It didn't go quite as quickly as I'd hoped, but we did get all of the hay unloaded and stacked away. 170 bales in the barn loft - which is not nearly as full as I thought it would look - and another 28 in the granary for quick access (and cat insulation).
We started unloading Saturday afternoon after T got off work, and with H home from college even had an extra set of hands for the first couple hours. Which was a huge surprise and a lovely gift, considering she's not at all interested in the horses. And given the fact that she only weight about 30 lbs. more than the bales do, I was seriously impressed that she stuck it out for that long.
We had the first 60 or so bales in the loft when the skidsteer started acting up. Resolving that problem and a break for supper took a couple hours, and by 5:30 it was too dark in the loft to see to stack. So call it 85 bales on Saturday.
And of course, for the first time in over a month, Sunday morning's forecast called for rain. It started to spit as the last 25 bales came off the trailer, and probably would have poured had we left some on, but we didn't end up getting enough to even settle the dust.
I guess I'm in better shape than I thought, as other than my hands I'm not terribly sore, and I sure thought I would be. Tired, though. I slept really, really well Sunday night.
Showing posts with label hay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hay. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
Yay, hay!
Upwards of 15,000 lbs. of small squares trailed me home last night.
The big round bales have been here for a while, but having some small squares stored in the barn is never a bad thing. Especially given how cold the weather has turned this fall! We stacked 60 up in the loft this summer, and another 200 will be joining them on Saturday. Really nice grass hay, averaging about 77 lbs. a bale, and decently priced, too.
A bit of cushion if winter hangs around into spring.
One of the guys at work puts it up, and he does a fabulous job - nice, tight, evenly packed, sweet smelling bales, all stored under cover. The horses loved the ones I bought from him last year. Not to mention how super-convenient it is to have to-work delivery - last year I only got 50 bales, so I just picked it up in the horse trailer. This time since with the larger amount, he loaded it (he has a bale mover attachment for his skidsteer that will grab 12 bales at a time - and boy howdy, would I love one of those!) onto his big flatbed and pulled the trailer in to work. Much easier to just hook on and drag it home from there.
He ran the whole shebang across the scale on the way into town: his truck (1 ton Dodge dually, same as ours) & loaded trailer weighed in at upwards of 33,000 lbs. Which was kind of fun to pull. I haven't driven with a load that heavy on before.
Out of curiosity, what's hay running in your neck of the woods? We paid $50 per net-wrapped, big rounds of prairie/mixed grass hay - not sure what they weigh in at, but I'm guessing somewhere in the 900-1100 lb. range based on how tight they're baled & how hard the skidsteer works to move them. That's about average for here. The small squares were $4.50 a bale, which again is about average based on what's listed on the HayExchange for Kansas ($3.75-$5.00/bale for grass hay).
(Stay tuned for further adventures as we actually get the bales stacked in the loft!)
The big round bales have been here for a while, but having some small squares stored in the barn is never a bad thing. Especially given how cold the weather has turned this fall! We stacked 60 up in the loft this summer, and another 200 will be joining them on Saturday. Really nice grass hay, averaging about 77 lbs. a bale, and decently priced, too.
A bit of cushion if winter hangs around into spring.
One of the guys at work puts it up, and he does a fabulous job - nice, tight, evenly packed, sweet smelling bales, all stored under cover. The horses loved the ones I bought from him last year. Not to mention how super-convenient it is to have to-work delivery - last year I only got 50 bales, so I just picked it up in the horse trailer. This time since with the larger amount, he loaded it (he has a bale mover attachment for his skidsteer that will grab 12 bales at a time - and boy howdy, would I love one of those!) onto his big flatbed and pulled the trailer in to work. Much easier to just hook on and drag it home from there.
He ran the whole shebang across the scale on the way into town: his truck (1 ton Dodge dually, same as ours) & loaded trailer weighed in at upwards of 33,000 lbs. Which was kind of fun to pull. I haven't driven with a load that heavy on before.
Out of curiosity, what's hay running in your neck of the woods? We paid $50 per net-wrapped, big rounds of prairie/mixed grass hay - not sure what they weigh in at, but I'm guessing somewhere in the 900-1100 lb. range based on how tight they're baled & how hard the skidsteer works to move them. That's about average for here. The small squares were $4.50 a bale, which again is about average based on what's listed on the HayExchange for Kansas ($3.75-$5.00/bale for grass hay).
(Stay tuned for further adventures as we actually get the bales stacked in the loft!)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Storm weathered
8" of new snow and a day later...
