Old MacDonald Had a Farm...

Everyone who knows me, knows who my good buddy Dan is. One of his passions all his life is horses. It wasn't until the past couple years he has found a situation where he can own and be around horses. Matter of fact he bought a house that was a stones throw from the barn I'm going to introduce you to. The barn is called Live and Let Live Farm. Its a non-profit shelter for horses and a few other misc animals. You can read about all their good doings on the website. And if you are looking for a good non-profit to donate some of your excess money to, these people do a lot of good, and they always need money. Anyways.

When I go to the "Barn", I usually help feed, or clean pen's. Not any pen, only Tanks. Dan's horse. We'll meet Tank a little later. This last Saturday I was there to help feed. The horses start with usually two flecks of hay each, then a bowl of the crap pictured below. Its a mixture of beet pulp, and grain. Different horses have different requirements. I just put the food where they tell me, but this stuff is heavy and noxious.

After the feeding, had to go around and pick up all the food containers. I'm guessing there are 30ish horses there. All different sizes shapes and colors. On our way making the rounds, there was a small horse that had its lead left on. Why? No one knows. He was ok, but was just stumbling on the lead and it was a nuisance. So Dan stepped up to help the little guy out. Problem was the horse didn't want to be helped. Thankfully someone brought carrots (me) and horse love carrots. So the first picture is Dan convincing the horse to come get a carrot. The second picture was soon after when Dan got a hold of the lead. Dan doesn't take no crap from a small horse, as seen in the second picture. It looks worse in the picture than it was. The horse just fought for a second, and Dan released the lead. Everybody walked away happy and healthy.

Being a barn/farm, there are other animals around. I saw these cute little bunnies hidding out in the back of the barn in one of the stalls. Available for adoption if anyone is interested.

The bunnies neighbors were even cuter. This litter of Lab/Golden Retreiver mix puppies were sawing them off, no cares in the world. The mother was PROTECTIVE! I did get a little one on four time with the pups when they mom was out on the town. So cute. Someday. The place was a mud pit, as most places are this time of year. I'm not sure what the yellowish/green is, but being surrounded by horses and other animals I have an idea. Good thing it was my left boot that has the hole in the side. Nice legs, huh? This is Sir Thomas. Also known as a BIG horse! He is a 14 year old, 17 + hand draft Belgian gelding (according to the website). Its taken a while to be comfortable being this close to a horse, but they still are pretty intimidating. Dan and I have a joke that they are just like big dogs. Let them smell your hand, and they will let you know if they are cool with you or not. Ned! This is Ned the donkey. Huge fuzzy ears. I love fuzzy ears.
This is Tank up front. Tank is a big horse too, just not as big as Sir Thomas. Tank is Dan's horse, loves carrots and is a good horse (as far as I can tell). In the background is Captain, and 14+ year old former police horse. Tank bullies Captain around. Captain likes carrots too. Thats the pen that I'll be cleaning. I guess it hasn't been cleaned since early winter (before everything froze). Here is a better picture of me and Tank taken last March. When you lead a horse, you should always be on the left. Why? No clue. But thats a rule I learned.