A couple of quicker and easier ways to freeze sweet corn!

If you've ever had fresh sweet corn from the garden, you are probably hooked and willing to work to freeze it yourself for use this winter!  It tastes SO much better than the store bought cans of kernel corn.  Normally, most articles you read will tell you to blanch the corn first, before cutting it off the cob and freezing it.  Wouldn't it be nice to be able to just freeze it WITHOUT blanching??  Think of the time you would save!

Years ago, my mom tried freezing corn-on-the-cob without blanching and it worked just fine!  In fact, we enjoyed the texture of it better than blanched corn that was frozen.  The unblanched frozen corn (to us anyway) resembled the texture and taste of fresh corn more accurately than the blanched frozen corn did.  From everything I've been able to read and question, unblanched frozen corn does not seem to pose a safety concern either.

There are 2 methods that I've used myself.  The first is the absolute quickest and easiest.  Take your sweet corn, wrap it in aluminum foil to completely cover it (WITH the shuck still on!) and throw it in the freezer!  When you get ready to cook it, loosen one end of the foil and loosen the pointed tip of the shuck, run a little cool water into the end of the corn, then wrap the foil back up and place it on the grill to cook.  OR you can take the foil off, loosen the pointed end of the shuck and run the cool water in, wrap the corn in a paper towel and cook it in the microwave for about 5 minutes.  Be careful when you remove the shuck!  It will be HOT and steamy!

The other method I've tried of freezing corn without blanching is a bit more time consuming (because I cut it off the cob), but it tastes just as good!  Just shuck the corn, clean all the "hairs" off the corn, wash the cob in cool water, then cut the corn off the cob, spoon the corn kernels into a freezer container and freeze!

Corn-on-the-cob with it's shucks still on.

The "hairs" that need to be removed from the corn before cutting it off the cob.

If you've read my previous blogs, you'll remember that I have RA now (rheumatoid arthritis).  It's harder for me to use my hands in a physical way.  Cutting the corn off the cob is hard for me to do with just a knife.  I started looking around and I found THE best device to cut the kernels off the corn cob!  It's currently priced at $9.99 and comes from Carol Wright Gifts.  I know, you're thinking it won't be sturdy (it is made of mostly plastic).  Well, I've finished putting up our sweet corn this year and it held up just fine and is stored away now, waiting for use next season!  Here's the link to the corn cutter's page (they call it a corn stripper): 

http://www.carolwrightgifts.com/corn-stripper/80342.cfm?key=5G00236B&cm_mmc=PaidSearch-_-GooglePLA-_-FreeShip-_-80342&gclid=CJus7MXKh84CFdU6gQod6WEOAg

Here are some pictures of it.  It's EASY to use, easy to clean, keeps the kernels from going all over the place and works for both uncooked AND cooked corn on the cob!



The corn cutter/stripper assembled and ready to use.



Corn cob placed in the cylinder, getting ready to cut the corn off.

Before you place the cob into the cylinder, make sure the end is flat.  Otherwise, it won't seat itself properly and will make the process difficult (if not impossible).  Just take a knife and cut this end off.



Place the metal hollow "rod" over the end of the cob.



Push the plastic "prongs" down onto the top of the cylinder.  Then push down on the metal "rod" (which has cutting teeth on the end of it).  This will cut the kernels off the cob.  You can twist the metal rod as you push down or you can just push straight down (if you are strong enough).

After you remove the metal "rod", your cob will come out inside the "rod', leaving the kernels of corn in the cylinder.  Empty them out into a bowl (if you are freezing them) or empty them directly onto your plate if you have already cooked the corn!

You can see the cob sticking out the end of the metal "rod".  By placing the yellow "tamper" into the end of the rod, you can force the cob out the other end.

Left over cobs.  You can see just a tad bit of corn left on the cob (at the small end).  If you want to cut that off with a knife, you can.  It doesn't leave very much on there though.

We like to add red bell peppers to our sweet corn.  You can do that now, before you freeze it, or you can add them in later when you cook the corn.  Your choice and it works fine either way.

