Post by tierra madre on Jul 20, 2008 5:12:04 GMT -8
Random Stuff for a Sunday
Some random things......
* Had to patch a couple of the automatic waterers this week. They tend to pit, right in the very bottom of the bowl. Fixing the problem is pretty simple: turn off the water, dry the bowl real well, mix up a little epoxy (note for epoxy users: it sets much faster in hot weather), wait 'til it begins setting up & patch the hole. Wait maybe 15 minutes & it's hard & you're good to go. Had to do Heighten's & Sharena's. BTW - we also put a large water bucket in each of the horses' stalls - there's just not enough water in those little bowls to satisfy a horse's thirst. And in the Summertime - at least around here - that water tends to get awfully warm. Like Doc says, in the Summer, water is more important than food.
I can tell how hot the day is simply by seeing how much water everybody's consumed when I refill all the buckets during the afternoon feeding. Well, duh.
* Whoa! Mikey & I just got back in from doing the 5AM feeding. It's overcast here this morning - a little drizzly - & when we went out, it was still dark! Won't be long - another month, maybe - & we'll have to turn on the lights for that process. And the lights will be part of that process all the way to next April.
* Speaking of Heighten, which I did back there a minute ago, he & Hudson (his next-door neighbor) make a constantly challenging mess right under & around Heighten's waterer. Because both of their waterers share the same standpipe, their waterers are only separated by a few inches - basically, the width of the fencing. They both take to sharing out of each other's waterer (Heighten generally uses his water bucket as a dunking receptacle for his hay) & both of them like to splash water all over, thus creating a mini-lake in one corner of Heighten's stall. I call it "Heighten Pond". Natch, hay gets ruined in it, flies love to breed in the mud & it's just an all-around mess.
I found one of those little hard-rubber Rubbermaid pools about 8 inches in depth & measuring about 3'x5' & we stuck it under Heighten's waterer to catch the slop-over. Worked like a charm. All we had to do was bail out the pool every day or so. That's until Heighten figured out the thing was a toy. Although it weighs a good 30-40 lbs., he simply picks it up in his teeth & carries it around the stall; it gets shoved halfway between his & Hudson's stall & they just have a grand ol' time playing tug o' war & everything else with it.
We had to do something about Heighten Pond, though. Like I said, it can be a real mess. So we put it back into place under his waterer & we tied it to the pipes using baling twine. That's helped - at least until Heighten figures out he can chew through the twine & it starts flying around the stall again. Oh - there are usually a couple of inches of water in it & he's taken to splashing it out with his hooves, but Heighten Pond is a little smaller than it was.
* The rain we had in the night probably felt good to the kids, especially those in the field. Especially Kiss & Venture & Bentley. Those guys are plagued with salt on their backs. 'Round here, the heat is so intense & the air is usually so dry, that their sweat dries almost as soon as it comes out, leaving only the salt residue. Every day or evening, I scratch each of their backs to brush the salt off - it can really cause some skin irritation & obviously itches like hell. So last night's rain probably washed it off. If I don't scratch it off, I usually hit 'em with the hose - although Venture just hates getting sprayed. Besides, he loves getting scratched & I love scratching him.
* Suze seems to attract an inordinate number of flies - probably because she hates getting fly sprayed. So yesterday, I found a rehabilitated fly mask & put it on her. As she emulates Dawnie (who wears one from May 'til October) she seemed quite enthralled with her ownself in her new mask. Not only that, but she stood stock still & let me hit her with fly spray all over. Maybe we're on to something here. That is, until John takes it upon himself to rip & tear at it 'til it's lying in shreds at Suze's feet. Oh, that'll happen - just a matter of when. Always does.
* Great aticle in today's NY Times about the BLM wanting to euthanize several thousand wild mustangs because the BLM's budget is getting stretched boarding them. Budget getting stretched?!? A lousy $26 million on a budget on $37 million? And the illegal invasion & occupation of Iraq is HOW MUCH over budget?!? Give me an effing break.
Here's an idea, geniuses: Geld the stallions. 33,000 horses are now in BLM custody. Probably 'bout half of 'em are males. Geld them. Every time you round up more horses, geld the males. Shoot 'em with a tranq dart, geld 'em, keep 'em separated for a couple of days & turn 'em loose. The article mentioned that they're "working on" birth control methods for the mares. Birth control for the mares?!? What?!? This is too easy, people. You wanna cut down on overpopulation? Geld the goddam stallions! I think the BLM must be populated by rejects from the Army Corps of Engineers. Or the Department of Homeland Security (& that's a nice name, too - straight outta pre-war Germany).
* Ted-d-d's finally beginning to make use of the shade thing that Dave & I put up in Casa Ted. In the mid-afternoon, it throws a patch of shade maybe 20 feet long & 10 feet wide. For months, Ted didn't seem to know it was even there. This last week, though, there he stands - all shaded & cool. Well, not cool maybe, but shaded. I'm thinking about putting another water bucket over there for him....hope the hose reaches. If not, I'll probably end up buying another one of those "last hose you'll ever buy!" hoses. Jeez - creeps me out every time I buy one of 'em. Keeps putting me in touch with my mortality.
Dave'll be here this morning. I love Sunday mornings because Dave always brings donuts. And - weighing in at a whopping 133 lbs. the other day - maybe it's in my best interest to knock back two or three. Or four.
