This 'n That

[SandyG]

A bit of a short night, as my Mom would call it, but up and ready to head over to Stillwater to bring our Helen home!!! HURRAY!!! It just has not been the same barn since she went over last week for her procedure. I'm so excited to see her again! And to not hear her breathing!

Prayers for her and a safe journey home, please!!

[SandyG]

Our Herd Boss is home and so very happy to be here! When we opened the doors to the Exiss, she was facing those doors and her front feet were dancing in place! Just as excited as when I put the collar on her neck to dress her for going for a wagon ride! So very good to see this horse happy to be home and to resume her job as The Boss.

A quick check of the pasture, a double roll to scratch her back in "home dirt" and then down to the serious business of grazing and hanging out with her pals. Immediately, the rest of the herd relaxed and order was restored.

The Old Mustang's mouth is a good as we could make it by checking for lost teeth and removing the very sharp points in the back of his mouth. The fact that he has teeth in his late 30's is remarkable and a good step toward his recovery from severe starvation.

So - a good day. We are home for a few minutes and then off to Applebee's with two of our most reliable mares. Another evening of hugs and chatter and then home for a good night's sleep.

Stay warm! That wind out there is sharp!

[SandyG]

TAH-DAH!!!

It only took 6 weeks - count 'em! - but Refuge Farms is back online and working every spare minute to sift thru the 3,002 emails in the inbox. Whew!

The configuration leaves a bit to be desired but we'll get there in time. The point is that we are back online and full of news and stories! We can overcome the two keyboards, two monitors, no way to keep the kittens from turning the computer off, a total lack of USB ports and no printer, but we'll work on those things! Meanwhile, I have a cardboard box to put over the computer while I'm working so the little feet don't accidentally shut us off! Where there's a will there's a way!

Immediate news:

All are healthy and well.
A very elderly mustang gelding has joined us for his remaining life - cool old dude and madly in love with Josephina!
THE STORE is decorated for the holiday shoppers with raffle #3 in progress.
And our traditional Christmas Breakfast at the Menomonie Applebee's is this Saturday from 8am to 10am. I look forward to seeing you there!

Gotta run and pick up the mail, get fuel, load the kitchen with bags of pellets. Then need to brace the new stock tank so those legs on that 3,000 little girls don't cave in the sides!! And, hopefully, before the end of the business day, get Xerox on the telephone and get the driver loaded so we can print!

Hoping your Thanksgiving was a day of love and grace and peace,
Sandy and The Herd

[SandyG]

The mud is rather deep but they are still picking grass - and it is December in Wisconsin! Go figure - what a gentle start to winter. We have a month of the season under our belts and I, for one, am grateful for the easiness of this first month. Three months of winter and then another return to the muds - we can handle that!

I moved big bales of hay out before the rains on Sunday and I'm so glad that's done for a while. It is slippery out there and tearing up the pasture is not a favorite thing to do - hopefully we will get a bit of sun to warm up their withers and dry up the grounds a bit.

The tank heaters are on even though it isn't freezing yet. I think of the older ones and do believe the warm water tastes so much better than a blast of ice water in their guts - Faline stands and drinks and drinks and drinks and then just stands over the tank for a while. A wonderful invention to her once she got used to it rather than eating snow or finding a puddle.

Hope your day was a good one - ours was!

[SandyG]

Yesterday was a day of miracles! Charlie and Nick appeared to help out with the barn work and help out they did! They DID IT!!!

Gates were hung to protect the doors when we have to close the kids in during cold, a blizzard . . . gates were hung to create a "Billy-proof" stall with the gate hinges being hung on pins that went right thru the barn walls! Floors were SPOTLESS when Charlie got done skid'ing around and then about 22 tons of limestone screenings were spread on the floors so the spring will not bring it's typical mud and standing waters in the barn. And then a full week's supply of round bales was moved out for the kids and believe me, cold air is coming. You see nothing but butts out in the pasture as they all have their heads buried in that hay! GLORIOUS day yesterday!!

Thanks to Charlie and Nick for their dedication and energy. Many thanks from a grateful caretaker and a happy herd!

And for today - a few prayers are requested. I'm heading out right now to get to the eastern part of the state to check on 6 horses I've been asked to investigate. I have the trailer hooked, loaded with feed, buckets, water, hay, lead ropes, halters, and snow fence. I also have my tool box in case the horses decide not to get up and still need some help.

My guts tell me what is ahead but my heart will not listen. So prayers for strength and having my heart listen to my head and do what is best for them. Regardless of how majestic and beautiful and glorious they are . . . regardless of what could have been. Prayers to help me deal with reality and help them however that help looks.

Amen.

