There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. ~Winston Churchill

*Yawn* "where's the coffee?"
Looks like today will be a busy day, got a barn, coop, rabbit and Dove cage to clean. Norm has been bush hogging, so may help him out a little with that too, would be nice to get some more sun, though I got a little burned the other day. Oh yeah....the garden needs some major work...I may have to put the barn on the back burner.
I'm optimistic that this week will be a productive one for us...So far yesterday and today I feel pretty good! Doug and I did some kitchen and living room cleansing. A little spring cleaning a little late...I wonder if Douglas does windows??? hmmm now thats a thought. I've still got the office, my bedroom, and bathroom to clean, I should be able to knock out at least one of those! I hope this week to get my "goat area" measured out, new coop too. So looks like a busy week if the rain stays away!
So what do you have planned for the first week of summer?
I've been really proud of Douglas lately. He's been so helpful and when I've asked him to help with cleaning or chores and he's done them when I've asked and even done them right!!! He's been so affectionate and caring. He is even working through his fear of horses! Yesterday he got in both horse lots without running when the horses came up to him, even rubbed King on his neck! Big accomplishment! (this is a picture before his accident when he liked the horses)

He asked me if we could saddle King up and lead him around!!! WOW! I think he is seeing the enjoyment Leah and I take from the horses and wants to join in. I cant blame him at all for his fears and trepidation, after his accident with a horse, and it was a big one, he has every right. We have not pushed him on the horses, in fact I've told him he doesnt have to have anything to do with them at all. But he seems to really want to conquer this fear! Yea Doug!
Which brings up another issue.......
A friend of mine has recently had to deal with some really nasty and ugly comments on her blog. She had a really bad accident with her horse and has decided to sell her. A decision I think sounds wise knowing everything that happened, and knowing my own fear I've developed over the last 3 or 4 years of horses....dont ask me why I'm still trying to figure that one out. I've had some ugly comments too that I've promptly deleted and in all honesty I dont care what they think (wasnt about my horses tho)...this is my blog....I can say what I want and I know that Lisa and several others feel the same way. But there is always going to be those trolls who find it easy to hide behind a keyboard and computer screen and try to poop all over your blog. I'm finding that some of those horse lover blogs ( NO not any that I'm following and is why I don't follow them!) are pretty uppity with their opinions (which is what has happened to lisa). It makes me wonder with their point of view, how wild horses and my own for that matter even make it to live a long and healthy life! I'm not a fanatic, probably many would think I dont pamper my horses enough or dote over them, or because I dont spend every waking hour with them - that I'm doing things all wrong. Funny...my horses are all healthy - "as a horse" ha ha- and happy. They love us, yet I let them be horses. One thing I've been told that I believe is true is that horses are not pets...they are our partners, a work animal, and treating them as a pet is a disaster waiting to happen. I know for myself and Lisa and other horse loving bloggers, we read each others blogs to learn new things, new techniques, and equine care. Not to have opinions pushed down our necks or to have rude and hateful comments if we dont do as they do, nor asked for. I hate it for her thats she's had to deal with this. This is not a place to be like that, this is not a forum - it is a blog a personal journey or diary, or for anyone to be un-Christian like and make inappropriate comments about anything you post, like Lisa and myself have had. I guess after reading everyones reply to Lisa's post ALL of us have experienced ugliness in blogger land, in one form or another, either from bloggers we really dont know, or even people who do know us. I just think its pathetic.
And with that said (needed to get that out of my system)
like Lisa, I have decided to sell Bella (my Tennessee Walking Mare) only Leah is advanced enough to ride her, though she is a great horse - smart, loving, and wants to please, she is more horse than the rest of us need. You cant have a horse your in fear of, as we all know they know when your scared. This is a decision I'm quite at peace with. I'm not feeling any guilt at all and know I'm making the right decision for my family. I hate it that she isnt what we need, I love her and her personality, but she is not the horse for us. And I cant afford a yard ornament. So nasty comment leavers....I'm sure like on Lisa's blog, you'll have something to say about that, just leave it to your own blog.
Okay....I'm over it, on to my regular blogging attitude! (I usually dont even mention that kind of junk here or acknowledge it, but felt today I needed to.)
SO...did you know that a bull can break his penis? I had no clue! But the other day we discovered one of our leased bulls has done this very thing!!
Now you know I try to be informative with my posts about farming and farm animals, sometimes explicit about care and Animal "issues", and this is blog is for that purpose, to document farm life....and not everything is Rosy and pretty...there are some really weird and to some, disgusting yet, natural occurrences with animals. It is a fact of life. And you wouldnt believe the amount of people who find my blog due to search engines asking legitimate animal husbandry questions, many 1st time farmers, or inexperienced animal owners. Luckily I have Norm who has 38 years of experience and who has taught me SO much. I thought I knew a lot about animals, yeah, whatever! There is always more to be learned...such as this topic.
