Standard writing advice says write what you know. Lately, I’ve known a lot of grass time.
Since we mowed the field, Mathilda has been a complete PIA about grazing. Nothing seems to please her. The mowed part is too short. The unmowed part is too long. She’s turned into Goldilocks with a mane. The real concern is when she gives up after 20 minutes and stalks 🙂 back to the barn. Trying to keep her out does not work. Once she’s decides she done, she’s done. You can imagine our concern when a disabled, underweight, geriatric mare refuses to eat. Is she colicking? Is she too tired? We have come to accept that she’s being an opinionated cow.
Pastures flourish with regular mowing and regular grazing. When Mathilda & Previous Horse were munching, the whole field was their buffet. Now Mathilda lives indoors a majority of the time and Rodney hangs out next to her during the daylight hours. He goes off to graze at night. Therefore the grass/tooth ratio has fallen out of whack. Mowing doesn’t seem to help.
Other Grassy Bits
In the ongoing debate between ebooks & the codex, grazing comes down firmly on the side of the printed book. While an illuminated ebook allows you to read at night, it attracts midges and dulls your nightsight. Not good for keeping a position lock on your charge. More importantly, you can’t swat flies with an ebook.
Know your role. When coming out of the barn or going back in, Mathilda knows she is on the end of a leadrope and follows obediently. When the two of you are in the grass, you are the one on the end of the rope and you had better behave accordingly.
Previous Grazing Posts
June 13 Grazing
June 23 Grazing II
July 10 Grass Buffet
Sept 17 My Summer
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Gratuitous Kitten Pic
Virtual Brush Box 
I should have added that M still attacks her hay & grain. Therefore, the boycott is a statement on the quality of the grass not a health concern. Such a move would not be out of character.
Chief used to eat the onion grass that the other horses oh so carefully eat around. i always kept nice-smelling treats – which he liked- on me at all times. horsey onion breath? ick with a double ick.
as long as M is still eating with gusto (lordy so many bad puns come to mind), i tend to agree with you that she’s just being picky.
have you tried getting a little pony of the type who’ll eat anything that isn’t nailed down and some things that are? leading by example, so to speak.
Or a goat.
would Rodney freak out at a goat?
Might speak to his racing heritage.
It has been pointed out that calling M a PIA, opinionated, and a cow in the same post was harsh. Not untrue just harsh. In my defense, you should hear how she talks about me.
On another topic, when your own comments outnumber reader comments, it’s time to stop talking.