The Calmer Side of Equines

After yesterday's post about Sid's nose injury...

(oh and I loved the comment about how perhaps 

he was just trying to get a nose job out of the incident!)

I thought I would show you 

the calmer side of the Bee Haven Acres equines.

That would be little Miss Scarlett.

She's our little Princess!

After a bit of a rough start,

(when we called her Little Miss Bossy Pants)

she has become the sweetest little girl.

No (night)mare-ish behavior,

she is calm and easy to handle.

I caught her the other morning

(her usual nap time)

lounging and rolling...

way too cute!

There's nothing like a good stretch.... 

followed by a chin scratching.....

Except perhaps a back scratch...

OK, back up on all fours

and on with the day's business!

***********

I got an update on Sid from Becky...

Aside from looking a bit like Jimmy Durante,

Sid is doing pretty well!

Have a wonderful Autumn weekend.

If you live in the northeast, it should be a beautiful one!

Help!.....

Do we turn the clocks back this weekend????

See you Monday with more Tails From the Farm.

Oh, and Happy Halloween from Hickory 

and the rest of the gang!

Sid's Debacle

Last evening as I sat down to prepare today's blog post,

I received a call from Becky.

( I must warn you that graphic photos will follow.

If you have a weak stomach,

turn back now!)

"I have tomorrow's blog post for you",

she said,

"Sid has torn off half of his nose...

I am getting ready to stitch him up."

Heart racing, I jumped into the gator and headed to Becky's barn.
Hubbs followed soon after.

There was Sid, in the aisle,

sedated,

bleeding from his nose...

which was gaping open.

Apparently he stuck his nose somewhere it did not belong,

and when he went to pull his nose out,

he removed a large flap of skin.

Becky worked for quite some time,

stitching him back together...

not an easy task,

as he had torn right through his right nostril.

Hubbs held the light,

I held Sid still,

Becky stitched, and stitched and stitched.

When she was done,

his nose looked amazingly good.

Sprayed with a protectant....

I suggested she spray an "L" on his forehead for "loser".

(joking)

She sprayed an "X"...
for extraordinarily stupid, I think.

Sid should heal up nicely.
The tissue was very bloody...a good sign.
Becky will keep a close eye on it over the next few days.

It is amazing, that Sid should do something so stupid.
Becky's barn is as safe as safe could be.
She is extraordinarily cautious about hazardous conditions.
But still, Sid found some place he shouldn't stick his nose.

I always say that for as big as these animals are,
they are amazingly fragile!

Whoever coined the phrase "healthy as a horse"
obviously didn't know horses.

Oh My Aching Head!

Testosterone.

Even the name sounds masculine.

It's a crazy hormone....

that makes males do crazy things.

If you have been reading my blog, you already know

that it is "dating" season amongst the fainting goats.

Breeding pairs are housed together for a few days.

After adequate "courting", we return the bucks and does

to their respective yards.

Each time a buck returns to his yard,

there is a day of "war"...

to once again establish the caprine hierarchy.

You'd think they would remember who is boss,

and just keep the status quo.

But no,

they have to go head to head 

and knock each other silly (and bloody)

until dominance is established.

The other day, these guys spent 8 solid hours

beating each other over the head

until battered and bloody.

I can only imagine the headaches they must have all had.

(Make sure your sound is up for the full "impact"!)

This film was brought to you by our sponsor....
 Testosterone!!

The funny thing is,

once all the fighting is finished,

they go back to being buddies again.

You'd think they would skip the violence and 

avoid the bloodshed.

After all, the end result is still the same.

Fainting Fred

Finally, 

frisky, friendly Fred faints!

(Forgive the frightful alliteration.)

We have been trying for weeks to get Fred's fainting picture

for his registration.

With the possibility of his mating with Sissy,

it is even more important that he be registered.

We had tried everything.

Throwing the horses' play ball at him,

raising umbrellas near him,

running and shouting at him,

you name it....

we tried it!

Each time we'd try,

he would either look at us like we were crazy,

or he would stiffen up....

but with feet firmly planted,

he would just not fall over.

I had planned on writing today's post as a plea

for ideas on how to make him "faint".

None needed now, however.

Yesterday Becky suggested she run at him with a tarp

flying in the air.

