HORSE RESCUE and SANCTUARY
Feeding Time at Cyber Winds Ranch
Fourteen Horses in Fourteen Stalls
It is a lovely morning. The birds are signing and bustling about in the trees. Falcon, our red Arabian 2-year-old gelding, calls out: “It’s about time. I am hungry.” Isis meets me at the gate. She has been waiting for her escort. The flea-bitten gray mare is near the bottom of the herd hierarchy and wants me to walk her to her stall. This morning I am carrying a bucket of Timothy Grass Pellets and Beet Pulp Pellets that have been soaking in water in the shop for Ashton. He has been losing weight because of problems with his teeth and has trouble eating grass and hay. So, he gets his normal grain softened with warm water and a big serving of grass and beet pellet mash.
Carrying a bucket of mash and a jug of warm water gets me a horse escort to the barn. Falcon, Arthur, and Kenneth keep nosing at the bucket making it tough to avoid the jostling horses. Since Falcon’s stall only has a gate on the inside of the barn, I decide to get him in while I can. I put the plastic jug on the ground and walk into the stall hoping that he will follow me in. I turn around and Falcon has the jug in his mouth. I wrestle it away from him, but he now has the plastic cap in his mouth. As he starts to chew on it, I am alarmed that he may choke on it. I put down the bucket and grab him around the neck and stick my hand in his mouth to retrieve the plastic cap.
After averting a choking incident and getting the bucket of mash into the feed stall, I turn my attention to getting 14 horses into their stalls. Falcon is now in his stall and I close it. Each horse knows their stall. There are Dutch doors on the exterior of the barn. Getting the horses in their stalls and the barn doors closed on each stall is the next step. In many cases they will go to their stalls and wait for their door to be closed. In other cases, you can call them by name and they will follow you to their stall. For some you need to throw a lead rope over their neck and lead them in. Hannah is the last horse in. She is blind in one eye and has seriously compromised front legs that nearly make her lame. Hannah waits at her end of the barn until she has an opening to go into her stall. When there are no horses to run her off, she comes into her stall.
Feeding the Herd
With horses in stalls, the feeding begins. I start with the horses that take the longest to finish eating. Ashton gets specially prepared feed. His bucket starts with a scoop of Purina Senior Equine and a scoop Nutrena Pro-Force Senior. To improve digestion, I add warm water to soften the grain. When the water has been absorbed, I add from the bucket of mash to the top of the feed bucket. I also prepare Kenneth’s bucket. His stall is opposite of Ashton’s stall. Kenneth has known hunger in his life. When I bring Ashton his bucket, Kenneth cries and dances around as if he is worried to that he will not get fed. We really don’t know the rescue horses’ history, but since they ended up in the slaughter lot bound for the Mexican slaughter houses we can guess that their memories are not all good ones.
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Next are Hannah and Isis who are also slow eaters. Hannah gets supplements in her food for pain and inflammation of the joints in her front legs. We have begun a new regiment with her diet and it seems to be greatly improving her mobility. Isis requires additional time since she has benign growths in her mouth and lips that are common for the breed. She is better trained for riding that we are. We can use a bit-less bridle with her when we occasionally put her under saddle and she responds well.
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Our Clydesdales, Elizabeth and Rainbow, are next in line to be fed. Elizabeth is getting anti-biotics in her food for an infection. If it is not presented well to her she will dump her bucket on the ground. She gets two scoops of Senior Equine and Rainbow gets two scoops of Purina Strategy Healthy Edge. As can be imagined, these two beautiful horses require more fuel than others in our herd. I make sure that Elizabeth does not dump her bucket this morning before continuing.
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By this time, Atlas is kicking at his stall partitions making his opinion known that he should be next in line for breakfast. The stalls for Atlas, Falcon and Chief Landy are close to the feed stall so it is easy to feed them next. They all eat Healthy Edge on most days unless we are running low. They are not picky eaters and are happy to get Equine Senior in a pinch.
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There are five horses left to feed. Two stalls inside the barn are occupied by our feisty Arabian mares. Shirley Jean and Rose get a scoop of Healthy Edge. They dance around complaining about always being last to be fed. When I give Rose her bucket I hold onto it for a bit. She has a habit of attacking it and dumping it on the ground. The feed is too expensive to be wasted.
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There are three make shift stalls outside the barn under the barn’s loafing shed shelters. It keeps Arthur, Peyton and Korey out of the elements at feeding time. During inclement weather we bring them into the center isle of the barn for protection, but it is hard to feed them there since we can’t keep them from running each other away from their feed buckets. They get a scoop of Healthy Edge each. Korey is the last be fed as I am rounding the corner of the barn. He paws at his stall panel, banging in protest that he wants his breakfast. As I hang his bucket, there is a satisfying quiet with only the sound of horses munching on their feed.
Hay, Water, and Love
Fourteen horses in their stalls with their morning feeding gives me a chance to relax and enjoy their contentment for only a minute or two. Normally I would put out hay next but this morning we are out. Instead, I fire up the ATV and head out to the cross fence that separates our forty acres into two pastures. Spring is beginning to provide some grazing on the back twenty acres. We usually keep the gate closed to keep the herd from over grazing the pasture. Forty acres is not enough to provide for our herd of fourteen. For that reason, we must supplement with hay and grain. I open the gate and run the ATV out into the pasture for a quick check. I flush out a couple of jack rabbits that go bounding across the field.
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Back at the barn, I fill the water troughs before starting the process of pulling feed buckets and letting the horses out. My wife and I will repeat the process this evening.
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There is great joy derived from saving these horses from slaughter. As they are rehabilitated and cared for, we develop bonds of trust and respect. Horses are intelligent and social creatures. They develop life-long friendships with other horses and with the humans who show them love. It is the mission of Cyber Winds Ranch to provide them with forever homes that they so richly deserve. My wife, Dawn, and I are grateful to all the volunteers and contributors who help make what we do possible.
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Please donate to help keep this dream alive.
