Moving Again

Future horse posts will be here: http://ineedanap.net/horsing-around/

One more week?

Jeff moved my fence line one last time so we can try and squeak out a few more days of having the horses in our yard. I'm still aggressively treating Axel's eye and it's a lot easier to get out there every couple hours when they are right out the door versus across the street. Not to mention I'm not looking forward the mud in the "dry" lot.

The weather has been pretty nice on the weekends so far. Last weekend the boys rode Cody for a while in the yard. At least until they started fighting over both wanting to ride but not together. I wish Axel wasn't so sore and someone could ride him too. I'd just be afraid he'd trip and fall. Also I don't have 4 hands to lead everyone around at once. Though Daniel thinks he can handle it himself.

We're working on week 4 of the eye meds. I can't tell if his eye is getting better or not. It almost looks like the ulcer is getting more shallow? I have no idea if that's how they heal or not. The circle doesn't seem to be getting smaller in diameter though. And it's hard to get him to open it far enough to take a photo. Every time I go near him he slams it shut. Go figure.

So in my short time taking care of my own horses my list of things I need is getting longer and longer and more expensive. Obvious things like a skid loader to feed hay, and a 4 wheeler and harrow to drag the pasture, a shelter, and automatic waterer are all sort of spendy items. Some smaller details: some of those cement dishes cuz the horses can't seem to not knock over their buckets when they are eating which gets grain all over and then they eat the grass down to dirt trying to eat up all the spilled grain, so that makes me think I also need a solid rubber mat under where they eat. In addition to the grid like tiles for protecting the paddock for mud etc.

There are still horses in my yard

After two full weeks of the eye meds Axel's eye went from getting better to getting worse. So we're back on bute for the pain so I can actually get the drops in and another two weeks of both drops. The vet said if he was in the hospital they'd put the antibiotics in once an hour so as often as I can get out there and put them in is best. At least with more attempts I'm bound to get more meds in, right? Also we switched from whatever the original antibiotic was to Cipro. So maybe a shake up there will help.

It's hard to tell since I see him every day (multiple times) but I think he's gaining weigh. Pretty sure he's butt cheeks are touching again. Still needs some topline work but if I ever get to Marshall to pick up that ration balancer that is supposed to help. (originally I ordered what I thought was right but it turned out to b some mineral instead, no harm done just not the right stuff)

I am looking forward (and I'm sure Axel is to) his eye being healed up so I only have to feed them and groom them and all that instead of making enemies. Though they might miss all the extra treats (bribes).

I also picked up some Back on Track knee boots to try out on the old man. Supposed to help keep the blood flowing and reduce swelling and increase mobility in his joints. I might have to get some quick wraps as well to help hold them up, depends on how much SMBs are if I find those instead.

They're here! (sort of)

So after Cody and Axel ate down most of the little pasture they were in Axel started dropping weight and his knee got really bad. The people watching them brought them up to their yard but the horses weren't getting along with their cows so it was a short stay there before they came back to me. I had planned on working something out with a neighbor (still do plan on it for winter) who has a couple equines but Jeff though we could put up a fence in our yard. Jeff's dad said just put them in the dry lot at his place. So right now they are on the dry lot and then I walk them over here every day where they can graze in the yard in a temporary fence area. So most of the time I get to look out the window while I'm working and see horses in my own yard. I can't wait til we have a permanent fence and a water source and I can keep them here full time.

I had the vet out to see Axel as he poked his eye. So now I'm putting eye meds in his eyes as often as possible (which is not easy on a 1000lb animal). She recommended some feed and supplements to help the weight but she didn't think he was as bad off as he could have been and thinks a winter will be okay as long as I grain him and get him a warm blanket. He's on a joint supplement so we can see what, if anything, that will do for his knee. Then I suppose before winter we'll see where he's at.

Cody is apparently jealous of the attention Axel is getting so he decided his laminitis (or whatever it is) is flaring up so he's back in hoof boots and on some bute for a few days to try and get him more comfortable. It's apparently too much to ask to have at least one healthy horse at a time. Sheesh.

So my schedule these days now that we are moved and what not. Drop of children at day care and school, feed horses, work and breakfast, walk horses from dry lot to grass on a break, work and lunch, put in Axel's eye meds and bute everyone on another break, work more, pick up Daniel, feed horses again, work more, walk horses back to dry lot, pick up Edward. Whew.

