Creature Comforts

Things got pretty heated here at the ole' Farmhouse this week.  The upstairs of the house to be exact.  We added central air to the main floor and there is a window air conditioner in the cozy room, but, sadly Cliff's office has nothin'!  You see Cliff needs his creature comforts and that includes HD TV, Chocolate and air conditioning.  So off to Lowes we went and purchased a small window unit for the office.  I mean how is a man supposed to make millions of dollars if he is hot??  This got me thinking about the other creatures in my life.  How do they cope with uncomfortable weather?  Pretty well thanks to a very caring mommy named yours truly. Bella actually enjoys the heat.  She loves to lay outside in the sun. She has been trotting down to the stream to cool off when she is overheated.  Kitty on the other hand has an arsenal of things to keep her comfortable.  It's truly amazing what we horse people do to keep our precious beasts cool and calm.

Take a look at this.  This is called a fly mask.  No explanation needed.

She wears this every night when she is in her pasture.  It's like looking through a window screen.

She wears this lovely chapeau when we ride the trails.  It's called a fly bonnet.

The fly bonnet covers the ears and the fringes keep flies off of her delicate face.  This  is a generic bonnet.  Some (privileged) horses have fancy bonnets.

Kitty is jealous of her friend Bella's bonnet, but I am too cheap to buy her a "cool one".

Let's not forget the fans that run all day keeping these equine prince and princesses cool.

Every stall has a fan attached to the front. Some "over protective" parents even buy deluxe metal fans, but , they shall go nameless.  Kelly B.

Our horses are in their stalls during the day and in the pasture at night, when it is less buggie and cooler.  We are blessed and cursed with our pasture situation.  The farm has acres and acres of lush, green grass.  Great you say?  Not so great when you learn that horses can get very sick from too much lush grass,  Grass is high in sugar and can cause metabolic problems for "easy keepers", this means fatties  Most of our horses are draft crosses and need very little food to maintain their size, unlike the Thoroughbred which can eat all day and night. So... our horses wear these crazy contraptions.

This is called a grazing muzzle.  Kitty wears this from spring through the first frost.  It has a small hole in the bottom that allows her to eat - slowly.

You may think this is cruel, but , it is truly a lifesaver for these guys.  They are used to wearing them and they get plenty of grass and they can drink too.  Please notice the very plush sheepskin that I have had professionally sewn around the top so she won't get rubbed.  You should be so pampered!  Hell - I should be so pampered!

So basically these horses live better than most of us.  Don't forget the caring owners to run to Sam's Club and buy buckets of these mints.

After all we want our horses to know we care! LOL!  Hope you keep cool

Thanks for stopping by.