My Little Walter Smiled :-)

I went to the corral at 8:08 a.m. and he was eating his ration of hay and pellets.  So the kid fed him this morning...BUT...there is always a but involved...he did NOT fill his water barrel :-(

Taken at 1:27 p.m. when the sun fully hits the empty water barrel

When he is eating he does not like to be disturbed so I came back after he finished and brought his new green water container.  The pink container is fine for his pellets as they do not weigh much.  However when I put water in it...it weighs a ton...and the grip handles are not as sturdy as with this new one.  I only give him a gallon at a time because I do not want to hurt my back.

Remember a couple of weeks back he kept on yawing?  I had not seen him do that again until today.  Took several pictures of him but by the time my cheap camera snapped the shot...it did not capture it...I did manage to get one picture.

I think little Walter needs to have his teeth brushed.

As I was looking over the other pictures I took of him today...I found a gem!  He actually looks like he is smiling at me :-)

It was 95 degrees today so I kept an eye on him but by around 3:00 p.m. he decided he was not going to drink anymore water no matter how much I pleaded with him.  Told him he was going to regret it because we had several errands to run and we would not be back till late, lol....like he really understood :-D

We came back around 8:30 p.m. but there was no lights or cars in his owners driveway.  Went to check up on him and his water barrel was still empty!  He drank 5 gallons, then I fed him dinner and topped it off with 2.5 more gallons.

By now it was 9:40 p.m. and no sign of his owners.

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.

Party at Walter's

Went to visit Walter this morning and to see if the coast was clear.  It was...so I came back with his pellets and some water.  As is customary he declined the water but started eating the pellets.

I say started...because he turned around to look toward his house and Ramon was there!  I know he saw me but I do not know if he saw the pink bucket since I try to shield it by feeding him under the fence line.  I stayed there and did my best to conceal it but Walter was still chewing and he was not happy I took his food away!

Ramon was cleaning his yard and throwing stuff around, even saw him sweeping the front porch of his shed.  His wife was out and about and I thought how strange it was that she was home at this hour.  It was even stranger when I saw the kid helping his mother...is he not supposed to be in school?

Later it all became clear when I began smelling bar-b-q and heard the music going.  Have no idea what they were celebrating but with so many people and kids running around...I could not feed him...though he did have water in his barrel.

Pacquiao (the family dog) not being the most well mannered pooch...was not happy that they locked him up in Walter's horse trailer.

Walter was not thrilled to have to put up with his barking and on top of that...he did not get supper.

Just went outside to check and the party is still going on.  Strange though...they are all singing songs...they don't actually have music on or if they do I can not hear it.

Noon Feeding

Since Walter was fed last night I was not particularly worried about him this morning.  I did not make it to his corral until 11:10 a.m. and to my surprise found that someone had fed him some hay and he was busy eating it.

It could not have been the kid because he goes to school and by eleven Walter would have already eaten it.  There was no car in the driveway...so maybe it was his owner who tends to keep very peculiar hours.

It was a cloudy day so I did not have the benefit of the sun to tell me if his barrel was full or not.  Offered him some water but he did not want any.

Wednesday at Walter's

It was cool last night so went to check up on him early this morning.  He had drainage coming out of both nostrils and his skin was cold to the touch.  He has had drainage for a while but only out of one nostril.

He is back to being fed by that plastic thing that can hurt him.  Have noticed lately that the kid is not discarding the bags the pellets come in, he just leaves it in the corral.  What he should do is get a shovel and put his poop in there to help control the stench as well as the horse flies!

Ramon (made up name for his owner) had a lot of metal tubing left over after he built his cinder block shed and I have offered him some used  particle board and that black thing you put on top as well as metal roofing.  It would not take him very long to build Walter a little shelter from the sun and hot summer temperatures that are right around the corner.

The corral is not big to begin with...what the heck is a cactus plant doing here?  Darn talk about worthless owners!

Three days without water

No water Saturday, Sunday or Monday until 6:00 p.m. when the father came home from out of town.

This was taken Sunday  April 21st at 8:42 p.m.  Earlier Walter had knocked down the barrel so the kid could see it was empty.  He limited himself to picking it up and moving it by the dead mesquite tree and only fed him.

Sunday night I gave him 7.5 gallons of water.

These were taken Monday April 22nd at 12:30 p.m. as you can tell the barrel had not been moved from its previous spot.

Zoomed in from another angle where one can clearly see there is not a drop of water in the barrel.

Being Monday no one was home so I was able to water him all day.  He drank 13.5 gallons.

