Gee, what a day…

I just want to set the record straight.

I can have pretty crabby days now and then. You can ask my children.

Thankfully, they are pretty far and few between, but every so often one will come along and just slap the living daylights outta me and put me in a just sour mood.

I sleep funny the night before. Then got up way too early. And then fell asleep around 8 am again, only to wake up around 10 am and feel all messed up. Made some breakfast, ate and putzed a bit, then sat back down and fell asleep again!!! AGH!

Just had a super busy four or five days and just well, being weird. Haha… not an excuse but hey, it’s something.

We went to see about a guy who had some free landscaping rocks but he was all weird and frankly, the rocks were really ugly. We got a few since well, he was there and all, and we didn’t want to see unthankful, but well, I guess free is free and so you get what you paid for, eh?

And then I just have been feeling a little grumpy about stuff like money and goals and work stuff and clients and our weird sleeping schedules and so we had this weird family meeting in the car, which was good, but then was kinda not so good because I hate bringing up things that are outta whack and opening all those deep thoughts and such… but hey, you gotta do that now and then with teenagers and Moms that are feeling a little well, weird.

And then found out that the sheep had escaped the big barn, well, a few of them. Gideon had head butted the door that was supposed to be shut tight. Haha… yeah. Thankfully, they were in the pasture and fine, but now I have to rethink how to protect the door from a ram that doesn’t know his own strength.

And then found that Domino, the Dominque rooster that we have been harboring, had gotten in with the new coop and killed one of the older hens. Not good. Of course, didn’t see him do it, but he had blood on his feathers and around his beak and that means he was fighting and well… he’s just mean and unfortunately, the court of Windhaven finds him guilty of many crimes, but this one being the worse. He’s up on a few lists at the moment with full disclosure. We will see what comes of it.

And then Domingo Pony, we were having this really nice little encounter and he was behaving until something just got him all flustered and he reached out, grabbed ahold of my shirt and jeans by the hip and then shoved me backwards against a tree! Shesh…. Jessy thinks he is like a teenage boy that is sweet on me and doesn’t know how to act, and shoves and bites at me. Ah… well, maybe, but pretty much that kind of freaked me out some and thankfully, he didn’t hurt me, though I might have a bruise on my back some, that is just not acceptable behavior.

I tried to do a little long line work with him later on, thought maybe if I could get him to respond that a little exercise would help… but he didn’t have a CLUE about it and was just a little more than freaked out by the short session. At one point, he jerked the line from my hold and took off running after the sheep. It was not a glowing moment in “how to train a pony” for certain. He did come back to me when I called with this sort of bewildered look in his eye as if to say “hey, something is chasing me!” Which was ODDLY comforting, since he did come to ME for comfort… still….

Cody did a perfect 2 or 3 circles and then stopped dead and gave me this look like “you have to be kidding, I just ate a whole tummy of grass and you’re making me trot around in a dumb circle, forget about it… hahaha….” He just stood there and all the voice commands, encouragment and even the little long line whip in the grass, he could care less. He really is a solid little dude and not afraid of anything. Domingo was prancing around and all freaked out that I was asking Cody to do something and he was nearly an issue, darting in and being super weird. So pony training 101 was done for the day. It’s clear that Domingo has pretty much had no real serious training and that Cody may have but pretty much is not interested in playing the part either. Yeah team! Ahem.

And then to top it all off, Gideon decided that he didn’t like waiting in the middle yard and would rather be in the courtyard and he headbutted the picket fence and knocked out two boards and just walking right in as we were standing there!

Agh!!

Bad farm animals…. shesh….

And just as the icing on the cake… I had to find a DOG TICK on my NECK!!!! UGH!!!!!

Thankfully, the little bugger was newly there, but still, I HATES TICKS!!!!

Well. Tomorrow is another day. And Momma said there’d be days like this.

Just wanted to share that there are not always happy and sweet days here at the homestead. Sometimes it’s just crabby crabby crabby mommie days! I think I’ll hit the sack. Bill is coming tomorrow to trim the pony’s toes. Goodness, I hope that goes okay! Shesh…

Think happy positive farm thoughts for me tomorrow, will ya? I think I need a few good positive affirmations for the coming week…

“I will be calm around all naughty farm animals….”

