My good friend has her own barn, and she buys the best hay she can find. I mean, fragrant, gorgeous, green, soft, hay. By her own admission, she's extravagant with it, feeding a half-bale at a time. "It's basically extra bedding for them," she told me. "I want them to lie down in the sweetness of this hay and feel they've gone to heaven." You go, girl! When I lived in North Carolina I used to go to a place called Gourmet Hay and pick up 80lb bales of alfalfa hay for $18/bale. That was 1998. Harv was a butterball.Let's play mad scientist
In my imaginary research lab, I would take a group of horsewomen ("horse moms"), and a group of women off the street ("control moms"). The subjects would be wired to measure heart rate, blood pressure, and galvanic skin response -- physiological stuff that relates to emotions. Each subject would be asked to view two photo images -- one at a time -- while hooked up to electrodes. Here are the images...
Here are the imaginary results, mom emotions on a mood-ring scale (don't worry, it's super scientific)...
I have to tell you, I could look at that horse photo all day. The size of that horse's girth has a calming effect, don't you think? It also tells me that his mom really cares ;-). I look at the baby, and think, geez, I hope no one asks me to wipe that off. Tell me I'm not alone here!
Ah, I agree with you. A fat, happy horse with his mouth full of hay beats a fat, happy baby with his face all full of food any day! Babies are cute, but horses are precious. (And all of mine are fat...)
ReplyDeleteWhile I love babies and all that, I feel much more satisfied looking at that fat, happy horse munching his hay.
ReplyDeleteyou're not alone, I am there with you all the way :o)
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone! I'm with you all the way :o)
ReplyDeleteOho! You are not alone. Pictures of children and babies with food on their face make me cringe. Completely turns me off whatever is being advertised. I always think "what's so cute about a mess?" The high pitched voices of children hurt my ears.
ReplyDeleteIf your friend could afford so much hay, then go for it, but I would not do that. My horses have always lived on pasture and hay is a supplement for those times when the grass lost it's food value. It keeps them in the same condition year round. Toward the end of summer they transition to more hay as the grass loses nutritional value, at the end of winter, the hay ration dimishes as the grass improves. Grain provided as needed depending on season and work. But here's my Horse Mom thing: on cold nights I prepare comfort food for the children. I pour boiling water over the grain, then top it with dry bran which holds in the heat. In while the grain is nice and plump, and the whole mess is stirred together. Smells great. It's like a warm stew for the horses. I like to think it comforts them as much as me.
I have an old hunting manual, and it gives a recipe to prepare a tub of hot mash before setting out and it would be a warm and soothing meal for the horses after a hard day in the field. :-)
Although I prefer the horse picture (of course! babies with food all over their faces rather digust me), I have to admit that seeing fat horses gives me some anxiety. People think fat means happy but to me it just screams health issues and uneducated ownership. Judgmental? Yes. But I just hate hate hate how most people's horses are overweight. I know there are probably other things I should worry about more but it's just one of my horse-related pet peeves.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. Not. Alone.
ReplyDeleteI used to look at the difference between my clothing smeared by the kid emissions when they were little (ewwwww) and the clothing smeared by horse nuzzling (happy sigh) and think: I would not be embarrassed to go out in the shirt smeared with alfalfa drool. The one with mashed peas? It's a goner.
Well, I have two children and I still think the horse with his mouth full of hay is nicer to look at. :)
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have to add: my horses get wet feed in their tubs so frequently I'm looking at horses with wet mush on their muzzles... still makes me happy though!
There are an awful lot of overweight horses out there, and many with low-level laminitis as a consequence. These horses are ususally said to be "tender footed", "flat footed" or just plain "can't be ridden without shoes". Not all horses can tolerate large quantities of newer improved grass/hay varieties. That said, there is no excuse for a horse not to get enough hay. If he's resorted to eating manure, lumber, or his pals' tails he surely needs some more hay!
ReplyDeleteHorses nice! Babies nasty! You're so not alone.
ReplyDeleteHaving had a horse that was insulin resistant, seeing an over weight horse is like seeing an over weight child. It is like saying, I love my child, therefore I over feed him. I hope it's a pregnant mare. I don't mind the baby with the messy face. I raised 3 of them. You just take the spoon and wipe the food into the mouth. When through, pick up the baby, take to the sink and rinse the little face. No problem.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm in your court! I like all my furry critters to be happy and well fed...I'm a good mom to furry friends!
ReplyDeleteI think it goes w/o saying that some horses have issues that preclude a lot of food. I'm not sure that grass hay w/low sugar content would cause a problem.
ReplyDeleteNot alone...I drool over high quality grass hay. Probably because it's so hard to obtain here.
ReplyDeleteThere is something remarkably soothing in the sound of a horse's rhythmic chewing of hay (it's almost hypnotic). I don't remember having that peaceful feeling at mealtime when my daughter was a baby. It was more along the lines of; Geez I sure hope she likes this stuff. PleaseOhPleaseOhPlease don't spit it back out at me..."
ReplyDeleteAs far as our hay goes, we are blessed to be able to get those ginormous round bales for ours and have also planted some Winter Rye Grass for them. Ours are not too skinny - not too fat, but juuuuuuust right :o)
I recoiled at the baby picture. Yuck. What a mess! The horse is cuter though he does look over weight. Maybe she's just expecting. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone!!
ReplyDeleteI love this! And it is sooo super scientific and true. Anecdotal evidence supports your conclusions!
ReplyDeleteSince all of the comments here were against food smeared babies, why oh why do they use it soo much in advertising? Personally, I do not know anyone who likes that. There is a big demographic out that likes it or they would not do it.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing it's the same demographic that does not mind watching commercials cartoon representations of mucous, graphic depictions of human digestive ailments, and pieces of toilet paper stuck to the bottoms of cartoon bears.
ReplyDeleteSuch is the wretched state of advertising...
I am absolutely with you on this one!!
ReplyDeleteReally happy to know I'm not alone in the world. . .
ReplyDeleteSo very much not alone, it seems! Made me laugh, perhaps at the realisation that I'm in total agreeance!
ReplyDeleteHahah, I look at the baby and think "gahhh, keep it away from me!"
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't like the look of fat horses, I do love to see horses munching and enjoying their hay. I am not what is cute about a fat pink thing with green goop on its face.
ReplyDeleteI do not like photos of newborn babies. I call it the larval stage. They don't look right until 2-3 months. I guess that's when the eyes come into focus and they really start reacting to the surroundings. Now animal babies are soooo cuuuute from day one!
ReplyDelete