Hay Diary

Tonight we put round bales in each of the two paddocks. Horses will stay out until Tuesday night - we are expecting heavy rain Wednesday. Terry brought home a LARGE team of blacks this afternoon, who will remain in the barn until he leaves for PA.

Jim and Jess

The horses we named "Jim & Jess" are now being leased out to a company in New Hampshire for the remainder of the Christmas season. After Christmas they will be for sale. They are a fantastic team of grey geldings, and are an excellent commercial team. Standing a good 17.2HH a piece, they are tall but very quiet. If interested in learning more about them, call us!

Christmas Parade in Taunton, MA

December, 6, 2009 we were once again in Taunton, MA for their annual Christmas Parade. This year's parade was bigger than ever, and our horses and carriages graced the streets as thousands came out to enjoy the sunshine and reasonably warm weather. Duke & Diesel had the honors of pulling Miss Taunton in the Cinderella Pumpkin Carriage, and Lincoln finished off the parade with Santa in the sleigh. Also making an appearance was the Hallamore Hitch of Clydesdales.

Photos: Top: Miss Taunton made her appearance in the Taunton Parade with the Cinderella Pumpkin Carriage, pulled by Duke & Diesel.

Bottom: Santa's coming to town, in a red sleigh pulled by a Percheron!

Meanwhile, what do we do to prepare for our jobs? Year round our horses get a bath with the pressure washer - in cold weather it is a hot water bath. Then in the winter, they are blanketed to keep them as clean as possible in-between jobs. This photo shows Terry pressure-washing Dolly on Thursday, which was a very warm day.

Holiday Cheer Continues

Friday into Saturday we found ourselves with multiple vehicles and teams in many different locations. Friday night, as per a years long tradition, we had two carriages in Deep River for their annual tree lighting and town caroling. Always a delightful venue, the carriages were packed all night long, giving Duke and Diesel and Dolly and Lincoln a good workout.

Saturday, in spite of very chilly rain, Terry and I were in Middletown again. Santa, always practical, closed up shop early once the rain became too steady and started to pull down his beard. Wise decision, as we were getting soaked, too. Meanwhile, Karl and Sue had Lincoln and Dolly in Bloomfield, only in the snow!

Speaking of snow, we are selling lots of sleigh ride gift certificates ('tis the season) and naturally got calls yesterday for sleigh rides. Unfortunately, there was not enough snow this time - we need a minimum of 5" of good quality snow to do sleigh rides.

Photos: Top: Duke, Diesel, Dolly and Lincoln in Deep River

Bottom: Duke and Diesel in Middeltown, with Santa

Holyoke Tree Lighting

The first Thursday of every December we find ourselves delivering the citizens of Holyoke MA to Santa's train. Yes, I said train. He comes in on an antique Pioneer Railroad engine, and all the children visit with him in one of the cars decorated with lights and a Christmas tree. The historic carousel is open, and the town hall, which looks like a mediaeval castle, is lit up with a giant Christmas tree out front. This year (unlike years past!) was warm and balmy - didn't need a jacket until well after sundown!

A Barn Full of Percherons

Terry came in from PA on Wednesday night with a tall team of grays. They had a short stint at a tree farm there but are now being leased to someone in New Hampshire for their holiday rides. They'll be leaving our farm next week, but meanwhile they are gracing our back paddock. Although it is a young team, they are super quiet, well broke, and sweet. They will likely be up for sale in January.

Hay Diary: The bays and Dolly have been eating bales since Wednesday night. While we have a few round bales stored, we decided against putting them out because of heavy, HEAVY rainfall on Wednesday night. We were flooded Thursday morning, but with the monsoon rains came warmer weather - better than 60 degrees!

Waking to a (potential) Nightmare

Woke up this morning to a chill in the air and ice in the water buckets. Heading outside to feed, I heard a loud banging from the barn. At first thinking it was Duke, showing his dismay at still being indoors by pawing his size 7 feet at the head of the stall, I went to the tractor. Before starting it , however, I realized the banging was both too loud and too desperate to be Duke. Running into the barn, I saw Lincoln half over the stall divider between him and Duke, one hind leg hanging and the other tucked up on the divider, his front legs outstretched trying to hold his massive weight, trembling with fear and adrenalin.

I panicked. Having forgotten my cell phone in the house, I ran to retrieve it. I immediately called Terry, helpless in Pennsylvania to do anything about this dilemma. He could barely understand my desperate voice, screaming we had an emergency, not knowing what to do with an 1800 pound horse with powerful hindquarters stuck five feet in the air. Duke's tie was broken, undoubtably trying to get away from Lincoln's hind end. After hanging up with Terry, who promised to call a good neighbor, I grabbed Duke to put him out, fearing I would need the room to work to get Lincoln on his legs again.

Within 30 seconds of putting Duke out, Lincoln had once again found the floor, straddling the divider! Why had I not retrieved the camera while in the house after the phone? What a sight!

Figuring my only hope at extricating Lincoln was the use of a chain saw, I decided it would benefit me to move Diesel outside, too, now dancing and snorting at what he must have determined to be Lincoln's naughtiness.

As I said before, wish I had had a camera: by the time I once again got back to plot Lincoln's rescue, he had somehow hopped the divider, and was standing in his stall, with a look on his face that said, "Why you huffin' and puffin' so bad? Let's EAT!" All this, and not a mark on him.

The morning doesn't end there, however. While going about my morning chores (at a much more relaxed pace, I may add), I discovered my beloved pet English Game Bantam hen, Belinda, had passed away in the night. Such sadness I felt to open the door to her little bantam house to find her cold and lifeless. I shall miss her horribly, and I am sure her rooster, Herman, feels lost without her. Goodbye, Belinda.

Hay Diary -

The bays and Dolly finished the round bale in their paddock as of yesterday morning, Monday November 30. Because the greys are bathed and blanketed, they are spending more time in the barn, so I moved the three into the grey's paddock. That paddock still has some hay in the feeder, and I will let them finish it. Meanwhile, the four greys and the two ponies are consuming approximately 4 1/2 bales of hay a day.