Having a Heat Wave

I'm having a hard time coming up with topics right now. We haven't done much at Borderlands because of the heat. As I type this, the temp is already at 95 with a heat index of 97. The heat is making it hard for my little brain to even come up with topics, well, upbeat topics anyway.

The weatherman said it was going to be 99 today and 100 tomorrow. Then supposedly we are getting a cold front. How can you call a cold front 90? But I'll take it because next weekend we are supposed to be at 100 again. It's going to make the Colton Jubilee Days smoking hot but luckily we'll be sitting in the shade. If I'm lucky there will be shade and the extreme heat won't come until later in the day.

I had hoped to get up early yesterday morning to work on putting up electric fence but the body said no. Mike and I are still fighting this headcold which is now turning into a chest cold. Add to it the heat, there was no way either of us could muster the energy to crawl out of bed and put in electric fence.

Now I'm wishing we would have done it anyway. We did wake up early this morning and head over half way early to start putting in fence. After about an hour, I had to give up. Too hot, and too much walking was the end of me but luckily Mike had more energy and was able to get all the electric fence up. It wasn't yet 90+ when we came in but I'm thinking it'll have to be tomorrow before we put the electric fence up and bring the horses over. I'm considering taking the day off to get it all done so I can keep an eye on the horses and get it all done before the heat sets in. That or I'll do it on Tuesday and take a day off the paying job since it's supposed to be "colder" then. Sad to think that 90 is colder.

While we were over at the neighbor's putting in fence, I could see exactly how bad our pasture is. There's absolutely nothing. We are east river South Dakota and our tradition was to go to the Black Hills every Labor Day weekend. Our pasture currently looks like west river terrain and it's only mid July. I'm definitely worried. There's absolutely nothing left. Luckily the neighbor's pasture is pretty good still. Our hope is that we made the fencing large enough to keep them content for one week and then next weekend we can move the electric fence to a different area. I'd rather not burn up and totally trash the neighbor's pasture like we are doing on ours.

If we don't get some rain soon, there is going to be in influx of horses being dumped soon. Typically August is the beginning of the dumping season but with the weather the way it is, I can see that it'll either start sooner or that there will be way more horses pushed into the auction and slaughter pipeline. Unfortunately, we can't take in any more. If there were more funds coming in (other than my paycheck), or if someone were to sponsor one or two horses, we could possibly take in one or two old warriors but right now, I want to make sure that those horses here are taken care of and we are going to be pinching pennies to make sure that everyone is well taken care of thanks to this damn drought.

Because my mind is mush right now (thanks to the heat and this head cold), I thought maybe I'd dig into the archives and look for some chilly pictures. Sure enough I found a few right away. The following two pictures were taken two years ago. I'm walking through a snowdrift that took the snow grader three passes to bust through.  In the distance off to the right is where we are going to put the horses (between the first and second power pole and then straight to the right in the first picture).

I want to thank the volunteers who said they would come out this morning and help. After hearing that the temps were going to be even higher, I didn't think it wise to put anyone at risk. Mike and I have both been sick because of the heat and I didn't want to risk anyone else getting sick. We can run over and putter for an hour and then head in where it's cool. I would feel guilty for putting people to work in this heat. When it ever does cool off, I'll beg for help. I need to get some electric fence up in the mare pasture I thought we couldn't use. Otherwise, I'll be hauling all three mares up to Madison for a week or so to eat down that pasture.

I hope everyone stays cool during this massive heatwave. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that we'll get some type of rain soon to break this drought. I just don't know how much longer we can hold out without any rain. It's making life even tougher than when we were dealing with sub zero temps. I guess this is the type of weather that makes us hardy (or crazy) South Dakotans.

Emergency Fencing

The weatherman just predicted upper 90s starting Sunday with no rain forcasted in the near future. We are going to try and get up early each morning this weekend to try and do some fencing. The neighbor graciously allowed us to put up electric fence and move the big herd over.

Our pastures are burning up and there's nothing left for grass anywhere. So the sooner we get the horses over to the neighbor's, the better. We just have to try and beat the heat. Not sure how fast we can work but we'll plug along until it's too hot to move. Both Mike and I are really sensitive to the heat so not sure how much we'll get done.

