An almost-paranormal experience

Well, more like a mystery. I went out to feed this morning and there were several bales of hay that had been strewn all over the ground and destroyed. There was also a pile of poo in the isle and one of the horse's stockings had been raided of all its cookies. All of the horses were secure in their stalls, no kicked in doors, and no busted stall guards. It was weird.

But then we saw that one of the bolts that held Levi's stall guard had been torn out of the wall and someone must have come after we left and put him back in his stall.

I watch too much SiFi channel. I watch that show on Animal Planet where animals experience paranormal phenomena and my imagination goes wild.

However, the original barn had burned down a long time ago and they just dug a hole out back and buried the rubble. We frequently dig up pieces of concrete and metal pipes that are remains of the old barn. Sounds like the perfect spot for some ghosties to hang out. ;D

Does anyone ever feel like they get paranoid for no reason?

My grandma grew up on a farm and they had two teams of plow horses, and a little cart pony, Dickie. My grandma wanted a riding horse for the longest time, and her dad finally bought her a mare named Lady when she was a teenager. The horses were in the same pasture as some of the other animals and there was a creek running through it, which was the animals' water source. My great-grandfather went out to feed them in the evening, but Lady didn't show up at the barn that night. He found her by the creek, and she had fallen and broken a leg. He ended up having to shoot her. My grandma, understandably, was devastated.

Now, I told you that story to tell you this story. We have some older horses at the barn and sometimes when I go to bring them in for feeding, one of them might not be waiting at the gate. I immediately think the worst and I start to feel sick. I think of Lady every single time a horse goes "missing". I eventually find the straggler hiding in some odd place, but I can't help it. I don't know why I'm like that. I have to say that one of my worst fears is going out and finding a dead or dying horse, and I especially worry about the super old horses. Particularly in the winter. Even if I was at a "normal" boarding facility, I would probably still worry if a horse didn't show up for dinner on time.

Just a little rant. Pay no attention.

I heard that Cynthia was talking to Katie (new boarder with Dixie, the appy mare) and I guess Cynthia told her that horses are just farm animals to her and the other boarders go overboard.

I think it came up because Cynthia's little demon child had Dixie and a couple other horses in the arena (who also did not belong to her and they did not have permission) and was running them around for a good hour and a half, which was supposed to be their eating time. It's no secret by now that Cynthia thinks she's entitled to do whatever she wants with the horses (I don't think she would touch mine; she knows that I would personally shove her ass through a wood chipper if she did).

Now here comes the rant, and I think I speak for all of the other boarders as well.

~~Cynthia, everybody knows that you see horses as nothing but livestock, as it's perfectly obvious from the way you treat them. However, everybody else here values their horses as FAMILY MEMBERS (that includes Reba!!!) and you need to respect that or stay the FUCK away from them. If you can't treat other people's horses with the same care that we do, PISS OFF and keep your disgusting paws off of our babies, you filthy PIG.~~

... *phew*

I feel better. I just needed to let that out somewhere. I would tell Cynthia to her face, but that would probably get me into a lot of trouble.

OT, but things have gotten better now that Lorena is back at the barn. Katie is on the same page as we are, too. We all just kind of look out for each other's horses. It works pretty good. =)

Please fit, please fit, please fit...

I ordered a draft-sized English snaffle bridle for 'Normous and it just came today. It's beautiful. It was originally $190 but I got it on special for around $80 on tackwholesale.com. I was looking at it tonight and I'm not sure if it'll fit his big 'ole noggin. If it doesn't, I'll just get another horse.

XDD Not really. But I'll be sad if it doesn't fit. I'll try it on him tomorrow.

Yay for Reba!

I left my guys and Reba in their stalls overnight last time I fed because the weather was nasty. Winter sucks in the Midwest... Anyway, I went out the next morning and let her walk around in the arena for a while and put her back in her stall. Then Lorena came out later and put her in the arena again. I guess Cynthia went out later that afternoon and FLIPPED out because Reba was in. She called Cristy and was like, "Reba is so swollen!"

Reba stocks up sometimes when she's in her stall for days at a time. However, I was out there two days in a row and she was perfectly fine both times. Plus Lorena and I exercise her whenever we're out there. She was definitely not stocked up. I have no idea why Cynthia would lie about it, although it doesn't surprise me.

Cristy ended up calling Reba's owner, and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that she was happy that people were taking care of her horse. Cristy mentioned that she could use a blanket, and her owner bought one for her, so she can go outside now. :) And she was totally cool with Reba staying in her stall when the weather is bad.

In the three days that Reba was in, she looks better. She didn't have to compete for food and she wasn't burning a lot of calories. She actually has a little belly on her now.

It just irked me because number one, it was none of Cynthia's business in the first place, and two, she took the whole thing like we were trying to pick a fight with her when it had nothing to do with her.

Also, we just learned that the owner had had a saddle custom made to fit Reba and was supposed to be in the tack room, and now it's missing. I would be so pissed if my *custom* saddle disappeared. Those aren't cheap.

But yay! We have official permission to take care of the little Reba Girl. Cynthia can just shut up and mind her own business.

What are your horses getting from Santa?

I was thinking about making horse-shaped cookies and putting one in everyone's stocking (all the horses have stockings on their stalls). =D

If it's not edible, my horses couldn't care less. Norman tried to eat his stocking a few times already. He's such a goober.