But until then, the proof is in the picture:
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Drought Update
So even though we've gotten rain, we are still in a drought. I am hoping that the possibility for rain will continue and the drought crisis will not come to anything but a whisper on the wind.
But until then, the proof is in the picture:
But until then, the proof is in the picture:
Friday, July 28, 2017
First of Four Loads Delivered
Yeah for Hay!
I should probably apologize for my earlier ranting post. Some days the little things set me off and I need to remember to let them go. Life is too short.
Last night we went and picked up a load of hay. It's the smaller bales but I am happy to have anything since our normal hay guy is scrambling to make sure he has enough hay.
We didn't get the hay from the first load unloaded until after 10pm. It's a bit tricky to unload hay in the dark but we got it done. Mike is going back tonight to pick up the second load. We'll probably have four loads total to pick up what we've purchased. We bought 25 bales at $35 a piece. I'm guessing they are under 1000lbs. Easier to handle but as Mike said, they are actually harder to work with because he's used to the bigger bales. But the bigger bales will hopefully come next weekend.
We may possibly have an opportunity to buy an additional 16 bales from the same person where we are getting the 25. We'll know more next week when we pick up the third and fourth loads of hay. We just did a dump off the trailer so we'll have to figure out a plan on where to put them so there's room for the semi load coming soon.
I will rest easy knowing we have the hay we need. I am just hoping it's a mild winter. I am not sure we'll have enough. We for sure don't have enough to bring on any more and that breaks my heart. Because in another couple of days, the time of year will begin where horses will start flooding the market. I worry for those horses and I wish I could open our doors to the senior horses who need a soft place to land for the last few years of their lives. I don't even want to think about how unfair the situation is for them.
I wish I could do more but it's going to be a tight squeeze this year. We are always looking for more help in any fashion. It doesn't even have to be providing donations. We need to spread the word about our Sanctuary. The hard part is when we spread the word about us, we're already full so it's hard to say no when the list keeps growing.
But for now, we have the beginning of our hay and hopefully by the end of August we'll have all the hay that we'll need to keep the horses fat and happy all winter!
I should probably apologize for my earlier ranting post. Some days the little things set me off and I need to remember to let them go. Life is too short.
Last night we went and picked up a load of hay. It's the smaller bales but I am happy to have anything since our normal hay guy is scrambling to make sure he has enough hay.
We didn't get the hay from the first load unloaded until after 10pm. It's a bit tricky to unload hay in the dark but we got it done. Mike is going back tonight to pick up the second load. We'll probably have four loads total to pick up what we've purchased. We bought 25 bales at $35 a piece. I'm guessing they are under 1000lbs. Easier to handle but as Mike said, they are actually harder to work with because he's used to the bigger bales. But the bigger bales will hopefully come next weekend.
We may possibly have an opportunity to buy an additional 16 bales from the same person where we are getting the 25. We'll know more next week when we pick up the third and fourth loads of hay. We just did a dump off the trailer so we'll have to figure out a plan on where to put them so there's room for the semi load coming soon.
I will rest easy knowing we have the hay we need. I am just hoping it's a mild winter. I am not sure we'll have enough. We for sure don't have enough to bring on any more and that breaks my heart. Because in another couple of days, the time of year will begin where horses will start flooding the market. I worry for those horses and I wish I could open our doors to the senior horses who need a soft place to land for the last few years of their lives. I don't even want to think about how unfair the situation is for them.
I wish I could do more but it's going to be a tight squeeze this year. We are always looking for more help in any fashion. It doesn't even have to be providing donations. We need to spread the word about our Sanctuary. The hard part is when we spread the word about us, we're already full so it's hard to say no when the list keeps growing.
But for now, we have the beginning of our hay and hopefully by the end of August we'll have all the hay that we'll need to keep the horses fat and happy all winter!
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| Penny is always getting in on the action. |
Be An Angel Day - August 22nd
#BeAnAngel
Did you know, August 22nd is Be An Angel Day? It was first created in 1993 by Jayne Howard Feldman to encourage people to do random acts of kindness.
What better way to provide random acts of kindness than to help out the senior residents at the Sanctuary!
Why not become an Angel to one of our Sanctuary residents? If you donate funds (any dollar amount), you can be an angel for one of the Sanctuary residents. Just let us know who you want to be an angel to. We'll post pictures of all the horses who have angels at the end of the day.
Proceeds for Be An Angel Day will go to the 2017-2018 Winter Hay Fund or let us know how you want to spend the money and we'll happily oblige.
You can send donations to www.paypal.me/Borderlands or you can send it via mail to:
Borderlands Horse Sanctuary
PO Box 35
Humboldt, SD 57035
We hope that even if you don't donate to the Sanctuary, that you perform a random act of kindness for another. It's a great way to make the world a better place.
$5 Friday
It’s $5 Friday!
We are picking up hay. We picked up the first of four loads last night and will pick up the second load tonight. These bales cost us $35 and we are bringing home 25 bales with the potential to bring home an additional 16 (we'll know more next week). These bales are smaller than our normal 1800lb bales which will hold a horse for a month. I'm not sure how fast the horses will eat through one bale of this size but I'm guessing with a herd of 11 eating, we'll go through three or four a week.
We are building up our winter hay supply and need your help! Our small Sanctuary is supported by many donors who cannot share a lot but what they share is huge.
Every donation matters, and we are grateful you have chosen to help us with our mission, "Giving each horse a dignified retirement".
Did you know, $5 buys one bale of hay and feeds a horse for a day? We have 15 horses in our Sanctuary enjoying retirement. We start feeding hay mid to late October and continue through May. Would you like to feed one of our Sanctuary horses for a day?
You can donate to www.paypal.me/Borderlands or send checks to:
Borderlands Horse Sanctuary
PO Box 35
Humboldt, SD 57035
Presumptiuous Assumptions
Good morning!
This was the view on the way in to the paying job. I'm taking it as a good sign that today will only get better. I was scrolling through FB this morning and read a post that left me a bit irritated. I'm trying my best to let it go but it was rather pretentious. So I guess in my normal vane of things, I'll rant on it and then I can let it go. You may want to ignore this post.
You see, until you are in someone else's shoes, you have no idea what they are going through. I've had comments directed at me that make it sound like we have the world by the horns and that we are on top of the world. Little do these people know, we are barely hanging on. There are nights I cry myself to sleep over the stresses of the day and week.
The comment was about hay. We are in a drought and even just the word drought makes prices sky rocket. So the person went on to say you needed to plan for it and to buy early. Sure it is necessary to plan and to do your best in buying hay as early as possible. In a perfect world you can get what you want at the price you want. But what about the what ifs? What if your hay guy doesn't have enough hay? What if he needs it for himself or has to sell to others as well? What if you did all that planning and made contact with your hay guy and they still fell through? What then? Hard to stay on your pedestal when you're scrambling.
I know I've made some presumptuous assumptions but as I get older, I try to make less of those. Why, because it makes me look like an ass when I am spouting assumptions. I know I'm opinionated and not nearly as humble as I need to be when I'm behind a computer screen. But I've had my hard knocks and fallen off my pedestal a number of times.
I'm always flabbergasted at people when they assume that others have it easy. How do you know until you've been in their shoes? I'm not even talking horse stuff either, I'm just talking life in general. I had a person at our daycare (who is long gone) who thought we had more money than god and that we were rather spoiled (and that their life was tough). We made difference choices so of course our lives are different. But we've also sacrificed, giving up almost everything that people consider entertainment (going to the movies, going out for dinners, hanging out with friends). In fact we even get flack for taking our kids on vacations. That one rubs me raw. I have my priorities right and my kids come first. It may look like we are only doing fun vacation stuff but little does anyone know that we are busting our butt so that we CAN go. We don't have anyone else to help us. No one sees us out at 10pm unloading hay or filling water tanks, or getting up and checking fence at 6am. But we do it so that our kids dont' have to wait or suffer for my decision to run a Sanctuary. Even when we are gone overnight for something, we have to spend two or three days in preparation so we CAN go. There's a lot more planning involved than what people think. So walk in my shoes for a little while and see.
