Monday, August 18, 2008

Spencer is now in a Pasture with a Herd...of sorts.


Spencer, trying to make sense of it all.

I sent Spencer out into the larger pasture yesterday. He’s now in with a 3 year old Quarab, Jake, and 5 minis (2 donkeys, 2 mules and 1 horse).



I allowed him some time to snoop around the pasture and loafing shed. That much open space seemed a bit scary for him at first. He clearly wanted back into the familiar field he'd been in for the past few weeks. But he meandered around and got more comfortable in his new area.

Normally, I walk new horses around the fenceline to keep them from running through it in a paniced moment, but he wasn't into allowing me to get a leadrope attached to him that day and I didn't feel like screwing with it. The fence couldn't hurt him anyways. He can just about step over it. (Not to worry, now that his gonads are gone!)

Finally, I locked him in the paddock and brought Forrest, the Clydesdale/WM cross, into the pasture.

Forrest is a love, but he doesn’t take crap off many horses. He’s a good 16 hands, but looks small next to Spencer. They made some noise and postured over the gate and after that quieted down, I opened the gate.


Forrest and Spencer - after introductions. I'd guess he and Spencer weight about the same and Forrest has a much lighter build. (Here come the excuses: Forrest isn't usually that fat. But all my horses are gaining weight (getting obese) on the summer air right now. He looked good about 300 pounds ago.)

That's part of my round pen leaning up against the fence. (another project.)

I didn’t let their introductions go as slowly as I did with Danny, but I figured, it’s time for Spencer to start his education in herd behavior. Not all horses are as good natured as Danny, or as brutal as the stallion he was put in with at the last place. Two extremes.

When he and Forrest were first allowed in together, oddly Forrest ignored Spencer, while Spence sniffed Forrest all over. Nibbling his legs and hooves, like he might with a mare and he was acting very stud-like (if you get my drift).

While all of that was going on, Forrest allowed the once over, then he finally let Spencer know he was straight. (I believe Spencer’s ego is taking a real beating meeting all these mares who have no interest in him whatsoever. He doesn’t get "geldings".)

I tossed a few piles of hay out to them and kicking and screaming lasted about 2 seconds and Forrest’s higher rank was firmly in place.

I will wait awhile before introducing a mare. Although he’s got a gal donkey and gal mule in with him. Trudy, the mini mule, opens a can of whoopass on Spencer every time he gets anywhere near her man, Harley the mini horse. That’s pretty funny to watch and will be the beginning of his education on what mares are capable of.

Spencer is really sweet around Jake too. They were eating out of the same pile of hay this morning!

If you look very closely, you can see Spencer out in the field with his new herdmates in this picture that I took this morning (from our back porch.) It was a misty morning after an impressive thunderstorm.


PS: I just wanted to explain that the old horse trailer that you see out in the field is not normally something I would put in a pasture. (The hitch part is covered to prevent leg fractures.) I bought it for $100 with the intention of painting it for the equine agility field to use for trailer loading training. Not sure how long it will take to get around to that project with the 100's of other projects on our list.

46 comments:

DraftCrossFool said...

How *very* cool that Spencer is getting to be a part of a herd. Good job!

Jen's Farmily said...

I came over from the Fugly Horse of the Day blog that was praising you for adopting Spencer. He's looking great and I'm so glad you came along and saved him!!

Heidi Powers said...

Hurray for Spencer and his people!

nccatnip said...

Great job!!! I worried about Spencer but had no way to take him. I can say, this guy is gonna love you forever.

Finny said...

WOW - got here too from the FHoTD blog. What a great job you are doing ! The love you have for all your equines really shines through your words. Your place looks so nice, and your horses look great ! Keep up the fantastic job with Spencer. It is obvious that he has won the horsie lottery ending up with such a loving owner !

Jay said...

Nice job Pat! It's great to see Spencer in a wide open field with other horses.

Anonymous said...

Another Fugly reader here.
What a lucky boy Spencer is! You're doing a great job with him! I'm definitely going to add you to my blog list and follow his progress. He is BEAUTIFUL!

*Amber* aka Suzy SINsation said...

I'm so glad you have Spencer - I know he's a much happier boy now!

Original L said...

Another visitor from FOHTD. I love how great he looks now! Good job!

denz said...

I am also from FHOTD
and your my hero, he looks incredible.

I'll keep an eye on his progress =)

bettylion said...

What a cutie! Big kudos to you for giving him a well deserved upgrade!!! He must be so happy. Reading this made me feel all gooey inside. :-)

Amy Ellen said...

Good for you. It is so awesome that he now has a good home. Great to see that he is beng taken care of and loved.
Amy

LuvMyTBs said...

Thank you and GREAT JOB Pat!!Spencer is very lucky he found you no matter what the circumstances.
Another Fugly member who just had to stop in to say WAY TO GO!!!

BuckdOff said...

Another visitor from FHOTD. He looks amazing, great job.

HORSE-POWER-B said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
HORSE-POWER-B said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
HORSE-POWER-B said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
HORSE-POWER-B said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
bhm said...

HORSE-POWER-B,
If you consider this horse “too much stallion” and prefer to shoot a horse with training issues then I guess you’re not much of a horse trainer. If you’re criticizing this woman’s care of her equines and facility then stable management is also not one of your strong points. As you are breeding and training horses that need to be put down later on I suggest that you do the equine world a favor and get out of the horse business all together. You and horses do not belong together under any circumstances and you are not a horse person.

bhm said...

