December 11, 2019
The herd has moved to the winter pastures at the barn. Their pasture is round bales, brought to the field by the man in the lime green machine . 10 bales were presented to the herd, in a week and a half they have consumed 6. Hungry critters eh!!. We did our health assessment last week. Everyone is in good flesh, as we old ones would say, We did the deworming, so the bots should be gone. I do hate to feed those extra stomach critters in the winter.
The blind pony had a drippy eye and it was treated. I make an eyewash with tea, Red Rose seems to do the trick. It usually takes a one time sponge. Strong stuff in tea, wonder what it is doing to our stomachs.
The herd is in the field almost 24 /7. They come in once a day for a bucket of supplements and a daily assessment. We are crap connoisseurs at the barn. Horses buns are a very good indicator of the health of their guts. It makes me so happy when a Newby recognizes a difference. This Newby recognized whole oats in the crap. And that tells the barn manager there is not a lot of efficient mastication going on. In this case it was the 30 year old pony. Her teeth are not doing a good job. Her dentist told us this would be inevitable. Another indication is the wads of hay in her manger, she is spitting out the coarse stems. My solution is providing her with more fibre in the form of beet pulp, well soaked. I am also soaking the whole oats. If that doesn’t work I will be going to crushed oats. It is tricky with ponies, they do not need a lot grain or sugar. Too much and so goes the feet, then we have the inevitable, No foot, no horse. Once a horse or pony hits 30 years, the feeding gets a little tricky.
I had a Newfoundland pony called C.J. I kept her until she was 46, and that was her true documented age. C.J. had no upper teeth, it didn’t seem to be a big problem when she was on summer pasture. Cows do not have upper teeth and seem to have no problem grazing. Winter and dry hay was a totally different issue. C.J. got buckets of soaked beet pulp, I used the pulp with reduced molasses, she was a very slow eater, it would freeze before she finished her rations, I would warm it up, probably three to four times a day. At the end of the day I think it was about 5% alcohol. C.J. was a very contented pony. Wobbly some times though. And that is why You need to be a good crap investigator with a herd of old horses.
It is tradition that horses become a year older on January 1st, in past years we had a birthday party, It was called the “Country Levy”. Apple Cider and Carrot cake became the treat of the day. I am restoring the custom. As the alpha part of the herd, I will celebrate my name day as well. On New Years Day Once you have attended all the big morning levies, come to the barn and meet the herd, shake a hoof, give me a hug and all will be well for the next year.
Love and hugs from Yogi and the herd.