Well, I learned something new...if you have stalled horses, do not feed them only Bermuda hay! As I may have mentioned I had to move our horses from the pasture that they so pleasantly have been enjoying for the past 10 years, to our stalls here at the house. We used to have pasture for them, but not any longer as we have put rental prpty on it.

So I've been feeding them lots of hay and a little grain and lots of fresh clean water. I take them out daily to walk them or to lunge them. Hay around here has been scarce because of the drought, and if you get it, you have to pay for it... All I could find this last week was some Bermuda hay...so they've been eating on it for a week...I noticed that my big boy, Nugget, didn't really so interest in his grain or hay the day before yesterday, or yesterday.....and no poop in his stall. I took him out yesterday and lunged him to get him moving, and tried some warm bran mash on him..but nope, not interested. I ended up calling the vet when I noticed he was pawing at the ground. He sedated him and gave him a pain med, and then pumped liquids in his stomach and also a pail of stool softener and mineral oil. This was last night...today I went to a few towns over and got some fescue hay..that is what they are used to and he is eating it. There was a little pile of poop in his stall this morning..but the vet said it may take up to 18 hours for the oil/softener to really work on him. I don't want to be behind him when it does...lol.

Anyway...I'm so relieved. I was really nervous yesterday...I know that colic can take a horse down with a twisted gut and bring surgery or even death.

I'm still feeding him the warm bran mash...but he isn't showing much interest in that...but he is drinking water and eating some hay today. I took him off grain for a few days.

Other then that...all is well here at my place. I'm tired and it's been really cold..today is just gray and drizzly...

Blessings,

Cindylee

Well this Sunday, we got a call from the peple that just bought the place my horses have been on for 8 years. She would like for us to move them, as soon as possible. Well, this put a little stress on my dh and myself. We don't have the pasture for 2 horses here anymore, or the finances to have them boarded. However, we could make some stalls here and dry lot them for a little while.

Anyway...about 2 hours later I'm in the middle of shaping my homemade hamburger rolls and we get another call...."the horses got out, my son left the gate open"....so we had to stop what we were in the middle of doing and get the horses safely back in their pasture and out of the danger of any passing cars.

We got there and didn't have much of  a problem getting them back in the pasture. But we decided then we'd bring them home, even if we had to walk them daily or put them in with the goats for an hour a day. The grass will be gone in no time. Goats don't eat the grass anyway..but does make it neater and cleaner for them.

We came home and I finished my rolls,...and then we started working on their stalls. We had to replace a few boards and the floor needed to be scrapped down and new shavings put down. It was a messy and strenuous ordeal...

When we went to trailor the horses home we expected a bit of a problem loading, but they both walked on like they did it daily. They seem to be loving the attention we are giving them, but I know they must miss their freedom on that 10 acre pasture. They shared it with only one other animal...a donkey named Jack. He also had to find a new home...the new owners are wanting to put cows in there and felt the horses would be a problem.

Anyway... another chore to add to my daily routine..but one I look forward to. I missed my horses. And to smell them....almost as good as a newborn babies neck. And mucking the stalls...that even smells good to me. Better then the chicken coop. phewie!

I have 4 milking does...2 Nubians and 2 Snoobians...(crossed Saanens/Nubians),,,,the 2 Snoobians are milking now. I bred my Nubians for their first time this fall...they showed no sign of cycling this past time so I believe they are both bred. Now I'll but my buck with my Snoobians so I will have about one and half to two months between kidding. This way I won't be out of milk for too long if at all. I have some milk put in the freezer but not that much....so I pray that it will all work out like I have figured it to. My nubians have never been milked and are late in getting bred. They are 2 years old and set in their ways...I will be placing them daily on the milk stand to start getting them used to that and me touching them. They don't like that...they'll let me pet them but they don't like their underbelly area touched or even brushed.

So for my own record...

Sara bred 9/28 due to kid the end of Feb.

Becka bred 10/16 due to kid mid March

Fawn bred hopefully this week or two, making kidding end of April first of May.

I'll dry them up end of Feb... and I'll start milking Sara and Becka about end of March, that's 4 weeks after kidding.