Feeling Frustrated

I have not posted in a couple of days mainly because I am angry at Walter's owners, the authorities and yes... even myself...for failing to get him the needed help.

His owner being home Friday had little to no consequence as his water barrel still went unfilled.  The winds have been terrible and yet no one takes off the sharp exposed plastic that has already cut him in the past.  Besides the man went off to wherever he goes and Walter is once again left in the care of that kid.

I am feeding him through another part of the corral so he wont hurt himself.  To make matters worst my back has been killing me and it has been a struggle to carry the gallon milk jugs I use to water him.  How hard can it be to turn on the water?  Obviously too hard for that heartless kid!

Note the water line in the barrel

 

I have to feed him through here now

Look how sharp and dangerous this is for Walter and yet they don't even make the effort to take it down!

He was not fed Friday night and he went until Saturday afternoon without food.  My hands are tied during the day and all I can do is watch in disgust as this poor animal suffers at the hands of his worthless owners.

While he is always fed his pellets in this dirty ice chest
you will note the kid fed him his little portion of hay
on this side of the corral.

I was surprised that the kid had the hindsight to feed him on this side of the corral as to not injure him but if you click on the picture you will see hundreds of flies on his face...pitiful!

Part of Plastic Roof Blew

Walter's owner works out of town...I saw him arrive yesterday but did not see hide or hair of him until around 8:30 p.m. tonight.  Actually I could care less about his itinerary the only reason I mention it is because I thought he was going to be home to take care of Walter.

Assuming he was around I did not go check on him until around noon.  It was very windy and thankfully not that hot.  The high was 78 and the low 62.  The first thing I noticed was that part of his plastic roof had blown off.

Unfortunately not the part that I wanted to blow...the one with the sharp edge that cut his eye the other time.

Here it looks like he is hiding from me...as if saying...not the camera again woman!

With the sun shining on his barrel I can see the waterline and it could sure use some more water.  However that was not to be.  I was watering the trees and weeds when I saw the kid feed him at 7:30 p.m.  He did not even take a look at it and after seven hours, I am sure it was in need of a refill.

What no pictures of Walter today?

Every night before I do my posts I download the pictures I happen to take that day.  It seems like I take more of Walter than of other subjects.  Well, tonight I found I did not take a single picture of him today, lol :D

He is back to afternoon feedings and with the overcast skies and full water barrel he had a good day if you do not count the horse flies :-(

I saw his owner arrive this afternoon from wherever it is he goes off to work.  Hopefully he will look after him better than the kid does.

Thanks for visiting Walter's World.

Unfilled Water Barrel

I did not get a chance to go by the corral till 11:00 a.m. so I can not say whether or not he was fed this morning.  However, his downed water barrel was now upright.  From the way it was situated there was no way the kid could have moved it had it been full.

Besides Walter prefers food to water unless he is very thirsty and today he drank all the water that I offered him and then some. Of course, I also fed him his horse pellets.

It looks like he is saying "Belinda stop taking my picture
and give me some more water" :-)

When the kid got back from school he moved the barrel but did not fill it. Note the dangling hose...when he fills it up... he is too lazy to take out the hose!  I have observed this trait in both father and son.

It was not until late this afternoon that he fed and watered him.

Today he gave him a little more hay than usual...could it be to make up for no water?

Finally a full water barrel...with the hose inside like I mentioned above.

95 degrees and no water

I'm glad I saved him enough for another ration because this morning the kid went off to school without feeding him.  First it is morning feedings, then afternoon...then no feedings to speak of  :-(

I went into town and bought him some more horse pellets.  I was surprised that the kid fed him at 4:00 p.m. but he forgot to water him even though his water barrel was downed.

In light of today's events...I, like millions of Americans...was glued to my television set.  I did not get to check on Walter till late.

His water barrel was still empty

This time he did not turn me down when I offered him water.  In fact he was glad to see me arriving with some liquid gold.  Poor Walter, it got to 95 degrees...probably felt like more with the sun shining on him and no shade to speak of.

He drank 7.5 gallons this evening.  I do believe the kid or someone from his house saw me from the window but no one came out.

Prop Hay

Went to check up on him this morning but he had not been fed yet.  Ramon did not make it home this weekend so was not too concerned with being seen by the wife since she hates Walter anyway.  Besides in the twelve or so years that they have lived there I have only seen her once in my life and it was only partially and from far away.

Knowing it was going to be a hot day started watering the trees while keeping an eye towards the corral.  It was at 9:43 a.m. when the kid finally fed and watered him.

He threw him this small bale of hay...that I assume they keep in that new shed of theirs...they never touch the "prop hay" in front of the corral.