I also want to get Babe shaved. It's supposed to be 99 on Monday. The last time the weatherman predicted a 99 degree day, it hit 100+. It's just too darn hot for her to deal with this type of heat.

So, any volunteers on helping put up electric fence or shaving Babe (in the wee hours of the morning to beat the heat?)

When One Door Closes...

…another one opens. I’ve been racking my brain to figure out what to do with the big herd. The pasture is done. The only visible green are the milk weeds that came up after Mike sprayed. I knew the mare pasture was done (although Rabbit and Mayhem are still making an attempt at finding the last green shoots of grass).

But I walked out to get Jim last night and knew for a fact that there was nothing left in the big pasture. The bottom of the pasture is full of fox tail. We haven’t been able to use the bottom of the pasture for two years. It was too boggy this spring to spray and now it’s too late to do anything. There’s no point in throwing grass seed or fertilizer. It doesn’t look like we are going to get any rain any time soon.

I realized just yesterday that we haven’t gotten a drop of rain since Memorial Weekend. I was going through a few pictures and the last time I can remember rain was that weekend. It wasn’t a lot but it was enough to keep things wet. It was misting the first day and then we had a decent rain. After that, I can’t remember any rain. It’s been a month and a half with no rain and nothing is surviving.

Yesterday morning our neighbor returned from his trip and asked Mike what happened to our pasture. Even from the road the pasture looks terrible. Mike and I had both been considering begging the neighbor to let us rent out his pasture but we hadn’t quite gotten up the nerve. I hate to impose and find it rude when people stop out and ask us if they can use one of our buildings. It just seemed a bit over-zealous of those people. So I didn’t want to do the same thing to the neighbor.

Luckily for us, the neighbor’s plans fell through and when he was approached by someone else to use his pasture, he said it was already spoken for. Then he told Mike that if we wanted to use it, we could. When Mike told me the good news, I burst into tears. Last year we used the neighbor’s pasture but stayed out of a good chunk of his pasture so that he could hay it. He said this year we could use the entire thing. Last year we moved the horses about once every one to two weeks so they were at the neighbors for one or two months (I can’t remember now). It was such a relief to not have so much pressure on the pasture. And now we are blessed with getting to use the ENTIRE pasture. I don’t like having the herd in one strand of electric but at this point, I don’t think the herd will care. They will most likely be pretty content to stay in greener pastures.

I had thought of hauling Rabbit up to Mom and Dad’s for the rest of the summer but if we can throw up some electric in the other mare pasture, I think it’ll hold for at least a month. That way, we could pull two horses from the big herd and take to Mom and Dad’s. I don’t know how lush the neighbor’s pasture is but I know Mom and Dad’s pasture is really lush. If I take two of the harder keepers and haul them north, then maybe I won’t have to worry as much. I haven’t quite decided yet. I’m still tossing around ideas and need to come up with the best case scenario.

Mike and I will be out putting up electric fence at the neighbor’s this weekend so we can pull the big herd immediately. There is absolutely nothing left in our pasture and neither of us want to start feeding hay just yet. The price of hay is going to be high so I want to save as many of our current bales as possible. I also have to pay the hay guy for last year’s hay. I got off a few months last year and can’t seem to get caught back up. So instead of saving up for this year’s hay, I’ve been saving up for last year’s hay. It’s frustrating but at least all our debts will be paid and I’ll just have to keep plugging along.

We are supposed to be back in the upper 80s and even upper 90s by this weekend and next week. Neither Mike or I can handle the extreme heat right now so we’ll hopefully get up early this weekend to get the fencing done and the horses to the neighbor’s place while it’s still cool. If anyone wants to help, I’d be more than happy for the extra hands. I’m not exactly sure when we’ll start but the earlier in the morning, the better. It might take us the entire weekend to get the electric fence up, but it’ll be worth it in the end. I’d feel so much better if I could get everyone out on greener pastures for the next two months. I’m not going to be able to do anything for the entire month of August so the sooner we can get the horses on green pastures, the better.

So although the door (or gate) is closed because there’s no grass in our pastures, the neighbor opened a new door (or gate so to speak) to give our horses the opportunity to graze. I am eternally grateful to our neighbor. I am blessed to know such amazing, awesome, and thoughtful people. I can’t put it into words.

