BIg changes coming for the ponies (and Horse Mom)

On February 28, Dude and Bestie will move to a new home. I've been casting about for an alternative to our current barn for quite a while, mainly because it is fairly pricey and because the horses aren't doing much (meaning I'M not doing much with THEM!)--it was beginning to seem a little fiscally irresponsible. But, and it's a big BUT, I didn't want to just switch them ANYWHERE. They get excellent care in our current barn and we've all been very happy there. So my wish list consisted of 1) same level of care; 2) cheaper price; 3)closer to home and 4) more flexible turnout.

Did pretty well on the wish list. I heard about the new barn from a boarder at the current barn who is going there. It turned out that it's the same barn that a former 4H member had called and told me about maybe a month or two ago. I went and looked at it last Friday, went back on Sunday, and made my decision Sunday night. That is simply amazing for me, because I tend to think and think and think...

But after I visited the barn twice, I just had this overwhelming feeling of happiness and relief. I think I didn't realize how worried I actually was about the horses and keeping them in a nice barn without breaking the bank. As the economy worsens, and we see it hitting more and more very close to home (with friends getting laid off), I felt I needed to do something. So this is the best of all worlds ... cheaper, closer to my current employment, more laid-back atmosphere for both horses and humans, and more turnout. SIGH OF RELIEF. And three of the people whom I talk to MOST at the current barn are also going. And our farrier will go there. All the stars aligned!

Beautiful huge snowstorm yesterday! I'm at work, but am mentally picturing the horses enjoying the fresh snow.

You know it's cold when ...

-you arrive at the barn to find the horse's water bucket frozen solid; a six inches thick cylinder of ice. (Thanks goodness for the automatic waterers still functioning.)
-the farrier calls to say, "umm, I think I need to reschedule, maybe for next week?"
-everyone gets a bran mash at night, two nights--maybe three--in a row.
-mucking the stalls yields lots of poop frozen hard as rocks that "thunk" as you throw them into the wheelbarrow.
-you have to stomp on the bedding to break it down from large chunks into something that remotely resembles shavings.
-you arrive at the barn and keep on your clothes from work (long underwear, pants, turtleneck and wool sweater), adding another pair of socks, your wonderful quilted insulated winter riding pants, a sweatshirt, a heavy fleece, a hat, a down vest, and the warmest gloves you can find. And you still need to periodically pop into the tack room to warm up.

Tuesday night we plunged from 30 degrees to 5 degrees! And since that plunge, it's been single digits all the way ... with a few negative numbers thrown in for good measure. Tomorrow, the weather forecasters are saying maybe 10 degrees, and that's looking WARM!

The horses seem to be doing ok. They've got on their Baker sheets, insulated blankets and turnout sheets and feel comfortably warm but not too toasty when I slide my hand underneath the layers. Katie walked Dude yesterday, and I arrived later and walked him again, plus Bestie. Some people did ride yesterday at the barn, but we're both weenies and really don't see the point of it when it's so cold.

I'm hoping today to put them out for a little while, after we run some errands. The barn's policy is not to turn out below zero degrees, which I can understand. Once the horses get uncomfortable, they tend to get unhappy, and if no one's there to grab them and bring them in, they start getting silly. So it's better to leave them in. Sounds like they'll get out Saturday and Sunday. We're supposed to get some snow, which will be nice. Right now we've got a hard crust over everything from the cold.

You had to go to the BARN??

I am tired of people who do not have horses saying to me, "Oh my gosh, you had to go the barn??" This generally occurs on days of inclement weather, which for the most part occur in Winter here. The question is asked in a tone of utter astonishment and sometimes accompanied by a "you are crazy" expression. They seem to be implying that going to the barn is an activity that must be such a BURDEN. I'll admit that sometimes it is a burden, usually due to time constraints, but when I walk in there I really try to shed any crankiness, and usually that's easy. How can you be cranky when you walk in and one horse whinnies and the other nickers at the sound of your voice, and they both look at you expectantly like they're just waiting to see what you will do, like you are this really interesting part of their lives. I love that moment, it makes me laugh. How often do you get to feel totally fascinating?!

Salt

A funny thing happened tonight. The barn muckers had the day off, so the stalls were pretty messy by the time Katie and I got to the barn around 4 pm. I decided to put Bestie in an empty stall across the aisle, just so I'd have more room to maneuver. I wasn't paying too much attention to her as I worked, but I soon realized that very energetic slurping noises were coming from across the aisle. There had been a salt block left in the stall by the previous occupant and Bestie was totally going to town on the thing. I ended up moving her back into her own stall because she showed no signs of letting up and I was kind of worrying that she might be getting a bit too much in her enthusiasm for it.

We haven't given her salt or electrolytes in quite a while since she is on a pretty laid back work plan. Now I'm wondering if I need to. People at the barn have been going on and on about the Himalayan salt licks, which are cool looking and apparently less likely to break up because they are very hard. Also kind of fun to visualize one catalog's description of the yaks of the Himalayas toting all these salt licks down from the mountains for the ponies of the world :). One more thing to think about. I see some Googling in my future :).