Well the snow is long gone from the ranchette and a couple of days of sunshine has allowed Remi and the others to romp and frolic in the pasture. While they kick up their heels having tons of fun, trainer mom and myself take stock of what repairs are now needed after days of stall boredom.
Remington has a particularly bad habit of kicking his gate to let us know he's hungry. In one of my first posts I described his morning wake up call to the humans which is not only annoying, but very destructive as well.
He is so darn big and heavy, that it doesn't take much repeated kicking to totally destroy a gate. And given the huge expense, there is no way to keep replacing them, so they have to constantly be repaired. Thank goodness our creative team work can usually make things last a little longer around here, or we would flat out run out of cash in no time. I love that boy, but he does break a lot of stuff.
A couple of years ago, I asked Bunny what she would like for her birthday and she told me she wanted a welder. A welder? You don't know how to weld. "I can darn well learn," she said. I had to agree it wasn't a bad idea. We were constantly calling in someone to weld this and that and it was pretty darn expensive. Hello, I'm here to weld something. Cha-ching, $75 bucks for that hello. I'll draw one or two beads here and there and charge you another huge chunk of change. After enough of that action, I decided that a welder was an excellent idea.
And she learned how to weld pretty darn quickly. Thank goodness for that, because Remi's gate has some nice rebar reinforcements securely in place to prolong it's little life and keep Remi from hurting himself. Needless to say I haven't tried to learn that task, because I'm smart enough to know that it would not be a strong suit. Besides, I'm not crazy about fire and it just wouldn't be very fun. I think I'll just stick to bending nails while I help with the repairs. :)
I am ever so grateful for the invention of duct tape. That, my friends is the universal tool. And, with all the colors it comes in now, the little ranchette is a very colorful place indeed. Let's see, we have camouflage, pink, blue and even the original gray here, there and everywhere. It's amazing how long that stuff can last and the wonderful job it does to help repair broken things left in the big destructo horse's path. When it get's a little weather worn, no problem, just slap some more on the break point and viola, you're done. Now, I can handle that :)
And don't forget the bailing wire. It does much more than hold a bale of hay together. Yes siree, bobalooie, it's amazing what Remi breaks you can fix with that. Even when we get hay bales bound with string, we find something to use that string for as well. If Remi's big head pulls down a light wire, no problem, we've got string to tie it back to the support beams. Everything, and I mean everything has potential for helping us fix that which the big horse doth break.
For those of you in the area, you know about Big Lots and for those that don't know about Big Lots, let me tell you that is one awesome store. You can go in there and find treasures you never know you needed, come out with 10 bags of great things and spend less than 50 bucks. It's a wonderful place to find the multiple rolls of duct tape, nuts, bolts, screws and other repair necessities and with that gigantic bulldozer always breaking this and that, the place is a gold mine of goodies.
My big boy is a sweetie, but he does cause a lot of extra work around here. And for the most part, he's not doing it because he's a mean spirited horse, he does it because his curiosity gets the best of him and his investigations lead to ultimate breakage of many things. We have 3 stall gates now that are welded and duct taped and have most definitely seen better days. But they are still usable and we'll just see how long we can keep them in tact.
I wouldn't trade Remi for anything in this world. And as long as he's happy and healthy, we'll just make sure there is an endless supply of duct tape, bailing wire and other assorted repair products on the premises. After all, he is Remi the destructo pony, but ya gotta love him.
Stay tuned, Stay happy and Stay with us!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Happy Birthday Remington
Well it looks like an extra treat is in store for the big boy. You see today is his birthday and there are some carrots and apples with his name on them. I am ever so grateful to have this boy around for another year and trainer mom is too.
He's brought so much joy, excitement and extreme pride to the both of us. He's also brought a lot of extra repairs, trials and tribulations as well, but I guess that's all part of raising a rather large youngster, who through the years kept growing to his current record winning height.
