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"That Chick makes me tired just watchin' her. I think I need a nap . . ."

Even though she is a driving horse. I REALLY bought Ona because you can do THIS on her!

We're not quite sure if she is broke to ride. Leg aids appear to be a foreign language to her.  But she is so easy-going that you can sit on her back and just veg out while she munches.  Yesterday the kids came down for a visit.

 The Supervisor hopped on Ona to survey her little kingdom.

 The Kingdom met with her approval.

 Ona wasn't bothered in the least bit by her tiny passenger.

And THAT measures the True Value of a horse.

Sunday Afternoon Drive!

We hitched Ona and her old pairs partner, Magic, together again.  They haven't worked as a team in almost 3 years.  What a cute pair!

Magic on the left. Ona on the right.

For those of you who asked about George the chicken: The hen survived her ordeal with the Very Loving Slobbery White Dog. As far as we can see, she hasn't been in the back yard since.

Yesterday Yours Truly bought a present for herself. (cuz my 4Runner has 232,737 miles on it!) It's used!  (cuz I'm cheap and don't like to pay New Truck prices!)  I'm so excited!  I haven't had a new used truck in forever! 

Look!

   Ain't she purrty!

Look from this angle!

 Makes a farmgirl's heart go pitty-pat!

Note:  You have to buy the Border Collie and the hay separately.

Disclaimer: Border Collie is NEVER allowed to ride in the back of the truck anywhere but around the pasture.  Despite the obvious fact that it's a safety issue, Border Collie likes her leather seats and air conditioning.

I cannot begin to tell you how much fun it is to learn draft horse skills when you have an experienced horse.  Ona never gets flustered when I fumble getting her harness on and off.  Those suckers are HEAVY. Fortunately my horse is short. Gently hoisting that harness onto her back is tricky and I cannot imagine trying to harness one of the Percherons by myself. 

Yesterday we had our first lesson in pulling a log.  I worried that since Ona had been a carriage horse, this might not be something she was familiar with, but I shouldn't have had concerns.  She was a champ and made me look like I knew what I was doing. 

 No, this is not us pulling the log.  I wanted to get pictures but Other Half argued that we had around 200 pictures from the day before and we did NOT need pictures of Ona pulling the log. (Now I wish he had taken them!)

In reality, although I call it a log, it's actually a long pole with an eye hook in the end. The weight isn't necessary because she's out of shape, and I just need something for her to pull while I practice my driving. There are real cut trees out there that we'll work our way up to when she's in better shape and I feel more confident!

That shouldn't take too long, Ona is a patient mare and a wonderful teacher!

This was a BIG weekend. I got my first taste of driving draft horses. (Princess LIKES driving draft horses - A LOT!) I have driven all manner of motorized vehicles and Friends & Neighbors, none can begin to compare to the raw power of holding two 2200 lb horses in your hands.  And I'm not talking about Dobbin the sedate plow horse, I'm talking "pick up the reins, cluck and off you go at a Budweiser Clydesdale trot" - RAW POWER! 

I think Doug and Debbie Halford are drug dealers. But instead of dealing cocaine, they're getting people hooked on draft horses. 

 The addiction begins!

They live down the road from us, and I often see them driving their team through the neighborhood.  I made the mistake one day about a month ago of stopping to inform them that "some day" I'd like to get a draft pony and learn to drive.  "Some Day" after my 30 year old stallion passes away, "Some Day" when I have less farm animals, "Some Day" when I have more time, I wanted to get a draft pony to drive and help out with farm chores.  I envisioned something that could help haul hay, pull downed trees, etc. In essence, I wanted an equine 4wheeler that always started in cold weather.  I wanted this Some Day. One week later I had a Haflinger.  I'm still not quite sure how it happened.

She had once been a marathon driving horse, but had been put out to pasture and with a steady diet of alfalfa, sweet feed, lush grass, and the ever present round bale, she had ballooned to a whopping 1600 lbs.  Egaads!  Her fat rolls have fat rolls. but underneath all that plumpness is the calmest, most adorable, well-trained little mare.  Doug and Debbie assured us that they would help us every step along the way.  So we bought Ona, and they bought her driving partner, a delightful little gelding named Magic.

After two weeks on not much but hay and pasture, Ona "might" have lost a little weight. She still needs to get back in shape.  I need to learn how to drive. It's a good way to start slow.  Hot summer days + Fat Horse + Novice Driver = Education Without Excitement. (always a plus when you're dealing with a 1600 lb animal!)

Yesterday we had our first lesson.  We trailered over to Doug and Debbie's.  When Ona gets in better shape, the plan is to bareback her over there, but for now, Hot Fat Chicks ride in the horse trailer.

Doug started off ground driving her. No problemo.  She hadn't forgotten anything.  Then I drove her.  I have a hard time remembering that GEE is pronounced like "Gee Whiz" and not "Git 'er done!"  Ona is very forgiving.

Doug then hooked Ona to a small wagon that he uses with the percherons.  Ona was certain that it was far too heavy for little fat ponies.  Debbie and I had to get in the back and push the wagon a couple of times. 

 "This sucker is heavy!"

 "Hey! Y'all in the back, gimme a push!"

