Lawn Darts or Outlaws?

Anyone that owns a horse  likely has a similar story or two.  50 years ago when I was a kid in Central Idaho we worried less about the horse  and more about what they could do for us and how much that was going to cost.

Horses were cheap and plentiful.  If you wrecked one, you just went and got another.  People found all sorts of way to avoid having a horse.  Motorcycles, 4x4s and eventually ATVs took their place.  In some ways that was for the better.  Some way it wasn't for human or horse.

But easy to get off trail here and not get to the story of this morning.

My back door is just a few feet from out arena.  On the other side of our arena is the barn, 4 stalls, tack room, hay storage and a covered loafing area with hay bins for feeding and a water trough set under a down spout draining the roof of the barn.

The loafing area has two feeding bins made from old truck tires.  And there plenty of room for our 6 horses to feed 3 or 4 at a bin with little fuss.

Horses get fed twice a day.  Morning and night.  If it is really cold...below 20F they usually get 2 leaves off a bale around 11pm.  If it is 30 or above they don't get anything late.

Typically we have them on pasture at least a 2 hrs a day.  Mid winter pasture is pretty barren, as it is now.  But it is easy to give them too much pasture the rest of the year and get some seriously over weight horses.  Been there, done that.  So the entire herd is on a diet and will be for he rest of their lives here.  Skinny horse is a healthy horse.   Either way we give them enough hay to keep them healthy...just not always happy.

I have friends that have told me that horses don't understand language.  I'll call bs on that as each and every one of mine know their name.   Just that they don't always answer to their name.  It is a choice on their part.   But I have no doubt they know it.  There is not question they respond to at least the tone of your voice it not the words or sounds alone.  "Whoa!"  Is a good example.  Or a simple "no".   Or, "What the fook are YOU doing!"  which they hear on occasion.

Some believe it, others don't.  Just my reality, doesn't have to be yours or your horses.    

Back to the diet thing?  Yes our horses are on a diet.  We have 18 acres of orchard grass hay.  And of that only 6 acres is keep totally horse free during the growing season.   I've been without a horse for close to 50 years so mistakes come easy to me.  Too much time on pasture was a BIG one.  Easy for me.  Fun for the horses.  But I was literally killing them with kindness.  Fat horses are not happy horses.  And I like happy horses.  So  everyone went on a diet.  That didn't make everyone was happy including me.

But I'd rather have outlaws than law darts.

Last week has been a big one for the horses.  I've ridden one or two every day.  Not back to riding three or four a day yet but it is coming soon enough.   If they didn't get ridden they got worked.  Some more than others.  They did get worked and its been a while.   I don't want outlaws.  But won't own a lawn dart.  And the choice is totally up to me.

The diet?  So yes the horses are hungry.   They are in a sand turn out area with easy access to food ( when it is there) and water.   No question they play more in the turn out area when they have  24/7 access to feed.   Turns out the only ones thriving on a free range diet was the two babies.  The others were showing signs of stress from over eating in one way or another.  And the two easy keepers  simply got obese.   It wasn't pretty.

It was 23F  when I walked out the back door this morning.  Colder than it was suppose to be.  And I missed the midnight feeding.

I could look across the arena and see a stall was open (that wasn't suppose to be) and horses were inside the barn and into the hay.  I had just stacked 8 new bales of hay on the barn floor yesterday,  ready to be fed over the next couple of weeks.  And there is another couple hundred  in the hay shed they would have easy access to in the barn.

Horses in the barn aren't a big deal.  Typically it happens when I leave a door or gate open by accident.   Horses in the barn?  It is just annoying having to clean up the mess.  The horses know they aren't suppose to be in there.  But it is a temptation none of them can resist given the chance.   I know that.  My bad for  making it possible for them to get in and in trouble.

Guilty horse on the left..Galena. 

Boo and Galena after turning around...and fresh from the barn

First words out of my mouth out the back door were, " You guys better get your asses out of the barn!"   Knowing full well that like every other time they have been in the barn I'd have to physically remove each and everyone by hand.  Much to my surprise before I could get to our deck's landing, 4 or 5 steps away, first one head appeared, then another until three horses appeared and were now outside the barn.   Before I could get off the landing all the horses were on the fence.   The last three out of the barn acting really guilty by now.   The two not caught in the barn acting like nothing ever happened.   The guilty ones wouldn't even look at me until I called them one at a time by name to turn and face me....which is how I know each and every one knows their name.


Guilty?  Ever seen a dog look guilty?  These horses looked guilty.  Trust me :)   Anthropomorphic?  No question.  But they were guilty!  And we all knew it.   No remorse to be seen but they were acting mighty guilty.  They know the rules and getting into the barn and stuffing themselves is not acceptable.   Off hand I begin to wonder if  this is the life of  super models at a breakfast buffet.

They weren't coming to meet me in the middle of the arena.   I thought that telling.  And no question my usually cheery self in the morning was putting out an unhappy vibe no one wanted to be around just yet.

Brazen and Galena..in the back ground... found some place else to be :)

Brazen (who was already out and had eaten his fill earlier obviously) headed for the far corner of the arena.  He didn't acknowledge me again.  Galena the last one out of the barn....immediately headed his way as well.

The kids came back pretty quickly.  They all intently watched me clean up the mess and then begged for some more hay.  Which I gave them of course since they asked so nicely :)    And  everyone was once again in a pretty good mood.  Easy to do when you aren't starvation diet and you have a full belly.

Stall door has some improvements now and I'm leavin Sammy to guard the hay tonight.

Now?  An hour later?   Everyone is flat out in the arena,  sleeping off their hay binge.  Damn Lawn Darts!

The aftermath?
1am the same night....

I learned today just how good Bear is at getting through a locked gate.  No surprise as he's been working his Houdini act since he first showed up here.  He's getting better at it.  I suspect he's the guy that  opened the stall and took the inner door off the roller hinges this morning.

At 1m here it is 23F and looking to drop into the teens tonight I suspect.

On a quick inspection I had thought for a moment the crew had gotten back into the barn.  Thankfully they hadn't.  But they were acting like they hadn't been fed for a week when I went out to check on them.  The younger half still wanted into the hay barn and were pushy about it.  Even with full feed bins waiting for them.  The older horses  were one horse per bin and running anyone off that wanted in.  Unusually long for them all to settle down and get back to some serious eating.  

Diets are hard for everyone...horse and human.