Horsing around

I never really wanted a horse. Except maybe when I was 5 when every girl wants a horse for Christmas-- or a unicorn. We took a few trail rides over the years on 'family fun day' and had some distant relatives with horses but other than that my life in Youngstown was quite far removed from what it has become. Rog and his family lived with "Happy" the horse who took up residence in their barn for many years but Rog himself never took much of an interest in horsemanship.

It wan't until we moved to the new farm that the desire to add larger animals set in. The farm was previously used for boarding off track racehorses and was therefore set up as such. 28 stalls, wash room, tack room, drylots, pastures with run-in sheds and plenty of hay. A few of the smaller pastures had been rearranged or scrapped by the time we got here. So I decided I needed a cow in my life. Specifically a mini-Jersey.

Yes, that's a real thing and yes, they're exceptionally cute. Jersey cows make higher protein, higher butterfat milk that makes wonderful fatty cheese. I need that in my life. 

Mini Jerseys can give about 2 gallons a day, which I thought would be ideal so that we wouldn't be overrun with milk given that the goats give is 10-ish gallons a day already. They're also small, cute and more manageable in terms of clean up than a standard size cow. Which is important since we had already built a milking parlor with a door through which a standard cow would certainly not fit. I started shopping, Rog started panicking. Jersey minis, it seems, are quite expensive, surpassing $3000-4000 when sold bred. Cross contamination with manure and parasites when housed with the goats would be a concern. Housing it alone would be another concern. We discussed the possibility and Rog had some concerns with milking yet another animal that would tie us down and he uttered those fateful words "I guess I'd rather have a horse."

To Rog that means someday, many years from now, in the future, potentially never. To me that means I put down 'Cows for dummies' and picked up 'Horses for dummies' and started reading and shopping. The attraction about horses is that there are countless horses that need a home. Unscrupulous breeding practices, financial burden, poor management and judgement make horses an easy target for neglect and abuse. 

I started taking horsemanship / riding lessons over the winter and then began working with a midwest rescue program and waited a few months until someone came in that would be a good fit for aging-beginners-who-don't-want-to-get-hurt. Ultimately the chosen rescue horses did not pan out due to severe medical conditions that showed up once the weather warmed so we were back to square one. The goal being aged senior horses in relatively good health who were in need of a good retirement home that we were certain we could provide. Riding would be secondary, but soundness a plus, of course. Above all, safe, calm animals that would try their best not to kill us. Not asking too much, right? :-)

Enter Sierra - a well loved quarter horse / paint cross, 23 years old. Our trainer met Sierra's owners by chance at a show and they expressed their desire to rehome her due to an upcoming move and other obligations. Sierra is friendly, mild mannered and quite cooperative (most of the time!). 

Sierra - not abused, not thin - in fact, a little chubby

They were gracious enough to send Sierra with loads of tack and supplies and she soon made the journey home. Her adjustment to Capra Lane had its ups and downs, naturally. She traveled from a busy horse boarding facility near Cleveland to a quiet (sort of) goat farm - pretty traumatic to most any critter and she made it clear she missed her equine neighbors. She was especially wary of the loudmouth rooster and our neighbors cows at which she snorted incessantly. Her anxiety waxed and waned until a short time later we located a potential new companion, Rain.

Sierra's nervous corner.

                                  

    

Rain - and her 'feed me' look.

                           

Rain is earning her retirement from a girls horse camp in far northeastern Ohio where she worked long hours for the past 15 years. Rain is a 22 y/o Belgian / paint cross who is extremely well trained, a bit slow and quite social. Again, a good fit for aging first time horsemen.

Rain is happy to fit 'second wheel' position and does not challenge Sierra's role as leader. She is the more vocal of the two and is most excited at mealtime. Her 'Barbie-horse' flowing mane is quite a trap for shavings and dirt in which she likes to roll nightly, daily, frequently, thoroughly...

           

We think the two old mares have retired to a pretty nice place. They spend their days grazing happily in about 8 acres of pasture with a run-in shed for shelter, they now tolerate their goat neighbors antics without fear. Sometimes we rotate them to a smaller 2 acre pasture filed with treats (ie weeds) like chicory, plantains and trefoil. They're comfortable and content in their stalls at night, we'd cut a window between them to allow them to interact and adjust. We ride (slowly) around the property, mostly together as the two ladies are now bonded to the point of being 'buddy-bound'. They test our 'growing' knowledge on occasion but that is to be expected.

                   

Yes, we've added a bit more to the daily routine but there's something a bit therapeutic about sifting turds and shavings into a wagon - really! There is. And horses smell pretty good too. No, I'm not a horse person now, my muck boots still outnumber my cowboy boots, there's no bling on my jeans. I have no desire to attend a horse show and the goats still rank #1 at Capra Lane. For Sierra and Rain I hope they feel safe, well fed and cared for and can benefit from being a little lazy these days. For us they've brought another level of companionship and challenge to the farm and have presented another distraction as as they contentedly stroll across the property in the rear of the house. They look quite good there.