Friday, January 13, 2012

An Update on the Rescued Horses...



Well, it's been a week since the new horses have arrived, and I thought I'd post a couple little tidbits I've learned about them.

Sugar is a bit of a prima donna. She likes her comfort, and thinks everybody needs to cater to her, and give her special attention because she's so pretty. I hate to admit it, but I kind of do those things. It's obvious she's been a barn horse, used to finer things that what I supply on my farm. The poor thing was shuddering with cold the other night, so I threw a blanket on her, and she hasn't let me remove it since. Maybe if it warms up another twenty degrees.

I wanted to try to ride her this weekend, but I think I ripped something in my shoulder, so those plans have been put on hold.

Kid, on the other hand, is becoming a bit of a ham. Now that he's actually getting food he's feeling better, and developing more of a personality. He's small enough he can stick his head through the blue bars of the fencing panels, and he's learned he can pull off his halter that way too. I put the weight tape around him this morning, and was amazed to see he's gained fifty pounds in one week. He eats wonderfully, and has good manure and bowel sounds, so as long as he can take it well, I'll feed him what he wants. I also noticed he has a blue spot on the iris of his right eye. It's pretty, and I'll try to get a picture of it.

I let him out for the first time the other day. Sadly, he went straight for the grass. My three original geldings have been wickering and pacing the fence to meet the new ones for days, but Kid ignored them for the food on the ground. He did eventually wander over to say hi, but only for a minute, then he headed back to the grass.

I kind of expect he'll be a little bit obsessive about his food as he grows, but I guess I probably would be too if I were in his position.

In writing news, I decided not to accept a contract for a short story I wrote. I'm going to self-pub it myself and see what happens. I have an email out to a cover designer, which I hope to hear from within a couple of days. I will post when I know the approximate date of publication.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Great updates. I am happy to read that they are adjusting well. Sorry about your shoulder though. ouch.

Good luck with your self pub. Are you going to the Lori Foster event again this year?

cheers, MichelleKCanada @AnotherLookBook

Kelly's Mom said...

Awesome on the short story! Can't wait!

JM said...

Hi Michelle! I am definitely going to Lori Foster. I've already signed up for it. I assume you'll be there?
I think the horses would actually do fine with anybody that would feed them, but I'm glad I got the chance to help them out.
Yeah, the shoulder thing is new and a little embarrassing. I hurt it in the bath-tub. >~< Definitely slowed me down though.
Thanks for stopping!

Amy, we're all jumping into this big pool all at once, huh?

Taryn Raye said...

I wasn't aware you were doing horse rescue stuff until seeing this post, but I know the heartache of knowing there are horses out there being mistreated.

I have no sympathy for our neighbors, who do a poor job of taking care of the horses they have. I know they've had a few die from malnutrition or just neglect and when they built their big barn, it turned out it was for storage, rather than the horses. All I could think was, shame on them!

One of our other neighbors has called animal control on them several times, but so long as the horses are being fed and watered, they say there's nothing that can be done for them. SMH A damned shame indeed.

Good luck releasing your short story. I'll check in often so I can get it when you release it!

Samantha Gail said...

Hi JM...

What a sweet looking horse you've rescued:) What a wonderfully noble thing you're doing. Keep up the great work!

Maddie James said...

What an awesome thing. I wish I had space to rescue horses! I loved my ponies as a child. There are days I long for a little farm, however... Well, I may have to just settle for rescuing cats. So far, I have two. That's probably enough. :) (Until I get a farm with a barn, etc...)

Cherie Marks said...

You have a great heart to get involved in animal rescue. It's such a sad problem.

Congrats on the short story. Way to make decisions that are best for you.

JM said...

Hi ladies! Thanks for stopping!
Taryn, the bad part is we don't have an animal control in Nicholas county. We have a dog warden who covers dogs, and that's it. It's so extremely frustrating because we literally have nobody to call.
These horses I got from Bourbon county, (the heart of horse country, supposedly) where they DO have an animal control person they can call.
Hi Samantha! Well, I didn't do it to be noble. But thanks for the thought. I love animals, and it's frustrating not being able to help when you see someone suffering. I was glad to take them in.
Well, Maddie, this was just going to be a small farm, but for some reason it keeps growing. Just when we start to thin the herd, so to speak, we find more residents. If I come across some little calicos that need a home, I know who to call.
Hi Cherie! It is a sad problem. I've never seen a state with more disregard for animals than Kentucky. It's just so wrong.
I'll keep you girls updated on my short too! Thanks so much for popping in!