Thistle Cove Farm

Feb starts w/a rush

08:20, 2006-Feb-2 .. Link

Most of my mornings are languid, at least compared to a lot of folks. I wake by the sun light, get out of bed and tend to the needs of the dogs and cats, make coffee and then settled down with a cup of coffee in the sun room. Then there are those days I hit the floor running. Like yesterday. I woke early, got the animal chores done, fixed coffee and then started cooking.

Yesterday was a special day...Leslie and her cousin, Ruth Jean, were coming to visit. I fired up the ovens and proofed the yeast for the home made bird seed bread, started cutting up apples for the apple almond blueberry crisp, put the October/cranberry beans on to cook and added the ham bone.

Outside chores were next and knew I had to move some horses to new pasture and, using the tractor, set out some round bales for the mares, weanling and geldling. First I fed everyone, locked them in their respective lots and got out the tractor. When I checked the feeders, only the mares and one stallion needed hay...that's good because it saves me an extra step and time. Time is precious today...Leslie is coming.

My big mistake...I cheated and propped Danny Boy's door closed with a stick. No, I didn't take the time to actually tie it closed with a rope...bad thing...very bad thing, also very stupid thing.

I set out the hay bales for the mares, got a second bale on the hay spear and drove the tractor out of the upper pasture. I opened the upper gate for the mares, let them loose and walked down to open the smaller gate for HayJ who is Danny Boy's son. Everything was going so well until I heard squeals of anger and challenge.

O Dear Lord!

Danny Boy had opened his gate and was now on the other side of the fence from HayJ and both were wanting to fight. Which they commenced to do and it was not pretty. Well, actually it would have been real pretty had it been in the wild but as it was, they were across a cattle/hog panel fence from each other and rearing to their full heights. Danny Boy is only about 14.1 but HayJ is a full 18+ hands. HayJ's mother is a black Percheron mare and HayJ is just about the most beautiful thing two eyes have ever seen...in the animal world at least. He's a brillo curly black and white Curly x Percheron stallion (unproven but he's been willing for a while) and he knows he's "purty", beautiful even.

Anyway, back to the fracas...I had no horse whip, no lead rope and only the shirts on my back so I whipped them off and started yelling and waving my shirt. Both gents didn't even favor me with a glance.

Oh...did I mention the mares, one in dead on heat, were on the top side of the T teasing, dancing, whinnying..."hey big boy, pick me, pick me!" Both big boys were more than willing to breed, right after they finished their screaming match.

It took a while of running, yelling, waving my shirt with the dogs barking and trying to help before I was able to diffuse the situation. God was so good to all of us...none of us were hurt and for a while there I was very aware I was trying to get in the middle of a horse fight. Fortunately, I'm with my animals every day and they know my voice and listen pretty well. Extremely well considering hormones were in play and Nature is bigger than I.

After they had bitten, squealed, reared, sniffed at a mare's rear end I was able to drive Danny Boy off. HayJ decided to invistigate the open gate on the other side of the lot and I quickly crossed the lot and shut him out on the lower pasture. Danny Boy was still toying with the mares or being toyed with by the mares.

It took a few tries; after all, he's been around the block and knows what he's missing, but I got a lead rope around his neck and walked him to the garden at the other end of the barn lot.

Leslie and Ruth Jean drove up a few minutes later - perfect timing gals! - and we all trooped to the house for lunch.

Dave's mother is 92, lives with us and generally only has us to do for company. Ruth Jean is younger than Mrs. B. but they still had some folks in common, a history of being school teachers and chatted like old friends. It was truly a beautiful thing. I haven't seen Mrs. B so excited about talking to someone in a long time...thank you Ruth Jean...for your gift of yourself.

Leslie picked up some Shetland and Merino fleeces from me and has photos on both her blogs at
www.homesteadblogger.com/greenberry house and www.greenberry.blogspot.com. She's very pleased with the quality and I'm happy she's pleased. It's gratifying when someone knows and appreciates the work, effort and love that's gone into producing a quality product. I love what I do and my sheep are happy sheep and it does make a difference. They are fed the best quality alfalfa hay, which I put up from my alfalfa field, the best quality whole corn and the absolute best sheep minerals I can buy. The end result is a product that's unequaled and when one starts with the best, one ends up with an heirloom garment that will be handed from parent to child.

Yep, yesterday was an absolutely fine, fine day. Even with the stallions doing their stallion thing, it was still a fine, fine day. Thank God they are Curly horses because after their initial "I'm the boss of YOU" altercation, both boys settled down and went their separate ways, much to the mares' regret.

Curly horses are the "puppy dogs" of the horse world; had they not have been, I couldn't have settled the fracas as quickly, easily and without mishap. If you're interested in more information on Curly horses,