Waiting on the tractor
The sun was out, and the roads out to the farm were semi-passable - if you had 4-wheel drive, enough horsepower, and ample clearance to bust through the drifts without high-centering, cause the plows sure hadn't been through! - although the temps were discouragingly low. Shiny clean new snow isn't terrible, I guess.
The ponies bounced around doing the "horrors! it's a tractor-dance" while T pushed the bale forward - chasing one another in loops, bucking and kicking for no apparent reason and generally being super silly. I expect they were glad it wasn't snowing any longer, either!
(Please be kind and ignore the nasty sagging woven fence in the background - there is a line of electric up to keep them out of it, and that whole section is on the "spring-fix" agenda.)
I know, that doesn't look like 8" of snow, and actually it's not - there. The lot is in a nice little hollow, and combined with that treegrove it keeps the snow amounts way down when the wind's out of the northwest. Saturday morning the wind was out of the southeast - never a good direction as it's the one angle they don't have anything to stand behind, so I was really glad to see it switch later in the day, even if it meant colder air was moving in.
But I waded through some lovely (deep) drifts to get the gate open for the T & tractor, so I can tell you exactly where some of the snow that isn't in the lot went!
Waiting on the tractorThe sun was out, and the roads out to the farm were semi-passable - if you had 4-wheel drive, enough horsepower, and ample clearance to bust through the drifts without high-centering, cause the plows sure hadn't been through! - although the temps were discouragingly low. Shiny clean new snow isn't terrible, I guess.
The ponies bounced around doing the "horrors! it's a tractor-dance" while T pushed the bale forward - chasing one another in loops, bucking and kicking for no apparent reason and generally being super silly. I expect they were glad it wasn't snowing any longer, either!
(Please be kind and ignore the nasty sagging woven fence in the background - there is a line of electric up to keep them out of it, and that whole section is on the "spring-fix" agenda.)
I know, that doesn't look like 8" of snow, and actually it's not - there. The lot is in a nice little hollow, and combined with that treegrove it keeps the snow amounts way down when the wind's out of the northwest. Saturday morning the wind was out of the southeast - never a good direction as it's the one angle they don't have anything to stand behind, so I was really glad to see it switch later in the day, even if it meant colder air was moving in.
But I waded through some lovely (deep) drifts to get the gate open for the T & tractor, so I can tell you exactly where some of the snow that isn't in the lot went!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Weekend well-wrapped
It was -17' when we went out to feed on Sunday a.m. Wrapped doesn't begin to cover the layers I was wearing. By afternoon the temp was 17' on the positive side - amazing the difference.
And we'll be doing it again next weekend. Which will be one more week closer to spring. I can't wait!
And we'll be doing it again next weekend. Which will be one more week closer to spring. I can't wait!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Weekend update 1... hay and Lesson 2,
The weather forecast Friday called for rain after 11 PM - which was actually a welcome prospect, as we haven't seen much wet since sometime in September (strange to be hoping for rain after the downpours of spring and summer!).
A call from T in the afternoon canceled my evening riding plans - friends had 400+ small squares of really lovely grass hay still on the field and no one to pick them up, could we help? Absolutely!
Three of us headed over with our truck, hooked to the hay trailer, and commenced stacking. Lucky me - and I say that in all sincerity! - got to drive. Even at 45-50 lbs, I'm not sure how long I could have stacked. We put nearly 200 bales on the trailer...
maneuvered the load into the machine shed undercover for later unloading, and headed back out. This time with directions to pick up the "old" Ford grain truck, drop the sliding gate off the back, and load it. Again, I got to drive....
By this point it was dark, and the "old" Ford is, as it happens, not only a manual transmission, but possesses a split rear axle. Hmmm.... it's been at least 15 years since I drove anything with a clutch other than a lawn mower, and the cab had no interior lights, dash or otherwise, whatsoever. Still, once I figured out I could start in 2nd gear, and how to baby the gas pedal on take-off, I managed. Just pity poor T, who was stacking for that load! But I didn't throw anyone off, and we loaded around 100 bales on that before things got a bit tippy.
We did two more loads, one on our pick-up, and one last pass (with a few more hands to help) with another truck and (I kid you not) an actual covered wagon - the farm owner has mule teams - and all but 16 bales were loaded and under cover for the night. We left our truck parked in the barn and headed home in one of their trucks.
