#Slow Feed Hay Nets

[handyhaynets]

Transitioning Your Horses to Slow Feeding: The Benefits of Handy Hay Nets

Are you looking to improve your horse's feeding routine while enhancing their overall well-being? Transitioning to slow feeding hay bags could be the solution you've been searching for. At Handy Hay Nets, we understand the importance of providing your equine companions with a natural and sustainable feeding method. With our range of hay nets and bags designed specifically for horses, you can ensure that your beloved animals receive the nutrition they need while promoting healthy eating habits.

Why Choose Handy Hay Nets?

Handy Hay Nets is your trusted partner in transitioning your horses and other farm animals to slow feeding hay bags. Our dedication to providing high-quality products and valuable resources sets us apart. Whether you're a seasoned equestrian or new to the world of slow feeding, we have the tools and expertise to support you every step of the way.

The Medium Size Slow Feed Bag: Perfect for Your Horses

Our medium-sized slow feed bag is a versatile solution for horse owners seeking to optimize their feeding routines. With the capacity to hold 4 to 6 flakes of hay, this bag is ideal for hard-to-keep ponies, minis, mini donkeys, and dwarf goats. Additionally, its convenient size makes it perfect for day trips to riding grounds or arenas, allowing you to provide your horse with nourishment wherever your adventures take you.

Variety of Netting Sizes: Tailored to Your Needs

At Handy Hay Nets, we understand that every horse is unique. That's why our hay bags for horses, are available in a variety of netting sizes, ranging from 0.5" to 2", to accommodate different feeding preferences and requirements. Whether your horse prefers finer or coarser hay, you can find the perfect netting size to suit their needs. Plus, with our 1" HD (heavy duty) option, you can rest assured that your hay bag can withstand even the most determined eaters.

Durability Guaranteed: Built to Last

Our heavy-duty hay net is crafted from a durable netting material designed to withstand the rigors of daily use. Unlike traditional hay bags that may succumb to wear and tear over time, Handy Hay Nets' products are built to last. With reinforced seams and quality construction, you can trust that your hay bag will remain intact, providing your horse with reliable access to forage day after day.

Hanging Ring Option: Convenience at Your Fingertips

To enhance the usability of our hay bags, we now offer a hanging ring option. This innovative feature allows you to easily hang your net in muddy or snowy conditions, ensuring that your horse always has access to clean and fresh hay. Whether you're stabling your horse or traveling to a competition, our hanging ring option provides added convenience and flexibility.

Transitioning to Slow Feeding: Resources and Support

At Handy Hay Nets, we believe that transitioning to slow feeding should be a seamless and stress-free process. That's why we offer a wealth of helpful tips, guides, and videos to support you along the way. From introducing your horse to their new hay bag to troubleshooting common challenges, our resources are designed to empower you to make the switch with confidence.

Experience the Benefits of Slow Feeding with Handy Hay Nets

Make the transition to slow feeding hay bags and experience the difference it can make for your horses. With Handy Hay Nets by your side, you can provide your equine companions with a natural and sustainable feeding solution that promotes optimal health and well-being. Join the countless horse owners who have already made the switch and discover the benefits for yourself. Order your Handy Hay Nets hay bags today and revolutionize your horse's feeding routine.

[tetedurfarm]

having a snack on their shiny new floor ✨

[derbyoriginals]

Get Derby Originals Hay Bags – Exclusive Discount Sale Now!

Save big on Derby Originals hay bags! Our high-quality hay bags are now available at discounted prices. Designed to make feeding easier and reduce waste, these bags are perfect for horse owners. Limited-time sale with amazing deals on every purchase. Visit Derby Originals online tack store now and grab your hay bags at the best price!

[majesticallyproducts]

Navigating the world of slow feed hay nets online and revolutionizing equine nutrition

Majestic Ally offers a handpicked collection of a variety of equestrian care goods and top-tier slow feed hay nets online. Their commitment to quality guarantees that every product is made with your horse’s well-being in mind. Majestic Ally can help you improve your equestrian nutrition strategy while also providing the ease of online shopping.

Website: https://bbuspost.com/navigating-the-world-of-slow-feed-hay-nets-online-and-revolutionizing-equine-nutrition/

[shadowofthebells]

Rescue Horse Update

I’ve had a bunch of people send me messages about Moody to ask how he’s doing or point out that he’s cribbing in that video of him drinking water, so I just wanted to make a post to let people know how he’s going: his gore wound is looking fantastic, and he hasn’t cribbed since that video was posted as we’ve since introduced him to toys and a slow feed hay net, and he gets to come out with the other boys during the day.

He has a few other medical problems that weren’t anticipated, however, and we’re working with a vet to combat them. Once he’s in the clear he’ll be out 24/7, no longer confined to a pen at night. Right now that’s just for his safety.

His previous owners surrendered him as he was gored by their bull and they either didn’t want to or couldn’t afford to get a vet out to see him, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg: he was kept in an extremely small paddock with no grass and had no access to fresh water so he was drinking septic run-off, there was barbed wire everywhere and he has several leg cuts that weren’t healing correctly, he’s been known to choke in the past (we had an endoscope done and there was no blockage, and he had his teeth done yesterday, so we have to look into that further), his heartbeat is slightly off, he had conjunctivitis in one eye, and he breathes super oddly. He’s had the full spectrum of blood tests, poo tests, and urine tests (we’ll get the urine results on Monday), and we’ve had him vaccinated. So far he’s improving and our vet is hopeful that he’ll keep getting better.

