July 14, 2021
This morning I am sitting and watching the sky cloud over. Not the day that was planned. Today my farmer is baling hay for us. The first load will arrive shortly after noonish. But if we do not have a dry day I am doubtful if I will get my 1000 bales in the loft. Such is the life of a horse farmer. I think the island and perhaps the whole east coast has the worst possible weather for hay making. You need 4 good drying days in a row. And this seldom happens. It certainly is not like home, in the west we would cut the hay in the evening and let it dry, roll it once, we could bale from early morning to late at night, sometimes until 11 pm. In my area, on the good days there is a lot of dew in the morning, so the farmer has to wait until that dries off. And in the evening by about 6pm the moisture has arrived again. That gives a small window to bale. I wish I could feed haylage. Haylage does not have to dry so long. But I feed the herd free choice and that is not a viable situation. This herd is getting some age on its members. I need good quality, dry hay. That is a tall order for any farmer dealing with the up and down island weather. I cannot afford to wait for a second cut. Some years there is no second cut. On a good note, the escalator is up, motor still works, helpers know the routine, we will be good to go.
On the Elsa Saturday, Handibear Hills hosted the Animal Rescue Volunteers to a clinic of horse catching. It was a good afternoon. Only a couple of them had a clue about horses. First of all I talked about the game of approaching horse in a panic. Always approach them from the side. Beware of the back end. Then we did a time on a safety release knot. It always helps that after you catch a horse you are able to tie them up in a safe way. Next we piled the group into the farm truck to take them to the herd. Those wary of my driving in the field walked. Of course the herd was in farthest field. And then the fun began. Everyone had a halter and lead rope. With my field catching we hug the horse. This means we put the lead rope around the neck with the right arm. That gives us control to be able to put the halter on with the left hand. Most of the herd do not give a challenge to get the halter on, because once it is on we give them a treat. Our treats of the day were apples, mints and licorice. Easy peasy, until the lead mare “Morning” got concerned that we were taking her herd away. She performed like any wild mare would, running about, in between horses and people, trying to herd them back to the hill. Not one soul offered to try and catch her, Even though she was the true example of a horse behavior in an emergency situation. I didn’t offer to calm her down and catch her either!! There are times in an emergency situation it is best to just release them and let them go. That was my experience with 3 racetrack stable fires years ago. After the first fire we all learned to close the stall doors after releasing the horse. They would try to return to the stall, it was their home, so you can’t blame them. Fires and Floods are both terrible things to deal with. Especially on a track where there is always 200 plus horses stabled. Now most the stables are built with Cinder block. But roofs are wood. It is always a worry, although I hope most have sprinkler systems now. It is always good to be prepared for emergencies, whatever they may be. Everyone should be familiar with First Aid, everyone should have an escape plan, everyone should have and emergency plan, whether it be in the barn or at home. Everyone should practise the “What If” scenario THAT is called an Emergency Plan.
Love and hugs from Yogi and the herd.