Some Horses….
Some horses come into our lives forever, others for a short time. I try hard to be open to whichever that is…
Many years ago, I fell in love with a thoroughbred named Canonize. I first saw him romping (literally all feet off the ground one second, on the ground rolling the next) in a demo at the Equine Affaire nearly a decade ago. At the time I was working through the Parelli Levels with my horse Manny, who was a naturally introverted horse. He has very little real play drive and I was craving a horse who liked to move their feet. It was love at first sight that November day and as soon as the trainer reported that he was available for adoption through the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, I knew he would be mine. Many of my friends would tell me I was crazy to get a second horse…that I couldn’t keep two horses in work with a full time job. Those of you who know me well, know the easiest way to get me to take on a challenge, is to say I ‘can’t’ or ‘shouldn’t'…so of course, I did.
Here’s how he is described in the Jockey Club Registry: Chestnut horse, foaled May 13, 1997 in Florida. 10 Starts. Winner. Arbitrator and Bold Ruler on his sire’s side. Native Dancer and War Admiral on the Dame’s. Holy Crap! What the hell had I gotten myself into? I thought hard about changing his name to something cute, like ‘teddy’…but was told it was bad luck to change the name of a winning racehorse. Bad luck….I did not need.
Canon turned out to be my first real rehab project. He came off the track with a tendon injury. Although he was sound on it, his body was in a twist and he moved crookedly. Some of that is from the racetrack, some of it him, and some of it the injury. And it was probably a good thing I had to take some time to get him sound and healthy, so our relationship could get solid. Canon taught me alot about colic. He, like so many hot blooded horses, was prone to scarey tummy aches. Almost monthly I would get a call about him not feeling well. I had been researching equine nutrition prior to this, but his propensity for this really drove me deep into natural, holistic horse care and feeding. Over a year or so, he cured himself of this tendency and has been colic free since.
I remember the first time I cantered on Canon…like it was yesterday. I was scared. I’d had some bad experiences on racehorses in the past….have a metal rod in my lower leg as a result of a fall off one. And Manny, my other ride, was a consummate bucker at that time. So I had all this ‘stuff’ in my head.
Well, he wouldn’t go. Seriously? He would start to go, then resume his trot. I knew I was the problem, but couldn’t figure out how to let go of my fear enough to make it ok for him to move out. He was taking care of me in his way, and I never loved a horse more than in that moment. I happened to be in the arena alone that day and in what has now defined my style, I forced myself outside my comfort zone and took Canon’s bridle off. I set off around the arena with a string around his neck and asked him to move out, promising myself only that I would keep breathing, hold the horn of my saddle and go where ever he went. It was a profound ride. The two of us trying to figure out how to help each other. Stop. Go. Stop. Go, go, go.
An hour later, a woman entered the viewing area. A stranger who would later become a dear friend, she would frequently remind me of that day when I was zooming around on a racehorse, giggling like a school girl, without a bridle. Later that summer I would learn the exhilaration of galloping though the fields or on the beach on that horse. Pure joy and freedom.
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Canon would go on to challenge me to improve my horsemanship in so many ways, but more than that he required me to be a better person.
So when I noticed him becoming apathetic and thin 2 years ago, I had to make a plan for his future. My busy farm and work life had left me little time to play with or ride Canon and he was becoming disengaged and depressed. In a stroke of luck or fate, a friend who lived just over the river in Vermont was looking for a horse she could ride and give lessons on. Brilliant, I thought! He would love that. She had kids and lots of students to dote on Canon….it was perfect. I liked the idea that he was happy, but close enough for me to visit occasionally. In fact he did so well there, they decided to formally adopt him from the TRF last year. I was thrilled he had found a place in which he could thrive.
A few nights ago I dreamt of a big red racehorse. Having recently watched ‘Secretariat’, I assumed it was the famous ‘Big Red’ in my dream. The next day, I read the news on facebook that Canon’s family was moving. My thoughts returned to my dream, of a beautiful red horse carrying me around a racetrack…me giggling on his back. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him living thousands of miles away from me. I was sad. Maybe alittle worried. But the truth is…I had not really said goodbye to my friend. I had shared him with a family who loved him as much as I did, assuming I would see him whenever I wanted to. So now I really DO have to give him up.
