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Saturday, March 16, 2013

Becoming Amish.....

I mentioned to a friend of mine that I wanted (and am on the lookout for) "buggy parts". He asked if I was turning "Amish". He said that if true, I'd need to shave my mustache.

I told him that I would shave the top of my head, instead.

Actually, there is more hair in my mustache, then on top of my head, so I'd save on razor blades.

Well, in January, one of our Amish neighbors moved to Kentucky. We hadn't know him long, but he was always a really nice guy to have around, and work with. During one of our "visits", he mentioned he had a horse that he couldn't take with him. She was the newest one of his "herd" and the one to be left behind if there was no room. He told me she was a good horse, and drove really well.

Her one problem being --

She was a "cribber".....

While it had been awhile, I had been around horses enough to actually know what that term meant!

After researching it for a bit, I found out a few things to try with her. The first being a supply of GOOD food, and the ability to graze in a pasture. There are a few other things to do, too, but I won't get into that for now.

Anyhoo, after finding out about her, and gleaning all the info I could from Levi, I asked him how much he had to have for the horse. He told me he paid $375 for her, but he'd take $100 for her, just to get something for her.

Well, I knew we didn't have $100 for a horse (or much anything else), so I just let the crazy idea go.

Levi went ahead and moved, and life went on, in a different direction. It wasn't until about 3 weeks later that I was over at another neighbor's house, when I saw that horse. I hadn't thought about her in quite some time, because I figured she was gone. Evidently, Levi had left her for Emery to take care of until he could find a buyer.

The gears in my head started grinding again, and I told Emery to write a letter to Levi, and see what it would take to get the horse. Emery couldn't find a buyer, and was running out of hay to feed her, so he just wanted her gone. He wrote that letter the last week of February.

A couple days ago, I asked Emery if he had heard back. He said no, but - as far as he was concerned - I could come get the horse. Since I knew we were going to haul hay yesterday (Friday), I figured to get her this weekend. I even stopped by, and told Emery such. He told me he got a letter that afternoon, and Levi said to tell me I own a horse!

Well, plans got changed - Mark came over, and we decided to go see if we could bring her home! I found an assortment of halters, and a lead rope, and we headed over to see what we could do.

She was out in the paddock behind the barn, and saw us coming, so she headed toward the barn. She got to the stall just about the same time we did - probably in search of treats (which we forgot at home). Mark handed me the largest halter we brought. When I held it in front of her, she sniffed it for a few seconds (it probably smelled like "cow"), then held her nose out for me to put it on. It was as if she knew what a halter was for, and was ready to go for a "drive".

Are You Here To Feed Me?

Unfortunately, this would only be a "walk"....

We headed out of the barn, up the lane, and down the road. We decided to cut across the pasture where the road goes around a corner, but pretty much stayed on the road. We could tell that she WANTED to stretch out a bit, but hoped she didn't take off.

Up ahead, an Amish buggy came over the hill toward us. We waved and he stopped . I told him I had a question for him.

"What do you need?"

"Well, how do you talk to this horse in German?"

"What do you need to tell her?"

"How about "WHOA"....?

"Well, we usually say......WHOA."

Ok....all the Amish in the county, and I have to get the comedian....

The Long Walk Home

Oh well, we thanked the man, then went on our merry, plodding way. The lone "English" vehicle that we encountered, came up behind us at a "T" intersection. We headed straight, they turned. As they rounded the corner, they hollered out "Hey, why don't you RIDE him?"

The world was just FULL of comedians tonight.... Besides, they weren't too bright - the horse is a GIRL.

Anyway, we trudged on down the road, until we got all the way home. A trip of about a mile and a half, only to end up less than a quarter mile (as the crow flies) from where we started. We WOULD HAVE gone across the section, but there is a deep ditch in between and lots of mud. Besides the horse wanted a walk.

When we finally made it home, we were both pretty tired - the horse could have kept going awhile. Mark opened the gate, and I lead the new arrival into the barn yard.....

I had asked Emery earlier, if the horse was used to being around cows. He said "Oh yeah, she's used to cattle!" Now, if only the cows were used to a horse.....

The first thing she did was to make a bee line for the hay ring. They cows just scattered. Having never seen a horse, they wondered just what kind of cruel and unusual punishment I had brought down upon them now. They stood off, radar arrays trying to take in all the info they could. I headed to the barn to bring out some alfalfa.

Ugliest Durn Cow I EVER Saw...

I brought out three "flakes", two for the cows, one for the horse. Everyone dove into it with gusto. Daisy finished hers, then kinda nosed over toward the horse's pile. This brought a warning "stomp" from a hind leg. That brought an evil stare from Daisy, and another stretch of her nose. The SECOND stomp in her direction - a bit closer than the first - got Daisy's attention, and caused her to rethink the situation.

""Discretion is better than a hoof to the face...."

Clover got brave, and stuck her nose a LITTLE to close. All of a sudden, instead of a horse, we had a grizzly bear! Clover high tailed it out of the area, when the horse stretched out her neck, and Clover had an "up close and personal" view of the horses tonsils. After that, nobody got brave enough to come within range of the ferocious killer beast. They figured that the horse had heard the "Beef....it's what's for dinner..." commercials.

Sights and Sounds

After awhile, it was time to go inside, and let them figure things out on their own. When I went out to close up the chicken house, I made an effort to see if anyone was still alive. There they were, cows on one side of the hay ring, horse on the other...

This afternoon, I plan to put her in with the boys - they need an "attitude adjustment".....

1 comment:

  1. Nope, not becoming Amish...I have nothing against them, but do love having running water and an indoor bathroom! LOL Not to mention my washer and dryer, and....the internet!!! ;-))

    I may have grown up with an outhouse and no running water, (so I know I COULD live like that) but I've gotten SOOOO spoiled since we've been married and would really rather NOT live without it. LOL

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