Those Tiresome and Sometimes Nasty Chores

[Donald Redux]

There's the never ending clean up of course. However, being an organic gardener all my life (from age six) I welcome the fertilizer that my horses provide.

And in nice weather I find it somewhat meditative stall and stable yard cleaning. Now with my own larger paddock both are out more of course, and I probably won't do much paddock cleaning but rather work out a system using my big riding tractor rotary mower to smash and scatter the droppings out there.

In winter though they are in a lot, and the only shelter I currently have are their stalls. We have serious winter here in terms of rain, sleet, snow, so I keep the doors open for them to choose whether or not to stay indoors. I do entice them out with their daily hay ration and both are happy to stand out in the weather eating.

Altea, for that matter, seems to prefer the out of doors no matter.

She'll only come to her stall if all the feed is gone and there are not elk around to watch. She's such a tourist at times.

And over of course this is when the lions start getting more hungry as the snow covers up more of their territory and the bunnies and other small critters have a better chance of escaping them.

Lots of extra stall cleaning in winter

But no, that's not the nastiest of chores.

Immunization time is. I'm not bothered much by needles for myself. And over the years I've given more shoots to horses than I could possibly count, yet, yet ... with Bonnie it's different.

I'm always a little nervous, anxious, when I have to poke her with needles. Partly it's her reaction. She is very upset by it, even to the point of bucking and kicking on rear end pokes, and jumping about for neck pokes too.

Yesterday morning it was time for three syringes of vaccine. Not a happy moment.

Rather than turn Bonnie and her mother out to the paddock for their breakfast I stuffed haybags and hung them in the stalls for them. Something to occupy Bonnie.

Most horses, I've found, once the needle is in settle right down. Not Bonnie. She can feel it, she hates it, and she is going to "get that biting fly off her butt."

So she kicks, and she runs back and forth, and she kicks, and she bucks, and she kicks.

It's an interesting challenge staying out from under her.

With all the kicking I wondered if she would eventually connect with me.

Soon I noticed an interesting pattern going on. She would kick under her hind end passed by me, she contue moving but not kicking, and as soon as I was no longer in range she commence with her kicking again.

It's not like she hasn't kicked me before. Twice when she was much younger, but both times with provocation entirely my fault.

Now, more mature, she's becoming like her mother, very caring of the poor frail humans she must deal with.

Yes, I got the vaccines into her. None in the rear, all three in the neck.

Soon I'll have my trailer fit for travel and next time she gets vaccines the vet can do it.