As I grow older, I learn more and I hope that I am not as presumptuous as I used to be. I know I made comments that were rather high and mighty but I've had enough spills to know that life can and will throw you a curve ball. After we almost lost my son, I know I am no longer the same person that I used to be. I am much more skeptical, much more wary, much more on edge because we darn near lost everything, not just the Sanctuary, and our home, but my son. So walk in someone else's shoes for a while and I think that will fix people's pretentious comments about how well we have it or how well any person has it.
Because at some point, the idea that it only happens to other people will surprise you when it happens to you.
Sorry for making this a cranky post instead of a feel good post. But I just had to get it off my chest. I admit, it is easy to sit back and point fingers or to play the poor me game (I'm usually riding the pity train at least once every few weeks). We simply have to play the cards we are dealt even if they aren't a good hand. Make the most of what you are given and work hard for what you have. And most of all, be grateful for what you have. The world would be a better place if people were more humble.
This was the view on the way in to the paying job. I'm taking it as a good sign that today will only get better. I was scrolling through FB this morning and read a post that left me a bit irritated. I'm trying my best to let it go but it was rather pretentious. So I guess in my normal vane of things, I'll rant on it and then I can let it go. You may want to ignore this post.
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| A rainbow at the end of the Sanctuary driveway (sorry it's blurry I was driving) |
You see, until you are in someone else's shoes, you have no idea what they are going through. I've had comments directed at me that make it sound like we have the world by the horns and that we are on top of the world. Little do these people know, we are barely hanging on. There are nights I cry myself to sleep over the stresses of the day and week.
The comment was about hay. We are in a drought and even just the word drought makes prices sky rocket. So the person went on to say you needed to plan for it and to buy early. Sure it is necessary to plan and to do your best in buying hay as early as possible. In a perfect world you can get what you want at the price you want. But what about the what ifs? What if your hay guy doesn't have enough hay? What if he needs it for himself or has to sell to others as well? What if you did all that planning and made contact with your hay guy and they still fell through? What then? Hard to stay on your pedestal when you're scrambling.
I know I've made some presumptuous assumptions but as I get older, I try to make less of those. Why, because it makes me look like an ass when I am spouting assumptions. I know I'm opinionated and not nearly as humble as I need to be when I'm behind a computer screen. But I've had my hard knocks and fallen off my pedestal a number of times.
I'm always flabbergasted at people when they assume that others have it easy. How do you know until you've been in their shoes? I'm not even talking horse stuff either, I'm just talking life in general. I had a person at our daycare (who is long gone) who thought we had more money than god and that we were rather spoiled (and that their life was tough). We made difference choices so of course our lives are different. But we've also sacrificed, giving up almost everything that people consider entertainment (going to the movies, going out for dinners, hanging out with friends). In fact we even get flack for taking our kids on vacations. That one rubs me raw. I have my priorities right and my kids come first. It may look like we are only doing fun vacation stuff but little does anyone know that we are busting our butt so that we CAN go. We don't have anyone else to help us. No one sees us out at 10pm unloading hay or filling water tanks, or getting up and checking fence at 6am. But we do it so that our kids dont' have to wait or suffer for my decision to run a Sanctuary. Even when we are gone overnight for something, we have to spend two or three days in preparation so we CAN go. There's a lot more planning involved than what people think. So walk in my shoes for a little while and see.
As I grow older, I learn more and I hope that I am not as presumptuous as I used to be. I know I made comments that were rather high and mighty but I've had enough spills to know that life can and will throw you a curve ball. After we almost lost my son, I know I am no longer the same person that I used to be. I am much more skeptical, much more wary, much more on edge because we darn near lost everything, not just the Sanctuary, and our home, but my son. So walk in someone else's shoes for a while and I think that will fix people's pretentious comments about how well we have it or how well any person has it.
Because at some point, the idea that it only happens to other people will surprise you when it happens to you.
Sorry for making this a cranky post instead of a feel good post. But I just had to get it off my chest. I admit, it is easy to sit back and point fingers or to play the poor me game (I'm usually riding the pity train at least once every few weeks). We simply have to play the cards we are dealt even if they aren't a good hand. Make the most of what you are given and work hard for what you have. And most of all, be grateful for what you have. The world would be a better place if people were more humble.
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| View this morning |
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Lets Talk Tractors
Lets talk tractors!
When you look at acreages, you typically see a farm truck or a tractor sitting out. To do all the heavy lifting you need something to move whatever it is. When we first moved into the Sanctuary, we didn't own a tractor. Thankfully the neighbors up the road wanted to get something different.
Enter the Massey!
It got us through that first year or two but it wasn't ideal for just about anything. It really didn't have anything. I would watch Mike steer and the vein in his forehead would pop out and I was afraid it would explode. The Massey doesn't have power steering, nor does it have just about anything else. It blows smoke everywhere we go.
Luckily we bought the farm truck a few years back and the Massey has been sitting in the red shed after since. We should sell it but it's not worth anything and if we have the time to fix it, it would be useful for us.
Then came the BIG tractor! When we switched over to round bales permanently, my uncle knew of a tractor for sale. It wasn't shiny and it wasn't nice in the least but it ran and it worked. Enter the big tractor. We still owe money on it. We are paying for it ourselves and not through any grants, donations, or anything like that. Just trying to pay for it ourselves. I would have loved to have gotten a grant or some type of donation. Money to the tractor eats away at other things that could go directly to the horses.
But I a thankful for the tractor. Because without it, we'd be using the truck to push and pull in round bales. We did that one winter. It would take us two hours to push/pull in two bales. Now, it takes two minutes (once the horses are out of the way).
It has some sort of quick release thingy so that we can unhook the bale spear and switch over to the bucket. The tractor only came with the bucket. We had to go in search of the bale spear afterwards. My uncle also gave us a bale spear for the big squares. (Have I mentioned I have an awesome, awesome, awesome uncle!)
Then last fall, my dad knew of a little Alice Chalmers that was going to be sold. It was actually the Izaak Walton in Madison. And because Dad is the president of the Ikes in Madison, he had connections enough so that we could purchase the tractor.
You may be asking, why in the world do we need another tractor. Well, this one might seem a bit frivoulous but it isnt'. We can mow the pastures with it, we can mow the lawn with it, and we can use it to drag the drylot or even spray the pasture with it. We'll be putting it to use more as we find time. This tractor, like the other tractor, is not yet paid off. I have it half way paid off and I am paying for it personally. I have $900 left to go and I would LOVE to get it paid off sooner. Because then that money can go to pay off the big tractor or go to buy yet more hay. Because the more money I can put into hay (and stash away for vet bills), the better opportunity we have to open our doors for other horses (as now is the season for dumping horses)
The big tractor is our best investment and the others aren't necessarily needed but will and do come in handy when we need them. The big tractor also has a three point so we can attach our post hole digger (again courtesy of my uncle). It's not the greatest post hole digger but beggers cant' be choosers. I am simply happy that we have access to it.
So those are our tractors at the Sanctuary. Each has a set of chains so we can use them in the winter (but we don't except for the big tractor...thank goodness). It may seem like we are spoiled but, trust me, we aren't. These are all OLD tractors and they ALL have problems.
The Massey currently doesn't run. The big tractor has an issue that Mike cant' yet put his finger on so we'll just run it as is until it completely breaks and then scramble to figure out a solution. The little Alice with the mower also doesn't run the greatest. But we make due and dont' push them to the extreme.
Just like our horses, we have old tractors. Unlike our horses, we DO make these tractors work (even if we have to be super careful on how hard we push them so we make sure they don't blow up).
If it wasn't that Mike was mechanically savy, we wouldn't be able to have any of these tractors as they all have problems. Whenever we plan on using one, it takes an additional hour of tweaking to get everything running.
So, those are the tractors of the Sanctuary. I'd love to see your tractors!
Farrier and Fencing
Last night our farrier came out. I wasn't sure who all needed to be trimmed honestly. I am sure people will think I'm being lazy. But our farrier works hard to keep costs down and because we dont' use our horses, they don't need to have their feet in prestine condition. If they have a bit of flare to a hoof, it's not a big deal. catch it on the next go round if it's bad.