He’s my third rescue horse and each horse presents new challenges and problems, but I like to think I have a good handle on things as I learn from my past mistakes, and we have a super reliable vet to help us out along the way. I posted that video of him cribbing as a kind of fun video I thought people would find amusing, but I also showed it to my vet to prove he was cribbing. I guarantee that any silly videos I post online are actually taken seriously IRL and I do all I can to keep my boys healthy and happy.

I’m not an equestrian, but I have worked and lived with horses my entire life, and I’m fairly certain Moody is doing well. If his cribbing had continued we would’ve been concerned and taken further measures, but it was just a lack of stimulation which we’ve since combated. He’s a mischievous and intelligent horse who is finally in a place where he can get the attention he deserves.

So thank you Tumblr and Horseblr for caring so much - I genuinely am glad to see so many people enjoy the video and also show concern for him. But rest assured, he’s a happy, friendly guy who may be quirky as heck, but we’re here for him all the way.

[madrivervalleyicelandics]

❄️ Snowday! ❄️

8 inches was the prediction, but up here on the mountain it’s closer to a fresh foot. Everyone got some loose hay for a treat. They have a total of four 800lb bales in slow feeder netting out in their living space right now, but I still like to give them a snowday treat. It’s a lot of work to climb thru this fresh snow!

People ask us a lot of questions about feeding 24/7 forage like this - mainly, how do you manage different metabolic needs? Our stallion, Öngull, tends to be on the thinner side. A couple of our other horses (cough VIGRI cough) tend more towards chubbiness.

Here’s the thing. Restricting access to forage actually makes obesity worse in horses, because it causes blood sugar spikes and crashes. That’s the root of dangerous obesity in equines - the kind that causes inflammatory problems like laminitis.

Feeding quality forage at all times, in slow-feeder systems, allows blood sugar to regulate. This means that the horses with slower metabolisms and faster metabolisms alike benefit from not being constantly in flux.

They DO learn to self-regulate, also, and will take breaks from eating to play and rest. But horses are designed to spend most of the day eating. That’s where the slow-feeders come in very handy. The slow-feeder netting also prevents them from trampling the bales and wasting good hay.

When we have horses that are more likely to get chubby, there are a few things we do to manage that. We remove access to pasture, first and foremost, as that is sugary starch that is very unpredictable and the sugars in grass fluctuate constantly with weather and other factors.

We don’t feed grain - just ration balancer - and we have a supplement we love called SimmIRdown which we add for metabolic horses to help balance their blood sugar.

We don’t reduce their primary source of forage, the 24/7 access to hay in slow feeder netting.

On this program we have helped numerous horses with metabolic conditions stabilize & become asymptomatic, and we have successfully rehabbed laminitic horses for clients on this program, too.

[tehkusogaki]

A lot of the horse's problems aren't actually horse problems: they're people problems. I would assert that 90% of their maladies are from poor husbandry, not evolution. After all, horses have been wildly successful from an evolutionary standpoint. Especially considering that most other perissodactyls have become extinct, or are endangered. But horses? In places where they roam they have become so numerous as to be a problem.

It's true that they are built for one thing, running, but they do it very well. And when they aren't kept in a box with little mental stimulation you can see that their evolutionary adaptations suit them very well.

Horses are "insane" and "sickly" because we took a highly social grazing animal with strong self preservation and flight instincts and put it in a place without enough space to run, keep it in an enclosed barn that is typically dusty and poorly ventilated and dark, where it typically only eats a couple large meals instead of a constantly available food source, it is often isolated from fellow horses, and then given strenuous work when 90% of the time it is just standing around.

Of course horses suffer respiratory problems: they're supposed to be out in the open fresh air and they're not.

Of course horses suffer injury: horses are supposed to spend most of their time roaming and playing with herd mates, not standing around with only short but strenuous exercise periods.

Of course horses suffer stomach issues: they're meant to be grazing constantly, not fed large meals of dry hay and pails of grain.

Horses are neither suicidal nor homicidal, but their instincts and anatomy have one solution to danger: run.

And if they are in an enclosed space, or tied to fence, or have someone pulling on their face, they can't do that.

So of course the results are disastrous. Often ending in either injury to the animal or the handler.

But a well treated horse isn't usually aggressive. Horses are generally docile and sweet. If you have a horse that would just as soon kick you as look at you, either that animal has an usual amount of aggression (it happens, behavioral problems are a big reason why many animals are euthanized: fido is sometimes unsafe around people), or it has been horribly mistreated at some point, or it has just picked up some bad habits from bad handlers.

It is unfair and inaccurate to call horses cowardly when they have won humans empires.

"Fragile" is hardly an accurate term when horses are capable of amazing feats of athleticism. Watch stadium jumping: those horses are frequently jumping rails their height or near it. Watch team roping or reining: the sudden stops, spins, and changes of direction all done with a rider. Or even just a wagon pull: there's a reason that when we needed a term to describe the power of an engine, we called it horsepower.

But horses are athletes, and like any athletes in any sport, injuries are going to be common. Are basketball or football players more fragile than the rest of the population because they are prone to injury?