So now, you have left over husks and cobs with most of the corn cut off of them.  What do you do with this stuff?  If you live on a farm, feed it to your livestock!  Pigs LOVE this stuff, cows like it too and some horses like it, as well as your chickens!  You may need to cut up the cobs into smaller bites for the horses, chickens and pigs.  I feed it to the horses like a treat.  Most of them really like it, but there are a couple that turn their noses up at it!  For our full sized horses, I cut the cobs into pieces that are about 2 inches long.  For the miniature horses, I then cut that 2 inch long piece into halves (much easier for them to chew).  For the chickens, I then cut that 2 inch long half piece into half again.  As for the husks, I just put them out on the ground and let them forage through them.  Horses can be picky about the husks especially!  Our Saddlebreds won't eat them.  The Arabians love them.  The miniatures have to be in the mood to eat them!  LOL  It's safe for them to eat.  Just don't feed them too many husks or cobs at once.  I limit the full sized horses to 2 cobs each/per day.  The minis get less than that.  If you have a horse that has foundered, probably better to not give them any cobs at all.

**Important Reminder!**  If you save the cobs to feed to livestock later on (more than a day later), be sure to keep the cobs in the refrigerator.  They can (and will) mold if left at room temperature for over a day.  NEVER feed molded cobs to any livestock.  It can make them sick.

**Another important reminder!**  Never feed anything to someone else's animals, without their permission.  Meaning, if you live next to livestock, do NOT just throw this stuff over the fence.  You can make the animals very sick.  Some of them can be allergic to certain foods, just like you are!  ALWAYS ask the owner first, if it's OK to give something to their animals.  PLEASE, YOU MUST ALWAYS ASK FIRST!!

That's it for this blog's helpful, time saving hints!  Next blog will look at another new appliance I added to the food preserving line-up this summer, a sauce maker!  I love it too!  Until then, happy freezing and canning!  (Next blog due out Monday August 15th.)

New electric water bath canner is a great idea!!

I decided to add an electric water bath canner to my canning equipment this year.  I can't tell you enough, what a great idea this was!!  It is a HUGE time saver!  I purchased it at the end of May/first of June on sale for $99.99 (normally priced at $149.99).  I purchased it from Ball.  It's one of their FreshTech appliances.  Here's the website:

http://www.freshpreserving.com/ball-freshtech-electric-water-bath-canner-%2B-multicooker-1034047VM.html#start=2


I had always used the traditional stovetop water bath canner.  This took up so much room on my stovetop, that I honestly couldn't cook or work around it!  It also took FOREVER to heat up to boiling and I had to heat up my jars in another appliance. 

Traditional stovetop water bath canner.

The new electric canner sits by itself, on your countertop.  If you can place it near the sink, that makes clean up even that much faster and easier.  Just plug it in and you are ready to go! 

Electric water bath canner box.

The electric water bath canner out of the box.

You can see the thermostat on the front here.  To pre-heat your jars, you set it for medium-high.  At this setting, you place your water filled jars into the water bath and let them sit in there to heat up, with the glass lid in place on the canner.  When the jars are heated, you are ready to fill them.  While you are filling a jar, the others remain in the hot water to keep them heated.  When you are ready to fill a jar, you simply remove the jar from the hot water bath, empty the hot water out of the jar, fill the jar with your food item and place your lids on, then replace the filled jar into the water bath canner.  When all jars are filled, you turn the thermostat dial to "CANNING" to process the jars.  EASY and quick!!

Heated jars in the electric canner, that are in the process of being filled.  You can see the 3 empty jars in the foreground.

Once all jars are filled, you place this metal "plate" on top of the jars, then place the glass lid on top of the canner and turn the dial to CANNING.  Wait for the water to boil (easily seen through the glass lid) and at that time, set your timer for the correct processing time for your recipe.  Again, so easy and quick!

The metal "plate" that covers the jars while processing.  This helps to distribute the heat more evenly and quickly, plus helps keep your jars in place better during the boiling process.