“I will not pull my hair out in front of the naughty farm animals…”

“I will love and cherish each one of the naughty farm animals…”

“I will not consider how much sausage would come from a fat pony…”

Eww… did I type that outloud? Shesh…. I really need to go to bed. It’s been ONE OF THOSE DAYS!!!!!

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About Mobymom

the banjo player for Deepwater Bluegrass, and the editor of BuckeyeBluegrass.com as well as the main graphic designer of the Westvon Publishing empire. She is a renaissance woman of many talents and has two lovely daughters and a rehab mobile home homestead to raise.

Comments

Gee, what a day… — 11 Comments

  1. I have had many days like that too. Peeks and valleys help us to appreciate the good. Peeks are wonderful but I think we are just like the flowers on the side of a mountain, it is in the valleys where we grow. I always try to remember that saying when things get testy around here. There is good in everything that happens. I will be thinking good thoughts for ya tomorrow.

    I was looking back at a video on your blog from long ago and realized that we have another thing in common besides the love of the color lavendar. We also like the same quilt comforter. I had the same exact one and it was the inspiration for me to paint our bedroom lavendar whe we moved in. My room has been that color now for over 10 years and I still love it. I just thought that was so cool when I saw it on your bed. I still have mine but it has been washed to death and has become a porch blankie now and I am always on the lookout for another.

    Take care and hang in there. You may have to get very aggresive yourself with that biting pony. That is a very learned behavior and I have seen a rib sticking out of a man’s stomache form a mean pony bite. They are very capable of hurting you. When we do lounge line work with our horses, we try to do it where the others can’t see. The smaller and more confined the area the better when you are starting out. Lounge lining a horse is excellant training and I have a very trained 13 year old show horse that starts out every show day with about 30 minutes of lounging in a small circles each direction. I have rode very gentle broke horses out in the pasture with a loose at large horse running in and it is almost always a disaster. They do get excited and cause everyone to act up. We tie our hoses also, sometimes for hours, it teaches them patience and is very good for them. He may fight at forst but it is so good for him to know he cannot get loose. Don’t ever let him get loose after a fight, he will try it everytime. We had a new horse here last year that broke halters in one month. Boy was he ever a handufll. Had been mistreated his whole life, it was shamful how he mistrust peopl.
    You will get there, it is called training for a reason and boy it isn’t easy.
    Hope your day is much much better tomorrow.

    • Thanks! Yes, you can ask folks, I am about as positive and happy as they get but there are times, like you said…. oh boy… peaks and valleys! haha… I know a lot of it is my happiness at being at a point that I have wanted to be my whole whole life… so when I have naughty animals and just a day where everything is just not going ANYWHERE right… I get so frustrated and discouraged. Thank goodness I know that it’s just a passing thing and can relax and step aside.

      It’s been YEARS and YEARS since I physically worked with equines and so some of my “smarts” are still catching up… What you read and watch is not always what happens. I knew about two seconds into trying to lounge Cody that having Domingo loose in the pasture was a mistake but it was one of those “oh well, already committed things” so I tried to get it going. Like I said, he did 2 or 3 perfect little trots around me and then just stopped. I think a bomb going off wouldn’t have phased him. Now, he didn’t drop his head to graze or anything, didn’t figit, nothing, just stood there and looked at me like “really…. do I need to do this?” I laughed, I loved that pony for sure. He’s just so reasonable.

      I just am coming to find that Domingo has really been let down in his young life. He has few manners, and just doesn’t seem to understand how to relate with humans very well. He’s not got much in the way of training. Walking on a lead is really about it. He’s going to be a challenge for sure. And yet, I see in him an eagerness… he wants attention badly, he just doesn’t know how to handle it. He’s like a teenage kid in foster care his whole life… yeah, he’s been fed and clothed and people have tried to be there for him but really, he’s just a little off the track and not sure how to act, handle himself, etc. It’s going to be a slow slow process I think of giving him back some good pony skills, manners and behaviors.

