Worry Wart Wendy

It's 56 F and pouring rain right now and has been all night long. At 3am I woke up and started to worry... the boys are outside, they have no run-in. Are they clever enough to go into the little valley near the spring and get protection from the trees and bushes? Are they cold? Toby's so old! Can he handle being out in this weather? I've cut them back on their grain so much. Was that the right thing to do? Is Toby looking alright or is it his thick coat that makes him look ok to me? Ollie's fine. Ollie's getting FAT! I didn't feel any ribs on Toby so he must be ok.

I'm a headcase. I'm trying super hard to get used to "horse care in Kentucky with outstanding pastures." Everytime I go out to see my guys, it warms my heart because they look so good! Toby used to cough when we would first begin a ride - not anymore. He's not stiff moving when we start out either. Ollie seems so settled and calm now. His poops are looking good again, he is easy to handle and I get a sense that he's feeling content. Why do I worry?!

I think it's because 1) I'm a city girl and my horses have always been in places that only allowed pasture time for part of the day and only in good weather, and 2) I've never had horses on good large pasture.

Ollie and Toby used to get 4 quarts of grain a day (2 in morning/2 in evening) with supplements included in the morning feed. Now, Ollie is down to only supplements and Toby is cut back to 1 quart of grain with supplements once a day. Even then, I've recently started to not feed every day. They get hay most everyday along with the other horses (who do not get grain and are all pleasantly plump) particularly on cold days. Since they are currently living in the hay field and it's been warm with the grass growing some, they don't get or need the hay on the nice warm days that we've had. The pasture alone is adequate. Once winter sets in they will be getting hay everyday.

The other day we had a cold front blow in during the night. It poured rain and became cold/frosty. I was worried...

I went out to check on them that morning. They had just been fed hay out in the field so I had to walk out to see them. Both of them were bone dry and happy as could be. I checked their coats all over to see if they were really that dry. They sure were! They have the thickest coats right now and it's hard to get down to the skin.

So this morning, I have to believe that after the heavy rains all night long, and while it's still warm out, that my boys are happy and comfortable in their thick, water proof coats outside in the pasture of their dreams.

I'm glad I never had children of my own. I'd be a headcase all the time...