Making It To First Cutting

The hay supply was getting low. A count of the bales and simple math told us we would need about 50 more to safely get to 1st cutting, which around here is somewhere between late May and mid-June depending on rain.

We were told about a farmer with hay in LaCrosse, about a half hour drive from us, so we set off on a rainy Saturday morning to pick it up. We took the horse trailer, praying that 50 bales would fit. We don't ever pick up our own hay -- the farmer we usually buy it from delivers it on a flatbed trailer. But he did not have any extra, so we got the lead on the LaCrosse farmer from someone I work with.

Using the GPS and directions from my friend at work, we still managed to pass up the turn to his house, and had to take the long way around. He was a really nice guy and helped us load the hay into the trailer. All 50 bales fit, even though it took John and the farmer both leaning on the door to get it shut. I know John was glad he did not have to put any in the bed of his new truck...

I thought I took some photos of the horse trailer all loaded up, but evidently I didn't.... I wish I had.

It has been raining so much here lately, that we could not pull the horse trailer into the pasture. We had to park in the driveway as close to the barn as possible and carry the bales in. They are stacked up in our tack area in the picture above.

Since we only had 50 bales, and had to bring it up to the loft from the tack area, we could not use our electric hoist. So it had to be done the hard way.....

Yes, that is John up there, pulling the bales up by hand. I am in the tack area and attach the hook to the bales, and then he hoists them up. For 55 he is in great shape....




He got all 50 bales up into the loft and stacked them, though I did help with some of the stacking.
The cats were there to keep us company. Here is our boy cat, Simo....

And "The Princess," Sonya

So now our critters will be fed until more hay is harvested....

Time to take a break.

Critter Walk

Lately we have taken to going for walks with the goats and horses. It always proves to be quite an experience.

We have the horses on halters and lead ropes, and the goats are just free. They don't wander off -- they are truly of the heard mentality. But they always keep things interesting.

A lesson was learned on this walk -- keep the lead rope short! At one point we had both goats tangled up in lead ropes and two nervous horses! It dawned on us that a few years ago, we would have panicked at this situation, and it could have been disastrous. I guess that we have learned something after all over all these years. We got everyone untangled and the situation did not get out of hand. Thank Heavens for these small miracles!

We went thru the woods on our property and over to a nearby house that is vacant right now. The grass there has its spring growth happening, and no one there to mow it. So we took all four of our critters down there for a treat.

It is a nice way for all six of us to get some exercise, for John and I to spend time with the animals, and for them to get a little change of scenery. We plan to do this more in the future.

2 Rides in 2 Days

On Saturday morning, I sent a text to my Cowgirl friends: "Going 2 the Dunes 2 day 2 ride..."

Got a text back from Cowgirl Dee: "Who is this??" Ego deflated (evidently I am not in her "Contacts" list...), I texted back "Zdravich" and began preparations for going to the Dunes. By the time we got there, Dee and Dolly were already on the trail. As we were grooming "The Girls" (by the way, filthy from shedding and laying in the muddy pasture), two riders came in off the trail. We had been looking at their trailer with intense curiosity the entire time. So I decided to ask them about the trailer. As it turns out, it became one of those classic parking lot encounters at the Indiana Dunes....we got to talking about horse trailers, rides, escapades, horse issues. etc... and the time just flew!! We were still there talking when Dee and Dolly got back from their trail ride. The conversation continued with all 6 of us, and it was so much fun!!

The unique trailer was from Belgium (you can see a bit of it on the far right of the above photo) -- it was called "Brendarup" (or something very similar). It is made from fiberglass, and therefore very light. She could pull it with a minivan!!! Expensive though, about $12K!!! Maybe less expensive than getting a trailer and truck strong enough to pull it.... Dolly, Dee and I all have the same cowgirl hat -- John bought this hat for me as a gift, and Dee and Dolly liked it so much that they got one, too! So now we are triplets! Unfortunately, Dee did not have hers with her on this day, so here is Dolly and I modeling our matching hats. Look how beautiful Dolly is...

