Mustang 'n' Cowboys

CARING FOR THE MARES AND CLANCEY... Since TnT have gone back up to the San Juan Ranch to do cattle work, I am feeding my mare Oakley, Tony's mare Belle, and Travis' stud colt Clancey. The girls have gotten in the habit of giving me a hug. Belle will meet me at her corral gate while I am unlocking it. There is a look in her eye that tells me she would love to get past me, to run through the stables. But she does not get out because I have gotten in the habit of keeping the handle of the sliding rod on the outside of the gate. If I leave it on the inside she will nuzzle it with her nose, slide the rod, give the gate a push, and away she goes! After a routine check on the gate rod, Belle follows me over to the gate between hers and Oakley's pen. As I unlock this gate, Belle nuzzles me and leans her head against me for some lovin'. I stroke her nose, rub her ears, and pat her neck to return the hug. Oakley is getting a little jealous so I move on in to her pen. Sometimes she will meet me at the gate, while other times she turns her back on me and walks over to her trough. Those times seem to be when I have spent to much time with Belle. I make sure that I spend some time with Oakley before starting to feed. She comes out of her sulk by nuzzling into my neck, staying there while I stroke her nose, pat her neck, and straighten her mane. Now she is not upset with me anymore and I can head to the feed room door. Oakley follows me over and stands outside while I grab her a flake of alfalfa hay. I can't give her any grain because she is what they call "an easy keeper". Only when TnT are training her will she get some grain. Belle and Clancey are still growing so they get their flake of hay and sweet feed morning and night. I made the mistake of giving Oakley a handful of grain, morning and night, while TnT were on their pack trip into the Sierra Nevadas. She gained too much weight! :( Clancey is still a stud, so he can get a little bit rambuctious at times. I don't go in his pen unless Travis is there. This morning his trough was pushed away from the edge of his corral. If I could keep Clancey busy, I would be able to reach through the bars, slide the trough to the edge and therefore keep his hay and grain off the ground. Here in Taft, we don't get enough rain to keep the dirt from turning to dust. I don't want him getting sanded on my watch! So, I placed his flake of hay on the ground to keep him busy long enough to reach through the gate bars, pull the trough to the edge, and dump his grain in. Then when he was eating on his grain, I grabbed the flake and threw it in his trough. Now I can reach in and scratch his neck and back while he enjoys his morning meal. The guys took their leather journals with them to the San Juan, so when they get back tomorrow, I will add DAY NINE of their pack trip to the blog. Janey Loree
The picture at the beginning of this article is of my 7 yr old Quarter Horse mare, Oakley. She was a birthday present from TnT. She already had an appointment for her hooves to be trimmed by our farrier, Danny Gilbert, who lives in Bakersfield.