No food on Saturday

Went to open up the main gate early as we were expecting company.  Since I did not see his owners truck only his wife's car I went to see him.  He had not been fed yet and he was flustered which made me wonder if he got fed last night.  After finishing cleaning out the bottom of the tent as well as the tarp my back was killing me yesterday.  I went to bed early last night and did not get a chance to go check up on him.

Saw the kid go by the house when Cliff and Carl were cutting down the trees.  The guys left and about two hours later I saw him walking back to his house but never even stopping to check on Walter.  He did not feed him all day!

For some reason Ramon was not around...that man keeps weird hours!  Not that it would matter it is not like he remembers to feed him either.

We made a late trip to town and did not get back till almost ten o'clock tonight.  Like a thief in the cover of night...I made my way and fed him.  Once again I offered him water but he refused...he wanted more food!  I am almost out of horse pellets and wanted to keep at least one more ration in case I don't make it into town tomorrow.

A Trip to the Vet or to be Bred?

Once again I could not go visit him this morning because his owner was home.  A was in the backyard when I heard a ruckus.  It was Ramon (made up name for his owner) backing up his truck and hooking up Walter's horse trailer.

Went back to what I was doing, then I heard him yell "Hey, hey!" and I saw Walter running around and he trying to catch him...hope he got his shiny boots full of poop! :D

They left around 12:10 p.m. and were back by 3:30 p.m.  You might ask yourself...Belinda, are you stalking Ramon and Walter? jajajaja...no silly...I was outside for hours today, more on my main blog :-(

Could it be that Ramon saw little Walter laying down yesterday and went to have him checked out? or is it like I suspect and he is breeding him?

I was pretty busy and Ramon was outside... but I could see that he fed and watered Walter well this afternoon.

Laying Down

Post for Wednesday April 10, 2013

Went to take out the trash but it was cold so came back inside to get my jacket.  Debated on whether or not to go visit Walter first but decided it was best to take out the trash just in case the garbage truck came early.

Walter's owners house is on high ground and we are downhill.  From the front gate I can see his driveway.   I did not have my glasses on but could see a figure of a man in a hooded jacket walking down to his corral...so I had to pass on the visit.

Around noon I saw that no one was home so went to see him...but there was no Walter!  When I was almost to his corral I saw his head and knew he was laying down.

I tried not to make any noise so he would not get up...I also wanted to see if he was licking his hooves but he was not.  He just seemed very sleepy

Tried to pay him another visit in the afternoon but his owner was around.  By now Walter was standing up.

Heat and Flies

Knew it was going to be a hot day therefore wanted to make sure he had plenty of water.  Even though last night he did not have to dunk his head in his barrel too far as they had filled it...but  now it was noon and another day.

That is not the moon...it is a street light and the other circles
are specks on my camera lens.  Note the poop.

I do not know why there is heartache associated whenever I visit him.  Inevitably there is always something wrong.  His face but specifically his eyes were full of flies and the heat made his poop stink to high heaven.

I guess since they fed and watered him well yesterday, they felt he did not need to eat today.  I brought him some water but he did not want to drink it.  I do not know why he has been refusing clean fresh water lately.

I had to run errands and when I got back I saw Ramon had the beige truck parked in his driveway...how many trucks does this man have?  So I was not able to go pay him a visit until it got dark.  I took him his pellets which he quickly gobbled...offered him water and was once again turned down :-(

It is feast or famine for little Walter.

Hit Paydirt or is it Pay Poop?

Finally my little Walter had a good day.  This afternoon it was in the low 90's and I went to offer him some fresh water which he refused!  He did not pass up on the horse pellets though :D

The winds started blowing very strongly from the east and this now worthless piece of plastic threaten to blow at any minute.  This is where he cut his eye if you will recall.  Wish it would blow east that way it would not hurt Walter if it did.

Later on in the afternoon went to once again check up on him.  Found that he had been given a block of the good quality hay, his big horse pellets (I give him little ones) and his water barrel was full.  Knew the kid had not done this since I saw him walking to his cousins house.

Went to look towards the owners driveway and saw the red pick up and also a white pick up in front of the house.  He was obvious fed by Ramon (name I made up for his owner).  Have I mentioned I tend to give people names so they wont know I am talking about them?  My friends and I were famous for doing that...jajajaja!

Little Walter was so happy he was going from his dirty ice chest...where they feed him his big pellets... to his hay ..to his water barrel and repeat.

I left so he could eat in peace and bask in the fact that at least for today, he had all that he needed :)

Thank you for your visit to Walter's World.