After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time! most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the...
Dreamy has suffered from heaves/COPD/RAO since 2003. Her history is here . Basically, it is a breathing issue that has changed names several times, but it is sort of like asthma in humans. I have soaked her hay for years and spent winters feeding her chopped forage from Lucerne Farms (read more about that here ) since soaking hay in a Maine winter is impossible. Soaking hay is a pain, but I have developed an excellent system. I use a big heavy duty muck bucket (purchased just for this purpose, so it is clean and save for food use), a muck bucket cart on wheels, and a big rock. LOL! The hay is set into the muck bucket, I fill the bucket with water, and I use the rock on top so the hay actually stays in the water and doesn't float to the top. When it is time to feed the hay, I tip the entire thing over and let it drain for 10 minutes. Then, I tipped it right side up and wheel it into Dreamy's stall. It works, even though i...