# Life of Makhala



## Makhala (Dec 10, 2011)

I've decided that I should in fact keep a horse journal.. I seem to keep journals for every other aspect of my life so - why not?!

This could be interesting 

I'm actually moving in Monday, I won't have my horse at the new property until next Saturday  But in saying that - the job is on a 8000 hectare ASH stud farm. I've technically already started work, just not officially moved all my stuff lol 

Really looking forward to it!
I'll be working for a lady called Nita, all of her mares recently dropped foals.. really really expensive foals :S Make my horse look relatively pooey! But I still love him.. 

Maybe I should write a "bring you up to date" with Albie?

This is what Albie looked like when I got him - 








I ended up with him as a result of the 2011 Floods in Australia (Queensland), it wasn't the owners fault he was at this point, but she couldn't afford to bring him back to weight - before her Albie was a Racehorse, retired again due to the floods. I found out recently he would still qualify as a racehorse! (He's still VERY fast!) but I would never do that to him again. 









This is his condition as of 08/12/11
The paddock he was in for the past month has lost all feed, I only just had a chance to move him last week, he lost some condition but he's overall much better then when I got him. 

I'm sure over the period of time I'm writing this you might get a feel for what Albie and I's relationship is like  but to put a long story short, we saved each other, and I love him so soo much for this!


Update 10.12.11
I wasn't able to get out to see Albie today  I feel bad, I haven't been able to see him since wednesday because I was in Melbourne. I had a friend ridding him for me, Albie's one of those horses that no matter how much you feed him he won't put weight on unless somebody's working him at the same time - Love Thoroughbreds <3 hehe
I'm thinking of putting him up to two feeds a day again, just until he's back at his ideal weight.. I dropped him back to one once I had him back on a green paddock, but once I have him at my new place he's going to be worked for at least 3 hours a day doing property work.. he's my transport method around the place. The farm I'm at has different stables spread out between the property, they have farming families split between certain stables.. I get the paperwork job, calling vets if needed, farriers, thoroughly checking the foals every morning/evening, handling the foals from birth, weening etcetc. ... fun times ahead  
Of course I will be putting photos up as I go!  









Thought I would post one now  
This little guy is only 9 days old - Look at how built he already is!!








6hours old at the time of this photo

So Yeh..

 

Stay tuned I guess


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## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

Nice TB. I so miss mine.


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## Makhala (Dec 10, 2011)

So.. Travel day today..
In the car now with a friend, rode Albie about 2hrs ago we did a lap of the neighborhood- don't usually do that, he was realllly good! We stopped and some kids wanted to pet him, he put his head down and let them cuddle him- seriously the cutest thing he's done in a long time! Bella hoped on him aswell and we doubled, I ended up making her get off though because he started throwing his head -.- 

I was paying close attention to when he did it today, when he's comfortably stopped he's okay. But whenever he goes to take a step forward he tosses his head around almost to avoid the bit (he walks forward without me asking still - xracehorse..). 

OH!!! We had a brown snake in the food bin! Like.. Over 1m long brown snake. Yes I have photos.. Will upload later, haven't had the chance to get on my computer yet. Fun day :S it's also storming.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Makhala (Dec 10, 2011)

FFS. 
I'm having a day where I'm questioning WHY I trust people sometimes!!

So because I'm moving - I left Albie in town for a week so I could get settled in, get his stable ready, etc. etc. 
Albie is currently underweight as a result of there not being enough food. I moved him into a new paddock with a new lady just for a month until I could bring him out. I'm taking him tomorrow. I checked on him today and holy crap -.-
The lady said she was feeding him. 
His food bin was empty with the two UNOPENED bags of feed beside it, 
The hay I had for him was untouched,
His bag of Chaff which lasts usually 2-3months was GONE. 
The paddock was flooded to the point I couldn't physically get to my horse, nor him come to me. 

See, I'm normally a fair person, I can understand that yes - we were hit by a MASSIVE storm. The paddock might have flooded, my food might have become wet a result, she might not have had time to feed him. But you can at least CALL to tell me that! Not wait for me to go out, almost get bogged, go to feed my horse, find my food has been untouched for a week. If my horse was in condition then I might not have had a huge problem with it- but he's not, and I'm trying to do what's best for him, and she said she would do that for me so I didn't have to organize someone else to come out.. ! >>>>.<<<<

Oh and this was the paddock. 