When the processing time is complete, turn off the canner, remove the glass lid and metal plate and let the jars stand for 5 minutes.  When that time is up, remove the jars from the canner and place on a towel to cool.  Let the water cool down in the canner, then if you have placed the canner next to your sink, you simply open the spout on the side to drain the water!  Quick, easy and efficient!  I LOVE this canner!! 

It's hard to see the black spout on the side, over the edge of the sink, but it's there.  Just open it and drain the water into the sink!
 

Now I was sold on just these benefits alone.  However, it does SO much more!  You can also cook with this thing!!  Boil seafood, make big pots of soup, make hot holiday drinks (that are easily dispensed through the spout), etc, etc.  And no, I do not have any financial interest in either this company or this appliance.  I just honestly love this appliance that much!!  I am SO happy I found this and decided to try it out!!

Until next time, I hope your summer days are fun and not too hot!  Enjoy!!  (Next blog will be due out on Monday August 1st.  We will discuss freezing corn.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water bath canning.....

It's that time of season (at least in the south) to start harvesting and preserving those wonderful fresh foods for the upcoming year!  Sorry for the delayed post, but I've been covered over with this task lately!  Call me naïve if you will, but I've never taken the time to read the labels on salsa and spaghetti sauce bought at the store.  They both have sugar in them!!  I honestly did not realize that, as when we make our own from scratch, we don't put any sugar in it.  We eat a lot of salsa.  A LOT.  Another wonderful (insert sarcasm here) health issue I have to deal with now is diabetes.  So avoidance of sugar is a good thing to do.  In light of that, I have decided to can enough salsa to last us a year, plus have a few jars to give to family too.  That means at least 14 batches of salsa to can!  I've managed to get 11 batches finished so far.  I'll hopefully be finishing up the last 3 batches today.  Yeah! 

The recipe I'm using tastes VERY good, is a bit spicy but not too hot and contains NO sugar!  I use a prepared spice package called Mrs. Wages Hot Salsa.  I get it from TSC (Tractor Supply), however it is available at many places that sell canning supplies as well.

The complete list of ingredients I use are: 

6 1/2 to 7 lbs of fresh tomatoes
6 green onions
2 large jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar
2 TBLS (tablespoons) of lime juice

I begin by washing the tomatoes, onions and peppers.  Then I take the skins off the tomatoes.  To do this easily, I slice them in half.  Place them face down on a cookie sheet and place under the broiler in the oven until the skins start to crinkle and turn dark or blackish.  Take them out and place a towel over them for 10 minutes.  Then remove the towel and take a pair of tongs to lift the skins right off the tomatoes!  It's really that easy!  Let the tomatoes cool and then you can chop them up and remove seeds by hand.  (Removing the seeds is what takes the longest time for me.)

Tomato skins just starting to darken under the broiler.

Skins are dark enough and will lift right off with a pair of tongs!

When I say to cover with a dish towel, this is exactly what I do for 10 minutes!  By doing this, the skins continue to steam for a bit longer and it makes removing them even that much easier.
 

While the tomatoes are under the broiler, I chop up the green onions.  I chop and include in the salsa the green stems too.  I also cut the jalapeno peppers in half and take out the seeds, then chop up in small pieces to add to the salsa.  If your skin is sensitive, you may want to wear gloves to handle the jalapeno peppers.  Also remember, do NOT touch your face (especially your eyes) after handling the peppers.  It will burn if you do!!!  I have trouble with the air borne properties of the peppers, after I cut them open.  It makes me cough and makes it hard for me to breath while I am taking the seeds out.  So, I wear a "mask" over my nose and mouth during this part of the process.

The tomatoes should be ready to add to the mixture now.  Cut or dice them up, removing as many of the seeds as you can during this process.  Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.  Then place in a large cooking pot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

During this 20 minutes, start getting your canning jars heated up.  Once the simmer is completed, ladle the salsa into heated jars, leaving 1/2 inch head room in the jars.  Put on lids and place in canner.  You'll process the jars for 40 minutes in a hot water bath canner.  Remove the canner from the heat source, remove the canner lid and let the jars sit in the hot water for another 5 minutes.  Then remove and sit the jars on a towel for 24 hours.  Leave 1-2 inches between jars, so they will cool easier.  After 24 hours, check the lids to be sure they've sealed properly.  (If not, repeat the canning process for them again with a fresh lid.)  This recipe makes between 4-5 pint jars of salsa.