It's hard to believe that he was just 18 months old when he came to live at the ranchette and begin his new life here. As I look back to when I first saw this tall and gawky horse, I remember that it was love at first sight. As we drove up close to the round pen where he was, I recall the words "Oh will you just look at him" come out of my mouth.
I couldn't get out of the truck fast enough to get a close up and personal look at the horse who was destined to steal my heart. He wasn't the match for Princeton that we were looking for and he looked so pitiful with blood on his face caused by a halter that was to small. But he was beautiful and I wanted to take him home right then and there. Bunny wasn't so sure, but felt bad for him because of his poor face.
She told me we would take him home, fix him up and sell him. I nodded my head but was silently saying "yeah, sure we will" to myself. I knew that he wasn't going anywhere and for once in my life, I was right. I knew from the get go that this boy was special. There was an instant bond when he stepped on the side of my shoe trying to load into the trailer. Yep, even from the start, I had a problem steering clear of those huge hooves.
Throughout these past years, the bond with Remington has continued to deepen and grow. I feel so blessed to have this magnificent creature in my life and I always look forward to being around him. His humorous antics can always bring a smile on the darkest of days. I know that Bunny has grown to love this gigantic puppy and has done so much to get him to where he is today.
He's brought smiles to so many others and the joy he brings to those who come in contact with him is very priceless. It makes me proud to have this beautiful creature so close by and close to my heart.
So, happy birthday my sweet Remipup. May you enjoy many more years of fun and frolic and may we enjoy many more years of having you with us. I love you big boy!
Stay tuned, Stay happy and Stay with us!
He's brought so much joy, excitement and extreme pride to the both of us. He's also brought a lot of extra repairs, trials and tribulations as well, but I guess that's all part of raising a rather large youngster, who through the years kept growing to his current record winning height.
It's hard to believe that he was just 18 months old when he came to live at the ranchette and begin his new life here. As I look back to when I first saw this tall and gawky horse, I remember that it was love at first sight. As we drove up close to the round pen where he was, I recall the words "Oh will you just look at him" come out of my mouth.
I couldn't get out of the truck fast enough to get a close up and personal look at the horse who was destined to steal my heart. He wasn't the match for Princeton that we were looking for and he looked so pitiful with blood on his face caused by a halter that was to small. But he was beautiful and I wanted to take him home right then and there. Bunny wasn't so sure, but felt bad for him because of his poor face.
She told me we would take him home, fix him up and sell him. I nodded my head but was silently saying "yeah, sure we will" to myself. I knew that he wasn't going anywhere and for once in my life, I was right. I knew from the get go that this boy was special. There was an instant bond when he stepped on the side of my shoe trying to load into the trailer. Yep, even from the start, I had a problem steering clear of those huge hooves.
Throughout these past years, the bond with Remington has continued to deepen and grow. I feel so blessed to have this magnificent creature in my life and I always look forward to being around him. His humorous antics can always bring a smile on the darkest of days. I know that Bunny has grown to love this gigantic puppy and has done so much to get him to where he is today.
He's brought smiles to so many others and the joy he brings to those who come in contact with him is very priceless. It makes me proud to have this beautiful creature so close by and close to my heart.
So, happy birthday my sweet Remipup. May you enjoy many more years of fun and frolic and may we enjoy many more years of having you with us. I love you big boy!
Stay tuned, Stay happy and Stay with us!
Spring Surprise
Ah springtime, when the birds are chirping, the trees are budding and the flowers are blooming. Wonderful spring like temperatures make it so very nice to be outside tending to the lawn and other chores left undone through the winter. Ah yes, spring, isn't it wonderful?
Wait just a doggone minute, what is this I see outside on this first full day of spring? I'll tell you what it is...snow and lots of it. What the heck? All the weather forecasts called for a light dusting. Um, let me clue you guys in...wrong!!
Let me tell you when I went to let the dogs out this morning, my sleepy eyes burst wide open with astonishment. Almost 6" of snow is not what I expected to see. Good thing we've learned not to put the winter gear away until the temperature goes to a steady 75 degrees or more.
