Tamaracks

In our area of the world, it has been a very cold and bitter fall. The last three weeks or more have seen temperatures below normal. The ponds below the horse paddock have been beautiful this past week as the tamaracks have turned their beautiful golden color.


Each morning after their breakfast I turn the horses onto the pond. If one gets left behind on the wrong side of the fence (usually Gunner or Catfish) I catch them and lead them down. By this time the others are on the far side of the pond bank and much running and playing must ensue to greet each other. For certainly it has been days since they have seen each other and not mere minutes. Their antics are most likely caused by the chance to stretch their legs, but I like to imagine.

This last weekend I stopped turning them on to the pond because the cows have taken it over. The horses normally could mix with the cows, but in addition to the pond pasture an alfalfa rich pasture was also opened up for the bovine, something I am not willing to risk high vet bills on. The horses are now left to the smaller paddocks shown above, with their diet changing to the alfalfa I bought in June. Once the cows move to their winter pasture I again will open up the ponds to them. They enjoy the leg room, and will dig through the snow most of the winter to get to the grass below, although the grass will be considered a supplement by that point with hay continuing to be the main source of food.