# Mustangroosters Journal--A little on the crazy side



## mustangrooster (May 16, 2017)

So, I'm finally deciding to start over with the journal. Things happened, life happened, BYH got really busy because of all the BYC invaders (which included me.......), I asked for my original journal to get locked, things are starting to calm down, I can restart the journal now. (Told you guys I'd stay when BYC is back up)

So basically my life is my animals. Our farm animals consist of a turkey, a cat, dogs, too many chickens to count, *missing* budgies, a cockatiel, a wallaby/joeys, ducks, Quails, 4 horses, a roaming Emu and Buffalo, roaming cattle, and so on.

The to get list this year is...........a trio of pigs, goats (our previous one died) sheep (the ones that look like goats....) and rabbits. I'm SUPER excited about the goats, we have the room and all, just setting up the goat pen is a trouble. I don't know what kind of fencing a goat requires, how much area they need, as for the rabbits, that's pretty easy.

I'm debating as to whether I should get the goats or the rabbits first........I know that I can't wait to breed either, so that's hard.

I know for sure that it's going to start with one goat, two goats, three goats...............50 goats.

I guess poultry keeping really is the gateway to the rest of the animals eh?

I've been 'stalking' lots of kidding threads, and rabbit threads, it driving me up the wall! In a good way, because it's making me want goats and rabbits even more and more....

Tis' Australia where I live, the climate is hot and sticky, lately, the climate has been cool and cold and colder, nice change!

I'm really hoping to add call ducks, runner ducks, and geese to the flock  Just have to expand the coop, and then either buy adult pairs or buy some eggs!

So basically a live a little on the crazy side.







Also VERY excited for the once a year show coming up in our area, it's a HUGE 3-day event! Have been training Heidi in the agility courses, and jumping lately, so hopefully, she can come along with me at the show. I also plan to come home with more birds, maybe some other animals that are up for sale........

I have been eyeing a couple of my latest bred birds that I'm hoping to enter in the show. This is their father:


  So they are pretty gorgeous, who knows, maybe they might win something!

Whenever I give the chicks yogurt (the chicks I'm hoping to enter in the show), they crust over in it because they go nuts, they end up stinking, had to clean them all a couple of days ago....


So, that's all for now. Hopefully, I can keep this journal running.


----------



## mustangrooster (May 16, 2017)

Also a question to all your dog owners with lots of dogs. How do you keep them all?? Do you crate some for some time during the day, do you tie them up sometimes, or do they each have their own pens/area? Or do they all just roam around? Tie, one of my dogs, can't do that, he runs away if nothing is secure.


----------



## MikeLM (May 16, 2017)

I was going to ask you what animals you kept, now I don't have to!


----------



## Latestarter (May 16, 2017)

Welcome once again and glad to follow along with your journey! Sorry about the horse/back injury. I haven't ridden in years and never owned a horse. I have enough other "money pits" to throw into...


----------



## CntryBoy777 (May 16, 2017)

Since ya desire to have goats, the size of the pen would have to be determined as to how many and if they are going to be drylotted or have a piece of land to browse and graze on. As far as the wire goes the woven goat/sheep wire would do fine for them, but if there are predators, then that would have to be considered also.
Glad ya stayed around and make yourself at home here...


----------



## mustangrooster (May 17, 2017)

MikeLM said:


> I was going to ask you what animals you kept, now I don't have to!



 You’re sticking around, too? Haha, yeah. They really are a full-time job.



Latestarter said:


> Welcome once again and glad to follow along with your journey! Sorry about the horse/back injury. I haven't ridden in years and never owned a horse. I have enough other "money pits" to throw into...



Thanks,  Ah, yeah, it was pretty painful.  Do ya want a ride? You’re more than welcome to ride our thoroughbred ……She'll take you for a ride  “Money pits” Ha! Love that, it’s pretty accurate…..



CntryBoy777 said:


> Since ya desire to have goats, the size of the pen would have to be determined as to how many and if they are going to be drylotted or have a piece of land to browse and graze on. As far as the wire goes the woven goat/sheep wire would do fine for them, but if there are predators, then that would have to be considered also.
> Glad ya stayed around and make yourself at home here...



I think I'm going to start out with 4 (3 does and 1 buck) and I think they might have a piece of land to them selfs, with shelter and everything too. Oohhh.........well the worst predators we have for the goats would be the dingos. I was thinking barbed wire? All our horses are fenced with barbed wire, and everyone around here uses barbed wire for horses.......but for goats is a different story........I've heard it works for some people, and for others, it doesn't. We have plenty of barbed wire to use, but I just don't know if that would be the safest option for the goats 

Thanks, I'm glad I stuck around....


