Rubber Duck

Steven and I have added to our herd....again. The other day, we took our usual weekend trip to the Co-op....bought our horse feed, bought some plants, bought some poultry........poultry, yes poulty. 2 ducks and 2 chickens. I don't know what breed the chickens are but the ducks are Pekins. Very fun and friendly, too. We bought a kiddy pool and filled the bottom with wood sawdust that we use in our horse stalls. We bought a little feeder and waterer from the co-op and placed it in the pool. For now, they are eating chik starter which was recommended by the co-op. After it runs out, we will switch to something else but I'm still not sure what. Our chickens are named Kentucky Fried and Churches for obvious reasons (we really aren't planning on eating them though) and our ducks are named Odd and Rubber....just because it's funny. We have filled our bath tub up a couple of times and let Rubber and Odd swim and play in it. They absolutely love it. Odd likes to dive underneath the water and swim laps around Rubber. It's hilarious. The chickens aren't near as much fun.

At first, we had the kiddy pool in Steven's office...where we could watch them closely and keep a heat lamp on them. However, after a week or two, they've gotten quite stinky and have relocated to the basement. We still have the heat lamp on them. Once we figured out they loved the water so much, we made them a little swimming pool out of a tuberware bowl. We have to dump it daily because they poop in it. Go figure.

We took Rubber and Odd outside for the first time yesterday. They were really nervous at first but then realized they could eat the scary green stuff tickling their legs. Steven and I would walk away and call them and they would come a waddlin' after us, quacking all the way. So cute. I've got some bathtub video I need to post soon! Steven found this website blog the other day about raising ducks in your backyard....I've looked over it today and there is a lot of good info. I'm hoping our two ducks are actually female so we can get some eggs!

So now, our herd is officially as follows: 2 humans, 2 dachshunds (Mulligan and Delta), 1 coon hound (Lilly), 2 barn kitties (Michelle and Barack), 2 horses ( Ronan and Twiggs) plus one boarded horse Cherokee, 2 ducks (Rubber and Odd) and 2 chickens (Kentucky Fried and Churches).

And I know there will be more......

One of my boarders is moving her horse tomorrow. They have been with us since September 08 I believe. OTTB, used as a lesson horse for hunter / jumper I believe. Our boarder bought him and from what I assume, hasn't done much with him. I never saw her ride him the entire time he was with us and she only came out ever so often to give him a treat. I groomed him the other day because his winter coat was still hanging on him but barely attached. He twitched his lip and leaned into me as I curried my way around him. He's such a sweet boy. I can tell he's testy but respectful if you will be his leader. His owner leads him around with a stud chain on his nose. All I need is a rope halter....Once he respects you, he'll do anything for you. I'm sure he was a wonderful horse in his prime....sadly, he still should be in it...he's only 14. We have steadily put more weight on him and he's finally looking good. Now, I'm afraid the owner will move him to a "cheaper" place and he won't get the highest quality nutrition like he's getting here. I think the best possibility for him would be to find a young experienced little girl who works with a trainer regularly. But, I'm afraid he's just going to live in a pasture with little human contact and no job for the rest of his life. It's sad.

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted on this blog. Unfortunately, not much exciting has happened. My female dachshund had to have an emergency surgery which you can read about here. Other than that, Steven and I went to Talladega this past weekend. It was fun but so dang hot. We didn't stay the whole race and missed two pretty good wrecks. Oh well. We did make it to Birmingham and had dinner with some old horse friends from our previous barns in AL. It was very good to see them and we stopped by the old barn. It hasn't changed much but has a whole different crowd now. I want to show Ronan at a small local all-breed open show this weekend but Steven wants to stay home and watch the Kentucky Derby. That's fine...I should probably get Ronan in shape a little more before I start to show him again. We considered going to the Derby this year but it looks like money will be a little tight since Delta's surgery was so expensive and because we went to 'Dega. Maybe next year! Looking forward to relaxing this weekend. Maybe a nice trail ride at Baker's Creek.....did I write about my last experience there? That will be my next post! lol

Burning Pooo!

