Waste Not, Want Not

It's dinner time and you're late.

 I am a very conscious owner in sense of weight-management in my horses, especially now that I own a miniature that is turned out with my full-sized horse. As most horse-owners know, minis get fat off of air, and feed management/regulation is a necessity to avoid obesity, founder, and a whole myriad of problems. In addition, I hate seeing horses waste hay and I hate the clean-up of soiled/dirty hay.

Only late because this handsome devil had a
grooming appointment.

 Initially, I was feeding Suzie from a large feed-box that the SO made himself. It worked well, but Suzie loves to throw her hay around like a crazy person to get to the little alfalfa bits that shake loose and fall to the bottom of the feed-box. In turn, she ends up stomping all over the fresh hay and once it’s dirty/ on the ground she refuses to eat it. It becomes a giant pain in my rear when I have to gather up all the wasted hay and dispose of it when it should’ve been going into my mare’s mouth. I actually allowed the wasted hay to accumulate over a period of a week just to see how much they were wasting on a weekly basis. The results were astounding. Two wheelbarrows full of wasted, peed, and pooped on hay. Hay they could have ate. Those two wheelbarrows full of hay also cost money. And I am all about stretching my dollar and coming up with a solution to ensure my hard-earned money is being used appropriately. 

A bit concerning.

Essentially, in my very, very rough graph, if I continue to allow the wastage, I will be throwing away 22% of my yearly cost for hay. In addition to that, I will also run out of hay faster because I will need to feed more hay to ensure they are actually eating enough. 

I ran the numbers, and if I continue this path:

I will be throwing away just over $400 worth of hay on a yearly basis.
That’s equal to about 66 bales of hay.
Which would feed my two horses for nearly 33 days.
I’d be losing a MONTHS supply of hay YEARLY.
 

So, in order to: ensure Spud isn’t over-fed, put a halt to all this hay clean-up, and save myself from spending more on hay than I realistically need to, I devised a simple plan.

I ordered four nibble nets from Riding Warehouse so that I could start filling them up and have two days’ worth of feedings ready (AM/PM, AM/PM). The problem is that it takes time to rig up the hay-nets and in the mornings, I literally have no time to try and undo the previous night’s hay-net and rig up the next one (unless there is some sort of trick to this?!). So, I bought a carabiner so I can easily just clip the bag up to the metal hook. I also hauled the feedbox over and placed it beneath the hay-bag to catch any hay that drops down. It’s the perfect solution and it has been working out so well for us. After a few weeks of this set up, I no longer have to clean up hay on the ground on a daily basis! 

The Ridiculous Couple.

There is barely any hay on the ground and the horses are not wasting any of the hay – all of the hay bags are picked clean by the time their next feeding comes along. It is also great for Spud who is too short to reach most of the hay net, so he picks and samples from the bottom. I think it also helps prevent boredom for them, as they have to actually work for their food. The only thing I am concerned about is Suzie and Spud eating with their necks upwards. I know horses are meant to graze and have their heads/necks down, so I’m not sure if this will cause any ill-effects. It's funny how you have to monitor all of these things when you self-care/self-board. It's all about getting the most bang for your buck, but also not skipping out on what is important.

What it's Like to Own: A Suzie

In an effort to bring forth the glorious gifs of the internet, I've been thinking lately as to how I can describe what it feels like to work with Suzie. She is an interesting creature, not only because she is older, but because of her spicey personality despite looking like a complete trail plodder. Situations and circumstances dictate her personality and I've been around her long enough to recognize the patterns.

A typical Suzie is pretty disinterested in her surroundings, one that looks at you with a leadrope in hand and nonchalantly walks off, hoping you won't notice she is trying to "escape". She begrudgingly accepts the haltering and is pretty down for a ride, despite acting like she doesn't care if you are alive or not.

"I'm indifferent to you and everything in the world."

When you put A Suzie into an exciting show atmosphere, she can go one or two ways. My personal favorite is the "Is this a barrel race or...?"

"Do we... horse here?"

or "I don't see ANY FUCKING BARRELS OMG I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS."

"Holy shit I'm just going to bottle up all my emotions and EXPLODE
them all out in the next class"

and during those times I notice A Suzie is starting to just bottle up her anxiety, I'm all like:

And that's when A Suzie goes:

When A Suzie is comfortable, happy, and relaxed you can get some of this:

"I can do all the things without being a jerkface!!!"