Saturday I had my second lesson. I rode one of the trainer's horses this time, a 13-year-old Arab gelding who answered to Nick. Nick's past career involved showing to a fairly high level with junior riders, but in recent years he's been primarily a lesson horse. I was informed that he was very forward, and in possession of all sorts of buttons, but I was going to have to work to do things properly - otherwise he'd do pretty much as little work as possible. Good to know.
We started with the same things E had me working on with Sunny - bending, counter bending, reversing through a counter-bend at the walk, and moved on to the same exercises trotting - along with several reminders to watch my diagonals (sigh). After I could keep him pretty much consistently collected, we moved on to sitting trot and trot/lope transitions.
The longer I rode, the more came back, and the easier it felt. It helped immensely that Nick was very honest about doing what I asked when the cues were right - and I could really feel the difference when he hollowed, bulged a shoulder, or alternatively, softened and collected in response to something I was doing. And E was great about waiting to see if I could feel a problem developing and fix it myself before he prompted me, which I greatly appreciated.
Three things I need to work on:
A call from T in the afternoon canceled my evening riding plans - friends had 400+ small squares of really lovely grass hay still on the field and no one to pick them up, could we help? Absolutely!
Three of us headed over with our truck, hooked to the hay trailer, and commenced stacking. Lucky me - and I say that in all sincerity! - got to drive. Even at 45-50 lbs, I'm not sure how long I could have stacked. We put nearly 200 bales on the trailer...
maneuvered the load into the machine shed undercover for later unloading, and headed back out. This time with directions to pick up the "old" Ford grain truck, drop the sliding gate off the back, and load it. Again, I got to drive....
By this point it was dark, and the "old" Ford is, as it happens, not only a manual transmission, but possesses a split rear axle. Hmmm.... it's been at least 15 years since I drove anything with a clutch other than a lawn mower, and the cab had no interior lights, dash or otherwise, whatsoever. Still, once I figured out I could start in 2nd gear, and how to baby the gas pedal on take-off, I managed. Just pity poor T, who was stacking for that load! But I didn't throw anyone off, and we loaded around 100 bales on that before things got a bit tippy.
We did two more loads, one on our pick-up, and one last pass (with a few more hands to help) with another truck and (I kid you not) an actual covered wagon - the farm owner has mule teams - and all but 16 bales were loaded and under cover for the night. We left our truck parked in the barn and headed home in one of their trucks.
And of course, we had no rain the entire weekend.
Saturday I had my second lesson. I rode one of the trainer's horses this time, a 13-year-old Arab gelding who answered to Nick. Nick's past career involved showing to a fairly high level with junior riders, but in recent years he's been primarily a lesson horse. I was informed that he was very forward, and in possession of all sorts of buttons, but I was going to have to work to do things properly - otherwise he'd do pretty much as little work as possible. Good to know.
We started with the same things E had me working on with Sunny - bending, counter bending, reversing through a counter-bend at the walk, and moved on to the same exercises trotting - along with several reminders to watch my diagonals (sigh). After I could keep him pretty much consistently collected, we moved on to sitting trot and trot/lope transitions.
The longer I rode, the more came back, and the easier it felt. It helped immensely that Nick was very honest about doing what I asked when the cues were right - and I could really feel the difference when he hollowed, bulged a shoulder, or alternatively, softened and collected in response to something I was doing. And E was great about waiting to see if I could feel a problem developing and fix it myself before he prompted me, which I greatly appreciated.
Three things I need to work on:
- rolling my shoulders up and back more (and remember to take deep breaths)
- stop giving away my outside shoulder
- relax my lower back (!)
- Nice, round circles
- Counter-bends to reverse directions on a circle (I kept doing them wrong or really poorly until I finally managed to get my head around circling to the left with a right bend, looking left and turning left all at the same time).
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The birds
When I got to the farm on Friday the starlings were thick in the tress. Not sure if they migrate or not, but they were all flocked together and chattering away like crazy.I scraped up the last of the bale to distribute. I'm pretty sure this particular bale was made up of hay from along the road edge, as T said he's pulled a bunch of flattened pop cans out of it. I found a toothpaste tube, which confirms my road-edge theory. The hay itself is lovely, but odds and ends of things (and dust removal) is one reason why we shake the hay out before feeding. T said when he was farming he knew guys that would eat their lunch on the tractor and just toss the wrappers back into the baler. Bleh.
The horses got a new bale yesterday - no signs of trash in this one. I'm always amazed by how how bad a round bale can look on the outside, and how beautiful and sweet smelling the hay is once you peel off the strings & outer leaf.