The most common injury to horses isn't them spontaneously shattering their glass bones: it's soft tissue and joint injuries (and a broken leg would be a death sentence for any ungulate).

If we put our other livestock though the same physical rigor we demand of horses, their injuries would be just as common. But the only thing we need a cow to do is get fat.

Rethinking how we manage horses is the best thing we can do for them. Making sure the majority of their time is spent in a big enough space with other horses would go a long way toward their welfare.

Trying to create a "grazing" feeding schedule by either pasturing, feeding smaller more frequent meals, or utilizing slow feeders/hay nets could drastically reduce ulcers and colic.

Taking time to properly warm up before strenuous activity like any athlete should, and making sure all equipment is used properly and fits the horse well, and that the horse is properly cooled down and stretched afterwards would probably reduce injury.

Making sure barns are well ventilated, cleaned frequently, large enough, and most importantly: that stalls are used as infrequently as possible with the horse given plenty of turnout, will help with a whole bunch of maladies from respiratory to mental.

The point is: nature does not need to rethink the horse, we need to rethink our horse husbandry.

I recall at least one of you guys having worked with livestock animals. Why are cows so damn indestructible while horses keel over and die if mercury is in retrograde or a dog barked in Kazakhstan?

gettingvetted here.

Let me tell you a story about how livestock animals work.

In the beginning, God created the horse. God looked at the horse and saw that it was beautiful and strong. “However,” God said, “it breaks too easily.”

Then God created the cow. God looked at the cow and saw that it was more durable than the horse, and tasted good to boot. “However,” God said, “it poops too much.”

Then God created the goat. God looked at the goat and saw that it was perfect.

God looked around and saw that he still had some spare bits of fluff on his work table, but no brains to put into it. So then God created the sheep.

Now let me tell you what my equine surgery professor said on the first day of class.

“Horses are only interested in two things: homicide, and suicide.”

And that’s all you need to know about horses.

[clickerpunk]

Been seeing something kind of surprising lately. For breakfast the two ladies get served a slow feed hay net, and a loose bag of hay in a crate. For some reason Rudi has decided that the slow feed net is better... But why? The feed is the same. You would think she, as the absolute food vacuum she is, would prefer the loose hay since that is a lot easier to eat?

Idk man, maybe she realised the haynet lasts longer so she prefers that? But why not eat the loose hay first and then the net?

Im kinda baffled by this. Today she went and took a few bites of the loose hay but then went back to the net??

[dappleddd]

i'm so tired of seeing tik toks of feed routines for their horses and they dead ass have no idea how a horses digestive system works. like no - feeding you horse 5kg of feed in one bucket is not good for them. they physically CANNOT digest that much food. a horse's stomach can only hold so much and not to mention a horse's stomach best digests when only 3/4 full.

STOP FEEDING HUGE HARDFEEDS and feed more bloody forage (ie low sugar hay in a slow feeder net)

this mare was a hard doer when i got her - changed her to a high fibre low starch feed with as much hay as she can eat and i have a happy mare. she hasn't had a single ulcer flare since i purchased her and is barefoot.

[foxy-filly]

One of the new horses where I work is very anxious, but also apparently very smart and mainly on stall rest (he could be turned out if he wouldn't run, but he panics). He is recovering from a suspensory injury. So the owner mainly is hand grazing and hand walking him, or riding him only at a walk while he heals. He's not my horse and I only work at the barn, but I'm just wondering if you have any suggestions I could pass on for ways to occupy his brain? The boy is causing trouble lol.

Hay nets or slow feed dishes to make eating take up more time, the usual jolly balls or treat dispensing toys... Kitty really loves a little spinning toy I found that mounts in the corner of the stall. Some horses like to chew on pine branches that taste sweet. If he is very nervous and wired in the stall, the vet might try reserpine our trazadone. Hope that helps!

[blackroseraven]

We got there early enough I was able to go about feeding the horses, which is always a good start to things. 

It was a bright but humid day due to the thunderstorms and not-storms we’ve been having, so I was dripping sweat by the time we started putting horses out. I think I probably got Jarro’s leg things on wrong, but in my defense he wouldn’t stop chewing on my boot and then started slowly trying to tug my leg out from under me and made it kind of hard to work.

I also ended up crawling through all the electric fence to let horses out into the field. Shark and Buff are so covered in fly netting and masks and other gear that they literally cantered ten feet into the field, then both stopped, huffing and puffing, because they were too hot.

Poor boys.

I got Q first today. I took a lot of time grooming him and getting him ready because the arena was being drug, but it was really nice. I gave him lots of treats because I practiced some of my backpack work with him as he’s absolutely not scared of it in the slightest. He actually kept shoving his face into it looking for food. Like literally inside the pockets and stuff.

I also braided his tail, which was surprisingly difficult, but it does look really nice, at least.

I brought him up and rode him for a bit, but he was coughing real bad today. Hacking and wheezing. So I ended up riding him outside and just going down the road a bit. I didn’t actually expect to make it to the shed because he’s much more nervous by himself, but he ended up going past and down into the field. All the curious boys came over to see the horse on the other side of the fence and Q inspected all of them and then tried to bite Tosh in the face.

Then he turned around and trotted back towards home and I was like okay fine you did better than I expected anyway.

