Snow Buntings of Ravenseyrie, living with us up on the East Bluff for the fourth consecutive winter...when the snow is gone, so are they...Kevin and I have a special phrase that we affirm to each other as a means of summoning up the motivation, strength and courage to go on about our winter chores here at the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve on Manitoulin Island.
My wonderful Kevin, fetching firewood on a 10°F morning at Ravenseyrie
My wonderful Kevin, fetching firewood on a 10°F morning at RavenseyrieThis morning, with the calendar showing that it is indeed March the third, but with the thermometer reading -18°F, our special phrase was expressly called for: We are the cold! Sometimes this phrase is accompanied by a double "high-5" and Sumo-wrestler-type grunts and finished with a resonating, "Hoo-waah!" Then we are psyched and ready to take our heavily layered, bulked up forms out into the purple freeze of pre-dawn and bring the herd their breakfast. (A variation of this pep rally--complete with 'burly-man' stretches--takes place when we have to push a new 800lb bale of hay upright in the shed so that it's ready for peeling off layers at feeding time.)
Ever since last Thursday's snow and wind storm, we have been getting frigid temperatures again. Each night it has dropped down to the minus teens (°F) and only rising up to plus 8 to 10°F during the day. Mostly, there hasn't been but a light breeze, though on Sunday, that breeze was strong enough to bite, so we sledded out the herd's meals to the lee-side of the north forest. The sun was warming up this particular windbreak through the entire day, making for a nice place to pass a winter's day eating, sleeping and playing. I took my camera out after the late day hay was laid out and took some photos to share. Before I share them, I'll put in an image taken yesterday afternoon as some of the herd weaved the way up the "Zen Elm" trail to the windbreak where we had fed them the prior day...this will give you a sense of distance...I snapped this photo while looking out to the north while the camera was poised on a tripod inside the house:
And these are the photos taken on Sunday from the comfort of this nicely situated windbreak:
Belina
Bella
Animado and Jerry
Left to right: Belina, Altamiro, Interessado and Ciente
Left to right: Mistral, Fada and Altamiro
Zorita
Zeus, who is taking a break from his hay to rub against a treeI don't have photos of Dee and Doll from this session, but I'll make up for it by showing some of them in the next sequence of photos.
I'd like to take a pause from the photos for a bit though to discuss just how difficult a winter this has been for the herd. I know there are readers of this journal that are devoted to "natural horse-keeping", as are Kevin and I, so what I have to relay may interest you. We expected we would be feeding more hay this year due to having one new mare and three foals added to the herd and we ordered enough hay to compensate for these extra mouths. What we didn't plan for was to begin feeding almost three weeks earlier than usual and then having to feed especially heavy because of prolonged deep-freeze temperatures. We are putting out almost double the amount of hay than what was required last year, and feeding double rations of oats as well. Nearly everyone has lost weight this winter, but none moreso than Mistral and Ciente. Our horses and mules appear to cope very well with the harshness of winter in a semi-wild setting...but I do wonder if they would perish if like truly wild horses, they had to totally fend for themselves? I doubt there is enough forage on the 360 acres open to our herd to supply them with enough to eat during a harsh winter such as this.
Mistral is twenty-nine years old and is typically an "easy-keeper", but obviously the extreme cold has been taxing his energy reserves. He remains robust in spirit, but I want to see him robust in body again.
Ciente is our coming four year old Kiger Mustang mare. With Interessado still nursing off her and a growing foal inside of her, this sweet young mare (who is not an "easy-keeper") has never had opportunity to build up any energy reserves and so like Mistral, is looking much too thin. It's in these times when if not given special assistance the horses' immune systems may become compromised and leave them open to contracting a number of illnesses. We have been sneaking Ciente compressed alfalfa hay cubes and last week have begun providing both her and Mistral a high protein processed feed supplement. Typically I don't like sweetened, highly processed feed, (I like knowing the full ingredients of what I'm eating or what I'm feeding others) but these two horses are obviously requiring more than what we are providing at the usual meal times and we feel a "quick pick-me-up" is called for. If I had a barn, I could separate them from the rest of the herd and provide them extra meals, but that's not an option available just now. No one steals Mistral's supplement, but we do have to stand guard over Ciente in order for her to eat her ration. It's tricky all the way around, and I think some of the other herd members are becoming affronted because they aren't getting these extras. I've been rather beside myself with worry at how thin Mistral and Ciente are...Kevin reminds me that in less than eight weeks I'll be beside myself with worry because everyone will be getting too fat on the new spring grass.