I was hoping that Spencer would find a good home. Thank you for caring for this horse and taking him on as a training project. I rescued my current horse from a similar situation. He was a 2000 lbs. feral Shire stallion with many issues stemming from abuse and bad training. Now he’s a well trained, gorgeous, majestic gelding and I can’t tell you how much I love this horse. Spencer has very nice natural carriage and gaits so you may wish to try classical dressage with him. If you need any support, I live in Toronto so I’m assuming this would be online, please email me. I also have contact with a number of top draft breeders and trainers who are wonderful people and who can provide assistance if you need any.

laurie said...

well, done. i have a soft spot in my heart for drafts and this boy is cool. i am glad he gets another chance at life.

Horseface said...

I wandered over here from FHOTD...

What a wonderful story. Thank you...

HORSE-POWER-B said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
anniebanannie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
anniebanannie said...

Who is the ground feeders? That sentence should be "Who are the ground feeders." When the sentence noun is plural the form of the verb "to be" should be "are" not "is".

Besides that? What? Are you referring to the horses eating from the ground? Are they the "ground feeders"?

You are also requesting the author of the blog to look at her photos because you used the pronoun "your" and yet you refer to the author as plural "cunts". Since I doubt that the blog owner has two vaginas, I can only assume you are referring to the authors of the comments of the blog.

So your command to look is confusing. Are we as viewers of the blog supposed to be noticing (and commenting) on the photos of horses eating from the ground? Are you pointing out that we are "cunts" or was I correct that you are implying that the blog owner has two vagina's?

Too confusing... your message is lost in your anger.

anniebanannie said...

horse-power-b said: YOU ARE ALL DRAMA QUEENS AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS SLANDER I HOPE YOU GET THE HORSE SHIT SUED OUT OF YOU WHEN THEY SEE THIS. I WILL HELP BRING IT TO THERE ATTENTION JUST TO WATCH YOU BICH SOME. THAT IS YOUR CALLING IN THE WORLD YOU LOSERS.

I need to start a website to help people rant...

Okay, when you say something that is not true it is called "slander." When you write, meaning you use the written word, such as in a blog or article or book something that is not true then is is "libel."

HORSE-POWER-B said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
OrangeElmo said...

HORSE-POWER-B said...
"...sooo sorry for my typos but you all got the point didn't you?"

Um, no, we didn't get your point. Which I think is what Anniebanannie was saying. Your point is lost in your poor typing, bad grammar, abysmal spelling, and run-on sentences.

JazzmanianDevil said...

Good on you for doing right by this horse!

horse-power-b: No, I don't get your point. Your sentences do not make much sense, and you offer no proof to your various claims. If you expect anyone to take you seriously, you should at the very least stop the childish name calling. Asshat.

fuglyfuglyfugly said...

We should get a life? Who's the one trolling here? Moron.

HORSE-POWER-B said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kigercat said...

Do Not feed the Troll =)

Anonymous said...

Spencer seems like quite a handful. If anyone can deal with it it is you! How in the world did you do his feet? Did he behave for that?

bhm said...

HORSE-POWER-B sounds deeply hurt because fugly didn’t like his/her horse.

HORSE-POWER-B said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
anniebanannie said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Pat said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
HORSE-POWER-B said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Pat said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
HORSE-POWER-B said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
HORSE-POWER-B said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
horse_trainer_c said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Pat said...

Well, well, so it appears that horse trainer C and horse power B, know each other and are friends of Spencer's previous people. With friends like that...

I just wish it wasn't on my blog. And one of them has been calling me non-stop since I got home from work today. 6 calls in a row. She thinks Spencer is not in a good place afterall and wants to come and get him. Good grief.

She called me a Drama Queen. Wow.

Scarlet_Fever said...

Good on you Pat for not only the wonderful acts concerning Spencer, but also dealing with COMPLETE morons like Horse Power B, who are clearly spending time on their "fat asses" replying to every post on here... here's a tip hon, everyone here thinks you are ridiculous, and as ignorant as they come. Plus, from your speech I'd say we're dealing with either a teeny bopper here, or a completely illiterate adult.. Try wising up before speaking to adults who have spent their life in the biz...
Once again, huge kudos to you Pat... you have many supporters.

Scarlet_Fever said...

Good on you Pat for not only the wonderful acts concerning Spencer, but also dealing with COMPLETE morons like Horse Power B, who are clearly spending time on their "fat asses" replying to every post on here... here's a tip hon, everyone here thinks you are ridiculous, and as ignorant as they come. Plus, from your speech I'd say we're dealing with either a teeny bopper here, or a completely illiterate adult.. Try wising up before speaking to adults who have spent their life in the biz...
Once again, huge kudos to you Pat... you have many supporters.

allhorsestuff said...

Wow..um, I resemble those remarks about run-on-sentences-bad- grammar and also spelling errors all the time!!!WHATEVER!
Oh well, that is not why I blog and that is not why I live either..to please others that will not be happy, no matter what.

So, all that said...
YOU ARE SO AWESOME!
You are making such a wonderful differance in Your Spencer's life.
Anyone that could critiize your intensions or your motives...well, they need to find their own happiness and slamming you can't be that joy making..could it? Those sick-o-s!

Thank you for sharing and caring for that gorgious horseface Spencer, when others would have let him go till death.
yours truly,
KK