The weather was crappy all weekend which really blew since Steven and I really wanted to go fishing in the Smokies. Instead, we did some gardening (in pots) and some work at the barn. We have been filling the manure spreader when we pick stalls during the week. We haven't been able to spread it in a little while because of the weather so once it was full, I placed it in the shavings area and waited for a dry day. One day after we finished the evening feeding, I noticed some steam coming from the manure spreader. I thought to myself, "That's weird...but I'm sure it's just doing that because of the weather." Thankfully, I was curious enough to walk over and take a closer look. To my surprise, it wasn't steam at all but SMOKE! I placed my hand at the top of the pile and it felt very warm! I called Steven over and we began digging around a little only to discover that the manure in the spreader was smoldering! It was extremely warm and smelt AWFUL!! We quickly wheeled it out of the barn and pulled it around ourselves to empty it. (It was still very wet so the lawn tractor wasn't an option) Thank goodness those things were invented so we don't have to do that everyday! Man it was tough.....Once the manure was on the ground, it still smoked a little until the mist in the air drenched it putting it out. Wow, what if I haven't noticed it? Obviously, I don't know much about compost. We've always just dumped in a pile and that's it. I've never had to deal with composting. I just find it really weird!

And just when I thought someone finally knocked some since into them....

We finally get another BEEEYooootaful Craigslist posting. Now, I can't see how anyone would want to buy a horse from this person.....unless you are a 12 yr old girl....(maybe that's what he's going for) But COME ON!!! Really? Maybe his daughter is the one who made these pics so "puuurty" but why would you actually post them?!?! People kill me.....That's all I have to say. Idiots.


dun quarter horse mare - $1200 (oliver springs)
Reply to:Date: 2009-03-25, 12:18PM EDT

8 yr old 15 hands shoes front back great trail horse anyone can ride built like a tank sweet as a puppy xxx-xxx-xxxx
Location: oliver springs
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interestsPostingID: 1091370555

Where would we be without horses?

I usually read the NY Times online version everyday when I am at work. It's almost a routine. However, this morning I skipped over most of it....the AIG mess, Bail out this and that, Cocaine and Rebels in Peru....blah blah blah ....Horses....Horses in the NY TIMES? Yea!

This article raises a very interesting question. Where would we be today if we hadn't discovered this instinct or genetic bond between horse and human? Honestly, I can't think of any other domestic animal that has done so much for the human race. Sure, canines have helped man hunt for centuries and cattle as well as other livestock have provided milk and meat but no animal has served man quite like our equine friends. Take a look at this article and tell me what you think!

Editorial
NY Times

Equine Alternative

Published: March 17, 2009
Early this month, a team of archaeologists reported evidence that horses were domesticated perhaps a millennium earlier than had previously been thought. The site was where northern Kazakhstan is now, the culture was called Botai and the date was around 3500 B.C. The Botai did not just herd horses for meat. Scientists found bit-wear marks on Botai horses’ teeth — a clear sign the animals were being ridden. They also found evidence on pottery fragments that “very likely” came from mare’s milk fat — a sign that the horses were being milked.
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Related
Earlier Date Suggested for Horse Domestication (March 6, 2009)
This discovery pushes back the date for a hugely important technological change in human existence. But it’s also a reminder that domestication isn’t just the conquering of one species by another. It’s the willing collaboration between two species, a sharing of benefits. There is something in the equine nature — genetic or social — that allowed it to partner with humans, just as there was in the character of dogs.
You might also say that there is something in human nature that allowed us to seek out this partnership. Among all the animal species on this planet, humans have domesticated only a handful. And that fact gives rise to a thought-experiment. What if that genetic or social something had been missing in horses? What if they had remained resolutely wild, refusing the domestic kinship humans tried to impose upon them?
It is not a far-fetched notion. But what it suggests is an alternative history of human development, one in which we could have moved no faster over land than our own foot-pace.
How that would have retarded the spread and integration of language, culture, civilization is hard to calculate. It is safe to say that without domesticated horses, we could not have begun to be who we are today.

Composting

We cleared out our manure pile last weekend. It had grown significantly over the winter months. It started in a corner on the back side of our barn and finally reached our back doorway. When the pile was rained on and snowed on and re-frozen and was rained on again for several weeks this winter, we were unable to manuover the wheelbarrow all the way to the back so we were forced to wheel out the back door and dump. Our landlord came out with his large tractor and scooped it away. We had the smaller tractor pulling the newer spreader around one pasture while he dumped piles in the larger pastures. We went back later and pulled the drag around to spread everything out. When we made it to the older compost at the back of the pile, the landlord took several scoops over to his garden. It was fine compost, manure and sawdust mix almost one year old. It was the GOOD stuff!!! We had one guy come out to get a load for his garden and Steven has promised some to a couple of his colleagues. Hopefully, everyone will see improvements in their gardens this spring and summer with our horse poop! Unfortunately, we are not putting in a garden this year because we are most likely moving again July 1st. But we have decided to plant some tomatoes and other veggies in planters so we can take them with us if we do move.

What do you guys do with your horse poop? Do you have a composting bin? Spread it all on your pastures? Give it away? Just pile it up? Tell me!