Week in Review

Last week was a blur. I know I posted once last week but it wasn’t what I was originally going to ramble about. The Sunday before last, Mike was going to climb the windmill and fix our yard light. I convinced him (without much work) to hire someone to fix the light instead. With 20-30mph winds and gusts of up to 40mp it was easy to convince Mike that a $100 bill to repair the light would be easier to pay than $10K hospital bill for when he fell of the windmill. It’s been four months since our least hospital stay and I’d like to extend that time frame.

So, we are still without a yard light a week later. Although, Mike and Dad did work on cutting down trees that had grown up in the windmill and were subsequently blocking the light (when it was working).  So when we finally DO get the yard light fixed, we’ll have light shining everywhere. A little frustrated that they didn’t come out last week when we called but this week I’m going to put my crabby pants on and call them.

We did get our first snowstorm last Tuesday. I forgot what it was like to drive in the snow. I think a lot of people forgot. I know the horses weren’t all that thrilled with the snow but they didn’t really care all that much. I gave them a treat of apples and they were in heaven.  Judy N. stopped out that Sunday when Mike and Dad were cutting down trees and dropped off a blanket and apples for the horses. The horses have been enjoying apples ever since then. Even Dude last night finally discovered that he actually LIKES apples. I’m guessing he’s wishing he would have tried them a week earlier!

Last Monday we had fall and then the snow hit. The snow melted but we had winter after that. I’ve been dealing with breaking water open this past week. When the weatherman said that we were going to have a nice weekend but that a cold front was coming through for Veteran’s Day, I figured I’d better move pens and water around.  It took almost a week to find winter coats and coveralls. Morning chores now require coveralls and a heavy coat, where two weeks before that, I was running out in a heavy coat and that’s it (well, normal clothes underneath. I don’t’ do chores naked!!). I guess winter came early.

I am worried that it’s only mid-November and we are now feeding normal winter rations. In years past, we wouldn’t even start to feed this heavy for another month. I don’t think we’ll have enough hay to get through winter at this rate. The Farmer’s Almanac said normal snow but a lot colder temps! This morning it was three degrees. The horses were not happy and demanded their hay this morning!

So back to this past Sunday. We had temps in the 40s but with some cold wind. Luckily Mike and Dad were able to stay out of the wind and work in the hayshed. They decided to tackle the stall that Sahara had broken. They were able to fix the door and the wall that she obliterated. Now we have two working stalls in the hayshed. Dad and I also unloaded corral panels so I will be putting up a temporary stall in the hayshed as well. That way the horses in the smaller pen can go into the hayshed when the temps really drop and the wind howls.

Because of the temps, I had to move horses so that we had one water tank heater running instead of three like last year.  Last year we had a bunch of horses that needed to be separated but this year, I am able to put them all into two pens. If we had our winter mare pasture, life would be a little bit easier but that’s not going to happen for another couple of years. So for now, I moved Rabbit, Mayhem, Tommy, and Skippy into the smaller pen by the big drylot. So now all the horses are pretty well kept together instead of scattered.

I think Rabbit was loving having the ponies in with her. She pinned her ears and chased after them but I really think secretly that she was enjoying the extra attention.  I did set up a couple extra corral panels in the pen so that I can lock Rabbit in the pen while she eats her grain instead of having to either halter and tie Mayhem and the ponies (who won’t let me catch them) or stand by Rabbit to guard her from the ponies snitching her grain. I figured putting her in a pen would be so much easier. This way I can toss out alfalfa (what little we have left) so that she can enjoy some without being harassed by the ponies and Mayhem. I think she’s enjoying the solitude. I don’t like the pen that they are in. But with the two stalls in the hay shed and the temporary stall I’ll build, I’ll be able to pull the horses out of the pen more often and keep them in the stalls at night when the temps really drop or the wind really picks up. I am now going to have to hall water back to the pen each night. I have to have the tank topped out so that the ponies can reach the tank! I forgot what it was like to have to haul bucket after bucket of water. I would give almost anything to have a couple different automatic waterers. But I’d rather haul a couple buckets of water every evening instead of both morning and night and have to smash water each time. The only power outlet that can handle the water heater is the one on the red shed so that’s why we had to move horses yesterday.

I’m sure glad that we did. With a low of three degrees, I am SO not ready for winter.  We turned away two horses last month and I’ve seen three other horses that we should have taken in. Two were prime for kill buyers and another simply needs a soft place to land for the last bit of her life. But with the hospital bills and other expenses, we can’t take anyone else on. We ARE looking at doing more fundraisers next year. I’ve got a few ideas up my sleeve that we are working on, so we’ll see how it goes. But for now, I’m going to batten down the hatches and settle in for a long and cold winter. Hopefully it won’t be too dark of a winter either. I want my yard light back! If someone would like to sponsor a horse, we could open our doors to another old soul that needs a soft place to land for their retirement.