the lab to get them wet....but they do like to chase birds together.

I hope your Sunday is grand and you get to spend it doing something you like....get out and take a walk (come and get our lab to go with you) or go and take a drive, look at the some of the beautiful blooms........I have a flowering plum tree at the barn that is just gorgeous.

Pony UP fortune for today:

Make a decision to move forward and then don't look back.

Early Saturday

I am supposed to be sleeping in.......but I first got up at 4;30 am to let the dogs out.........then again at 6:30 because it was so light outside. Lots to do today as usual for a Saturday and the day should be sunny and warm.

I took Vinnie to the racetrack yesterday. I cried a little when I loaded him on the horse transport. He loaded right up and traveled like a trooper....such good manners.........I am going to miss him. He should be at his new home on Sunday, after a brief layover today. I hope she is going to love him as much as I do.

I came back to the farm and Mary was there cleaning paddocks. I took everyone's blankets off so they could sunbathe. I switched horses around and had to mend a fence (due to MARES).........then I curried Sophie, banged her tail and cut her wispy mismatched mane. She was umimpressed......kicked at me several times. Oh boy. Today she really has to be bathed so that her skin can heal. She has been in raging heat since she got here and her hind legs are a mess too. She even has rain rot on her ears.

I put Breeze in Vinnie's paddock and it is the first paddock you come to.......so she gets lots of attention there and she will like it better I think.

I went out to watch my horse Winston at the trainer's barn and he remains a superstar. Everyone loves him (including me) and his workouts have been fabulous. I rinsed him off afterward and walked him in the sun. I miss him.....he is such a big clown.

I stopped at the feed store for grain, de-wormer and dog food.......Sophie and the new TB filly will need to be de-wormed today.
The weather is so unseasonably warm, I will need to start thinking about flies. I like to use the "fly predators" on the manure piles and hang fly traps. I am not big on spray.........I am allergic to a lot of it and it seems so toxic........ aren't we toxic enough?

Pete the peacock thinks it is spring. He has been giving a show of his tail to the hens...........he shakes it and struts.........and he admires himself in the diamond plate of my horse trailer.....as I have said numerous times......he doesn't seem to be going home, wherever home is, anytime soon. I think he owns us.

The little sparrow is back at my glass doors........not sure if it is actually the same one.......but he/she acts the same.........flying up to the window, perching on the wooden chair, bring scraps of bugs.......the cats are enthralled as it is right next to their cat tree.

Well, I am off to shower and then to the barn.

Enjoy your day.

Thoroughly Thursday

No rain today........and the frog chorus is even louder. I wish I could record it for you.....simply amazing.....sounds like an old Rainier Beer commercial..........dating myself I know.....but yes, there used to be a Rainer beer........produced locally...with cute commercials.

Vinnie is adopted and tomorrow he will journey to his new home. I will be sad.......I have gotten very attached to him....but early tomorrow morning I will take him to Emerald Downs and he will catch a ride with a horse transport company. Wish him luck!

The mare drama continues and I ask myself each time I go to the barn, why do I take mares? We all know the reason.,I would never turn a horse down based on sex.....but honestly.......high drama......striking, squealing, peeing........it goes on and on. The boys are like...hmmm.......I know I am interested but really not sure why???? Funny how the horses choose who they like and who they don't.........TarBaby hates Sophie but loves Breeze............Sophie hates Church but likes Breeze....Beaver doesn't like anyone...........Breeze loves Beaver and don't you dare take him away..... I am thinking of renaming the rescue....Pony Up Rescue for Equine Geldings.....or consider the acronym....PURGE............LOL....Pony UP Rescue for Geldings (Equine).

The days are already longer.......such a pleasure....a simple pleasure......it gives me so much more time to clean in actual daylight. In a week or so it will be light way later and I will be much happier...........I am working on getting a caretaker to live on the barn property so that there is someone there at night and also someone who can help clean. It will be nice because it will allow our little rescue to also help a needy person with a place to live. I am going to try and have something put together this month.......I already have a couple of persons interested. It is just a matter of getting the finances aligned for such a project.

This weekend Ryan will put a large hot water heater in and we will pour cement for the wash stall..........and Sophie will get a bath. She might get a new name too.... she is one crabby old bat.
Again.........I do not blame her, after what she has been through.........but gee whiz..........she is an equal opportunist on both ends...........she bites and she kicks. Ouch! Not for the faint of heart.
I called her Mercy this morning...........I said she needed to have Mercy on me...........I was a mere mortal.........and trying to care for her the best I could............she was unimpressed........a work in progress that is for sure and totally unadoptable at this point..........but that is our job......to see her through.

I made some good contacts this week.......in the horse community and the general animal rescue community. Good things will come....I feel it.

The sun is supposed to be out all weekend...............YAY!!!!!!!!! We can move the manure pile........we have had lots of folks coming to get compost. It is really great to be able to have someone use our waste..........Pony UP goes green!

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

Your hands cannot build a dream without your heart...........

Too much Tuesday

It really is turning into spring.........I am greeted by a frog chorus right outside my door morning and night. Last year I was the lucky recipient of thousands of frog eggs and tadpoles........courtesy of my neighbors with an old swimming pool and so now I have a virtual frog festival. I love to hear them.......really I do. I always remember being a Brownie (do they have Brownies anymore????) and being taught about nature's warning signs...........one of them was when frogs suddenly quit croaking........it means a predator is about.........another was the scolding of a Blue Jay.........funny how you remember stuff, isn't it?
Now that I have told you I was a Brownie........I probably sound like I am ready for a walker and depends..........HAH> not quite yet.

The mare drama continues at the farm........all the girls are in heat and the boys are bewildered. There is squealing and kicking.........and then more squealing. Good golly.........enough already.

Vinnie has been adopted. He is leaving on Friday. I will transport him to Seattle and he will be picked up by horse transport. Congratulations Tanna! I am going to miss him. He has quickly become one of my favorites.......so handsome and such a boy. Good luck to the both of you and let us hear from you often!

Sunday we had a memorial service for my grandma. Most of the family was there. Funny, I had not seen some of the kids for a long time....they are getting so grown up. The weather cooperated and we had a nice little service. RIP Grandma.

The barn cats are finally going out and hunting.........hopefully they are after the rats.....we have a bumper crop and I do not want to resort to poison. I hate poison. I hate the word......the concept..........I don't want to poison anything....not even a rat. Maybe I should import some weasels???????? I had a family of weasels living at my last house....under the woodshed.........rarely saw them.........early in the morning and once when the cat cornered a young one..........what a scream they have.........and a stink........I had to save the cat from the adult weasels.....but that is another story.

Sophie is a crabby old bat. I have had to put signs up to warn volunteers.........she kicks, she bites.........we have to be careful. She must be haltered and contained when you enter her stall. We don't want to be mean but we also have to have rules. NO kicking.....no biting .....so she must be managed and we have to be strict......but kind. No hand feeding and we leave her alone while she eats. We have to give her some time, she has been through a lot, her skin is raw, her feet hurt and she is afraid that she won't get enough to eat........sad, isn't it? Sophie will be hard to adopt out if her behavior doesn't come around.

Off to eat dinner.........watch American Idol.......go to bed and do it all over again.

Pony UP fortune for tomorrow:

Mind over matter........if you think you can or cannot........you can or cannot.