Another arctic tundra update

This is a blog post about nothing.

I've not been doing any of this and it doesn't look like I'll be doing any of this for a long time.  This is the reason I don't make goals, because the thought of not reaching them sucks.  I had a major goal of coming out strong in the spring at BN but that is far and distant right now.  

I've been showing up at the barn in this

Not very attractive but it keeps me warm and surprisingly I work up a sweat when I'm bashing ice out of buckets.

Speaking of, I'm tired of bashing ice out of buckets so I'm getting creative.  I saw this great product online

From http://www.wildangelcozy.com/.  I know several people that have them and they work exactly as advertised.  Super idea but a little expensive for 19 horses.  

I found a homemade option at Thepitchforkchronicles.com and decided to experiment with my own version.

The buckets at the barn all sit inside bucket holders like this only permanent so you can't really wrap the buckets. 

So I decided to wrap the holder.   Project Keep Damn Ice out of Damn Buckets phase 1 is a failure.  Too much airspace between the insulated part and the buckets.

On to Phase Two - Cry to myself.

Green plus Green equals Black and Blue

 

As a horse person you've probably heard the term.  You may have even been the term.  People overestimate their ability, their experience, and they have a dream in mind.

 

When they really need to spend a lot of time doing this

 

 

So they show up with this horse, the love of their life, the apple of their eye

 

 

That they want turned into this horse

 

In 30 days

 

 

If they're lucky they end up in a barn with an experienced trainer and they keep their ears open.

 



 

The trainer gently directs them to something more suitable for their experience and goals

 

 

Instead of what they initially arrived with

 

 

 With several months of professional training, weekly lessons, and patience they eventually go from this

 

 

To this with the understanding that it's a long road ahead

 

 

 After which they can look at other people, shake their heads, and hopefully prevent the same thing from happening to anyone else

 

 

 

 



 



Barn Care and the Polar Vortex

Well, I'm pretty close to selling all the horses by the pound.  I'm going to start with the one that was jumping back and forth over the fence as I was trying to repair it (teach a horse to event it uses that skill against you)

and the one that apparently doesn't know how to jump at all (Hello hanging legs! Goodbye fence!).

Then move on to the 2yo who clocked me in the face so hard I saw stars.  We had a RESPECT! session and now he will not come any closer then the end of his leadrope.  Which is fine by me.

So temps dropped to -14 this week but the horses still had to get fed.  First I had to get to the barn.  Which meant getting dug out of this

and this getting towed out.  Who knew you could spin your tires so hard you blew one and set your car on fire?

This is the washrack after the hot water heater kicked the bucket and dumped water all over the place and I couldn't get the door open to dump frozen buckets and said SCREW IT!  You can see the heat lamp to prevent the spigots from freezing again.

These are the back up buckets for when I said SCREW IT to solid bricks of ice.  You can drink from the bucket I give you or SCREW IT!

This is the hose that had to be dragged in and out of the tack room every day to water horses.  Damn hose.

Here is the feedchart to make sure everyone gets fed.  Damn horses.

And the people chart to make sure everything gets done right, necessary when multiple people are helping out. YAYYY PEOPLE!

I made a list of all the horses and a basic description (damn those chestnut mares).  DAMN THE REST TOO!

All the feed is labeled  YEAH FEED!

 

Although I hope it's obvious that this is hay.  YAY HAY!

 

 

 

 

Hopefully things will get better next week because they can't really get any worse.

 



Horse Auction Review

Today I made my annual trip to the Rushville New Year's sale.  Lots and lots and lots of western tack of varying quality for pretty good prices and quite a few horses as well.  Here are some of the horses that ran through the auction and the prices they brought.  Most of them went to the killers.

2002 QH mare.  Broke to ride, been a broodmare, caught in fence and hind legs a mess.  $100

Bay Mare, not registered, not broke $260

Black gelding, no papers, no age given, said to be crippled  $320

Chestnut mare no papers not broke to ride $225

Mule broke to drive $100

 TWH x saddlebred very gaited 15yo $135

A pick up horse was the highest selling horse of the day for $875.  Plain bay, big ugly head, but obviously a valuable horse.

Also at the sale were two minis who sold for $40 each and a Morgan/QH mare with foal at side who sold out back under the table to a young girl.

I did end up picking a horse up for free, I think he'll make an excellent eventing prospect although I hope he grows a little bit.  I like to get them young and unstarted and he even came with a blanket.

December trail ride

I'm day 77 (ok, it's more like 10) into barn managing while my friend is on stall rest.  I have a new found appreciation for people who manage large barns full of boarders and I really understand why some of those barn managers are grumpy people who drink heavily.  Time is precious and should only be spent on people who appreciate that.

As a boarder think about what you HAVE to do and what you CAN do in an extreme situation and how much it pays off in the long run.

 I've introduced most of the volunteers to feeding/stall cleaning/and turning in and out and my friend is looking at getting more volunteer help and hiring someone to do some work as well.  Everything at the barn is labeled and I have a communication board to relay notes to people in the evening in case I have a day off.  I would say that things are going smoothly but I don't want to jinx myself.  Editing to add that I freaking jinxed myself.  Communication error and the horses were turned out on a day I had off.  Luckily my very fancy and well thought out name tags remained on despite the mud *HA!* and someone who had been out to the barn twice was able to navigate 17 horses into the right stalls.

It's a long road to recovery but we'll get there before we know it. 