More canning info in the next blog post, due out Monday July 18th!  Stay cool out there in this summer heat!

To breed, or not to breed!

There are as many opinions on this subject, as there are people in the world!  Some think that there are too many horses in rescues or going to auctions, so no more breeding should occur.  Others think if the mare has a uterus, you should breed her!  Then there are many other ideas in between these two extremes. 

My own opinion is that you should be a responsible breeder.  You should only breed to BETTER the breed.  Just because you have a mare, it doesn't mean she should be bred!  I also believe that there are a lot of good stallions that would make even better geldings!  You should also be prepared to care for those foals that you produce, until you can find them good homes.  That's why we only breed a very small number of foals each year.  I also feel that breeding in a responsible fashion is necessary.  How else will you ensure that the breed continues on?  How else can the breed improve?  How else will there be quality individuals for future generations to have and enjoy?  Breeding just needs to be done in a smaller quantity and with all of these things in mind.

Having said all of that, let's say that you've done some soul searching and have decided to breed your mare.  Please make sure that she is breeding sound, before you book your breeding to a stallion!  Those stud fees are not refundable (usually) and you want to be sure your mare is healthy from a breeding perspective and that she is breeding sound, before you book your breeding.

So, what does "breeding sound" mean exactly?  You'll want the vet to check her ovaries by ultrasound, to be sure she doesn't have any cysts or abnormalities.  You'll want her uterus checked too, again to be sure there are no abnormalities present.  She'll need a culture done, to be sure no infection is present.  Of course she'll need all of her vaccinations to be brought up-to-date, as well as a current negative coggins test if she is to travel to the stud farm for breeding.

Other factors to consider before breeding your mare......how old is she?  An older mare (late teens or even twenties) CAN have a foal, but if they haven't foaled for several years, it may be harder to get them pregnant.  Is the mare a maiden (never before foaled) mare?  If so, how old is she?  A maiden mare under 10 years old is not usually a problem.  A maiden mare that is over 10 may have trouble getting in foal.

These are not written in stone things of course, but they are things to consider.  Your vet may suggest other exams or tests to be done prior to breeding your mare.  You may have some extra vet expenses to get the mare bred or keep her pregnant if she gets in foal, to factor in to your breeding budget as well.  She may have to stay longer at the breeding farm to achieve a pregnancy or she may not be a good candidate for shipped or frozen semen breeding.  If she can't become pregnant or she can't sustain a pregnancy,  you may need to consider substitution of a different mare for your breeding and you may not be able to do that until the next spring (if you have already used up your breeding season time frame in the current year).  If you do get her in foal, she may need to have her progesterone level supplemented, in order to keep the pregnancy.  Some mares require Regumate to do this.  This is a costly medication that must be given with care daily.  Your vet will check your mare's progesterone level after she is in foal, to see if she needs Regumate or not. 

I think the more informed the mare owner is, the easier and more enjoyable the breeding experience will be for them.  Go in with eyes wide open!  The next blog will go out over the July 2nd weekend.  We will revisit gardening and canning in that blog.  Until next time, enjoy your summertime! 

Basic Color Genetics for Horses

We've begun our search for a second miniature stallion.  Our mini herd sire is 15 years old this year and we will eventually need a younger stallion.  While quality is the number one thing for us, we also breed for not-as-common colors.  Buckskin pintos are a favorite of ours.  Most of our miniature mares are homozygous for tobiano pinto, which means they will always produce a pinto colored foal, no matter what the color of the stallion is.  To give us a higher percentage chance of also producing buckskin, we would like to find another buckskin or even a perlino, show quality stallion.

I always find it interesting, that many people do not understand basic horse color genetics.  If you're breeding for color or selling a horse "of a different color", I think it's necessary to understand this.  If you are selling an animal, it's important to advertise that animal as honestly as you can, which includes providing the prospective buyer with the correct color genetics for that animal!

