It's been quite awhile since I wrote a farm update and a lot has happened! We've cared for a couple strays, dealt with horse injuries, bottled a baby and there's probably something I'm forgetting!
It's been staying around 20* at night and 35-40* during the day....a wonderful reprieve from the bitter cold. There is much less snow than is shown in these pictures and it is warm enough that the horses all have their blankets off...they are glad to be able to roll without the blankets!
For the horse updates, I could have used the pictures that made them look beautiful and perfect, but instead, I thought I'd show the silly side :)
It's been staying around 20* at night and 35-40* during the day....a wonderful reprieve from the bitter cold. There is much less snow than is shown in these pictures and it is warm enough that the horses all have their blankets off...they are glad to be able to roll without the blankets!
For the horse updates, I could have used the pictures that made them look beautiful and perfect, but instead, I thought I'd show the silly side :)
First up is Lena. She is our accident prone girl and about six weeks ago, Mom went out to chores to find Lena with a massive injury to her neck including a puncture that we thought went into her esophagus. The vet came out and thankfully the wound was not as serious as we at first thought, but he still had to put in a lot of stitches and she was left with a large open patch of skin.
Because of the bitter cold weather we've been having, the wound was getting frost bit so my aunt, Mary, came up to the farm and made Lena a fleece cover that wraps around her neck, then between her legs and over her back to keep dressings in place. You can see the fleece under the white blanket in Lena's photo. That has helped tremendously and the wound has shrunk quite a bit.
We never found what she injured herself on, but hopefully she'll stay out of trouble in the future!
Because of the bitter cold weather we've been having, the wound was getting frost bit so my aunt, Mary, came up to the farm and made Lena a fleece cover that wraps around her neck, then between her legs and over her back to keep dressings in place. You can see the fleece under the white blanket in Lena's photo. That has helped tremendously and the wound has shrunk quite a bit.
We never found what she injured herself on, but hopefully she'll stay out of trouble in the future!
Ashwin usually doesn't look this grumpy! I have been finding that he can be very food aggressive, a sign that he was starved at some point because it doesn't match his personality. In this photo, another horse was trying to steal his hay pile.
He has been holding up very well in this cold. He is continuing to lost his vision and it is only a matter of time before he loses it completely. Blindness is common in Appaloosa's.
He has gotten a little bit spookier than he used to be, but he generally calms down if he hears our voices. He's still a super sweet boy and Rio is very attached to him.
He has been holding up very well in this cold. He is continuing to lost his vision and it is only a matter of time before he loses it completely. Blindness is common in Appaloosa's.
He has gotten a little bit spookier than he used to be, but he generally calms down if he hears our voices. He's still a super sweet boy and Rio is very attached to him.
I was pretty worried about Smoke for awhile as she was not her usual self at all. She had no energy and tried to buck me off several times, very odd behavior for her. She doesn't handle winters very well, but she has been holding up this year. Her weight is good and her coat is shiny. She seems to have snapped out of whatever was ailing her and is doing well! We went for a ride the other day when it finally warmed up to about 15* and she was her old self!
This pretty much says it all for ole' Bannie! He spends his days eating and sleeping. He will be turning 20 this spring! It's hard to believe we've been together for 3 1/2 years already. He's still boss of the barnyard, but I think he's starting to mellow out in his old age. He's my fluffy teddy bear and my favorite if I need a cuddle!
Abby had a hoof abscess back in October and she is still trying to get over that. It re-abscessed once and then our farrier cleaned it out thoroughly and it hasn't been back, but since we had to cut away a lot of the underside of her hoof to prevent anymore infection, it hasn't hardened up completely and if she steps on something wrong, she will limp for a few days.
We are working on getting it back to normal and she should be able to ride just find this summer.
We are working on getting it back to normal and she should be able to ride just find this summer.
Rio is getting so big! He is 11 months old and with as big as he already is, he's going to be massive!! He sometimes uses his size and weight to his advantage and his worst habit is rushing the gate when I'm trying to take a horse in or out. I'm working on breaking him of that, but it's slow going!
Though he looks grown, his mind is still very much a baby. He is getting much better at leading and responding to authority. He still likes to challenge me occasionally. Now we need to start working on getting him used to being handled and saddled. That is going to be interesting!
Though he looks grown, his mind is still very much a baby. He is getting much better at leading and responding to authority. He still likes to challenge me occasionally. Now we need to start working on getting him used to being handled and saddled. That is going to be interesting!
My little goat, Sabriyah, just turned one year old a few days ago. She is nearly five months pregnant and her tentative due day is March 24th!
Somehow I always end up with destructive, chaos causing pets and Sabriyah is no exception!
I got Sabriyah when she was three days old. She had to be bottle fed every two hours and I felt like I was a mom! She lived in the house for the first six weeks of her life, wearing diapers!
