A Terrible Thing

Looks like winter will be here tonight. 80% chance of rain/snow for tonight and then a 70% chance of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m already starting to worry about the hay supply. I’m not sure if we have enough. I have been throwing out hay since the first of October (in the evenings) but this morning I started throwing out hay in the mornings as well. Only Zeke was up to snag all the hay but hopefully someone else will come up to enjoy. I don’t want anyone to lose weight before going into winter.

I am going to have to cut back on the ponies’ hay. They are fat. I’m always worried about Bo (and probably always will) but Rabbit is not to the weight that I’d prefer her to be also. She may go in the barn tonight. Now that she’s older, she has a harder time warming up. I can’t put a blanket or sheet on her while she’s in the pasture because she tears them to shreds. I would rather keep them out of the drylot for a little bit longer so they can graze. I don’t really like that small drylot because there’s not as much protection from the wind. I’m hoping that maybe I can convince Mike to help put up a better wind break. There’s always so much that needs to get done before winter hits.

I am definitely not ready for winter. I need to repair the two stalls in the hay shed before winter and get corral panels set up also so that we have an extra temporary stall in the hay shed. I have a terrible feeling that if we don’t have a bad winter, we will at the very least have a bitterly cold winter, which makes life miserable for everyone. I want to make sure everyone can be snug in a stall and out of any fierce winds that we may get. I worry for those horses that can’t find protection from the wind and cold this winter but at this point, there’s really nothing more I can do.

I was just thinking back to last year. It was a year ago this past weekend that saw me in the Emergency Room. I am happy to say I didn’t go back this year to make it a yearly event. I am hoping that our hospital visits are over and that everyone in the family stays healthy. I keep thinking that the other shoe will drop and we’ll have to go in for another major health scare. Hopefully I am just oversensitive to all the hospital visits. I would much prefer a quiet winter this year!

I’m hoping that the weather doesn’t turn too quickly. We still need to clean out the drylot and spread the manure in the farmer’s field. I’m not sure there’s enough time though so we’ll see. There’s also the big barn door that requires repair before we get too much more wind. I’m afraid between the horses and the wind, the barn door isn’t going to stay on for very much longer!

I did get to enjoy some time outside yesterday after a day of riding with friends. Mike and Garrett were in Madison for the day so I had a couple of hours to mess around outside. I decided that I better take care of some cocklebur issues. I know, I’m a terrible horsey mom for doing it but…I roached Mayhem, Rabbit, Tommy, and Skippy. Tommy and Skippy look rather cute in their new haircuts. I feel bad for having to roach them but there really wasn’t much of an option other than to spend a good couple of hours pulling cockleburs. I decided that they could go with a shorter look for the winter. I forget that the ponies have different patterns on the other side of their neck so it’s fun to see. Skippy doesn’t look like a total hairball now that he isn’t sporting an afro forlock. Same goes for Tommy!

I was worried about Rabbit’s eye. I think she has uveitis in the right eye so we keep a fly mask on her almost all the time. I decided that with the haircut that we would pull the fly mask and keep it off for a while. I need to see if I can get a better flymask for her to protect her eye from the blinding sun on the snow. I’ve also taken to graining her now that the cooler weather has set in. That means, I have to halter Mayhem so that Rabbit gets all her grain along with her heaves medication. I should have been doing it all along but figure now is better than later. Mayhem surprisingly stands patiently while I hang over the gate to get the halter on. In the past she started getting naughty and running away from me when she saw the halter. Now she patiently waits while I fumble with the halter and hang all over her. I’m calling it “training” but in reality it’s just me being awkward about getting a halter on. I’m hoping that the heaves medicine will help Rabbit. She always has heaves but it seems like it’s actually worse when I grain her. I always turn her grain into a mash so the heaves aren’t caused by any dust. Rabbit definitely has some health issues (heaves, uveitis, and a lame/weak back end).

I also figured that I’d better top out the water tanks while the weather was fairly nice. Apparently I ruined a hose by leaving it out. It was taking FOREVER to fill a water tank. I thought we were having a water pressure issue. No, just a hose issue. So now we need to go buy another 300 foot hose to replace the one that I ruined.

While I was out doing chores last night, around 6pm, you could tell that the cold front was coming through. Just before I was going to throw out hay, the wind picked up. I forget how much I loathe wind and hay (at the same time). Luckily I was able to be up wind when throwing the hay (except this morning when I got a face full). I’m already dreading the daily dose of hay in the face, down the shirt, and in my ears! I got spoiled with round bales last year. We may be in search of more hay in the middle of winter so we may very well go with round bales.

Playday Pictures

Here's just a few pictures from our playday. Go to our Facebook page to see the rest of the pictures! We know how to have fun!!!!

Thursday Ramblings

Another busy but non-Sanctuary related day yesterday. The paying job has me hopping so there’s not a lot of extra time to get anything done other than minimal chores. Hopefully by next week I’ll catch a break and get some breathing room again from the paying job.

