Introducing Eowyn

School continued unabated for me, but Carrie had a fun outing Tuesday morning. She joined a hunt group.

But wait. Who did she ride?

It wasn't Magic or Eddie. They walked up to the trailer to inspect things. In fact, the trailer had left the house empty!

Meet Eowyn. She's Sam's half-sister. A draft cross.

She looks like a feminine Sam. You're not supposed to see a huge difference between male and female horses (save the obvious), but that's really the best way I can describe her. 

Sam's full name was Samwise, so Carrie wanted to keep a Lord of the Rings theme with Eowyn's name (and Eowyn has one of the best story arcs in the saga, so Carrie new I'd approve).

Carrie drove out to Sarah G's property last week (Sarah G is the trainer we bought Sam from and who sold Sam for us). Sarah had told Carrie, "You're not going to believe this coincidence with vet reports," when Eowyn had a similar report and situation as Samwise had. The odds of two similar situations caught Carrie's attention, but then Eowyn caught her fancy after a test ride.

Carrie sent me some pictures of her riding. She had a huge smile on her face.

Carrie committed to buying Eowyn. Tuesday morning's hunt was the final test drive and a semi-delivery since it was so close to our barn. Carrie said Eowyn was the first fun ride she'd had in a long while (specific to horses!). 

Eowyn was nervous about being in a new barn. All of the horses were curious about her.

Carrie brought in Abby and Pockets to introduce them and turn them out individually.

Abby's not a fan of change, but she seemed to accept Eowyn fairly quickly. She ran her off a few times, but Eowyn was running herself off regardless of what Abby did.

Abby did check in with her bff, Pockets, a few times. We hoped he would be fine with a new horse since he was lower on the totem pole than Abby. He'd been pretty mellow when he first came on the property.

But he was a mule. They don't always think the same as horses. He might have been jealous, too, as Abby seemed to really take to Eowyn and display signs she was in heat! Eowyn kept running in circles and tried to say hi to Maddy (who said, "Stay away from my dry lot!")

Pockets became a problem. Abby would kick and make her presence known when her space was encroached upon, but he kept after Eowyn. They call it "dragon ears" when a horse lays their ears back in angry, but big mule ears are more akin to "dragon horns!"

I had no memory left (Carrie never warns me when she's up to something), so I couldn't catch much footage. 

Carrie eventually caught Pockets, aced him (a sedative), and he still kept chasing and charging at Eowyn when he was let back out.

The hostility was right at the level there wasn't a clear and present danger, but uneasy enough Carrie wasn't happy as the sun went down.

"They're going to have to work it out...," Carrie said (and hoped and prayed!).

Fast forward and they have worked it out. Pockets is back to being the bottom of the herd's pecking order. 

Eowyn seemed to be the alpha for a few days, but Abby's back in charge. The two girls have bonded and Pockets is no longer Abby's bff. Or maybe he is, but Abby seems to love Eowyn.

Eowyn clearly ranks higher than Pockets, because she will move him around the feeder. Nobody shoos Abby.

Feeding time is when it's evident Abby is still alpha mare. She clears the other horses out from the lean-to. She will threaten to bite, kick, and maim anyone who tries to encroach upon her stall. Eowyn hangs back well outside her range. Pockets is the only one eager (or dumb) enough to encroach! He sidles up to his door, gets run off, and sidles back!

It's a little weird between Eowyn and Pockets after Abby is let in. Eowyn will try to run Pockets off, but he's so desperate to get his food he doesn't always play that game. If Pockets is by his stall, I can let him in easily enough, but Eowyn hasn't learned her stall door and sometimes there's a back and forth between them as I try to guide everyone to their proper places.

My prayer is that Eowyn will be our last new horse for years to come and that she'll be a healing and fun riding partner for Carrie.

Walking Through

Everybody was happy Carrie was home Monday morning. The cats all waited at the bedroom door, hoping to go outside.

They didn't, but Loki did.

Carrie and I tackled morning chores together! It goes much faster with two!

But in typical Carrie fashion, change was on the horizon. Carrie had us close the curtain doors on Pockets and Abby.

Why? Because she decided it was time to switch things up. The three boys were heading over to the girl's lot.

She led the boys through Maddy's old stall while Abby and Pockets watched.

And Abby was not happy. She doesn't like change.

She started to run around her stall and....well, it looked like this:

Meanwhile, the boys were as happy as could be. They started stretching their legs, exploring, and sniffing poop piles right away.

When Abby calmed down, we completed the switch and moved the girls over.

Something always changes when Shane's away for a couple of weeks. This was a start, but not the end of things.

Barn Progress, Problems, and Fixes

"Come here! Come here!" Carrie called.

"What?" I asked as I ran over.

"You can see the baby grass growing! It's in lines!"

Carrie the pasture nerd!

A week later the lines and growth were even more pronounced. 

We spent a chunk of change on the project, so it was good to see results. The conditions have been perfect for growing grass.

Meanwhile, all of the equines are locked into their dry lots for the next two months to let the grass grown in. Extra poop to scoop and hay to throw are sure to follow.

Abby has an unusual method for nabbing fresh grass under the fence. She's figured out the bottom wire isn't electrified.

Loki finds it terrifying! He must think Abby is going to crawl out and come get him!

Carrie asked Micayla and she said Abby's been doing it for as long as she's known her (10+ years!).

On the Ernie front, he's graduated to 10-minute hand-walks twice a day and standing wraps instead of bandages. He should be able to go back into the dry lot at the start of November which will lessen the workload.

And with those things going right, it was time for something to go wrong. The coupler on the spreader broke.

I was driving. I don't think I made a crazy turn, but I was turning when I heard the crack. The grass was thick and wet and the hopper was overloaded with extra-heavy, wet poop from the rain, so that could have factored in.