So I had caught Zeke, Lightening, Ivan, and Jim at first. We looked at Lightening and Ivan and concluded that they didn't need a trim. That although ugly, structurally, everything was good to go.
Zeke stood like a good old champ that he is. Then we tackled Jim and our farrier fell in love with him and couldn't say a bad word about him. Jim is Jim but for our farrier, Jim was a sweet old guy that had the old school Tennessee Walker build and for being 30, he looks fantastic. The vet said his teeth looked awesome and our farrier said his feet look awesome. So Jim could very well live into his upper 30s at this rate. And to think, had we not purchased him privately, he was headed to auction and would have been sent to slaughter. Because in this area, no one wants a walker and no one wants an old horse.
After Jim, we looked at King. He's still off. We trimmed him last month but we are still working on him because he's still so ouchy. I think every couple of years he comes up really ouchy for a full six months. We are going to try putting shoes on him next month to see if that helps. He used to have shoes and the previous owners insisted that he needed shoes on all the time. Yet they didn't believe in pulling shoes in the winter. So I've been watching an eye on King and he's been good up until just recently. So we'll put shoes back on and see if that keeps him comfortable.
When I'd gone out to get the herd from pasture, I could tell that they'd taken the temporary electric fence down. I was furious! So I went out this morning at 6am to put the fence back up and secure everything. By the time I was done, my pants were soaked. The dew was so much, that the water collected on my jeans and had started to run down and collect inside my muck boots. I'm glad for the moisture but I was irritated by the time I finally got out to let the horses out. That's the reason why I didn't do a live video this morning. I didn't think anyone wanted to hear my cursing at 6AM.
So hopefully everything is on the up and up for the fence and I'll have to walk it every day to make sure they don't keep taking it down. They have plenty of grass in their sectioned of part of the pasture. They just want the bottom part because it's more lush.
Mike is headed to Tea to pick up a load of hay. He'll pick up a load today and another tomorrow and we'll have to regroup to get the rest. We bought 23 or 24 bales from an older gentleman and the rest we have to have delivered. I'm still not comfortable that it's enough but the money is a lot tighter than I would like so we'll have to wait and see. If I could find a deal on hay, I would certainly buy it. But for now, there's no deals anywhere.
So I had caught Zeke, Lightening, Ivan, and Jim at first. We looked at Lightening and Ivan and concluded that they didn't need a trim. That although ugly, structurally, everything was good to go.
Zeke stood like a good old champ that he is. Then we tackled Jim and our farrier fell in love with him and couldn't say a bad word about him. Jim is Jim but for our farrier, Jim was a sweet old guy that had the old school Tennessee Walker build and for being 30, he looks fantastic. The vet said his teeth looked awesome and our farrier said his feet look awesome. So Jim could very well live into his upper 30s at this rate. And to think, had we not purchased him privately, he was headed to auction and would have been sent to slaughter. Because in this area, no one wants a walker and no one wants an old horse.
After Jim, we looked at King. He's still off. We trimmed him last month but we are still working on him because he's still so ouchy. I think every couple of years he comes up really ouchy for a full six months. We are going to try putting shoes on him next month to see if that helps. He used to have shoes and the previous owners insisted that he needed shoes on all the time. Yet they didn't believe in pulling shoes in the winter. So I've been watching an eye on King and he's been good up until just recently. So we'll put shoes back on and see if that keeps him comfortable.
When I'd gone out to get the herd from pasture, I could tell that they'd taken the temporary electric fence down. I was furious! So I went out this morning at 6am to put the fence back up and secure everything. By the time I was done, my pants were soaked. The dew was so much, that the water collected on my jeans and had started to run down and collect inside my muck boots. I'm glad for the moisture but I was irritated by the time I finally got out to let the horses out. That's the reason why I didn't do a live video this morning. I didn't think anyone wanted to hear my cursing at 6AM.
So hopefully everything is on the up and up for the fence and I'll have to walk it every day to make sure they don't keep taking it down. They have plenty of grass in their sectioned of part of the pasture. They just want the bottom part because it's more lush.
Mike is headed to Tea to pick up a load of hay. He'll pick up a load today and another tomorrow and we'll have to regroup to get the rest. We bought 23 or 24 bales from an older gentleman and the rest we have to have delivered. I'm still not comfortable that it's enough but the money is a lot tighter than I would like so we'll have to wait and see. If I could find a deal on hay, I would certainly buy it. But for now, there's no deals anywhere.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Wishlist Wednesday
This Wishlist Wednesday, we wish for fly boots. And more specifically, we wish for shoofly boots. Depending on where you go, they are currently on sale for $47 for a set of four. I'd love for each horse to have their own but being realistic, I'd be happy with two sets and then see who needs them the most (even if it's just to put the fly boots on the fronts to spread the wealth of fly relief.
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| Pic courtesy of Shoofly website |
Stuff
So I got my wires crossed with the farrier and she's coming out tonight instead of last night. No biggie. Hopefully I can catch Zeke. He wasn't having anything to do with me until I had to get down and dirty with him. Old bugger. Too bad he doesn't realize I dont' intend on riding him any more. The problem is Lightening is rubbing off on him even more. I wish there wasn't such an age gap. I'd love to do some Liberty work with those two. They are insync and it's fun to watch them trot in circles together (as long as it's not around me).
Even Rain was getting in on the action of trying to play tag. Those darn Arabians.
Not much else happened last night. We went to a birthday party for a very good friend and supporter. It's so nice to get away and hang out with very good friends, some who I haven't seen in months. It reminds me that I need to slow down and appreciate some life quality moments with friends and family.
We got a bit of rain last night so I'm happy. I put Jim and Ivan's brand new fly masks on last night. Jim's is a special UV protection to help with his eyes. Both were a tad too big but oh well, right? WRONG! When I went out this morning, they both had their masks off and were mashed into the mud. So much for that. The XL masks are too big. I thought they would fit the big headed horses (Ivan, Chaos, and King). They are TOO big. So now I need to figure out how to improvise and make them fit. If only they had adjustable fly masks. The flies are going to get terrible pretty quick so I want masks on. I think I'll have to put them on in the morning and take them off when I lock them in at night. I have a feel Maverick took them off. But we'll see.
I am sure there will be more to chat about but right now I'm drawing a blank. Tomorrow at noon we will GO LIVE and talk about non-horse related but Sanctuary related topics. Anything you want to hear in particular?
Even Rain was getting in on the action of trying to play tag. Those darn Arabians.
Not much else happened last night. We went to a birthday party for a very good friend and supporter. It's so nice to get away and hang out with very good friends, some who I haven't seen in months. It reminds me that I need to slow down and appreciate some life quality moments with friends and family.
We got a bit of rain last night so I'm happy. I put Jim and Ivan's brand new fly masks on last night. Jim's is a special UV protection to help with his eyes. Both were a tad too big but oh well, right? WRONG! When I went out this morning, they both had their masks off and were mashed into the mud. So much for that. The XL masks are too big. I thought they would fit the big headed horses (Ivan, Chaos, and King). They are TOO big. So now I need to figure out how to improvise and make them fit. If only they had adjustable fly masks. The flies are going to get terrible pretty quick so I want masks on. I think I'll have to put them on in the morning and take them off when I lock them in at night. I have a feel Maverick took them off. But we'll see.
I am sure there will be more to chat about but right now I'm drawing a blank. Tomorrow at noon we will GO LIVE and talk about non-horse related but Sanctuary related topics. Anything you want to hear in particular?
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Trim Night
I almost forgot, tonight is our monthly farrier night. For sure we'll be getting Zeke trimmed and a few of the others. I took a look at some of them last night and will have to leave it up to our farrier to decide who needs a trim.
Trims are $30 and we could always use sponsors to cover monthly trims. Anyone want to keep one of our old guys or gals comfortable?
