In search of a round bale feeder...

Well. The rain came. We got about five inches of rain yesterday, and lets just say the paddock didn't come out on top. Its definitely below the water line... and lets just say the round bale has been decimated. Its more of a flat spot in the pen... the horses were trying to find something to eat, but there isn't anything there that isn't covered in mud.

So here we are, searching for another solution. I have been looking up round bale feeders, but they are pretty expensive. I looked up some homemade solutions, and they seem to be challenging at best. I posted some ideas I found, and asked for a quote from a couple sites, but let me know if you have any ideas, because I'd really like to stop wasting money.

Homemade:
http://generationfarmkikos.blogspot.com/2011/01/hay-feeder-part-deux.html

Purchases:
http://www.klenepipe.com/store.asp?pid=20998

And the classic design:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/countylinereg%3B-galvanized-horse-bale-feeder

Comment below with some of your ideas!

The Barn After Dark

Just a couple of pictures from last nights lessons etc. The grey ponies were getting washed off after riding, and the pony needed to be put back in the paddock. Don't worry, Robert only sat on him a very short distance, and it was mostly for the picture. Seeing a 6'9" man on a 13h pony is slightly humorous. Photo Creds to Maggie :)

A short update

Well the semester is in full swing. I teach recitation sections on Monday and Wednesday evenings, and riding lessons on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Needless to say, there is not a lot of time spent at the barn riding or otherwise. 

I did have a couple of good rides on Knots this past week. We have been working on establishing a better rhythm at the trot and canter. He has gotten into the habit of sucking back and working in a very compressed, inverted frame. I have been working on adjustability and contact. He is having trouble trotting out, he just wants to move into a canter. 

Maggie has decided to take Gracie to the horse trials in December, which is great news! She has been riding Gracie in the mornings and taking dressage lessons with her. Gracie has been learning all about a relaxed rhythm, since she tends to rush and then trip over herself. 

Robert has also been riding Gracie, and he has been working on his position and trying to build on the things Maggie is working on in lessons. He has been especially trying to get his upper body to be still and relaxed. 

New Living Situation and A Handsome Gelding

I hinted a few weeks ago that the girls were moving, and so they have. Lets start at the beginning, back in July. We went on an extended vacation, and during the middle, there was a flood. Specifically into my stalls. Jellybean's stall was completely saturated while Gracie's stall was moderately saturated. Since stalls need to be vacant to dry out, the ponies got to move into the pond pasture. They were the only two horses out there, and they stayed until I got home. 

After we returned, we talked about moving the horses into a paddock instead of stalls. The catch? The paddocks were not complete yet. But there was another paddock, a nice one. Except it holds water REALLY well when it really rains. So we moved the horses into the paddock with the understanding that they would move into the completed paddock asap, but definitely before the monsoon season comes. 

And so now the horses have been living in the flood prone paddock for a few weeks. We bought them a round bale, so they can eat hay continuously now. And then we added a new man into the mix. Now before you get all fired up about us buying another horse, we didn't. Knots is going to be living in the paddock. This way, I am taking care of him in exchange for a half lease. I can ride him Monday nights, Thursday mornings, and Friday, Saturday, Sunday. This should work out well for me, as he will be available for some fun weekend jaunts while being leased out in the mornings. Maggie has him leased out to a student who wants to ride in the mornings. She should be able to give him some exercise without counteracting any training rides I put on him. Onward to the December derby :)

Nom Nom

The horses have been really funny this week with the new herd dynamic. Knots is very much the boss man. Gracie is second, and Jellybean is bottom of the totem pole. Knots only has to look at the girls, and they walk away from whatever he might want, be it grain or water. In fact, he had them eating out of one grain pan while he monopolized two. Wow. Talk about bossy. Luckily the round bale is too much trouble to run other horses off, so they should all be eating enough. Especially since they just got a bump in feed, considering Gracie is looking a little bit sad. Knots is getting the same amount as his previous living situation. And we will have to see how Jellybean handles the extra calories.

In which I prove how easy it is to get hurt doing stupid things

Jellybean has, by all accounts, been doing splendidly. So of course I decided to push the envelope a little bit more! I was riding around in the the large arena with the boys (maybe mistake one?) on Friday night. They were roping and dragging a five gallon bucket.

Seems boring right?

Jellybean was a little bit apprehensive about the bucket moving around and making noises, but she seemed interested, not terrified. So she walked behind the bucket while the boys drug it forward. She was following it in a funny, kind of like she was tracking a calf. She had her neck arched, ears forward and was looking at it like she might bite it. So I decided to build on that, and asked the kid to trot off, and we followed at a trot. Then he stopped. And we didn't stop as fast. And she saw it from the corner of her eye...

...And I hit the dirt. Hard. I think she started trying to turn around and run, but she baby bucked and spun. I tried to close my outside leg and managed to unbalance myself instead, and off I went. I landed hard on my left hip, shoulder, head. I hopped back up, but it was real hard to move. I walked slowly over to Jellybean (who was just standing looking at Gracie across a couple of fences) and collected her. I had to get back on, so I walked back to the mounting block. 

Jellybean didn't want to stand still (we have been working on this), so I had to finagle for a couple of minutes, but I finally got on. When I flexed my glutes to stand up in the saddle, I had some shooting pains, and decided I was only going to ride for a few minutes. I trotted her around through a couple of figure 8s, and then got off and untacked. Whew. Then I popped some ibuprofen and limped around. 

I have been getting much better everyday, but I am still waiting for the bruise to form on half of my back. I am going to take it easy until the end of the week, and then back to the grind. Don't worry, I'll be fine :) I like to think its awesome that my injuries have occurred mostly when I am doing something stupid, and no concussion this time ;)

Market Day!

Robert modeled some bull riding kids chaps.

Three Brothers Stable had a moderately successful trip to the market day on Saturday. We were very on time this year, and managed to have our booth set up and ready to go before 8am. We had enough people to man the booth, and lots more people available to shop with the students. One student managed to get an entire new tack set for under 500 dollars. All of our students managed to snag a new-to-them pair of tall boots, and there were lots of new saddles going around.

This is a scandalous boot jack I'm sad I didn't buy

Here's our haul!

At the final count, I managed to sell a hunt coat, a dressage coat, all the associated shirts, a western saddle, and two saddle covers. I managed to buy the items in the picture: a blanket for Jellybean, two sets of stirrup leathers, a leather girth, a dressage girth, a breast plate, a kimberwicke, boot pulls, and three pairs of breeches, including a gently used pair of pikeur's that retail for 340. Boom. Until next year :)

Its that time of year again

... for the Horseman's Market Day, aka the horsey flea market. We are super pumped about all the fun things we hope to find, and of course hoping to make a few dollars on some other things we don't need anymore. Last year was the first year I went, and I only sold one item and bought this huge pile! So I don't think I was in the green when I left last year. This year makes no promises to be in the black either, but nevertheless, very exciting :)

I think I paid less than 100 for all these things :)