Sunday, November 20, 2005

Pecking order

All our livestock is getting hay now, and eating plenty of it.  The cows get theirs in a bale ring, so we can give them two or three days' worth at a time.  I hand-feed the horses, though; a half-bale in the morning and a full bale at night.  Because of their pecking order, I don't put it all in one pile.  If I did that, Tude would starve to death, since he's low man on the totem pole, and the other two boss him around.  Blue walks toward him with ears back, and Tude leaves.

I make four piles of hay for three horses, so Tude always has a place to go when he's chased away from his plate.  He's at another disadvantage today, I noticed:  He's limping.  His owners were out today to put his blanket on him, so I'm sure they're aware.

We laugh about the blanket, because the low tonight is only going to be around 30... not cold at all to furry, outdoor creatures.  But at least it shows that Tude's owners care about him.  That's a good thing.  They didn't just dump him here, out of sight, out of mind.

David, Snicker's owner, said she might be bred.  His dad took her to be serviced, and she was put in with a stallion.  However, another stallion in the next pen jumped in and the two males got in a terrible fight.  In the process, one impaled himself on a steel post and had to be put down.  So they took Snickers home, not knowing whether she was pregnant or not.  We're pretty sure she is; the two geldings don't have round tummies like that!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, there is nothing cuter than a baby horse! I look forward to seeing a picture of the foal come spring!
http://journals.aol.com/astaryth/AdventuresofanEclecticMind
http://adventuresofaneclecticmind.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Tude is so cute!  There is just something about him that calls to me.  You keep saying "his owners"... does that mean that you share your field with someone elses horses?  You've probably talked about this before, and I'm having a brain cramp and can't remember, but I'm just curious as to why another horse would be in your field, and you would be the one feeding it.

Jackie

Anonymous said...

You've got a full blown ranch going on there now. LOL
http://ryanagi.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Wow! I'd love to have two stallions fighting over me!!! Snickers is adorable! I want her!!

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed hearing about the horses.  Nice of the owners to worry about Tude and get his coat on him.  LOL.  Sounds like us with our Toy P, eh?
Also, we make extra piles of food around here for the little critters b/c sometimes they don't get their turn if we don't.  Feeding time requires some logistics doesn't it?
Have a good week and a wonderful Holiday if you don't hear from me again in time.
Sonya

Anonymous said...

LOL at the blanket. One of the other horses probably kicked Trud. We thought that Precious was bred when we got her. She was with a stud. She developed this nice big fat belly and guess what? She was just fat! LOL She was not getting much to eat when we got her and so she pigged out here!
I have to make 5 piles or Belle will not get to eat much.