That did the trick.

He stiffened up....

And fell to the ground.

Good job, Fred!

Now we can stop pestering you.

For that, you get a cracker!

And one for the audience, too!

Oh, how Hickory loves treats!

A Love Story

This is Sid.

Sidney.

Sidney is a 5 year old, off-the-track thoroughbred,

that Becky brought home to the farm this past Spring.

(Becky or "Dr. Becky" is Hubbs sister, and shares our farmland.)

When Sid arrived he was underweight, injured...

a very sad horse who had never enjoyed the pleasure of being

out in a pasture.

He had been housed in a stall,

raced,

then put back in a stall.

He had never learned how wonderful life truly is.

Sid has spent the past several months under Becky's loving care,

learning how to be a horse again....

learning the meaning of joy.

His days are filled with wonder and adventure

and 

just

being

a

 horse.

Becky bought him with the hopes that he could become her

cross country eventing horse.

He has spent the last few months learning how to slow down,

to be calm,

to forget the race.

He has embraced what Becky has taught him and risen to the challenge.

He is kind and willing and eager to please.

He does whatever Becky asks him to do....

all wariness replaced by trust.

Best of all, he has a sense of humor!

The two of them are a team.

And this is just be beginning of a beautiful story.

A love story.

PS.....I did a photo shoot of the two of them

which you can view as a slide show....

HERE.

Happiness

This video is for Sam's daddy (my son Andy).
(and for you, too, dear readers!)

If you have been following my blog, you will know 

that Sam came to live on the farm 2 weeks ago.

His daddy just rented an apartment...

and Sam needs room to run.

His daddy calls often to see how Sam is getting along.

Is Sam happy on the farm?

Well, here, dear Andy is your answer.....

Sam is having a blast!

And so is TomTom!!

Hope your weekend is full of Autumn's splendor.

Take a walk on crunchy leaves if you get a chance!

You never know what you might see!

All Creatures Great and Small

This is why I carry a camera with me all of the time. 

Heartwarming scenes like this happen every day

here on the farm.

Carrying my camera helps me to take the time

to notice.

To notice how gentle and loving our animals are...

all of them.

They all live in a peaceful world, free from fear.

They all accept each other as brothers.

These animals, 

who in the wild would be predator and prey,

live in perfect harmony.

This is my world.

It's simple, it's quiet, it's reverently beautiful.

I am constantly in awe of the gentle spirits of the 

souls I have the honor of caring for.

This is my world.

Thanks for stopping by to share it with me.

All Dressed Up.....

......and no where to go.

At least not for a while.

That describes our fainting bucks, Chip and his son, Skip.

Their buddies are out of the pen,

hanging

with the ladies!

It is dating season,

but not for Chip and Skip.

Their time is coming...

later this Fall.

And believe me, you don't have to get very close to them

to know that they are ready and eager for their time.

For now, though, they spend their days looking longingly

at the does who are housed about 100 yards away.

Meanwhile, Fred has been courting Sissy.

He is much smaller than she is,

so we are hoping he will be able to get the job done.

I have thought about putting a step stool in their pen.

Let's just say that several attempts have been made.

Time will tell.

Smoochie and O'Malley have been cohabiting, also.

We are pretty sure they have bred.

Again....

time will tell.

********************

I wanted to thank all of you who left me your opinions yesterday 

on our turkey debate.

You all offered a lot of "food" for thought!

If we decide to eat them, we will not do the butchering ourselves,

but will have a neighbor, who is a butcher, do it.

We have ordered organic local turkeys in the past,

however they are quite pricey.

(Totally worth the price, though...as the taste is superb!)

It makes sense to me that if we are going to eat turkey,

we should eat birds that have had good lives.

The question remains.....

but I will surely let you know our decision when that day comes!

**********************

I have not talked about my rooster, Rod Stewart, in a couple of months.

I am happy to report that his tail is starting to re-grow.

Hallelujah!

Rod is singing a happy song these days!!

There is no story to this next picture,

however, I am always amazed at how all the species

on our farm mingle without fear of each other.

Hickory loves to check out the chicken pen...

looking for scraps of food that the chickens might have missed.

NO chance of that, Hickory!

Have a great day,

and thanks for stopping by the farm!

Come back to see us again!