Stalled…

28 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Gentleman Farming, Horses

Tags

best laid plans, collateral damage, damn flies, embarrassment, farm chores, farrier, front-end loader, heat wave, horse stalls, kubota, quarter horses, taylor pittsburgh mower deck

blissfully unaware…

I had big plans for the day, which really were no plans, perhaps do some fishing, get my sailboat out, chase a golf ball, float in the pool. Instead, as the heat index reached 100 (that’s about 38 degrees for my Celsius friends), I found myself shoveling dirt in a horse stall.

the problem…

With our farrier making his monthly, bimonthly, six-weekly, visit tomorrow, I found myself under the gun to get the main run-in stall back in decent enough repair that I could hold reins and not be terribly embarrassed by the condition of the barn.

You see, the flies this time of year bother my boys terribly. Hell, wouldn’t you be? The damn flies bother me terribly too, but I least I can scoot into blessed air conditioning when the going gets too tough. No such luck for the horses, so what they do is paw up dust to keep the bugs away. Paw enough when you’re big enough and soon enough there’s a mighty fine hole in the ground and a mighty fine weekend of plans of doing nothing much goes bye-bye.

on the mower…

through the woods…

future barn dirt…

loaded up…

dropped off…

shoveled out…

the end result, one stall, one side…

collateral damage…

Bear with me, just a few more comments. The whole job would have been easier with a backhoe, instead of the front-end loader, but I am too cheap to buy one, and have no place to store it if I did own one. It is amazing how tight a barn stall can get, especially when you’re on top of a tractor. Things might have been easier if I had taken off the mower deck, too lazy, too hot, too bothered…

I’ll Work for Play

06 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Gentleman Farming, Horses

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

farm chores, riding, south georgia room, tools

The problem…

Even in our little bit of paradise, things break down, and chores must be done. Here, at Totem Hall, we do those chores; we have quite consciously made it a point not to hire staff. When, for instance, boards on our board fence break down, off I go.

Supervisor…

I must admit to not being the brightest of light bulbs and I am okay with that. Consequently, it took me several years to come up with a way to handle broken down fencing on my own.

Tools of the trade…

The first insight was using the C-clamp, rather than trying to wrestle with the board and hammer into place a new nail. Free hands are a good thing, especially when trying to leverage a 16-foot board.

1st insight…

My next discovery came from the contractor who built an additional paddock area for us. He used a drill and screws as opposed to a hammer and nails. In observing that method, honestly, I felt as if I had discovered fire, electricity, and the wheel. all rolled into one. I could say goodbye to the bear claw and broken off nails buried somewhere deep inside the post. I could say goodbye to smashed thumbs and bent nails.

2nd insight…

I could earn extra time, which leads me to my just reward for all this work…

Pull…

Right, off we go then…

And trot…

Memories…

Eat Like A Horse

20 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by thegentlemanfarmer in Gentleman Farming, Horses

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

animals, cinch chix, farm chores, hay, quarter horses

We keep horses, specifically quarter horses. Growing up, my only experience on a horse was as a young boy, dressed in western gear, and led around a ring at a fair. My wife is a most accomplished rider. Among her many achievements, early in our marriage, she trained horses for the track at her aunt’s facility.

So, horses are a big part of our life here at the farm. Horses eat. In fact, horses eat quite a bit. One of our main challenges is keeping them fed, especially in the winter, especially in the wake of a nasty multi-year drought, which plays havoc on our non-irrigated pastures.

The boys await…

Traditionally, we fed our boys (all our horses are geldings) square bale hay. Of course, this meant one of us had to make a run to the barn at least twice a day, sometimes more. Now, there is nothing wrong with strolling out to the barn, other than it does start to consume a day away.

As a result, over time, we started using round bales, which allow the horses to eat when ready, pretty much all the time. The downside to the round bale is the waste. Horses eat. Horses eat and pee. Horses eat and poop. Horses do not mind doing this on and around the hay bale that they have hoofed apart in search of the most succulent grasses.

Dinner on a trailer…

I hate waste and I love the internet, at least for conducting obscure research. Someone out there actually did a study and found the best way to feed a horse with minimal waste is to use a cinch net, which is what we now do.