True story.....when we purchased our first mini driving mare, the seller advertised her as a buckskin.  Well of course, that was right up our alley, so we drove several hours to see her.  This lovely bay mare comes out and is nuzzling us and stealing her way into our hearts.  I ask where the buckskin is and the seller points to this little mare and says that's her!  Now folks, this mare is the most normal color of bay you'll ever hope to see!  How you could call her a buckskin, is beyond me!  The seller was an experienced horse person too.  She knew better.  I called her on the color and she sheepishly admitted that she knew the mare was a bay, but went on to say (and I quote), "Doesn't buckskin just sound better though?"

This is the mini mare we bought.....truly a bay, not a buckskin by any stretch of the imagination!

I think you'll now understand why the correct color is such a huge pet peeve of mine!  Now there CAN be various shades of both bay and buckskin, some being lighter, some being darker, some buckskins more cream based while others are more of a yellow base, but there is usually an obvious "cream" color of some nature, to the buckskin.  Here are a couple of our horses, to show a basic bay and a basic buckskin (the buckskin is also a pinto).



Basic bay.  Reddish-brownish body color with black points (mane, tail, lower legs black).

Basic, medium cream color, buckskin.  Cream (or yellow) colored body with black points (mane, tail, lower legs black).  He's also a pinto, which is what creates the white spots on his body/mane/tail and he has 4 white stockings, which is why his legs aren't black.



So let's go to the beginning of horse colors and genetics.  Every foal inherits one chromosome of a genetic pair, from each parent.  There are many different genetic pairs that are present, but the parent will only pass on ONE of the chromosomes from each pair to it's offspring.  A horse carries 32 genetic pairs.  You could easily make a lifetime study of genetics!  Here's a nice website to help start making sense of a lot of the color genetics for horses. 

https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/coatcolor.php


For a stripped down, basic introduction to this subject, we'll start here.  There are basically two base colors of horses.....either red or black.  All other color variations stem from these two base colors.

A chestnut (red) pinto miniature mare.

A black egyptian arabian stallion, Amir Ibn Inshalla.

There is an allele called AGOUTI. You can think of this as the "bay gene".  Agouti will only affect a black based horse.  If it is present in a black based horse's genetic make-up, it will ALWAYS present itself.  Meaning, it won't hide....it will always affect the black horse's coat color.  A red horse can carry it and can pass it on to it's offspring, but the agouti doesn't present itself visually on a red horse, so it doesn't change the red horse's coat color.  On a black based horse however, the agouti will restrict the black color to the "points" of the horse (the legs, the mane, the tail and the ear tips).  This is how you get a bay horse.

There is also a gene called the cream gene.  This affects both red and black based horses.  If the cream gene is present, it WILL express itself, making the horse's body coat color some form of cream or yellow.  There are many different shades of these cream or yellow colors....from darker like almost chocolate, to lighter where you are barely able to see the cream at all because it almost looks white.  This would be how you get your palominos and buckskins.  A palomino horse is a red based horse that received ONE cream gene from one of it's parents.  A palomino will have a white mane and tail.  A buckskin horse is a black based horse that also has the agouti allele (so the horse is bay) and they received ONE cream gene from one of their parents.  A buckskin will have a black mane and tail.  There is another color where the horse receives just ONE cream gene from one of it's parents.  In this case, the horse is black and with the cream gene present, it makes the color a smoky black.  It's not a true, deep black color, but the black always looks faded.  The smoky black horse's mane and tail will be the same faded black color as it's body.  This smoky black horse IS capable of passing on the cream gene to it's offspring, so it could produce a buckskin or palomino foal as easily as a palomino or buckskin horse could!  You have a 50% chance that any of these will pass the cream gene on to their offspring.  All of these single cream gene horses will have dark eyes.