I stopped in to see Canon a few days ago. He was happy, healthy and quiet as I stroked his face and kissed the cresent moon on his forehead. Good bye my friend…may your life be filled with green fields, lots of friends and games to play.
Support Henniker Farm Store….
If you haven’t already heard the Mock Family who own the Henniker Farm Store in Henniker, NH lost their home, several beloved pets and all their belongings in a tragic house fire last week. They are holding a bake sale at the store this weekend to help with the rebuilding of their home. Please take a drive on this beautiful weekend to support them.
Out of town and want to contribute? Donations can be sent to the store.
The Mock Family, 110 Bradford Road, Henniker, NH 03242
Natural Parasite Control…
Someone asked me today how I get away without worming my horses.
To start with…its not that I NEVER use conventional wormers…I have and will use them when its necessary, but I avoid them. There are several reasons for this, but first, an analogy…
Anyone who has started a garden, large or small, be it a small kitchen garden or a farmers market garden or mass produced corn, has to decide how they will manage pests and disease. Will they grow organically or conventionally. Both ways work and of course there is alot of territory in between. The conventional garden is managed by adding pesticides to the soil to minimize disease and pests either up front as a prophylactic or in response to a threat. These agents kill not only the pests, but also harms the organic life and sometimes the structure of the soil, making it now necessary to add fertilizers of various compositions to maintain ‘healthy’ levels of nutrients for plant growth. There’s a billion dollars worth of research about how to do this and grow lots and lots of produce. But, once you start this cycle, you are committed to managing the soil in these very specific ways. And there are other down sides, but that would be a huge digression…
The organic farmer uses nature to manage pests and disease and allow the soil and all its amazing physiology to mantain not only order in the insect world, but a continuous supply of nutrients in a soil ecosystem that is self sustaining. I garden organically. Its a medium to large family garden. I use a minimal till method that mimics nature. Aged compost is applied to the surface and weed seeds stay beneath where they are less likely to germinate. I have lots of bugs. Some of these are good bugs and some are not. I don’t play god in the garden. I rely on the good bugs, bees, wasps, worms, beetles, butterflies, dragonflies, (bats, chickens), etc to control the pesty bugs. If I choose to kill off one poulation of bugs, I have to be prepared for the imbalance I create in the garden ecosystem and I choose not to create a defect in the fabric of my garden. Instead, I rotate my crops and plant groupings of plants that can help each other and because I grow alot of different crops, I accept losses from time to time. I simply try to mold nature to my design instead of forcing it to produce something it is not capable of. This design demonstrates the beauty of the small diversified farms. But again, that would be another digression…
I use the gardening scheme as an analogy because most people nowadays understand the difference organic farming brings to the plant and soil biology and why it is healthy and sustainable. Horses are no different.
If you take the approach that all horses have parasites and these need to be eradicated, you will need to use conventional wormers. And if you choose to use rotational worming practices, worming every 6-8 weeks, you will always have to do this. No matter how good intentioned this practice is, there are consequences to this type of worming….whether we fully understand them now or not.
Consider a more natural way to manage parasites. What about creating a healthy horse? One that had a healthy ecosystem inhabiting their GI tract. One that wide open places to forage, without having to nibble the grass next to its own poop. One that was able to move for miles everyday, like a wild herd. OK, maybe I’m getting alittle crazy, but the problem really lies in our ‘modern’ horsekeeping. We keep horses in stalls, in isolation, in filthy dirt paddocks. We feed too much grain and not enough forage. We pump our horses full of chemicals and unnecessary vaccines, that they, in turn, have to compensate for immunologically. The result is colic, founder, metabolic issues and insulin resistance.
Here’s a great New Years Resolution: Resolve to find one thing every month that will make your horses life more natural. Want a list?
1. Free choice their hay
2. Cut down on the grain
3. Stop feeding them peppermints
4. Turn them out in a herd.
5. Pick up the manure around their feeding area…all of it. Compost it for your garden.
6. Build a paddock paradise.
7. Let them choose when to go out and when to come into the barn.
8. Put out free choice minerals.
9. Top dress feed with probiotics/prebiotics once a week.
10. Make a salad for your horse. http://www.thepenzancehorse.com/2009/ARTICLES/feedingthehorse.htm Reads…think outside the box. What would your horse choose to eat if he could.
