Homesteading: Horse feathers and other true stories.

Life isn't boring!

Yesterday we had a gentleman here named Charles to redo the hot-wire on the fences, and not realizing that our stallion Quartz had already been let into the pasture, he and I went in to discuss what needed to be done. As we were talking, Quartz wandered over and noticed that the gate had been left half open. As he was pondering his next life decision, I saw him out of the corner of my eye, rushed over, and shut the gate. Quartz realized immediately that his plan of a sneaky escape had just vaporized and turned to getting pets instead.

Charles then remarked that it is a good thing horses aren’t very smart, or Quartz would have been out of there. I didn’t say anything to contradict that opinion, but let me state for the record, horses are smart - very smart.

As I was taking photos for today’s photo essay, I stopped by Quartz’s stall to do a little training. I am teaching him the Spanish walk. Some classical trainers use it early as a gymnastic exercise, not a goal in itself.

I like to do a little trick training because it promotes a mindset of cooperation. It is completely transactional. Do something I want them to do, and they get a very concrete reward.

This is what the Spanish walk looks like:

This is where we are at:

Here is the point that I want to emphasize - horses are just as smart as dogs when it comes to learning. When it involves muscle memory, horses learn incredibly fast.

When in doubt, horses move slow. They don’t take initiative. They are “prey” animals, so can act cautiously. They have a lot of instinct, and can be fear driven - they have to be in a secure frame of mind to learn effectively.

Quartz is now getting ridden regularly and progressing rapidly. I hope that he will be in the dressage show ring by mid-summer.

In terms of fast learning, when we bought Quartz home from the trainer a week ago, I put him in the pasture next to his dad and then immediately remembered why that was a bad idea. Quartz can take down a fence faster than any horse I know - if it isn’t electric. Hence, why Charles is here helping with that chore.

This is how fast I relearned the lesson about trusting Quartz to not make poor life decisions.

Below, is the video -uncut and unfiltered - including me dropping my phone to get the stallions under control. Yipee! Another rodeo was in order. Luckily, the horses will do anything for a mint and a bit of grain, so it just took a bit of convincing that food was a better option than fence disassembly.

Jade is in the far pasture, Quartz up front.

Jade and Quartz are now being kept far, far away from each other - until the electric is back up and running.

Never let anyone tell you that horse ownership is boring!

Anyway, on to other updates.

The eight bronze breasted hybrid turkey babies have arrived. Yeh, they are cute - way cute.

Kale is going crazy now.

Lettuce isn’t far behind. Although the bed needs a good weeding.

Garlic and spinach are leaping out of the ground - although with all the hot weather, the spinach is bolting already!

I had a little tomato plant volunteer early last fall, which I put in a pot and popped it to over-winter into the greenhouse. This week, I planted it out into a raised bad and there - it is…

My first tomato of the year!. Let’s hope Prince Caspian and his two peaboys that have been released out into the great big world and are now a year old don’t discover that little green fruit before it ripens! Caspian loves him some good tomato!

Below are the two “yearlings,” no big tails yet, looking into our bedroom window this morning.

I need to name them, something other than “Frick and Frack.” Would love to chose something from the Narnia books, any suggestions?

We had a lot of worry about releasing them. Last year, I incubated a bunch of wild turkey eggs and raised them up. When I released them, Caspian was anything but friendly. If any of those turkeys survived, they live in the forest - cause Caspian wasn’t having them in his territory.

But Prince Caspian is being very patient with his boys and all three are sleeping high up in the big cherry tree that shades the pea-coop, where the ladies live.

I currently have about ten eggs on the counter from the other set of peahens and peacock. These go into the incubator tomorrow.

A subscriber of this substack sent me some Apios tubers last year. Unfortunately, once planted in the woodland area - “someone” dug them up and ate them. But I was so taken by the idea of Apios in the garden, that I purchased some tubers on Etsy and started them in the greenhouse this winter.

These have now been transplanted into a raised bed. I will build a wood trellis for them latter in the week.

All the fruit trees are looking fabulous, particular the peach trees - below. Although I would have liked the sweet cherries to have put on more foliage and more bloom this spring.

After a week of days in the upper eighties and low nineties - the forecast now says on Monday night -one night only, temperatures will dip into the low thirties! So, Monday afternoon - I will be brining in the citrus trees I just put out and wrapping some of the tender plants up with bubblewrap and plastic for the evening.

The emus have found domestic bliss and therefore, have been a bit boring.

Gizmo however has matured into one handsome grrl!

Well, that about it - and Robert just informed me that lunch is ready!

JGM

---

---

---