I'm sure most of you have heard of the "double dilute" colors.  This simply means that the horse has received TWO cream genes (one from each parent).  A double dilute will ALWAYS pass on a cream gene to it's offspring, so will always produce a buckskin, palomino or smokey black foal, regardless of the color of the other parent.  If the horse is red based and receives 2 copies of the cream gene, then the resulting horse will be a cremello.  If the horse is black based and also carries the agouti allele (so it's a bay horse), and it receives 2 copies of the cream gene, the result will be a perlino.  If the horse is a black horse (no agouti) and receives 2 copies of the cream gene, the result will be a smoky cream colored horse.  All of these horses will have light colored eyes (usually blue but can be a greenish blue as well).

MSMF Vanilla Dreams, a Morgan cremello filly (the smaller one shown) owned by Kara Criner. Photo courtesy of Sue White, taken from the MorganColors.com website.  Notice her mane and tail are both white.

A perlino pinto yearling saddlebred filly, named DW Carolina Golden Fire.  Look closely for the perlino colored spots on her head, shoulder/neck and flank areas.  You can see the little bit of her mane that is flipped over on this side of her neck.  See how it has an orange tint to it?  This is very common for a perlino's mane and tail color.

Azariahs Mister Maestro, a smoky black pinto stallion owned by Azariah Miniatures in PA.

Then you have other coat enhancers, such as grey.  What you ask?  Isn't grey a color all by itself??  No, it's not!  The horse started out one of the basic coat colors of either red or black.  The grey gene will gradually "strip" the color away, making the horse grey or eventually white.  Again, there are different shades of grey.  Some are almost black, some are snow white.  Usually the grey horse will start out darker and lighten each year as they shed out their old winter coat.  If a grey gene is present, it WILL express itself eventually!  It may take a few years to notice the greying out process begin or it may happen as early as when they lose their foal coat, but it WILL happen.  There are also modifiers to the grey gene.  You can get a "flea bitten" color, where the horse turns white but looks like they have little freckles or specs all over them.  This is called flea bitten grey.  They can have dapples present.  They can simply go a snowy white color eventually.  Some will keep a black mane and tail for several years, before their manes and tails go white.  Grey has a lot of variations, but just know that if that grey gene is present it will ALWAYS present itself and it works on ANY coat color (red, black, palomino, perlino, etc, etc.).

Then you have the pinto pattern of colors.  This is another coat enhancer that gives the horse large white spots, or blocks of white color, over their bodies.  They can  have a lot of white, where you see only a small amount of their original coat color (usually seen on the head or neck region in horses like this) or they can be mostly their original coat color with a very small white patch located somewhere on the body or they can be anywhere in between these extremes.  If the pinto gene is present, it will always present itself as well.  In a horse that carries only ONE pinto gene, it has a 50% chance of passing the pinto coloration on to it's offspring.  If the horse has TWO pinto genes, it is said to be homozygous for that pinto color and will ALWAYS produce a pinto foal, no matter what color the other parent is.

A pinto that has minimal white.  See the white spot on his croup/butt?  The white spots extends to his tail as well, making his tail both white and black.  He is a buckskin that is about 90% base coat color and 10% white.  This is Back in a Flash, a homozygous tobiano pinto, saddlebred gelding.

A pinto that has mostly a white body with the base color (which is buckskin) restricted to his head and underneath his neck.  This is a miniature colt named DVM Grand Bazinga.  He does have one blue eye, which goes into a discussion for a different day!  This blue eye is NOT caused by being a double dilute.  His other eye is dark.

A pinto that shows about 65-70% base coat color (black) and 30-35% white.  This is a National Show Horse named DW Keyper of the Legacy.

This blog discussion has just touched the tip of the iceberg on color genetics for horses!  There are many, many other coat enhancers that I haven't even begun to mention!  I think the main message I want to impart, is to ALWAYS take the time to color test your horse if you have a "horse of a different color".  Until next time..... (remember, blog updates are every 2 weeks for the summer).

So how do you handle the aches and pains of a life fully lived??

I was born and raised on a farm and to this day, live and work on a farm.  Those years, long hours and hard labor take it's toll on your body after awhile.  I've got some nerve damage in a leg from a surgery that didn't go quite right and I've developed RA (rheumatoid arthritis) after that as well.  It makes life challenging, for sure, but I'm not throwing in the towel on farm life!  I honestly think I would wither away and give up, if I didn't have the outdoors and the animals to keep me moving!  Here are some ways I've learned to adapt.  Hopefully this will give others some ideas on how to adapt so they can continue to enjoy their lifestyles as well!

