Seeing Green

Spring weather in Colorado can definitely be unpredictable, but it's hard to beat a day like today.  Sunny and 70 degrees, it was a perfect day to hit the trail, not to mention it's Dad's birthday weekend and there's no place he'd rather be!

After the long brown winter it's so nice to see the green grass and the cottonwoods beginning to turn.

Even the girls are looking better as they have shed out most of their winter coat.

Always one of my favorite sights along the trail.

Our horses can't get enough of the fresh cool water, especially Rowdy who always has to stop and play a bit!

 I wonder which horse is allowed to stop and eat along the trail??  Hmmm....

The grass isn't always greener on the other side, but today it was!

It was a great day followed by a great celebratory meal!  Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy Valentine's Day from Sadie Acres!

With the variety of critters that we have here at Sadie Acres, it's quite amazing how they all co-exist pretty peacefully.  

Sure, Dolly and Penny have their morning food battle, the chickens pick on the rabbits, and although Rowdy adores Sadie in their stalls he will chase and kick her when they are turned out together (I guess you always know the boys like you when they pick on you!), but overall there is a lot of love in our little barn.

No bond is stronger than the bond between Chloe and Oscar.  Before we got them we had planned on only getting one rabbit, once we started researching we quickly learned that these guys form extremely close bonds and live much happier and healthier lifestyles when you have them in pairs.  Watching these two together I can't imagine them ever being separated!

Sadie and Rowdy are best buds in their stalls, although Sadie paces a little bit less since we got Dolly as her companion, she's still happiest when Rowdy comes back in the evening from turnout.  

Penny and Rowdy are definitely the most bonded of the horses, they were together in their previous home as well and their behavior definitely mimics an old married couple :)

Since Dolly was purchased to be Sadie's companion (aka BFF) I had high hopes that they would bond right away. Unfortunately, Sadie preferred hanging out with Rowdy and Dolly preferred tormenting Penny, but with more turnout and trail rides together these two finally seem to be enjoying each others company more and more.

Every once in a while you'll even find an unusual pairing.  The hens are usually pretty inseparable, but on this day shortly after Dolly came to Sadie Acres Lady Mary opted to spend a little time with her. Worried she was looking for an escape route I almost rushed over to move her, but I soon realized she was perfectly content hanging with Dolly, she perched there for a good 15 minutes, and Dolly hung out just as happy to be with her visitor.

Hopefully Mary will warm up to Denali like she has to Dolly, poor Denali didn't receive quite the same warm welcome from her!

I guess we can't win them all! 

Making a Splash!

I know it's a little too early to use the S word, but with a high of 72 degrees Saturday and the creek running strong from runoff, I'm going to say it anyway...it feels like Spring!  

We took full advantage of the perfect weather this weekend and nobody enjoyed it more than the horses, with their still heavy winter coats, the cool water must have felt fantastic!

Rowdy, of course, had to make the biggest splash :)

Sadie must have remembered our river trips in AZ because she was a champ and waded all the way in to where the water was up to my ankles.  I was glad I didn't bring Dolly along on this ride, she definitely would have been swimming!

Even Penny, who enjoys water the least had fun splashing around.

The only one not excited about our noisy trek through the water was this huge owl that we presumably woke from his afternoon nap.  I wish I would have had my camera ready, he flew right in front of me and Sadie.

The reality of it still being February will definitely sink in with snow in the forecast this Wednesday, but it was nice to soak up the beautiful weather for a couple days!

Duty Calls

It takes a lot to keep Sadie Acres running, time and money. These guys eat a lot...yeah, I'm looking at you, horses!  

That being said, as smart as the rabbits are, they have yet to get a job!  And although I'm up to $1.97 this month in ad revenue from the blog (don't laugh, it's something!), that won't quite pay the bills either, so duty calls this week and I'll be working out of town until Tuesday Feb. 3rd.   

The bad news is there will not be as many blog updates from Sadie Acres, the good news is when I get back Denali will have arrived!

Sorry, Rowdy, you can't come with me :(

Sadie Acres hits the trail

We are finally thawing out here at Sadie Acres, with a high of 57 today most of the snow has melted and I haven't had to break any ice in almost a week...yay!! 

That being said, we have some really muddy runs and some super dirty horses!!   

Sadie's run may not dry out until spring!

So, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather, clean up the horses and hit the trail!  

Dad and Rowdy patiently waiting on the girls

After an incident a couple months ago when Sadie slipped in mud and fell with me on her (we were both ok, thank goodness!) we took it nice and slow today, which is just the pace Dolly and Daisy like.  

Quite the caravan, can't wait until we have our little Bernese Mountain Dog joining us on the trail!