You can send donations to our paypal account at www.paypal.me/Borderlands or send check to
Borderlands Horse Sanctuary
PO Box 35
Humboldt, SD 57035
Not sure if I'll get pictures or not but I'll keep you posted!
When Your Trailer Falls of the Block
I don't know how many times I've unhitched the trailer, not blocked the wheels, put the truck away, and looked back to notice that the trailer had fallen off its block. The first few times were a quandary on what to do. It's an easy fix after coming up with the solution.
I'll give you a picture tutorial. In this picture tutorial, Mike used a car jack but in other times, he's used a bottle jack.
This is the view I was greeted with when the trailer falls off the block the other day. Some cases it's a bit more dramatic looking but not this time. Yes I should have put wheel chalks on it but I didn't. Lesson learned.
Step 1: Realize your trailer has fallen off the block.
Step 2: Investigate the damage. How deep is the jack sitting in the dirt (or mud or whatever). This time it wasn't too bad!
Step 3: Find a board and a car jack (or a bottle jack works but isn't as good).
Step 4: Lift the trailer up using the jack until the trailer is high enough to slip the block under it (this time securing the wheels before you proceed).
Step 5: Lower the trailer onto the block making sure everything is in place. (I'm just thankful there's mud on the jack, that means we had rain!)
Step 6: Lower the jack and make sure the trailer is securely sitting on the block again (otherwise you'll have to repeat the process). Put your tools away and your back in business.
Sadly Mike is a pro at putting my trailer back on the confounded block. But at least we know how to fix it when it does fall off and it's not a big ordeal like it used to be.
So there you have it, a lesson you never thought you'd need to know but you'll be grateful when it happens to you!
Returning from Summer Retreat
Junior and Lace are home from their "Summer Retreat" much to Mayhem's delight. She's been stuck hanging on the fence line waiting for them to return or hanging out with the ponies. I think she was practically giddy when they returned. Lace, not so much but she was happy to trot around the pasture and check everything out. Junior went right to eating.
The heat took its toll on Junior so he isnt' has plump as I had hoped. But the heat is also taking its toll on Bo as well. So the two hardest keepers are having a rough go of it with this summer heat in the upper 90s with humidity to boot.
I forget how well trained Lace is. I tied her to the trailer to load Junior first. I had forgotten and loaded Lace first only to realize I needed to do the ol' switch-a-roo. Wouldn't you know, I had tied Lace too short and while I was closing the center divider, Lace decided to self load. Of course it didn't go well because she was still tied and *I* was in the way. We collided but I think she took the brunt of the hit. I guess she was ready to go home. Unfortunately, the flies at the summer retreat are terrible. I have no idea why because the neighbor's feedlot doesn't exist any more but the flies still seem to swarm the minute there are animals.
I am sure that Lace will put Mayhem in her place. When I went out this morning to do chores, all three were standing by the red shed enjoying the morning breeze. When I'd left to pick up Lace and Junior there was a slight breeze but by the time I got home (a full hour later), we had wind. I hate driving in wind, so I was glad I'd made the trip as quickly as possible.
I am hoping that the pasture for these three will hold out. I need to get the other pasture sprayed before they get into it. The weeds took over a portion of it so hopefully I'll find the time to do some spraying. Mayhem has been in there a week or two and she's only trampled down along the fence line.
So now everyone is home and happy. I love that Junior and Lace can go to their "summer retreat" to fatten up and get a break but I am always happy to have them come home. The place doesn't feel right without the entire herd relaxing at home. Because the Sanctuary is "Home".
The heat took its toll on Junior so he isnt' has plump as I had hoped. But the heat is also taking its toll on Bo as well. So the two hardest keepers are having a rough go of it with this summer heat in the upper 90s with humidity to boot.
I forget how well trained Lace is. I tied her to the trailer to load Junior first. I had forgotten and loaded Lace first only to realize I needed to do the ol' switch-a-roo. Wouldn't you know, I had tied Lace too short and while I was closing the center divider, Lace decided to self load. Of course it didn't go well because she was still tied and *I* was in the way. We collided but I think she took the brunt of the hit. I guess she was ready to go home. Unfortunately, the flies at the summer retreat are terrible. I have no idea why because the neighbor's feedlot doesn't exist any more but the flies still seem to swarm the minute there are animals.
I am sure that Lace will put Mayhem in her place. When I went out this morning to do chores, all three were standing by the red shed enjoying the morning breeze. When I'd left to pick up Lace and Junior there was a slight breeze but by the time I got home (a full hour later), we had wind. I hate driving in wind, so I was glad I'd made the trip as quickly as possible.
I am hoping that the pasture for these three will hold out. I need to get the other pasture sprayed before they get into it. The weeds took over a portion of it so hopefully I'll find the time to do some spraying. Mayhem has been in there a week or two and she's only trampled down along the fence line.
So now everyone is home and happy. I love that Junior and Lace can go to their "summer retreat" to fatten up and get a break but I am always happy to have them come home. The place doesn't feel right without the entire herd relaxing at home. Because the Sanctuary is "Home".
Monday, July 24, 2017
No Room for Maintenance
I read a Facebook post from a nationally known horse rescue. I am sure it was one person's individual view from the horse rescue but it really hit home (for more ways than one).
This rescue, and I have followed their efforts throughout the nation for years, said that rescues in general are dying. What?!?! With the kill pen programs exploding, the rescues are finding it more and more difficult to find donors and are thus closing their doors. I am not here to argue about the kill pen programs. I see pros and cons for it but that's not what I'm here to discuss.
As the nationally known rescue said (I'm paraphrasing from what I remember reading so take it with a grain of salt). The horses in rescue are vetted, evaluated, and if necessary retrained for a particular endeavor. These horses have time put into them so you know what you are getting.
People "donate" their horses to rescue when they cannot find the means to continue their care, etc. rather than dumping them at auction. But in doing so, you get their history and a bit more knowledge of that horse. So when adopting from a rescue, you get information, a trained horse, and you are helping them to help another horse, opening a spot for a deserving horse to be vetted, evaluated, and retrained. These horses aren't expensive when you come down to how much is put into them. The kill pen horses have many unknowns. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. They simply are at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes they had terrible owners who simply didn't care and dumped them. Others had caring owners but were left with no other options as no one would take them and the rescues are full (not meant to be a slam).
People want the thrill of a save. They want to know that they made a difference and saved a life. But what happens afterwards? What happens about the years to follow? Sure the save is amazing, but what about the after care? The save is the cheap part.
And this is where my rant comes in. If this nationally known rescue is saying rescues are dying, then what about the Sanctuaries? They too are drying up. Not because there isnt' a need but because there's no funding. Sure you make the save and the horse goes somewhere, but what happens when it gets old, dump it at a Sanctuary. Sure but how are the Sanctuaries going to fund the horse? What I mean to say is.. if rescues are struggling to bring in funding to care for the viable horses that everyone is crying for, then what about the Sanctuaries that focus solely on those that can no longer be "viable" riding partners or that can only BE a pasture puff or may be viable as a riding partner but has only a year or two left in them?
No one wants to donate to maintenance. There's no thrill of the save paying for the care of an old horse. There's no urgency, no dramatic saves, no heart strings involved with day-to-day care of the old. They get shoved into the corner and into the same out of sight/out of mind mentality.
So what's going to happen? I don't know. I can't dispute the kill pen programs. Lives are being saved. I'm not directly involved with rescue as in, 'the truck is coming" sort of thing. I'm here to give an old horse a good home for however many days/years they have left. It's not glamorous, and there's no thrill of the save. It's aches and pains. It's cloudy eyes and messy eating. It's mush for suppers and pain meds to relief. It's not glamorous.
But if a nationally known rescue says they are struggling, what of the Sanctuaries? I feel like I should be doing more but I feel as though the hours are ticking away faster than I can work.
So what does a Sanctuary do to promote the old and encourage respect for the elderly? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
This rescue, and I have followed their efforts throughout the nation for years, said that rescues in general are dying. What?!?! With the kill pen programs exploding, the rescues are finding it more and more difficult to find donors and are thus closing their doors. I am not here to argue about the kill pen programs. I see pros and cons for it but that's not what I'm here to discuss.