Yep. Those are ducks in my horses paddock. 

Frustrated. YES. 

Anyway...
Other news. 
I looooove the new place!! It's amazing!!
Getting up early and going for a ride on horses that are by far the best horses I've laid eyes on - EPIC. They're so well educated it's not funny, it's nice getting up and not having to freak out about being late for work  









A few of few yearlings wanted to say hi 

I might even make a video of it all and post it here.. Hmm..


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

I'd love to see some more pictures of your boy. Gorgeous green grass you've got there, at least the rain is good for something.


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## InStyle (Nov 14, 2011)

Subbing. Sounds like a GREAT job!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Makhala (Dec 10, 2011)

@ Sharpie - Trust me you'll see PLENTY of Albie  And yes, rain is good.. if your paddock isn't prone to becoming a swamp. Where I am now the paddocks are all slopping so the water runs off them  

@InStyle - It IS!! I Love it 


19.12.11

Had a lazy day today - compared to yesterday anyway!
Yesterday was cattle day - which meant we had to seperate all the cows with calfs - wean the ones who were old enough (who escaped today -.- they're now chilling out around my house.. not so cool when all you hear is MOOOOOOO every 20seconds or so.). We also had to cut horns off a few of them, only the steers/bulls get their horns off.. they leave them on the females so they can protect their calfs from Dingos.. learn something new everyday I guess!

Went for a ride up the mountain with my sister, I found a quiet enough horse that I'll be able to take my camera one day- I'll put some photos up when I do, pretty amazing landscapes up there! Though I did find old bones.. horse spoked at it, fun times. 

Albie arrived here yesterday, put him in a paddock with anouther TB Gelding, both of them are x-racehorses.. I've learnt that Albie will refuse to communicate with other horses while people are around - which sucks because I've put him in the paddock right near my house, so he just stands at the gate the whole **** time. EAT ALBIE!!. I have the dentist coming out after christmas for him, he's dropping alot of his food again - Switched from dry feed to wet as a result, also added copra and molasses (I hope I spelt that right..) to try and make him put weight on a little quicker  .. Maybe that's why he doesn't want to leave.. "She brings me YUMMY food if I wait for her here.. nomnom"

Gah.. I'm trying to upload photos, but it's taking forever!! Will leave computer on overnight... I have to use my phone to upload at the moment, the lightning from the other night hit the internet disk on the house.. figures stuff like that would happen to me.. lol 73% uploaded.. yay!


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## Makhala (Dec 10, 2011)

mooooove hehe


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## Makhala (Dec 10, 2011)

Sooo, yesterday I went for a ride around 1000 hectares of the property to get an idea of the paddocks they have here. I took Rory (the horse I'm on above^^), was all good until I went into a creek bed and thought there would be an opening further up.. haha fail. I found a break in the creek and thought I could fit (it was above my head.. I just guessed) and Rory went up and I got smacked in the face by a thorn tree.. Umm ouch. Anyway, got and idea of where to go and where /not/ to go. Moved some cattle, charged at by a bull, chased by a goanna - that was a AHHH moment!, watched a mare give birth (Kinda cute and gross at the same time!), and chased Albie into a new paddock because he refused to leave the gate. That was yesterday, today I went to feed the horses and I got the car stuck in a gully - yeh that was stupid Makhala!! Nita wasn't to angry about it - she thought it was funny, my punishment was served by the car- I had to carry all the feed down by hand. Gahh. Other then that had a cruisy day, looking at some new brood mares, registering the foals and yearlings - talk about frustrating! We seperated the Grey Mare from the mares and foals yesterday as well - because she was beating up one of the mares in foal, we had her in the big yard - she spent the whole day galloping from one side of the yard to the other (about 30-40m), at about 4pm she stopped so I went to check on her... She managed to overheat herself and was on the ground, Oh hello Mr. Vet. Spent an hour sitting with her with a hose until he came.. as soon as she was ok to get up she started doing the same thing all over again! Now she's tied up out the front of the house on a short lead.. she's not impressed.. neither am I to be honest, wetting her down every hour or so - she hates me I think :S


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