BUT, heaven forbid you offend A Suzie with misguided cues or shitty riding:

She'll plot your untimely demise

But most of the time, when you give A Suzie affection or love, your passion for her well-being is deeply rewarded:

If this isn't love, I don't know what is.

A Suzie around kids:

"What a gross and intolerable specimen"

But:

"Put the nagging creature on me and let's fucking bounce."

And when I ride A Suzie, she is mostly game and is ready to bust out some moves:

"Spins? I can do those"

In Which Suzie is a Drama Llama

Don't be fooled, this photo is long before her fucking crazy
shenanigans started happening. Back when I liked her.
Like, 6 days ago.

I would have blogged about this sooner, but I haven’t had the time to write a comprehensive post. But basically, my mare has turned into a Fire Breathing Dragon – complete with flaring nostrils and smoke. I honestly do not know what has been up her butt, or what has caused this drastic behavioral change, but I think it can be because of one simple, silly reason; Spring is coming.

The Friday we took Spud driving, I remember grabbing Spud out of the pasture and bringing him in the barn to tack up. Suzie could not see him and already was calling for him (which Spud ignored; good boy!) and pacing along the back barn doors. At first, I thought she was just having a tizzy and still had a bit of piss and vinegar in her blood from the previous day’s disastrous trail ride. I do not condone my horse’s acting like fools, nor do I put up with it. But, her behavior didn’t escalate (it wasn’t like she was galloping and doing vicious roll backs), she was respecting the boundary of the fencing and was not leaning on/against it, and although she was calling out it was not affecting Spud adversely.  She walked fast and trotted back and forth along the fence-line and the barn doors, voicing her displeasure as she went – voice away, mare. At one point she stopped by the back doors and pawed the ground until I yelled at her to “git”.
 

We left with Spud pulling his cart while Suzie had called and called for him until we were out of earshot. Spud did not return the favor and simply ignored the fact that his friend was trying to get his attention. I vaguely remember her standing at the gate, hollering to him as we disappeared down the road before leaving. I didn’t think much of it – she likes to holler and carry on sometimes, but she generally quiets down after minimal fuss. When Tally was boarded out with her, she never put up a large fight – she mostly just munched on her hay and went quiet. But now that I’ve had more time to think about it, which I will delve into a little later, I’ve seen this behavior before.

After a very successful drive with Spud and my two friends, we returned to the barn where Suzie had started up on her calling out again. She could hear us on the road and knew we were close and Spud called back to her once or twice. As we rounded the driveway and Suzie came into view, my heart sunk a little bit. She was completely damp.

Just acting like a fucking two year old.

I pulled her out, determined to see what the heck was going on. She was warm, a bit hot/sweaty in some places but not actually as wet as I thought she’d be. Her rear left fetlock had a minor abrasion where she must’ve stepped on herself from pacing along the fence-line. I also noticed she had packed down quite a bit of snow along the fence that had previously been untouched, and in some spots she had sunk deeper than the other footfalls. A friend noted that her legs/chest could also be damp/wet due to walking through the snow, which I somewhat agree with. The fact remains that she did get stressed when we left and that just isn’t cool. So I did what any logical person would do – I tacked her up and took her for a ride. This behavior needs to be nipped in the bud and it won’t be tolerated if it compromises her well-being or safety.

 I’m pleased to say she did well for the ride. We only did a loop around the street, as the Boyfriend and I had dinner arrangements and my time at the barn was coming to an end. She walked out on a loose rein and puttered away pretty agreeable. I didn’t let her do much in the way of sniffing noses with Spud or even really seeing him – just threw him in the pasture, pulled her out and went. She was responsive and quiet until we turned the last leg towards home. While she wasn’t nearly as bad as the trail ride we had had on Friday, she did attempt to instill some of the tactics she had used that day. She tried flipping her head up and rushing forward at the walk, but I circled and circled and circled her. If she wanted to walk fast, I made her walk fast on an endless circle and more or less beat her at her own game. She walked home quietly after that and although I did admittedly nit-pick her at the end, she was better than the days before. I hopped off on the road and did some impromptu Showmanship/Halter and she was decent. Definitely need to practice more because we both are rusty on it again!

Small hack around the neighborhood.

