Clover

Clover is a POA. She came to us as a kid pony, but a kid pony she is not yet.  Trust issues are certainly her biggest problem.  After a long turnout and time to get used to the routine and our smiling faces she is finally coming around.  She was willingly caught and moved to the training pasture with the donkeys, they are sweet and calm which spills over to their herd mates.  She still longs to be back with the mares doing as she pleases but it's time for some education.  Clover from the best I can figure went through 2 auctions and 4-5 homes and/or traders in about a years time.  She is 7 years old so what must the first 5 years have been like?  She is small about 13 hands.  I think what a cute baby foal she must have been how could someone not have wanted to touch and love on her?  Maybe someone did she just forgot the feeling of love. We will never know her story and past but we can strive each day to make her future better.  I'm pretty sure her fear proved to be too much for someone wanting a pony for the kids.  Her catching problems..well..it's not fun to have a horse that runs the other way when they see you coming with anything other than a feed bucket.

She has gained some weight this winter but with consistent training and exercise she will look really fit soon. In a month's time her ground skills should greatly improve and our hope is she will learn to trust again.

Surprisingly, I had someone tell me recently they thought some horses needed/deserved to go to slaughter.  This wasn't just any person but a trainer with lots of skill and experience. I have pondered on this knowing I have a several horses who are afraid which has made them dangerous at times to them selves and others.  Do they deserve a shortened life because they are afraid of something that did or didn't happen to them in their past?   I thought if I had the credibility to back my skill as the trainer does I would want to share that skill with those horses that really need it.  That is why each of us unique and no two dreams or thoughts, likes or dislikes are exactly the same for the same reasons.  My dream is to take the knowledge I have gained and share it with Clover, take the time she needs to become a more willing partner.   She deserves the chance, as many as possible do.  Time is something they need but not always readily available to them.  Time can be a few days, months, even years.   Time does heal wounds of all kinds, physical and emotional.

The Herd Shall Rest

After much rain the herd rests under sunny skies.  The full moon is incredible this month.  I enjoy going out when its high in the sky and watching the light of the moon cast a cool glow on the horses.  The white and grey ones shimmer.  There is something soothing about watching the horses sleep together under a clear star filled sky..Peace!  After breakfast in the mornings they will stretch out and soak up the sun.  I believe they enjoy the rain after coming out of a drought.  They roll and like to get dirty as soon as the first rain breaks. The downfall is the pastures are now muddy a typical winter problem.  This spring will require the french drains to be cleaned out.  Already the spring to do list is growing. The chickens will be getting a new coop this spring as well, the framework has already begun.  Fences repaired, automatic waterers hooked up again, run in shed walls repaired from flying hooves, etc....All the while the herd shall rest.

Buying Land

What a task....I have been looking for property for 5 long years, it has always been something. The land had floodplain, wrong location, etc.. Funding was not available or if it was it was for the wrong properties.  So I have these huge property folders where i have printed off my Favs.  I have paid off all our credit card debt and our vehicles, now we try again. I found a piece of land that has potential. We will now find out if it's possible to have our small and what may seem irrelevant dream to most which is to have a place for our rescued equine to call home and a place where we can still see the stars shine for our kids, before they are grown.  I have been on edge awaiting the results.  I don't have a plan B but I feel I can come up with other ideas rather quickly.  The toughest part really is the down payment. They want so much for land as opposed to buying the typical urban home and no incentives at all.  So I await the start  of my american dream.... 

Everette

I noticed the horses all excited in the pasture.  I walked out to the first gate and listened...I didn't hear or see anything. Must be the cows or deer I thought. I walked to the next gate, the horses are blasting around, but not blowing and snorting, huh?  As I turned to walk back up to the house I saw a donkey in my neighbor's pasture. Then I saw my neighbor.  She said I rescued this donkey.  He's a Jack. I commented on how cute he was and the little guy was playing and having fun with her big paint gelding. I walked back to the house glad to know what the horses were so excited about. I was working in the office a while later when I heard the loudest (and longest bray) I've ever listened to. It wasn't just the neighbor's rescued donkey it was one of mine too.  Willie was up in the front of our property and he and the nieghbor's little donkey had just discovered each other.  WOW, it was like they were long lost friends. I had never witnessed anything like this, braying as loud as possible without even taking a breath.  Waylon who hasn't brayed since he was gelded just watched shoulder to shoulder with Willie, he was taking it all in.  Willie who only brays occasionally was proving he was very long winded. We finally broke up the meeting of the donkeys and went back to work.  a few minutes later I looked out the window and the new little donkey was in our yard playing with Willie and Waylon.   I walked out and my neighbor was standing at the fence.  She said I'm sorry he got through the fence, which neither of us really wanted to fix right at the moment.  This poor fence has been through horses, dogs, and the hurricane and it still does a good job of keeping our animals on the correct side, but this donkey, the fence was no match for him.  I told her just let him stay, they are having fun.  She said he wasn't easy to catch and he kicks.  So for the next 24 hours he just hung out with Waylon and Willie. The next morning we decided to put him a pen to give Willie  a break.  How do we catch him? Well we'll rope him.  So my son gets the rope around his neck and away they go, it looked my on was water skiing. After a couple of laps around the yard, he was finally able to get his nose tipped around and his hindquarters to disengage, then he just stopped.  We slipped on a halter and just petted him, he was sweet, just afraid.  We led him to the pen and he walked very politely with us. We limited his play time as to give Willie a break,since he was recently gelded.  Some of our neighbors have a female donkey that they wanted to breed so their jenny could have a companion and they could raise and love a baby donkey. I don't normally promote breeding but the (baby and) mother have a great home for life.  So Everette is currently with Jenny and they are courting.  Everette will come back to us to be gelded and trained. 



Everette's Rendevouz