Helping or Hindering?

Sometimes I wonder if I am helping or hindering Walter...how so?  I do not believe his worthless owners know I am feeding and watering him.  They may suspect I may occasionally water him...but not that I keep a constant eye out for him.

Do these people really think that Walter can survive for three days without food or water?  More importantly WATER...with the brutal heat of West Texas...in a corral without the least bit of shade?  Even if he had water...it would be HOT!

Since he has not collapsed or died on them like the other horse they had...I think both father and son feel it is OK if Walter goes three days without food or liquids.  Damn it...It is not OK!  He is not a young horse...he is a mature horse and needs more care.  If I am in Del Rio I will take care of him...but what about when I am out of town?  I may come back to find him dead :-(

I try to keep my word and not go check up on him during the weekend and I usually break it.  Being that the family celebrated a joyous event...whatever it might have been to make them throw a party...I figured they would take better care of him.

Saturday morning I did see the father at 8:40 a.m. from my kitchen window give him three big fork fulls of hay from none other than the "prop hay".  Did not see him fill his barrel even though it was almost empty.

Sunday I decided not to go visit him as I could tell they were outside.  This morning I went to see him but the sun did not permit me at that hour to be able to tell if his water barrel was full but I offered him some water for good measure.  To my surprise he began drinking it like crazy...8.5 gallons to be exact!

Taken at 11:30 a.m.  but knew deep inside it was empty and since  the water hose
was not inside the barrel probably Walter had knocked it down and the kid
just picked it up and did not fill it as is customary with him.

Taken at 12:05 p.m. where there is no doubt there is no water in his barrel

I fed and watered him until he did not want anymore.  I looked out around 1:47 p.m. and did not see him!  Then it dawned on me that he probably took a nap...so I slowly made my way to his corral as to not wake him up.

I was on the north side of the property when I saw the kid jogging toward his house but he did not stop to see or feed him.  We had to go into town this afternoon but when we got back it was obvious he had not been fed or watered...heartless kid!

This evening at 9:30 p.m. took him some more water and he drank 7.5 gallons after which I fed him his supper.  Per Weatherbug the high temperature today was 88 and the low 68.  Even though the IBC temperature read 90.