Sleep My Child

Do you mind?

I'm trying to sleep.

I'm exhausted!

Afterall, 

I spent all morning mowing your lawn.

75 Days

It's amazing what a few days... and a lot of food can do!

The "Bony Pony" is making progress.

May 30, 2015

(Oh, how I wish this first picture had been in focus)

August 13, 2015

In the right lighting... he looks fabulous!

Who Knows Best?

I separate Malachi (the bony pony) from the herd to feed him. He is such a sweet, gentle horse that he lets anyone steal his food. I've gotten to the point where I don't tie Malachi any more. Once he has finished his meal, he has the opportunity to wander around in my back yard (which is fenced) until I have the inclination to put him back with the herd.

We Dreamers noticed that Malachi likes eating the weeds growing on the gravel driveway.  Knowing that there are many poisonous plants (to horses) in he world, I checked up on what he was finding so tasty. He was eating the Redstem Fillaree. 

After a little research I discovered that Redstem Fillaree has the highest percentage of non-structural carbohydrates of all weeds generally found in the Rocky Mountain area. It has higher levels of sugar than grasses. So, does Malachi instinctively know that the Fillaree will give him the biggest bang for the bite? 

Further reading yielded information linking Fillaree with laminitis. I had little concern for that, given Malachi's slim build. But, a suggestion that Fillaree might cause issues in digestion in the "hind gut", causing colic, and that nitrates found in Fillaree at some points during the growing season, can be toxic to equines, had me stepping out to put Malachi back with his buddies in a hurry!

Sunny Sunday

At least it began that way!

Lovely poppies and iris, some that were mangled by Friday's hail

I love having horses here and heading down to the barn in the morning, even before my brain is in gear and my body has fully awoken. The birds' songs cheer me and make me smile.

I fill Malachi's tub; a scoop of oat bran, a scoop of Sr. feed, two measures of weight stuff, one measure of digestive stuff and a bit more beet pulp than yesterday.

Malachi humming, "Should I Stay or Should I Go Now"

I check on the progress of the baby pigeons whose mom chose to use the feed bin in the stall we use for storage as her nest. Lord knows, we don't need more, but they are God's creatures, too!

May 30 - just hatched

This morning - 8 days old

I have to bring Malachi out of the paddock, away from his herd. 

The herd, looking longingly at Malachi's food.

I don't tie Malachi anymore. When he has licked his tub clean he wanders off and works on mowing our yard. Until our spate of afternoon storms came I had been working on cleaning out the garage end of the barn while Malachi ate. But now, the truck is wedged in there to keep it safe from hail - and I'm too lazy to move it out and move it back. It seems like a good excuse not to tackle the mess in the garage!

We have been having wicked storms in the afternoon. On Friday I received four alerts on my cell phone about tornado warnings, suggesting I seek shelter immediately. The sirens from the town north of us wailed on and off most of the afternoon. I was sewing in the basement. I was sheltered. Gypsy sought to comfort me by burrowing under my feet. The pounding of the rain and hail was unsettling.

Hail from the first storm on Friday afternoon

Our reward after the storms were over.

Why is it that the pot of gold is never in our yard?!

Oh, wait...

it must be here somewhere.

Life is good!

Meet Malachi

Malachi gives my mornings new purpose. He has learned to whinny when I come out of the door. I'd like to think he is greeting me, but I know that what he is really looking for is food, and I can't help but fulfill his wishes! Isn't he cute?!

Malachi belongs to my friend, who sometimes house sits for me. She adopted some needy horses and conducts a faith-based program using equines in her ministry. Sometimes her 'herd' comes to visit me for a vacation. My friend's pasture can't sustain 6 horses. Recently, with all of our rain, her pasture, paddock and run-ins have turned into quagmires. So... she brought the herd to visit.

I hadn't met Malachi before. He is a recent acquisition, and he needs a lot of extra TLC. He is in sad shape; a bag of bones.

My friend has had the vet check him out. Other than being 20+ years old and having come from an abusive situation, the vet can't find any reason for him to lose condition. So, I start and end my day making Malachi very happy!

Gypsy is happy, too. She is a chow hound, for sure. She loves licking up the drips and dribbles. However, one day her herding instincts kicked in and she decided the food was hers, and Malachi needed to leave. She snapped and tried to drive him away. She nipped his nose! Poor guy! Poor Gypsy - she is now relegated to the house during feeding time!