As the temperatures soar this summer, I’m spending much more
time in my day with my horses, trying to keep them cool so the heat doesn’t
cause them to be too miserable or get sick.
I’m grateful that I can carve out these short interludes to be with them
and that they are right outside my back door.
It’s obvious that the horses are also very happy that I can act as their
personal cooling agent. How often does that happen? Lucky girls!
Silk likes to stand in Siete’s stall next to the fan with
the water buckets right under her nose. Every couple of hours, I drop in to
lightly spray both horses with the hose to cool them down. Yesterday, I sprayed
my arm too and feeling the delightful coolness of the fan blowing on my wet
skin, I just turned the hose on myself and got soaked. Then, Silk and I spent
about fifteen minutes standing absolutely still together in front of the fan.
The absolutely still part is important too. Standing without
motion is something that I notice the horses do when it is very hot and they
want to conserve their energy. Alone, I would have begun to fidget, but with
Silk to show me how to do it effortlessly, I was totally content to rest next
to her.
This morning, I asked myself, if I were a horse, what would
I need to be comfortable today? Fly
masks, non-toxic spray to make me not taste good to insects, cool water, and tasty hay and other
interesting things to eat like grass and carrots are at the top of the
list. We are down to the very end of our
second cut hay, counting the days until the new second cutting is baled and
ready. I was able to score nine very
nice, clover laced bales to get us through this week until the fresh stuff is
available next Sunday. The girls are so
pleased, murmuring “Nmm, nmm!” loudly as I approach with more flakes. I also make a “tea” for Siete, adding a
little molasses and sweet feed to the bucket.
She’s not a big water drinker, so it keeps her hydrated when it’s this
hot.
It seems like things aren’t going to cool down for another
four or five days. To my surprise, I
didn’t feel discouraged by that news. It sure beats trudging out to the barn in
two feet of snow. “Don’t worry, girls,
we got this one covered,” I told them last night. “Nmm, nmm!”
