December 3, 2024
Its beginning to look like winter. More snow coming down sideways this evening, no crib for me tonight. I am rather wimpish driving at night, blowing snow keeps me home. That snow sure makes things pretty, after the mud month of November. Cold nights brought ice on the water tub. Monday’s job was setting up the ice breaker. Years ago we had Jamaica clear out the ice in the tub. Jamaica was a Clyde cross mare, that had horse-anality beyond the norm. If the water was low, she would pound on the steel tub that covered the well head. If there was any ice on the tub she would use the left front hoof to break it. She was not the lead mare, but if there was any ice on the tub, the herd would defer to her talents. They then would stand in line to take their turn for water. She was one of the fun ones, unfortunately Cancer took her from us at the age of 16. I am giving my yearly reminder for everyone that is keeping tubs clear of ice with an electric device. Make sure the tub is grounded. I have a brick in our tub, wired to the ground pipe of the electric fence. There is information on YouTube about the where and the whys it should be done. Water is a great conductor of electricity and horses will not drink if there is a buzz. We discovered dogs do not either.
The Sanctuary made the Saltwire front page a couple of weeks ago. Very nice story written by Judith Mendiulea, a Holland College journalism student. It did make our situation sound a little dire. I was going to retire when I was 80. That day is long gone. I can’t quit yet, there are still a herd of horses to share. Still lots of lessons to give, still lots of honey to shovel. The treatment I am taking, as statistics go, will give me 5 more years, being one of the lucky ones. As the Orthopedic Surgeons gave me a little more life to the legs, I am still motoring along. Not very speedy but they are getting the job done. Even though the walk from A to B is not a straight line. I appreciate the donations to the Sanctuary generated by Judith’s story. These days’ horse keeping is difficult to do on a shoestring budget. Horses are the cheap part. It is the keeping of them that is hard on the pocketbook. Horses do change lives. During the tough times, they have given me peace and a purpose to keep going. No matter how sick or low you are feeling, animals depend upon you for their keep, you cannot let them down. In days past, they took turns pounding on the door for their buckets. This gang has never been shy about demanding their food.
Of course the farm is blessed with many Barn Heroes. I am not alone with this endeavor. Barn Heroes are the ones that do the grunt work. They are the ones that walk miles doing fences. They are the ones that knock the cobwebs down. They are the ones that pick up feed, carrots and supplies. They are the ones that clean the stalls. They are the ones that share stories with visitors. They are the ones I can call when there are projects to be done. It takes many hands to keep the herd content.
The editors have asked me to post pictures. I do not have a phone or a camera, so that does not happen on my watch. We do not post pictures of our Trailblazers, it is the times that stop me from doing that. I have been told that Trailblazers have posted pictures on social media, then it is not my responsibility. Marketing is not my strong suit. I will leave that to Journalism students. This is the season of celebration. It is not easy for many of us. Do be kind, help where you can. Many times a hug and a smile will make the world of difference for someone.
Love and hugs from Yogi and the herd.