Also, I don’t want anyone to forget about the upcoming Colton Jubilee Days. I’ll be sitting in the shade with the ponies. Mike even mentioned that we should bring Bo. So if Mike can come with, we’ll probably bring Bo along too. And then you can meet the most amazing gelding ever! He holds no grudge against what was done to him and is such a ham. I love talking about him and would love to have the opportunity to show him off to you. So if you can make it, we will be there for sure with ponies in tow and most likely Bo too. It’s next Saturday, July 21st in Colton. I sure hope you can make it. If it wasn’t for our good friend running the trail ride, I wouldn’t have this opportunity to share Bo’s story or other horses of Borderlands. Again, I count my blessings and am eternally grateful to such amazing, awesome, and thoughtful people. My gratitude is beyond words.

It always seems that when I think I hit rock bottom, I am blessed with the kindness of friends to lift me to the clouds. I couldn’t run the sanctuary without everyone’s moral support and encouragement to continue on in my passion. Thank you everyone for your kind words, thoughtfulness, and willingness to help when I so greatly need it. We are truly blessed at Borderlands with such wonderful people (and horses). Your generosity humbles me and leaves me speechless.

Helpless

Yesterday I stood in the drylot doing my best to not lose it completely. I know it was from sheer exhaustion (no sleep and this darn cold). There were too many things against me yesterday, or so it seemed but I'm sure it was the exhaustion.

The same person who we got Thor from is now dumping about 20 horses on the local classifieds.  I feel so helpless and yet the bile keeps rising up in my throat. I know it was never a permanent home but I get
so angry when people don't think about the long term plans for a horse.

Add to that, I'm facing a sad realization with Thor. I had hoped to wait to lay Thor to rest until September but I don't think that's going to happen. He's still dropping weight. I'm not sure if it's the heat or not. I've wormed him, he's on 24x7 round bale of hay, he gets grain, and he had his teeth floated. I'm sure there's more that I could be doing but I'd only be prolonging the inevitable. I just wish I didn't have to make the decision as soon. I had planned on taking both Thor and Queen in at the same time but maybe that's not fair either. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to say goodbye to two at one time anyway. 

Whatever the case may be, the realization that we are going to lose Thor much sooner than expected simply crushed me. As I type this, I'm sitting in tears trying to keep myself composed and I just can't. Life isn't fair some days. I'm sure it's the exhaustion still speaking but it' hard to be positive when faced with that terrible decision.

If the heat continues to rise, I'll have to make the decision sooner than I thought. I didn't want to make any decisions until at least the end of August but I am now looking at putting Thor down sometime this month. The weatherman is already calling for 90s next week. I'm just not sure that Thor's body can hold up to that type of heat. If we are going to have heat like we did last week, I'll be making the call to the vet in the next week or so. 

I'll apologize now if I'm down in the dumps for the next few posts. No sleep, being sick, dealing with family matters, worrying about the price of hay, worrying about the cost of feed, realizing that it's almost the beginning "season" of dumping horses, and dealing with this constant drought and pastures drying up has me over my limit on coping. Some days I feel helpless.

Moving Pastures

Yesterday evening was more productive than I had hoped for. S and E came out to check and repair fence in the early afternoon. I felt guilty for not being able to stand the heat (even when it was only in the 80s). I wasn’t sure what the weather was going to be like when I went outside to do chores but it was surprisingly nice out.

That little bit of cool breeze helped motivate me to get a few extra projects accomplished. The mare pasture is completely dried up. Oh sure, they are making an attempt at finding the last morsels of grass but there’s nothing lush out in the pasture. I had hoped to haul Rabbit to Mom and Dad’s but it was too hot and I was too tired. Instead, while S and E were here, they volunteered to help set up a few corral panels so that we could run the mares in the grass between the hay shed and the red shed. There’s not a lot of grass but more than what’s out in the pasture. This morning only Queen was willing to come out right away. It took a bit of coaxing to get Rabbit out and of course then Mayhem followed. I put Mayhem back with the mares last night so that I could have everything set up and ready for this morning. Rabbit went to town chowing down on the grass. There’s shade and access to their other pasture (to get water and possibly catch a breeze) so I’m not too worried. I don’t know how long that little patch of grass will last but I may have an idea that will work in a week or two if I can get help moving more corral panels around. If we can do some quick fencing in the blind pen and use those corral panels and the light weight corral panels we recently bought, I might very well get to use the other mare pasture that I thought was lost. We’ll have to wait and see how things progress. If the weather stays out of the nineties I might actually be able to get more done outside.

