Running & Eating, Eating & Running

It is what horses do best right! So much fun to watch as well and the track has definitely gotten its use the last few days while the horses have enjoyed being out on it. 

 

Now I am trying to figure out the best ways to feed the two of them. I use a round bale and I also keep some square bales around that they like best because it its timothy instead of the plain grass hay that the big bales are made of. The problem with the timothy bales is that they are very expensive but they do give them more encouragement to walk the track. So what I have been doing is mixing a little timothy in with some grass hay and seems to work.

I have also seen more destruction and waist with the two of them at the bale. To combat this I have decided to keep the round bale covered and put a bulk amount in small mesh bags. 

Really, your going to cover it? Such a perfect Frankie look!

I am also putting some loose hay on the ground along the track. Munchie will eat out of the nets but he rather not work so hard, he wants quick and easy! It is more work for me and if I have a day that is too busy I will simply let them at the round bale. The waste is just proving to be too much if they are allowed to be on it all the time.

I would like to build some more feeders but that will have to wait. I have five of the small mesh hay bags and I use all of them. There is also the barrel and I want to put up one more. I really would like to also get a bag of hay cubes but our local place only has alfalfa cubes. There is one other place I will check to see if they have the plain timothy cubes.

Been A Long Time

Emma, a member of our family for two and a half years.

I have not posted in a long time and now that so many changes have happened I thought it time to update. On a very sad note our beloved Emma died on the 28th of December. She became sick with a disease called bloat and the vet could not save her. She was a big part of our family and I am heartbroken to have lost her. We buried her that Friday morning on the track down by the creek, a very lovely spot I think.

I was not sure what to do for Frankie as he was moping around and obviously lonely. I did not have the heart to try to find another goat that would work for our family right now. Fortunately for us I have a very good friend who was downsizing her heard and offered us her pony Munchkin. Munch is a 10 year old, Welsh Pony gelding, standing at 11.2 hands!

Munchkin is now a member of our family and we are very happy to have him. Tomorrow marks his second week with us and he and Frankie have settled in quite nicely. I let them on the track yesterday for the first time because the snow and rain had created so much mud I was afraid of an accident. The track needed some work done on it as well and I needed to block off the second half where Emma is buried until the ground is safe for them to be on. They had a blast on the track, running, running and more running. I will update with photos from this weekend.