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.