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pictured: a group of silly boys looking restless in their hot buggy midday turnout
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It's a lovely farm, with extensive grounds, riding facilities, turnout, and a lot of freedom. Plus all the other boarders --- they are some of my best friends!
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| when you're dry lotted weirdly late into spring, even the trees start looking tasty i guess? |
But ya know. As with all things, this place is run by humans. And humans will be what they will be. This multigenerational family farm is slowly, oh-so-slowly, creeping toward an eventual changing of hands, from one generation to the next.
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| finally moved to the summer pastures (just behind the tree line) but... now it's hot buggy and miserable during the day... most local farms doing 12/12 turnout already switched to nights out, days in... but, eh, not here, where the changing of seasons is a perpetual unexpected surprise! |
And.... There is a LOT of uncertainty with that, with a not unrealistic expectation of a possibly bumpy ride. Well. Real talk. It's been bumpy already.
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the herd is small enough that it's not unusual for all but 1 or 2 to be in for rides at the same time
notably -- the other geldings herd has something like 10 horses, compared to this group's 5... |
Charlie spent some of his best years here, but if I'm honest with myself, his herd life hasn't been great for a while now. I used to always tell myself that, even if *I* wasn't happy with the care or management, at least my horse was happy! But... That's just not really true anymore. It's not the same farm from a decade ago, let alone 5 years.
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| trying to at least look semi presentable for first impressions! |
Add in the difficulties with getting onsite lessons... and... yea. It's time. It's been time. So both of my horses are moving this month. Tho... somewhat gut wrenchingly, they're going to different places. At least for the time being.
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| freshly shampooed mane = check |
Charlie is moving first, hopefully in just a few more days. And he's moving with another horse from his herd. His new barn is very different -- much smaller, quieter, more intimate, but well managed with good casual vibes. I honestly can't wait!
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| clean + brushed tail = double check |
Doozy will move later in the month. We have a few bits of unfinished business around here to button up --- including hopefully a few last hurrahs with all our favorite riding buddies!
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| just a few more days, boys! (red head pictured here is moving with us) |
I'm honestly excited, and maybe a bit relieved, too. It's time. Part of why I went out on a limb with a new horse this year was to push myself, ya know? To not get lulled into complacency or get so comfortable with the status quo that... maybe isn't really all it
could be, ya know?
There's more I want to do, more I want to learn, and getting out into a new environment could be just the shot in the arm I'm looking for. Like, think about it: It's hard to go out among new people and be like, "Oh yea, I've done things, been places, I know what's up!" when I quite literally may or may not be able to reliably trot my horse around on a circle.
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| oh icee, we were just getting to know you! |
Maybe it'll be a reality check, right? Or just the motivation I need to be serious and disciplined. We shall see, right? -- it's (quite obviously) all still ahead of us.
In the meantime, my head is buzzing with all the nitty gritty practicalities of having my horses in two different places. How to split inventory? What can be realistically divvied up, and what needs to be duplicated at each farm? I've always been that person who has everything, from power tools to charging cables to all the random hand tools and gadgets and medicines and spare everything in multiple sizes.
But... Now all of that is going to have to get organized, assessed, and fit into new and different spaces.
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here's to new open doors windows! |
So, eh, definitely lmk if you have tips or tricks for keeping horses in multiple locations -- esp when it comes to what supplies and equipment to just buy more of to have in both places, vs what's reasonably easy to move back and forth....
Also let me know if you have any good tips for moving (horse) house. It might be easy to forget, but Charlie is my first horse, and he's lived at this farm for almost the entire time I've owned him. I, personally, have ridden at a fairly wide variety of farms, including drawing paychecks (in cold hard cash or in-kind credit, and everything in between), from half a dozen farms... But ya know. Every place is different.
Success stories are welcome. Or ya know.... instructive nightmarish stories of "what not to do," or "dear lord that should have been a red flag!" are also always a good time (esp if they can help the rest of us avoid similar fates!)!!
Oh man. So the time savings of being at one barn vs two different barns (less than five miles apart!) are kinda crazy to me. I didn't anticipate how much it would help but not setting up grooming tools twice and being able to let one dry while grooming the other has made me probably 20% more efficient with my boys at the same place now. But that's not exactly the type of feedback you were looking for.
ReplyDeleteI had grooming tools at both places, although I stole my trailer brushes to do that which was sometimes inconvenient when I forgot to put them back in before traveling. I also had helmets at both barns, but I moved boots and half chaps back and forth. Most of my medical stuff and extra things lived at home in my house or trailer, which just meant a five minute drive from either barn to pick things up when needed. I was never fully committed to two horses in two places so I didn't buy a lot of duplicates.
But I'm so excited for this new leaf for you and both the kiddos! Can't wait to see pictures of them and their new digs.