Remi as usual greeted me with his rather loud bellow which translated means, "I want my breakfast NOW!" Tank followed suit with his request and the little ones put their two cents in as well. Not quite the chirping birds, but you get the picture, right?
Ok, one cup of coffee in me to help brave the cold, sub zero weather boots on my feet and enough warm clothing to get the job done. I was up to my ankles in snow on the way to the barn and when I got there, I saw a huge snow drift in front of Remi's gate and more snow inside. Uh oh, that's not good. His hay bag was covered in snow and was a challenge to get untied.
Remi, of course was focused on the task at hand and didn't make getting the hay bag untied any easier. He decided it was fun to keep nudging me with his ginormous head and although I usually find it very cute, it did somewhat lack appeal today. Frozen hands trying to untie a frozen hay bag string and an 80lb head pushing at you is not so fun.
The wind is blowing the snow around so much that I had to close his other window. That is not a good thing because Remi likes to look out his windows and there tends to be a little more stall mischief when they are closed. And, quite truthfully, we don't like them to be closed either, because we can't monitor the big guy as well from the house.
He didn't seem to mind the small layer of snow in his stall, especially as I filled his feed bucket with breakfast. When I brought his hay bag to him, he nickered at me softly which gets me every time. Ah, my boy is so thankful for his breakfast. I am happy to oblige big guy.
I made sure to stuff extra hay in his bag. I'm not crazy, I know how much that boy eats and when the weather is like this and he's stuck in the stall, he has to have more to keep him occupied and warm. Otherwise, you all know what will happen, don't you? The Remipup will start thinking about what fun he can have in the stall and then all bets are off. This type of situation brings the decisions as to what tools and materials we will need to fix the aftermath of his self induced amusement.
So it's not quite the sweet glory of the first of spring, but my boy is happy and very involved in his hay fest. Here's hoping spring weather will actually arrive tomorrow and all will be well.
Stay tuned, Stay Happy and Stay with us!
Wait just a doggone minute, what is this I see outside on this first full day of spring? I'll tell you what it is...snow and lots of it. What the heck? All the weather forecasts called for a light dusting. Um, let me clue you guys in...wrong!!
Let me tell you when I went to let the dogs out this morning, my sleepy eyes burst wide open with astonishment. Almost 6" of snow is not what I expected to see. Good thing we've learned not to put the winter gear away until the temperature goes to a steady 75 degrees or more.
Remi as usual greeted me with his rather loud bellow which translated means, "I want my breakfast NOW!" Tank followed suit with his request and the little ones put their two cents in as well. Not quite the chirping birds, but you get the picture, right?
Ok, one cup of coffee in me to help brave the cold, sub zero weather boots on my feet and enough warm clothing to get the job done. I was up to my ankles in snow on the way to the barn and when I got there, I saw a huge snow drift in front of Remi's gate and more snow inside. Uh oh, that's not good. His hay bag was covered in snow and was a challenge to get untied.
Remi, of course was focused on the task at hand and didn't make getting the hay bag untied any easier. He decided it was fun to keep nudging me with his ginormous head and although I usually find it very cute, it did somewhat lack appeal today. Frozen hands trying to untie a frozen hay bag string and an 80lb head pushing at you is not so fun.
The wind is blowing the snow around so much that I had to close his other window. That is not a good thing because Remi likes to look out his windows and there tends to be a little more stall mischief when they are closed. And, quite truthfully, we don't like them to be closed either, because we can't monitor the big guy as well from the house.
He didn't seem to mind the small layer of snow in his stall, especially as I filled his feed bucket with breakfast. When I brought his hay bag to him, he nickered at me softly which gets me every time. Ah, my boy is so thankful for his breakfast. I am happy to oblige big guy.
