Sunday, July 20, 2008

Here's what we worked on yesterday:

With hay prices going up, it just doesn't make sense for us to throw hay on the ground anymore. Besides, I've wanted to find a healthier way to feed them for a while. I didn't want a raised feeder, as those are unhealthy. I don't have a bunch of extra troughs laying around (although I do have one) and pea boxes are a bit high for my taste, hitting them at the base of their neck when they stick their heads in. I also don't like tractor tires, they have to park their front feet so far back to get in to the hay. So we made these rustic little feeders. They are rather fun to sit in, I don't know why. They don't do anything, but I had a sense of well-being sitting in there, holding the sides while John put them together. I thought maybe I was weird, but when my daughter took over, she liked sitting in there too. There is another one, but we ran out of screws to attach the sides to the base. And the great thing is, they didn't cost us a thing. We used a bunch of rough lumber that's just been laying around. So between that and the metal trough, we now have 4 feeders. We need a few more.

Bella had her long overdue pedicure today. John held her for me. I don't necessarily need a handler, but it is a time saver in her case and it was fun to have company. It was even more fun to listen to him giggling as she snuffled his face and neck. I love tickly whiskers.

Check it out, Scout is definitely a dun. He's finally shed enough to be sure.


Tonka was hanging out close by, making sure he was available in case anyone needed a nosy helper. Actually it was a bit claustrophobic at times while I was trimming Bella. EVERYONE had to be within about 5 feet of each other. My gosh, you'd think they're codependent or herd creatures or something...
Oh, and the above photo also shows one of the reasons I like rope halters so much. The fitting is so versatile. This halter is adult size, but I can still fit it to Scout's head and make do with it, even though the nose opening is very roomy on him.

Fully body Scout shot. I discovered a little sore there where my fingers are. Don't know if it's flies or from playing gelding games with Tonka. (Speaking of geldings, Scout still has both testicles descended. I think I'll have him gelded in September).

Here's Bella's dorsal stripe, although it doesn't show as well here as it does in person. I don't think she's a dun, I'm fairly certain that is countershading. She doesn't have any other dun factor that I can see.
The End

1 comment:

nikki said...

Hi Andrea,

Welcome back I hope you had a nice trip!

I just wanted to leave you with a quick e-mail with measuring to see roughly about how tall Scout will be when he is older. I wish I would have had this with mine when they were still little so I could see if it actually works! Anyway here is what it says to do:

Did You Know... At only 3-4 months of age, an average healthy foal will have reached about 80% of this adult height! Measure your foal's height at the withers, in inches. Then divide that number by 0.80. Then divide the result by 4.0 for an estimate of his adult height in hands.

Let me know what Scout comes up as! : )