I fed her, changed her diaper, soothed her to sleep and had to constantly keep her out of trouble. She took naps next to me on the couch as I worked on the computer.
She loves car rides as she was taken to work with me every day for six weeks.
She knows her name and still crawls in my lap and falls asleep whenever possible!
When we put her in the barn, she couldn't figure out what "those things" were. She thought she was a people!
Up until recently, she was too small to be kept in by the fence so whenever she heard us out in the yard, she would slip out and come visit. My grandpa denies it, but he loves her and told us more than once not to fix the fence because then she wouldn't be able to 'help' him fix equipment in the shop! I found her with streaks of grease down her back more than once, evidence that she was 'helping' him!
Somehow I always end up with destructive, chaos causing pets and Sabriyah is no exception!
I got Sabriyah when she was three days old. She had to be bottle fed every two hours and I felt like I was a mom! She lived in the house for the first six weeks of her life, wearing diapers!
I fed her, changed her diaper, soothed her to sleep and had to constantly keep her out of trouble. She took naps next to me on the couch as I worked on the computer.
She loves car rides as she was taken to work with me every day for six weeks.
She knows her name and still crawls in my lap and falls asleep whenever possible!
When we put her in the barn, she couldn't figure out what "those things" were. She thought she was a people!
Up until recently, she was too small to be kept in by the fence so whenever she heard us out in the yard, she would slip out and come visit. My grandpa denies it, but he loves her and told us more than once not to fix the fence because then she wouldn't be able to 'help' him fix equipment in the shop! I found her with streaks of grease down her back more than once, evidence that she was 'helping' him!
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This is Silas. His mother was a young ewe and didn't know how to care for him. We believe he was born premature, so even if his mother had been an experienced ewe, he probably wouldn't have made it.
So in the house he came, diapers and all! We warmed him up with bath and got some colostrum down him. We were wondering what to do with him, because he needed feedings every two-three hours and we weren't going to be home hardly at all.
Just as we were discussing what to do, we got a text from a friend saying she knew someone who wanted a bottle baby lamb and wondered if we would consider parting with Silas! The timing was perfect! They came and picked him up 36 hours after we first brought him home. He is now called Bob and has little children to love him.
So in the house he came, diapers and all! We warmed him up with bath and got some colostrum down him. We were wondering what to do with him, because he needed feedings every two-three hours and we weren't going to be home hardly at all.
Just as we were discussing what to do, we got a text from a friend saying she knew someone who wanted a bottle baby lamb and wondered if we would consider parting with Silas! The timing was perfect! They came and picked him up 36 hours after we first brought him home. He is now called Bob and has little children to love him.
This little guy was just about dead by the time Mom got to him and it took half an hour of a hot bath and stimulation to bring him around. His ears were frost bit...not badly enough to fall off I don't think, but they were very swollen. It also looked like he had been stepped on as his leg was swollen too. His color patters are gorgeous!!
He pulled through and went to the same home as Silas(Bob) and is called Junior.
He pulled through and went to the same home as Silas(Bob) and is called Junior.
Two weeks ago I found a cold, starving kitten in our barn. He was super friendly, litter box trained and very happy to be a housecat. He looked to be about six months old. We named him Casey and he stayed in the house for a week or so, but we really didn't need two house cats and he didn't fit in well with the barn cats, so we gave him to a friend who was looking for a house cat.
Then, just over a week ago, a blind and deaf hound dog showed up in our barn. We put her in our kennel and called a neighbor who has dogs and he happened to know the owner. She was tattooed so that made her easy to identify. She was back with her family the same night we found her.
So that's what has been happening on the Lotter farm the past month or so! Anything that happens seems slightly more dramatic because of the extreme cold. -20* has become the normal temp around here! You know it's bad when we walk outside at +15* and go, "Wow, it's so warm"! While I love the cold, I am excited for the warm weather, mainly so I can start riding again!! I hope to be able to post some more Lotter Funny Farm Videos of horse related activities! There is a new piece of property I just got permission to explore with the horses, so I'm excited to see what I will find there!
Then, just over a week ago, a blind and deaf hound dog showed up in our barn. We put her in our kennel and called a neighbor who has dogs and he happened to know the owner. She was tattooed so that made her easy to identify. She was back with her family the same night we found her.
So that's what has been happening on the Lotter farm the past month or so! Anything that happens seems slightly more dramatic because of the extreme cold. -20* has become the normal temp around here! You know it's bad when we walk outside at +15* and go, "Wow, it's so warm"! While I love the cold, I am excited for the warm weather, mainly so I can start riding again!! I hope to be able to post some more Lotter Funny Farm Videos of horse related activities! There is a new piece of property I just got permission to explore with the horses, so I'm excited to see what I will find there!
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