Good luck in your moving endeavors! I kept my helmet and boots in my car when I was straddling locations for a short period of time between riding someone else's horse and working my own. We did go a period of time when L and H were at 2 different barns, as we had to wait to move L to the same barn. Grooming boxes were split, and we had a first aid kit kinda split between the two, basics at one barn, and at least banamine in each kit. They both were different sizes in a lot of stuff (blankets, tack, etc) so we really had no trouble splitting up stuff between them, moving their stuff to the respective locations and then as we got closer to L moving, bringing his stuff over. I'd definitely keep a basic first aid kit at each barn and maybe keep a more thorough one in your car, and some of the obvious things like supplies maybe they need their own sets, like fly sprays, grooming supplies, etc.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with the move and sounds like you're making the right decision for y'all!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the move! It does suck having to split everything into two different barns. At this point, I pretty much have a set of everything at each barn. But my barns are 70 miles apart, so it's not always easy or convenient to move things between the two. I keep most of my "spare" stuff (extra meds, saddle pads, spare parts to shit I should throw away but can't bring myself to) at Peebs barn or in my trailer which is at that farm, and set reminders on my phone to take things over to Cinder. I was keeping my boots and helmet in the car, but it's just easier to keep a set at both barns. I would sometimes forget to move my helmet/boots between my car and my truck and wound up not having them a time or two which really sucks.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found somewhere, but bummer they can't go together! Finding two spots at the same time somewhere nice is exceptionally hard, though 😕
ReplyDeleteAnd LMK if I can help in any way!
Deleteglad you are moving!! I hope you get them both at the same farm soon but do agree that place has declined over the years for you!! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I’ve been expecting this post. It’s too bad because it seems like a lovely place. But once things start to slip it rarely (in my experience never) gets better.
ReplyDeleteThe closest I came to your situation was when Quaid was in training and Carmen was at my friend’s barn. Which is not the same. Tack should be simple enough. I think I’d keep a first aid kit and things I have just one of in my car.
I hope you can get them in one place but maybe that’s not practical if Charlie is semi-retired.
Please give barn cat Icee a little scratch on the head for me! I've enjoyed seeing his photos. But I imagine you will have more barn cats to admire at your new boarding facilities.
ReplyDeleteI once briefly boarded one of my horses while keeping the other three at home. I found it helpful to make a written list of what equipment I wanted and where.
Keeping a storage container(s) in my vehicle was helpful too. That way I could easily transport stuff between places, especially for items I only have one of.
I hope everything goes smoothly for you!
No advice, just a good luck! I think we might be making a facility change this year as well and even thinking about it stresses me the F out.
ReplyDeleteI could have written this a couple of years ago. It's sad when things start to go downhill, especially when the place and the friends are the same. For logistics, I did end up buying a couple of extra brushes, lead ropes, feed bins, things like that so each horse had their own full set. Tools and lesser used things stayed at home or in my trailer and made their way to the barn when needed. A spare set of old riding gear rode around in my truck so it was always wherever I was, there were a few times my 'good' helmet or boots ended up at the wrong barn on the day and having a spare in the truck came in handy. I was a bit uptight and had notes on my phone about what was where, for things I owned and thought I might forget if/when I moved (some temp electric fencing and water buckets I used in the field being an example)
ReplyDeleteNo advice. Only well wishes for low key moves and a brighter future for both ponies at their respective new digs.
ReplyDeleteIs Doozy moving to the same place as Charlie? Or somewhere completely different?
ReplyDeleteI wish you luck in getting everyone settled and figuring out your schedule. I've thought about moving Phantom somewhere else less expensive, but I can't imagine finding the time to hit up two places a few days a week. When I am down to one horse I will definitely be looking at other boarding options, one reason being the same as you in wanting to find an instructor to work with.
Not quite the same thing, but I had Thunder at training for three months last year while having everybody else at home. He was on full board (and I run a full board barn myself) so all he needed was his tack and grooming kit at his barn, and the barn supplied everything else. That being said, I have duplicates of several things at my barn, one each for my house, the tack room, and the feed room. These are mostly emergency things that I want to be able to grab easily, including:
ReplyDelete- a syringe of banamine
- a syringe of Buscopan
- a stethoscope
- a thermometer
- gauze and crepe bandage
- a hoof pick
- eye ointment
- something antibacterial
- wipes/gauze
- salt for making saline to flush boo-boos
I also make sure I can easily access full emergency info from my phone and hubby's (in case of phone death), including emergency vet numbers and insurance info for all the horsies.
I feel like this is definitely the right decision given some of the things you've been mentioning over the last year or so. Change is hard, but hopefully you're going to love the new places and your horses will also be so much happier. And maybe less accident prone in a different situation. Fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteI've had horses in more than one place a few times, and it's pretty time consuming which is a bummer. But you do what you have to do! I found it easiest to have duplicates of most things. I was always forgetting something in one place or another. Are the barns near each other? For the stuff you don't need all the time (like certain meds, vet wrap, that sort of thing, I usually just keep that in one place and retrieve as necessary. But my horses have always been within about twenty minutes of each other. Except for the one year I had Badger in Florida, but he was on full care, so he only needed tack there. (That was easy!) If it's feasible to have a hat and boots at both locations, that's definitely ideal. If it's not, keep them in the car so they're always with you. I tend make a lot of notes in my phone just in general of what I might need to bring places with me.
I hope the move goes well!! At one point I had three horses at different farms, which would have never been my original intention, but I had to do what was best for each individual horse.
ReplyDeleteAt first I hated the idea of them not all being at the same barn because I knew it would mean that I saw the retired horses less (as let's be honest, the one that is still getting ridden came first most days). But in some ways I liked it better because when I did go out to a farm to see a horse they had my full center of attention, so there was strangely less guilt about all of the times I would go to the barn and just briefly give Prince a pat hello and a treat. I saw him less days of the week, but the time I did go out to see him was better quality time. And I know he probably enjoyed not seeing me spending time with another horse.
My only other advice is to try to keep your gear to a minimum for horses not in work, but also aside from a big ticket item like a saddle, don't plan to rely on taking stuff back and forth (for example your helmet- it's worth getting a second cheaper helmet, or an extra set of paddock boots). Otherwise you will end up forgetting stuff at some point.