11. Expand your pasture. Even into the woods where a horse can browse on weeds and some bark.
12. Pull their shoes and balance their feet…where every energy meridian starts.
13. learn how to do your own fecal tests. Its easy. http://www.farmsteadhealth.com/
14. Consider an herbal wormer or diatomaceous earth. There is a reason you find your horse eating wood or rocks at times.
Well, you get the idea. There are alot of little adjustments you can make that allow your horse to maintain its own health without your constant meddling. I call it ‘purposeful neglect’. Sometime s we have to allow the ecosystem to run itself.
This has been my approach. Every year, my horses’ lifestyle gets more and more natural and I have to do less and less to keep them healthy. I have a 16 yo arab cross, Manny, I’ve had for 12 years. He was my learning curve. He has not been wormed in 10 years. Back then he had arthritis, uveitis and a bad attitude…now he is my definition of a healthy, happy horse.
Manny is in front
The Ripple Effect
This is a story about a horse and social networking. Say what, you ask?
I remember the day I was invited to sign up for Facebook by a friend. Don’t remember the friend, but I remember being annoyed…..thinking FB was just another tool to invade my privacy and bog down my internet traffic. I signed up anyway, added a photo of myself and took some queer quizzes about what sort of dog I was and whether I was a redneck or not. Then facebook suggested some friends for me. How did it know I knew these people? Ah, its invading my gmail address book…again, I was annoyed. Of course a few weeks later, other friend requests came through that I though, hmmm…I haven’t spoken or emailed that person in years. I hooked up with cousins and family that I normally don’t stay in good enough contact with (despite resolutions to the contrary). Facebook even hooked me up with my ex-husband, Angelo. This was becoming kind of fun now. I was in daily contact with people I loved but for whatever reason I had lost a connection. I mean that’s what we all want right? A connection to other people. A way to share our life with others and vice versa.
Recently as I neared 400 friends, I realized how blessed I was to have such a busy social life, without having to go too far or buy a plane ticket or even pick up the phone. Many of my ‘friends’ now on FB are mere acquaintances or friends of friends, some of whom I now feel like I know very well, even if we have never met. Its fascinating, really!
Over the past decade I have started to believe in and practice manifestation. I keep a perfect picture of the things or events I want to see happen or come into my life and then wait. It has never failed. So I was not surprised when a horse meant for me popped up randomly last week on facebook. The interesting thing is that I did not purposefully manifest this horse. I believe my subconscious mind did. Here’s the story as I know it….
Many of you know I rehabbed a Percheron, Reno, a couple of years ago, who completely stole my heart. Over the past year or so I had been considering adding another percheron to my herd, possibly a teammate for Reno. I have looked at several percherons as well as other drafts, some very pretty, and well trained. Many of these horses were outside my budget, but the truth is, I could have scrouged up the money to buy one. But I didn’t. I think, now, looking back, buying a well trained, perfectly sound horse wasn’t what I was looking for. What I truly needed was to rescue a horse in need. Which is pretty much how all the animals on my farm arrive here. I’m a fixer. I like to fix things. Lets say I have a knack for it.
When I saw Ripple on the Frog Pond Farm Draft Rescue, something in my heart exploded. That’s him, I thought, surprising myself with this odd revelation. It was amazing how certain I was in a matter of seconds. Stifle problems, oh goody! So I emailed the rescue, filled out a application and got in my truck and drove to Ohio to collect him. 72 hours and 1400 miles from application to driving into the driveway with him near midnight on New Year’s Eve.
So someone asked me, “Are you going to change his name?” Hell no. His name so clearly illustrates the whole experience. When I found him on FB, there was an immediate flurry of posts and comments. Of course, I stayed connected with those interested with status updates during my trip to Ohio. By the time I was half way to Ohio, I had dozens of people fascinated and routing me on. What once would have been a simple road trip, became an epic journey…shared with friends, family and perfect strangers. Yes, I now have perfect strangers as friends on FB!