----------



## TheKindaFarmGal (May 17, 2017)

mustangrooster said:


> Also a question to all your dog owners with lots of dogs. How do you keep them all?? Do you crate some for some time during the day, do you tie them up sometimes, or do they each have their own pens/area? Or do they all just roam around? Tie, one of my dogs, can't do that, he runs away if nothing is secure.



One of my dogs has to be tied most of the time because he is very aggressive towards people outside of the family and a lot of our other animals. The other three are pretty much free do to as they please - which usually means staying as close to me as they can.  

Maybe if you let Tie roam more he'd get used to it and stay? One of my dogs was like that when we moved, though she'd eventually come back after awhile exploring. Now it's all old and she just sticks around here. 

Your animals are beautiful btw!


----------



## MikeLM (May 17, 2017)

mustangrooster said:


> You’re sticking around, too? Haha, yeah. They really are a full-time job.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Oh yes, I'll be sticking around, probably talk about goats more than chickens at the other place anyways.


----------



## samssimonsays (May 17, 2017)

mustangrooster said:


> How do you keep them all?? Do you crate some for some time during the day, do you tie them up sometimes, or do they each have their own pens/area? Or do they all just roam around?


We had three dogs who were house dogs while we were away and crated until trustworthy. With all three together, we couldn't trust them to stay put but with just one outside, they would do fine. Now that we are down to the one dog she does good most of the time only frequently visiting the next door neighbors whom she adores and they have a dog who loves her and they play. We can see their house through the trees they are so close. I hope to be able to get our pup to the point where she is trained fully to the electric net fencing so she can stay outside while we are not home instead of being stuck in the house all day, which she really doesn't mind as she enjoys to lounge on the bed and couches all day  someone has to hold them down for us when we can't use them!


----------



## CntryBoy777 (May 17, 2017)

Personally, I don't like barbed wire for goats. Goats that are hung or caught on barbed wire only know "Forward" and will continue to struggle until they are free or dead. I've had the pleasure of detangling one from some and it wasn't very easy....not to mention the scratches and gouges that I received from it. The goat did okay, just some pricks and scratches, but I happened to be standing there when it happened, so it could've been much worse. Some regular goat/sheep wire should do fine, but if dingos are prevalent there some strands of Hotwire will go a long way in protecting them from most vermin.


----------



## MikeLM (May 17, 2017)

mustangrooster said:


> Also a question to all your dog owners with lots of dogs. How do you keep them all?? Do you crate some for some time during the day, do you tie them up sometimes, or do they each have their own pens/area? Or do they all just roam around? Tie, one of my dogs, can't do that, he runs away if nothing is secure.




They pretty much stay at my feet and help with the cooking. 






Everyone does have their own crate


----------



## Latestarter (May 21, 2017)

Hope you're feeling better soon.


----------



## LocoYokel (May 22, 2017)

Hey, don't you get sick!  I had "bad" ears as a kid and even now as an ol' fart if I get that ringing it means I need to double down on my Echinacea caps.  All those critters need you!    How is your back doing after the horse wreck? I would come work your TB for you if I was closer, I really miss my horses.  
Do you think Heidi is actually preggo yet?  Would love to see a new pic of her, she is so pretty!  I would take a pup that looks like her but Australia to Northwest US shipping is WAY out of my pocketbook...  let alone upkeep for yet another dog. 
Sorry for all the questions, I have only had time to lurk this past week. You take care and hoping you feel better soon!


----------



## mustangrooster (May 23, 2017)

Alright, I found a ton of baby Heidi pics, enjoy....



















 










 



 



 -She looked like this when she arrived......

I would post more, but there is a picture limit......


----------



## samssimonsays (May 23, 2017)

mustangrooster said:


> .I wonder if an electric collar would be the same...
> 
> I was hoping to get one of those. But don’t know if they work.


 We had to get the collar and it was great for practicing their recall! Our collie would test. Shed stand there and stare, not coming. The pyr/bernard mix would usually pass for a deaf dog  it was good practice for them to realize I could still "reach" them and they didn't like getting in trouble. Even up to the end where we didn't use the collar. They'd hear us calling and they'd be back in a flash.


----------



## mustangrooster (May 24, 2017)

WHOOOOOOHOOOO! 


HUGE improvement on my green broke horse this arvo. I rode him, and he went forward without putting up too much of a fuss! I seriously couldn't believe it! Sooo....whats so good about that you guys wonder? Here, I'll tell ya.


********HORSE TALK ALERT*************

So November last year he came into my life. Skinny, unnourished and just craving love. He had scars everywhere, his coat was dull, and he looked an overall wreck.

It will take too long to explain his whole life story, so I will put it, in short, well I will try too.

He was really just cast aside, no one really saw any good in him, and he got beat up by the other horses.

