''Summertime and the livin' is easy"

 7/1/21

Horse folks, carpenters, farmers, and anyone else who has to work outside in the summer - I don't think they'd all agree.  No- for we horse people summer is being fly bitten, sunburned, sweaty, dirty, and pretty much looking like something the proverbial cat dragged in a pile of crud.

Sadly this year I truly have a 'farmer tan', but it's alright, I guess. Hahahaa- it's not like I am going out to black-tie affairs or anything, where I'd need to have more. If I do?  How about those bottle tans? Wonder how they'd work?  Hmmm........

Having just two mares to look after is plenty this time of the year. Used to be, I would have had a barnful of horses. Nowadays?  Just the two. Actually, if you consider Briana is only half-sized, I have one and a half horses!   I enjoy them even when it is close to 95 outside and hotter in the sunshine. The darned humidity is what does me in.  When I visited Utah a while ago, it was hot, but none of this 'glistening" routine from here. It's miserable- and anyone who understands how it feels to attempt to do anything outside understands.

I clean stalls with sweat dripping off my nose and hair and eventually, I find a hose and soak my hair some. That really helps. Eventually, it all begins again though. The one wonderful thing about this farm I'm boarding at is that there's usually a breeze blowing. One can step outside and almost get cooled off a little. Now- that breeze in winter is going to be COLD as can be.  Add humidity and it will chill a person to the bones. I have some windproof winter coats so I "should" be ok.

The Girls are doing quite well other than being picked on. Gosh, I hate seeing bite marks and kick scrapes on them! Once things get switched from one pasture to the other one, and two horses leave, I'm sure it'll be better. At least I hope so- OR I win a giant Lottery and can buy my own little place. But for now?  They'll survive and I'll keep a close eye on them to ensure nothing is happening. 

The flies there are Horrible! No fly control whatsoever, no manure removal, or anything like that. I wish I could have talked everyone into using the Fly Predators I have used on my farms for many decades. They do Work!  Fly spray protection only goes so far... and if no one seems to be irritated by manure laying around in fields, or that sort- I can't change it.  It is an Amish-run farm and the owner either doesn't know or doesn't care about flies and the diseases they can spread. ugh.

Jaide has been getting her 'calming' powder in her feed now for almost a month and wow, what a difference!! She's almost feeling like she has finally relaxed into being "just Jade" and not some maniacal racing matching. I am liking her more than before too :) 

Briana is the same silly little power-pack she has always been. I think there's white clover in that field as she has the ''spits'' earlier this year.  White clover will do that to horses- it makes a reaction that shows up as excess slobber. When my Percherons would have this it was around mid to late August and omgosh, the slobbers from them, let's just say it is incredible.  Briana is nothing compared to those huge faces dripping spit.  ( I know, ewwwwwwwwww, gross)

 One time we had been hired to attend a company picnic at a church camp in late July.  It was hot and humid, so I brought a lot of fly spray for the team. Each time we'd head out with a new load of people in the hayride wagon, we would pause by the hose and I would hose the greys off well, then add fly spray. It worked well and they stayed basically comfortable. But the Slobber!!! I felt like I needed a 5-gallon bucket to catch it all, it was that awful. Of course, all the kids wanted to come " pet the horses" and I always asked mom or dad to please pick them up to pet the greys.  That did a great job until I was chatting with someone and failed to notice a dad and his little girl patting Lynn's nose. OH NO!!!!
 PICK  HER UP NOW!!!

The dad, as he scooped her up, looked at me like I was being so mean and nasty to them, but then?  The greys both let fly with a ton of spitty slobber to the pavement.  Yes-  Ewww, gross again.  He looked up at me in surprise and I explained it was caused by white clover in their pastures. He laughed and said that "Now he understood"   One dry little girl and a happy dad :)

Welcome to summer, white clover and giant horses slobbering. I like summer because everything is green or blooming or growing tall. The corn down here looks wonderful, the hay men got a great first cutting of hay and are looking forward to another one ( pending rain) at least. I love driving by a fresh-cut field of hay- mmmmmmmm - smells so good.

Lately, it's been too hot to get any driving in so those two have been having a mini vacation. At least Briana has due to Jaide needing a bigger harness and vehicle.   One of these days I'll be able to drive Jaide, just no time soon. 

Hope you have been enjoying your summer and if there are vacation trips? Let them be wonderful memories being made!