I made sure to stuff extra hay in his bag. I'm not crazy, I know how much that boy eats and when the weather is like this and he's stuck in the stall, he has to have more to keep him occupied and warm. Otherwise, you all know what will happen, don't you? The Remipup will start thinking about what fun he can have in the stall and then all bets are off. This type of situation brings the decisions as to what tools and materials we will need to fix the aftermath of his self induced amusement.
So it's not quite the sweet glory of the first of spring, but my boy is happy and very involved in his hay fest. Here's hoping spring weather will actually arrive tomorrow and all will be well.
Stay tuned, Stay Happy and Stay with us!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Remi And His Carrots
Anyone who has ever had to give an animal medicine knows that it isn't always easy to get them to cooperate and do what's good for them. If we have to give the dogs a pill, it is usually disguised by wrapping it in a piece of cheese, which usually works, but doesn't always.
With the horses, you can cut out the center of a piece of carrot and stuff the pill in it and then cover it up with the piece you cut out. Easy task there, because they are so busy eating the carrot that they don't realize that there is something inside. Trainer mom came up with that idea and that's how she got Princeton to take his pills every day, which worked beautifully.
Sometimes, the treatment doesn't come in the form of a pill, but rather a shot and for the last week and a half, we have had to give Remington a shot of two different antibiotics to treat a small infection in one of his hind legs. It was pretty scary the first time, but my boy is so good that it was almost effortless.
The trick to get him to cooperate was indeed carrots. Yee haw, they are a wonderful distraction and such a tasty treat. Thank goodness Bunny isn't afraid to give the big boy the shot. If it were left up to me, I don't think I could have done it and would have run up a humongous vet bill getting him to come out and give them.
Because of Remington's size the syringe and needle were huge. I mean, I would have turned and run for the hills if I saw something like that coming at me. But it didn't seem to faze my boy one bit. As we started our trek to the barn on the day of the first shot, we were both a little nervous about it. I was armed and ready with a pocket full of carrots to help ease the situation in case a battle ensued.
My job was to hold his lead rope and distract him with the tasty delight while Bunny gave him the shot. So in the stall she went and with a big carrot chunk in hand the task began. Into his mouth went the first one, followed very quickly by the second chunk. It was done and he didn't even seem to know it happened. Whew, that was a big relief and I'm so glad his motto is "it's all about the food".
Of course, Remi knew good and well that there were more carrots in my pocket. I saved a couple for Bunny to give him since she was the one who did the deed. He started snaking his head out and popping his lips and was absolutely hysterical. Pop pop pop, c'mon gimme some more of that good stuff please. It was truly beggar pony in action.
The following day's of shots were a lot easier, but let me tell you, that boy had the routine down pat. The minute we got to the barn, his big nose came over the gate and his lips started popping like crazy. He was sticking his big head out so far that I started calling him snake face. As soon as I took the lead rope, he started lipping and slobering all over my hand. Yuk, a wet hand on a cold evening is not a fun thing. But, it's Remi slobber so I can deal with it.
Remi now thinks that every time he's in his stall and you come up to him, that there is a carrot somewhere close by and he's very busy trying to investigate my hands to see if I'm hiding one. I have to tell you, it really makes my day. It is so cute and entertaining when he does this sort of thing that it just makes a person smile.
The shots are all over now and we both hope they worked. Tonight when we put the horses up and give them their supper, there will be a carrot treat for Remi just because he's been such a good boy. None of the other horses like carrots and have spit them out on the ground, so Remi get's the treasure all by himself.
Bunny did buy some carrot flavored oaties which the other horses seem to enjoy, but not Remi. He thinks they are a sorry excuse for a carrot treat and immediately turns it into a projectile and shoots it across the gate to the ground below. He'd rather have the real thing and the real thing is what he get's.
Needless to say Remi is well loved and he gives the love right back. So, if carrots make him happy, then we are happy to give ole snake face the treat he enjoys.
Stay tuned, Stay Happy and Stay with us!
