At the top of last week's blog is a picture of Nic and I!  It was taken when I was coming down from the big outside arena.  Nic was busy looking at another horse.  I was busy talking to someone. 

After seeing the picture, I thought I'd let you guys know what Nic looks like! Like all of us with horses, OUR particular horse is the best looking equine in the barn. 

Nic is an own son of Reminic gelding. He was supposed to be a rope or cow horse but his desire to chase cattle is lacking in attitude.  He'd rather just plod down a trail, look at the scenery, watch the birds soar, listen to the wind and in general, be lazy.  So he fits what I like to do best: Trail ride. Plus, he's low to the ground!

With the sun out for the last few days trails have begun to dry up and so found our way out onto a couple of them. Since I was at the Diamond W 34 years before I left 4 years ago (restarting on another  34 years now!), I know where some of the best riding trails are.  Nic is walking in the hoof prints of my other horses who lived there -- Sam, Flint, Bud, Quincey and of course, Sig!

Nic is actually in the same barn stall that Sig lived in for 28 years.  And even though I've always considered Sig as the best trail horse I've ever owned, Nic is beginning to pick up some of those same traits. Guess Sig's spirit is hanging around Nic.

One can never or should try to judge another horse by one you've owned and ridden before.  There can never be another Sig.  Or Flint.  Or Bud.  Or Sam.  Or Quincey.  Each horse has to be judged on his own merits and abilities.  But sometimes I notice that same twinkle in Nic's eye that Sig had when I'd arrive at the barn for a trail ride. 

Nic loves to get out of his stall and go down a trail. And so far he'd taken everything he's met from bobcat to a blowing plastic bag in stride. Just stop. Look at it. Snore and go on his way. I think his laid back attitude goes along with his laid back personality of "Why get upset over something?"  Getting upset just takes energy.  And for Nic, his main goal is to save energy.  It's a really rough job plodding down trails and then going back to the barn for a feeding of oats!!

But I do want you guys to know that when Nic and I are out there plodding down those trails, we're thinking about all of youl!!  Trail riding is a hard job.  But let's face it, someone has to do it almost everyday of the week.........  :)

Bonnie

For the last four years Nic has been in a self-care barn. Either my daughter, Becky, or I fed the horses, cleaned stalls, bought feed and so on. We had box stalls with paddocks plus a 40 acre pasture to turn horses out into during the day. But over the months and with the tightening economy, was self-care a good 'bet'?

Getting out a pencil and some paper I looked at the costs.  Self-care was $175 per month plus the cost of feed and shavings not to mention time to do all the chores. The cost for full-care, fed twice a day and stalls cleaned once a day with shavings, added, is $265.

The problem with self-care was time. Going twice a day to feed him, even though we shared the chores with two other boarders, was getting expensive driving back and forth. Plus it was more time spent doing chores than actually riding Nic. So after figuring it out we came up with the following costs:

Self-care:  $175/month; feed (hay and pellets) $80/month; shavings $25/month; fuel to drive to barn and feed store $100/month. That totaled about $400/month.  Even though horses have pasture rights I found myself spending more time cleaning and mucking than actually riding!

Full-care:  $265/month; fuel to drive to barn $50 because stable is only 12 miles round trip instead of 60 miles round trip. So full-care was the way to go!

Guess you could say I have an inside track on the full-care facility.  I had Bud and Sig plus other horses in Diamond W for 34 years before moving out 4 years ago. I knew the place plus Diamond W is across the street from an equestrian park with thousands of acres of open space to ride. For trail riding, it was a simple choice.  Move.

When it comes to moving, one has to consider what you want. Me, I want trails and places to ride. So the Diamond W is perfect for me.  Plus I'm not interested in social events in a barn but if a person is, then select a barn that has pot lucks or events.  The best way to select a new barn or when moving into one is to make a list of what you want, what you like and what you're happy with.  Me, I want my horses fed and happy with a safe environment. I don't care if the place has white picket fences or a social rec room. I look at the horses IN the facility to see how they look and if they're healthy, happy and safe -- then that's a place to consider.

Where you keep your horse will directly determine how much use and enjoyment you receive from riding. If you have to spend two hours a day doing chores, driving 100 miles round trip, having no place to ride you'll discover you aren't riding your horse half as much as you should be. So look closer to home for horse housing. Figure out what you can pay and stick with that budget. In this economy you'll be amazed at what you can find close to home simply because stable owners want to keep barns full. 

Reminder, don't forget Spring is springing in a few days so think about those shots........  

Bonnie   

Hi Gang:
 
It seems this last week has been spent digging ditches!! We got over 5 inches of rain in seven days and that's a lot of raindrops.......
 
No matter which way I'd flow water, it would begin to backup somewhere else. I have found out that water does not always flow downhill. Especially when it's raining so hard and the flow is so fast that going uphill is easier than trying to find a route downhill.
 
Nic has settled into his new home. He gets along with neighbor horses on each side, but then Nic takes everything in stride. He doesn't get too upset except maybe if I forget to put his pellets in his manger fast enough. Then he stomps around the stall and paddock and will nicker for them.
 
My biggest concern about the move was feed. Where he was, I could control what he ate so he was on grass hay and pellets. At the Diamond W they feed for me (included in the price) and it's mostly an 80-20 or 90-10 mix -- 80, 90 grass and 20, 10 alfalfa. I don't mind that mix but not anymore simply because I don't feed Nic alfalfa.
 
I've always felt alfalfa is fine for horses that get worked a lot.  Performance horses for example--and mares. But for horses that stand around in barns, alfalfa makes 'em hot plus I don't like to feed it to geldings. Alfalfa to me has been a dairy cow feed but over the years alfalfa has become a horse feed.  It's just too hot for my horses!
 
Also for those of you that have asked me why I moved Nic, it was economic. After figuring it out with a sharp pencil it was cheaper to move him into full care than self-care. Plus time saved.  I'll tell you more about in the next blog. Right now, it's started to rain (again) and have to gallop up to barn to make sure ditches are still open.
 
Nic likes to stand in the newly dug ditches which causes the ditch banks to crumble down and block the flow. Not sure why he does that. He's a short horse so I'd think he would want to stand on taller ground!  But he stands in ditches. Whatever makes him happy, makes me happy......

If it's raining where you are, check out MyHorse's new online magazine: http://cde.cerosmedia.com/1Q49a6838dcee24012.cde
It's called the HorseLink.

Stay dry!

Bonnie