Amazing. I love the creativity but laugh at some of the weirdness of the products Facebook shows me.
But first, an update about the muzzle net Mag wears during lessons. He isn't the brightest bulb on the tree (or maybe his cleverness eludes me?) so he keeps trying to eat with the thing on. The good thing is, he gives up immediately once he remembers it doesn't work to snatch grass/branches/cigarette butts. And we found out he will drink from a stream with it on. And the trainer can still give him the lead rope to chew on as a reward when he's good. Which brings me to the first product I found this week:
A chew toy for a horse, another calming aid, and apparently from the comments it works for impatient horses. I'm pretty sure they designed it with Mag in mind. What a cute idea! I am not going to buy it, but I approve. It's marketed for horses who paw while tied, or figet during farrier work. Whatever helps, go for it.
The second product of the week was something I cannot comprehend. Please enlighten me, if you know how this could be helpful. Like in that Next Gen episode, "State The Purpose!" LOL
This is the second spur-guard wrap thingy I've seen in Germany and I'm wondering if there are sports where spurs are *required* to necessitate it for people who cannot operate spurs without wounding their horses.
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Yesterday was the yearly Treibjagt in our village which is much more exciting for my animals than New Years fireworks. A Treibjagt (no English equivalent) is when the hunters go through the woods and try to flush wildlife out with dogs and loud noises (lots of yelling!). I think it was in the first episode of Game of Thrones. At least I know that the prey animal is the same, wild boars.
I have a good relationship with one of our local hunters (he will come get the remains of whatever dies here - last time an Eagle Owl!). He helped me figure out what foxes sound like, and answers any quesitons I have. They pay us 9 bucks per year to be allowed to hunt on our property, and they give us plenty of warning. They don't want horses going through fences, so I appreciate it.
It was like being in America again - non-cops with guns. Big ol shotguns! A little sentimentality for me, my old life had people with guns in it.
They crawled under our gate and walked with their 4 dogs across our field. My horse and donkey were very worried, and I stayed with them for a couple of hours. The neighbor's horses were trotting circles, even more upset. The hunters were so close, I could see the whites of their eyes. I flipped off my electric fence to help them out when they eventually exited down by the creek.
They had 4 dogs (also in hi-vis) but on leaving our property, only 3, LOL. Cuz the loudest mouth dog of all (Dachshund, of course) apparently found some wildlife and went running after it, barking that high pitched yap the entire way. The hunter kept shouting HIERHIN! at it (come) and its yapping got quieter and quieter as it made its way to the next village. I had to laugh. They always seem to lose a dog, which is why the dogs wear ID on them with phone numbers printed in big font.
They split into teams of 2 and spent a good deal of time here.
Finally at 3pm they were done and I could let my animals loose again.
Sometimes they give us a portion of the animals they shoot, but I cannot seem to get deer or boar meat tender.
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Poganin, Mag's father, died this year and I found this photo in a tribute to him. I love it cuz he's doing Mag's signature move, "I don't wanna" and rearing. Mag's trainer has a good sense of humor about it, saying things like, "He just gives a little hop."
Here's a pic of my animals during greener days, lookin' good!
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