So after we all sufficiently socialized, they all left, and John and I took our trail ride. As always, the Dunes are a wonderful place to be....

The look and the trails change from season to season. In the Spring, it can be flooded and just beautiful with water and budding plants...

Because it is a sort of wet ecosystem, there are a series of bridges to cross on the trails.... We had a great ride! The Girls just loved having a chance to get out and explore the Dunes again. (Here is a photo of an acutal "dune" on the trail). Believe me, the photo does not do it justice...

On Sunday (today) we rode the abandonded railroad line near our house, and through the woods of our property. It was the warmest day so far this year for us -- close to 70 degrees!! It was one of those days when everything falls together -- the horses are into it, the weather is great, you feel good in the saddle...it is all working for you! We are so thankful and so fortunate to have such great riding opportunities so close to home!!

1st 2011 Ride at the Indiana Dunes

Now that the snow is gone the Dunes are open to horseback riding again. The trails get turned over to the cross country skiers during the winter months, but now it is spring and it is our turn once more. We made plans to ride on Saturday with friends.

Dee and Paul got there before us (they live closer and got an earlier start, plus we are always late!). They were already out on the trail. We were grooming our horses and saddling up when we got some visitors.

This happens kind of frequently at the Dunes: the parking lot is on a busy US Highway, and people driving by will see us out there and stop and ask if they and/or their children can pet the horses.

Saturday was one of those days. Two women with two little girls stopped to see the horses. One of the little girls is "horse-crazy" according to her mother. Instead of having a doll house with dolls to play with, she has a toy barn and little horse figures to play with. We spent a lot of time talking with them and taking pictures. John even put each girl up on Divna and we took their pictures in the saddle. They were thrilled...it was pretty cool.

Just as we got on the trail, Dee and Paul were coming off. They went back to the lot and groomed their horses, had a snack and hung out until we went through the trails.

We had a great ride. I felt so comfortable in the saddle that day -- some days I just seem to "have it" and keep my seat so well. The ride on Saturday was like that. It was really neat to be back in the Dunes again.

This is my goofy "self-portrait" taken while riding on the trail...I just sort of held the camera out to my side and snapped the picture.

After the ride we all went home and fed our critters and put them away, then met at a little bar/restaurant near where we live for dinner and drinks. A great way to spend the weekend!

On the Wrong Side of the Fence

This morning, John looked out the window and said, "We have goats in the yard."

Now this is not an unusual occurance. Anyone who owns goats could tell you that they are escape artists. Our Misho (white goat -- half LaMancha and half African Boer) is famous for getting out. He lays on the ground near the fence and sticks his head out into the yard to munch grass. As he munches, he wriggles out farther and farther to get to the longer grass. At some point, he is then outside the fence.

When the goats get out they don't go far, so we just go out there and put them back in. So this morning it was not a big deal that they were out. Then John says "Well, they went back in. They must have knocked down the barricade near the shed."

So I go and look out another window, and I see Divna is also out.

A goat being out is one thing, a horse getting out is quite another.

Here she is, on the wrong side of the fence.

Zora was having a meltdown.

She is the Alpha Animal of our little critter family, and for Divna to be out while she was still in the pasture was completely unacceptable. She was running around, kicking, calling out, throwing her head....just making a spectacle of herself! She had the goats terrified! All this tough acting was a result of her being too afraid to go past the stuff laying around in the "escape area." If she was really a tough girl, she would have been outside too.

It was easy enough to get Divna back in the pasture -- she was hungry. All I had to do was come out and act like I was going to feed them, put a lead rope around her neck, and there she was....back in the pasture safe and sound.

John got to work on re-barricading the area. This should keep them in until he can get some proper fencing up.