An inch closer (though further away)

I've been doing a horrible job updating but I'm going to blame that on the fact that I rarely get to see Cody and Axel.  So last we left it was in the fall of 2014.  When the pasture grass started getting thin we moved Cody and Axel to a family friend's place in exchange for hay for the winter.  He has several horses so the boys got to pal around with a real herd for quite a while actually.  I tried to ride a couple times but in usual Cody fashion, he didn't want to go anywhere and Axel's arthritis is getting so bad he was a trip hazard.  We brought the horses back into town for a long weekend to work on some volunteer wheat again and give some rides in the yard.  At one point the property that they were staying at changed hands so the horses all moved to another paddock/pasture out 4 miles from the farm for the winter/spring/part of this summer.  And now finally they boys are staying at a friend's place for a couple months.  I'm really trying to get them moved as close as possible to me so when we move out there I can handle the care of them. Axel is getting thin and I really want to get him some grain on a regular basis and see if he'll fatten up.  And I'd like to blanket him this winter if he's going to stay on the thin side but I'd need to be able to check on him regularly if I do that.  Plans are still rolling around in my head on how to accomplish that.

So until then, they are a tiny step closer even though they are a few miles further away from us right now.

Cowboy Mounted Shooting Blog

I decided to start a new blog just about Cowboy Mounted Shooting - you can follow that over here - www.cowboymountedshooting.horse

On the right track

So far we've putzed around a bit with the mounted shooting business.  Took a private lesson a couple years ago and exposed Booker to gunfire during that lesson.  Then we worked with him on general desensitization with random things, then we worked with cap guns (mounted and unmounted), then .22 blanks (mounted and unmounted), then .380 (unmounted).  Then I got pregnant, it was winter, and we got lazy.
Fast forward to this past weekend and we're signed up for a mounted shooting clinic with Chad Little (World champion mounted shooter FYI).  We packed up the horse and way more supplies than we'd ever need in N's new trailer and went to our first clinic.  We made it in one piece despite the mud and rain.

It was a 4 hour clinic in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon so N rode first and I went second.  The first group was an older crowd with less experience so they spent a lot of time just firing the pistols until the horses started getting used to it.  Then they started working on patterns.  Booker did really well.  He had been exposed to gunfire before so he'd jump a bit but didn't freak out or anything.  There were a couple horses that were not too happy about the situation and they didn't help keep him calm but he did really well anyway.

After lunch I jumped on and warmed Booker up again and myself of course.  The group I rode with was a younger crowd that had shot and/or gamed before so they were all pretty comfortable but had to borrow guns.  So I got quite a few rounds in since I had my own guns.  We did have to borrow a holster since mine aren't made yet.  Booker was still doing really well, not even flinching when people shot.  But he did start getting a little sticky and not wanting to move.  So then I had to manage him and the gun at the same time.  But can't really blame him, it was his first time doing much of anything this winter and we were asking him to work for up to 8 hours.  We got some great tips from Chad and he thought Booker was going to be really good at this sport.  My shots were pretty decent when I didn't have to micromanage the horse.  But we did discover the action on my revolvers is really really stiff.  So that's on the list to get worked on.

I think our biggest thing to work on is riding patterns and just getting smoother and handling the horse with one hand.  Everything else seems like it'll come easily enough.  More time in the saddle is #1.  Holy cats does my butt hurt.  Oh and I stuck to my "guns" and wore my helmet despite having picked up a western hat the day before at a tack sale.  I'll stick to the helmet until we're at a competition and have to wear a western hat (though I think helmets are okay too).  It had been forever since I'd ridden so it didn't seem like the time to ditch the helmet.  In any case he rode really well and the time off seems to have taken away some of my fears so that was good.

Back in the Saddle ... again ... again

Ran out to the barn a couple times last week actually.  Once to remove Booker's blanket before it was 70F out.  And then again to go for a ride later in the week.  Unfortunately Booker's feet are getting long and he was feeling a bit off so we only worked on some corner circles and some leg yielding.  I really need to get some cantering under my belt before the clinic in a couple weeks.

Speaking of, things are rolling in our new Cowboy Mounted Shooting hobby.  We started desensitizing a couple years ago and then I went and got pregnant so now we're determined to get something going this year.  We are signed up for a new shooter clinic at the end of this month and we plan to shoot in a Mother's day shoot in May.  Hopefully some other shoots as well.

