Izzy Has a New Address

Well, really more like a new flat. He's in the same "building," just a different floor. I first moved to this neighborhood in 2011 with Speedy and a gelding that I no longer own. We started off at a neighbor's place which is just around the corner - Izzy joined us there in 2014. We moved out to the ranch six years ago. Since that time, Izzy has lived in the same sandy paddock. A few years ago, Speedy moved into half of Izzy's space which made Speedy much happier. Izzy was good either way.

Izzy's new house. And yes, that is him way, way off in the distance.

My two boys get along just fine, but Speedy is needing some help that I can't give with the big brown horse living over the fence. Last summer, Speedy developed a nasty summer sore in his urethra and his eyes were a goopy mess all summer. Izzy just will not let Speedy wear a fly mask or sheet. My boys live in a 100 x 100 sandy pen that is cross fenced down the middle. Adjascent to my boys is an equally sized paddock where Dollar the stallion lives.  Dollar is also in need of some more hands on care, so it was decided to move Dollar, who is in his 30s and no longer "study," into Izzy's pen and relocate Izzy into Dollar's larger space.

It's almost a quarter of an acre.

For Izzy, there are several benefits. Number one, he has twice as much room. It wasn't like his paddock was small before, but this space is really big. The second benefit is that since the fencing was designed for a young, virile stallion (Dollar has lived there a long time), there is no-climb fencing on the inside, and the top rail is extra tall. This means Izzy won't be able to stick his head through the bars to rub out his mane of which he has already managed to rub out a quarter. I don't think we'll be able to do much to keep him from rubbing out the the top of his tail, but at least he might keep what's left of his mane and forelock.

Izzy is very tall. This fence is over six feet tall.

Before we made the switch, I rode Izzy hoping to take his edge off. Afterwards, I cleaned out Dollar's left-over, stemy alfalfa and fed it to the two horses on the opposite side of Izzy's new lot. Dollar lives mostly on senior feed. Then I dragged Izzy's breakfast over and swapped out the salt blocks. We left Izzy tied up and walked Dollar over to his new place with a cup of senior feed and rice bran as a house warming gift.

Dollar and Speedy have been friends for many years. During Speedy's walk-abouts, he visits with Dollar pretty regularly. There was a a single stallion squeal when we introduced them over the cross fence, and Speedy jogged up and down the fence line calling for Izzy for about two minutes, but that was the extent of their theatrics. Not one other horse on the property gave a hoot about Dollar moving to the next pen. Well, no one except for the big brown horse.

Speedy in the background enjoying his afternoon bucket, Dollar saying Hi!

After we were sure that Speedy and Dollar were settled, I put Izzy in his new place. I hand walked him around the inside fence, showed him the water and his breakfast, and then did the walk again. I slipped off his halter, stood back, and watched him race around for the next several hours. There was very little hollering as both the old men happily stood at the end of their field keeping Izzy company. But that was not enough for the big brown horse. He was pissed. He charged, he bucked, he kicked, he stamped his big round feet. It was all part of a very dramatic hissy fit.

I want Speedy!

After a while, I put the halter back on him and hosed him off. There is a very convenient hose and faucet located at the entrance to his sandy lot. I also took him over to his automatic waterer and made sure he knew how it worked. I let him go again, and he raced around even more determined than before. Occasionally he would park himself in the shade - clearly he's not stupid, but then his feet would start all over again. 

Resting in the shade with Dollar close by.

Fortunately, not one other horse on the ranch reacted so Izzy was alone in his shenanigans. When I finally left, Dollar and Speedy were munching on their lunch while the big brown horse ran laps.

Hopefully he's still big and brown this morning. I have a feeling that he's going to be very, very tired.