Meet ‘Ripple Effect’….
On losing a horse…
I was restless this morning. I could have slept til 6am but my brain was triing to get up at 5. I finally acquiesced and got out of bed at 5:30. As is my routine, I looked out the window down onto the farm…to be sure everyone is roughly where they should be. I am lucky to have a house that sits on a hill and the farm cascades down below it, so I have a view of my creatures from most of the windows in the house.
I immediately noticed Doc. He was lying down flat on the wrong side of a fence. OMG…I thought…he looks dead! I stared at him, holding my breath….willing him to show some sign of life. At last, he lifted his head and looked around. I breathed a sigh of relief and chastised myself for such a morbid thought. I left the window and sat down to my computer and email, then downstairs for coffee.
As I left the house for chores, I glanced down the hill to check on Doc, knowing I would have to…at some point….go get him and put him back with the herd where he belonged. He was still lying down. Odd…I thought….he was in a different spot. I threw hay out to the boys at the barn and hiked out to where Doc lay. Dread filled me as I approached. He was sick…I could see it in his eyes. But he was so calm, relaxed, really. As I approached him and stroked his neck, a neighbor drove by and stopped. ”What’s wrong with Doc?” she asked. I replied, ‘I dunno. just got here”. She looked at me with worry in her eyes….’he looks bad’. The feeling I had when I first saw him at 5:30 resurfaced and I could not push it aside. I pulled out my cellphone and called my vet. Then I called Tim…Doc’s owner and best friend.
The events that followed are so common amoung those who own/raise/train horses that I can skip the details. The bottom line is that colic in an old horse, with no history of colic (I’ll bet I haven’t spent a dime of vet fees on this horse, except for routine vaccinations), means strangulation and obstruction. No hope of survival without surgery. And surgery means a two hour drive south, anesthesia and a long post-op course. I was devastated. I knew I could not subject him to that type of treatment.
I’m a surgeon and a good one. Its my gift..to fix living things. But living with horses has brought me closer to being present in the moment. Its where our beloved animals live. They don’t understand….’we can fix this but you have to wait’, like people can. Doc has enjoyed very good health and vitality at our farm. I have a natural instinct when it comes to heath and nutrition. He has absolutely flourished here and I have been so pleased with his state of health..until today.
Tim was able to be here and ultimately made the decision to put Doc down. We sat down next to him and cried, stroking his neck lovingly. As his spirit left and our emotions stabilized, we talked about Doc and his misadventures and about all sorts of other things. Before long we were laughing again and exchanging warm embraces. Doc was gone, but his spirit had already healed us in many ways. It is the gift horses bring to us….simplicity and joy.
What I have learned is that life can change direction in a heartbeat. Its scary…to be honest.
Doc was a treasure and a blessing. His passing has left a hole here…at the farm and in my heart. Its a small hole and will be repairable…but it will leave a scar…as it should for any loved horse.
Doc is on the far left.
Summer 2010 ….a pictorial tour
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Learning to plow…
I think of plowing as the quintessential activity of a real farm. In fact, I hestitate to call my place a real farm because of the lack of said, plowing. I’m fond of the ‘lasagna’ method of growing crops…layering compost and straw and cardboard. I’ve run a rototiller a few times, but its just not my thing. So recently, when I had the opportunity to learn to plow….for real…I hopped on board, quite literally.
Some of you may know that I have agreed to sell Peanut to a nice couple in Vermont who plan to farm with him. He is on trial with them as I write this….staying at Ted’s place, where they are learning the ins and outs of driving a work horse. I brought Peanut up last week. Ted and I had hatched a plan (well, mostly I did) that we should put Peanut and Clayton together to plow at the GMDHA fall meeting. Ted wanted Peanut there a few days early to practice.