So right now I'm working with a local leathersmith to maybe make up a holster and hopefully get that sooner than later.  And there's a tack sale at the end of the month.  I'm probably being optimistic but it'd be great to find some chinks, a shirt, and a hat.

Get yer guns!

Well Nancy got herself a truck and trailer!  Which means we are mobile this year.  We've already signed up for a new shooters clinic at the end of this month and we plan to do our first real shoot on Mother's day weekend.  So that means we better get back to training!

Catch up ... again

Just a quick catch up since I'm not doing a very good job keeping up to date.  Maybe I can do better this year.  Last year I wasn't riding since I was pregnant.  Baby was born in August.  My boys moved from my brother in law's to the big cattle pasture at the farm.  Haji crossed the rainbow bridge before winter hit.  We moved the boys to a farm outside of Canby where there's at least 10 other horses.  A guy that buys hay from my father in law is watching them for the winter.  They are actually getting fed flakes of hay so Axel isn't all puffed up like he usually is in the winter.  Cody has written me off now that he's with "his kind."  Hopefully I'll get a few rides in this summer.

I'm back to riding Booker, though lightly right now, we're lazy and it's winter, you know how that goes.  I got a pair of colt 45s for Xmas so we'll be getting him back in shape with the guns sooner than later and hopefully hitting up a clinic and a shoot this year.

Rough Weekend

Cody and Axel are doing well (save for Axel letting the cows chew his tail short). They spent the summer in the pasture with 3 cows and calves at the brother in law's place (same place as where they wintered). They are now in the big cattle pasture/wheat field with all the stock cows for a couple weeks enjoying the volunteer wheat. Then they will likely move to another location for winter, yet to be determined. There was one minor instance I was told of when they moved the horses with the bigger herd. The one bull mistook Axel for a nice stock cow and tried to show his affection, Axel did not appreciate it and ran through the fence. Doh. So there was some fence repair to be done but I don't blame Axel, that's for sure.

And in less happy news, Haji has crossed the rainbow bridge. The summer had not been kind to him and even while on pasture AND free choice hay, he still lost weight. :( We'll miss the old guy and I'm sad Daniel didn't get more of a chance to learn some horsemanship from a real expert that Haji was.

Forgive me

I'm all pregnant and stuff and getting to the barn and to the farm just isn't happening all too often these days.  Here's a photo post to catch up.

Still Slacking

It's bee a very cold winter around here and we've had quite a bit of snow.  We worked with Booker a little, not as much as we wanted since it was so cold.  Mostly working on the things that the trainer suggested along with a little goofing around.  Then at the beginning of March we sent Booker to the trainer for the month.  She's going to work him several times a week and get him back into shape and work on the stopping issues and just getting him listening and using his body properly.  Along with the training Nancy gets to ride a couple lessons as well so if the weather would cooperate that would be useful.

As far as my boys are concerned I haven't seen too much of them as we haven't been to the farm very often this winter with all the crazy weather.  I know the brother and sister in law and sister in law's brother took the three out for a little bareback ride around the pasture a couple months ago.  Sounds like they had a good time and the boys all behaved themselves.  The most work they've done in ages!  I've visited a few times to make sure everyone was still on all fours.  The slow feed Cinch Chix net is doing it's job, Axel is looking good and not too fat and his swelling has gone down significantly.  I'm guessing had we not put out hay without the net this year he wouldn't be swollen at all.  Haji may have lost a bit of weight which unless we're force feeding him 24 hours a day that was to be expected with the cold weather despite him having a blanket on. Spring should be good to get some weight back on him.  And though Axel still wants to eat everyone's feed, I think the three are getting along pretty well thanks to the small area they are in for the winter.

Middle of a Deep Freeze

We're in the middle of a deep freeze around here.  As in -20F with a -40F windchill.  Needless to say I don't like being so far away from being able to check on the boys.  Luckily they have the red barn with plenty of room for all three of them to hang out.  The report is that they spend the day outside and are always inside overnight.  So I guess they got a little smarts in their old age.

We switched over to a bulk feed.  It's easier to get and cheaper.  Probably not ideal for old men horses but I think everyone has their teeth still (talking to you, Haji) so it should be okay.  It's definitely good fat content wise and everyone likes how it tastes.  Jeff says that he hasn't met a feed these horses don't like (he hasn't tried to give Haji beet pulp I guess).

