Luna is a fox trotter and a lope or gallop is not very nice on a gaited horse. They are better in their gaited fast trot. But in training you keep the legs going if the horse will not give to the request. And Luna being lazy has to gallop a lot when she begins to be willful. She is getting better and more responsive now.
Now that we are down to two roosters our game cock is a busy guy. He has to keep a sharp eye out at dusk for the owl and fox. Both have been spotted by the guineas and chased away. We also have wild turkey and deer foraging nearby. All are warned about by the rooster and the hens run to him for safety. Today is raining so all are "cooped up" until it stops for the day.
We lost a chick to drowning in a deep water dish. Chicks can't swim and they drown fast. We learned to only have shallow pans for all the chickens to drink from. This leaves us with two whitey wackers who are doing very well. Every day is a new lesson in life out here on the farm.
This past 14th our group threw a thank you dinner for our Mill Restoration donors. Our antique grain mill has been worked on for years to keep it intact and restored for future generations. Our town had blue grass music, homemade desserts and food all donated at our community center to say thank you to our benefactors. A great time was had by all who attended.
Here is my 7 year old Fox Trotter on her 5th day of training. She is gaited and smooth but has some issues that need work. Luna got tired of trotting and threw a fit. My trainer worked on her and galloped her, but Luna was willful. So my trainer dismounted and tied Luna on her left rein to let her fight herself. After an hour Luna learned and was soft in the mouth. The next day Luna was great and only needed a 30 minute ride. Luna has stopped running me over when I lead her in her halter. It is not fun getting run over by a horse. These are the thing I am learning how to do with a horse that was trained poorly. She is in good training hands now.
Our 3 chicks are growing fast and leaving mama hen often. They are now a week and a half old. We call them the whitey wackers since they climb all over Whitey, our white hen. They peck on her when they are cold or hungry. I had no idea chicks were so demanding to their moms. I am glad she only has 3 to watch.They climb on her when they are cold. They run right into the flock for bread without any fear. A hens work is never done until all her chicks go to sleep in the coop.
We got a call on Sunday from a friend wanting to do a trade. He wanted our 2 roosters in exchange for a huge aloe vera plant. We had 4 roosters and our flock was stressed out. So I caught 2 of our young roosters, boxed them and delivered them to our friend. The plant was too big to haul home in the winter since we don't have a greenhouse. We will pick it up in the summer. Our flock is a lot calmer and quieter without all the fighting roosters do.