The feeder calves & replacement heifers that G's keeping in the grain bin lot all clustered close - they've learned that when we feed we always throw anything the horses leave in the tire feeders as well as the outside & bottoms of the bales over to them. They aren't as fussy as the horses - they actually like the "caramelized" stuff, and they sleep on whatever they don't eat. Not much news this week. It continues to snow and next week they're saying cold. I don't know if the flocking starlings are a sign of spring, but it's quite definitely still winter!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
When life is exciting...
I usually wish it wasn't. Boring is good! November was nice. Than it got cold. Initially, that wasn't so bad. The ponies ate hay and put up with my silliness.
But the sub-zero temps have been hard on equipment. Two tractors and the skid loader at the farm cocked their toes up. The tractors went down first - the skid loader, after a week or better of tugging round bales about, started spewing hydrolic fluid and died. They came yesterday to winch it onto a trailer and haul it off to be fixed.
T, bless his heart, has been feeding the horses the part of the week that I'm in Aberdeen, so he was the one who got to load the back of the pick-up with hay down at the bales and haul it to the horses.
As if the tractors weren't bad enough (and it wasn't just the horses needing hay - there's also the 200+ sheep & the cows, so little wonder the skid loader quit), the vet was out to castrate calves on Thursday. Working calves involves closing the horses out of the upper lot. Usually not an issue, as it doesn't take more than a few hours.
Unfortunately, the cold weather wasn't done claiming victims, and the hydrolics on the chute went. And unless we're working on the second three, that was unlucky event #4! Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt.
But the chute, sans lifting power and sans tractors evidently couldn't be moved, either. The good news? The sheep & cattle can all still get to the waterer which is behind the chute. The bad news? Yep, you guessed it. The horses can't.
That little blue bit back there? That's the waterer.
And that's where the chute's parked. Smack in the way.So we're doing the bucket routine - hopefully - temporarily. Which of course meant we first had to find the big buckets, and one of them had to be patched.
This was the quick fix. It's amazing what you can do with electrical tape. As T said, it's not quite duct tape & baling wire, but it's up there.
But the horses are happy & healthy, and that's the important thing, after all.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Hay drama
The subject of hay has come up once or twice this winter. Basically, the horses, including mine, have ended up in the middle of a husband/wife debate between G & J over what type of hay gets purchased & how much and where it gets fed. Since I'm doing the feeding (and of course, have my own opinions on all of those topics), I'm catching the fallout along with the ponies.
Mostly unloaded
It's currently stacked nice and dry in the garage since it was too muddy to unload and transfer easily into the barn.
So last weekend we hit the second bad round bale of the year - not so terrible, two bales out of 25+ they've gone through this winter. It really wasn't that big a deal, the cows were still very happy to eat it, so it wasn't as if it was wasted....
Except that we just had two feet of new snow, which makes pasture out of the question until things dry out and the grass has a chance to come in well.
G took the opportunity to inform J that he was down to the last few grass rounds, and since she's complaining about quality, etc., she could just find her own hay this time.
So I did some calling and managed to line up some really lovely small squares. T and I picked up the first load Sunday. (Can I say I've very seldom been happier for 4 wheel drive? The roads were awful!)
Except that we just had two feet of new snow, which makes pasture out of the question until things dry out and the grass has a chance to come in well.
G took the opportunity to inform J that he was down to the last few grass rounds, and since she's complaining about quality, etc., she could just find her own hay this time.
So I did some calling and managed to line up some really lovely small squares. T and I picked up the first load Sunday. (Can I say I've very seldom been happier for 4 wheel drive? The roads were awful!)
Mostly unloadedI will be ever so happy
to be DONE
with all of this drama!
In other news - it must be spring - the turkeys are back.
A whole mess of toms - not sure where the hens are, but the guys are waiting!
to be DONE
with all of this drama!
In other news - it must be spring - the turkeys are back.
A whole mess of toms - not sure where the hens are, but the guys are waiting!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Clearing the air
Things were okay yesterday when I went out to do chores. J came out & we chatted pleasantly enough. Nothing was said about hay, other than that G will be moving up some more bales.
I'm very grateful for the suggestions everyone has made, and when things have had a chance to cool off, I'll drop a word here or there and let the ideas percolate. Right now since she has the inclination and is actually exploring sensible options for selling a couple, I'm going to let things rest for the time being. We'll see how things shake out.
