That's pretty much how the horses feel about their new shelter. Sometime last night we traded clear skies for a persistent, dreary rain. This morning both horses were huddled under a tree about 30 feet from the shelter entrance, looking damp and dejected.
Of course it will take some time for them get comfortable with this new addition, but I'll do my best to speed the process along. They had to put two feet into the shelter to get breakfast today, which turned out to be a challenge.
I sat toasty and dry with their feed buckets while they made two or three skeptical approaches followed by bucking and farting departures. Tonka (by far the greedier of the two) finally made the first move.
The whole structure makes a hollow gonging sound whenever a hoof strikes the front skid, and this resulted in several more episodes of bucking and farting down to the other end of the paddock. Eventually breakfast got eaten by both horses, and I am happy to report that no horses got eaten by the shelter.
After ensuring that the buckets were clean Tonka relaxed with a mud bath, and then I put their rain sheets on. It continues to drizzle and they are...you guessed it...standing under the tree. Later this week I will build an 8-foot one-sided feeder into the back of the shelter and I will start stocking it and it alone when it is raining. I have no doubt that their stomachs will soon motivate them to forget their fears.
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4 comments:
Oh yes, it is the bucking and farting season here in Oregon as well. Not too much about new structures like yours..(it is an excuse though realy, don't ya think?)
I was hand grazing Pantz, down by the pond , and when it started to drizzle this weekend. They all seemed to just KNOW= it was going to become a constant basis weather pattern thing,that first day. Then= the bucking and farting began. From one turnout to the next..on and on it went, round and round they bucked and farted... seemingly taking turns at the energy level it took as they passed the torch between fields of the-bucking-farts!
I laughed my head off... till Pantz thought she'd join in...from the end of the 24 four foot rope!
A farting horse is a healthy horse, right? LOL, too funny!
They remind me of my parakeets, whenever I put something new in their cage, they have to cower in the corner for days! Sucks to be a prey animal!
They'll be glad of that shelter by the springtime!
Grey horses always want to be brown! I swear Yanarra knows when I will be by to ride and she rolls in something nasty just for the occasion.
I love the mud bath look.
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