What a gentleman...

Winter was now upon us and that meant no more  riding - so back to grooming and loving up all the horses.  I truly enjoy helping with the barn chores and often muck out Bud's stall.  This particular morning the wheel barrel was full, so I decided to empty it out in Bud's run, instead of making the trek to the round pen. Snow had fallen the night before and there was enough on the ground to make walking tricky - over a foot. Manipulating the heavy wheels up and over the step going backwards (it's easier to pull than push when it is full of manure) out to the run was a challenge in itself - and after no more than a few steps ....down I went..... wheel barrow and all!

  It was at that very second, Buddha decided to tear out of his stall and kick up his heels and whinny to his hearts content!  I couldn't tell if he was thrilled I fell or happy to have someone to play with outside.  Of course, at that same moment a gust of wind happened along and slammed the door shut - drowning any yells of help coming from me, especially since my muck mates were still chatting away inside. I thought long and hard and decided to take our relationship to new heights. I said out loud - " Bud I need help here" (if I hadn't been there in person I would not believe what I'm about to share with you).

  He walked over and with his head helped flip the barrel over to get it upright and then actually picked one end up with his mouth and helped me carry it back into his stall - once I had pried his door open.

My friends were all wondering what had happened to us and why we would choose to be outside on such a cold and snowy morning. If they only knew......

                  The Buddha happily munching on his morning hay

               One of my favorite winter photos of the Buddha

Good bye my sweet lil Lady........

Unfortunately, with horses there are no guarantees of any kind. They can seem in perfect health one minute and be in critical shape the next.  On a regular week day morning, the owner noticed that the fencing in one of the runs was mangled to a degree - like a horse had laid down and had trouble getting up.  Then he noticed that Lady was ignoring her hay and looking unlike herself.  He immediately called JoJo and shared with her his concerns.  She, of course flew over and checked out her mare.  After some time and no change - the vet was summoned and arrived in the morning.  Lady had moved her bowels - great sign if you think your horse colicked
( a term in the horse world for twisted intestines that can be fatal ).  The vet checked her over and administered meds in hopes of curing what ailed Lady.  Many hours passed and Jo could not stand to see her in such pain.  The vet was called back and Jo was told she was in great distress and they decided to  humanely put Lady out of her misery. The end result was it was  a huge tumor that Lady had probably had for a while that went unnoticed til now.  Needless to say JoJo was in shock and sad beyond belief.

When the owner called me that night - I was sure he was prepping me about Piedmont who was close to 30 and not Lady who JoJo had enjoyed for only about 6-7 months.  .
 The following Saturday I took along a box of Kleenex and we all shed tears for both Lady and JoJo.  We had a wake of sorts in the barn .....Jo shared in the tears and laughter as we all shared our memories of her lil Lady.  Her stall was empty as we all stood in front of it and yet.....we all waited for her to pop her head around the corner of her run as she had done every Saturday since she's been there.

                The last few pics of JoJo and Lady that I took.

The Terrific Trio

With winter almost behind us and spring upon us - everyone was itching to ride.  Jo Jo had been frequently lounging Lady in preparation of saddling her up,and my niece was allowing Desi to soak up the sun and simply be a horse that had his head down 75% of the time munching on the fine equine entree - known as good ole grass. Bud was content to be turned out to pasture with both Piedmont and Lady. The terrific trio rarely had an altercation and seemed to enjoy each others company and taking turns being the sentry, while the remaining two lazily grazed. Horses are very aware of their surroundings and actually take turns keeping an eye out for any threat of danger.  If any is sensed - the sentry will let out a winnie  (or trumpet sound depending how large the fear factor is ) and then they all run a good distance away from the area and all stop and survey the previous territory.  Sometimes they will return to the scene of the crime and other times they just seem to look down and decide this new spot might be tastier and stay put!!

                               Jo & Lady bonding.

 

                         Buddha's pasture mates ( Piedy & Lady )

          

                      Buddha loving his alone time