I was unable to ride again this weekend. Yesterday was torrential rain, but I am grateful that it was not snow. The thaw took the frost out of the ground so the rain could be absorbed somewhat. I could have ridden today but I had so many chores to do that I ended up doing those first. Normally I will ride first and then do chores but I am okay with not riding today. January is rarely a time where I make great strides in training. But now my barn looks much better with all the old hay cleaned up.
My son is away for work and so we have his dog until the middle of March. I was a bit worried about it driving us crazy like it did last time but it's going really well. Being a year old makes a huge difference.
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| She loves me |
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| 'Hai. We see you are making lunch. We also like lunch" |
I figure that at least it will make her hay last longer. I put it up yesterday and loaded it. As you can see by her expression she is not impressed with this development.
Her position is that if she's going through her hay too fast that is evidence that I need to give her more hay. Simple equine logic. That evening as I filling her bucket she tipped over my bucket. Something she's never done but her look spoke volumes. Oh well.
Despite the mild weather, Martin refuses to go outside for very long.
Poor Carmen. Not that she will get any sympathy from the donkeys who have to eat their food out of 1 inch holes or hike all over to get it. Life is so hard:)
ReplyDeleteThe net is 2" holes. When it wears out I will probably replace it with the same as the one outside- 1.5". then the fur will probably fly. Carmen is very hard done by and expects full sympathy.
DeleteI love my Tough-1 slow feeder! I have that same one for Ellie because she is with Carmen on the "FEED ME ALL THE HAY, lady!!" and would also like to be a marshmallow.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you like it. So far I am liking how it works.
DeleteVal does not approve of the size of the holes in his hay hoop either. I love how much easier they are to load. One thing that helps the bag part last longer is to attach it at the bottom to stabilize - Val really yanks at his. I screwed a couple of eye hooks into the stall wall and ran a strap + snap hooks.
ReplyDeleteI had to do that with the one outside- fasten it at the bottom. So far it seems okay- but as it relaxes she may do more yanking then I'm seeing. Her method seems to be to push it against the wall and grab her hay.
DeleteShe won’t get any sympathy from Subi who now prefers his hay in small hole nets to in a pile on the ground... my other 2 send support.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been reading your blog, just haven’t gotten around to commenting yet!
Welcome! I am hoping that she starts to appreciate the net. Irish is hilarious- he won't eat hay on the floor of his stall but will eat the exact same hay if I put it outside on the ground. Horses!
DeletePoor Carmen, she is really abused over there at your farm. LOL!!
ReplyDeleteShe is glad that you recognize how hard done by she is!
Deleteoooh i really like the idea of those hay feeders!! my barn mate has one and i'm always kinda jealous lol. i have one of those giant nibble nets that are also pretty easy to fill and hang, tho it's not quite as a slow a feeder as a typical net
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Charlie the destroyer might find them a challenge to get off the wall?
DeleteIf your Tough-1 feeder goes kaput, we use Orange Slow Feeder nets. https://orangeslowfeeder.com/ They are orange because they are made of darn-near indestructable marine-grade fish net. So, although they are a tacky color, the design is fabulous and they are easy to fill. :-) My Azteca mare also gave me the stink-eye when I put it in her stall the first time. :-)
ReplyDeleteoh thank you! I will check them out.
DeleteI love my slow feeder nets so much. I also like the idea of having different places for the hay when they are turned out. Much more like grazing.
ReplyDeleteCarmen's personality is so great. I love when they are expressive. We already know we have similar mares ;)
LOL, save me from expressive mares!
DeleteOh My horses have the marshmallow shape down to a pat, but they are all out grazing still so they do have to work for it but clearly not enough
ReplyDeleteI think many horses like to be marshmallow shaped. It's hard to keep them slim sometimes!
DeleteFor a while, when Valiosa was getting porky, and I didn't want her to just stand and have nothing (this was when she lived in a paddock.), I'd put straw in for her. Didn't have near as much nutrition as hay, but she'd have something to pick at and she seemed happy, without getting too round... :)
ReplyDeleteStraw is not so easy to get here.
DeleteWhat a great mom to watch your son's dog for extended periods like that! He and the pup are so lucky.
ReplyDeleteYes- he really should appreciate us more! :) She really is a sweet dog which helps.
DeleteSolid horse logic! LOL
ReplyDeletethe logic cannot be denied. Except that I don't want her to be fat. So I deny it anyway.
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