Equine Status Briefing

Though I don't have access to photo software to post pictures as proof, the horses of my Bit of Honey herd, though scattered, still maintain their distinct personalities.  Cole the engineer (mechanically intelligent, somewhat low on social skills) evaluated the latches on the stalls at his new temporary barn, and he escaped from his stall shortly after I locked up one evening.  He gorged himself on soaked beet pulp and fortunately then was too full to do anything more than sample the concentrates in their tubs.  We think he mostly walked up and down the barn aisle saying "neener neener" to the other horses still confined in their stalls since there were approximately five manure piles in the barn aisle but he didn't let anyone else out.  That was about a week ago and he's doing fine, no colic no founder.  My husband insists we need to get him a combination lock but not tell him the numbers, then set up a video camera to watch him kneeling in his stall, using his tongue and lips to twiddle the dial listening for the click like in the spy movies.  For now he has a chain acting as a double lock, elaborately wrapped around the stall door that so far has kept him contained. 

Samson made it to the temporary barn as well, after carefully and slowly climbing into my friend's step-up trailer and enduring a cautious short ride into Wellington to my friend's stable.  He was very unbalanced when I unloaded him at the barn, swaying and trembling as he worked to stay upright.  I let him take as much time as he needed to walk to the barn and into the stall (I know all about vertigo!) and he has now settled into the new routine.  He has some wobbly days so I'm the only one handling him for turnout, but he's doing well keeping Major in a reasonable mindset. Major was stressed with the big change from constant turnout to a stall lifestyle, as well as the fireworks around the fourth of July, but Samson is stalled just next to him and has a very calming effect on excitable Major.  That's why I keep Samson around, he's the greatest herd manager I've met. 

The mares and Taz are quite happy at their small mesh hay nets in the stalls.  All the horses get turned out daily while stalls are cleaned and barn chores attended to, and we have a little arena to work in near the barn.  I have scheduled some visits to clients in other places, so Bit of Honey Training is somewhat mobile for now.  We have resumed the search for an appropriate home and facility, so hopefully it won't be too long that we live in this transitional state.

Highboy and Garmin are enjoying living in Fort Collins and I love having them here with me.  I brought my paneled fencing with me and created two little pens in the shape of a figure eight in my friend's pasture.  Garmin has proceeded to back himself up to the joints, shoving the fencing over the ground so as to access new areas of ungrazed grass.  He enjoys turnout with Highboy and Rosie, one of the morgan mares who also lives here.  Highboy is in love with Rosie, and though I only turn him out with her for a short while on the occasional afternoon, they spend the majority of their turnout time romping around together in the pasture instead of grazing.  Naturally Highboy loves everyone, and is constantly trying to get the mares to WWF horse-wrestle with him.  They are more interested in procreation, but fortunately Highboy the gelding has no idea what that's about so we remain a G-rated location.  I've been riding Highboy in the arena here, as well as doing some light gallops in the pasture.  He feels everything is a fun new adventure:  irrigation ditches, bunnies racing around under his feet, neighbor horses and donkeys sauntering over to the fence to greet him on his evening rides around the neighborhood.  Soon he'll be ready for real trail riding!