I gave them some hay to comfort them after the trauma. Something happened with this batch of hay we got from the nearby farmer. Someone must have had a birthday party outside near the hay field. We have found a lot of balloons in the flakes of hay. This scares me --- looks like it could clog up a horse digestive tract in a big way.....

And later in the day they were all laying down out in the pasture, getting some sun and relaxing.

The goats had been laying down, too, but as soon as I got out there with the camera they jumped up....too bad, it would have been a neat picture with all four of them napping.

I LOVE my animals!!!!

A Different Sort of Ride

This morning, I looked out the window to see what appeared to be a dead horse -- there was one of our "Girls" laying flat out in the pasture. They do that sometimes, and I think it is so neat because I read something from a real experienced horsepeson who said that they will only lay flat out like that if they feel perfectly safe. So I took a picture, but I had to zoom in between tree branches, and it looks funny. But if you look closely, you can make out the horse laying on the ground near the other one...

The plan was to ride with Dee and Paul yesterday, but I was exhausted, and while the temps were in the 30's, there was a wicked north wind, and it was snowing....so we wimped out. Here in Northwest Indiana, when that north wind comes across Lake Michigan it can cut you in half.

Today we awoke to sunny skies and mild temperatures, so we knew this was the perfect opportunity to ride. It is a chance that you have to take advantage of....so we decided to sieze the day! We brushed them out prior to the ride, and found that it is that time of year again...they are letting loose of their winter fur, as evidenced by this cury comb.

So off we went....down the railroad line. It was a great ride. Just the right mix of walking and running. At the end of the railroad line we decided to get adventerous and visit the apartment/single family home complex/neighborhood near Purdue North Central. This leg of the ride was a challenge for all 4 of us, as we were in a neighborhood, and on paved roads. It was really interesting....we went by a house under construction and Divna did not want to get anywhere near it -- I think the dumpster in the front yard must have been a horse killer!! But with some coaxing and encouraging words she got past it, and we rode thru the entire complex. It was prety cool. Of course Zora was just up for anything.

Our tack was pretty muddy when we got home, so John got to work on cleaning it up.

Once we got the horses, goats and chickens fed and settled in for the evening, we came into the house to have some fresh homemade Pasul i hleb (Serbian bean soup and bread).

What a great ending to a great weekend!!! Life doesn't get much better than this!

1st and 2nd Ride Since Divna's Injury

Divna has finally healed up enough to go out on the trails. It is amazing how long it has taken this injury to heal. The wound is not completely closed, but it is way better than it was. The other amazing thing is that you can still see the marks on her neck from where the wire fence was around her. It has been over two months since the incident....


We started our ride by stopping to visit the neighbors horses. Here is Harley, Bubba, Ozzie, and the minature horse whose name I do not know....




We took the abandoned railroad line near our house. It has been about 2 months since we have ridden -- so we were concerned about how The Girls would behave, especially Zora. If she hasn't been out in a while, all she wants to do is run like the proverbial bat out of hell. Also, I did not want Divna running because she is still healing. But on this particular day we didn't think we would have to worry about it -- it was the perfect day to have the first ride in a long time...Because....

We have had a LOT of snow lately!!!

The snow was really deep, and it kept them slowed down. They went thru drifts up to their bellies. It absolutely took the wind out of their sails!

Here is John and Zora walking down the railroad line!

Ont he way back it started to get a bit dark on us, but with the moon and all that snow, we could easily see our way. Anyhow, I think The Girls have the trail memorized, and would find their way no matter what...

It was SO GREAT to be back in the saddle and on the trail. I really missed it..

We took a ride yesterday, too. The snow is about gone now because we have had some warm days. As a result, it was really muddy. I didn't get any pictures, but it was a great ride nonetheless.

I think The Girls were happy to finally be back out on the trail, away from the goofball Goat Boys, seeing some different scenery and getting a chance to stretch their legs.

I always say to John "These horses are the best money we ever spent!"

I stand by that.