Everybody said, "You shouldn't have brought that horse" when his situation was explained to other people. A big downer, right?

He has come from the horse who used to bite me, shove me, push me aside, buck/strike/ and go crazy when I asked him to do something when longing, and had no trust in me etc etc............. to now the horse who wants to spend every minute with me, neighs out to me when he sees me, wants to learn, is eager to learn (though he has always really just wanted to learn), who now fully trusts me and just loves me and is willing to do anything etc.

Did i mention he's also the Alpha? Well, he was when he came home, not at his old home so that got to his head. Who else out there knows how hard it is to deal with and get an Alpha horse to trust you?

He was scared, he didn't want to hurt me. I don't blame him, after the stuff he's been through---been beaten up by all the other horses and cast aside.  Being the Alpha it took even longer for him to respect me, and let alone trust me.

He also had wolf teeth. A very* bad *cause of it. The other horse who he grew up with and is the same age as him (3 years--who we also brought) had his removed. It was pretty obvious that the owner knew about his cause of wolf teeth but said nothing about it. They were so bad that it caused scarring on his cheeks.

That would explain the head thrashing, and a huge drama to get his bridle on (way back when he still had the wolf teeth) how he struck, and how he was a naughty boy. It caused him daily pain. It took a lot to regain that trust with the bridle and even now I'm still working on it, he's still not sure and he does rearrange the bit in his mouth a lot so I imagine the scarring is still there. He has a sweet bit, and when we get more Honey I am going to put it on the bit to make it not seem so bad.

Poor baby.

He went to a trainer not long ago (this year, not too long ago) and the first thing she said was he has wolf teeth.....what a shock. Without her it would have taken ages for us to figure out the wolf teeth, I think. So he went from green to green broke with her.

He was good for her, worked like a charm--almost. When I got him back, he was a little better, but still misbehaved when ridden, a lot. Keep in mind I'm riding bareback and she rode with a saddle.

So i haven't had him for that long, and when he came back (not too long ago), getting up at the crack of dawn to do hours of groundwork with him every day was just a part of my usual day. I did nothing but ground work for 6 weeks, because when I rode him he would only, and ONLY listen when someone was leading him.

For his groundwork, I have been (and still am) following Clinton Anderson's method. Since then, our bond has become pretty inseparable.


I have also been brushing him daily, taking him for walks, feeding him a lot, and of course washing him etc


Did I mention how SHINY his coat is??  He is a sweetheart and your gonna hear me say that a lot.


Anyways, 6 weeks of ground work, and nothing else, I decided to get on him (still bareback) 3 days ago. The trainer’s stuff that was taught is still in his mind, but everyone has different techniques, and it was hard for me to pick up the trainers technique. So he’s green broke, the trainer did not waste his time. 

Getting him used to *me* and my *technique* was a whole new level.


Hes AWESOME in staying statue still when getting on. It’s a bit hard to swing my leg over him bareback, so if I’m half hanging off and pulling myself up he stays completely still!......... Good boy.


So as for the ride? Eh, it was ok. He put up a fight, backed up, struck out, did something I didn’t ask him to do when I simply asked him to go forward.

Not his fault, he’s TRYING to do what I asked, but I was confusing because he was confusing me…..


Again, keep in mind that I could have been telling him go forward but the position I was in the trainer could have been telling him to go backwards, see? (Hope I didn't confuse you)


Eventually, I got him to walk around and follow one of the paddocks fence lines, I was very happy with him. I ended it there and told him how good he was, sponged off the sweat and fed him.


Yesterday it was kind of the same, he was a bit naughtier but eventually, he did well. I ended it when he was good, told him how good of a boy he was, sponged the sweat off, and fed him.

Huge difference from the horse who would not listen when ridding at all.


Today?


I still can’t believe it! Am I dreaming??? 


He walked forward with only a bit of resistance (backed up a little) but listened to my every leg signal and turn!!

Sure being young and green broke sometimes he wanted to go the way he wanted, and I let him. Just made it seem like it was my idea.

I was even able to turn him in a 360-degree angle both ways! He's an angel at a one rein stop, and he was so good I took the lesson further and did a little game of herding one of the horses who was following me around....


I stopped a few times and let him rest and kept saying how good he was and gave him a good scratch. Only a couple of times he backed up but only for a split second, then he moved forward.

Had to slow he down in his walk a bit, had a fast walk, but he did slow down. And if he stopped when I didn’t ask him to, I would just move him on and make him stop when I said so, not him. He understood that, same for the direction in which way to go, only once or twice I let him go the way he wanted.

I just love this guy, he’s an angel. His flourishing in this love and attention he’s getting. As for the problems I had when he came back from the trainer? She had different “buttons” on him and techniques. Different to mine, so I might have been giving him a signal that means backup but I mean go forward.