The next day, Saturday, a friend and I went out with the intent to just hand-walk Spud with the main goal of having Suzie be by herself and to see how she responded. I pulled Spud out and Suzie was quite intent to follow. My friend shooed her away and she went straight to neighing and calling out. I took out the lunge whip and as my friend brushed Spud in the barn (Suzie cannot see him when he’s in the barn), I chased her away from the fence and barn doors. She trotted away from it once, but otherwise just walked off with her head in the air and ears pricked. After about 10 minutes of watching her closely and giving her some hay to munch on while we were gone, we left. She didn’t exhibit any kind of dangerous behavior and I didn’t feel like she’d hurt herself – although I watched her slip and slide over the icy snow on her travels around the pasture a few times. She was careful.

The walk was good – SO many people stopped and wanted to pet Spud, love him, etc. It was nice exposure for him too, since he mostly is out and about with his blinders on. I want him to experience everything and to be a well-rounded citizen. He can be pretty spooky and looky outside of the cart, so I jumped at the chance to take him out solo for a hand-walk. He didn’t spook at anything other than when my friend reached back with her hand to pet his forehead and he shied away like he was going to get smacked… It was odd, but it is one of his quirks sometimes – he can get super shy and tense for no reason. I do think this may be attributed to running “wild” for 2-3 years before the woman who sold him to me bought him. I did encourage my friend to keep practicing petting him and although Spud would stop and brace himself, he accepted the touch with minimal fuss. It’s almost like he is SO certain he’ll get hit, but he stands there and gets loved on instead.

"Don't hit me, Suzie. I'm just a little baby."

We returned back to the barn after about an hour or so and Suzie thankfully was not as sweaty/hot. She certainly had done some pacing and certainly had some anxiety about it, but it was starting to dissipate. I am certain the fact that she has been penned with Spud since November and they have more or less been together 24/7 has caused some deep-seeded issues wherein Suzie doesn’t think he’ll ever leave her. In a way, I am wondering if this is how her shoe twisted off when I trailered Spud out solo… Perhaps she was pacing along on an already slightly falling off shoe and it messed it up even more? I’m sure it placed a factor. But at the same time, I'm not so sure because when I drove Spud on the Tuesday, she did not exhibit any of this behavior - only after the disastrous trail ride.

I remember last year, when she was boarded at the little family hobby farm, whenever they took their horses out, Suzie would pace and just be wide-eyed with panic. I don’t know where this “wildness” comes from, as she is nearly 23 years old and should be pretty civil when her friends come and go. I do understand that when I take Spud, she is literally on her own, but she was fine when I pulled Tally away for solo rides. I am chalking a lot of this up to Spring freshness and silly-ness, as the antics she is pulling both at the barn and out being ridden are identical to last year.

Such an endearing look, but such a mind-fuck.

 I wasn’t able to repeat the exercise on Sunday, but I do have a plan for “Operation Lone Ranger” and it includes mannnnny more repeats with some dosing of Rescue Remedy and yummy green hay to keep her busy. She needs to learn that she will be fine on her own and I have no problem taking her “friend” away even if it makes her anxious. She’ll learn to live with it, just like she had done so in the past. One step at a time and bit by bit we will chip away the behavioral issue and alternate between her riding out alone and in a group as well as staying at the barn on her own. For some reason unbeknownst to me, her prancy pony behaviour only really comes out when she is with a group of horses she doesn't know - otherwise she is perfect as pie. 

I'm 100% sure having her brain fried from barrel racing and drill-teaming has made her as ornery and messed up as she is. I could blame it on the fact that she is a chestnut mare, and that is probably part of it, but I think her past really fucked her up. Whoever messed with her did a pretty good job.

TOABH: A Rose

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Every horse seems to have at least three names:  the "real" one, the barn one, and that special one.  What are some of your pony's names?

This week, Beka at The Owls Approve is asking is a really fun question! I'm actually excited to do this Blog Hop, because I realized that Spud doesn't have a Show Name yet!

Barn Name:  Suzie

Registered/ Showing: Quick Little Coosa

Pet Name: Tooz (sounds like "twos"), Miss Tooz, Suz, Mare, Marepants, Suzanne (when she is in trouble), Red Mare, Pony, Pretty Girl, Miss Mare, Horse.

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Barn Name: Spud

Show Name:  n/a -  I actually haven't decided yet! Suggestions? Something like "Mr Personality" or "Little Foot" or something would be ridiculously cute.

Pet Names: Spudley, Spudleykins, Spud the Stud, Pony, Studly, Pon Pon. My brother calls him "Sir" and "Mr Spud". lol.

The Miniature Wonder Horse

More on Suzie and her hot-to-trot attitude in a moment, but first, we need to talk about a certain pint sized pony.

Fancy pony video-still.