So that was really nice.

I got Quattro after I put Q out into an open pasture, and I spent a long time with him, too, which actually helped a lot. He was very calm when we segued into working with the backpack, right there in the aisle. I got him to almost stand on it, and eat treats off it, and poke it, and let it rub all over him. Lots of patience, lots of time and consideration, but he did a great job with it.

We also wandered out to the hay bale trailer and he um. Almost hopped into it but it was a little too tall for him. So I just used it to get some pictures while he glowered at me.

Then we rode freely for a little bit. Practiced our paso, worked on control, and then did a bit of comfortable canter. He feels... a lot better. There’s so much more rhythm already and a lot less panic, and when I ask him to slow down he’s slowing down far more quickly, which is really nice to feel.

I finished up with some help from my partner, holding him first while I did some basic vaulting exercises on Quattro’s back, and managed to even get to my feet and almost stand up even though Quattro is uh. A lot narrower than Jaeger. Then partner walked him for me while I rode him backwards, and then did some windmills on his back while he was moving, which he handled really well. I’m super happy with how well he’s moving along, and handling everything.

He did a great job today, and I’m really proud of him, and how far he’s come.

It feels like we’re moving forwards again, and that’s worth the effort a thousand times over.

[service-horse-honey]

There's just so much cute happening here at @sweetberriesgv in #Gainsville with Honey & Gator. Check out some fellow service horses: @flirty.the.mini.service.horse @charlieminitherapyhorse @bbkingservicehorse @servicehorsefoxie @summer.the.mini.service.horse @cincoservicehorse This page is not sponsored or paid for in any way by any of these businesses. These are all just businesses & products that I use on a weekly if not daily basis. Check them out! Businesse/products @procyon_training (obedience & service animal training) @tackshackocala (tack & supplies) @cryptoaero (feed & supplements) @equinefusion (jogging shoes for horses) @comforthoofs (US distributor of Equine Fusion) @espomanaturals (bedding/litter) @sillysounds (horse ear protection) @equiderma The World's Greatest Equine Products. (natural fly repellent, shampoo, & conditioner) @outwardhound (backpack) @kurgo (leashes/harnesses) @noxgear_nation (light up safety harness) @dreamchaserequestrian (custom equine clothing) @protective_pet_solutions (equivizor fly mask) @preventfeeders (slow feeder for horses) @freedomfeedernets (slow feed hay nets) #horsesofinstagram #horse #blessed #maresofinstagram #socute #minihorse #ocalatrainer #miniatureservicehorse #servicehorse #mylife #myjob #servicedog #serviceanimal #servicehorseHoney #dogtraining #centralfloridadogtrainer #horsetraining #ptsdawareness #positivereinforcement #clickertraining #procyontraining #animal #pet #househorse #training #australiancattledog #honorarypegasus #sweetberries #tricktraining (at SweetBerries Eatery and Frozen Custard) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8xWMFsAx2v/?igshid=riyv2ivki91o

[majesticallyproducts]

Revolutionize Feeding: Slow Feed Hay Nets for Equine Wellness by Majestically Products

Elevate your equine care routine with Majestically Products' innovative solution - the Slow Feed Hay Net. Designed for optimal digestion and reduced hay wastage, our hay nets offer a practical and efficient feeding solution for horses. Crafted with durability in mind, these nets are a must-have for any horse owner looking to promote healthy eating habits.

Website: https://www.edocr.com/v/aqkb59pw/majesticallyproducts6/revolutionize-feeding-slow-feed-hay-nets-for-equin

[imagine-loki]

Yes Mistress

TITLE: Yes Mistress CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 29 AUTHOR: angryolwet ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine after a heated argument with Thor, Loki turns himself into a woman out of spite.  RATING: Mature/Explicit NOTES/WARNINGS: NSFW, This is a F/F BDSM relationship. If that’s not your cup of tea, don’t drink it. The events in this fic take place before the first Thor movie.

I AM SO SORRY THIS CHAPTER TOO SO LONG TO UPDATE!!! I meant to post at my usual time but I got very sick at the end of last month and ended up with vertigo for a few weeks as well. If any of you have ever had it, you know reading a computer screen is the last thing you want to do. Not unless you’ve got a bucket handy.

*****Trigger Warnings!!! This chapter deals with descriptions of child abuse and shitty parenting, (not Odin’s for once) and those parts are contained within the asterisks below.*****

You don’t super need to read that part for the chapter to make sense if it’s a sensitive subject for you, but it will give you an insight into Sanna’s family dynamics and those will play into the overall arc of this fic. Yes, there is an arc. And a plot. Despite my best efforts.

Kanelbullar - twisted cinnamon buns

Also on AO3

Slowly, Sanna came back. She felt the softness of the blanket and the sensation of someone stroking her face before her eyes opened.

“Can you hear me Pet?” Loki asked softly.

“Yes Mistress,” Sanna answered dreamily, smiling up at her.

“My good girl. Our meal has arrived. Do you think you can sit up for me?”

Sanna eased herself up and shivered as the blanket slipped down. She pulled it back up and looked at her Mistress.

“It’s alright Pet. You can bring the blanket with you. It’s time to eat.”

