Most of my days are spent doing a little of this, and a little of that. It feels like nothing much gets done, but it does. Albeit slowly.
The feed room wall project is done & our homemade horseshoe hangers are up:
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| getting ready to stain |
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| finished feed room wall |
It sure makes chores easier when you know exactly where to find things. Once the construction is finished & tools get put away, we will finish the opposite feed room wall as well. We plan to build some type of enclosed structure for easy human access to horse feed, and as a deterrent to critters. I found some pretty interesting ideas on Pinterest.
We ordered, and are using hay nets for the three occupied stalls:
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| Harmony's left over hay |
Koda borrowed Cierra's orange net, and we instantly saw an improvement in his habits. He was so annoyed the first night, it was too funny. Yea we got dirty looks and he did the disgruntled yank-n-munch thing, but slowing his eating down has helped. All the horses have one now. No more peed on hay (Nemo) and trampled hay waste (Harmony) and Koda's stall is less trashed. So far the slow feed orange hay nets have held up very well.
Brad cleared an area in the field behind our barn to warm up/work/ride our horses:
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| our future indoor arena area |
Sadly it has gone unused. Our weather has been less then ideal. From none stop rain, to crazy mosquitos, to high temps. Then there is this thing called time. That darn thing we always seem to be chasing. It feels like all work and no play. Someday, things will settle and we will do something more then care for our horses. They must think this place is a bed & breakfast.
Sandy fines were delivered & hay was cut, baled and stacked:
Last week 3 dump truck loads of fines and small stone arrived for Brad & our son to get our house driveway ready to pour. The storage side of the barn will also get more fill & leveled.
We also had our hay field cut, and Brad loaded 21 *rain free* large bales into our barn - just in time before storms rolled into our area. Again. Yes, he will have to move all those bales around in order to work on the barn floor. Sure wish that rented bobcat was ours!
I am still wheeling it to the pile & back, and enjoying the golden scenery:
6 comments:
I wish I had a bobcat, too. Sounds like you're getting a lot done, but that outdoor riding area would be calling my name! That's probably why our place looks less than lovely. Your place is EYE CANDY!! Someday you'll have it all--TIME and a beautiful home for you and your horses. And that day will probably come sooner than you think.
I like the look of the hay nets--seems like they solved a lot of problems.
Everything looks beautiful and so organized! I find there's never enough time to do everything that needs doing. When we boarded I just had to show up and ride but now with taking care of the horses and barn, riding arenas, indoor, mowing etc. there's less time to ride. What I found works best for us is to ride first thing in the morning after they eat. Leave the mucking and whatever else needs to be done until after you ride otherwise there just isn't time and you won't feel like it anyway after working around the barn. Bet you can't wait until you start that indoor. You'll love it once it's done.
Our hay nets cost a little more, but they are worth the extra $. Hay Chix (or whatever they are called) cording breaks easily. We have yet to find a broken strand on our Orange Slow Feed nets. I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for.
The arena does call to me, I love riding. I need someone around tho. I'm just not a solo rider, unless I am familiar with surroundings. The horses haven't even been back there, yet. Doesn't help my injured shoulder added another reason to be overly cautious. Sigh.
That is exactly what I miss about not boarding, just showing up and riding. I was riding 2-4X most weeks, year around, compared to no riding. I don't mind doing chores, and love seeing our horses all day long. Guess it's a trade-off. Great suggestion to ride first, and just leave the stalls until later!
It's going to be a few years before we can afford an indoor, but you can bet we will get one. We've got a lot to finish up before even thinking about investing in one. It will be dreamy when it happens, especially in the winter!
So wonderful making your own hay. You'll probably get a second cut too.
The riding time will come, sometimes it gets bumped down the list of importance as things need to be done, and I'm sure the horses don't mind! Hope your shoulder is all better soon.
Totally agree with Grey Matters - riding should come before chores. For me, it has to, otherwise I sometimes fall into that trap of just doing one more thing and the day gets away from me. I love evening riding too, so those days everything else stops (whether it's technically done or not) by 6 so I can poke some supper into Mr Shoes before we saddle up.
Your place is looking gorgeous! We do not have a paved driveway, or anything else. In fact, the turn around in front of the barn is looking kind of green and I have gotten in trouble (more than once) for running the mower over it and flinging up rocks. My bad.
We hang our forks on the hayroom wall - one is Mr Shoes' and one is mine. He is too rough with them and his always has a broken tine or two, but if he gets caught using my fork he hears about it in a hurry.
Shirley, my shoulder (torn rotator cuff) won't change without surgery. But thank you! I've decided to leave it as is for now. After 10 months of PT, and 2 steroid shots - it is working good enough. I just have to be careful, one more fall/unexpected yank will change everything. Honestly believe it was the move that pushed me enough to avoid surgery. My PT said I should patent my "moving exercises" lol.
Can't blame you for not sharing with Mr. Shoes. I absolutely need a fully functioning fork! The little turds get the best of me otherwise lol. Not a big fan of evening riding. Too tired, too many bugs and then there are those horse eating shadows. Maybe in the cooler months, around sunset - ahhh - now we are talking. The only reason we have concrete anything, is because I am married to a certain someone who has been in the concrete industry for over 30 years.
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