With the horses, you can cut out the center of a piece of carrot and stuff the pill in it and then cover it up with the piece you cut out. Easy task there, because they are so busy eating the carrot that they don't realize that there is something inside. Trainer mom came up with that idea and that's how she got Princeton to take his pills every day, which worked beautifully.
Sometimes, the treatment doesn't come in the form of a pill, but rather a shot and for the last week and a half, we have had to give Remington a shot of two different antibiotics to treat a small infection in one of his hind legs. It was pretty scary the first time, but my boy is so good that it was almost effortless.
The trick to get him to cooperate was indeed carrots. Yee haw, they are a wonderful distraction and such a tasty treat. Thank goodness Bunny isn't afraid to give the big boy the shot. If it were left up to me, I don't think I could have done it and would have run up a humongous vet bill getting him to come out and give them.
Because of Remington's size the syringe and needle were huge. I mean, I would have turned and run for the hills if I saw something like that coming at me. But it didn't seem to faze my boy one bit. As we started our trek to the barn on the day of the first shot, we were both a little nervous about it. I was armed and ready with a pocket full of carrots to help ease the situation in case a battle ensued.
My job was to hold his lead rope and distract him with the tasty delight while Bunny gave him the shot. So in the stall she went and with a big carrot chunk in hand the task began. Into his mouth went the first one, followed very quickly by the second chunk. It was done and he didn't even seem to know it happened. Whew, that was a big relief and I'm so glad his motto is "it's all about the food".
Of course, Remi knew good and well that there were more carrots in my pocket. I saved a couple for Bunny to give him since she was the one who did the deed. He started snaking his head out and popping his lips and was absolutely hysterical. Pop pop pop, c'mon gimme some more of that good stuff please. It was truly beggar pony in action.
The following day's of shots were a lot easier, but let me tell you, that boy had the routine down pat. The minute we got to the barn, his big nose came over the gate and his lips started popping like crazy. He was sticking his big head out so far that I started calling him snake face. As soon as I took the lead rope, he started lipping and slobering all over my hand. Yuk, a wet hand on a cold evening is not a fun thing. But, it's Remi slobber so I can deal with it.
Remi now thinks that every time he's in his stall and you come up to him, that there is a carrot somewhere close by and he's very busy trying to investigate my hands to see if I'm hiding one. I have to tell you, it really makes my day. It is so cute and entertaining when he does this sort of thing that it just makes a person smile.
The shots are all over now and we both hope they worked. Tonight when we put the horses up and give them their supper, there will be a carrot treat for Remi just because he's been such a good boy. None of the other horses like carrots and have spit them out on the ground, so Remi get's the treasure all by himself.
Bunny did buy some carrot flavored oaties which the other horses seem to enjoy, but not Remi. He thinks they are a sorry excuse for a carrot treat and immediately turns it into a projectile and shoots it across the gate to the ground below. He'd rather have the real thing and the real thing is what he get's.
Needless to say Remi is well loved and he gives the love right back. So, if carrots make him happy, then we are happy to give ole snake face the treat he enjoys.
Stay tuned, Stay Happy and Stay with us!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Mud feet - Not for the faint of heart
Just thought I would add to Cheryl's post. For those of you who have never seen what a Clydesdale's feathers look like when they have been in the mud. I took a photo after 2 hours of breaking the mud balls with a channel locks and scrubbing down the legs I couldn't do more. Each leg has about 20 lbs of mud that has mixed with hay to form something like adobe bricks. I will have to periodically break them apart just so he can walk. He is such a good boy about this that we bought him a special treat. His absolute favorite which is too rich to feed regularly but now he has his own fresh bale of the very best fresh Clover Alfalfa that gets sprinkled through his regular hay, kinda like sprinkles on an ice cream. He smells that in his hay bag and immediately starts to burrow his big nose to the center to find the mother lode.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
A New Record?
I think I can safely say that Remington should have a new record bestowed on him as the world's tallest living mud ball. He is covered from nose to hooves in splotches of mud that could just about cover the entire county.
