Wed, 5/6: 181 minutes; horse work and yard work (mowing)
Totals through 5/6: 991/3500 minutes
Aside from the normal horse chores and yard work (mowing), I gave the horses each some 1-on-1 time just grazing. While not exercise for the body ... it was enormously good for my soul; the horses seemed to enjoy it as well! It is always a lift when all the horses come to the gate with eager, hopeful expressions, "Pick me! Pick me!"
Today I have a treat in mind for them: yard work! I'm planning to release them into an area that is now grown over with weeds. I had fully mowed the section two weeks ago ... but those hardy plants have bounced back. I've removed those I know to be troublesome to their digestive system ... they'll get to weed wack the rest for me either by grazing or by trampling. Either way, the weeds won't win.
FWIW, we are in a heat wave. The entire work week is in the 90's with some cooling (mid-80s) for the weekend and super cool weather (low to mid-60s) next week! Whee! In other news, one of the volunteer bee colonies on the property seems to have swarmed yesterday. They were an extremely full mass in the morning and significantly depleted by mid-day. This morning I'd say about half the colony has left. I hope that is a healthy sign.
Edited to add: Gave the horses 15 minutes with the weeds. They were delighted. It was the first visit for the season and, as the mustang has only been with me since Oct, it was his first-ever visit to this space. He kept blinking as if to say, "Is this real?" Too cute. He also was eager to explore the space below a cluster of low trees/brush that my larger horses won't enter; he did some great trampling work in that space! Perfect! In all, they stuck together pretty closely and spent most of the brief time exploring the space. So most of their effort was trampling ... with a bite or two here and there as they went along. The boys were easy to catch at the end of the period but the mare resisted until she was alone, as the last horse. Then, and only then, would she draw in to me and put her nose into the halter. Good mare. I'll wait a couple days to be sure there is no upset and then bring them back for another brief period. Such helpful horses!