This guy is the total bomb. He has some serious odd quirks and is a total shithead sometimes, but when he wants to work, damn he puts in a good effort. His personality is a bit hilarious at times - he spooks so easily at everything and doesn't like to be caught sometimes, but when hitched up to a harness he has such a wonderful worth ethic and attitude that being a monster pony doesn't bother me.

 I hitched him up the other day so my friends who have never seen a driving horse before could go out for a spin - they even drove him around for a bit and he was completely ace.

I find that he certainly needs a lot more work, especially in his transitions and keeping supple, but that will come with fitness and more training under his belt. I've noticed that he bulges during turns as well, so I have to really support him with my reins and keep him "between my legs" for lack of a better term. He does well with it all, and responds with minimal fuss - he does love to trot though and takes a bajillion half halts to get any kind of nice, steady trot out of him. I think the rushing at the trot has to do with the fact that he is green adn out of shape - it'll get better. He also likes to duck behind the vertical, but I find that he already has such a short neck to begin with that being round is already a difficult task for him. I'll have to find that happy medium for him between asking for too much and too little.

But, he sure is a lot of fun and there were many smiles to be had on this drive!

The Head-Tossing Returns

A friend of mine wanted to trail ride with me and my pony, so on Thursday evening I texted her and we arranged to meet up. Naturally, I tacked up Western and rode off to meet my friend and her sister for our little jaunt around the roadways since none of the trails are even remotely open due to the snow.

I wish this was a post ride shot. It isn't.

 Riding up to meet with them was uneventful - Suz plodded along on a loose rein like she had done in the previous ride and I wasn't concerned. She responded to my leg and seat and we even trotted down one of the long dirt roads. However, as soon as she could hear my friend's horse's neighing from their driveway, something inside of her changed. It was like a mental switch went off and she was ready to come unglued at any second. I knew this feeling all too well, and suddenly wished I had worn my helmet. Now, I will preface by saying that I am not afraid of Suzie, but I'd much rather wear a helmet on a horse who is going to act like a dink than one that will just plod along on a loose rein.

Instead of getting up in arms about it, I decided to play it out and see how she'd respond to me. I instantly brought out the "quiet" rider in me and I gave minimal cues, knowing that acting like a bitch to her and demanding obedience would only cause her to act up. You see, Suzie is the kind of horse that doesn't do well with a loud rider when she is acting up - trying to fight fire with fire only gets me burned and I've attempted being the "mean" one a time or two and it did not end well. Suzie is smart, calculating, and does not forgive easily. When she throws a hissy fit, it's up to me to stay quiet and not turn the hissy fit into an explosion.

Before we met up with the other horses, she was a cool cucumber

The start of the ride turned out okay - she kept trying to walk much faster than the other two horses and began tossing her head like a drama queen every time I applied any kind of leg or rein pressure. I did what I could with her, but unfortunately, her behaviour escalated and before I knew it, I had a jiggy horse on my hands. She would have made the Mexican Dancing Horses proud. So she jigged, tossed her head, and at any kind of pressure from me (seat, leg, hand) she would whip around and side-pass down the road. Just totally awesome as traffic from school is starting and people are slowing down, watching the crazy physco horse run into snow banks and flail her head around like a lunatic. I knew I could have gotten off - I knew I could have just taken her home, but I knew it would only escalate into another fight down the road. It needed to be dealt with, but without the traffic and people gawking. And also, I felt bad that my friends were having a shitty time because of my retarded horse.

She jigged and acted like a fool for over thirty minutes. Just acting like a (pardon my language) fucking idiot. At first, I attempted to deal with her behaviour - circling, backing her up, trying to get her responsive to the bit, flexing, using my seat to slow/stop her, etc etc. Nothing worked. So, I rode it out.

Worked herself up in a nice "worry sweat" lather.

We went around the street where Suzie and Spud live and as we passed the driveway, Suzie sucked back and I kicked her forwards, past the driveway and immediately, she dropped her head and went on a loose rein. The rest of the trail ride, she was back to being responsive to my seat and reins - no muss, no fuss. She was back to being my regular, trail riding citizen without so much as an argument. But when I left my friends and headed back towards home, she turned into a monster again. Thankfully, by this time, traffic had diminished and I was able to work her properly.