The silly thing about the whole hay issue? It's not that there's any lack of it - G purchased hay in the fall for all the livestock, including the horses, and there's plenty. It's just that this year he decided she'd get the bill for the horses' portion, since she's been telling him for years that the horses don't eat as much as all of his sheep and cows.
When it was "free" hay, she didn't care how quickly they went through it. Now that she's "paying" for it herself, it's critical that they not waste any of it, because it's expensive....
What's that old saying?
Something about the way
to make a small fortune
in the horse business is...
to start with a large fortune?
Something about the way
to make a small fortune
in the horse business is...
to start with a large fortune?
I suspect this winter has been a reality check.
Anyway, she's contacted a couple of people who've been interested in her horses in the past, and maybe that will pan out. I'm going to continue to press - tactfully - for the benefits to getting a couple of the mares started. I'm very grateful for the suggestions everyone has made, and when things have had a chance to cool off, I'll drop a word here or there and let the ideas percolate. Right now since she has the inclination and is actually exploring sensible options for selling a couple, I'm going to let things rest for the time being. We'll see how things shake out.
Friday, February 13, 2009
So by all means, let's make more...
Okay, so this may never see the light of anyone else's computer monitor. But I'm irked. Again. And I'm stewing about it, and I need to stop, but it keeps running around and around and around in my head.
It's the same old story.
Talking to the farm owner the other night she says, "I need to seriously think about selling some horses."
Which is true.... 5 mares and a gelding.
She doesn't really need that many horses.
But the reason she's thinking she needs less is that she wants to make more. She's been considering local studs and what they have to offer and which of the mares she wants to breed this year, because it's been 4 years since she had babies on the place and she likes seeing babies around.
The last four foals she had didn't "sell." We now have one of them - she gave T one of the weanling fillies around the time we got engaged. Two went to a sale - as weanlings, which I don't want to think about, but I didn't have any control over and couldn't stop. And the last one is still there - the gelding - and I may make an offer on him if all else fails. Sunny's half brother (same stud), out of a nice mare with a wonderful disposition, and he's a doll, but I don't really need another horse....
The three 6 year-old mares she bred on the place. They haven't been started beyond what I've done with them - basic handling & groundwork. Two older mares that have been ridden. But the one that rides well is only fit for a light rider and light riding, and the other although gentle is pretty much just started, and doesn't know squat beyond "don't buck."
Sp she's talking about this stallion and that one, and maybe we should go look at one somewhere else. And I suggest politely that perhaps she might consider instead of breeding this year, spending the stud fee money on getting a couple of the 6 year-olds started and some advertising.... But no.
Because she wouldn't get
her money back out of them.
Ummmm.... At this point you've paid the stud fee to make them. You've paid to feed them for 5 years. You've paid for vaccinations, hoof-trimming & worming. You haven't shown them; haven't had them trained beyond ground work. You're NOT GOING to get the money you've put into them back out of them. At this point with the horse market the way it is, you're going to be lucky to re-coup the stud fee you paid. At this point it's about getting them suitable for using, rather than for a one way trip through some dog's digestive system.
It's the same old story.
Talking to the farm owner the other night she says, "I need to seriously think about selling some horses."
Which is true.... 5 mares and a gelding.
She doesn't really need that many horses.
But the reason she's thinking she needs less is that she wants to make more. She's been considering local studs and what they have to offer and which of the mares she wants to breed this year, because it's been 4 years since she had babies on the place and she likes seeing babies around.
The last four foals she had didn't "sell." We now have one of them - she gave T one of the weanling fillies around the time we got engaged. Two went to a sale - as weanlings, which I don't want to think about, but I didn't have any control over and couldn't stop. And the last one is still there - the gelding - and I may make an offer on him if all else fails. Sunny's half brother (same stud), out of a nice mare with a wonderful disposition, and he's a doll, but I don't really need another horse....
The three 6 year-old mares she bred on the place. They haven't been started beyond what I've done with them - basic handling & groundwork. Two older mares that have been ridden. But the one that rides well is only fit for a light rider and light riding, and the other although gentle is pretty much just started, and doesn't know squat beyond "don't buck."
Sp she's talking about this stallion and that one, and maybe we should go look at one somewhere else. And I suggest politely that perhaps she might consider instead of breeding this year, spending the stud fee money on getting a couple of the 6 year-olds started and some advertising.... But no.
Because she wouldn't get
her money back out of them.
