Remember the Tractor Tire?

Here's the biggest of the three we procured from helpful area farmers... Large anough for two people (Jane and Chloe, in this photo) to work inside! We added planks to the bottom so the hay won't fall through and then, carefully, carefully rolled it downhill (HEAVY!), flipped it into position, and filled it with hay. After some wary snorts, the horses overcame their terror of the scary new monster lying in their paddock and tucked in.

We also took out a section of fence between the two horse paddocks so all four can mix and mingle. Watching the herd dynamics around the new hay feeder was very intersting. Bonny and Diego are confidently at the top of the pile - they were first in, eating side by side. Brio is next in the pecking order... she is able to sneak in, her head low, her teeth clacking in submission. Ringo, though, has to wait a respectful distance away until the herd bosses decide to let him come anywhere near the food supply. We did put another pile of hay out for him, but his desire to be sociable and deal with his peers overrode his tummy and he preferred to wait patiently until he was given the signal to come in and join the party.

A great work day yesterday - not only did we finally get the horse hay feeder finished and opened up the two paddocks (which required some re-wiring of the electric fencing), we also retrofitted the goat hay rack with bigger, sturdier, feet - actually two pieces of a massive timber with huge spikes driven through and down into the ground. This, we hope, will stop them from knocking the whole stucture over when they floss their horns.