The Arabian Touch

09/30/2024

Fair week is usually a farm work week for us, since we basically get stuck at home due to the traffic. This year's project - fix the "imaginary fencing". Lol!

5 year's ago when we moved the horses home, we used a bunch of logs we cleared as posts. This saved us a ton of money to start. They lasted longer than I expected, however over the winter this year many of the bases rotted and with a gentle breeze and a slight snow load, lots of portions collapsed. We weren't able to get out to fix it due to the snow and then the wet spring, so a t-post with some non-electrified tape cutting off the downed portion did the trick for a while (thank goodness I have respectful horses).

But now we're replacing it with much more durable fencing that will last much longer. PT posts set in concrete.

During the fence swap out we didn't want the horses to have to be turned in so we took the chance of true imaginary fencing. In one of the photos you can see Meo checking it out. She had no desire to go anywhere. 😍

Here's to many more years of strong fencing!!

09/03/2024

Day 3 and I'm thrilled to report that we are very settled! Which is perfect since I have to return to work tomorrow!

Turnout was mostly quiet, a few conversations here and there - especially around lunchtime. But that's pretty normal - everyone always loves to tell me how late I am for all feedings 🤣😂🤭

All are currently inside the barn, with a slight increase to the wall height between the stallions. All are happy!! I tried this configuration last night they weren't fighting, but they were smooching over the wall. 😘😘

I'm so thrilled, Tater is a really well behaved boy. Super easy to handle and very well socialized.

09/01/2024

Tater Update:

While he seemed pretty calm upon arrival and settled into his secluded paddock on day 1, dinner brought about chaos. The discovery that that were other horses on site was a lot for him and he became very stressed. Calling and running the fence line. This was not unexpected.

I put him and Psyche in the barn together overnight and there was more chaos. Lots of screaming and pacing around the stalls. Again pretty expected. Over the soothing waves of NPR I left them in overnight, and they seemed slightly settled although when I entered in the morning they were excited at my arrival and seemed to want to fight for my attention (hah, probably kidding myself, it was probably all about breakfast, LOL).

Then came turnout, all of my regular herd was a bit more agitated than normal with lots of screaming and interest along the fence lines where they do not normally traverse. But they were mostly settled and inconvenience was minimal. Tater however had a rough day. He spent pretty much the entire day running the fence - poor guy.

When it came time for turn in. I thought I might try something different, seems like Tater wants a friend so let's try putting him next to Riley in the barn. We'll that might have gone ok, but Dora was one stall down and has decided she is in love with Tater - her new boyfriend. Tater got confused and wanted to breed Riley who said . . . Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm down to be friends but not THAT kind of friend. Lol, and they got into a kick fest in the barn (side note, my barn is really well built and handled the beating like a champ). So I turned Riley and the girls back out for the night, leaving Psyche and Tater to have the barn to themselves again overnight. There was obviously still excitement to be had, but when the lights went out things quieted down.

When I entered this morning things were quiet. I did get my normal requests for breakfast, but hooves were quiet. Huge progress and so quickly. I was impressed.

Turnout this morning began very similar to yesterday for Tater at least where he was pacing the fence and calling. Very stressed. The rest of the herd seems pretty over it and we're content to go about their business without much fuss.

Now it's about noontime and things are quiet. Hooves are still and there is minimal screaming. This bodes well.

As with any intro of a new horse to a property things get shaken up. Patience is key - more so with stallions. Tater is super sweet and very easy to handle even in an agitated state. The same with Psyche. In this regard I am incredibly lucky and grateful. We will see where things go and what adjustments need to be made, but huge progress for a short amount of time.

08/31/2024

Hidden Pond Farm Equine Rescue called, they had rescued an Arabian Stallion did DNA testing and found out who he was. Not only was he registered, but he had really good bloodlines. Would we take him??

How could we? We already have 4 horses, we'd need a whole new paddock. Would Psyche tolerate another stallion on site? We're not really set up for it. It was never my intention to have 2 stallions at the same time . . .

Then came a date of his scheduled gelding plus a small push from Phyllis. How sad it would be to see him be gelded.

And here we are today, a few weeks later. Gelding surgery cancelled and Blaze (as HPF calls him)/Tater (as his breeder called him)/AL AHMAR IBN JADOUBE (registered name) arrived at The Arabian Touch today because . . . How could we NOT?

He didn't enjoy his trailer ride very much, but quickly settled once he got off and got to his private, shiny new paddock. Then dinner time rolled around and chaos ensued when everyone realized there was someone new here. Lots of screaming and running. The boys are currently in the barn listening to the soothing sounds of NPR. If I can find a configuration that they will settle into, I will introduce the rest of the herd and then Tater will be here to stay for good.

08/18/2024

A bit behind the 🎱 here, but we're approaching our 1 year foster-versary of the Riguy! We decided to take on a foster last year and so we reached out and shortly after took on Riley a 27 year old QH. He came to our place and walked off the trailer as if he owned the place and had been here his whole life. Not an arab, but he fit in right away for reasons I'm sure you can see (I do not seek out a type, all of my horses have found me). The intro to the girls was hilarious as they decided he had cooties for the first few weeks and avoided him mostly. He would just slowly walk over to see if they wanted to be friends and they would slowly walk away to the other side of the paddock. He persisted, seeming unaffected by their "rejection". They decided they could all be a herd sometime late fall and winter and come spring Meo decided he should be her boyfriend and harassed him non-stop (see the bitey face pict). He took this all in stride just happy to have a close friend. Meo finally took the hint that he just wanted to be friends and they are just a good herd now. It has enabled me to remove one of the girls for my weekly trail ride without someone being left behind. We are so happy to be able to offer him security and safety.

08/05/2024

What a majestic night here on the farm.

07/05/2024

Happy fourth everyone!!!

06/24/2024

Anyone looking for a nice Arab Stallion? (Not Psyche obviously)

03/08/2024