Now for the “Now” part.
It has taken 2 yrs. to get to “Now” part. We did the clean up and patching to the point we weren’t real happy with the results, but it was the best we could do without a building permit. We had a shelter that was 95% dry (meaning the roof didn’t leak) and shielded from the winter North winds, water outside the door, and a 25′ x 50′ secure turn out area, and an inside area to store a few bales of hay.
Straw out here is hard to come by so we weren’t going to worry about bedding. The stall floor was dirt/sand and would be easy to keep clean and dry.
We were about as ready as we were going to get. At this point it was fine for almost 2 yrs. Then enter the second horse. Here we go again. We decided to put a 3rd stall on the addition just in case. Little did we know the “just in case” was coming before we even got the addition started. Enter the 3rd horse. Gulp! The result is pictured below.
For a little while after putting the 3 “kids” together, they picked on the yearling, Dakota big time. Feeding time was pretty bad. It got to the point we closed Dakota in her stall so she could eat in peace. Things are pretty amiable now. Cuts and bite marks are healing up and no new ones are appearing, so it seems the pecking order has been established and accepted.
Dusty still pins his ears at the girls but they move and all is good.
Dusty and I got a 3rd ride today with a bit in his mouth. I worked him with the halter and lead though. Just wanted him to get used to the feel of the bit added to everything else. I thought he was going to get bucky there for a few seconds, but he quieted down nicely.
Cindy
October 27th, 2007
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Here are the “Then” pictures of the “barn”. These pictures were taken a couple days after we moved in. I will post the Now pictures in the next post
This “barn” used to have cows in it. It was evident that the barn hadn’t been used in a number of years. I am very sure we upset more than one local critter in the clean up phase. Needless to say, this wasn’t near the top of our priority list of things that needed to be done. We were planning on getting a horse eventually, so clean up and renovation was on the list, but almost at the bottom.
I have mentioned before that barns in the part of the country is a term used lightly. In Ohio this would considered a “lean-to”. (If it was real lucky)
The horse came sooner than we had anticipated so the project got pushed up on the list. We could have the horse as soon as renovation of some kind was done and the area was made safe. Boy, that was a chore. There was baling wire, boards with nails, loose nails on the ground, water pipes that went who knows where, a frost free hydrant that didn’t work and we didn’t know why, nails sticking out of boards on the walls, buried RR ties, pieces of plywood buried, and a lot of buried fencing and gates plus no turn out area I would be willing to put a dog in.
That’s about it for the “Then”. The “Now” will be in the next post.
Cindy
October 18th, 2007
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I forgot about this project. We ordered 2 cords of aspen that had been in one of the fires out here this summer. Bark is gone but the interior wood is in good shape as you can see. It splits pretty easy also. I appreciate that as I am the official wood splitter in the house. We also have a cord of cedar and pine mixed coming yet. Cedar is very easy to split, even the big knotty chunks. The pine is another story. Man, that is some mean wood.
The large pieces in front of me is wood left over from last year and some from the year before. I can’t even get a splitting maul to dent them.
The wood in the pile off to the right is the aspen. Aspen is a fast, hot burning wood. Mixing that with the pine and cedar should even burning time out nicely. I will split a few logs every evening after work till done. It will probably take a month or so but I will prevail.
Cindy
October 15th, 2007
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Here a pictures of the Frost Free project.
Thank heavens for a neighbor with a BIG back hoe. This was 1 1/2 days worth of digging with this machine, can you imagine doing it by hand? IKES I sure can’t.
The trench was 36″ deep to get below the frost line. The bottom of trench was lined with hay, the PVC pipe laid, and then covered with more hay. At the North end where the hydrant is going was lined with hay and the fittings set on a piece of concrete block. When we placed the hydrant on the fitting, there was fine stone or little rocks placed around the drain hole so it didn’t plug up with dirt and not let the water back drain.
Then we put hay on top of that and back filled. We also put an emergency shutoff just in front of the hydrant. (just in case)
This line ran from the “Mom’s Henhouse” out north to the sheep pen. Last winter we ran a 100′ hose from the nearest hydrant out to the sheep and back around for the chickens. That hose had to be drained every night after watering to keep the hose from freezing. That was a real pain. Despite our best efforts there were a few nights that it froze anyway. Now we only need less than 10 feet of hose and that will be no problem to drain every night.
Thank You Ray for all your help. Let us know when you are ready to start framing your 3 story house.
Cindy
October 14th, 2007
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We had some pretty hefty winds last week, and lost part of the roof over the new stalls. (didn’t really expect gale plus winds) A side sheet also departed company. So, outside we went today. We replaced the wayward sheets of OBS and finished laying the rest. Stalls are now all under cover. (hope the horses appreciate the effort). The only thing left to do to really finish it up is to put the roofing material over the OBS.
I will get the series of pictures up of what the area looked like the day we moved in and present day pictures.
Stay tuned.
Cindy
October 7th, 2007
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