Loki got off the bed and stood up, holding out a hand. Sanna took it, wobbling a little when she stood. Loki held her until she was steady, rubbing her back in small circles as they left the bedchamber.

“Thank you Mistress,” Sanna said as she wrapped the blanket more tightly around herself.

“You’ll be warm soon Pet,” Loki tucked a loose tendril of hair behind Sanna’s ear. “You used up a good deal of energy during your edging. Eating will help.”

“Um, Mistress? Before we eat I need to–” Sanna broke off, poking a hand out from the blanket and pointing across the sitting room.

“Of course, Pet.”

Sanna headed towards the bathing room to use it’s facilities while Loki sat on the divan to inspect the contents of the covered dishes on the table. She had just started cutting slices off a rolled joint of spit roasted mutton when Sanna came back out, wrapping the blanket snugly around herself again.

“That was quick,” Loki remarked when she sat down next to her.

“I was inspired, Mistress. The bathing room is rather cool, even with the shielding up.” She rubbed her hands together in an attempt to warm them.

Loki reached out and took her Pet’s hands in hers.

“You are chilled,” she began to rub Sanna’s hands between her own. “Shall I light the fire? I never notice the cold myself, though I’ve heard Thor whine about it enough. You’d think we were on campaign in Jotunheim instead of camping in the forests on a hunt.”

The image of Prince Thor covered in snow and icicles made Sanna giggle.

“I’m alright Mistress. Truly.” Sanna took back her now warm hands and started making up her Mistress’s plate, cutting slices of bread for both of them. “I believe you are right and I just need to eat something. And it has been raining on and off since midday,” she looked out at the damp night and shivered a little under the blanket. “The weather can’t seem to decide if we’re in spring or summer.” The gentle afternoon showers of Garth’s prediction had given way to a cold, soaking rain once the sun had set.

Loki made a face. “All too soon it will be summer and nothing but heat, heat, and more heat.” She loathed the thought of summer, but it did give her an idea. “One day, we should go riding to one of the shaded pools that hide deep in the royal forest. Mmm… Stripping down and diving into fresh, cool water. Tell me Pet, can you ride? Or swim?”

Sanna paused from buttering the bread she’d just cut and turned to her Mistress.

“Hmm. Do you know, I don’t think I've ever been on a horse in my life. Although I do have a vague memory of trying to ride a goat once when I was very small. I remember being frustrated because it wouldn’t hold still long enough for me to get on…” Sanna paused, fiddling with the butter knife. “No. I’m sure I haven’t. We didn’t use them on the farm and none of the neighbors were horse breeders. We did have a rather old and rather surly grey pony that Old Frederick would use to pull the cart when he went up to the manor house for supplies. He was the only person in this realm that animal tolerated, it would bite everyone else that came near.” She resumed her task.

“And I could swim as a child, Dagna saw to that. I haven’t had much chance to since I left our house to serve Lady Audney. There was a wide, slow moving river not far from our farm. I used to go and sit in the shelter of a large tree on it’s banks whenever–” Sanna broke off.

“Whenever what Pet?” Loki paused and looked over. She could see her Pet was upset by the memory.

Sanna chose her next words carefully and blew out a breath.

“Whenever I’d run out of the house. It seemed like everyday I’d be scolded by our mother for one thing or another. Mostly for not getting my chores done properly. She would never let anyone be idle,” she paused and swallowed. Composing herself.

*****

Her mind was flooded with the memories of repeating tasks over and over again until they were done to her mother’s satisfaction. One particular memory –one she’d tried very hard to forget– came suddenly to mind. A memory of scrubbing the stone floor of their house one winter for almost the entire day. It was just before Yule. Her mother had been perpetually unsatisfied with her efforts, even ‘accidentally’ spilling things on the floor for her to clean up. Sanna’s back had ached. Her knees were bruised and her knuckles had cracked and bled. Her hands were numb from the water that had gone cold and she kept dropping the big scrubbing brush, making it clatter on the stones and drawing her mother’s attention to her.

When Dagna had come in from tending the animals outside and saw what had been going on, she’d been furious. Sanna would never forget the sound of her sister slapping their mother’s face and the horrible words they screamed at each other. Sanna had never heard her sister raise her voice in anger to anyone before. She had hidden under the table, curled on her side to make herself as small as possible until the row was over. The bucket she’d been using to scrub the floor had been knocked over near her at one point, but she’d been too afraid to move. She’d stayed still as the freezing water soaked her dress and hair. Wet, cold, and filthy. Hands pressed to her ears, sobbing, trying to drown out the noise. She still hated the sound of angry shouts and raised voices to this day.

Eventually their mother had left the house to go tell their father about what her sister had done and said. While she was gone, Dagna had coaxed Sanna into coming out from under the table. She’d filled the big bathing tub by the fire with warm water and and had helped her get into it, washing her gently and rubbing her sore back. Then her sister had helped to get her into a clean night dress and wrapped her in a blanket. Dagna applied a salve to the cracks on Sanna’s hands before feeding her and putting her to bed.

The whole time Sanna had been terrified and started at every sound, thinking it was their mother returning. She knew her sister must have been punished terribly for striking their mother– it was all Sanna’s fault– but she couldn’t remember how or what had happened for nearly the rest of that winter. At the end of the following spring Sanna had left the house to work for Lady Audney.