Gotta go. I hear some donuts calling my name.
Jim
Some random things......
* Had to patch a couple of the automatic waterers this week. They tend to pit, right in the very bottom of the bowl. Fixing the problem is pretty simple: turn off the water, dry the bowl real well, mix up a little epoxy (note for epoxy users: it sets much faster in hot weather), wait 'til it begins setting up & patch the hole. Wait maybe 15 minutes & it's hard & you're good to go. Had to do Heighten's & Sharena's. BTW - we also put a large water bucket in each of the horses' stalls - there's just not enough water in those little bowls to satisfy a horse's thirst. And in the Summertime - at least around here - that water tends to get awfully warm. Like Doc says, in the Summer, water is more important than food.
I can tell how hot the day is simply by seeing how much water everybody's consumed when I refill all the buckets during the afternoon feeding. Well, duh.
* Whoa! Mikey & I just got back in from doing the 5AM feeding. It's overcast here this morning - a little drizzly - & when we went out, it was still dark! Won't be long - another month, maybe - & we'll have to turn on the lights for that process. And the lights will be part of that process all the way to next April.
* Speaking of Heighten, which I did back there a minute ago, he & Hudson (his next-door neighbor) make a constantly challenging mess right under & around Heighten's waterer. Because both of their waterers share the same standpipe, their waterers are only separated by a few inches - basically, the width of the fencing. They both take to sharing out of each other's waterer (Heighten generally uses his water bucket as a dunking receptacle for his hay) & both of them like to splash water all over, thus creating a mini-lake in one corner of Heighten's stall. I call it "Heighten Pond". Natch, hay gets ruined in it, flies love to breed in the mud & it's just an all-around mess.
I found one of those little hard-rubber Rubbermaid pools about 8 inches in depth & measuring about 3'x5' & we stuck it under Heighten's waterer to catch the slop-over. Worked like a charm. All we had to do was bail out the pool every day or so. That's until Heighten figured out the thing was a toy. Although it weighs a good 30-40 lbs., he simply picks it up in his teeth & carries it around the stall; it gets shoved halfway between his & Hudson's stall & they just have a grand ol' time playing tug o' war & everything else with it.
We had to do something about Heighten Pond, though. Like I said, it can be a real mess. So we put it back into place under his waterer & we tied it to the pipes using baling twine. That's helped - at least until Heighten figures out he can chew through the twine & it starts flying around the stall again. Oh - there are usually a couple of inches of water in it & he's taken to splashing it out with his hooves, but Heighten Pond is a little smaller than it was.
* The rain we had in the night probably felt good to the kids, especially those in the field. Especially Kiss & Venture & Bentley. Those guys are plagued with salt on their backs. 'Round here, the heat is so intense & the air is usually so dry, that their sweat dries almost as soon as it comes out, leaving only the salt residue. Every day or evening, I scratch each of their backs to brush the salt off - it can really cause some skin irritation & obviously itches like hell. So last night's rain probably washed it off. If I don't scratch it off, I usually hit 'em with the hose - although Venture just hates getting sprayed. Besides, he loves getting scratched & I love scratching him.
* Suze seems to attract an inordinate number of flies - probably because she hates getting fly sprayed. So yesterday, I found a rehabilitated fly mask & put it on her. As she emulates Dawnie (who wears one from May 'til October) she seemed quite enthralled with her ownself in her new mask. Not only that, but she stood stock still & let me hit her with fly spray all over. Maybe we're on to something here. That is, until John takes it upon himself to rip & tear at it 'til it's lying in shreds at Suze's feet. Oh, that'll happen - just a matter of when. Always does.
* Great aticle in today's NY Times about the BLM wanting to euthanize several thousand wild mustangs because the BLM's budget is getting stretched boarding them. Budget getting stretched?!? A lousy $26 million on a budget on $37 million? And the illegal invasion & occupation of Iraq is HOW MUCH over budget?!? Give me an effing break.
Here's an idea, geniuses: Geld the stallions. 33,000 horses are now in BLM custody. Probably 'bout half of 'em are males. Geld them. Every time you round up more horses, geld the males. Shoot 'em with a tranq dart, geld 'em, keep 'em separated for a couple of days & turn 'em loose. The article mentioned that they're "working on" birth control methods for the mares. Birth control for the mares?!? What?!? This is too easy, people. You wanna cut down on overpopulation? Geld the goddam stallions! I think the BLM must be populated by rejects from the Army Corps of Engineers. Or the Department of Homeland Security (& that's a nice name, too - straight outta pre-war Germany).
* Ted-d-d's finally beginning to make use of the shade thing that Dave & I put up in Casa Ted. In the mid-afternoon, it throws a patch of shade maybe 20 feet long & 10 feet wide. For months, Ted didn't seem to know it was even there. This last week, though, there he stands - all shaded & cool. Well, not cool maybe, but shaded. I'm thinking about putting another water bucket over there for him....hope the hose reaches. If not, I'll probably end up buying another one of those "last hose you'll ever buy!" hoses. Jeez - creeps me out every time I buy one of 'em. Keeps putting me in touch with my mortality.
Dave'll be here this morning. I love Sunday mornings because Dave always brings donuts. And - weighing in at a whopping 133 lbs. the other day - maybe it's in my best interest to knock back two or three. Or four.
Gotta go. I hear some donuts calling my name.
Jim