Friday....sunshine and no gravel

No gravel today..........no tractor available and ours is not out of the maintenance shop yet.
No worry as there was plenty to do anyway.
I slept in a little, drank some coffee, chatted with Chelsea on the way down to the barn, then fed everyone. Then I cleaned stalls and picked the gravel paddocks....then headed home to do some computer work.
At noon I headed back to the barn and met my hired workers.
First we unloaded a ton and a half of hay.
Then we built a retaining wall for the small manure pile, got the large tarp folded up and then started on my mom's fence line. She has needed a small fenced in area for her dogs so that she does not have to go outside in the dark or in the rain. So we got all the posts put in and cemented a few. Then I watered the horses and gave them a snack of the new hay. Winston was unimpressd with it....he wants ALFALFA. He paced his paddock for a while and then decided he might be able to choke it down.

I then loaded my mother up in the truck and headed for the feed store. We stopped at Starbucks for a latte then went to look at metal fencing. She chose some black non climb horse fencing which should look good with her orangish pressure treated posts.
Tomorrow I will endeavor to hang the fencing......later in the afternoon!

I fed dinner to the horses about 6 pm and let most of them eat outside because it was still so warm.
The retaining wall looks great and should work like a charm....but one project always brings on another.....
I am going to replace two of the gates with mesh type gates.....much safer ....you know that I am practically paranoid about legs getting stuck in places that they shouldn't! We have two rather long panel type gates and yes, sometimes the boys squabble over gated areas.....pawing and sometimes a well placed kick at a supposed villain.......I don't want leg injuries.
After surveying the gates......I decided that we need to fix the leaning posts on the arena. Yukon pushed on them and rubbed his fat butt on them last year...pushed them out of place where they are listing to the side. Looks tacky I think.....
I also need more fence posts along the forested side of the far paddock.......old rotten posts and some field fencing that I hate. So 13 more posts....

oh.........and railroad ties.......helps to keep gravel in place and provides a deep enough structure to hold it with a proper depth. I still have the three paddocks to gravel in....remember?

We still need to paint the loafing sheds to protect them from weather.....scrub water tubs, cut boards for the inside of stalls (wall repairs) ....most of these horses are big and hard on stalls, doorways and stall doors.

Also time to call the farrier for everyone.
sigh.

Hey..........much thanks to SAFE BOAT employees who have sponsored Beaver in honor of their boss...........Beaver is proud! He wants his picture taken with ALL of them.

enjoy your weekend!

Wednesday evening...here comes the weekend

Guess what I am doing Friday? yep.......you guessed it ....farm work........specifically gravel and building a retaining wall for the manure pile.
I am anxious to get it done and over!

The paddocks that were done last week are great so far and they really look good too. I will feel happy when there is no mud to have to stand in or track into the stalls.

We expect this winter to be a bad one........for horses that is. We are trying to get some of our adoptable horses into new homes so that we have some "working" room for horses who will need somewhere to go. This also means we need to put hay away and we hope to be able to put enough away to help feed needy horses in the community.... if the need arises and I am sure it will.
I would like to publicly thank Joe Leitz of Leitz Livestock for his help with good hay at a good price and also the donations he makes to us for our benefits......he has given us hay several times. We love you Joe!

We are trying to help place two TB mares.....youngsters, registered, well bred.......they need a place asap or they are doomed. If you can help...please email me at info@ponyuprescue.com. There is a chestnut and a bay...well built girls.

enjoy the rest of your work week.........mine is over tomorrow and I have the three day weekend that I have come to love and need.

more later.

Sunday evening......not quite finished

Friday was productive......we got two paddocks finished and only three more to go. The gravel started to settle nicely when it rained late Friday night and Saturday morning. The gravel also drained nicely and the horses seem to love to stand on it.
I have days when I think these projects will never finish. Just when I think we are getting ahead of the curve........here comes another one. We hope to get the arena footing re-done in the late spring.......too late now to work on it this year.

Saturday morning, Kim, Darlene and I worked on adding timbers to specific areas to hold the gravel in place. Then we added some gravel to Beaver's paddock, moved some mats (ugh...), placed some stakes to secure timbers and then added a half wall to Beaver's stall.

Then I was off to the hospital to visit my mom. She has been hospitalized for several days.......always worrisome.......but she got to come home Saturday evening. I got her home and into her house, got her dogs fed and then did my barn chores. She was tired and ready to go to bed as I was finishing up.

Sunday morning, I arrive to the farm, check in on my mom and find her still sleeping, so I let her sleep, but I put her dogs out, feed the cats and then feed the horses....who are slightly put out because I have been there for over fifteen minutes without handing over the chow. Then home to shower, drink some coffee and run some errands.