But her Mistress didn’t need to know any of that. Or that her mother’s 'scolding’ was usually accompanied by a blow of some kind. Sanna’s pride and her fear would never let her tell her sister, let alone her Mistress. She’d promised herself all those years ago that she would stay silent and do better, no matter what. Never to complain and create more trouble. She wasn’t about to break that promise now. And besides, it was over and done with and would probably just upset her Mistress.

*****

“When it became too much, too heavy to bear, I would run out of the house. No matter what direction I ran in, I always seemed to end up by the big tree near the river. Eventually Dagna would come and find me. Once my tears were dry, she’d take me back. Sometimes we’d go swimming in the river first if it was warm enough. She wanted me to know what to do in case I got too close to the bank and fell in.”

Loki’s face was unreadable as she said solemnly, “I would so very much like to meet your sister one day. It seems she was the only source of happiness or tenderness in your childhood.”

“Oh no Mistress! Not the only source. Our father was quite kind, when he could spare time for us. The farm keeps him very busy, though I now suspect some of that work is to keep him out of the house and away from mother. In the summer he would take us fishing at the river– I mean Dagna and me, Mother hated the river– and we’d laugh and scream and splash each other once the three of us were done hauling in the nets.” Sanna smiled at the memory. “We’d walk home smiling and laughing, soaking wet with that day’s catch.”

She was eager to tell happier memories, she’d had no one to tell them to since she’d left Lady Audney. Marit was sweet, but she had no interest in any form of rural life and had quickly changed the subject whenever Sanna had mentioned her time in the country side.

“I remember one time, Father took me with him on a trip to a neighboring farm. The man kept bees and we went to collect a big crock of honey in exchange for some of our hay. I must have been very young. Probably around the same time I tried to ride the goat. Father lifted me up into his lap and kept me from falling off as he drove us over there and back. He even let me have a spoonful of honey on the way home and made me promise not to tell Mother.”

Sanna looked at her Mistress from under her lashes. “That’s where my taste for it comes from. It’s always been a sweet, secret treat.”

“Mmm… Perhaps I should keep a small jar of it here and let you lick it off me as a reward for your obedience?” Loki purred.

Her Pet blushed a bright red and squirmed on the divan while whispering, “I wouldn’t object if you offered it in any form, Mistress.”

Loki had finished cutting up the meat and divided it between their plates.

“Good to know. Open.” Loki popped a piece of the mutton into Sanna’s mouth.

“Mmm… This is almost as good as Dagna’s. She uses garlic in the dredge.”

“Alright. Now I must meet your sister.”

They both burst into laughter. Once the plates were ready, Loki pulled Sanna over to straddle her lap and tucked the blanket around her. Holding up a bite of meat to her Pet’s lips, Loki asked absently, “Perhaps I shall have Brynhild create a robe for you? Would you like one Pet? In gold and sapphire blue silk, I think? Jewel tones seem to suit you.”

Chewing and swallowing the meat gave Sanna time to think. She offered her Mistress one of the roasted vegetables pieces from her plate and said, “I will wear anything you wish me to, Mistress. I’ve never had one before.”

“I suspect there are a lot of things you’ve never had before, and I mean to give them to you.” Loki promised solemnly, making her Pet blush and duck her head.

“Now Pet, tell me.” Loki held up more food to Sanna’s mouth. “How was your day?”

They fed each other. Sanna spoke of meeting Garth and being reminded of how much she loved planting things and watching them grow. How far she had gotten through the play her Mistress had recommended and what she thought of it thus far. Her initial nerves at being summoned to tea with the Allmother and her relief and joy at finding her Mistress’s mother to be kind and attentive. Loki listen to it all with rapt attention, asking questions and laughing where it was appropriate until the meal was finished.

_________________________________________________________

“So you got on well with my mother then, Pet? Not frightened of her anymore?” Loki teased popping the last bite of her kanelbullar into her mouth and licking her sticky fingers before wiping them on a damp cloth.

Sanna, slightly indignant, finished her own and sucked at her fingers as she replied, “Well, she is the queen after all. And I wouldn’t say I was afraid of her so much as afraid of disappointing her.”

She wiped them off and stood up, gathering up the used plates and cutlery before refilling her Mistress’s goblet and her own with wine and getting comfortable again. She leaned against her Mistress and tucked her feet up under the blanket on the divan. Sanna wasn’t chilled any longer, but the material was soft and felt wonderful against her skin. Loki wrapped her arm around her Pet, pulling the girl close and put her own feet up on the table, long pale legs exposed. She used her seidr to send the uneaten food and dirty plates back to the kitchen. They sat in a comfortable silence, sipping wine.

After a moment or two, Sanna spoke. “The Allmother is so kind. I confess, I do want her to like me. Oh did I tell you, I mentioned to her that I had a wish to improve my stitching and she’s promised to have one of her handmaidens teach me. And I’m to come to tea with her again in a three days, if you can spare me that is.” Sanna looked at her Mistress with pleading eyes.

Loki sighed and toyed with a tendril of her Pet’s hair that had escaped it’s plait, wrapping it around her fingers. “Oh, I suppose I can get by without you for one afternoon.”

Sanna leaned up and kissed Loki’s cheek and settled back down against her. “Thank you, Mistress.”

The comfortable silence resumed.