As the nationally known rescue said (I'm paraphrasing from what I remember reading so take it with a grain of salt). The horses in rescue are vetted, evaluated, and if necessary retrained for a particular endeavor. These horses have time put into them so you know what you are getting.
People "donate" their horses to rescue when they cannot find the means to continue their care, etc. rather than dumping them at auction. But in doing so, you get their history and a bit more knowledge of that horse. So when adopting from a rescue, you get information, a trained horse, and you are helping them to help another horse, opening a spot for a deserving horse to be vetted, evaluated, and retrained. These horses aren't expensive when you come down to how much is put into them. The kill pen horses have many unknowns. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. They simply are at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes they had terrible owners who simply didn't care and dumped them. Others had caring owners but were left with no other options as no one would take them and the rescues are full (not meant to be a slam).
People want the thrill of a save. They want to know that they made a difference and saved a life. But what happens afterwards? What happens about the years to follow? Sure the save is amazing, but what about the after care? The save is the cheap part.
And this is where my rant comes in. If this nationally known rescue is saying rescues are dying, then what about the Sanctuaries? They too are drying up. Not because there isnt' a need but because there's no funding. Sure you make the save and the horse goes somewhere, but what happens when it gets old, dump it at a Sanctuary. Sure but how are the Sanctuaries going to fund the horse? What I mean to say is.. if rescues are struggling to bring in funding to care for the viable horses that everyone is crying for, then what about the Sanctuaries that focus solely on those that can no longer be "viable" riding partners or that can only BE a pasture puff or may be viable as a riding partner but has only a year or two left in them?
No one wants to donate to maintenance. There's no thrill of the save paying for the care of an old horse. There's no urgency, no dramatic saves, no heart strings involved with day-to-day care of the old. They get shoved into the corner and into the same out of sight/out of mind mentality.
So what's going to happen? I don't know. I can't dispute the kill pen programs. Lives are being saved. I'm not directly involved with rescue as in, 'the truck is coming" sort of thing. I'm here to give an old horse a good home for however many days/years they have left. It's not glamorous, and there's no thrill of the save. It's aches and pains. It's cloudy eyes and messy eating. It's mush for suppers and pain meds to relief. It's not glamorous.
But if a nationally known rescue says they are struggling, what of the Sanctuaries? I feel like I should be doing more but I feel as though the hours are ticking away faster than I can work.
So what does a Sanctuary do to promote the old and encourage respect for the elderly? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
We Found Hay
So I have to admit I had an adult temper tantrum Friday night. Instead of enjoying family night and prepping for our weekend adventure, I had a tantrum. I even sent myself outside to avoid everything.
I've been in a panic. I'm waiting for others to come through on hay and I have been in a panic. My hay guy wasn't going to come through if the drought continues. Even with rain, I doubt there will be enough for us. I don't want to pay drought prices. I've been an ostrich with my head in the sand all summer.
If I wait and see if my hay guy has hay or if I try to work a deal with our old hay guy, I'll be paying the highest prices because they wait until spring to tell me how much it's going to be and THEN I pay, after I've used up all of it. Never the way I wanted to go and I thought it would have changed but it didn't. So I was in a panic. Because unless our old hay guy came through, we'd be with horses and NO food. That's not allowed.
So I started looking. And looking, and looking. It didn't look good. Anything I found was too far away. The prices were reasonable but of course it's not the high quality I am spoiled with. But all was SO far away and would require multiple trips with trailers we don't own or pay delivery.
Mike and I discussed the options of one for awhile and then decided to call. The guy said he'd JUST sold the hay an hour earlier (and mentioned the drought). So we were left with nothing. Except there was one other number to try.
The hay was available but in Vermillion and I doubted that he'd be willing to let us haul it ourselves. I have been spoiled about paying delivery. We have quietly and unknowingly not paid delivery over the past so many years. Sort of a we are helping each other out sort of deal and I sort of forgot. It's a bit hard to explain but it makes sense in my head.
But the delivery price blew me away.
But I slept on it and realized, the delivery wasn't all that much really. It makes the load of hay WAY more expensive but if you take delivery charges out, the price isn't bad. Either way, we have to have hay.
So we will have hay delivered soon. We can't get it delivered this weekend so I'm hoping that we can get it delivered the first weekend in August. I'll feel better having the hay sitting there. We have a load of 30. These are the big bales we are used to. They 1600-1800 lb bales. I love these types of bales.
We are also going to pick up the other set of 24 much smaller bales that we agreed to last week. So with the 30 from the semi load (big bales) and the 24 little rounds, we should be ok. Not great, but ok.
The hard part, I just paid for last year's hay the beginning of the month and now I'm paying for this year's hay a month later. I'd rather pay for hay the year I buy it. (this other way is stupid but I understand why but still stupid).
I do NOT have the money sitting around so I'm going to have to figure something out. Hopefully after this, I can get on track.
I was hoping to avoid another drought. Droughts are going to be the death of me. A drought every five years is too much for my stress level. I am not prepared enough. I am only NOW getting my brain and feet into motion after having my daughter (almost 2 years ago). It takes me that long. But I can only do so much and I am a one woman show. So I guess I'll keep plugging along and pray for a miracle while I keep my nose to the grindstone.
I'll breath easier when I have our winter supply is put in (I would breath freely if it was paid without having to figure out how to make ends meet). Hopefully what we've found will be enough. We wont' be able to bring on anyone else with the hay and drought crisis. The sad thing is, I'm already turning horses away. It breaks my heart. If only we could get sponsors, grants, and more hay donations. But that's all wishful thinking.
But people are struggling to get hay which means they have to sell horses and that also means dumping them at auction and more horses will be flooding the slaughter pipeline. But that's for another post when I'm feeling the need to vent more.
So for now, I'll keep praying and plugging along.
Friday, July 21, 2017
$5 FRIDAY!
It’s $5 Friday!
We have hay ready to pick up next week. We are building up
our winter hay supply and need your help! Our small Sanctuary is supported by
many donors who cannot share a lot but what they share is huge.
Every donation matters,
and we are grateful you have chosen to help us with our mission, "Giving
each horse a dignified retirement".
Did you know, $5 buys
one bale of hay and feeds a horse for a day? We have 15 horses in our Sanctuary
enjoying retirement. We start feeding hay mid to late October and continue through
May. Would you like to feed one of our Sanctuary horses for a day?
You can donate to www.paypal.me/Borderlands or send
checks to:
Borderlands Horse Sanctuary
PO Box 35
Humboldt, SD 57035
Mother Nature Messing With Us
Walked out the door this morning to do chores and was greeted with a raindrop hitting me square in the face. I didn't catch myself before I grumbled but I shouldn't have. We are finally getting RAIN!!!
We got a bit of rain yesterday, but not enough to really do anything other than tease everyone. I swear Mother Nature likes to mess with people's heads.
The trip into the paying job was filled with rain so I'm hoping that the Sanctuary (and the hay ground) received a nice slow soaker kind of rain. Hopefully it's not too little too late.
I'm still desperate for hay. I'm doing my best not to burn up the pasture. Thankfully we divided it this spring before letting the horses out. I think that's our saving grace for having enough pasture for the summer. The last drought was five years ago and it was debilitating for us. I was pregnant at the time and couldn't even think about hay.
But this year I can. We went to look at some hay last night. We made a verbal agreement to buy the 24 bales. It's all that was left so hopefully we can find more. these are much smaller bales than what we are used to and the horses will power through these bales much faster as they are smaller. The old bales were 1800 pounds and would last a week and a half. These bales won't even last a week. But it's a start. And I won't look a gift horse in the mouth (I hate that saying because ....well, you know!)
So we have the equivalent of one load of hay for this winter. We need to find FOUR more loads. The problem is, EVERYTHING is far away. I know we'll have to pay for delivery if we go father than an hour or so out but I'm struggling to find anything. Delivery will eat into everything so I have to take that into consideration as well. So stressful. If only the hay ground would get enough rain and we'd get a second cutting. Wishful thinking.
