Turnout!

I know, soooo many posts in one week for me! Haha. Night shift does that to a person! I'm almost (so close) caught up on my blog reading so hopefully in the near future, I'll get back to commenting on yours! Either way, I went to the barn Monday morning with the full intent of TURN OUT. The horses had been in since Friday afternoon and it was high time that Digby (and the rest of the barn) went out. I got to the barn around 9 AM and the barn owner was not there yet. I wasn't sure what the newest horse eats so I didn't feed. Instead I threw Digby some hay and got to digging his door open. I had to climb over his door yesterday to give him water so I figured might as well dig him out ASAP. 

 

Trapped inside his very dirty stall that we couldn't get a wheelbarrow to due to 3' foot drifts.

After Digby was dug out, the barn owner showed up to feed. Digby picked at his breakfast... and then left half of it. Panic. I asked if he has been doing that and she said no but that he does tend to eat slowly. He pooped while I was there so I knew he wasn't colicking. Perhaps his ulcers are back? Perhaps he was just miffed about being in for 2 days? Ahhh, Digby! Some guys came in a Bobcat to dig out the house on the property and luckily we coaxed them into helping us clear out an area so we could get Digby and his turnout buddies to the barn. Once they're in the barn, it's a fairly straight shot (and less to shovel) to the close turnout paddocks. No one goes out in them unless it's bad weather basically. After an hour and a half of tractor usage, two trucks with plows and hand shoveling, we were ready to get Digby out. I wanted to turn him out first because they were afraid he was going to be bad and wanted me to take him. Honestly, since he had been in for 2 days straight, I totally understood their concern. Like I've said, Digby can be a real jerk when he wants to be and after days of inside his stall only, that's prime "I'm gonna be a jerk" time.

Digby was a perfect gentleman walking out. He didn't put one foot wrong. Color me shocked! Once outside, both him and his buddy had a good roll then trotted around a bit. Digby had a couple of good leaps and then they settled down, had a big drink, and settled in to eat the hay we had put out of them. Strange... and yet, good. I hung out for a bit, just enjoying the view and then headed off. I'll help put him out tomorrow (errr, today) in a small paddock and then hopefully by Wednesday they'll have all the paddocks up and running so he can go out all day again.

Of course, in writing this, I am worried that there's something wrong with my horse since he was not super enthused about eating and then was so good going out.... I will be sure to check his temperature tomorrow! :)



Follow the leader

That face.

Blizzard Jonas, aka "ok winter this has been fun, bye now"

The northeast had a particularly fun weekend, being bombed with around 2 feet of snow. I haven't even heard an actual number yet for my area because the drifts were a bit, uh, excessive so I think it's hard to decide on what the amount was. Some of the drifts were above my head.

 

Wild black dog on Sunday!

The dog didn't seem to mind but it made me working a bit difficult. It turns out trying to get to work at 11 pm during a blizzard can be challenging, even if you work a mile from where you live. Regardless, it was fine. I didn't get to see Digby on Saturday because I was helping at my job to shovel and re-shovel key areas. I got some texts from the barn owner and one of my fellow boarders who had made it. The horses were tucked in happily and had plenty of hay and water which was awesome. Unfortunately, in the solid "con" category, the barn owner has moved off the property as I mentioned before. They didn't get to the horses on Saturday evening, which while I'm a little nervous about, the roads were very, very bad. I can hardly blame them?

The farm's two tease mares. Also on Sunday.

I was set on seeing Digby on Sunday since I knew there was no way they made it out Saturday night. I waited around until about 11:30. I figured this would be enough time to plow the barn out, the barn owners would be there, I could hang out with Digby for a bit, maybe help get some of the horses outside. The snow had stopped by late Saturday evening and while still a bit windy, it was mostly over. I had seen several plows going so I suspected that the roads would be fine. The roads weren't too bad and I made it to the barn fine. Yay only being 2 miles away! However when I arrived at the barn, it was not plowed. At all. There was about 3' of snow in the driveway... There were also no footsteps to be seen, as in perhaps the barn owners hadn't been there? Needless to say, my paranoid brain kicked into high gear and I panicked. Had my horse been left alone from Saturday morning around 10 AM until right now at 11:30 AM on Sunday??? There was also no where to park, since the barn wasn't plowed out. I was determined to check on the horses since I was worried no one had checked on them. I parked my car, probably illegally, on a nearby side street, left my hazard lights on, and hopped my way to the barn. 

View from inside Digby's stall.

Yeah. Walking/trudging/hopping through snow that is well past your knees is quite a work out. I couldn't stop laughing either because the dog was rather miffed about the whole situation and was busy hopping along herself, occasionally almost disappearing in the snow. Luckily, the barn owner was there! Yay. She had come in another way, thus the lack of footprints. She had just gotten there a little bit ago herself because she had been plowed in at her house and was equally pissed that the barn had not been plowed as their usual guy promised it would be done 2 hours ago. The adventure continued as we realized Digby's door was frozen shut and completely blocked by snow. I had to climb over his door to give him hay and water. It was eventful. His two turnout buddies stalls didn't have nearly as much snow/ice so they were ok. I set him up for the rest of the afternoon and she promised to take care of him in the evening. Hopefully by then it will be shoveled/plowed a bit and she can get the hose out. The horses didn't go out, because absolutely nothing was plowed and she hadn't shoveled anything except for right in front of the shed row horses stalls. The horses in the barn were fine, obviously. 

"This is dumb" - little black dog.

All in all, an actually fun snow filled day. Plus, thankfully my car did not get towed while I was tending to my wild hony. :)