Ummmm.... At this point you've paid the stud fee to make them. You've paid to feed them for 5 years. You've paid for vaccinations, hoof-trimming & worming. You haven't shown them; haven't had them trained beyond ground work. You're NOT GOING to get the money you've put into them back out of them. At this point with the horse market the way it is, you're going to be lucky to re-coup the stud fee you paid. At this point it's about getting them suitable for using, rather than for a one way trip through some dog's digestive system.
But somehow, that's not the point.
At least not the way she sees it.
And then tonight it was the hay. New bale, I'm peeling off the part that was on the ground so they don't eat mold, and she asks me what I'm doing. Duh!
She says, "Well, they're going to have to learn to eat some mold, because I'm not paying for hay just to have it wasted!" And she starts to pick it up and put it in the feeder.
I was PISSSED. Excuse me, but MY HORSE IS NOT EATING MOLDY HAY!!! I like him alive and not colicking. And I told her so. In no uncertain terms. And then I wrote her a check. She hasn't wanted to be paid for hay because I'm doing all the horse chores and paying for the grain - but I figure if I pay for it, I can "waste" it.
And then tonight it was the hay. New bale, I'm peeling off the part that was on the ground so they don't eat mold, and she asks me what I'm doing. Duh!
She says, "Well, they're going to have to learn to eat some mold, because I'm not paying for hay just to have it wasted!" And she starts to pick it up and put it in the feeder.
I was PISSSED. Excuse me, but MY HORSE IS NOT EATING MOLDY HAY!!! I like him alive and not colicking. And I told her so. In no uncertain terms. And then I wrote her a check. She hasn't wanted to be paid for hay because I'm doing all the horse chores and paying for the grain - but I figure if I pay for it, I can "waste" it.
Bahhh!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
How to get a round bale moved*...
When I first moved to South Dakota almost 11 years ago I was newly out of grad school and looking forward to living somewhere for longer than 2 years. I wanted a place of my own and a horse, a barn, a couple of cats to chase mice, and a dog or so for company and feet warming.
Sunny has always lived on the farm where he was born. I initially bought Sunny from J with the expectation of paying pasture rent until I found a place, but one thing led to another. I ended up earning his keep at the farm with vaccinations, worming, halter-training lessons for the babies, fence fixing, and various other horse chores.
Nine years ago I met my now-husband. T grew up on a farm in Kansas, doesn't mind dirt and getting dirty. He knows how to put up a (horse) fence.
And not only can he operate a tractor, he likes to.
T didn't have horses growing up, but his friends did. He even rides. After he'd been out to the farm a few times, J, who also liked him, decided she'd help me keep him around.
Nine years later
I'd accomplished...
the horse part.
I'd accomplished...
the horse part.
Sunny has always lived on the farm where he was born. I initially bought Sunny from J with the expectation of paying pasture rent until I found a place, but one thing led to another. I ended up earning his keep at the farm with vaccinations, worming, halter-training lessons for the babies, fence fixing, and various other horse chores.
J loves her horses - but she'd be the first to admit that she's more comfortable looking at them than looking after them. She's still working on the confidence it takes to handle them through the mundane stuff, but she's getting there.Summers, the horses have good pasture and don't require daily feeding. In the winter, feeding duty has always fallen to J's husband. G handles the farmer duties on the farm. But his interests are more with cloven-hooved critters that go "BAaaaaaa" and "Mooo."
G's take on equines: Horses eat grass that sheep and cows could eat. They require different fences, different hay, you can't eat them, and they're demanding (hoof-trimming, vaccinations, worming, halter training, weaning, good grief!). They also don't sell very well when you want fewer of them.But in spite of his preference for more marketable livestock, G's generally been a good sport about the additional work the horses require. He's always moved bales and dumped grain into feeders as necessary, leaving the remainder of the horse-related activities to J and me.
I'm ashamed to say,
I don't know how to run the tractor.
(But I fully intend to learn
When we find our own place
and there's one to be run.)
The big round bales have, therefore, always been hostage to G and his schedule. I can grain, but in the winter, horses need hay. Lots of hay. And they haven't always had it quite as promptly as a (fussy horse) person would like.I don't know how to run the tractor.
(But I fully intend to learn
When we find our own place
and there's one to be run.)
Nine years ago I met my now-husband. T grew up on a farm in Kansas, doesn't mind dirt and getting dirty. He knows how to put up a (horse) fence.
And not only can he operate a tractor, he likes to.