I continue to be amazed at how well these two do on the trail together.  Dolly is such a trooper keeping up with those short little legs and Sadie has endless patience with Dolly's complete disregard of her personal space and her endless attempts to speed up and get a quick bite to eat before she runs out of slack :)

Giving Dolly's little legs a rest

One of the best things about our "herd" is they truly love being around people. Even when they are free to go graze after their ride, they still would rather be with their humans :).

Penny tends to be the least affectionate of the horses, but she is sure getting bonded to Mom!

You sure you don't have any more peppermints??

It was a fun day, I could get used to these temps...how many more days until summer??

A Rare Moment...

One of my favorite things about working from home is getting to capture rare moments like the one I did today.

It's not uncommon to find Penny laying down relaxing in the sun, but I've never seen these two sleeping right next to each other.

I had to sneak up on them to get pictures before they woke up.  Not an easy task in the ice and mud, but they were both sound asleep!

It's a sign of trust when a horse will lay down with you nearby since that is their most vulnerable position, our horses definitely don't have any trust issues!  These two were in no hurry to get up from their nap!

A very un-Rowdy moment

Come out and play!

The sun is shining, the snow is melting and everyone is feeling good!

With the sun out and the temps a bit warmer it was a good day to get Sadie and Dolly out of their muddy stalls and let them run around a bit.  

As usual, Dolly had more interest in eating than playing.  Sadie running crazy does not even phase her, she never looks up :)

Sadie and her best bud Rowdy would love to be out running together, unfortunately, he likes to kick at her so we keep them separated.  

 

He likes to kick at Penny too, but after years together she's pretty savvy to his ways!

\

The girls enjoyed their play time, but were more than happy to head back to the barn as the temps dropped again and dinnertime approached.

The Missing Link?

Every little girl has their dream horse, and pretty much every dream horse has one thing in common.   

You got it, an amazing mane and tail...the longer the better.

Just look at these My Little Pony toys.

My sister and I had countless horse toys growing up and most of them came with a brush and comb to keep your ponies groomed to perfection!

Some horses are lucky enough to grow long, healthy manes and tails naturally, but for most owners it's a constant effort to keep them growing out and looking nice.   

Many factors work against this effort...horses rubbing their manes out (ahem, Rowdy!), rolling (Sadie ALWAYS rolls on her mane side!), other horses chewing on their mane and tail, weather causing dryness, mud etc. which leads to breakage. The list goes on!  

There are countless hair products for horses, seriously, Sadie has more hair products than I do!  From shampoos, conditioners, detangling products, miracle products meant to grow faster and thicker hair.   One Google search for "growing out your horses mane" brings thousands and thousands of results...forums, videos, home remedies.  

I was one of those searchers, Sadie has a long gorgeous tail, but I couldn't resist the urge to try and get a long and flowing mane to match that tail!  

Horse lovers just love spending time with their horses, whether it's grooming them, riding them, just hanging out in the barn, and when you're not with them you are probably online researching something to do with them.  This is a perfect example of that!

Sadie shortly after I bought her

I did my homework and it seemed that Shapley's MTG product was a crowd favorite. It was reported to be a bit greasy with a weird smell, but the results were well worth it.  

Now, I'm sure this product is fantastic for horses with a dark mane, I've used it on Rowdy since he rubbed his mane out, but for Sadie this is what we ended up with...

It was terrible, her greasy mane was dirt brown within a day of using it.  

After ruling out MTG I decided to just keep Sadie's mane braided regularly and always use a conditioner and detangler to eliminate as much breakage as possible.

Sadie will probably never have the long flowing mane, but we definitely seemed to be making progress!

When we moved to Colorado I now had a partner in crime to obsess over details such as these, my Mom :)

As Penny was shedding out her winter coat, we expected to see the nice shiny coat emerge that comes with summer and the loss of that shaggy winter coat.   With Penny that didn't happen, so my Mom went to work researching skin and coat products.   

Penny in January 2014

We ended up trying Ultimate Equine Skin & Coat by Missing Link.  This product not only promotes healthy skin and coat, but also lists the following benefits:

- Omega fatty acids help the absorption of fat soluble vitamins which nutritionally        support: intercellular health, energy levels, the immune system, and muscle,            tendon and ligament function.

- Nutrients work together to grow strong, tough hooves.

- Dietary fiber to promote a healthy digestive system.

- Photo (plant) nutrients to support general health and nutrition.

After just a couple weeks we saw a big difference in Penny.  Her coat shined up and looked much healthier.  I also noticed her mane was growing like crazy.  

After seeing what a positive impact it had for Penny I decided to start giving it to Sadie as well.  