With Suzie, you can't get mad at her - you have to use her against herself. So, we circled and circled and circled. Every time she was pointed back towards home, she sped up and then was brought into another circle instead of being allowed to walk straight. We repeated the exercise a few times and after about 10 minutes of screwing her fucking brain back in, she walked off quietly. A bit rushy, but responsive to my cues and listening. Spud was screaming for Suzie as we got closer, and I took the chance to hop off and work on some Showmanship before taking her back to the barn.

So tired.
check out the sweaty eye lids.

She had worked herself up so much that her eyelids were sweating. Every little part of her was covered in hot, sticky sweat. And the temperature was dropping as nightfall scattered across us. Perfect. I threw on her cooler, fed her some dinner and came back to the barn two hours later to check on her. She was bright eyed, but looked very tired (understandably) and perhaps a bit embarrassed (I can only hope). I gave her some bran mash with some Metamucil and her arthritis meds and tucked her away for the night. What a mare... turning twenty three and acting like a freak for her little mini friend who she acts like she hates when they are turned out together. WHYYOUSOCONFUSINGMARE.

I make all them ladies crazy

Oh, and I fully intend to nip this shit in the butt - I don't put up with Suzie shenanigans.

Quiet Drive

You can't see me.

One of my best friends who doesn't live here anymore is up for a visit and we took Spud out for a drive so he could meet him [Spud]. It went really well - my friend even got to drive Mr. Spudlykins! It was a pretty quiet and uneventful drive other than Spud getting a bit quick in the trot and not wanting to listen, but it was pretty minimal at best.

Suzie hollered and carried on while we were gone and ended up getting her disgusting "worry poop" again. So, we are back onto the Metamucil/Beet pulp mash for tomorrow morning's breakfast to help settle her stomach again. When will this mare learn?? She doesn't seem to get the upset tummy every time, so it is a bit difficult to figure out when I need to prepare for it. Oh mare.

Being driven by a non-driver.

Other than that, I've been coming up with an ingenious way to eliminate hay wastage, prevent boredom and overfeeding that I've seemingly started to encounter. Hopefully it works - I'll post about it soon enough, as well as my thoughts on the breast-collar I bought.

Finally Rode My Mare

The stars have finally aligned and I was able to ride my mare. I was almost certain that somehow it wouldn't be possible, but hey, sometimes things go right!

**I have to post a disclaimer, there is a photo of gelding sheath smegma below!! You've been warned, lol.**

So pretty

She was, as expected, a bit nervy leaving her buddy [Spud] behind but settled just fine. At no time during the ride did I feel like she was unmanageable or dangerous - like she was when I first started trail riding her. We only did walk with a couple steps of jog, as the outdoor arena is still full of snow so we rode on the roads.

Since walking around the neighborhood was pretty boring to begin with, I practiced quite a bit of random things: we leg yielded across the road back and forth and I found that she was stiffer/more difficult to maneuver right. Of course, I haven't "ridden" her for a few months, so muscle memory has disappeared. I also did some collecting and extending of the walk by only using my seat and legs, which she did pretty well. I wanted to break up the exercises so I wasn't repeating a single one for the 45min ride because I know how boring it can be! The regular exercises like walk-halt-walk were thrown in and I also worked on flexion and bend - taking the exercise of flexing at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, and 9 o'clock while walking forwards. She was much stiffer towards 3 o'clock, which looked more like 2 o'clock... it'll get there, though!

Her responsiveness to the bridle is much nicer this year already! Applying my leg brings her round, dropping her neck and engaging herself in the bridle. There were some cases when I had to apply rein pressure, but it wasn't often. During this engagement, I could feel her back rounding slightly. Of course, all of her muscles and strength are pretty much nonexistant, so I didn't ask for much. Trying to get her to "lower her head" (for lack of a better term) wasn't to have her walking like a Western Pleasure horse - she looked more like a quiet Trail horse (like, the non-professional kind, lol).

I also got to try out my new Western breast collar and BOT pad - the breast collar needs some adjustments and I am going to see if there is a way I can install D-rings to my saddle where the little "flowers" are so I can attach my leather to there. I haven't noticed anything with the BOT pad yet, but she did seem more relaxed and willing to work for me instead of really resisting through the back. Time will tell if it's truly working for her - I am very excited to see what happens!

When we returned, I was going to take Spud out for a drive but he literally had mud caked to his underside and I honestly would have felt bad if I made him wear a girth because it would rub on his disgusting belly. So, I decided to sponge bathe him. It is an understatement to say he was bad - I don't think he has ever had a bath before because oh my god, he was very naughty. Total avoidance to me and trying to do everything he could to get away from the freezing water OHMYGOODNESSITSGOINGTOEATME. I must admit, I gave him a "Come to Jesus" meeting and after that, he was a bit better.