So the bulk feed is around 15 cents/lb versus the bagged senior feed which is more like $3/lb.  And they have apparently figured out how to store 1000lbs of it at a time.  Not sure what they did about that, I have two rodent proof bins that hold 300lbs of senior feed, so that probably holds a bit more bulk feed but I doubt 1000lbs. Anyways, they are fed and from all reports seem to still be alive and standing.  Someone is going to have some instructions to go photograph the horses and check under Haji's blanket for me next time he goes to the farm (without me this weekend).

Someday I will catch up

The time has gotten away from me. Granted I haven't been to the barn in quite some time.  The holidays kind of sucked the life out of me amongst other things.  And then we hit a nasty deep freeze so everyone's been hiding out.  Sounds like Booker gets to spend the night in the barn when it gets this bad.  I'm feeling pretty okay about his wearing a blanket when it gets this cold and windy, that's for sure.

The last time we made it to the barn we actually had a trainer come out to give us a lesson.  The name of the game was getting Booker to find his feet as well as not having to have the last word especially when it came to the halt.  Nice and easy stuff to work with on our own in the next few weeks.  He's a stinker that one, he'll do what you say and then take a step, or bob his head, or just any little thing to make sure he's the last one to comment on the situation.

So we're doing some ground work, turns on the forehand and turns on the haunches.  Then some mounted work, bending and giving at the poll and then walk to halt transitions with out putting up a fight.

I managed to make it out to the barn once after the lesson and worked on some of the stuff including the mounted work (yay me for getting on and riding!).  Not the most exciting work but it's definitely up my alley.

It's supposed to warm up at the end of this week so hopefully we'll make it out for a little more work.  Time to get back into the swing of things. No more being Miss Lazy Pants (my UP band hates me right now).

Let it snow!

Went out at lunch for a visit. Brought Booker in the arena and free lunged him a bit and he rolled a bit.  Nothing too crazy, no bucking or anything just a little head tossing.  Usual soundness. Did a little ground work at liberty nothing too serious just walk, whoa, trot.

So I was doing really awesome and I was proud of myself.  I got in the barn before it really started raining/snowing and while we were playing in the arena it really started up.  First rain then turned to big fat snow flakes.

So I groomed and Booker was nice and dry and I put the blanket on and there's no straps.  I wander around in circles trying to figure out what to do. Texted Nancy and then sent a FB message to the gal that sold us the blanket. Debate looking in her trailer and "borrowing" whatever I find but decided against it.  Wasted some time measuring Booker for blanket size.  The blanket doesn't have a size written on it and it is a tad big so I thought I'd measure him just in case, especially since we had no straps for the existing blanket.  74" BTW.

So I give in and bring Booker back outside.  By the time I get back in the barn I get a reply from the gal that sold the blanket that the straps are on the floor of her trailer.  Go figure.  So I go back out to get Booker who is now wet wet wet.  In fact he has a pool of water in the crease in his chubby back ;)

So I scrub him as dry as possible with one of the fleece blankets I brought, run him around the arena again in hopes he'll roll, and groom him again. No rolling of course.  Gave him some treats.  Brushed him again and fluffed him up and then just gave up and put the blanket on.  So all my awesome timing was for naught.  Anyways he's not soaking wet, just damp by the time I put on his blanket so he should be fine and will probably dry quickly under it.

All the horses with the exception of those in Booker's pasture have blankets on.  It's not cold now but Booker doesn't have a super thick winter coat and if it keeps snowing like this, big wet flakes and rain, they'll be wet and then it's supposed to get super cold so I think the blanket is the right move.  Just a little peace of mind.

I promised Booker I wouldn't be back to get him again today at least ;)

Working with Booker

I'm not doing much better keeping up with Booker's updates either.  We borrowed my dad's .38 and took Booker out to the pasture to try and shoot that a bit.  We shot half loads and full loads and there didn't seem to be much difference between the two.

Booker did alright with them outside but we just shot from the ground.  We've also shot the .22 a few more times in the arena from the ground and mounted.  We figured we'd just keep up shooting a little each time so he doesn't forget.  Not sure when we'll start working on the .38 in the arena or from his back.  Every time we go out there we come up with new things we should work on with him if we actually remember or get our butts out there more than once a week.  Ideally I'd make it out a couple times myself and Nancy would make it out a couple times a week but we'll see.  So far that hasn't happened.

I did make it out on the Friday night when Jeff was in Canby and I rode for a while myself but I didn't want to get him too sweaty since I had forgotten the cooler.  But it was nice to get back in the barn with no time constraints.