T didn't have horses growing up, but his friends did. He even rides. After he'd been out to the farm a few times, J, who also liked him, decided she'd help me keep him around.
She gave him a horse.
Don't you just love it
when your friends look out for you?
Of course there were a few strings attached to the deal. But since he was already acquiring one horse-loving woman (and her horse) marrying me, I've at least provided him with tractor-access to go along with his one-horse-power ride.Don't you just love it
when your friends look out for you?
And now,
I can get those round bales moved
when & where I need them.
Although sometimes, it does
require a little bribery.
[*Regarding the title: How to get a round bale moved - I didn't say it was the BEST way to get a round bale moved, now did I?]
I can get those round bales moved
when & where I need them.
Although sometimes, it does
require a little bribery.
[*Regarding the title: How to get a round bale moved - I didn't say it was the BEST way to get a round bale moved, now did I?]
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Tires & hay sniffing
Tires are so scary! Especially when they aren't attached to anything normal, like a tractor. This one has been turned inside out to serve as a feed bunk. It's been riding in the back of the truck for some extra weight, but since we needed the bed to haul shelf-making materials from Menards, out it came this afternoon.
What's that?!
Scary thing! Run away!
Huh... what's he up to now?
Is there food in there yet?
The temperature made it all the way up to 22' - the tire must have been just sun-warmed enough for the ice to flex out of the tread.
What's that?!
Scary thing! Run away!
Huh... what's he up to now?
Is there food in there yet?While the horses were eating out of their conquered nemesis, I fought with the latest bale, trying to get all of the frozen layers of bottom hay loose and thrown over to the cows. I was hoping it had warmed up just enough today that I could peel it off. Unfortunately, not.
The big round bales are stored outside in long rows. The horses don't - or at least shouldn't - eat the bottom layer that's been sitting on the ground, and the cows will pick through for the pieces that they consider edible. Problem is, once I manage to get it separated, it's difficult to tell what's moldy & what's just snowy & frozen without sniffing it - moldy hay has a very distinctive smell. So... I think I managed to get all of the bad bits off the bale, but I'm still trying to get all the hay dust out of my nose.
I also managed to bend the pitchfork tines prying frozen bits loose. They just don't make'em like they used to!
And finally, the shot of the day....
The big round bales are stored outside in long rows. The horses don't - or at least shouldn't - eat the bottom layer that's been sitting on the ground, and the cows will pick through for the pieces that they consider edible. Problem is, once I manage to get it separated, it's difficult to tell what's moldy & what's just snowy & frozen without sniffing it - moldy hay has a very distinctive smell. So... I think I managed to get all of the bad bits off the bale, but I'm still trying to get all the hay dust out of my nose.
I also managed to bend the pitchfork tines prying frozen bits loose. They just don't make'em like they used to!
And finally, the shot of the day....
Ever see an icicle drip up?
The temperature made it all the way up to 22' - the tire must have been just sun-warmed enough for the ice to flex out of the tread.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Days of whine and (cold) noses
Saturday dawned cold and gritty, and not helped by the fact that I was up WAY too late celebrating a friend's birthday the night before. No over-indulgences except cheesecake, but it was still a creaky morning. Didn't do much of anything with the horses except feed - we spent a good share of the day cutting up the deer-ly departed and packaging him into oddly-shaped (but neatly-taped), freezer-wrapped packages for later eating. Oh, and I made venison stew....
Sunday was a lovely day filled with laundry and chores. T was up and out the door by 6:30 to go wander the wide open spaces in search of a second deer for the freezer. H slept in and got up teenage-girl grumpy with homework left to do and not much weekend remaining to do it in. Sigh.
By afternoon I'd had enough of laundry and house-stuff. I bundled up and headed out to spend some quality time with the four-feets. It was warm enough that, out of the wind, in my multiple layers of tank-top, thermal, down vest and quilted jacket, I was sweating by the time I finished pitching hay to the horses. I was able to shed my gloves and the vest and still work without frozen fingers, which was a nice change.
Finished feeding, I collected a brush and went to work removing mud crusties & hay chaf. The fact that they've been bedding down nights along the tree grove - out of the wind - was evident by the amount of small sticks & other shrubbery I removed from manes & tails. De-mudding them all took a while, but if it continues cold they should stay relatively mud free for a while. I don't know that they appreciated the beauty treatment, but it was plenty relaxing for me.
Sunday was a lovely day filled with laundry and chores. T was up and out the door by 6:30 to go wander the wide open spaces in search of a second deer for the freezer. H slept in and got up teenage-girl grumpy with homework left to do and not much weekend remaining to do it in. Sigh.