The days are definitely getting shorter and much colder! I know winter is just around the corner and it shouldn’t take me by surprise but it always does. I was hoping that the pastures would hold out for another couple of weeks but I’m afraid they are done and the big herd is over grazing. I’m going to have to figure out how to wake up earlier and get out to do morning chores on time. I’ve been sneaking out just before going to the paying job to feed the ponies but I need to start feeding the big herd both morning and night.

I haven’t really had much time to do anything with the horses. The horses decided to play “hairdresser” and “unicorn” and styled their manes and tails with cockleburs. It’s bugging me seeing them in such a state but I haven’t had any time to take care of the mess. Hopefully this weekend I can sneak out and to a bit of de-cockleburring. I have come to the conclusion that I’m roaching the ponies. They have such a mess that it’s going to be impossible to get the burs all out. Their manes grow back quickly so it won’t be such a disappointment to have to roach them. I’ve had to do it in the past too. It pains me to cut their manes but it’ll be less stress and less of an ordeal if I just roach them and they look silly for a month.  I lost my showsheen. It’s around here somewhere but I just can’t seem to find it. Hopefully I can find it and go to work on cleaning everyone up this weekend. At least that’s my goal.

Now that we have another successful fundraiser under our belts, I’m anxious to start planning the next one. I’m torn between two different options so we’ll see which one I end up going with. It’ll be a lot of work but so worth it. Everyone’s generosity humbles me.

I didn’t get home last night until 10pm to do chores. Unfortunately, we still don’t have a yard light so I had to do chores by the light of a flashlight. Not exactly an easy task. I may go and buy one of those flashlights I can attach to a hat. Hopefully I can make some phone calls and get it fixed by early next week.

I know I mentioned it in an earlier post, but there is an auction coming up next weekend. I’m debating on going. It is silly for me to go because I am turning away horses and I know if I go, I’ll want to help. Or I’ll see one that has to be helped. But I haven’t gone in close to two years and I’m uneducated in the prices of loose horses. So we’ll see if I can handle sitting on my handles idly watching good horses go to slaughter or if I bale and stay home to get things down around the Sanctuary. If someone wants to go with, then I’ll have no choice but to go and not feel guilty!

Wednesday Ramblings

I think it’s winter. We had snow yesterday morning and again this morning. I was worried about Rabbit getting chilled so I threw a canvas sheet on her. Big mistake. She’d trashed the last one I’d put on her last year but I thought things would be different this year. Nope. She trashed another one. Hopefully I can repair it but I have to walk the pasture to find the missing parts. She did an amazing job of tearing it all to pieces. I’m a little mad because that was the one and only waterproof sheet that was fully intact and had no rips or tears. Can’t have anything nice when it comes to horses!

It’s been fairly quiet the last couple of days (knock on wood). Last night I was able to get out to do chores before dark. The yard light is officially gone so now I am doing chores in the dark. The night before last I was out after dark. One little flashlight does not give off enough light when you’re in the dark and the moon is hidden behind clouds. Hopefully we can call someone by the end of the week and get it fixed before too long. I don’t like being outside in the dark during the fall when all the wild critters are out. At least I let the dogs out to run around when I am doing chores and they tend to scare away any critters that may be wandering around. Farley is a big lug and although he wouldn’t hurt a fly, most critters don’t want to tangle with him.

I’ve been wrapped up with the paying job the majority of this week and it looks like the rest of the week will be the same so not much is going to happen at the Sanctuary. I’m already starting to brainstorm ideas for the next fundraiser. I have two different ones in mind so now the hard part will be deciding which one to go forward with (or throw caution to the wind and do both)! I don’t want to burn anyone out on all these fundraisers either (or myself for that matter)!  But I do have a few ideas I want to try out. So far the two fundraisers we’ve done have been a complete success. We will definitely do another playday next year and we will definitely do an Easter Basket Silent Auction (and have activities for the kids!) for Easter. I had a great time during both events so hopefully others will too!

I’m not sure when we’ll do the next fundraiser but keep your eyes peeled because we will definitely have one. I was already looking at the calendar for 2014 to decide when we’ll do the Easter Basket Silent Auction (and other activities). Easter is in April so we’ll plan on having the event sometime before Easter. So mark your calendars now for a great event!

My mind has pretty well turned to mush after the playday fundraiser on Saturday. Hopefully I’ll be able to get into the swing of things a little better after this week. I have to turn my mind off and not think about the upcoming winter. I’m a little worried that we don’t have enough hay. I guess if we do run out, hopefully we’ll be able to find a few bales at a reasonable price. I’d feel more comfortable if I had about 10 more big bales in the shed but beggars can’t be choosers. Of course, if I had 10 more bales in the shed, I wouldn’t be turning away horses that deserve a retirement home.

There is an auction coming up next weekend but I’m not sure I have the stomach to go. I haven’t been to an auction in about two years. I have no idea what prices are like for the loose horses. We’ll see if I go. If someone else says they’ll go, then I’ll definitely go. I’ll have to sit on my hands of course but it would be good for me to educate myself on the current prices of loose horses. I hate auctions this time of year though so we’ll see how it goes.