I'm so little.

I felt bad for him, because I should have spent more time working with him, but it was starting to get late and I didn't want him wandering around in the evening wet/cold. It has been too warm to blanket at the moment, and the only blanket I have for Spud is a super heavy Winter blanket so I wouldn't have been able to make him wear it overnight without him sweating. Despite this, I wanted to try and get him as dry as possible.

Sponging most of the gunk/crap/dirt off of him, he came out pretty clean and I wrapped him in Suzie's cooler to dry off while I uhm... cleaned his little mini sheath.  He was actually pretty good about it until I got to a spot where he had A LOT of build up. I mean... it was disgusting. It certainly was no bean, but it must've built up around his penis and collected there. I managed to get it out and got quite a bit more out after that until he started getting upset with me, so I stopped. Poor guy. Just looking at the picture makes me want to barf. Ew. Doesn't help that Roxy looked at me like, "CAN I EAT IT?!!!!" I finished off with washing and braiding Spud's tail.

*barf*

Both ponies were turned out with fresh hay and plenty of water, so I guess they don't have too much to complain about. Although, I cannot wait until I can bathe both of them because oh my god, they are disgusting pigs.

It's All Arrived

It is no secret that horse people love buying tack - and I certainly can be no exception to the rule. I only needed to purchase some extra nibble nets, but instead wound up purchasing a wack-a-doodle of items and tack. It's almost like I scanned through each section and went, "Ooooh, I need this" and convinced myself that "I definitely need this". It's a problem, really.

Initially, I didn't know how the ordering process would go, since all of the items were from a US based company. And honestly, I don't know why I make orders for horse tack and the like from outside of Canada. It has never been anything but a huge pain in the ass and a major battle for me to even receive the package. I don't particularly think that it is the company's fault, considering it is an issue I've faced with an assortment of different tack stores. But it's just annoying trying to wait for the package and hear that it's been sent back to the US for a barrage of reasons.

And speaking of waiting, I had to stay late at work. Again. I wanted to go home and look at all the pretty things. Life responsibilities suck - enter sad face.

It was pretty magical opening the box, though.

But, I can't complain too much because the package arrived in a timely manner (less than a week) and nothing was back-ordered or missing from the order. I have two days left of work and then I can play with the ponies and use all of this awesome new stuff!

 I honestly didn't take many pictures of all my loot, but I did try on the boots and gloves. They fit well, and I'm excited to try everything out to do a proper review. The Western breastcollar feels like nice, supple leather and it appears as though it'll match my saddle well. I'm also excited to try the Sore No More "The Sauce" if/when Suzie's yearly rain-rot shows up.

So expect some reviews in the near future, and thank you to 900fbpony for letting me know about Riding Warehouse!

We Survived Snowmageddon

Choose a weapon

 The last few days have gone by in somewhat of a blur. In moments of panic is when we truly realize what we are made of - what lengths we will go to to ensure our animals are safe and cared for. In all honesty, I was afraid of waking up Saturday morning to find my horse's crushed beneath their lean-to shelter. I am thankful that nothing serious happened and that no one was injured, as there is damage from the storm everywhere we turn. I am glad that my horses, my dogs, and my family did not succumb to any of it.

Rain is predicted in the foreseeable future - heavy, digusting, wet rain. Approximately 30mm of rain - Suzie is going to kill me. Let's hope the weather starts to improve and the flooding that is more than likely to occur does not impact our homes or the horse's negatively. I have a feeling that the rain is going to cause weight and in turn, will cause more damage to structures (namely house roofs).

In a way, the Snowmageddon brought a lot of at home bonding time and as they say - a little hard work never hurt anybody. Below are some of my favorite pictures taken throughout the last couples of days. Enjoy and hug your horses.

Jamie jumped off the horse's lean-to roof and sunk to his shoulders.
My brother standing beside him is 6'4" for reference.

The roads out to the horses were only single-lane traffic
for a couple of days.

The driveway to the horse's finally got cleared yesterday.
Hallelujah!

Ears are only perked for food. Otherwise, she is miserable.

So done with the fucking snow.

The dogs, playing King of the Castle on the snow hill at "Grandma's".

Shoveling, shoveling, shoveling.

Jamie's truck, after some serious snowfall.

Suzie walking through the little horseshoe path
I hand-shovelled for them.