I LOVE fresh vegetables right out of the garden.  I just can't bend over and do all of the planting, weeding and harvesting now.  So.....we plant a few things in raised beds.  This works VERY well and is quite efficient.  We have grown peppers, onions and tomatoes this way, as well as strawberries.  I also buy a lot now from the farmer's market.  It's the same fresh veggies I would get out of my own garden, grown in similar soil and weather conditions to my own farm, without the joint aches of doing it myself!  I get our corn, green beans and cucumbers this way.  Really, when you add the cost of planting, watering, time for weeding, etc.....the cost is not much different (if any) compared to doing it all yourself!

As you probably know, we raise horses.  I've always done all the ground work training myself and in years past, started them wearing the saddle and long lining myself as well.  Some I've even trained to drive.  I used to ride about 4 or 5 days a week.  I showed most of my own horses as well.  With the addition of RA to my life, I had to cut back on all of this in a big way!  Riding causes a great deal of pain for me now.  Somedays my hands don't even work well enough to get their halters on and off.  I just can't manage the buckles on a "bad" RA day.  There was absolutely NO WAY I was going to go without horses in my life!

So.....I still ride, but maybe once or twice a year.  That's just not enough to satisfy my need for riding/driving.  Driving the full sized horses is difficult for me now.  Holding the driving lines is too heavy for my hands to do for any length of time.  However, God made a wonderful little creature called the miniature horse!  I can easily work with them and they are a blast to drive!!  They have as much heart and "go" as any full sized horse, but with a fraction of the weight of equipment!  I can easily handle their driving lines, harness, carts, etc.  If my hands are really stiff, they just get the time off for a few days.  The minis are also much easier for me to show in halter.  I can actually still "trot" well enough to show them off well (vs the full sized horses that I just cannot keep up with now to show in hand)!

We still raise one or two full sized horses every other year.  Thankfully I can still handle the foals to give them a good start in life.  If they need further training that I cannot do now, I use a trainer for that.  It was hard to admit that I needed help, but after I finally DID admit that, it is a good compromise for me.  I still get to do what I love, with help.  It's better than not having them at all!  If we have a horse (either full sized or miniature) that we want shown on the show circuit, we send them out to a trainer to do this.  Just another concession I had to learn to accept. 

In the past, we've always fed square hay bales.  We would also gather the hay directly out of the field, when the farmer was baling it.  You get a cheaper price that way.  Now, square bales are hard for me to lift and carry.  I can't stack them any longer either.  My joints don't always cooperate on being mobile, so I have to be much more flexible with my scheduled physical tasks.  In other words, I may not be able to put up hay on the day the farmer bales hay.  Thankfully my husband is still able to stack the hay.  We now buy our square hay bales out of the barn.  You pay a little more this way, but you also don't have to worry about rain moving in, loading them yourself (the hay farm has guys to load the hay for you), etc.  We also feed large round bales in the winter now too.  I was always leery of feeding round bales to horses, but it works fine.  We get top quality horse hay, only in round bale form.  I only put out a bale at a time in each pasture.  The horses eat the hay in about 2 weeks, so it doesn't spoil.  I use the front end loader on the tractor to scoop up any left over hay in the area, to keep it tidy and clean.  It works very well. 

We have run-in shelters for all the paddocks and pastures and most of the horses can be left in their pastures full time or at least a great deal of the time.  This reduces the amount of stalls that need to be mucked out too.  Only foals (and their dams), youngsters (yearlings or 2 yr olds) and stallions are kept inside each night.