So our plans for the future are to have a trainer out to give us some lessons.  We thought maybe we'd do lessons for a month or two and then maybe in the spring send Booker for a 30 day tune up with said trainer.  She'd be able to ride him up to 4 times a week and we just haven't been able to put in that kind of time.  Not sure our whole list of goals but we'd love to have him remain calm while being ridden, he's still gets a little anxious with a rider, guessing that's part of his gaming past.  He needs to use his rear end more and bend bend bend.  We think those things will help with his heel pain, just learning to carry himself better in general.  As far as our goals as riders, well we have to learn to ride one handed a bit better (or at all in my case) and we just need someone to ride him and know him and then be better able to help us help him move better.  We did try the old trick where we don't pick up the reins when he speeds up or gets nervous since sometimes the gaming horses think tight reins mean "go faster."  We did discover that while having no rein contact Booker speeds up a bit, say when the gun is fired, but he doesn't do much more than that.  It's just hard to get ourselves to not choke up on the reins when we get nervous.  Practice practice practice!

Moving Again

I've been really horrible about keeping up with this blog lately.  I think part of it is the distance between my horses and myself.  But anyways better late than never, right?

Last time the horses had just gotten their feet trimmed and I'm happy to report that a month later they still look like they were trimmed last week and no one was sore from it that I noticed.  The family hadn't plowed the wheat field and a lot of volunteer wheat was growing so we figured we'd turn the horses out there for a change of scenery and something to munch on.

Low and behold, a couple weeks out there and I'm pretty sure Haji gained weight.  And they weren't eating much grain at that point because no one wanted to come up to the barn to eat.  All the while they were still on their first bale of hay.  Of course out of that whole 11 acres or so, the horses chose to stand in the one little patch of brush which meant tons of burrs.

And by "horses" I mean Haji. Though the other boys had their fair share of burrs as well.

When they needed to plow the wheat field they moved the horses back to the front pasture where they nearly finished off the first round bale.  So that bale lasted them since the end of September!  Guess they weren't done with the grass yet after all.

I wasn't able to make it out to Canby after that so Jeff took on the chore of pulling all the t-posts and trailering the horses over to his brother's place.  There's a leak in the well so we can't leave the water on all the time which means we can't use an insulated/heated automatic waterer.  And since the hose will freeze we can't really get water at all at our place so we decided to move them for the winter.  The cattle pens are all full of cattle at the inlaws so Jeff's brother's place is the only place left but there's no fence.  So Jeff pulled the t-posts in the dark and hand pounded them into frozen ground til his hands hurt for a week. Don't worry, I got to hear all about it ;)  Not being there just compounded my worry about the horses and not being able to manage their care being so far away.  It was a rough night to say the least.

So when they moved they threw out some hay from the loft and then put out a new round bale without the net which they all but finish in a week.  When I finally got out to see them after Thanksgiving they were FAT, super fat.  Which for Haji is a good thing, scratch that, great thing.  And that's without a lot of care in feeding him several times a day.  So I'm hoping he'll keep that weight on this winter. At some point someone took off Haji's blanket when it was a little warmer so I threw that back on him though he's got a nice winter coat and would probably be fine, I like the thought that he doesn't have to use his energy to keep himself warm and it'll help keep that sticky hip of his nice and warm.

So we had ourselves some more chores this past weekend and luckily the weather cooperated wonderfully.  I wrapped up the wire fencing from our place (that is a super lame job BTW) while Jeff started cleaning out his brother's barn.  Sunday I was able to get some time while Daniel stayed with Grandma and I went out to help.  The barn was full of who knows how many years worth of manure.  But between Jeff hand shoveling (I helped a tiny bit) and Joe running the bobcat they got the barn looking pretty nice.

We tied off the sides of the barn so the horses will just have access to the middle portion. That way they don't mess up the sides where the bobcat can't get and make it easier to clean in the future.  Also leaves the sides for storing various random things we found in the barn.

I put the buckets on the fence inside the barn which should mean a person can enter the barn from the small door and fill buckets without having to cross any fencelines or even go in where the horses are. The buckets will be out of the snow and rain so they can stay hung up and they won't go wandering away when a horse decides to play.  I thought maybe a neighbor kid could even feed but Jeff thinks that's too dangerous.  Anyway it's a pretty nice set up at this point.  The buckets are a little closer than I had hoped so hopefully the boys can figure out how to eat in peace and not run Haji off.  When I feed them from their buckets on the ground Sunday morning they all stood nicely and ate and Haji was able to finish before Axel came looking for seconds.  So that was nice.  Oh!  I saw Haji pin his ears and move Cody off at one point over the weekend.  Yay Haji!

