Why Nothing Gets Done

People ask me why certain things don't get done or why I can't simply get something off my plate. It's never a mean question just hard for some to grasp the extend of what I do around the Sanctuary.


So I'll give you an example. I have to laugh at it because otherwise I'll cry. It's typical "me" style any more.


I talk about our dry lots or the pens. We have two. One large, and another that is connected but much smaller. It's actually one huge pen but with a portion of the big pen divided. It was set up that way before we got there and I've kept it because having two pens is handy.


The fencing between the two pens was never good and at one point I needed to put the ponies or a yearling into that pen and needed sturdy fencing. I ended up using my old super heavy corral panels. I used to use them all the time, but they were beasts to move and I needed a substation fence. I had hoped to put a new fence in but so far, that hasn't happened. It's been years of using those corral panels as a fence to divide the two pens.


A few years back we had a tornado miss the Sanctuary buy a half a mile. We had major wind damage and in some cases have never repaired the damage (thinking the little run in shed we built and the tornado took the top off). The wind pushed the corral panels that divided the fence but because there were four panels and they were somewhat secure but leaning, I left it be. It was too heavy for me to lift alone. Those panels are heavy!!!


The gate between the two pens is cobbled together. It's fallen off the hooks more times than I can count. So in the end, I tied it shut with twine. Yes, there are many uses for twine at the Sanctuary. I'd opened the gate a couple weeks ago so that I could run the horses when instead of letting them out on the pasture. I don't want the horses on the pasture because they'll tear it up. I used to tie all the horses up but I've since gotten lazy and it takes an hour to halter and tie all 11 horses. Simply opening a gate is so much easier.


So last week everything was ok when I put the horses into the smaller pen but I had to rig the gate shut...hello twine! When I was done, I let the horses out, tied the gate shut to the corral panels and all was good.


Well last night we needed to put hay in before it rained again. It was getting dark but I wanted to hurry. At the time I couldn't figure out why the twine was so tight. I knew I had tied it to the gate but it hadn't been that tight. I pulled out my trusty knife and cut the twine and...


BAM!


The entire fence line (four corral panels) fell to the ground! I thought about trying to life it myself but decided that would be silly because Mike was sitting in the tractor waiting for me to open the other gate. By the time I got Mike, the horses discovered the downed fence line and ran into the smaller pen. By the time I got Mike and got back to the fence line, half the herd ran back into the bigger pen and the other half stayed in the smaller pen. By this time, it was getting dark and the horses were running and farting up a storm. I thought I was going to get run over at one point!


Mike and I got the fence put back into place (and of course secured with TWINE!). But then I had the challenge of getting everyone BACK into the small pen. Luckily all the horses except Lightening know that when I holler for them, they come. I will have to work on Lightening but he'll learn quick enough. Once I got Lightening into the small pen, we were good to go to put hay in.


So, what should have been about a 20 minute job to push horses into a different pen, pull hay nets, put in bales, pull net wrap, and put the hay nets back....took more than an hour. And people ask me why I don't get more done...that's exactly why.


Now had I had time to fix the fence in the first place or had we the funds to provide a proper fence, life would be easier. But instead I'm limited in time and funds and make do with what we have. Even if it's cobbled together with TWINE! :-)


So, before you ask me why I don't get more done, please remember this story. I'm not mad about it or upset when people say those words, they simply have no clue that even simple tasks sometimes don't work out like they should.