Okay like you are probably doing I laughed and made all kinds of jokes about our bull breaking his penis, that were actually serious questions but when asked just made us laugh harder and just too funny. How do you fix it? Does the Vet put a Popsicle stick splint on it? Or a cast? HOW does that happen?? When Doug came rushing in the house to tell me he said " Mom do you want the bad news or the bad news...trust me the bad news is disturbing" Then when he told me I had to laugh at his comment, it would be disturbing to a male!
Well all joking aside, it is true and happens when a bull is mounting a cow and another bull decides that he needs to be doing the job and head butts the other one, it can cause one sore bull with a broken penis in the process. (hmm are they even called a penis in a bull???) Can it be fixed? Well....it can, if only the tissue is torn, but not if the bone is broken. (anyone else have this happen to one of their bulls and has more knowledge in this area??? let me know what you think and have experienced)
Almost all of the time, the bull is sold for slaughter and goes into those wonderful Mc D's hamburgers. They are no longer able to serve their purpose. I wonder how PETA will react to this post considering they were all over Obama a week or so ago for killing a fly....yes..they were up in arms, now calling him a fly killer...WHAT????!!!!! I swear, and I've said it before because I have a major beef with PETA, they are all fanatics and over the edge of sanity. I wish I could squash them like a fly. They make me want to wear real fur coats!
If your going to comment on the Bull '"issue" I just talked about...make it respectful please and a real question, and not something I'll have to delete! But PLEASE feel free to laugh though and make a good joke!)
I found out some really interesting and even troubling news today.
A mutual friend of mine and my parents, Elizabeth, is a really good woman. She and her husband adopted two special needs and abused children when they were very very young, her daughter being a baby and their son just a few years old. There have been many trials throughout the years, dealing with incompetent schools, getting the care they need, many doctor and therapist visits, etc. Her son is now graduating and going to college. Her daughter is almost out of high school. Her husband and her have really done well caring for these children and raising them the best they could and have really worked at preparing them for life on their own the best they could.
She recently found out she has breast cancer, and she is still in the stages of discovery and tests to find out what stage she is in and what the course of treatment will be. Her life right now is put on hold, in a way. THEN - here is the kicker to the whole sad affair - she after 22 years of marriage and trying to have children of their own, at the age of 45, has had one ovary and fallopian tube removed ---- is now pregnant!
Her husbands response, and all of us who know her is..."How did that happen???"
She is elated that they have finally been able to conceive, scared that she wont be able to do any treatment for her cancer because it will harm the baby, her age scares her as well. And what if it comes down to saving the baby, or saving herself so she can continue to mother and care for the 2 children she already has who will need her throughout their own lives due to their special needs. I have no clue what God has in plan and we are all dumb founded at the news. I would just like to ask you prayers warriors to say a prayer for her and her family. I'm sure at this point she is still trying to wrap her head around all of this. Overwhelming.
Another gripe...cooking.
I really hate to cook. Dont get me wrong, I CAN cook and cook well, I just really hate it! I see you all post some awesome dishes with recipes to match...and I'd so love to sit down at your table and share them with you....but I cant bring myself to experiment at home with cooking. I'd rather pop in a pizza, or have a bowl of cereal. No I'm not lazy about it, I just really dont like to cook!!!! My Hungarian grandmother (my grandfather is Italian so she had perfected the art of cooking authentic food), is probably rolling over in her grave right now and every time I complain about cooking. She was old school and cooked everything from scratch down to her noodles, bread....etc...all day before sunrise she'd begin and let me tell you - she made the most awesome food I've ever eaten in my entire life and the most amount of food in one meal I've ever seen! I miss her cooking so much, but then again...she made it not me! LOL I really wish I enjoyed cooking, I want too.....but I guess its not me. I would rather do the dishes than cook, and if you know me you know how much I DESPISE doing dishes. Hopefully Leah will not have a hatred of cooking like I do, and that her fathers side of the family has instilled their cooking abilities in her...cause I know I sure havent! I do love it when she decides to cook for us, cause its always yummy! And she enjoys different types of foods. Okay, now I'm hungry..think I'll settle for a bowl of cereal.
Yeah, I've been a little gripey today....it happens every now and then. But now its time to get some of that work done that I need to do..think I'll start in the office rearranging the furniture...the garden will wait until the heat of the day is gone.
Have a good day
~*~Rachel~*~