By afternoon I'd had enough of laundry and house-stuff. I bundled up and headed out to spend some quality time with the four-feets. It was warm enough that, out of the wind, in my multiple layers of tank-top, thermal, down vest and quilted jacket, I was sweating by the time I finished pitching hay to the horses. I was able to shed my gloves and the vest and still work without frozen fingers, which was a nice change.
Finished feeding, I collected a brush and went to work removing mud crusties & hay chaf. The fact that they've been bedding down nights along the tree grove - out of the wind - was evident by the amount of small sticks & other shrubbery I removed from manes & tails. De-mudding them all took a while, but if it continues cold they should stay relatively mud free for a while. I don't know that they appreciated the beauty treatment, but it was plenty relaxing for me.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The bringer of food
I love winter. Actually, I really do, but it does have some serious drawbacks. Like darkness... and mud... and ice....
This winter J has decided to try something new. Rather than set the round bales out in the feeder one at a time, free-choice, they're to be located so that the hay needs to be fed daily. Her theory is that this way the horses will waste less and not get quite so rotund.
Which is fine, but I've now become the bringer of food a bit early. Usually I earn the title later in the winter when it gets really cold and the horses start getting grain to supplement their hay & pasture foraging. This year they cottoned pretty quickly to the sound of the diesel engine in the drive meaning head for the feeder.
As I've mentioned, a couple don't play nice - BAD SUNNY!!! - at the feeder, so I usually spread a couple of piles out somewhere dry for the mares lower in the pecking order. If I'm lucky, the wind disguises the noise of my arrival enough that I can get their hay spread before the whole herd appears. If I'm unlucky, they here me, it's dark, and I'm wielding the pitchfork a lot more gingerly while they mill.
And of course, right now all the snow and rain we did get turned into sloppy, soupy, DEEP mud which is just lots and lots of fun to navigate, especially with no light.
Yesterday was a dark day due to an overly lengthy, but long-promised shopping trip to Sioux Falls so H could find some warm weather clothes. T had volunteered to feed for me, but called about 5 pm to say they'd just gotten two deer, so would need to take care of field dressing & hanging before he took care of feeding....
Hurrying teenage girls in the mall works only so well, so it was 7:30 and black as tar before I made it to the farm. I do have a trouble light in the truck, but I tend to blind myself & them with it if I'm not really careful. I muddled (& mudded) through. There was just barely enough light from the rising moon (very pretty, too!) to count noses & make sure all were present & healthy.
Today was at least daylight, and I was able to get them mostly detangled & demudded - keeping them at least semi-clean is going to be a major battle unless it dries up some soon.
This winter J has decided to try something new. Rather than set the round bales out in the feeder one at a time, free-choice, they're to be located so that the hay needs to be fed daily. Her theory is that this way the horses will waste less and not get quite so rotund.
Which is fine, but I've now become the bringer of food a bit early. Usually I earn the title later in the winter when it gets really cold and the horses start getting grain to supplement their hay & pasture foraging. This year they cottoned pretty quickly to the sound of the diesel engine in the drive meaning head for the feeder.
As I've mentioned, a couple don't play nice - BAD SUNNY!!! - at the feeder, so I usually spread a couple of piles out somewhere dry for the mares lower in the pecking order. If I'm lucky, the wind disguises the noise of my arrival enough that I can get their hay spread before the whole herd appears. If I'm unlucky, they here me, it's dark, and I'm wielding the pitchfork a lot more gingerly while they mill.
And of course, right now all the snow and rain we did get turned into sloppy, soupy, DEEP mud which is just lots and lots of fun to navigate, especially with no light.
Yesterday was a dark day due to an overly lengthy, but long-promised shopping trip to Sioux Falls so H could find some warm weather clothes. T had volunteered to feed for me, but called about 5 pm to say they'd just gotten two deer, so would need to take care of field dressing & hanging before he took care of feeding....
Hurrying teenage girls in the mall works only so well, so it was 7:30 and black as tar before I made it to the farm. I do have a trouble light in the truck, but I tend to blind myself & them with it if I'm not really careful. I muddled (& mudded) through. There was just barely enough light from the rising moon (very pretty, too!) to count noses & make sure all were present & healthy.
Today was at least daylight, and I was able to get them mostly detangled & demudded - keeping them at least semi-clean is going to be a major battle unless it dries up some soon.
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