[SandyG]

Heading out to unhook and then bring blankets down to the big barn. We go from nothing to full blown deep winter blankets. Wow!

Gracie and Miss April spent their first night in their new "digs" and were so cozy - water, hay, a new dry floor and plenty of room for both of them to rest their legs. Thanks to Nick and Charlie!!!

Getting a blanket today for the Ole' Man - he fell asleep last night as I brushed him and removed his burr's . . . hopefully for the last time this year!

My heart is heavy but I am beyond grateful that I took the last warm day and went to those horses in Taylor County. So glad! To still be there in the freezing ground would be worse than death. Bless their beautiful, patient, forgiving, and grateful hearts.

[penelope]

Hi Sandy,

I'm assuming you did not bring any of those 6 home with you, did you? I'm sorry for what you endure when making these difficult decisions.

Penelope

[SandyG]

"Good snowy morning, Sandy --

Did all of the horses need to be helped to cross over? Thought of you all day.

Glad you are home safe and sound."

Five were waiting - one had already forged a path for her pals.

[SandyG]

In my little corner of this world, there is one place I can go to heal and cry and hug and try to make sense of a senseless act. And so, in need of hugs and a time to cry and in desperation to feel life in my hands, I went out to the barn at 4pm. Hooking and feeding all of them and then going one-by-one and brushing, pulling a few burrs, leaning on them, warming my hands from their intense bodies, and even getting kisses from PONY! when his blanket went over his withers.

Truly these horses are healers. Truly, they know the smell of grief and are able to stand quietly to comfort, lean back on you when you just want to fall over, and then reach out to you to reassure you.

As I've told you many times before, I am beyond wealthy. My life is filled with horses and humans that work miracles and heal without expecting anything in return except the satisfaction of knowing they helped. I am so very, very rich.

G'nite.

[SandyG]

As I drove home this evening, I wondered if the horses could stand another night cooped up in the barn. The winds have not subsided and the cold is starting to penetrate even the bold ones! Upon entering the barn, I had my answer - everyone except Helen and Hollie were already standing in the barn to escape the winds. And those two wanted to be in the barn but being the bottom of the pile, they were not.

So everyone was hooked and then fed, square bales were placed strategically on the barn floor, tanks were topped and every last horse was taken to the stock tank for a long drink of water before all were turned loose for the night. The amazing part, when I turned to look at them before leaving them inside with the door closed (and the 25 mph draft gone!), I noticed that everyone was calm, munching on hay, and no one was picking a territory fight. They were all grateful and content.

And as a result, so is their caretaker. G'nite.

[SandyG]

How quickly the long term residents set into the "winter routine" and bring the "newbies" along with them. In the evenings, they are all in except Hollie and Helen who stand just outside the door. Then it is hook, feed, let them stand and snooze, and unhook. Check blankets and fill tanks while they eat but I close the doors and turn out the lights for an hour so they can digest and rest.

Gracie will come up to the heated workshop on Monday evening and stay for a few days. The projected temps and wind chills are too severe for that little body and so we'll baby her and put her in a heated space that sits around 38 degrees - just enough to be warm but not warm enough to shed those winter hairs!

Please watch for the ice, everyone. It's out there and just like waxed paper! Be safe and warm!

[SandyG]

These are two interesting herds . . .

The healthy, big, fat ones on the north pasture are outside and come in only for a drink of water. They prefer the outside in the wind, the rain, the snow, and to sleep. Their hay is outside and their barn is almost as clean as it was a week ago!

The older, weaker ones on the south pasture are inside about 99 if not 100% of the time. They have water and shelter and their pals. They prefer to doze or scratch each other as they wait for the next appearance of their "magic bucket". Only Helen and Hollie prefer to be outside so they have ready escape opps. I wish those two would feel the safety and stay inside as well. And, of course, you can imagine how their barn floor looks!

I'm going to strike a deal with Charlie and see if he is willing to periodically scrape off the top foot in the south barn and, if so, then we will just have a big 2,000 lb bale of hay in the center of the floor. It will cozy things up but then the ones that need to eat the hay the most will be eating all day long. Maybe that extra comfort food factor will keep them calm and help their caretaker to stop jittering in fright.

Worry is a good thing. To a point. My job this winter is to keep my worry level below that point. Tough to do. But I constantly tell myself that they have hides, not skin like us. They have feet that don't get cold and fingers that don't go numb. Their faces don't hurt in the wind because they are smart enough not to put their faces in the wind!

Always something to learn from these creatures. Always.

[SandyG]

The Family of Refuge Farms is happy to see the snow on the ground - to insulate the ground from the Siberian air about to reach us and also to cushion the walk on the frozen grounds.