So Thursday morning, I help Ted harness up the horses and we hitch them to this antique plow…I believe a John Deere ‘Syracuse’….I could be wrong, but it was old and looked like a death trap. Nothing like sitting on a rickety seat sprung over a metal cage and huge plow blades beneath you. No seat belt and no brakes…it looked horrifying! I was happy to watch. Plowing with horses is interesting to watch. The more experienced horse generally walks ‘in the furrow’, while the other simply helps pull the plow along. The plow edge slices into the earth and folds it over on itself, kind of like you are carving a nice piece of meat. The look of a freshly plowed plot of land is somehow appealing, in its tidiness and uniform rows. Ted certainly made it look easy….
Then he hopped off and handed me the reins. I think I kind of gave him a glazed over expression as I said, ‘sure’.
Getting the boys lined up in the furrow proved easy enough, but then you have to pull the lever up and over to engage the plow. Here’s where it gets personal. The act of moving this lever actually lifts you up as the plow engages. Well, I belive I outwiegh Ted by 50 lbs at least and to say I am half as strong would be generous, so lifting that lever was not easy. I needed alot of help in the beginning.
I did learn very quickly, however, that if you asked the horses to ‘step up’ a step or so, while you tried to engage the plow, they actually helped pull the lever over and into position. Voila, ready to go. Next you have to keep the furrow horse in the furrow (on the right) and the plow over to the left. Ted said the furrow wheel should be ideally 2 inches inside the furrow edge. I took that very seriously as I do all specific instruction. In fact this is what began to fascinate me about plowing. The exactness and the linearness of it endeared me to the process…I was hooked!
Two days later we were plowing at the fall meeting. Add some wet soil from days of rain and abit of a hill and it was a whole new ballgame! But the principles remained the same and before long I was plowing on my own and feeling empowered!
Plowing is indeed an addicting habit. I am now triing to figureout how I can buy a plow…
Fall at Resting Heart Farm…a photo essay
Alice and Betty enjoying leftovers from the garden....lettuce, arugala and kale. Kale is their favorite...good thing as its not mine!
Harvest 2009
more harvest 2009
New additions to the farm this summer....Daisy and Doris...muscovy ducklings
farm truck....82 chevy...only 32K miles on it
New landscaping this year. Kevin Roberts built us a wall and some steps...all the stones came from our property. Gotta love living in the granite state!
This is the old pig pen, nicely turned over soil. Seeded and new beds built. I fill them with nearly finished compost. I'll let them get soaked this week then cover them with mulch hay. Ready for early crops next spring.
Peanut and his John Deere
Roosters
I’ve known a few roosters in my day. Some are calm and gentile with the ladies, others are just outright ‘peckers’ and are abusive. The dominant, out going rooster has its benefits in regard to predator control, but they can get out of hand with kids and visitors.
We had such rooster in our midst. Fooled by his youth and good looks, we tolerated his bizarre aggressive behavior UNTIL he stabbed my poor mother in the leg. Being on coumadin (a blood thinner), this was unacceptable. 2 days ago he attacked my two nieces and a nephew…scaring the crap out of them. Mom and I both agreed a rooster stew was on the menu!
My bother, Bear and his family were here. He had brought his rifle, as I was wanting a certain fox eliminated. Once our new objective was clarified, the shooting began. I shooed the rooster out into the open and the firing squad began. Near misses all afternoon. I believe Bear was suffering from severe embarrassment…must be something wrong with the scope. He skimmed the bird several times but did not kill it. The kids hid under the lawn chairs…
We gave up the chase in time for the neighbors ‘soiree’ and had a few drinks in very nice company. On the way home, I suggested we visit the now sleeping rooster and end its aggressive ways.
Bear, eager for a confrontation, crept up on the sleeping beast and attempted to throttle him. He then let him go, expecting him to flop to the ground in the throws of death, and was surprised to find the bird dancing like a youngster…now ready to play! The bird had some wiley survival skills! Bear trapped and captured the bird once more (with me cheering him on), but he couldn’t get a good ‘break’ in the neck. Ever resourceful, I ran to the house and picked out a knife. Upon my return, we tried to remove the head, only to break the knife. Frustrated, but drunk, I ran back to the garage and retrieved the limb lopers. At that point Bear was convinced her had broken the poor bastards neck at last. We severed the head from the body to be sure…using the lopers! We tied the bird up by the feet..as a warning to all other birds and left it overnight.
Plucked and soaked…we have a nice soup stock tonight!