      I SOOOOO appreciate any suggestions…. I’m learning fast! I haven’t found a lot of good stuff on the web about ponies… I guess I’ll have to keep digging. I wish there was a good book or video that would give me some details on how to train a problem pony…. one that has issues. I think I’ve come a long way with Cody, but then he was pretty easy too… still, it was nice to have an easy one to cut my teeth on. And of course, he’s not super advanced in training but he’s coming along nicely. He’s the best pony in the world! haha…

      4 halters! Yikes! Domingo is on #2… haha…. he busted up an old one I had, so that’s really more like a half.

  2. Meant to say 4 halters in one month and oh…that rooster would so be chicken and dumplings by now. I can’t do the life taking either, but if someone else does, I can take it from there and so the rest. I hate a onery roo, I had to give one to the neighbors for dumplings a few years back because he started attacking my Boston Terrier every chance he got and we weren’t going to stand for that.

    • Yeah…. just waiting to hear if anyone wants him first. Had a few people thinking about it. I would do it and I might just have to. But I feel a little weird about it. My neighbor used to butcher, so if I can’t find someone that wants him, we might just get a little lesson for in case the zombie apocalypse comes… we’ll have an idea.

  3. I agree with Chandra on several things. Domino would be in the freezer by now. No use for really aggressive roos. I don’t have horses, but I’ve always seen them on lines being exercised by themselves, so what she said makes perfect sense. Cody can’t and won’t concentrate (if he cooperates, lol) if Domingo is running around him and darting in and out. Please be careful around Domingo, he can hurt you.

    I have to admit, I laughed at Gideon, but I realize you have to fix the fence and stuff, it’s just that your description was so perfect!

    I hope the hoof work goes well today. Good luck!

    • Yeah… Domino has very very numbered days with us. Hours if I could muster the strength to just do it. I do have a couple local folks that are thinking about him so I will give him a day or so. He’s locked up good now, I think it will be okay.

      Yeah, I know that working a little energy off in DOmingo would be good but he’s just not got ANY idea what to do at the moment, so I’m going to have to think about how to work with him. Bill will have some ideas I am sure.

      Oh yes, I am NO hero around him… ponies can actually be more dangerous than a horse… they have all their weight on tiny hooves, and they can mess you up. I’m very careful around him and with my girls too! And any time folk visit, he gets paddocked up, so he’s not in a position to be bad.

      Gideon is such a silly boy! I love him to death, just have to get used to my little boy with his powerful head!!!

      Sherri

  4. {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{hugs and energy}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

    TOUGH TIMES DONT LAST….TOUGH PEOPLE DO

  5. Even on your ‘down’ days you have a good attitude!

    I know you won’t agree, just my thought, but no way would I have an animal that is agressive and could hurt me on the farm. Especially after all the work you and the girls have put into getting this place off the ground. Sometimes you have to sacrifice one thing (like maybe he needs another home [ I know, I know,ouch!])for the greater welfare of the whole. Sounded like everything was fairly manageable until Domingo came on board. After all, this was supposed to be a happy place, not dangerous. (:

    • Problem is… ANY animal can be dangerous… even a little dog. Especially on a farm. And I think that part of the problem is ME. Allowing the livestock a little too much freedom is something that I have done and it’s my fault for not distancing them a bit more from me and guests. Especially with a pony that I know has some issues and has only been here a super short time. It’s soooo easy to think that everything is going to live in harmony and all on a farm, it’s so idilic and Bob Evans like… media driven etc. I’ve just had a hard lesson in animal unpredictability to learn and animal safety as well. I’ve really been thinking about that. I mean, Gideon has actually been a little more destructive than the pony, yet he’s all sweet and friendly… and I need to address some of his issues and strengthen up how I contain and do things. Boy, starting out in the country and trying to become farm girls on your own has a steep learning curve at times. I guess this is why people dream about it, but don’t always do it! (gg) There are definitely days that I think I’m in the middle of weird Green Acres episode… :-) I do appreciate your thoughts and trust me, the thought of re-homing him in in my mind. I had a super super long talk/mentoring session with a horseman friend of mine and he has offered to help, be on call and give aid. So I’ve got a true professional in my corner and I have a few others as well to tap. I’m going to change my brain and see how he responds. Like I said, I can’t just turn him loose or drop him at a shelter this morning. He’s my responsibility at the moment in time and I better buckle up and give him my most serious attention now. No more fun and games. And if it doesn’t work out, then, I’ll know that I gave it my very best. It’s certainly shake down time. Gotta see if I have it in me to polish him up and give him the skills to behave and learn.

