Teddy is boarded at a local hunter/jumper farm and lives with a group of very nice ponies. They are known as the "little boys" and they all get along really well. Teddy is at the bottom of the herd because I think he just doesn't want to put much effort in to running around and sparring with the others. He's much more interested in grazing until he's sleepy and then sleeping until he's hungry. 

Of the seven other ponies in his pasture, Teddy is best friends with Buddy. Even though, when Teddy first came to this farm, Buddy picked on him relentlessly. He was the recipient of many bite marks, courtesy of Budders. But in the end, they became BFFs and I often find them doing things together. When I turn Teddy out to the pasture, he usually finds Buddy first and then they spend their time grazing together, drinking water together, and even sharing some salt.

2015 has started out wet and rainy here in Georgia, and Teddy the Haflinger Horse was soaking wet when I went to see him today. It isn't very cold, but I wish the weatherman would have been a little more accurate on the timing of the rain, because I would have thrown his sheet on the night before. Oh well, he's fine. 

Since the weather is so yucky, there's not much to do at the barn when it is so wet, I decided to make Teddy a warm, healthy treat. I know that there are bran mashes but, for various reasons, I don't really want to give him bran. So, I mixed up a small pot of oatmeal, carrots, apple, and a dash of cinnamon and cooked it in lots of water until it became a slurry of horsey goodness. Then, I added a splash of 100% pure apple juice to cool it down a little and add some more flavor. I poured all of this in a bucket and off to the barn I went.

The delicious smell of warm cinnamon and apples filled my car on the 5 mile drive, and I couldn't wait until he tasted it. After wading through the mud and muck to catch him, he willingly came with me in to the barn. He knows that there's always a good grooming session and maybe a snack or two during the process. Well, there wasn't much grooming to do so I put a towel on his back and covered him with a polar fleece blanket. Even though it was going to rain again, I wanted to try and get some of the water off of him.

I put the bucket of his oatmeal treat down and he dove right in. And, yes, he loved it and licked the bucket clean. It is very satisfying cooking for your horse. Although, I wouldn't do it every day, once in awhile is perfectly fine. It wasn't a lot either, just a snack. So, I'll be planning to do this more often, especially when it is cold. Maybe once a week at the most.