Author: restingheartfarm

Two Year Update on Reno

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With all the press my new horse, Ripple Effect has gotten on the past week or so, I had almost forgotten that it is Reno’s second anniversary with me.  He definately deserves some press too…. Reno came to me in January 2009 with a life-threatening injury.  A mystery hock injury, several months old. It was a struggle to win the battle with this injury and I thought we would have to put him down more than once that winter.  I don’t think an injury in a horse has taught me more about patience, persistence and hope.  It was indeed a miracle, and by the spring he was in harness and working lightly… One day in late April, however, I arrived home to find Reno had had a fight with the fence and to my horror had severed the extensor tendon (and nearly the flexor) in the same previously injured leg.  That was the low point for me.  I’m not sure I would have had the fortitude to go on with his rehab, had it not …

The Ripple Effect

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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 …

On losing a horse…

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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, …

Re-starting Beaugart

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So many of you know of my most recent rescue, Beaugart.  He is a 5 yo Arab x NSH and has been with me for about 6 months.  He was skinny and scared of everything when he came to the farm.  As with all my rescues, health and socialization come first.  Beaugart has spent the past few months with a small herd with plenty of room to roam, play and move his body.  There have been very few demands made on him from me and I have spent the time building rapport, by being a consistent presence in  his daily life.  Trust took a long time.  He really had no interest in anything I did, nor could he stand me approaching him directly.  But one day, not long ago, I found him nibbling on my elbow from behind me while I did my chores!  At last, some curiousity! The next day, he allowed me to approach and scratch his itchy spots (it is black fly season), curling his lips with pleasure.   That was the …

Spring is coming…

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Well,  its looking alot like spring…for the uninitiated!  While we’ll likely receive more snow and freezing weather, I look for any opportunity to be optimistic about the coming warmer weather! So what’s new on the farm?  We have our first broody chicken..a year old red silkie, Silvia.  She is sitting on 8 banty eggs and we expect some young chicks next week if all goes well.   She has decided on a pretty cold time of year to sit, but maybe she knows something I don’t. Both Beaugart, our new rescue and Reno, our rehab project are flourishing and getting strong…more in separate posts.  Stay tuned. Upcoming events on the farm: Sunday March 21st…’Beyond Dairy:  Raw Milk Processing and Cheese Making’, presented by Lisa McCrory from Earthwise Farm in Bethel, VT.  This class is full, but if you have interest in raw milk or cheesemaking, please email me (judkinsj.uvnn@gmail.com).  We will plan another class later in the season. Saturday April 3rd…’Hoop House Raising’. Have you ever thought about putting up a high tunnel or hoop …

How do dogs know?

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Over the years I have read stories reporting evidence that dogs ‘know’ when their ‘person’ is coming home (before they actually arrive).  Some of it seems plausible, but on the other hand…who really knows what our dogs are thinking.  Mom has always told me that Max (my devoted 2 yo rescued mutt) ‘knows’ when I am nearly home.  He goes to the door and begs to be freed.  She sees or hears no sign of me, but as soon as she lets him out he goes running for the road and then she sees my truck take the turn onto Philbrick Hill, which is still quite aways from home.  How does he know?  I’ve always passed it off as coincidence… So I have arrived home from my 5 day trip and found the dogs…both Max and Newt (my yorkie) exhuberantly waiting for me…..not a surprise.  I phone Carolyn once I settled and thank her for caring for the horses and dogs, as well as keeping mom company for the weekend.  She made the oddest report.  …

Did you ever hear the story of the ‘Ugly Duckling’?

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You know the one where he finally realizes he is a beautiful swan… I finally got some clear photos of Beaugart in his ‘ugly duckling’ state.  Truth is, he looks better everyday!  He has integrated nicely into the herd.  I caught him playing with Doc yesterday…shoulder to shoulder.  Every morning I find Manny standing near Bogie…both of them snoozing.  He starts pushing him around when he realizes I’m there with breakfast….but I know he likes him 🙂  Reno’s another story.  I’m convinced Bogie has never seen a mammal as big as Reno and he will not stand within 20 feet of him.  They’ll get there I suppose… I shut Bogie in a stall at night for the last couple of nights, just to be sure he was getting his fair share of hay and to monitor his fluid intake.  I also needed to get some wormer into him.  That sure proved challenging!  I finally had to blindfold him to get  it into him.  I guess I’ll be working on that with him in the near …

Beaugart meets the herd…

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Introducing a new horse to a stable herd is always an undertaking.  It takes nerves of steel and an optimistic attitude. Ideally, a new horse would be exposed to the new herd over a fence line for a while, then have some turnout with a low-ranking herd member…so they have a buddy.  Then they enter the herd proper.  There is always some squealing and some running around.  They all have to sort out who is the leader and who follows. Beaugart does not like being kept in a stall.  I like that about a horse and I understand it.  I knew I needed to get him outside and soon.  Being winter, I have limited options…its hard to move fences in January, lol!  So my only option is to integrate him into the herd relatively quickly. My vet was out today and looked him over.  Besides being underweight and slightly dehydrated, she thought there were no serious issues and thought some outdoor exercise would do him good.  She did not recommend adding him to the herd …

Beaugart

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Beaugart is a 5 yo Arab x national show horse (1/2 arab, 1/2 standardbred)….reads mostly arabian;)    He’s registered and well bred.   Unfortunately, he, his herdmates and his owner fell on hard times this year and all have been doing poorly.  I became aware of the situation only a few days ago, made some room in the barn and drove down to rescue one of these horses today.  I came home with Beaugart. He loaded right on the trailer and as soon as he discovered that there was hay in there, he had no intention of getting out.  I took off his halter and switched it out for one of my own while he happily munched away.   His simple delight at his very own pile of hay made me smile instantly.   I let him settle in the trailer while I perused the remaining horses…stallions, mares, youngsters and babies.  I struggled with the urge to take them all home. I give alot of credit to the local law enforcement as well as Patricia Morris, a  local …