      :-) Sherri

  6. Hey Sherri…sometimes the written word can also be like a little bronc…you want to wrestle it into submission to say what you want it to!
    I’ve posted enough times that I hope you know I have nothing but admiration and encouragement in my heart for you and the girls.
    My concern was for your safety…especially as you are just getting into a real ‘flow’ on your homestead.
    I can appreciate how difficult it would be to try to move Domingo on. You want to give him every opportunity to blossom into the pony he was meant to be and you’re trying to determine if he has the capacity to change. Not only that, but it’s obvious he has won a lot of your affection already, which makes it that much more difficult to consider finding another place for him. And then, where would you move him to? He has already been ‘outsourced’, if you will. I’m sure that’s the last thing you want to to with him. It’s a tough decision! The fact is, you have a great deal of experience with animals and the insight to recognize the qualities Domingo has that make it worth while for you to continue to work with him. He may be a diamond in the rough, needing your skill and patience to bring out the best in him.

    • Oh Stef… I wasn’t really upset or anything with your post at all… I guess I was still thinking so much about it all…. I was just thinking that most of the animals here could hurt someone and it could easily be me… haha… I was just kind of a mess in my thinking last night, I was really upset and all, but then I knew that just passing the buck on him would be hard, on many levels… I dunno, just a weird spot.

      Today was good. Because for the most part, he had a little time to graze, and then we went to town so he and Cody spent the day and evening in the barn. Haha…. EASY!

      Of course, tomorrow morning, he’s bound to be a wound up spring for awhile, but hey, I’ll put him out in the back pasture with Cody and the sheep can stay in the middle.

      My buddy Bill has called me twice today and I’m sure I’ll hear from him tomorrow too! He’s got a whole bag of tricks and isn’t going to let me wallow about. He’s dealt with just about ever single horse issue there is, and that really gives me a bit of calm. He says we work on him 30 days and we evaluate him at the end and see what we can accomplish. I also talked with my friend and her little girl is fine, no bruise, no nothing and talks happily of coming back out to see all the animals, so that is awesome. And my friend’s mom raises and trains horses, so she was not that upset. I guess I was more because I just expected him to be a little more of a gentleman like Cody, instead of a wild little stinker like…. ah…. Domingo.

      Tough lesson.

      Well, I really appreciate your comments, I do and I am not wanting to get hurt at all. I’m a big baby! haha…. Well, and too, Bill reminded me that Cody was a pistol when I first got him and I have to think back… yeah, he was. And now he’s just a dream. And I did it, I worked some sort of magic on him and it took me a little while for sure. Domingo’s had 2 weeks. I think I owe it to him to give him at least a good 6 weeks of good solid basic training and see what happens. And if that doesn’t work, I kinda like the idea of sending him to training camp. We have a LOT of good horsemen in the area as well as a large Amish community. Perhaps a month away from his cushy spot here might just make him think twice about being a little booger. But then, maybe not. Right now, I’m stuck with him and I need to get a good solid plan to make life calm and routine. I did what Bill suggests this morning, didn’t let him out with the sheep and used a lead rope on him before and after his time in the pasture. And he behaved. No more treats, no more letting him has his way. Everything he gets in the next 30 days is going to be because I allow it. Time to play, pasture time etc. We’re just going to start at square one with a lot of simple basic training and see if we can build from a much more solid foundation. I need to give him at least my best effort and see what it does. But, no, I really really do appreciate your input and it’s good. Cause it makes me think and gives me some accountability. It’s very easy to get that Disneyesque feeling of a little love will cure a bad pony…. haha… nope. hard work and eyes in the back of your head will do it.

      HUGS!!!!!!!!!