 "Heeeavy"

 "I think I can.  I think I can. . . "

We later hooked Ona's partner, Magic, to the same wagon.  He had no problem pulling the little wagon.  Fat Chick is just Out Of Shape!  I have ordered my Other Half to stop making fat jokes and ragging on my little fat pony.  Yeah right. I know. She is fat.  But nevertheless, it is easy to see that she is worth her weight in gold as a teacher.  And that really is what matters.  And until she gets back in shape, we'll have her pull something a little lighter! 

Thus begins an addiction.  So forget about sports cars, speedboats, and tractor pulls.  If you want to experience REAL power - drive draft horses!

The Enforcer used to be my Cadaver Dog. Like the little boy in Sixth Sense, Kona "sees dead people."  After I quit doing Human Remains searches, he was without an official job. But a dog with his kind of drive to work can never truly be without a job.  He quickly became Odd Job Bob, always looking for things he could do to help out.  One of his best chores is "go find Mommy's keys."  This is a VERY USEFUL SKILL.  In a nutshell, this means go search the pasture for ANYTHING that smells like Mommy and bring it back.  This is handy for retrieving sunglasses, tools, KEYS, and lately . . . flymasks!

  The flies are bad right now.  I was late getting my fly predators out and when I did, Mom's chickens ate them, thus, I'm having to wait until my next shipment arrives to get them out again!  The flies really like Ona and the Minis.  Each morning I put on flymasks.  Each evening there are three flymasks lying in the pasture.  That's where a good dog is handy.

"Go find Mommy's keys!"

 He salutes and heads out to the pasture.

 It doesn't take him long to snag the scent,

  Zero in,

 fetch it up,

  and hit the pond.

Kona is still in kidney failure. We aren't fooling ourselves.  He has already lived longer than the vet projected. I won't keep him on daily IV fluids because he hates it. As long as he's eating and holding it down, we'll just let him be.  He's happy.  The heat is hard on him, but he is determined to go outside and work anyway.  I've been told that with his kidney failure, he can end up having a massive heart attack. He should probably stay inside in the air conditioning, but he wants to keep working.  When I leave him in the house, he screams and rips the molding off the door.  (YES!  He does!  BEAST! Think about those kinds of things when you want a high-drive dog!) So we let him work.  He'll die happy. 

As many of you may well remember, last winter New Police Dog got into a isolation pen with three new sheep. 

  "I was never convicted of that!"

 They were already wormy and skinny.  After the dog got in there, two of them had bigger problems.

 Roanie's leg the next day.  Hamburger

We stitched them both up and treated them with daily shots of antibiotics for weeks. Roanie's injuries were actually greater than Jamaica's. Unfortunately despite the fact that she'd been innoculated, Jamaica contracted tetanus and had to be euthanized.  The vet recommended that we toss Roanie out with the rest of the flock where she would have to travel and compete for food, but would have sunshine and company.  I had my doubts, but without Jamaica, Roanie was alone. So we put her in with the rest of the flock. Alone, her chances didn't look good anyway.  We were ready to try anything.

  By then, the flesh was falling off her leg and you could actually see daylight through it. We discussed euthanizing her, but held off because she had fought so hard to live.  The first day we put her out with the flock, she met the Livestock Guardian Puppy, Briar.  After Roanie's recent experience with dogs, I was concerned.

 I shouldn't have been.  Briar proved to be a canine Florence Nightingale. The ewe gravitated to the dog.  She was safe with the dog. The dog had a patient to fuss over and protect.

 Roanie thrived with the flock. Over time, new pink flesh filled in the empty spaces.

 Today the flesh is back, the hide is back, and she is using the leg again.  The leg is about an inch shorter than the others, but she is easily able to keep up with the flock.  With her winter wool shedding, it is easy to see how skinny she still is, but she is happy and will be able to survive as a normal sheep.

Not all dogs are bad.  Some dogs can even turn out to be a sheep's best friend.

 When I was in high school, my class put on the musical, "Annie Get Your Gun."  A lot of the songs stuck with me.  In particular, I recall Annie singing to her suitor, "Anything, you can do, I can do better." 

I haven't thought of that song in years, but it cropped up in my head last night, and like the theme from Gilligan's Island, it won't leave. I thought of the song as poor Lily, my beloved Border Collie, sat on the 4Wheeler and watched Blue Heeler and Cowdog work the cows.  It hurt her.  She was a good girl, and she stayed where she was told, but it hurt.  She CAN do the job.  She IS better than the boys. 

I give you State's Exhibit 1 -

  She IS as tough as the boys.

I give you State's Exhibit 2 -

  She is as brave as the boyz.

I give you State's Exhibit 3 -

 She is as fast as the boyz.

AND . . . she listens and does as she's told!

Lily CAN do everything better than the boys.

So like Lily, you may be asking why this talented pup is forced to sit on the bench while 2nd String talent gets to work.

  "WHY???"

The answer lies with me.  I just love her too much to let her get hurt.  She is my sheepdog.  She is my goatdog.  She is my best friend. Because of that, she can sit outside and watch the boyz swing from the cows' tails and sing the song, "Anything you can do, I can do better!"

And every time I see her plaintive little eyes, begging me to let her play, I'll hear that song in my head.

Look closely and you'll see why Other Half spent an hour out in the hot sun yesterday.

 (note the slobber all over the window)

I was at work when I got the call.  "Cowboy locked me out of the truck!"

Fortunately the truck was running.  Fortunately the air conditioner was on.  Fortunately MY Border Collie was locked up safety at home.  So fortunately, it wasn't my problem.  (evil grin)