Well……Let me start off by saying that out of the three horses I own, two of them are the nosiest beasts in the world!! I have a 23 year old Off the track Thoroughbred named ‘Hogan’ that is the best TB there is! Anyone who meets him would verify that I also have the two “dummies” as we like to call them in this family. Now, they are certainly NOT dumb horses…but because they are SO smart and SO inquisitive, they get themselves into trouble on a daily basis….again, anyone who has met them would agree….hence the name the ‘dummies’.  The ‘dummies’ consist of a just turned 5 year old Quarter horse named ‘Seven’ and a just turned 2 year old Quarter horse named ‘Dually’. Now I have to let everyone know that these two are related..same daddy…so this could be the reason they seem to share a brain on certain days

Seven and Dually are both ‘thinkers’. You can SEE the gears moving in their small brains when you look at them…..you know they are thinking and calculating the next move they are going to make. They are both over curious by nature and have to check everything out…even if they have seen if over and over everyday. They are super quick to catch on to new things and I even taught Seven some tricks….she learned them in only about 10 minutes, and remembers her cues and performs on almost a daily basis!

This brings me to my story about the ‘Dummies’ and the Snapping turtle.

It has rained for the past decade here in CT, or so it seems lately! I try to get my horses outside everyday for the whole day unless it is nasty out or if it is thundering and lightening out…if it is nasty, they stay in their nice comfy stalls with all the hay, fresh bedding to roll in,  and water they want…not a bad deal if you ask me! Well, the other day was NASTY outside..and they ended up staying inside for part of the day. I got home from work and wanted to clean their stalls so I turned them out with a break in the pouring rain. They were happily out munching on grass when I ran home for about an hour. I was on my way back to feed them dinner when I saw them all up in the top paddock circled around something that definately had their undivided attention! As I got up to the paddock, I noticed a big ol’ snapping turtle right in the middle of the ‘two dummies’. Hogan, being the good boy he is, was standing off a ways as the innocent bystander. I am SURE he told them they were going to get into trouble, but being the nosies that they are, the two dummies found a ‘new toy’ in the turtle.

I thought it was kind of funny at first….they were snorting, and at full attention, and kept sneaking up behind the turtle to sniff at it. I grabbed my camera phone to get some shots because, while those who know them would believe it, I had to show my co-workers. The turtle seemed pretty aggitated  and I wasn’t sure how long they had ‘played’ with it, so I herded them up and put them in their stalls so I could return the turtle back to it’s pond next door. As I was getting the horses in, I noticed blood on Miss Seven’s nose….OH GREAT…..! Now, because I have two ‘dummies’, I see blood several times a month, so it was old hat to me. I put them in and figured I would assess the damage and clean Seven up after I released the turtle.

After I herded this 10-15 lb turtle into a rubbermaid tote with a broom….yes, you should have seen me….I carried it back and released it to it’s pond. The whole time I was trying to get it in the tote and carrying it back, it was hissing, biting at me and just all around mad! I can only imagine what ‘the dummies’ had done to really make it mad! But soon I would know….

I went back and got my boo-boo cleaning supplies and went to see what had been done and if a vet needed to come out. Turns out, Miss Seven had about 4-5 bites/scrapes all on and in her nose…AND Mr. Dually had one on his nose as well! Nosy beasts! So not only did the turtle warn them once with a bite…but they went back for more and got bit more than once!! I know exactly what you are thinking….”what dummies”….SEE why they have their name?!

So after a really good cleaning to get all the germs out, now my only worries are 1) snapping turtle returning, and 2)salmonilla !! Great. So I did call the vet just to give him a heads up and to see if I should worry. I should be ok, just have to keep them clean and watch for any fevers or ‘bathroom issues’.  Now the chore is to clean the cuts! They let me do it that first day, but by the next morning their poor nosies were probably very sore from being snapped between the fangs of the turtle and they didn’t want me to touch them AT ALL……so my adventure continues in the quest to keep them clean and healthy……oye ve!

Will I ever get a rest with these two????

Thought you would like to see some of the pictures I nabbed that day….not the greatest due to them being taken with my camera phone…but enjoy! I am sure there will be more adventures for the ‘dummies’ to come…..I will share as they do

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/kal775/turtlefightJune2009/tf5.jpg

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/kal775/turtlefightJune2009/tf3.jpg

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/kal775/turtlefightJune2009/tf6.jpg

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/kal775/turtlefightJune2009/tf7.jpg

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/kal775/turtlefightJune2009/tf8.jpg

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/kal775/turtlefightJune2009/tf19.jpg

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/kal775/turtlefightJune2009/tf14.jpg