04/29/2025
The last week has been an incredible journey of growth and freedom. We finally set the two year-old and the yearling free in the pasture, and it's been amazing to see them thrive. They're so friendly and have truly earned their ticket to freedom.
Then, our neighbor texts us saying the horses got loose across the canal. We jumped into action, driving around and searching for them everywhere. But, to our surprise, they were happily grazing in our pasture. I thought the neighbor was joking. Later, I looked up and the ponies were running wild across the neighbor's field. I guess they found a sneaky way through the water gap. They had to walk down into the creek, up the creek 15 feet, under the fence, and then leap over a 20 foot steep bank. It was an impressive display of agility and determination. Apparently, they got a little spooked and decided to come back home. I guess the young ones learned that the pasture isn't always greener on the other side.
One of the mares came up lame, so we had the vet out as the horse trailer is in the shop getting a hay rack installed... 20 years later. We had to sedate the mare to touch her feet. The vet said she had an abscess, so we doctored her up and put her in the corral. I'm looking forward to her recovery. The vet left us some medicine to sedate her, so we'll see how that goes.
One of the black studs is getting ready to be gelded next week. He's a little anxious but he's settling down.
We've got two 2 year-old studs and they're hilarious to watch. They're like two toddlers in the pen, bucking and kicking and playing with each other.
We finally got the halter on the new baby and turned it back in with the other baby. Now they're playing together in the corrals with the mares. The aged mares are a bit dull, thankfully.
All the horses are getting exposed to all sorts of new experiences - farm equipment, dogs, kids, motorized vehicles, side-by-sides, tarps flapping in the wind, people on ladders, electric fences, etc. We've got two families living on site helping with the horses and maintenance. Two young teenagers have taken over feeding duties and are enjoying riding the older horses. On Saturday, they disappeared for six hours into the field. I guess they were just enjoying the freedom.
The younger kids are taking care of the chickens with supervision and are doing a great job - we're getting nine eggs a day out of 10 chickens. One of the kids had a yard sale and some guy gave him 20 bucks without taking anything. It's heartwarming to see kindness like that. The kids are running wild around the property, laughing and playing, and it's just great to see. It fills me with joy and makes me feel like I'm doing something right.
Well, off to another day of adventures and getting ready to start another horse today. š¤£
