One of the big differences between Shauna and Irene turned out to be feeding practices. Irene never seemed to concede to the reality that the horses we were breeding had special nutrition requirements. Actually every horse (creature) does. The difference with these horses was that we were trying to get them to reach full potential. That's why they need a perfect diet in a perfect environment with the perfect training.

Ok... One can only do so much. But a good start is quintessential to a satisfactory result.

I remember... At one point it became so heated that Irene went and bought a 1-ton bail of hay (that's more than a cubic meter), dropped it in the pasture, and proclaimed (dictated) that if anything else was fed to the horses then she would burn the hay storage and the horses will live on only the pastures. Which in winter is not a good thing. And all we really wanted was for the horses to grow (develop) properly. That was what we were supposed to be breeding for.

What Irene never realized is that it wasn't about her. It was never about her. It wasn't about us either. It was always about the horses.

And... As it turned out... The horses were the only one's that were suffering.

Unfortunately; As a result no doubt of the feeding habits. Every horse we were sent had some problem which, ultimately, had it's root in the her feeding habits. Either it wasn't enough, or it was too rich (which destroys adolescent horse feet). This had become the ultimate sore spot between the girls.

Another problem was that some of the horses ate from an old cow feeder which had rotted out. Irene, refusing to use her resources (us), decided (on her own) to line the feeders with old (free) tin-roofing scraps. The result... Horses with bloody lips.

Horses use their lips as fingers. They search and probe for scraps and if they hit sharp objects they get cut. Did Irene ever call us and discuss what we should do. No! I would have said... Why don't you replace the original wood and we'll pay for it. But alas that would probably have been beyond Irene's capabilities.

To which we would have said... Let's hire someone to fix it and We'll pay for it.

Like I said... Not using Our resources properly.

And she is feeding ankle deep in muck. I asked her one time... Why? She said 'it can't be kept clean'. Well, no, if you only clean it once a decade but if you cleaned it regularly...

Irene 'needed' to be the boss somehow and usually the horses lost out.

After a lot of arguing... There was a final agreement that Shauna could supplement the feed with 'beet pulp'. Essentially, dehydrated pellets meant for bulking up big horses without adding unhealthy sugars. Just add water, and it helps the horses grow, and it's not protein which may cause abnormal growing (overgrowth, undergrowth) problems. It did require However a few minutes extra work each day.

All we hear is how hard the farm work is. Quite frankly there is more lounging around on the farm than actual work. We have been hearing, year after year, how hard Irene works on the farm only to get here and find out that's a complete fallacy. It takes nothing to feed the horses and Irene has put no additional effort into the farm for some years now.

The Hay Shed Needs Major Repair -->

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