I managed to catch a "pleasurable" trail ride with a friend at Whitewater State Park  yesterday.  Mental note, pleasurable for some people is a leisurely 4 miles with a beer in one hand.  For others, it's 8 miles at a brisk trot.  Observe the horses selected,  if your trail companion is on an arabian you will probably not have time for beer.

But seriously it was a ton of fun and I have not trail ridden like that in years.  It was nice to be on a dead broke trail horse.  If we'd gone slow enough to keep my beer from fizzling she would have been a perfect mount and I got a kick out of the seasoned endurance horse who spooked at the wet rock.  Horses.  Sheesh.  It was a lovely day in December for a trail ride and at least a dozen other people had the exact same plans.   

Back at the barn I got a short ride in on Annie, the first time I swung a leg over her since my friend's accident.  It felt almost sinful, I'm sure there was an empty water bucket that needed filling.  I also introduced Max to a very nice dressage rider without a horse and I hope it works out as it's a great match and a good opportunity to keep Max worked.  I'm looking forward to the barn returning to my peaceful sanctuary and eventually getting back to regular riding. 

Contingency Plans

I'm going to blog about what happens for that big ol "in case of."  A very good friend of mine took an innocent looking tumble off her horse and hit like a brick.  Everyone's gonna hit the ground at some point when we ride animals who think plastic bags are out to get them but I think she's good for the next 20 years.  One 911 call later and she's in the hospital with a long recovery.  I'm sure the doctor thinks that old ladies don't recover very fast but they've probably never met an old lady who rides two horses a day and cares for 19 of them so I predict a speedy recovery and back to riding sooner than anticipated.  I'm also sure that the first doctor who calls her old or tells her to find a different hobby is going to get twitched and backed out of her room.

As horse people we're lying on the ground with the paramedics inserting an IV so they can move us without too much screaming while we're explaining exactly how to undo a pair of spurs or that YES these boots have zippers and NO you are not going to cut them off.  YES the last 12 times we were in the hospital was because we were flung off/kicked/bitten/trampled or something else involving a horse.  NO it wasn't all the horse's fault (not entirely at least).  Yes I did just ask when I can get back on a horse as the ambulance doors are closing.

What happens when you get injured and you have an entire farm of responsibilities and hungry mouths?   If you're a horse person one person makes a call and before you know it dozens of people (many of whom are friends of a friend of a friend of a cousin) are putting themselves on the list for care of your horses.  People you've never met before are driving out to do hard labor.   Us horse people know how to stick together and we know how hard it is to care for our horses when we're injured and none of us could imagine our horse's suffering just because we're in the hospital with a broken femur.  Nobody got time for that. 

We're just in the beginning stages here but I thought I'd make up a list of recent observations.

• Barn set up is key when having a bunch of strangers coming in, we may be horse people, but everyone does something different.  The trick stall door, or that dang mare who knows how to open gates is going to trip someone up.

• How complicated and mysterious is your feed program?  Do you have 30 horses on entirely different types of grain and is their amount a mystery to everyone but you?  Having a feed chart labeled and most of your horses on the same grain can be helpful.

• What's your turnout situation like?  Do you have a different pasture for every horse and are they all bay mares?  How can you make it easier on people who don't know that Indy has a snip and Porky has a stripe?

• As a boarder are you willing to pitch in and water some horses or clean a couple stalls?

• As a boarder does your horse really need to get his 23 different smartpaks if somebody's cousin from ponyclub is feeding?

• Horse people can deal with 2 loose horses, a colicing horse, a cast horse, a river running down the barn aisle, a gate off the hinges all while being soaking wet AND covered in hay and come back the next morning at 7am because you need the help even though you never asked for it.  Because horse people are good people.

Stocking Stuffers

As I've gotten ZERO productive things done with WINTER ANNIE I'm going to make another list of last minute Christmas gifts for your horse loving friends.

We'll start with Higher Standards Leather Care  which has a 56 page thread on COTH full of fans.  A nice stocking stuffer and everybody needs to clean their tack on occasion.  You might as well support a few equestrian and use a product that smells good while doing it.

For stocking number two, everybody that shows needs a hairnet.  We've all ended up with headaches and little dents in our foreheads from the knots on our hairnets.  I discovered this product a few years ago and I'll never go back, not only that it's so durable mine has been around for several show seasons so it's well worth the price.  Get one of these No Knot Hairnets for everyone on your list.

 

 

Shop around as the price varies on these, if you go to their website, http://www.eriquestrian.com/
the hairnets are actually a little more expensive but they have a really cool option of a case for holding your hairnet that contains a mirror and comb!  What a neat idea!

Here's another great stocking stuffer.  I have several rope halters, I like using them for all sorts of horsemanship reasons (even riding in them) but I HATE messing with making the knot to secure them.  Did I do it right?  Is it going to come undone?  This clever horse person has added a snap to her halters, making them simple and easy to put on.  She has lots of custom options for all your needs.  I like the wrapped (but not spiral wrapped) halter in purple with side pull rings!

Here's another great and useful gift idea, I have one of these Personalized lead ropes in green with Stanley's name on it.  I've had it for years and the color on the lead rope and the embroidery has remained vibrant and unfrayed despite daily use.  Great for boarding barns or going to shows, nobody will walk off with your leadrope again!  Just $14.99 for an 8 foot lead rope (longer styles available) in your color choice with embroidery of your choice on the end.  Nice solid snap as well!