I think there might be a bit of mud in our future but we'll see.  There was a low spot where the paddock is set up but this fall they filled it with gravel so maybe it'll be okay.  They do have a cement apron on the barn as well as the barn aisle to stand in if the mud gets bad.  We'll just have to scrap the aisle of manure on occasion.  Maybe throw out some stray or something.  I don't think it'll be as mud free as I thought our place would be but I think it'll be okay.  They don't have a large paddock right now but when the ground freezes they don't do too much moving around anyways.

So we cleaned up the barn, cleaned up their paddock area and put out a new round bale with net and everyone looked pretty happy.  I'm a little concerned that Haji hasn't figured out the net yet, so I'm hoping he figures that out soon if that's the case.

Sadly my hopes to see if Axel would not get swollen this winter are foiled.  They had a full round bale not in a net and he's swollen up again so I guess that experiment is off.  Oh well, I'd rather have fat happy horses in the end.  I'm also hoping this small area will make the three horses become better buddies in the end.  Maybe Haji will stick up for himself a bit more or something.

So after all my personal turmoil over the horses and their home and gaining or losing weight, I'm feeling good after this last weekend visit.  I'm thinking maybe the initial weight loss Haji had was a combination of not great hay, not getting grain quite enough, and the other horses running him around too much.  The hay is decent and the boys don't seem to run him around and he's getting regular grain so I think he'll do good this winter.  I think I can relax now.  Thanks so much to Jeff's brother for letting them live there this winter (I'm sure he doesn't mind the added bonus of us cleaning his barn either).

Always Playing Catch Up

We finally shot the gun off Booker's back.  Worked in the arena for a while and shot from the ground and next to him and finally got on and shot from his back.  He actually did best under saddle than he did on the ground.  Next up is more work with the 22 and starting work with a 38 half and full load.  We figure if we keep doing the 22 a few times each time we work with him that should keep him fresh all winter while we work him up to 45s.

I did make it out another time in the past couple weeks and do some ground work.  Did some makeshift versions of the Parelli friendly game, circle game, and squeeze game.  Then we spent quite a bit of time working on backing out the barn door and down the step, a little make shift trailer unloading practice really.  He gets a little nervous backing out so we'll keep working on that when we can.

Pulled his shoes last week so we'll see how he's feeling as far as arena riding goes.  We don't want to do too many sharp circles but now that it's almost winter we're going to be confined to the arena with not much room for straight work.

Back on the Ranch

Lots of photos in this post.  Back to the ranch after having been gone a couple weeks.  This time I was able to get a friend to come out and help with hooves.  Cody hadn't thrown his other shoe and it took the two of us and a lot of elbow grease to get the darn thing off.  It also took 3 hours to trim up all three horses but they are finally done and looking good.  A little shorter than my previous farrier but since we aren't riding and it's been hard to get someone out, this is probably for the best.  Now I just need to keep up on the rasping myself.

We were actually at the farm for 2 extra days so in that time I spent some time putting up the new barn door, painting it, and cleaning up the shed.  Haji spent some time laying down while I worked.  It was a little weird but I'm hoping he was just happy I was there and decided he needed to nap.

We also pulled up the fence from the side yard and fenced in the end of the wheat field so we could turn them out there for a while.  There's quite a bit of volunteer wheat growing out there and lots of space so it gives them something exciting to do for a while.  They must still have enough grass since the round bale is still not gone and it's been out there for over a month.  I was expecting some exciting running and bucking when I put them out in the wheat but I guess the old guys are getting old.  They did run, a little.  But that was about it.

Sadly to get to the field they have to wade through a pretty decent patch of burrs and nasty things.  Not that they hadn't already found enough burrs.  Haji was covered.  I finally went out with some old cutter thing and chopped down a path so they can hopefully avoid a few burrs.

And then I decided I would put Haji's blanket on as it's been getting pretty chilly and he needs all the help he can get saving energy for gaining weight.  I made sure to moderate his introduction to Cody and Axel with the blanket on.  Sometimes they freak out when they see a blanket for the first time of the year.  Axel came prancing up like he was trying to impress that new purple horse.  Then he realized it was Haji and things were back to normal.