I guess for now, I'll be thankful for the hay we did get and keep my fingers crossed that we come across another hay dealer willing to work with us so we don't have to pay out the nose for hay. I'm afraid we will be no matter what and it's going to absolutely be the end of us if we have to pay triple what we normally pay. Fingers crossed Mother Natures pulls through for us.
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Come On Mother Nature
Glorious, glorious rain!!! It won't last long but it does make me want to go play in it!
Sure hope Mother Nature will give us a good soaker. I'm seeing clear skies in the distance but I'll enjoy what little rain we can get, even if it wont' help our pastures.
 |
| Daylilies outside the house. Took the picture just before it started sprinkling! |
Sure hope Mother Nature will give us a good soaker. I'm seeing clear skies in the distance but I'll enjoy what little rain we can get, even if it wont' help our pastures.
Lets Talk Farm Trucks
Lets talk Farm Truck!
If you missed our live video today (or don't want to listen to me ramble) here's a short blog about our farm truck.
If you've lived on an acreage, you'll know that you need at least some form of a snow removal. For some, it's a lawn mower with a snow blower, for others it's a tractor, and for us, it's a truck and snow plow attached. We use the farm truck as a farm truck and a snow plow so if you've ever heard me talk about it, this beauty is it. It's a 1983 Chevy something or other that has seen better days.
Yes, you'll need a tetnus shot to climb in but up until two weeks ago it ran. Mike was joking that the plow truck was the only vehicle that ran (was thinking tractors as they all have problems). But he didn't knock on wood and POOF, the engine started having problems. You can ask Mike exactly what is wrong but all I know is that "it no go". Which means, more money into vehicles instead of horses.
So we had two options.
Option 1: tear apart the motor, send in some sample and figure out what's wrong. But there's a lot of waiting involved and it could be that we wouldn't get the farm truck/snow plow back up and running until late October. Not having a plow truck in winter is out of the question. Yes we have a tractor that could push snow, it has a bucket. But it's also the tractor we put hay in with so it would mean switching out the bucket and spear every week. Not going to happen in winter.
Option 2: Buy a new motor and replace it.
We went with Option 2.
And for those asking, No, buying a "new" old truck was not in the cards. To find another vehicle, fix all the quirks, and get it up and running would be less cost effective. Buying the motor was more expensive than we'd planned but it was really the only option as there's just not enough time and the results could come back saying we'd need a new motor anyway.
So here we are. We have a new motor and now we just need time to get it in. It would be lovely if someone would donate towards the new motor but I doubt that'll happen.
We use the farm truck for just about everything. Mike has the back of the farm truck set up so we can do spraying. That's how we discovered the truck engine was broken. He pulled out the truck and was getting the 10 gallon sprayer going (which also broke). We had hoped to get the sprayer and truck out into the pasture so I could spray but now we are relegated to spraying with the 1 and 3 gallon hand sprayer. But I'll do whatever it takes to make it work. Maybe next year we can take the truck.
We do have other tractors that can do the job of the farm truck but its' so much easier with the truck. It's not glamorous, it's not even pretty to look at, but when the motor gets back in, it'll be functional and that's what we are all about at the Sanctuary. We don't have pristine white fences, we dont' have well manicured lawns, we don't have shiny new vehicle or tractors. We make due with what we have, which is old fencing, old vehicles, and just about everything old. But hey, we are a Sanctuary for the old, so I guess we might as well toss in the old vehicles while we are at it.
If you missed our live video today (or don't want to listen to me ramble) here's a short blog about our farm truck.
If you've lived on an acreage, you'll know that you need at least some form of a snow removal. For some, it's a lawn mower with a snow blower, for others it's a tractor, and for us, it's a truck and snow plow attached. We use the farm truck as a farm truck and a snow plow so if you've ever heard me talk about it, this beauty is it. It's a 1983 Chevy something or other that has seen better days.
Yes, you'll need a tetnus shot to climb in but up until two weeks ago it ran. Mike was joking that the plow truck was the only vehicle that ran (was thinking tractors as they all have problems). But he didn't knock on wood and POOF, the engine started having problems. You can ask Mike exactly what is wrong but all I know is that "it no go". Which means, more money into vehicles instead of horses.
So we had two options.
Option 1: tear apart the motor, send in some sample and figure out what's wrong. But there's a lot of waiting involved and it could be that we wouldn't get the farm truck/snow plow back up and running until late October. Not having a plow truck in winter is out of the question. Yes we have a tractor that could push snow, it has a bucket. But it's also the tractor we put hay in with so it would mean switching out the bucket and spear every week. Not going to happen in winter.
Option 2: Buy a new motor and replace it.
We went with Option 2.
And for those asking, No, buying a "new" old truck was not in the cards. To find another vehicle, fix all the quirks, and get it up and running would be less cost effective. Buying the motor was more expensive than we'd planned but it was really the only option as there's just not enough time and the results could come back saying we'd need a new motor anyway.
So here we are. We have a new motor and now we just need time to get it in. It would be lovely if someone would donate towards the new motor but I doubt that'll happen.
We use the farm truck for just about everything. Mike has the back of the farm truck set up so we can do spraying. That's how we discovered the truck engine was broken. He pulled out the truck and was getting the 10 gallon sprayer going (which also broke). We had hoped to get the sprayer and truck out into the pasture so I could spray but now we are relegated to spraying with the 1 and 3 gallon hand sprayer. But I'll do whatever it takes to make it work. Maybe next year we can take the truck.
We do have other tractors that can do the job of the farm truck but its' so much easier with the truck. It's not glamorous, it's not even pretty to look at, but when the motor gets back in, it'll be functional and that's what we are all about at the Sanctuary. We don't have pristine white fences, we dont' have well manicured lawns, we don't have shiny new vehicle or tractors. We make due with what we have, which is old fencing, old vehicles, and just about everything old. But hey, we are a Sanctuary for the old, so I guess we might as well toss in the old vehicles while we are at it.
Flies
We aren't in to August yet and the face flies are getting bad. Usually the flies rear their ugly selves in August and make such a nuisance but this year, they've reared their ugly selves starting back in June and they continue to pester everyone.
I've avoided putting fly masks on so far because the horses destroy them. I can MAYBE get two seasons out of a fly mask if Maverick doesn't bother them but it's hard to know what Maverick will do. He seems to be more bored lately so I'm going to have to put him to work, although I'm not sure I can find the time but will have to I guess.
I don't have enough fly masks but I'll do some extra digging to see if I can come up with some, even if they are totally ratty. If the flies are bad now, I can't imagine how they are going to be in another couple of weeks. We haven't had rain but the mosquitoes are still around. The one little rain shouldn't count but I think it was just enough to make the mosquitoes come alive again....not that we didn't have mosquitoes before, but now they doubled their efforts.
I need to order some fly boots for Lace and Junior. I don't really want to drop $50 for a set of fly boots but I'm seeing those are the ones that work. Now it's a matter of finding the money and the time to get them ordered (of which I have neither).
I had hoped to work on Sanctuary stuff last night but I was played out. Apparently I haven't been going to bed until late and getting up early means that less and less sleep makes me not function nearly as well as I'd like. So I ended up crashing, except I started reading a book and that's what keeps getting me in trouble.
I've read a couple of books and thought I'd do some book reviews (when time allows) so hopefully I can post something, even if it's of no value other than to peek your interest.
I'll be going live at noon to talk about non-horse related Sanctuary (and acreage) topics. So hop on over to our Facebook page and I'll see you soon.
I've avoided putting fly masks on so far because the horses destroy them. I can MAYBE get two seasons out of a fly mask if Maverick doesn't bother them but it's hard to know what Maverick will do. He seems to be more bored lately so I'm going to have to put him to work, although I'm not sure I can find the time but will have to I guess.
I don't have enough fly masks but I'll do some extra digging to see if I can come up with some, even if they are totally ratty. If the flies are bad now, I can't imagine how they are going to be in another couple of weeks. We haven't had rain but the mosquitoes are still around. The one little rain shouldn't count but I think it was just enough to make the mosquitoes come alive again....not that we didn't have mosquitoes before, but now they doubled their efforts.
