The rain has been spitting and threatening all day, but not much had fallen since the inch we got yesterday. The sun came out for a bit this afternoon, so I took Max for a walk up the lane. By the time we strolled up the second hill, the wind kicked out and rain that felt almost frozen started hitting me in the face.

Max wanted to run home, but I made him wait for me. I put him inside and went out to the barn to see if the horses were ready to come in. All three were inside and the rain was blowing in through the north doors. Charlie was full of spit and vinegar. Maggie was eating Sonia’s food, and Sonia looked like she was pleading for relief. You see, she is the oldest, but Charlie pushes her around, which she does not take well. She looks worried. Sometimes, if I don’t lock them in their stalls, he will keep Sonia away from the hay nets, and sometime outside in the bad weather.

A few weeks ago, we were having the manure spread onto the hay fields to fertilize them. The pile from cleaning out the barn every week over a couple of years, left to compost, had gotten pretty big. My neighbors were nice enough to bring over their big equipment to do the job. I opened a gate to let the tractor into the south side of the pasture, and the horses came running out. They ran into the hay field, but it hadn’t turned green yet. Instead of panicking, I just laughed. They weren’t going far. So I just enjoyed watching them run around until they were ready to go back in. It was a good experience for them to be so near a big tractor. They pretty much ignored it. It desensitized them to big noises so they don’t spook when I’m handling them. There’s nothing worse than a freaked out twelve hundred pound animal. A few times, I’ve gotten run down, but I’ve always been able to get back up, at least so far.  LOL. The joy of having horses in the back yard.