It’s been a few days since I’ve posted anything, for which I apologize. It was time to upgrade my PC and let’s just say it didn’t go well. 600 miles of driving (we live in the middle of nowhere and have to drive to Atlanta for computer parts) and 30 or so hours later, I’m finally up and running again. But it’s not like our little horse farm has been neglected this whole time, so let me catch up.
I (Bill) am a cold-weather sissy, I’ll admit it. I have been complaining for weeks at all the 30 degree days (Fahrenheit) and 18 degree nights, frozen hoses, frozen buckets, poopsicles and multi-layer clothing. I’m tired of it. It seems global warming hasn’t quite made it to east Tennessee because the last month in particular has been very cold. But then a ray of hope appeared in the way of a weather forecast for relatively warm weather for at least the next week. In fact, sitting here I can see the thermometer and it shows the outside temperature as 73 degrees. We did barn work late last night without all the extra coats. This is nice! Come on spring!
We’re out of pasture hay. Those round bales I mentioned are long gone and I’m afraid the horses are considering eating the moldy parts they bypassed the first time. We’re tossing out square bales for them to eat, which is dwindling our supply. I’m looking forward to the grass growing again. Someone pointed out that horses are supposed to roam and forage for food and not eat as much in winter. Someone else suggested that the opposite is true, that horses need lots of food in winter to store as heat-generating fat (stored in their rump, I hear). Both make sense to me but we’re probably going to look for another round bale or two to hold us over until the grass starts to grow again.
I briefly saddled Moonshine up and hopped on, mostly to test my new saddle. But it’s been too cold to ride and train until now. If the weather is decent this weekend, perhaps we’ll take our horses for a walk.
As we move ahead towards Spring, we’re starting to make a list of things we need to do to get ready for warmer weather and projects we need to get working on. Our list includes:
- Replace barbed wire fence near the barn with a wooden fence. We have the wood for this but we’re going to need a hole digger, preferably powered. This Tennessee clay is very difficult to shovel by hand.
- Come up with a manure management system. I’ve been talking about it for awhile and would like to try the aerated compost approach. More on that soon.
- Bring in a truckload of sand for the pasture barn entrance. It’s a clay and mud mess back there. In the comments of our post “Turning out two horses by yourself“, Becky and Ryan suggested crushed limestone or sand, claiming good results.
- Eradicate thorn bushes in the pasture.
- Test orchard grass in a small section of pasture. I want to temporarily fence off a small section of pasture (about 1/4 acre) to plant some orchard grass. It’ll be a nice treat for the horses when the grass has grown in.
- Treat the wood on the barn. Our barn is mostly wood and I’m guessing we need to occasionally treat it for protection against the weather.
- Fix up the old barn. We’re going to purchase 8-10 round bales at the end of summer and this is where we want to store them. I’d rather fix it up now before the snakes wake up.
- Install more lights in the barn.
I’m sure there will be more projects but that’s a pretty good list for now. What’s on your list? So that’s what’s going on around here this week. More soon!
I know life gets busy, so its understandable when you don’t write. Just know that you were missed.
I know what you mean about the weather. I’m a wimp too when it comes to being cold. I don’t mind it for a day or two, but after that I need sun and lots of it. I have come to the conclusion that perfect riding weather is between 70 and 80 degrees.
On the issue about the barn. It needs to be treated to protect it from weather (as you said) and the horses. It appears that horses are what I effectionately call, “1000 lb. termites”. I’ve been taking classes at Pierce College (they have a Horse Science program)in Woodland Hills, California. One of my teachers, Prof. Ron, was just talking about that last night in his lecture on horse facilities.
My own horses have chewed up logs and the side of a wooden shed that use to be in their yard. Horss…fasinating creatures…aren’t they?
Gotta love um.
Your horses will need to eat more hay during the winter for warmth. It is not that they need to store fat for insulation; the digestion of roughage actually produces the heat that your horse needs for staying warm in cold weather. Up here in Minnesota, that means going through a whole lot of hay! Of course, when it was 35 degrees and sunny earlier in the week, the horses were sweating even after we took their blankets off. They really do grow some amazingly thick coats in cold climates!
Oh man, I can’t even read past the temperatures! I am so jealous! Our winter has been so awful, if it’s not frozen tundra it’s water logged. I had shavings delivered today and the truck almost got stuck in front of my bunker. That’s never happened in 20 years. So you’re getting all kinds of work done and I’m stewing because I’m getting more and more on the to-do list.
We are all around horse newbees. We haven’t ridden, or pet a horse since our honeymoon 44 years ago.
We just recently purchased a property near Dahlonega, Ga. The main reason we are moving there is to join the staff of a men’s alcohol and drug addiction resident program there. Our property is less than two miles from the ministry, so that is a blessing already.
Now, the reason I am writing to y’all. With this property, we have inherited a four stall boarding stable, with 2.7 acres. I estimate 2 acres is dedicated pasture.
The Stable is built with concrete block foundation walls and sided with wood paneling. There is a concrete slab flooring throughout the entry way, and in each seperate stall. The stalls are rectanguler with the smallest at around 10 x 10, and the larger ones approx. 12 x 12. There are no drains anywhere. The former owners, who did operate a boarding / breeding operation ( I hear one stall was designated for “birthing” used wood chips for bedding. There is a stairway up to a second floor 12 x 12 room, with tappered (studio) ceiling.
There is an adjacent large commercial size two bag garage. (The former owner liked to work on cars too.) There is a nice pole barn about 250 ft. to the rearward of the stable, with the majority of pasture land running along side of it.
Electric service has been cut off some time ago to the stable. The overall condition of the buildings is solid, somewhat unkempt, needing pressure washing, and painted. There is a water line faucet located just inside the stable entrance. (By the way, there is this one entry way into and out of the stall areas.) A window, and a small propane floor hearter is located against the far outside wall.
All the fencing was in such poor condition that the real estate agent advised the seller to take it all down. So, we will be starting from scratch in more than one way to make this property horse friendly again.
We are told that our area is populated richly in horse owners looking for boarding space. We are condsidering the prospect of offering to board 3-4 horses, on a mostly owner care basis. The oppurtunity to subsidize our mortgage payment in this way is pulling on us greatly.
May I add, I am 65, and my wife is 63. We are both in good overall condition. She operates a court reporting busness out of our home presently, and her plan is to continue for at least the next 5 five years or so.
As part of our envolvement with the ministry, there will be men assigned to help us with the upkeep of the property in general, and the boarding operation if we so move in that direction.
We would appreciate your thoughts, comments, and prayers.
Curt and Linda