Signs of Spring

For horse owners, a real sign of spring is when the pastures are once again able to support the horses. I got the call from Tim this weekend that he was discontinuing hay and that the horses would be on pasture until next fall.

The horses are very happy with that decision! Tim has moved them into two separate pastures that have been recently connected.

He has an ingenious way of rotating horses through the northwest pasture, the northeast pasture, the nursery paddock, the new barn paddock, the southwest pasture, and finally, the southeast paddock. 

Go here to see a satellite tour of the property. 

Using a gate system that he devised, the horses have always been within fencing during a pasture rotation except for when they were put into the southeast paddock.

It was disconnected from the others and the horses had to be haltered and led into it rather than simply opening a gate and letting them walk in by themselves.

Not any more. Last fall Tim fenced in a connecting lane between the new barn paddock and the southeast paddock, expanding the size of the southeast paddock at the same time by enclosing part of the lawn around the new barn.

The blue lines show how the new barn paddock (top rectangle) is connected with the southeast paddock (bottom rectangle) by a tunnel alonside the new barn that leads into a new pasture area which then leads into the southeast paddock. (Ignore the red pin and circle.)

The horses are able to walk back and forth between the two now and no longer do we have to halter them to move them.

Having the horses there made my visit yesterday much easier than it has been for a while. The horses were close by where I always park and I didn't have to call them all the way up from the northern pastures. (Or hike out to them.)

Sultanna gazes out from the connecting lane to the new pasture that's been added from the lane to the southeast paddock.

I visited with the horses and then decided to do a "mama check" on Suntanna. She is due to foal in early May.

A good way to tell when foaling is getting close is if the mare is bagging up. (The udder begins to fill with milk.)

Things still looked pretty normal, but then, she's not due for a few more weeks.

When we finished visiting, the horses meandered down the lane and then out into the southeast paddock.

I think they like being able to walk back and forth through the lane. And I am glad that every time Tim rotates pastures, everyone is safely enclosed throughout the process. Win-win!

Bonus Spring Video

Last night after dinner, Craig and I were sitting on the patio with the dogs and enjoying the weather. The Wabash River is just through the woods on the other side of our neighborhood, and that woods is very old and chock full of wildlife. Listen to the spring peepers in them! (Also sometimes called tree frogs because they live in trees.) They were so loud last night!

Where are the Boys??

When I turned down the lane alongside the south paddock for a visit with Abby, she and Diablo trotted alongside my car as I drove up to the new barn. At first I thought it was just some over-enthusiasm for a couple of peppermints, but as I parked and watched them, I could see that they were agitated over something - the missing boys.

Trouble and Hokey were in the southwest pasture happily munching fresh grass and ignoring the girls and their calls. Tim explained to me later that he had been rotating pastures before heading to work that morning, and the girls would not let him catch them. He had to get to work, so he left them to their own devices in the paddock after moving the geldings, planning on coming back in the afternoon and making the switch. Then he left.

Well, the girls did not like it when they realized that they were separated from the boys, and when I arrived a few hours later, thought that I would move them, thus following my car and crowding the gate - it wasn't the peppermints or me that excited them, it was that they wanted to join the boys!

Fortunately for them, Tim came out shortly after me and moved them over with the geldings. He said that he only had to halter Diablo - Abby was so anxious to join the others that she tagged right along without a halter or lead rope!

Carrots or Clover?

Tim rotated pastures yesterday, and when I arrived late in the evening, the herd was busily munching away on all that fresh grass and clover.

He has six pastures that he rotates them through, but I think the west pasture is the most beautiful as it is surrounded by trees on three sides.

I called to Abby and she raised her head and looked at me, but then went back to eating. I could tell she was watching me, though, because she kept facing me and her ears were up and cocked in my direction as she grazed.

I had just come from visiting my mother and then a brief meeting at church, and did not want to trudge out to see her in my good sandals. So, after I called to her a few more times, I decided that I would just head home.

Abby's timing was impeccable. Just as I made that decision, Abby's head popped up again and she hustled up to see me.

 "Wait! Don't go!! I'm coming; I'm coming!!"

I had a rare treat for her tonight - a juicy Granny Smith apple!

The juice ran down my wrists as she bit chunks out of it - definitely worth giving up fresh pasture for!

 Abby finished that apple and the two carrots I'd brought, and then headed back to grazing.

In the choice between carrots or clover, the carrots won out, and I think Abby was glad she decided to come up and check out what I'd brought her.