Frankie's Flock

While most of our friends were getting copious amounts of snow yesterday, we were getting a demoralizing amount of rain...yet again. This is the worst mud I've ever dealt with.  Everyone living in town is complaining about the cold.  Anyone on a farm is happy that at least the mud is frozen this morning.

Normally I don't blanket horses unless the forecast calls for something like freezing rain and brutally low temps.  If they have a good hair coat and enough body fat, they are just fine as long as they have plenty of hay, some shelter and a way to get out of the wind.  

Frankie had been living in a closed up barn all winter and came "down south" with very little winter hair.  Even on days I think he should be fine, he's been cold.  Saint Tim put some plywood up on the north side of his run in stall and that has helped a bunch, but he needs and wants his winter blanket, now blankets.  

I picked up a second blanket yesterday because I knew his green blanket, even though water proof, was going to be miserable after all that rain.  His back was still warm and dry, but all around his neck and shoulders he was soaked.  The new blanket fits a little bit better I think.  

I've had several questions about if Frankie is going to get a horse buddy.  He will, but it won't be until late spring.  I will definitely go back up to New Vocations, but it will have to be after winter when everyone is safely back out grazing up there and the mud has dried up here.  

In the meantime, Frankie likes hanging out with the sheep and as long as there's a fence between them, the sheep are happy to hang out with Frankie.  Actually, many of them were fine eating with Hickory and T-Bone, but now that Hank's getting old, I'm not going to ask him to deal with that. 

Hank actually seems a bit more relaxed, well, not relaxed, but maybe accepting of Frankie.  The original plan was to let Frankie out during the day and put him up at night so Hank could have free access to  work the front field at night without stress, but horses are warmer out moving around rather than standing still in a stall.

As we head down into the single digits over the next few days, I think I'm going to let Frankie come and go as he pleases, even at night.  He'll be warmer, can hang out over the fence with his sheep friends and I think Hank will be okay with all that.  

Stay warm out there!  Hey, and go out there.  It's really not that bad once you get moving around ;-).  But if you want to stay in, there's a new puzzle for you :-).