Friday, November 5, 2010

Some things I learned my first year of owning a horse farm (Author Unknown)

Someday we'll have the land and I want to have my own farm... I found this today on Tacky Tack of the Day (where I bought new boots for Denali) and thought it was worth sharing.


A horse will respect two thin wires of electric fence. If and when he wants to.

"Break away" barriers are good things. Gates, fences, halters and even support beams should all be engineered to "give" when under pressure from a 1,300 lb horse with a big spook.

Kindness is still the most powerful force. Win his heart and the mind follows. And all four hooves, too.

You can't fight the weather. Live with it. Prepare for it. Don't ignore it and don't forget it.

Sometimes the weather screams at you to hunker down and stay inside. Do it.

Life is hard. Don't underestimate the physical challenge of life. Get in shape.

Play. Life is hard (see #s 4 and 5 above). When it lets up, find time to play. Life is also short and the time for enjoyment fleeting. Ride horses. Ride bikes. Read books. Go fishing. Play a game.

Have fun!

Be flexible. The old adage, "fix it once," is wrong. You may have to fix it 100 different ways, 100 different times.

Water freezes at 32-degrees Fahrenheit. Every Time.

Sometimes all you have to do is HOLD A CROP. It's amazing how things seem to go your way when you just have it in your hand.

Don't wear regular clothes to the barn.

A swimming pool is a good thing. A lot of work, but a good thing.

Horses prefer dried brown grass to fresh green hay.

By and large, horses are NOT intent on killing themselves. Six days out of seven they prefer to
graze peacefully, groom each other, and socialize with the neighbors over the fence. It's the
seventh day that gets you, though!

You cannot mow a field with a lawn mower.

The cat is a good mouser.

The dog serves no purpose whatsoever. Other than to keep you busy, tear up your stuff, and make you get out of bed in the morning.

Fence wire goes on the INSIDE of the fence.

You can install electric fencing with just one ground rod. And that voltage meter does not work as good as your hand -- but it hurts less.

15 minutes of barn work does not equal a Big Mac & fries! That would be 120 minutes.

Horses can stay outside overnight.

Hard surfaces make good floors in a farm house.

Always schedule the next hoof trimming when the farrier is HERE.

A phone in the barn is a good thing.

Don't dump the muck cart into the wind.

There is no such thing as "reliable high speed internet" on the prairie.

You can get tennis elbow from mucking stalls.

Manure adds up. Fast.

Winter lasts a long time. It's cold. It's hard. And it is very very boring. Get an indoor hobby.

Horses are a lot of work. Unless you love them, then there is no "work." Just life.

Heat the feed room.

Don't break ice with the bucket heater.

Wear gloves when refilling frozen water buckets.

There is a contraption called a T-post puller. You need one.

No. It is NOT a good idea to burn off your fields. PERIOD. No matter how many people say it is.
Pay someone to run over them with a bush hog. Trust me.

Put your foot on the brake to start the tractor.

Wake up with the sun. Forget the alarm.

3 comments:

Walkinghorse said...

So true! I could have written this post word for word. Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Carol said...

Great advice.

Unknown said...

I think I have written these word for word at some point or another. Especially about the electric fence...and the t-post puller(which I still have not invested in but the tractor works you just bend ever 3rd one)