A Revised Plan for Jackson

About a week ago, after a storm had passed through, I tried to put on Jackson's boots so he could go out in the pasture with the others.  I couldn't get a boot on any of his feet -- they had grown too long and it just wasn't going to happen.  We didn't want Jackson to be stuck in the barn all by himself with no access to the sunlight so we put him in the fenced arena.  The footing is sand so he wasn't in any danger of stepping on a pebble and getting an abscess.  Still, he was a bit gimpy for two days and I was grumpy about him not being trimmed enough last time the farrier was out.

Jackson, in addition to being sore, initially complained loud and long about being separated from Lucy.  We moved her and Pistol to the oak pasture and put Flash and Tex in the front pasture, which is parallel to the arena.  Jackson immediately settled down without Lucy right there to tease him.

We noticed that Tex and Flash started hanging out along the fence line closest to Jackson.  And Jackson took naps and pooped and hung out on the pasture side of the arena.  He started walking without a gimp and he was calm.

He actually seems to be doing better than he does in the boots.  And the boots are a pain to put on and off -- and after a week or so they stink.  Which can't be healthy.

We have decided to skip the boots and make the arena Jackson's winter pasture.  There are patches of grass growing in the corners and he can eat his meals at his leisure -- without Pistol (the food hog) chasing him away from his vitamins.  When the ground dries and his feet get hard, we will put him back in the oak pasture with the girls.  In the meantime, everyone seems happy and Jackson is thriving.

Now, if we could just get Brett sound we'd be in business.  He has bone spurs, can't get an appointment with the specialist until March, and is in a lot of pain if he walks around too much.

An Icy Morning

Sunday we had lovely weather -- for sitting by the fire with a coloring book.  In the morning, we brought the horses into the barn.  It had been raining a bit and the rain was flipping between ice and slush and something in between.  Jackson was wet underneath his blanket and happy to be rid of its soggy weight in the dry barn.  Meanwhile, Flash was squealing, bucking and rearing in the front pasture.  He was goading Tex who seemed a bit confused by Flash's sudden burst of energy.  Flash was a handful for Brett when we brought them into the barn.  Tex came in like a perfect gentleman.  Last, we brought in the girls.  Lucy was a bit snorty and tried to spin once but held it together for the most part.

We went to lunch with friends at the roadhouse a mile and a half away; where our lane meets the main road.  It wasn't raining or sleeting so I walked and met Brett there.  When we left, the temperature had dropped and it started to hail.  I didn't walk home.  During evening chores, it snowed.

During the night we had more rain and snow.  It was very cold when we went out to do chores.  After giving the horses their vitamin buckets, we moved them back into the pasture for the day.  We may get more snow tonight but they can enjoy the sunshine during the day.

Tex always wants to roll when we bring him back to the pasture.  This morning, the ground was frozen solid -- all those "puddles" in the picture?  They are puddles of ice, frozen solid.  Tex circled a few times before giving up on his roll and heading to his hay.

The girls wasted no time digging into their breakfast.

I let the goats out of their pen last, and they made a beeline for the horses and the hay.  Whiskey ran, jumping over the ice, while Thistle cautiously picked his way over the frozen ground.  Litte Bear went at a dead run.