Yesterday, before the late day meal was finished, Dee, Doll and Zorita left their remaining hay to the others and they went out in search of those delicate green shoots that are singing a song of spring from beneath the deep snow.
The half-Sorraia/half Sulphur Mustang mare, Sovina's Zorita digs for grass beneath the snow
I'd like to take a pause from the photos for a bit though to discuss just how difficult a winter this has been for the herd. I know there are readers of this journal that are devoted to "natural horse-keeping", as are Kevin and I, so what I have to relay may interest you. We expected we would be feeding more hay this year due to having one new mare and three foals added to the herd and we ordered enough hay to compensate for these extra mouths. What we didn't plan for was to begin feeding almost three weeks earlier than usual and then having to feed especially heavy because of prolonged deep-freeze temperatures. We are putting out almost double the amount of hay than what was required last year, and feeding double rations of oats as well. Nearly everyone has lost weight this winter, but none moreso than Mistral and Ciente. Our horses and mules appear to cope very well with the harshness of winter in a semi-wild setting...but I do wonder if they would perish if like truly wild horses, they had to totally fend for themselves? I doubt there is enough forage on the 360 acres open to our herd to supply them with enough to eat during a harsh winter such as this.
Mistral is twenty-nine years old and is typically an "easy-keeper", but obviously the extreme cold has been taxing his energy reserves. He remains robust in spirit, but I want to see him robust in body again.
Ciente is our coming four year old Kiger Mustang mare. With Interessado still nursing off her and a growing foal inside of her, this sweet young mare (who is not an "easy-keeper") has never had opportunity to build up any energy reserves and so like Mistral, is looking much too thin. It's in these times when if not given special assistance the horses' immune systems may become compromised and leave them open to contracting a number of illnesses. We have been sneaking Ciente compressed alfalfa hay cubes and last week have begun providing both her and Mistral a high protein processed feed supplement. Typically I don't like sweetened, highly processed feed, (I like knowing the full ingredients of what I'm eating or what I'm feeding others) but these two horses are obviously requiring more than what we are providing at the usual meal times and we feel a "quick pick-me-up" is called for. If I had a barn, I could separate them from the rest of the herd and provide them extra meals, but that's not an option available just now. No one steals Mistral's supplement, but we do have to stand guard over Ciente in order for her to eat her ration. It's tricky all the way around, and I think some of the other herd members are becoming affronted because they aren't getting these extras. I've been rather beside myself with worry at how thin Mistral and Ciente are...Kevin reminds me that in less than eight weeks I'll be beside myself with worry because everyone will be getting too fat on the new spring grass.
Yesterday, before the late day meal was finished, Dee, Doll and Zorita left their remaining hay to the others and they went out in search of those delicate green shoots that are singing a song of spring from beneath the deep snow.
The half-Sorraia/half Sulphur Mustang mare, Sovina's Zorita digs for grass beneath the snow
Doll and Dee dig through the snow for succulent green grass shoots
Last evening, as the sun quietly slipped lower down the blue dome of the sky, the temperature sank as well, making for some exquisite colors while the herd took their leave from their dinner site and migrated off to the east sector to spend the evening digging for grass shoots and nibbling on twigs and bark. Once again, I had the camera set on the tripod and took these photos from the expansive windows of our house--with views like this, I just think I must be the luckiest gal on Manitoulin Island. Sure it's been damn cold here, and the snowstorms have been especially wicked this year...but it seems like a fair trade for all this magical beauty...at least that's the way Kevin and I feel...after all, "we are the cold!"
Zorita looking very primitive and exquisite in the late day sunglow
The herd slowly crosses over to the east
Good night ponies and mules! See you for breakfast in the morning!
Zorita looking very primitive and exquisite in the late day sunglow
The herd slowly crosses over to the east
Good night ponies and mules! See you for breakfast in the morning!