"S" World

I heard the cursed “S” word this morning. SNOW. We have the potential for some light snow tonight. I guess winter really is just around the corner. I shouldn’t complain. It is the end of October and we are just now starting to get frost on the ground. But I have to complain about snow. I think it’s mandatory in this region.

I’ll have to take a closer look at the forecast as evening rolls around. I thought I heard that we’ll start out with cold rain and then switch to snow. If it starts with rain, I may have to consider stalling or blanketing some of the horses. I was hoping to get all the blankets patched up before using them but if it rains, I don’t want anyone to get a chill. I was able to waterproof a majority of the blankets last week and had them laying out on the lawn until last night. I figured if we were to get rain or snow that I better get them up. Now they are piled in the utility room patiently waiting for me to patch up all the tears and wholes. It’s a bit daunting but it’ll be nice to have the blankets fixed and not have to worry about them. Why or why did I not think about this task earlier in the year?!?!

Last night I went out to do chores early. It’s probably a good thing. I think the fox has taken up residence in the hayshed. Yesterday I had the dogs out and Gypsy and Farley pushed the fox out of the shed and Gypsy managed to tumble the fox head over tea kettle. Had I not seen it with my own eyes I would have said people were lying. I am afraid that there might be something wrong with the fox. He seemed awfully dazed and confused. Gypsy is not fast so for her to knock over a fox makes me think that there’s something very wrong with the fox. It’s the same one that rushed past my leg earlier this month. Fox should not be tame.

Luckily the last few nights have been nice with the full moon shining. The real problem is that the yard light finally died. The last couple of nights the light wouldn’t come on while I was out doing chores but would be on in the morning. Last night and this morning, that darn yard light wouldn’t come on at all. So now we have to look at replacing the light bulb….again. I thought those big light bulbs were supposed to last a few years but I guess not. I learn something new every day. I’m not exactly sure when we’ll get it fixed but hopefully soon. The night before last, Gypsy attacked a raccoon that has been living in the grain bin. I ran back to the house to get Mike (and the gun), but the raccoon was already gone by the time Mike got there. That’s one of the downfalls of being out when there’s only one of us outside. I am so used to both of us being outside that it’s hard to catch these darn critters when I have to run back to the house.

Maybe the snow will detour the critters from coming out. I guess we’ll have to wait and see until then. Will be scrambling tonight to get a few last minute projects done before the snow flies.

Playday Success and Thank You

The playday was a success! And it’ll definitely be a yearly event (just earlier in the year)!! We had a great time and I learned a few things about what works and doesn’t work. We’ll probably skip a silent auction (although that went over pretty well) and just do a concession stand (closer to the arena)! I’m learning!!

I want to thank Larry and Freida Fossum and the Cowboy Way Church for letting us use their arena. I know it’s a lot of work to get everything set up to do a playday and they did a fantastic job working the arena up as best they could even though we had rain in the morning. I know everyone enjoyed the facilities. I want to thank Stacy Albers for helping get everything set up with the playday and figuring out what games to play. She pretty well took over and got all the games set up each time. I want to thank the Parker Saddle Club for letting us use their timer/eye (and Tanya for running the timer).  I want to thank all those that donated to the silent auction, bake sale, and concession stand and for those that donated their time to get everything set up. I couldn’t have done it without you. And I want to thank everyone who participated in the playday and bought items on the bake sale and silent auction. The rough count shows that we brought in about $600.00. I was ecstatic when Mike said how much. That will help with the hay bill for sure!

Thank you everyone for visiting with the Sanctuary horses (and for not poking fun of me or the horses for the amount of cockleburs that are in their manes and tails). I promise, it’s high on my priority list to get all those burs out. It’s a daunting task at times when I know they’ll get more in their manes and tails the next time they go out to pasture or roll. Maybe after it dries up a bit we can tackle the cocklebur bushes and get them disked under (at least in the drylot). It does bother me so thanks for not mentioning it or at least being sympathetic when seeing all the burs! We’ve been fighting those darn cockleburs for years now and it seems it’s a losing battle.

Everyone’s donations and participation humbles me. I struggle to ask for help; we try to be self-sufficient so asking for help is very difficult. But everyone’s willingness to help my cause is very awe-inspiring.  I am overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and am so grateful that I am left speechless.

At the end of the day on Saturday, I was exhausted. It was a happy exhausted. All the hard work of getting everything figured out and set up paid off while I watched people play in the mud with their horses. It amazes and humbles me that people were willing to come out to support us. I couldn’t ask for a better support group. I loved watching everyone participate in the games and loved watching everyone’s expressions during the events.

On a side note, I was able to take pictures after the camera landed in the mud but we do have to get a new camera. It no longer wants to work. The poor thing has been beaten too much over the last few horse activities and landing in the mud puddle was the final straw. I did get some good pictures and will post them to the blog when I get a chance.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for your support and generosity. I am eternally grateful.

Playday Today!

The rain is gone and the sun is shining. Should be a good day for a playday! Hope to see everyone there!