MUCH to get done today:
* Blankets hauled to the Big Barn, including the fleece liners - full hard winter wear!
* Bird feeders to fill
* Several more attempts to try to start the skidloader - ever since it returned from Nortrax, the unit randomly fails to turn over. So I will make arrangements today to arrive at Nortrax tomorrow at 8am WITH the skidloader and get it resolved. We need to move hay!!!
* Hay supplies refilled in the big barn - we are almost out of small squares and if I can't move round bales, that's their food supply
* Prepare the workshop for Gracie to move into on Monday evening (it appears)

Much to do! Many hands will make light work so I look forward to the dedicated hands that will appear today! BLESS THEIR HEARTS!!!!

Se safe and please prepare for the cold!

[SandyG]

I'm just about to call it a day but cannot do that before saying "thank you" to Nick and Brandon for their dedication and hours of support today!
They both arrived dressed for the conditions and started by, "What needs to be done?" And thus began the day!

Hay was rearranged in the big barn to avoid a wall of small squares falling down, blankets were piled into the F350 and moved/sorted/and hung in the big barn - including the fleece "long underwear" blankets, the skid loader was charged and then boosted to get it started ( and then Nick moved 11 bales of hay into the corral, the north pasture, the south pasture, and one into the barn for the older/weaker/fragile herd. But the highlight of the day was walking behind Nick as he brought Gracie into her new stall for a week or so - until this Siberian air moves someplace else!

I had a good start on the workshop when the guys arrived but with them here, the place took shape so very quickly! The mats were layered to give her a good barrier between the ground and her body, shavings were brought in and spread, feed, buckets, water pails, and yes the manure forks were all brought up and our little girl is sleeping as I write this. Tomorrow I will get her radio playing her favorite Christmas channel but she has eaten her feed, taken a drink of heated water, and knows where the tank of hay sits. She is in 4" of shavings with a light blanket on and seems quite content. THAT is the victory and the single most important task done today - aside from getting hay out and blankets ready for the rest of the herd!

The horses are all out tonight to give them a change of venue and those new hay bales are calling them - the original bales no longer exist! And yes, they are neck deep in the bales so hang on - it is going to get cold according to our forecasters in our pastures!

Nick and Brandon - I am so grateful and honored that you both would spend time here in support of these horses and the tasks needed to take good care of them. You both are wonderful young men and I am honored and humbled to know you and have you "watching my back". Blessings to you both.

I was on edge this morning - seemingly buried in a list of tasks that seemed bigger than the time available. And then Nick and Brandon appeared and now I am relaxed, able to focus, and just more able to "deal" in general. The release of stress because these two men came to volunteer and yup, they brought their smiles with them!

Thank you, Nick. Thank you, Brandon. And now, g'nite world!

[SandyG]

Whether your belief is that of evolution, creation, or the massive explosion - however you believe "it" was all created, the job was done so very, very well!

These horses - even the weakest of them! - are equipped for the cold with hides, teeth to eat a 2,000 lb of hay in 24 hours, and the sense to get out of the wind and to stand, instead, in the sunshine. Even The Ole' Man is vibrant and eager for his breakfast - and just what that emaciated body of his is using for heat is beyond me! I have a flannel sheet for long underwear next to his hide, then a strong winter blanket, and then an insulated turn out blanket to help block the wind. I've added 30 lbs of weight for his legs to handle but when I put my bare hand under his flannel sheet to check him, he is warm! And nudges me to get my hand out of there and get rid of that draft I've just created!

Big Jeri-Ann, Beauty, Big Boy and even Clyde Mare are rugged creatures and stand with their heads high to view the territory. I wonder if they even know it is cold outside! Amazing creatures and I am most appreciative of their structure and formation as without those thick hides, those inflatable coats of hair, and the sense to use the bales and buildings to block the winds, the job of caring for them would be more than a little unfit human could manage!

Helen, Hollie, PONY!, Alexius, The Ole' Man, and Miss April are decked out in flannel sheets with winter blankets and then a cover blanket as a wind break. All of them are so very warm underneath! The rest almost laugh at me as I check them to see if they need a blanket. I put one on Ella yesterday afternoon knowing the wind chills were going to be tough last night and I found it in the hay this morning! I can just hear Ella, "Blankets are for sissies!".

We humans, on the other hand, have toes that freeze, fingers that freeze, eyes that water, and faces that numb in ten steps. We are NOT built as they are and so the industry for warm attire was born.

How it came about in the first place is a personal decision and selection. And we at Refuge Farms respect everyone's varying ideas. But, we must all agree that however or by whomever it was done, it was done very well!