I kept backing him up though when he decided to back up uninvited, rammed a few trees….(not today)


I make sure to flex him for a couple of minutes or even just sit on him whenever I get on to remove that “go go go as soon as she hops on” thinking.


He Is so responsive, if I even slightly touch the rein he turns in that direction and gets ready to turn. He always has his ears back listening to me as soon as I get on him.


I’m so proud of him!!
I could go on and on about everything revolving around him, with all the little details, but that was the shortest way possible I could put it...for your guys sake 


He really was the star of the show after that awesome riding session.


----------



## norseofcourse (May 24, 2017)

It's such an awesome feeling when you have a good ride like that    you've done great, putting such time and effort into your horse.


----------



## mustangrooster (May 24, 2017)

norseofcourse said:


> It's such an awesome feeling when you have a good ride like that    you've done great, putting such time and effort into your horse.



Thank you  Its so nice to know that all my hard work with him is starting to pay off......


----------



## MikeLM (May 25, 2017)

mustangrooster said:


> 3 dogs? Yep, we have 3 too. I can’t trust them to be all let off together, so the full male dog has to be tied up a lot. Mainly because he runs and with pig hunters/poison/and cattle around, it’s the safest option for him. Aw! Lucky that you have neighbors that are close that your dog likes to visit. Your dog is beautiful
> 
> 
> Your pup? You have a pup as well? Whoops, missed that one! I like the idea of electric fencing…….I wonder if an electric collar would be the same...
> ...



OH, thank you. I hope you are feeling better.


----------



## CntryBoy777 (May 25, 2017)

Sorry to hear that ya are having such a time with it all, but hang in there and ya will make it thru the "Fog" before too long. There are always set-backs in anyone's life, but it is enduring the rough times that allow us to Enjoy the good times so much more.


----------



## norseofcourse (May 25, 2017)

Sorry about your bad day.   Life throws them at us all sometimes.  Can't do much but get through them and know that it does get better again.  I hope the hurt quail recovers.


----------



## Latestarter (May 25, 2017)

so sorry... it has to get better soon.


----------



## LocoYokel (May 26, 2017)

Ugh, life and it's ending is expected on a farm but when Mother Nature gets cruel it can really slap you in the face.  
Sure hope you feel better soon.  Have you been using any new products for pest control or such lately?  Just a thought...


----------



## mustangrooster (May 28, 2017)

Thank you so much for all the kind words and encouragement everyone, it means a lot and it really made me smile.

Sigh, been a rough couple of days, with fevers, vomiting, etc but finally, I’m better. Don’t know what caused me to be sick, maybe the animals? Dunno. But it was rough, very rough.

Thankfully I’m better now.


 God is so good. And I trust that he knows what he's doing and is watching over me, even when sometimes it doesn't feel like it.


Well, he is!

 For ages, I have been wanting to get back into the swing of caring for baby joeys……………..and look who was found in his slightly bloated mum who was in the middle of the road.


     


He's going to be a lot of work. Every 3 hours he needs a feed.....around the clock. Bless his little heart, if we didn't find him, well......dont think he would be alive.

He is a sweetheart. And very small.

For those of you who pray, please pray that this little guy will survive and will flourish, for his sake and mine. I can't handle another heartbreak right now, and the little fella deserves a really good life. 

He has taken his first bottle really well, actually need to go feed him now. 

I'm in love.


----------



## Latestarter (May 28, 2017)

You are awesome.    You don't have enough going on but to add saving a baby wild animal to the mix.   Hope he thrives for you.


----------



## mustangrooster (May 28, 2017)

Little man made it through the night, was up late feeding him…….but that’s alright. He has stolen my heart.  

Heidi turns one in 2 days!


----------



## mustangrooster (May 29, 2017)




----------



## TAH (May 29, 2017)

Praying keeps up the thriving!!! 

He is so stinkin  cute! 

Glad you are better.... And hope it stays that way for a while!


----------



## mustangrooster (May 29, 2017)

Thank you,    I just spent the last half an hour trying to keep his body temp warm……if he gets too cold he can die.

He sure is, but also is a lot of hard work---he is so small!

Thanks again, it sure does feel good to be feeling well.



Latestarter said:


> You are awesome.    You don't have enough going on but to add saving a baby wild animal to the mix.   Hope he thrives for you.



Why thank you, Yeah, he is making me pretty tired but it is worth it to get him settled in and thriving. Thanks, I'm really hoping he makes it.


----------



## TheKindaFarmGal (May 29, 2017)

Wow!! Good job! I'll be praying. Will you keep him when he is older if does well?


----------



## mustangrooster (May 31, 2017)




----------



## Latestarter (Jun 1, 2017)

things will get better!


----------