After a few more minutes had passe, in which Sanna had nearly been lulled into sleep by the good food, strong wine, and the calming presence of her Mistress, she glanced up and saw her Mistress with her head tilted back and her eyes shut.

“Are you tired?” she inquired.

Loki opened her eyes and looked at her. “Hmm? No Pet, not really. But my head does ache slightly. I think I read for too long and sat too still in the Archive today. My body is no longer used hours of inactivity. As a child I could sit and read for hours without noticing the time pass. Now, what was once a joy has become a chore and I’m already starting to resent it.”

“Perhaps you’re striving to achieve too much too fast Mistress? You have years before you are expected to take on your new role. There’s no need to push yourself so hard.” Sanna chided gently.

“Oh, that’s not what I was doing Pet. After I spoke with the Allmother, a new idea came into my head and I put away all of my work to start a new project. It concerns a school of seidr I’ve woefully never bothered to learn. Tell me Pet, did Lady Audney ever speak to you of her role at court?”

“Lady Audney?” Sanna started at the sudden change of topics. “Well, no. Not really. She taught me courtesy and what would be expected of me as a handmaiden to a Lady of the court. She rarely talked of her life before. I think it reminded her of her son, the one she’d lost, and that always gave her pain. She couldn’t bear to hear his name said aloud and never used it herself. She’d just say 'my son’, and even then it was usually in reference to something he’d done as a child, never as a man grown. I can’t recall her ever speaking of Lord Morten. We got supplies once a fortnight from the manor and I know they were from him.”

“Do you know what happened to him Pet? The son that died, I mean.” Loki asked.

“I know he was killed in a terrible accident. That’s all anyone would say. But what does Lady Audney have to do with divination?”

“Quite a lot according to my mother. She wasn’t a seeress herself, but she could inspire and strengthen visions in others who were. Do you recall yesterday, when we went into my storage area downstairs and you found my old cradle? Do you remember what were you thinking of when you touched it?”

Sanna reached out and set her now empty goblet on the table and sat up, turning to face her Mistress. Loki did the same, stretching her arm across the back of the divan.

“Well I– I don’t know. I was thinking of a lot of things then. Mostly what you must have looked like as a baby–” Sanna broke off and flushed a dull pink.

“What else Pet? I know you’re holding something back. I can tell by the blush on your face,” Loki prodded her.

Sanna tugged the blanket back around her shoulders, as if trying to armor herself against her embarrassment. “I… I was thinking,” her blush got deeper and stretched from her hairline down to her chest. “I was thinking about… what it would be like… to… to have a baby. Your baby Mistress.” She ducked her head and bit her lip at her guilty admission.

Loki removed her hand from the back of the divan and lifted Sanna’s chin to look at her. She took both of her Pet’s hands in her own.

“What exactly Pet? Being pregnant or nursing or rocking it in the cradle? What image formed in your mind?” Loki pushed again. “It’s important.”

Sanna heaved a sigh. “I think it was mostly just what our baby would look like and rocking it to sleep.”

“No image of nursing it at your breast?”

“No. Why? What is so important about this?” She was embarrassed and uncomfortable at the unending questions.

“I had a vision while we were down there. When I turned and saw you touching the cradle I staggered for a moment, do you remember?” At Sanna’s nod she continued, “I didn’t say anything then, because I wasn’t sure what had happened. I’ve never had visions before, or any aptitude for divination so I’ve never studied it, but I know now that I had a vision of you.”

“Me?” Sanna squeaked. She was dumbfounded, her eyes were large as she stared at her Mistress.

“Yes Pet. You were in your little room and sitting in the chair I sent up here. I saw you from the doorway. The cradle was at your feet but it had been freshly polished. The room had been painted and was filled with the things needed to care for an infant. You were nursing a black haired babe at your breast. You looked older than you do now. I heard you humming a soft melody and saw you smile at the child. It was the same smile you had on your face while touching the cradle. That’s why I asked what you were thinking of.”

Sanna was speechless and kept staring. The blush had left her face and she had gone very pale.

“I’ve only just started to research the subject and I still have much to learn, but I believe you may have the same ability as Lady Audney. You might be the reason for the vision, not just the subject of it.”

“Me? What? No! I don’t– How? How can I–” Sanna sputtered. She was dumbfounded. Had all the reading today somehow damaged her Mistress’s mind?

Loki continued on as if her Pet hadn’t spoken.

“I used my seidr on you, the first night you slept beside me. Do you remember a dream of us sitting under a tree beside a river? My telling you to raise your skirts? You woke in the middle of the night and I found you freezing yourself in the bathing pool. I used a spell to enter your dreams.”

Sanna’s blush came rushing back at the memory of the dream and what had followed it. Of her Mistress pleasuring her in the safe place of her childhood. She wasn’t sure whether to be angry or ask her to do it again… But her Mistress was still talking.

“…and that’s why I had to know what you were thinking of. If the same images were in your mind and mine, it might have been a hold over from that spell, or some accident of my seidr and not truly a vision at all–”

“Wait! Just, just wait a moment! Please?” Sanna pulled her hands from Loki’s grasp and put them to her own head. “Does this mean I am going to have your child at some point in the future?”