We've had so much rain that the ranchette has never had a chance to dry up. To top that off, here came a foot of snow that may look pretty, but great googly moogly, it eventually melts and creates an even bigger and deeper mud pit.
Normally, we keep the horses in their stalls when there is this much mud so they won't have their shoes pulled off or slip and slide and hurt themselves. But with so many wet days, we just couldn't keep them inside, so mudfest 2010 began.
Remi has huge mud balls on his feathers. Trying to get them off of him is difficult to say the least. I swear they are attached as if someone welded them on. And when they do dry, it's like you have to become a sculptor to remove them without damaging his feathers. Some of them are as big as 4" long and 2" wide. Poor trainer mom spent a lot of time bending over with a pair of channel locks to see if she could get them off and let me tell you, they weren't budging easily.
Tank, the white Percheron is no longer white and looks like a Dalmatian, and the little paint pair now have a whole new color pattern. What a mess. It's been to chilly to even think about bathing any of them, so for now we have the horses of different colors and are just dealing with it.
My precious mud ball and I did have a few moments of fun though. When I opened his gate to put him up for the day, he came up and pushed it closed with his nose. Nuh uh, I'm not going in. So, I opened it back up and said, c'mon Remipup, time for supper so go in your room. I swear I could see a grin on his face as he pushed the gate closed again. I'm snickering big time at his cuteness and once again opened the gate. Down went his head and right as his nose came close to the metal poised and ready to shove, I said REMIPUP, get in your room. Up went the head and he looked at me like I was grounding him for the night.
So in the stall he went with mud balls clacking on his hooves to a rather snappy beat and he circled around and stood right by his feed bucket. Ok, I'm in and you said supper, so where is it? Geeze, gimme a minute Mr. bossy :) So off I went to get his supper and hay bag and all was well with the world of Remi.
I am thrilled to see him in a playful mood again. It's been a while since we've had our fun times and it does my heart good to see him have a happy day. That's the Remipup I love. I did try to get some video of Remi romping in the snow to share with you all. With camera pointed and ready to capture the action, trainer mom opened the gate so he could come out and play. Needless to say, he sauntered out and was absolutely bored with it. WHAT? So alas, I have no Remi fun snow moments to share. Betcha if I didn't have the camera, he would have been kicking his heels up big time. Oh well, maybe next time.
There's more rain and snow predicted so mudfest 2010 will continue for awhile. I guess we'll have to do some thinking on how we can remove the mounds of mud from feet and fur when the sun and warmer weather returns to the ranchette. Any one have a chisel they want to donate to the cause?
Stay tuned, Stay Happy and Stay with us!
We've had so much rain that the ranchette has never had a chance to dry up. To top that off, here came a foot of snow that may look pretty, but great googly moogly, it eventually melts and creates an even bigger and deeper mud pit.
Normally, we keep the horses in their stalls when there is this much mud so they won't have their shoes pulled off or slip and slide and hurt themselves. But with so many wet days, we just couldn't keep them inside, so mudfest 2010 began.
Remi has huge mud balls on his feathers. Trying to get them off of him is difficult to say the least. I swear they are attached as if someone welded them on. And when they do dry, it's like you have to become a sculptor to remove them without damaging his feathers. Some of them are as big as 4" long and 2" wide. Poor trainer mom spent a lot of time bending over with a pair of channel locks to see if she could get them off and let me tell you, they weren't budging easily.
Tank, the white Percheron is no longer white and looks like a Dalmatian, and the little paint pair now have a whole new color pattern. What a mess. It's been to chilly to even think about bathing any of them, so for now we have the horses of different colors and are just dealing with it.
My precious mud ball and I did have a few moments of fun though. When I opened his gate to put him up for the day, he came up and pushed it closed with his nose. Nuh uh, I'm not going in. So, I opened it back up and said, c'mon Remipup, time for supper so go in your room. I swear I could see a grin on his face as he pushed the gate closed again. I'm snickering big time at his cuteness and once again opened the gate. Down went his head and right as his nose came close to the metal poised and ready to shove, I said REMIPUP, get in your room. Up went the head and he looked at me like I was grounding him for the night.