I was half-annoyed and half-glad it happened while I was in the saddle. I'd rather it didn't happen at all, but I react better to annoyances than Carrie....and I got to photograph it all!

I drove the mower back, grabbed some supplies, and rode back in the gator. We have a ton of twine from all the hay bales we burn through, so I put them to use!

I drove slow, steady, and looking backwards as much as forward. I didn't want to drag the arm and make a furrow. 

When the poop was emptied out I tightened up the twine some to get the spreader back as I completed the circuit.

Just because you can get away with something once doesn't mean you should make a habit of it. Carrie ordered a replacement coupler ($24 + $12 shipping) right away. I've managed to get two runs out of my twine so far. If it fails, I'll cut it off and retie the apparatus to tide us over until the new coupler arrives!

The coupler broke while Jason and a helper worked on installing the automatic gate opener.

This has been months in the making. Jason was supposed to come out several times earlier. One of his friends dropped off the excavator (after the friend cancelled on Jason a couple of times, Carrie called him to ask about a quote for more gravel dust in our dry lots. The excavator showed up the next time Jason was supposed to come. Coincidence?)

I was working the day of the install (Friday 10/23). Carrie was working, too.....with them!

Jason and his helper had reinforced the gate and installed the equipment, but they were having some trouble with the electronics of the gate. Carrie looked up their problem, told them to unhook the red wire, and then took over the programming!

It worked! Jason's helper went out and attached the keypad Carrie had programmed. "If you don't get back before the gate closes, you're fired!" Jason joked.

We now have an automatic gate. Shane will be happy to be off gate duty!

Carrie put up the sign that's been in our garage for at least half a hear.

She used marking paint to signal people to give the gate room to swing open when they leave, too.

Next, Jason needs to install the backup generator. It was a Black Friday deal and thankfully we haven't needed it while it's sat in the garage (next to the unused snowblower!).

The barn has come a long way in less than a year and a half. I'm happy with the progress and looking forward to a time when things can be status quo for a bit!

The Barn Update

Where to start? The barn is part of the daily routine here.

Samwise has moved on to California. You can see the arid hills behind him. His new owners "Fed-Exed" him by air. I didn't realize there was a demand for flying horses!

It was a bit of a shock when he sold, because the first buyer fell through. It was nearly a done deal when it evaporated based on the opinion of a new vet who'd never actually seen Sam after the couple paid a well-known vet to inspect him.

A couple of weeks later he sold for real. Carrie misses him. 

However, she has "my" mule to keep her busy now. Pockets and Abby are quiet the bonded pair. They go everywhere and groom each other. Abby's even backed up towards him while in heat, but he had no idea what to do with it (to her chagrin!).

I don't ride the horses, so my view of everything is based on the work. I'm getting better at paying attention to how the horses walk to see how they're feeling. I spotted gash on Eddy's leg one day (the bright red helped attracted the ADHD).

How'd it happen? Not a clue. "Horses do some stupid things," Carrie said. She threw some clotting/first-aid powder on it and when it stopped bleeding when turned him back out. There's nothing but grass and other horses in the field, so it's hard to guess how he got a cut so high inside his leg.

Magic's been the recent high-maintenance case. He was walking lame with Carrie and Ellie suspecting an abscess in his front left hoof. He got multiple duct tape booties.  

He got the occasional epsom salt foot-bath, too. Carrie seriously impressed me. Magic didn't really want his foot in a boot and kept shifting his weight, but she wouldn't let him out of it. She was able to hold his hoof up and turn it this way and that to make him keep it up so she could treat him.

Normally a horse hoof looks something like this (pre-picking out the dirt).

When the abscess finally did start to drain it came out in two different places. You can see one of the gaps on the back left near the frog of Magic's foot here. It was very tender and he'd flinch anytime the area was touched.

The second drain point was under the hoof behind the hoofwall. The hoof looks grosser here since it was in a bath softening up.

Magic has had to stay inside or in the dry lot a couple of nights when it's been raining and he's hated it. He's a huge chicken and can't stand to be alone. He whinnies through the night even though the other horses can usually touch noses with him across the fence lines. 

When the weather dried back up, Carrie let him out and he took off. He was sprinting and squealing the whole way across the field to rejoin the herd!

In the mare's field, fly gear is en vogue. Abby had pink fly boots that didn't fit her right, so now they're further emasculating the mule. Carrie got Pockets and Maddie new fly sheets. 

Technically, Magic has a fly blanket, too, but Huck already chewed off part of the tail. 

Speaking of the little trouble maker, the rescue owner, Sarah, stopped by to check on his progress recently. Carrie groomed out his tail beforehand.

Carrie gave Sarah a full showing of what's he's learned since being with us. He recently master cantering on the lunge. 

Sarah was impressed. Huck's a smart boy and will make someone a good companion.

What impressed me is that Carrie and Gay backed Huck a couple of weeks ago. Gay was visiting and said, "You know what? Let's try it. I think it will go well."

They went for it and it worked!

I came outside when I realized what they were doing. Otherwise it would've been done before I got a picture.

I've been opposed to Carrie taking any big risks. She's thought Huck would do well, but didn't want to do anything without experienced backup, so when Gay offered to help....

It was a happy coup.

Carrie hasn't been riding as much since the hunt season ended.

She and Barbara went on one last weekend ride a couple of weeks back.

Barbara went out of town on vacation afterward. She's one of Carrie's main riding buddies, so Maddie got to take a vacation herself.

Carrie sent Barbara some "postcards" from Maddie. Barbara "wrote" back to apologize for any extra seafood poundage! 

This weekend (9/19) Carrie hopped on Maddie to get her back into work mode (and try out her new poncho!).

Those are the main bits, at least. There's always something going on around here. Even if it's just lots of poop shoveling.