I also wormed all the mares, Thor, and the ponies. I know I’m out of rotation for worming but I’m playing catch-up right now. With the hell that broke loose last September/October and being sick for the first six months of this year, I haven’t been able to get as much done. So now I’m trying to get caught up and possibly get ahead (although that’s almost impossible these days).

I have a meeting in town tonight so I won’t be able to worm the big herd but the goal is to get everyone wormed again this week. Bo is going to give me a workout but everyone else should be fairly well-behaved. Whoever messed him up did a really good job of it. He’s head shy and will be that way until I can work with him on a consistent basis. I’ve had other head shy horses and with consistency and patience, they came around. I know Bo will come around too. I can’t imagine what type of abuse he had to suffer to be so head shy. I can swat him on his nose when he tries to snitch a bite of grain from the little yellow grain bucket I use to call the herd in and he doesn’t have any issues. But when it comes to actually putting a bridle on or giving him wormer, he gets very upset. I am always shocked and amazed at how cruel people can be.

Also, mark your calendars July 21st for the Colton Jubilee Days. A very good friend is hosting a trail ride with a free will donation. Those donations are going straight to Borderlands to care for the horses. We are greatly honored and privileged for this opportunity. I can’t explain in words my gratitude for this kind offer. I won’t be able to ride and chat with everyone during the ride but I will be there before and after the ride, possibly with ponies in tow. I’ll be the one sitting in the shade. I would love for you to stop over and chat. Just be warned. Once I start talking horses, you might not get away from me for awhile. I do love talking about the horses of Borderlands and sanctuary life. I promise I won’t rant about the horse industry or some of my other opinions. I’ll just chat it up about the sanctuary horses and if I have Tommy and Skippy along, I’m sure they’ll butt in on the conversation and demand some attention too!

Recap

Where to start. Last Friday and Saturday was the Irene Rodeo. Even thought I couldn't ride, I hauled Zeke and some of the other horses down (gotta represent the drill team!) I had a blast, even thought I couldn't be on the back of Zeke (at least Zeke was out there to represent Borerlands). I know it has nothing to do with the rescue but it was nice to get away even for an overnighter and enjoy everyone's company. Luckily the weather was still half way decent out. I'd already gotten caught by the hot weather earlier in the week and had recovered from being sick. Unfortunately, Mike had the same experience Friday night that I had. It's no fun being sick when you're not at home.

When we finally got home Saturday night, who should be out wandering around but Mayhem. I was so exhausted but had to round her up and put her in the Timeout Pen. She's been there ever since because I haven't had the time or energy to check the fence and figure out where she escaped. She definitely fits her name.

Starting last Sunday, we had super high temps. I don't even remember what the heat index was. All I know is that the heat took its toll on everyone. Even this Friday we had temps over 100 and even higher heat index. I couldn't be out in the hot weather so I couldn't even pamper the horses like I normally do. I hate not being out with the horses to give them baths and treats while they suffer through the heat. Instead, I had to hide in the house until the heat went down just enough. Unfortunately, I still couldn't do too much even after it cooled down a little. I'm now reverting back to doing chores back in the dark.

The heat is taking its toll on the horses too. I realized earlier this week that we are going to lose Thor and Queen. The heat has been too hard on them and they've dropped a ton of weight. I'm not sure what I can do, if there's anything at all. For now, I'll try to make them feel comfortable and see if grain and beet pulp will help perk the up. But I'm coming to the realization that we will lose them this fall. I'm already dreading the day I have to make that phone call. But for now, I'll simply enjoy their presences and take one day at a time.

This morning when I went to let Queen out to wander the yard, I thought she was dead. She was stretched out at the bottom of the hill. From my vantage point, I couldn't tell if she was alive or not (I couldn't see if she was breathing). And then she twitched her withers. That girl is going to be the death of me yet.

I can't remember the last time we had rain. The pastures are drying up fast. The hot temps aren't helping any. I'm not sure what we are going to do. The big pasture is about done for and the mare pasture is completely done. I've been throwing hay to some just to make sure that they have something to eat. I've had one month of not having to touch hay. I'm very worried that we will have to start feeding hay soon. I have no idea what the prices of hay will be like but I'm afraid it's going to skyrocket. 

