Chicken

I scream like a sissy. I have snakes. Coral snakes. Red on yellow....

Becca has retreated to the back of the pasture. She does not come to the front during daylight hours. Dodo. Friday, I began my walk to the back to check on my poor, muzzled mare. Not 20 steps in the pasture I came across a decent sized coral snake and retreated. I am afraid to go out there. I suspect I just haven't caught her drinking during the day. I did catch her making a beeline for the back yesterday. She must be drinking. She is not dehydrated. I caught her on the road late yesterday. Luckily, she does not flee when I head her way. I hate not getting my hands on her every day.

I had plenty of snuggle time this weekend with the other two. I will ride Priss out to check on Bec tomorrow, bareback- ugly bite on her back (Thanks, Diesel). She comes when called. Lovely beast. I had bonding time with Diesel, too. He's easy to love. Such a man, though. He likes to think he is master of the others. Bullies, a bit. Acts like a rambunctious gelding. Bundle of love.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a 4-wheeler to ride out back...or a riding lawnmower. Dream on, Devra. Regardless, my life is blessed.

Short Relief

I am a bit of a high strung person. I look ahead and weigh situations. I rarely sleep fitfully. Is this relevant? Of course. I like Becca. I understand her. For all her silly fits and worries I do not think she is dangerous. She is horribly herd bound. But as she paces and hollers she pays attention. She thinks about where her feet are going. She never loses control enough to hurt herself. She respects space. Even in her most worried state she respects her handlers space. I love that about her. She knows where you are and she knows where she is. She may lean toward you for confidence. But, she never touches. She never pushes. And she gives to pressure immediately. She's sensitive- no matter if on the ground or under saddle.

Becca is low man on the totem pole. She needs others to tell her how to act. She has no confidence left to her own devices. Priss, on the other hand, is solid as a rock. She is tough and she knows it. Not so sensitive- on the ground or under saddle :) I'm not saying she doesn't know her manners. She is just different.

Becca poses a challenge. She has health issues- metabolic and accidental injury related. Pasture situations have caused recent concerns. Ideally she should have a pasture buddy like herself that requires minimal grazing to give her confidence and peace of mind. Realistically, I do NOT need another mouth to feed. And, my fences are not nearly complete enough. Patience. The horses are safe inside an electric fence with less than ideal perimeter fence (which they have no access to). That is my peace of mind.

Becca survived turnout for the last day in a grazing muzzle. I let her out of the round pen last night and left her muzzled until I got home today just as soon as I could. Good news. I feel short term relief. The odd looking torture device left no rub spots or blisters. Thank goodness. She does not fight it or try to remove it- even stands patiently with her head down in acceptance while putting it on. I brought her in to the round pen this evening for 4 hours. She paced and hollered. I call it her evening exercise. Get that metabolism going. And then I let her out again. She calmly led back to the pasture and rejoined her buds. I hope this works out. I can't wait for the day I come home and she's not wearing it. Twenty acres makes for a tough hide-and-go-seek. I have several back-up safety snaps just in case.

Before bringing her in this evening I led her over to Priss for a quick "checkover". They immediately began grooming each other. What a sight! Becca couldn't figure out how to massage through the muzzle. She gave up and let me do her job for her. Both were reluctant to part. For all her crabiness, Priss really does love Bec. I just really wish Bec was in better health. She's a beautiful beast. One of these days I'm going to jump on bareback for a bit. Or so I say. My life is blessed.

Mad Neighbors

I've already done it. Made 'em mad. Wouldn't even wave to me. I opened up 20 acres for the horses. They'd eaten the 5 they were in down to nothing. Becca cannot have that much grass. I tried the muzzle the first day. It rubbed her sweet little nose raw. So I locked her in the round pen last night. She hollered all night long. That won't work. We all need sleep.

She's back in the muzzle tonight. I'll check her in the morning. What am I going to do with her? I don't want her to founder or get laminitis. I don't want her pancreas to completely shut down. I can't keep her locked up alone. The others can't be locked up with her. I really hope I can make the muzzle work. At least she doesn't fight it. Time will tell. Back to the 30 minute workouts. Joy. Can't wait to try to catch her every day in 20 acres. I suspect she will figure this out. Tomorrow we'll begin with a 10 minute exercise. Who knows? Maybe I'll ride her.