At 3pm I meet a new volunteer and introduce her to the horses, show her the feeding schedule and sign her paperwork..........she is helping out at Pony Up for her senior project and we will love having her with us for ten weeks. She is a girl I have known for a few years and she is horse experienced......YAY! This means she can ride, feed or clean. I am blessed by my volunteers....welcome Devon and thank you for choosing us!
I also have my boys...(workers) show up......more drainage projects to help keep water out of paddocks....they dig ditches while I clean water tubs and feed.
The boys and I work until just after six.......then back to the house to check on my mom, get her dogs fed, make sure she takes her medications.......my niece is there with her and has helped her with some household stuff.

thank you to the Stiffey's for the horse treats, apples, sunflower seeds and help this week.........thank you to Kim for the help with feeding, cleaning and construction help.......thank you to Jason the tractor man for the hours of tractor work on Friday.........thank you to Eli's mother for the banana bread and for sending us the boys! I rave about those boys.......hard workers and polite....easy to be around.

Sharon, I hope your back feels better. You are now on light duty around us...no matter what you say!

Projects to finish......paddocks, paint the newest parts of the loafing sheds, paint the chicken coop, retaining wall for the manure pile, pour a cement pad outside the barn (farrier and vet standing pad).......paint the inside of the barn, add some boards to the inside of the stalls where they need repair, fix the access gate, spread gravel on paths.........re-gravel the loafing shed mats, install light fixtures in the loafing sheds for winter hours.......and spread grass seed in the pastures. Gosh, that is a lot isn't it? and I am sure I have missed some things.

Not to mention that we need to fundraise for medical expenses, training expenses, and start making a "horse food bank" fund for this winter. By the looks of Craigslist, it is going to be a crazy year ...maybe worse than last year and we want to be able to help folks. We encourage ideas ........send us yours. How would you work a horse food bank if you could? How would you encourage donations to such a thing?

enjoy your week..........

Thursday is my Friday

Heavy sigh of relief.........my work week is over....it is Thursday night. YAY!!!!

Tomorrow is GRAVEL day. My friend is coming with his tractor and will help me spread gravel for the anti mud treatment of the paddocks. Honestly, if I get these paddocks finished ....I will be celebrating. So much work. I hate to have horses slog in mud....I hate the resulting thrush and hoof issues it brings. I figure if we are giving horses a better place to live........well, we should give them a "better" place....shelter from the elements, good footing, good food, and NO mud. God knows I am trying. I may have more gravel than the local rock quarry at this point.

We got a nice bench off of Craigslist for outside of the barn. Very solid, varnished......simply marvelous! Only 5o dollars....such a bargain. Now we can ALL sit down.

Sully's leg is just fine..........thanks for asking. We are going to take him on a trail ride in the Banner Forest this weekend. I think he will enjoy it and it is good experience for him. I keep saying what a jewel he is..........someone will get a great horse.......I would keep him for myself if he were big enough! I swear! I am not an Arab person....but I really LIKE this horse.

Thank you to the Stiffey's for the garage sale they held and all the time they spent doing it! We will buy hay with the money.....we are feeding over a ton a month.

Thank you to Kim for helping me during the week and for working with Sully......and for killing big brown spiders lurking in saddles.......ewwwwww!

Fall is coming........cooler in the morning........getting darker faster....chickens go to bed earlier.........it won't be long now.

I write these blogs and tell you about all the work that goes into creating and maintaining a horse rescue.....but it isn't just physical work........it is mental and emotional and financial. Sometimes it is a daunting task, sometimes it is depressing.........sometimes we don't know how we will feed another mouth or clean another stall......but we carry on. Committment and responsibility........helpless creatures who need care and love.....we cannot do it without volunteers and people who donate their hearts and a little bit of their souls to those helpless creatures.
I will always applaud our volunteers....who do it for the horses......they don't get a lot of press ........someday I will post pictures of each one....I am sure the pictures will show their halos.

It is a picture waiting to be painted...........a brilliantly sunny morning.......and there is Hamilton, surrounded by three teenage girls......one delicately holding his lead rope, while one applies show sheen to his coat and the other rubs conditioner/detangler into his tail.......their laughter pierces the air while they talk about their new school year....and they put "dibbs" on who will comb his tail out.........then one brushes his back and combs his mane while the other combs his tail out.........Hammy is half asleep.....but feeling the love of three angels. Thank you to Maia, Madeline and Cash.........you made Hammy feel like a million dollars. He is a horse who has not known much love or much kindness in his life, but in your hands he thinks he must be "something" important.

Volunteers.........they "rock"!