Mud, mud and more mud!

I have never seen mud like we have now, although Barry says it is like this every winter---but I have had my fill of it. The corners of every field, the gates and entryways, around the water troughs and feed buckets are filled with nasty, stinky, boot-sucking mud, and I cannot take it anymore.

So today, we had the mother of all rock deliveries---it came on a very cool slinger truck that can shoot 75 feet away and hit a target dead on. We had to do that because there is no way to even get a skidster into the areas that need rock, as it is too muddy.

We did the front corner of the hay field, where those folks eating Equine Senior feed live---tons and tons of rock in the entryway and near the water trough, and then a strip of rock down the fence line for about 75 feet or so, so they can come to dinner and not half to stand in mud up to their ankles to eat. We did the same thing to the front pasture where normally babies live, but where eventually mamas and new foals will be turned out. We then had enough to do the old bull shed area where the babies come to dinner, which REALLY needed it, as there was standing water in a pretty good section of it. It is so wet that as the rock hit the ground, water and gunk splashed up in the air-it was completely disgusting. But those days are OVER!

After the rock was set, it was so fun to watch the babies check it out---smell it, touch it, run from it....and when they would finally venture forth onto it, their little feet would still sink because it will take it a while to firm up. Then they would suck them up and prance around trying to figure out where the quicksand came from....pretty funny! There is a babysitter mare in with the babies right now and she is no one's fool---she climbed right up into the rock, found herself a comfortable position and stood there for the rest of the time that I was doing farm work. At first, I thought she was relieved to not be sucked down with every movement, but then it occurred to me that of the 50 acres they have to wander, probably less than 1% is the nasty mud, yet they CHOOSE not to stand on dry ground. Why is that? Same reason they will stand out in the rain instead of getting in the shelter, I guess.

I don't think normal people get this excited about rock. Thank goodness, I would wonder what is the matter with them. I am just glad we finally did it, because it is supposed to rain again tomorrow night.

Stay tuned for more great adventures from the mudpit- maybe tomorrow I will break in the new indoor round pen.