So in the stall he went with mud balls clacking on his hooves to a rather snappy beat and he circled around and stood right by his feed bucket. Ok, I'm in and you said supper, so where is it? Geeze, gimme a minute Mr. bossy :) So off I went to get his supper and hay bag and all was well with the world of Remi.
I am thrilled to see him in a playful mood again. It's been a while since we've had our fun times and it does my heart good to see him have a happy day. That's the Remipup I love. I did try to get some video of Remi romping in the snow to share with you all. With camera pointed and ready to capture the action, trainer mom opened the gate so he could come out and play. Needless to say, he sauntered out and was absolutely bored with it. WHAT? So alas, I have no Remi fun snow moments to share. Betcha if I didn't have the camera, he would have been kicking his heels up big time. Oh well, maybe next time.
There's more rain and snow predicted so mudfest 2010 will continue for awhile. I guess we'll have to do some thinking on how we can remove the mounds of mud from feet and fur when the sun and warmer weather returns to the ranchette. Any one have a chisel they want to donate to the cause?
Stay tuned, Stay Happy and Stay with us!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Remi-Tude Part 3
Howdy faithful followers. I'm sorry it's been so long between posts. As much as you enjoy reading about Remi's adventures, I enjoy sharing them with you. I feel like I have been suffering blog posting withdrawal. My job has been keeping me so busy that I don't get home until after dark and my time with Remington has been limited. That also leads to very little antics to witness and write about, even though trainer mom keeps me posted.
For those of you wondering about the new horse, well let's just say it didn't happen and we were left with an empty trailer and a very lonesome Remi still not eating. But, take heart, with hope and faith, all things are possible, and human kindness is still around us.
When some friends of ours heard that Remington was not eating and was not doing well, they offered to let us take one of their horses to keep him company until we could secure another horse. And, this horse has a story of his own. It seems that he was abandoned and our friends were contacted and kind enough to take him in and care for him.
Knowing that we needed to do something quick to lift Remington's spirits, Bunny and I took our friends up on their generous offer and off she went to bring him back to the ranchette. He is a sweet, lovable and very huge white Percheron whom we have affectionately nicknamed Tank because of his massive size. I mean he is about as round as he is tall.
We both had high hopes that Remington would take to him quickly, and let's just say that process is taking time. Oh sure, Remi bellowed with joy and nickered when Bunny led Tank down to the stall. It was dark thirty, so the boys couldn't interact right away. But as soon as Tank was in his stall, Remi went to eating his hay like he hadn't been fed in days. Ok, there's a good sign, but wait, the plot thickens and Remi-Tude is about to show itself once again.
It seems that Remi is practicing his right of passage as the new herd leader. He's making it very apparent that the pasture is his, the hay is his and the people who live here are his. Hey now, that's not nice ya big lugnut. You know how to share, remember?
Tank follows him around to get to know him, and Remi will pin his ears back and shake his head back and forth with big Tude and then walk away. A few times, he would take a nip or two at Tank, who just basically took it, until one nip too many turned into, I'm not taking it anymore and I'm gonna bite you back! Well howdy, whatcha gonna do about that one big boy, huh? He's trying to be friends and you're being a big jerk. What the heck is wrong with you?
Remi is back to not talking to either one of us and we keep hoping that with a little more time, he'll come to accept his new pasture buddy. He won't come up to me right now and he won't let me hug on his neck or kiss his nose. Guess he's mad at me for not seeing him much in the last two weeks. I don't have any idea how long this snit fit is going to last, but somewhere lurking inside Mr. Tude is my sweet boy and neither one of us is giving up on bringing him back from the dark place where he seems to be at the moment. I know he's in there, I have the faith.
He's not being mean really, he's just letting the new kid know that it's his rules applying now. Much like Princeton did to him when he first came to live here.