The girls have been on it for about 2 months and we have definitely been happy with the results! If their manes are any indicator, this product does it's job!  Not only are we seeing a lot of growth, but Sadie's mane is coming in much thicker and healthier.  

Penny this evening

Sadie this evening

Sadie may not have a mane down to her hooves, but even as a little girl I couldn't have envisioned a more perfect dream horse :)

We have Manners. We're Polite.

I just recently finished up Season 2 of "Orange is the New Black", the final episode is titled "We have Manners. We're Polite".  It seemed like a very fitting theme for tonight's blog post.

For the horses of Sadie Acres, life is pretty darn good.   They have a cozy brand new barn with large runs, jolly balls and treat balls to entertain them, 10 acres to graze on and enjoy turnout, their stalls are cleaned daily, they all have diets and supplements customized to their exact needs, treats at least twice daily (for my horse friends, we are such huge fans of Probios, the horses love them and they help keep a healthy digestive system), their "work" consists of trail rides in the shady woods and splashing through the river, and they receive a TON of attention each day with grooming and pampering.   So, to put it bluntly, our horses are quite spoiled!  

Now that being said, we have been extremely diligent with keeping a healthy amount of discipline as well.  At 1,000 lbs + you have to set certain guidelines to keep everyone involved safe.   Since we moved them into the barn, Sadie, Penny and Rowdy have been trained that when food comes into their stall they don't receive one bite until they politely take a least one step back and give us room to fill their feeders.  

Similar rules apply when being taken in and out of their stalls.  After some bad habits developed, Sadie, Penny and Rowdy all now know that when their stall doors open they don't make a move out the door until we have secured their halters and we lead them out quietly, same rules apply coming in.  It makes for a much safer and more pleasant experience for everyone involved.   

You'll notice there was one Sadie Acres resident that was left off that list...our mini, Dolly.  We've been guilty of being a bit lax with her, she has so much personality and is so darn cute that it's easy to forget that although she is a mini she still weighs about 350 pounds and it can be a handful keeping control of her!    
Taking her in and out of her stall and leading her anywhere was not quite the quiet, controlled experience we have demanded from the other horses.  Nope, Dolly typically pushes her way out the door, does her famous head toss, then makes a dash to the big pile of hay.   It's hard not to laugh, her big Tina Turner mane bouncing up and down as she trots her dainty little trot to get a HUGE bite of hay before we wrangle her back to where she's supposed to be.    

So, last night I decided it was time to get to work and teach Dolly some manners.  
She is definitely as smart as she is cute, last night we did about 3 laps in the barn focusing on stopping the head toss, the pulling and the fixation on the hay.   I was curious to try a bit more tonight and see how much she remembered.  

Our first attempt was not bad! She was very respectful with my pace and only struggled when she got near the hay.  It was just too tempting for her so we had some head tossing and she struggled a bit to get back focused.

Our second attempt: 

She did so much better this time, even when one of the other horses spooked!

So proud of Dolly and excited to keep working with her to have even better manners and be more polite :)

If Dolly was on OITNB, she would definitely be Crazy Eyes!

  

Carrot and Apple Horse Cakes AKA Horse Crack!!

With the temps close to 100 degrees it was a good day to stay inside and enjoy the nice cool A/C.  

Since we couldn't be outside riding or hanging out with the horses, and we happen to have some excellent little helpers visiting this weekend, we decided we would bake the horses some homemade treats.  

We decided on Carrot and Apple Horse Cakes!

Our ingredients:

1 apple, grated

1 carrot, grated

1 cup of molasses

2 1/2 cups of oats

2 Tbsp oil

My niece, Caroline, started off grating the apple while my nephew, Jonny handled the molasses and the oil.

I grated the carrot while C & J measured out the oats.

The sticky molasses made for a tough job mixing it all together, but Jonny and Caroline got the job done!

We flattened our horse cakes onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet... now that was a messy job!

Teamwork!

Now they were ready for the oven.  We baked them for 35 minutes at 300 degrees.

They came out golden brown and smelling pretty delicious!  Now we just had to wait for them to cool before they were to pass the ultimate test.

It was finally time to let the horses sample their homemade treats...

The results were pretty clear, we had created horse crack!!  None of them could get enough.  

Rowdy, to be expected, was especially animated when it came to his excitement about this new delicious treat.  

   

The horses were very appreciative of all our hard work, Sadie even gave Jonny a hug to thank him :)

Celebrating our success!  

Stay tuned, we were on such a roll we also baked bunny treats and dog biscuits! We'll share our recipes and find out if they were as well received as the Carrot and Apple Horse Cakes.