“I– Honestly? I don’t know. I think what I saw was a vision of a possible future, not necessarily the future we will have. Probably. Like I said, I haven’t ever properly studied the subject. And it’s not something I can walk up to the Allmother, or any other seer, and just ask. Not even as a hypothetical question.”

Sanna slumped back against the divan, her mind whirling. Abilities she might have and hadn’t known existed. A possible baby in her future– well she wanted that… didn’t she? It was too much to take in. Her head throbbed.

“Mistress, can we please talk about something else? Anything else?” Sanna pleaded and rubbed at her temples. Loki’s hands replaced her and she sent a tiny burst of seidr through her Pet’s head, soothing it as Frigga had done for her earlier in the Archive.

“Of course Pet. Would you like me to distract you from your thoughts?” Loki had moved the book of plays her Pet had been reading off the table when the servant had brought in their meal. It was sitting next to her, half tucked under one of the cushions on the divan. She pulled it out and held it up. “Shall I read to you?”

“I thought you’d had enough of that for today?” Sanna was beginning to feel like herself again, and her instinct of caring for her Mistress was making her feel less stupefied.

“Well, there is one other thing I can think of.” Loki shot a lecherous smile at her Pet and offered a hand to her. Sanna didn’t hesitate to take it.

[thebaybae]

I know it’s late but I have to rant about my barn situation are y'all ready (and yes I am throwing prices out there for comparison!) under a cut because it’s long. I’m so unhappy.

so at my place I was paying 575 for board in a 12x24 breezeway with a once daily stall cleaning and three pathetic flakes of Timothy daily. 

Anyone who has read vaguely about my woes these past few years knows that my horse is a very hard keeper. I was having to buy additional Timothy at 35/bale to give him 2 extra daily to maintain. He was also getting roughly 2qts Timothy pellets and 1qt soaked beet pulp, along with some type of oil, gleam&gain, etc.  I got called/texted/witnessed myself SEVERAL TIMES over the months that sometimes my horse would be skipped/forgotten during feedings. I would always call or go up to the hay barn myself and get the feed and bring it to my guy. It would break my heart and stress me out to worry all the time about whether he was getting fed or not.  Finally I was over it, and I stopped paying the barn to feed and started providing my own feed. It was difficult because some bales would go through faster than others so sometimes I would run out and borrow from friends, etc. 

The barn opened a storage room and allowed us to use it for $30/month. I opted in and now ALWAYS have a backup bale of Timothy and he also gets a flake of alfalfa daily as well.

Doing this my feed bill is (ROUGHLY) 5 bales Timothy monthly ($35/bale, $175) 2 bales Alfalfa monthly ($22/bale, $44) = about $219 monthly in hay.  He gets two Timothy am, two pm, and one alfalfa for lunch.  So FIVE flakes daily instead of three. I swapped the pellets/beet pulp (a full heavy bucket) for one scoop of hygain showtorque grain. He looks and FEELS better than ever.  (The barn charges $77/flake for Timothy so getting three flakes a day was 231 in hay monthly, for LESS FEED! and this way I don’t worry about him getting skipped!)

Finally, a feeding program that works!

A few days ago I got an email that a local huge BNT is moving in with about 25 horses and that I have like a week to clear out of storage because they want that space for a stall. This stall is walled in behind a closed door and is concrete on all four sides... who the hell wants their horse in there? 

I was like ok, well where can I move my hay and medical drawer, trash can full of cookies, etc? They basically told me I was SOL and to NOT leave anything stacked around outside, even though the SAME boarder has bins/tubs/storage lining BOTH SIDES of the front end of the breezeway, AND a spot in the ONLY other storage room on the property, which is FULL. 

I brought this up. They told me I could rent an entire empty stall for $260/month or to figure it out. They said they ‘aren’t built’ for free feeding. They want me to go back to paying them to feed my horse, of course. 

I am so fucking appalled. They don’t give a shit if my horse eats or not. A boarder abandoned a huge bale sized rubbermaid that I was told by the lady that feeds Rocky for me that I could have, I just have to move it somewhere ‘acceptable’ (which is nowhere according to them) Then she texts me tonight saying that the person moving in wants to keep it.

So I replied to the BO’s rude email saying that I was using the rubbermaid and would talk to the manager about a place to move it... we’ll see what they say. 

My LAST option is this huge fenced in area that’s locked, where my trainer stores her millions of bales. I asked my coach if I could keep hay there, she is asking her boss and will let me know. 

I love this barn. The property is gorgeous, I LOVE my trainer and can’t imagine riding with a different one...

but, I am looking at moving purely to a barn more focused on my horse’s welfare. They don’t care about me or him, they look at us and see dollar signs. I know that’s how the industry just is, but I’m sick over it. I’m trying to find local places and want to make an ISO ad on facebook but don’t want everyone to see and start grilling me for information.

Is it crazy to want to move barns because they won’t let me store hay? My horse is finally HEALTHIER. No more ulcer-y problems, way less girth and irritable, happier outlook, he is eating slower because he’s used to always having hay in a slow feeder (the barn guys just throw hay in the stall, my kind lady puts rocky’s into a netted box) and his weight which I've struggled with forever is finally good. 

I’m so torn. I’m so fucking mad. I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of emptying my stall for another boarder, but idk if I can take it anymore. This is FAR from the first issue I’ve had with the management here. I’m so tired and confused, hurt and angry. Idk.