We don't know how long Tank will be here. If the dadgum rain will ever quit long enough for Bunny to put a harness on him and drive him, as well as see if he'll lift his feet for shoeing, then maybe we'll know more. He's really a very sweet boy who's come to realize that neck scritchin' is wonderful and humans can be nice to be around. We both like him alot although his curiosity can make him quite the pest sometimes.
In the meantime, we'll keep trying to get Remi back to his normal sweet self. I don't know how long an animal can mourn and we're both taking into consideration that his herd has left him and he doesn't understand why. We'll both continue to coax him up to us for a hug and a nose kiss and exercise the patience necessary to help him through this. I suppose we just need to let instinct and horse nature take it's course and see if he'll accept Tank into his herd of one all by himself. Let's hope so.
Stay tuned, Stay happy and Stay with us.
For those of you wondering about the new horse, well let's just say it didn't happen and we were left with an empty trailer and a very lonesome Remi still not eating. But, take heart, with hope and faith, all things are possible, and human kindness is still around us.
When some friends of ours heard that Remington was not eating and was not doing well, they offered to let us take one of their horses to keep him company until we could secure another horse. And, this horse has a story of his own. It seems that he was abandoned and our friends were contacted and kind enough to take him in and care for him.
Knowing that we needed to do something quick to lift Remington's spirits, Bunny and I took our friends up on their generous offer and off she went to bring him back to the ranchette. He is a sweet, lovable and very huge white Percheron whom we have affectionately nicknamed Tank because of his massive size. I mean he is about as round as he is tall.
We both had high hopes that Remington would take to him quickly, and let's just say that process is taking time. Oh sure, Remi bellowed with joy and nickered when Bunny led Tank down to the stall. It was dark thirty, so the boys couldn't interact right away. But as soon as Tank was in his stall, Remi went to eating his hay like he hadn't been fed in days. Ok, there's a good sign, but wait, the plot thickens and Remi-Tude is about to show itself once again.
It seems that Remi is practicing his right of passage as the new herd leader. He's making it very apparent that the pasture is his, the hay is his and the people who live here are his. Hey now, that's not nice ya big lugnut. You know how to share, remember?
Tank follows him around to get to know him, and Remi will pin his ears back and shake his head back and forth with big Tude and then walk away. A few times, he would take a nip or two at Tank, who just basically took it, until one nip too many turned into, I'm not taking it anymore and I'm gonna bite you back! Well howdy, whatcha gonna do about that one big boy, huh? He's trying to be friends and you're being a big jerk. What the heck is wrong with you?
Remi is back to not talking to either one of us and we keep hoping that with a little more time, he'll come to accept his new pasture buddy. He won't come up to me right now and he won't let me hug on his neck or kiss his nose. Guess he's mad at me for not seeing him much in the last two weeks. I don't have any idea how long this snit fit is going to last, but somewhere lurking inside Mr. Tude is my sweet boy and neither one of us is giving up on bringing him back from the dark place where he seems to be at the moment. I know he's in there, I have the faith.
He's not being mean really, he's just letting the new kid know that it's his rules applying now. Much like Princeton did to him when he first came to live here.
We don't know how long Tank will be here. If the dadgum rain will ever quit long enough for Bunny to put a harness on him and drive him, as well as see if he'll lift his feet for shoeing, then maybe we'll know more. He's really a very sweet boy who's come to realize that neck scritchin' is wonderful and humans can be nice to be around. We both like him alot although his curiosity can make him quite the pest sometimes.
In the meantime, we'll keep trying to get Remi back to his normal sweet self. I don't know how long an animal can mourn and we're both taking into consideration that his herd has left him and he doesn't understand why. We'll both continue to coax him up to us for a hug and a nose kiss and exercise the patience necessary to help him through this. I suppose we just need to let instinct and horse nature take it's course and see if he'll accept Tank into his herd of one all by himself. Let's hope so.
Stay tuned, Stay happy and Stay with us.
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