I need to order some fly boots for Lace and Junior. I don't really want to drop $50 for a set of fly boots but I'm seeing those are the ones that work. Now it's a matter of finding the money and the time to get them ordered (of which I have neither).
I had hoped to work on Sanctuary stuff last night but I was played out. Apparently I haven't been going to bed until late and getting up early means that less and less sleep makes me not function nearly as well as I'd like. So I ended up crashing, except I started reading a book and that's what keeps getting me in trouble.
I've read a couple of books and thought I'd do some book reviews (when time allows) so hopefully I can post something, even if it's of no value other than to peek your interest.
I'll be going live at noon to talk about non-horse related Sanctuary (and acreage) topics. So hop on over to our Facebook page and I'll see you soon.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Work Like a Dog Day - August 5
Did you know, Saturday August 5th is Work Like a Dog Day?
And for the Sanctuary, we are going to be working like dogs that day! We have many projects that need to be finished before winter starts. Hard to think winter when we are dealing with summer heat of 90 degrees with heat indexes of 100+ but before you know it, winter will be here and we have MUCH to get finished.
We would love your help! We will find a project no matter your skill set or how hard you want to work. Stop on out any time from 10am through 5pm (or longer depending on who's still working like a dog) and we'll gladly put you to work.
To tempt you even more...I'll make sure there's food to snack on through all the projects. I can't pay you, but I CAN feed you!
- Scraping, priming, and painting the barn and the tack room.
- Putting in new fence in the dry lot
- Putting a new roof on the hay barn
- Putting a roof back on the run-in shed in the big dry lot (the one the tornado blew off)
- Washing, repairing, waterproofing, and inventorying blankets
- Organizing the tack room and the barn
- Spraying weeds
- Cleaning stalls
- And the list never ends
We would love your help! We will find a project no matter your skill set or how hard you want to work. Stop on out any time from 10am through 5pm (or longer depending on who's still working like a dog) and we'll gladly put you to work.
To tempt you even more...I'll make sure there's food to snack on through all the projects. I can't pay you, but I CAN feed you!
Wishlist Wednesday
Wishlist Wednesday:
This Wishlist Wednesday, we wish for a hose reel!
Seems like an odd request but we have to drag out almost 300 feet of hose to fill water tanks and it would be nice to have the hoses on a reel rather than having to pick them up every time (or get lazy and leave them on the ground only to get run over or get tangled in the weeds).
We also wish for Luggage Tags!
Seems like an odd request but an other rescue was using luggage tags to identify blankets. And as we are now focusing on cleaning, repairing, and inventorying blankets, it would be nice to have identification for each blanket. I know personally which blanket goes on who but IF we ever get help, it would be nice to have the blankets identified (also so I don't have to dig for the size on those that are the same type of blanket...normally I just look for a particular rip or tear to tell me who's blanket it is). But a tag would be so much easier!
Panic Wednesday
Apparently I'm going to panic every Wednesday. Through no fault of anyone's, I'm simply going to panic. This is the third Wednesday in a row that I feel panic-y. Maybe it's because we don't have hay lined up and I can't seem to find any. I can't play the waiting game so I need to move forward. But we are going to take a hit no matter what.
But I'll save my hay panic for another post. What I wanted to point out is, that I was stressing and somewhat panic-ing on my way to the paying job that I totally blew past my turn. I have been taking this route for 10+ years and this is the FIRST time that I missed my turn because I was too deep in thought over what I'm going to do.
I could have blamed it on the fog but in reality my mind was elsewhere and I was simply driving.
So, just to warn you all, most of my posts from here on out for the next little while are going to have a tint of panic in them all.
I was trying to keep some themes going so I could at least keep a steady commentary on the blog and facebook but I'm going to have to add Panic Wednesday to that list. Who needs Manic Monday when you have Panic Wednesday!
But I'll save my hay panic for another post. What I wanted to point out is, that I was stressing and somewhat panic-ing on my way to the paying job that I totally blew past my turn. I have been taking this route for 10+ years and this is the FIRST time that I missed my turn because I was too deep in thought over what I'm going to do.
I could have blamed it on the fog but in reality my mind was elsewhere and I was simply driving.
So, just to warn you all, most of my posts from here on out for the next little while are going to have a tint of panic in them all.
I was trying to keep some themes going so I could at least keep a steady commentary on the blog and facebook but I'm going to have to add Panic Wednesday to that list. Who needs Manic Monday when you have Panic Wednesday!
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Jumping Horse
Mike picked this up last night before it rained.
If you guessed a motor, you're right. I'll talk more about it live on Thursday at noon but wanted to post a pic. Because even though it might not look like we are busy, we always are.
Sunday night Mike got spray set up so I could spray all the burdock/cocklebur pushes for the dry lot. I was happyily spraying and decided to head out to the pasture because I had more. I should have done a different pasture but didn't. Glad I didn't because I discovered the temporary electric fence was done. I think Chaos blew through it.
I ended up spending over an hour putting fence back up, only to have Chaos blow through it AGAIN! I was FURIOUS!
I put him in timeover over night and even during the day. So I was extremely surprised last night to find a missing horse from the timeout pen.
He'd pulled a Dude, and jumped the fence. Dirty bugger. Luckily the fence held but I'm going to have to put some additional (and much stronger) temporary fencing up so he doesn't keep breaking it and going through it just because he can. There's no reason he should be in the eaten down pasture other than "he thinks he can". So we'll see. I had hoped to put up stronger temporary electric last night but needed to move the ponies to a different location and then the storm clouds rolled in. I was surprised to be able to walk out into the pasture after the sun set to get the herd (they didn't want to come up because the mosquitoes hadn't driven them in either). But it was nice to get the breeze and cooler temps.
About 11pm, the rains it. It was such a blessing. I can only hope that we get more rain. Unfortunately, the clouds and storms broke up over where our hay ground is so we are still in search of hay. I am getting more and more anxious about hay as every day passes.
Mind isn't in full swing yet as I took the afternoon off from the paying job and the Sanctuary to go with my son on his daycare field trip. Always fun and not always relaxing but still so worth it. Now, hopefully I can get my mind back on track.
If you guessed a motor, you're right. I'll talk more about it live on Thursday at noon but wanted to post a pic. Because even though it might not look like we are busy, we always are.
Sunday night Mike got spray set up so I could spray all the burdock/cocklebur pushes for the dry lot. I was happyily spraying and decided to head out to the pasture because I had more. I should have done a different pasture but didn't. Glad I didn't because I discovered the temporary electric fence was done. I think Chaos blew through it.
I ended up spending over an hour putting fence back up, only to have Chaos blow through it AGAIN! I was FURIOUS!
I put him in timeover over night and even during the day. So I was extremely surprised last night to find a missing horse from the timeout pen.
He'd pulled a Dude, and jumped the fence. Dirty bugger. Luckily the fence held but I'm going to have to put some additional (and much stronger) temporary fencing up so he doesn't keep breaking it and going through it just because he can. There's no reason he should be in the eaten down pasture other than "he thinks he can". So we'll see. I had hoped to put up stronger temporary electric last night but needed to move the ponies to a different location and then the storm clouds rolled in. I was surprised to be able to walk out into the pasture after the sun set to get the herd (they didn't want to come up because the mosquitoes hadn't driven them in either). But it was nice to get the breeze and cooler temps.
About 11pm, the rains it. It was such a blessing. I can only hope that we get more rain. Unfortunately, the clouds and storms broke up over where our hay ground is so we are still in search of hay. I am getting more and more anxious about hay as every day passes.
Mind isn't in full swing yet as I took the afternoon off from the paying job and the Sanctuary to go with my son on his daycare field trip. Always fun and not always relaxing but still so worth it. Now, hopefully I can get my mind back on track.