As for other things we've done to make things a bit easier to deal with on a day to day basis, I get the halters with snaps at the throatlatch.  MUCH easier for me to undo a snap and slip the halter on over their ears, rather than fight with a buckle!  I also have heavy duty hoses that we run down the fencelines and leave in place.  This way I only have to pull the hose from the barn out a short distance in order to hook it up to the outside hose, in order to water the tanks that are further out in the paddocks.  MUCH easier than dragging a hose all the way out there!  We also purchased a tractor with a front end loader.  This helps a lot with hauling the muck buckets out to the disposal site.  I put the muck buckets in the front loader and haul them that way, instead of pulling them on a cart or carrying them.  The front end loader also makes moving the bags of shavings we use for stall bedding easier as well.  Instead of carrying the bags over, I put them in the loader and haul them into the barn.  Since the mobility in my hands is sometimes an issue, turning on a water spigot that is round, can be difficult.  We have freeze proof water spigots in the barn areas instead.  All I have to do is pull up on a lever and I have water.  Works wonderfully.  We've also set up an easy turn-out system for the horses.  All paddocks and pastures can be easily accessed from the stalls in the barn.  If it's a day where I just cannot get the halters on them, I can open a set of gates, open their stall doors and direct them to whichever paddock or pasture they will be going out in that day.  I just reverse the process to bring them back into their stalls at night.

These are just some of my adaptations I've made, in order to allow me to still live and work on our farm.  I hope some of these things will help you or will spur you on to find your own creative ways to adapt and still enjoy your farm life!  Take care all.  I hope everyone enjoys your Memorial Day weekend!  Remember the next blog post update will be in two weeks (the weekend of June 4th).

Garden planting in small areas.

This week's blog returns to farming.  If you only have a small area to garden in or if you need a raised bed for your plants, what can you easily do?  We have successfully used the following idea for onions and pepper plants.  I'm sure it would be beautiful with flowers too!

We can't be the only farm that ends up with water tanks that have sprung a leak.  Sometimes you can repair those pesky tanks and sometimes it's just time to throw in the towel and admit that their use as a water container is finished.  LOL  However, that doesn't mean that their useful life is over!!  Far from it! 

We drill holes in the bottom of the tank, so that the plants don't get water logged.  To make it more of a raised bed, we put rocks and stones in the bottom of the tank to help fill it in and make the dirt level be up higher.  This also helps with water management (obviously).  Then put in your garden soil and plants.  It can be moved wherever you want it and it takes up a very little space.  Weeds aren't an issue and it keeps rabbits out too!  I do place some weed control paper underneath the tank, along with some decorative gravel, so I don't have to mow or weed eat around that area.  If you would like to paint the outside of the tank first, you could certainly do that too.  Add a bit of your own style and flair to your garden containers!  We just leave it as black (the original color) and it does fine.

Old water tank prepped and ready to be used as a raised planter.

Onions planted.

Sweet Banana Peppers and Jalapeno Peppers planted, along with some Marigolds to help reduce bugs.

Another space saving idea, is to reuse pallets as planters.  We buy our livestock feed in bulk, so get a new pallet every month.  While they are great to store hay on, after awhile, you end up with an abundance of them!  Ours are just plain, raw, pine wood.  They are perfect to reuse as a planter!  We staple weed control paper on the back of the pallet.  Fill it with garden soil and plant in between the wooden slats on the front of the pallet.  Again, it takes up very little space and is easily moved wherever you need it.  Weeds are easily controlled this way too.  You can paint the pallet first and use it as a decorative flower planter or leave it natural for a rustic look.  The possibilities are endless!!




Basic pallet, ready to be transformed into a planter.

Weed cloth stapled on the back (underside) of the pallet.

The backside of the pallet, showing the weed control fabric better.

Pallet filled with dirt and ready to plant.

Watermelon, cucumbers and lettuce planted.

We added in some marigolds, to help with bug control.

I like to add in a substance to the dirt, to help retain moisture.  We live in the south, so have hot, dry days.  This helps to keep the roots moist and helps the dirt to retain more moisture.  We've found our plants and flowers REALLY do well with this!  I buy it on the internet from Amazon.  You don't use very much at all....just a sprinkling of it worked into the top dirt does the trick! 

That's it for the tips from this week!  Remember, the new blog posts will be every TWO weeks through the rest of the spring and summer.  They will be posted on Mondays now too.  Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Enjoy your spring weather and planting!