Right now, I am housesitting for my friend's parents on an acreage, while the whole family takes a vacation prior to Christmas. Part of my daily duties is to feed their four horses by pitching hay to them. Although I grew up on a farm, this is new to me, because we did not have horses.
Before the family left, I went out to the acreage for an evening to get instructions as to the amount of feed and the feeding schedule for all the animals. I was told to feed the horses four large, or eight less large forkfuls of hay twice daily, but that too much is better than not enough. They also cautioned that if the horses are underfed, or fed late, they may decide to make a break for it, so to err on the side of generousity when feeding them. I certainly did not want to have to deal with that occuring, so I made a mental note of how high the hay measured against the fence, and how big the forkfuls were, so I could be sure to keep the horses happy.
Right after dropping my friend off at the airport, I hurried out to the acreage to feed the horses before I had to be at work. I began pitching the hay, but decided that, instead of counting how much I thought I had thrown over, I should see how it was stacking up, and estimate the amount that way.
One ... two ... three ... four.
I was only half done, contrary to what I had orginally thought. I pitched hay for awhile longer, and counted again.
One ... two ... three ... four ... and a half.
I went back to the bale, thinking four huge forkfuls must be much more huge than I thought.
It wasn't until my third count came up to only five or six that I realized that some errors may have occurred due to the fact that, while I was pitching the hay, the horses were simultaneously eating it!!!
After that, I started to measure it out into four piles before I pitched it over the fence, but halfway through the ten days, I discovered that I was going through the bale much too fast. I guess "large" is in the eye of the beholder.
At least the horses were happy ... to break the fence down anyway on almost a daily basis.
Before the family left, I went out to the acreage for an evening to get instructions as to the amount of feed and the feeding schedule for all the animals. I was told to feed the horses four large, or eight less large forkfuls of hay twice daily, but that too much is better than not enough. They also cautioned that if the horses are underfed, or fed late, they may decide to make a break for it, so to err on the side of generousity when feeding them. I certainly did not want to have to deal with that occuring, so I made a mental note of how high the hay measured against the fence, and how big the forkfuls were, so I could be sure to keep the horses happy. Right after dropping my friend off at the airport, I hurried out to the acreage to feed the horses before I had to be at work. I began pitching the hay, but decided that, instead of counting how much I thought I had thrown over, I should see how it was stacking up, and estimate the amount that way.
One ... two ... three ... four.
I was only half done, contrary to what I had orginally thought. I pitched hay for awhile longer, and counted again.
One ... two ... three ... four ... and a half.
I went back to the bale, thinking four huge forkfuls must be much more huge than I thought.
It wasn't until my third count came up to only five or six that I realized that some errors may have occurred due to the fact that, while I was pitching the hay, the horses were simultaneously eating it!!!
After that, I started to measure it out into four piles before I pitched it over the fence, but halfway through the ten days, I discovered that I was going through the bale much too fast. I guess "large" is in the eye of the beholder.
At least the horses were happy ... to break the fence down anyway on almost a daily basis.
posted by Karen | Sunday, December 17, 2006
2 Comments:
Ahhh ... the smell of fresh pony poop in the morning mist really gets one into the Christmas spirit. The more you feed them the more... ummm ... spirit you have!?!
They are going to miss you when you move back into town and resume your city slicker persona… maybe hang onto your @#%* kickers just in case you feel the urge to open up a dude ranch.
I always enjoy visiting the farm and even the "natural" smells that come with... although its super hard work and I would never want to do it for a living. Although I could handle an acre or two with a pony and a farm dog...
Post a Comment
<< Home