I would move the mares to the other pasture but we lost the other pasture due to the accident back in February. I've been too sick to work on getting the other pasture ready so now we can't use it. We did buy a few extra corral panels so I might be able to put up some panels and temporary electric fence but I can't be outside even when it's in the 80s. My health and this heat are making it absolutey impossible to do much expect the bare minimum.

I need to take Rabbit up to Madison for the rest of the summer. Mom and Dad's pasture can hold one horse for the rest of the summer (or at least that's our hope). I hate only taking one horse up but Rabbit has been beating up Queen. I'm also tired of Mayhem picking up Rabbit's bad habits. She was getting herd bound so it's been nice to keep Mayhem separate. But I'd prefer that Mayhem pick up Queen's habits instead of Rabbits. It's going to be an adventure getting Rabbit in a trailer. She's not an easy one to load so who knows how long it'll take to get her loaded. But if she's on a lush pasture, there's at least one less horse I have to worry about.

We are also almost out of round bales. Last October we bought 39 round bales and hauled them home (three at a time...yes it was painfuly slow). We are going to have to go in search of more round bales for Thor and Babe. Unfortunately, we need to find a few bales fast. We have one remaining bale and I will be out of town for a few days the first part of August and that's when the bales will run out.

A good friend of Borderlands is hosting a trail ride July 21st during the Colton Jubilee Days. It's a free ride but taking donations. Those donations are going to Borderlands. We are truley blessed and honored that our friend would even consider us. Again, I won't be able to ride but I'll be there to happily talk about the sanctuary. I was thinking of hauling Tommy and Skippy since they are easy to approach and have better manners than Bo. I want to keep the oldsters at home to keep their stress level down but I'd like to have someone four-legged there to represent Borderlands.  I'll be sitting in the shade and if anyone wants to join me, I'd be honored. I'm sure I'll put another plug in for this fun event.

I also want to thank S and E for coming out in the heat today to check fence. It's been too hot for me to do anything but minimal chores so I haven't had a chance to check and find out where Mayhem wiggled her way out of the pasture. S and E found the spot and fixed it for me. Those two are my guardian angels! They also set up some corral panels so that I can run Queen, Rabbit, and Mayhem in the lawn between the hay shed and the red shed. There's not alot of grass but there's more than what's in their pasture right now. I have a bit of fencing to do tonight after it cools down and then I'll open up the gate for them to wander tomorrow morning while I'm at the paying job. I'm sure they'll have it eaten down in less than a week but I'd rather have dirt for lawn with happy horses then a lawn that looks manicured (hahahha...sorry, the thought of an acreage with a manicured lawn doesn't seem feasible to me).

I am considering begging the neighbor to let me rent his pasture. It would beat having to throw hay. I really want to keep what hay we have left for later this summer/fall. It would help cut down on the cost of this winters hay (considering I'm still saving up to pay for last year's hay). I'm always a year behind it seems. But the boys were at the neighbor's last year and they seemed to enjoy being over there. Hopefully we can run the horses over there for a month but we'll see. I may have to do some serious begging but at this point, I'll be happy to see the horses in a decent pasture instead of one that's almost done.

I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting but thought I'd give you a quick rundown of what we've been up to for more than the past week. I may not post much this week either. The paying job has me hopping so there' not much time for anything other than work, chores, work, and a little bit of sleep.  We are still here so if you need to get ahold of us, just leave a comment on our Facebook page, or swing by. I'm always up for a good chat (as long as we go inside where there's air conditioning). :-)

We Are Still Here

It seems another week has flown by. By the time I finish slogging through the paying job, care for the horses, and concoct some meal, I'm too exhausted to lift a finger to post anything. We've also been combating high heat indexes and just plain high temps. Mike and I were both caught off guard by the heat, which made us sick. Luckily it didn't last long and we weren't both sick at the same time.  I've been avoiding going out during the hottest temperatures. I feel bad for the herd but with my health, I can't risk it.

I have lots of stuff bouncing around in my head that I'd like to share but it'll have to wait until later. I just wanted to post to say that we are around, although I don't seem to be getting anything done these days other than keeping my head above water at the paying job. I'll try to post more this weekend to fill you all in on what we've been doing, and things we are looking forward to doing.

Stay cool.