January 1, 2024
Happy New Near from our barn to yours. May it be a healthy prosperous time! I am a very lucky gal! I came home from replacement knee surgery just before Christmas. My goal at that time was to be able to snowshoe by February. That may or may not happen, who knows if there will be snow. My barn heroes have taken such good care of the farm and the herd, I could concentrate on getting strong. heroes. I fell last January, broke a bone, tore ligaments, tore the hamstring, It seemed a forever thing to overcome the pain and get mobile again. I could count on the directors, volunteers, Trailblazers to look after the herd; because last year I was unable to physically take care of them, even leading a horse was out of the question. I was here as an advisory person only and to pay the bills. The holiday season brought many donations to the Sanctuary, thank you for helping with the winter bills. I am so grateful for friends that have looked after me. I have been blessed with much food, housekeeping chores, and best of all drop in visitors that play crib.
2024 is here, now the planning begins. The herd comes first, we have to consider their health and ways to keep them healthy. Veterinary services are not readily available in our area. Gut health is the first thing that comes to my mind. We must keep the water to the horses. 10 gallons per horse per day is my rule of thumb. We do not need impaction problems. A stomach ache for us is painful. For a horse it is catastrophic. Do everything you can to make sure that sufficient water is available. If you are feeding processed feeds soak it. A good portion of that feed is beet pulp, that feed, fed dry makes more work for the gastric juices. Our herd has forage available free choice. There is 150 gallons of water free choice. There is always a couple of salt blocks available in the paddock as well as a small salt block in each stall. The herd is outside almost 24/7. In a bad blizzard or ice storm they are brought in for the duration of the storm. We do not blanket, they have thick coats and if the wind is brisk there are still lots of trees to seek shelter.
There is always a place for workers in the summer. The farm still suffers from Fiona damage. Fencing is always a major consideration. Working with the herd, preparing them for their summers therapy challenge as well as preparing the farm for visiting tourists is always time consuming. I am busy preparing the words for student job grant applications. Deadlines are swiftly appearing on the calendar. I hope to be awarded a couple of jobs for 16 or 12 weeks that would make it possible to hire college students. This is a good place to get experience in agriculture, animal nutrition and health care, forestry and people skills. Send your resume to handibearhills@gmail.com if you would like to join the team this summer.
Well this is a short message, I must get horizontal. Again wishing you all a healthy, prosperous New Year. Love and hugs from Yogi and the herd.