It Finally Rained
We got rain last night!!! I have no idea how much but it was enough to soak the ground. I fell asleep right as the thunder, lightening, and rain rolled in. I'd so wanted to watch and listen but instantly fell asleep. Of course, when it starts to rain at 11:30pm, it's hard to stay awake. It was such a nice reprieve to listen to the rain on the roof. The last rain we received was June 13th, more than a month ago. Luckily we DID get that rain as it was a downpour and probably saved our pastures. Now if only we could continue getting those kinds of rains and the hay ground would get that kind of rain so it would grow.
We are in search of a different hay supplier as both our normal go-to guys are not going to be available for the Sanctuary to buy hay. I'm stressing, beyond stressing actually.
But for now, I'm going to leave you with pictures from last night as I was trying to get the herd to come. Surprisingly, it was 9:30pm and I was able to walk out to the pasture and not be eaten alive my mosquitoes.
You can sort of see the storm clouds rolling in on the right of this pictures with Dude and Brego. I spent the entire night doing chores watching the skies to see if that storm would actually come and bring rain. Normally a hustle when I see lightening and clouds but it was a slow moving storm so hopefully it dropped enough rain to make a difference.
We are in search of a different hay supplier as both our normal go-to guys are not going to be available for the Sanctuary to buy hay. I'm stressing, beyond stressing actually.
But for now, I'm going to leave you with pictures from last night as I was trying to get the herd to come. Surprisingly, it was 9:30pm and I was able to walk out to the pasture and not be eaten alive my mosquitoes.
You can sort of see the storm clouds rolling in on the right of this pictures with Dude and Brego. I spent the entire night doing chores watching the skies to see if that storm would actually come and bring rain. Normally a hustle when I see lightening and clouds but it was a slow moving storm so hopefully it dropped enough rain to make a difference.
Friday, July 14, 2017
Cicada or Kattydids
I'm not sure what you call them. We call them katydids (of course I can't spell it). I was always told that once you heard katydids, you had 60 days until the first frost. I'm doing a little bit of digging (and finding other people's blogs) and they say 6 weeks.
I happened to find my post from last year about katydids and it was July 6th that I mentioned them. I don't remember when we had a frost last year. Last year was a blur.
So if it's true, I heard them this week. Six weeks from now would put us at August 25th. There's no way we'll get a frost. Mid September, I could see that happening.
With all the climate changes, I'm not sure any of these old wives tales work any more. The one about precipitation 90 days after fog was almost spot on when we were in an "El Nino" but now, not so much. I used to count the days on the calendar and knew when a storm was coming. But not any more. It's impossible to predict these days. I'm not sure if it's because we aren't in an "El Nino" any more or if the climate change has something to do with it.
Either way, I'm going to start preparing. It's hard to think winter when tomorrow will be almost 100 degrees. But I'd rather be prepared. I've been so unprepared the last few years that it would be nice for the first time in a very long time to NOT be caught with my pants down!
(Pics are from the other night. King and Brego were the last two to come in for the night to avoid the mosquitos).
I happened to find my post from last year about katydids and it was July 6th that I mentioned them. I don't remember when we had a frost last year. Last year was a blur.
So if it's true, I heard them this week. Six weeks from now would put us at August 25th. There's no way we'll get a frost. Mid September, I could see that happening.
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| Brego |
With all the climate changes, I'm not sure any of these old wives tales work any more. The one about precipitation 90 days after fog was almost spot on when we were in an "El Nino" but now, not so much. I used to count the days on the calendar and knew when a storm was coming. But not any more. It's impossible to predict these days. I'm not sure if it's because we aren't in an "El Nino" any more or if the climate change has something to do with it.
Either way, I'm going to start preparing. It's hard to think winter when tomorrow will be almost 100 degrees. But I'd rather be prepared. I've been so unprepared the last few years that it would be nice for the first time in a very long time to NOT be caught with my pants down!
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| King |
Hay Barn
Yesterday I did a live video about our hay barn. My hope is that I can start talking about non-horse related items that directly affect the Sanctuary but aren't specifically horses. There's a lot to run a Sanctuary (or an acreage) and I want to start touching on those topics because they've been weight pretty heavy on my mind lately.
So back to the video, I'll recap a bit of what I was trying to say but didn't say so eloquently (and sorry for all the saggy face time).
When we first moved into our acreage, the previous owners had used what we call the dry lot as the cattle yard. Even our hay shed was part of where the cattle had roamed. But with having cattle, you have destroyed and mangled buildings. The bottom 3.5 feet of the hay barn and the regular barn have no siding but tin to keep the cattle from ruining the building.
So back to the hay barn. We used to use it a lot when we used the 3x3 big squares. My uncle could stack two and barely squeeze in through the double doors (see the picture of the doors). If he left too much air in the tractor tires, he'd scrape the rafters. As we continued to use the building and the building got older, everything started to sag and we've had a few near misses trying to get the hay in and out. I'm glad we've switched to rounds for everyone's safety.
We still use the hay barn to store small squares of hay, alfalfa, and straw. Unfortunately, the shingles are no good. They are cedar shingles that have lived through too many seasons and too many wind storms (and a tornado). The roof started leaking years ago but it's to the point where the shingles are gone and it pours in. We didn't have the means to fix the roof until this year with the money from our personal tax return. Yes, we are sinking our personal money into all of the outbuildings as there's no capital fund to have the Sanctuary pay for any building repairs.
Instead of ripping off the shingles, we are going to slap Ondura sheeting over it. It has the consistency of shingles (but stiffer and thicker) so hopefully the process will go more quickly. We reroofed the west side of the barn with the Ondura and have been impressed. We had to special order the Ondura sheets because we had to order 50 additional sheets (besides the 10 we already purchased). Each sheet is $15 on sale. We still have to buy the special nails that go with it but are hoping for a bag sale or an 11% rebate sale. We also need to pick up some additional lumber for roofing so there's a bit more that we need to do before we can get to work on it.
We are also waiting for it to not be so stinky hot before we roof. Luckily we have access to a boom truck so hopefully we can start fairly soon. Once fall harvest hits, we won't be able to have access to the boom truck and the process will go much slower. So it's a matter of buying supplies and coordinating schedules.
I'll be happy to get the roof done but I still need to figure out what to do with the siding. Above the roof (see in the picture) and all of the south side does not have siding. It simply has the boards to create the wall. It was fine for awhile but now the weather and the raccoons have made gigantic holes in the walls. Dad patched up a hole where the raccoons were getting in, only to have them chew a new hole into the side of the barn.
If it wasn't for the horses, I'd go with regular house siding but that wont' work for the sliding doors and where the horses are. So I'm on to trying to find something else. No matter what, it'll have to wait because I dont' have the funds to do anything.
I did paint the doors a few years ago because I was tired of seeing the missing paint (it looked like the rest of the building but I saw it every day during the winter and for some reason it irritated me).
I've tried to avoid posting many pictures with the hay barn in the background because it IS such an eye sore. But now that I'm doing live videos, you're all going to see it more often. And I don't want to hide anything. I'll happily answer any questions or show any pictures but it's more of a pride thing than anything else.
I want to be that Sanctuary where when you pull into the driveway you say "Wow, what a gorgeous and relaxing place" rather than "Whoa, what a dump". And it's really hard to get to that point where people say "wow" rather than "whoa", when you're the person single handedly trying to maintain everything.
The hay barn needs help, the regular barn needs a paint job, and a few other outbuildings need some more TLC. But it all takes time and money, and unfortunately, I have neither.
If anyone would like to help with reroofing the hay barn, I'd gladly accept the offer. Or if you would rather, we always need funds to help cover the cost. There's a lot of expense to keep up and maintain a building. If you want to donate funds, you can paypal us at www.paypal.me/Borderlands
When we do start working on the hay barn, I'll do live videos and pictures so you can follow the progress. Or stop on out!
We have more projects that need your help too!
Happy Friday
Happy Friday!
More rambling when my brain is awake. Still sleepy for some reason.
More rambling when my brain is awake. Still sleepy for some reason.
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| Lightening |
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| Zeke |
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| Zeke and Bo |
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Throwback Thursday
Throwback Thursday is to last week when the herd reminded me that they needed to be in a different pasture (by taking out the fence). Now they are all happy and enjoying the new part of the big pasture.
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