Overtime At Work Pays Off

 I've spent so much of MY time working that now its finally paying off. Over 60 hours overtime in June, then 40 in July, now I've already gotten 10 in August. Summer is the time of plenty but in winter its a time of drought and us on-calls will struggle to get hours. The state requires we get 40 hours each week but they don't do it until we beg for it.

I got a nice check again today and I'll be putting a significant amount into the safe for hay and our fall trip to Pioche. I've already got an envelope overflowing with cash & think I need to get another way to hold it all.

We're heading to Pioche September 25th till October 3rd. 

There are many ways to get there and we try to go a different route each time.

This is the most direct & fastest (16 hours drive time) route and the one we'll probably take this trip due to only 1 week off.

But look at all the options, we could go thru Vegas but we hate Vegas.

We could go thru central oregon which is beautiful but seems like such a long drive.

Thru California to Tahoe & then over...

We only have a week so it'll be the direct route.

And we HAVE to have a plan on exactly what we're going to do while there. I'd LOVE to put in another window, get rid of the old one with the built in A/C unit that Lan broke on our last visit. We can take another unit, that's not an issue, but I'd like to get a window in.

We also need to prep for next spring when we're going to rent an excavator for a full week and remove the back two rooms and the old bathroom and then we have to make new outside walls. Or something, not sure on that yet. We WILL need a lot of wood, nails, screws, saw blades, etc, etc. We might need to take more than 2 weeks for next springs trip.

And we HAVE to have a plan in place for a roof over it.

I LOVE planning trip and things to do on the house while we're there.

Horse News:

Ambleside now has a properly fitted saddle and its XXXX Wide!  That girl needs to lose weight.

Saddle Fitter Sarah found:

 an older Wintec for $330.30

Gullet system $140

3rd saddle fit $50

And me riding alone for the first time in the new to us saddle

Two days later this became available, a Gypsy Gold 'Appleby' saddle for $1,200.

I'm supposed to haul Amble over to The Riding Place on the other side of town tomorrow to check it out. I do have the cash for it but then I'm stuck with the wintec too. Oh well, I might never get another chance to purchase a saddle like this while I have money to buy it.

This would be a great saddle for Amble if I can get her down in weight, right now she's a tank.

Oh yeah, I took her to a show last week & she got 2nd in Halter

Things To Do This Weekend

We rented an excavator to do 4 jobs around the farm this weekend.

1. Make a road along the fenceline to the back corner

2. Dig up the frost free hydrant to replace

3. Level the spot beside the shop where the RV is sitting

4. Bust up the hot tub & bury it in a hole & cover it with the fire 

Or, that's all things Lan will be doing. I mowed a large section of the front pasture to have a tack sale in there this weekend. I will move all the cars to the back so there's room for the guests to park.

I've got saddles and all the other crap not needed any longer and I'm going to sell it all, or as much as I possibly can. I'm sure I can get about $300 for Joeys saddle and maybe $800 for Wifi's dressage saddle. There are a bunch of old bridles and other junk too. 

I've got some household crap to sell too, actually lots of crap.  

Kitchen appliances, some clothing, a few other things. 

I just want it all gone.

Brandan 'fixed' the photos on my computer and now its all ruined, nothing is in the folders as they should be.

 

Tack Sales

There is a tack sale an hour away from our farm and I'm planning on being there early. I have my saddle fitting forms, and Sarah the saddle fitter, will be there doing her thing so if I have any questions she will be able to answer them.

The sale should have about 30-50 saddles and maybe, just maybe, 1 of them will fit.

IF none fit, there is a saddle 90 miles south, nearly into Oregon, that will work for now but its $650, its a POS and its a long way away in case I have to return it.

Wish us luck.

Another Year Older

and deeper in debt.

I turned 63 years old yesterday.

I've never been so far in debt in my entire life; first ever brand new car payment, a second home that's a total rehab, medical bills like I've never had before and a horse in very expensive training.

But the brand new car is our truck and its a tool much needed on the farm. We've hauled/pulled trailers more miles than without, its got 4x4, A/C that works, 4 doors for ease of access, 12 cup holders and already its got 10,000 miles. 

Our second house, in Pioche, Nevada

And medical issues

Ambleside is now ridable but I have to upgrade my tack to go forward. 

The house is coming along, the truck is holding its own, my belly is all better and Amble needs a few tack changes before I can attempt to ride again. Her bit isn't big enough, she needs a 6" and her saddle needs to fit better.  I had a gal, a trainer, come give her a lesson and she got bucked off. I thought it was her just asking too much too fast, now I think maybe the saddle hurt or the bit pinched. 

One Year Review: Stable Comfort Stall Matts

We've been using the Stable Comfort stall matts for about a year now & it's time for a review.

I originally had Joey & Mack on them, Joey is  TB gelding weighing about 1150 and Mack is a huge Appy gelding weighing about 1250. The matts held up to their weight FINE but Mack was terrible on the stalls. He broke the dividing wall between the stalls, chewed the doors and demolished the runs. It was easier for ME to keep him in the arena at night.

But then he would whinny at all hours if the others went out to the runs & he couldn't see them so Joey went into the arena with him.

Now its just Wifi (900 lbs) in one of the stalls & I use the other one for hay.

Here is her stall. Its standing up GREAT to the use. Shes in it for about 12 hrs every night and currently we have the run door closed (due to the gutter leaf protector being down from snow). In the mornings I always let her out first so shes much less likely to pee in it.

This is the stall right after I cleaned her poop & stripped it of shavings. I still have to use 

EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF SHAVINGS 

that I ever used before to absorb her pee but I don't have to put in enough to make it soft. But I NEVER DID bed to make them soft because they have the attached runs to go outside.

Here is the front door area and its holding up well. No matter who the horse is, they bang their front hoof on this rail as they walk out but all horses are lazy. The stall fronts we used have a metal bar across each door to hold them rigid and strong and they are the perfect height for the matts.

This is the section just to the right of the above door, under the water buckets. When we installed it the wood on the wall was rotten so Lan used the wood strip to help. It I were to replace that wall wood right there we wouldn't need to use the strip along the floor.

The robber matt top is holding up quite well. There aren't any holes or indications of them at all. They hold all the pee just fine. The pee does puddle and its a bit harder to clean up compared to a flat stall with regular matts where the pee would go underneath when I use regular shavings.

The ONLY PROBLEM I have is 

that Wifi's shedding hair sticks to the rubber matt and won't sweep off very easily. I sweep my stalls every day so there is no dirt/sand/hair where their hay falls out of the hay nets. This hair just wants to stay on it.

But this is a problem that doesn't bother me too much since horses will eat hair as they groom each other. 

In The Stalls

This hay elevator looks like a roller coaster

Also known as haylivator

This is inside Joeys stall this evening. He's got 2 buckets of fresh water, a big bag of hay and tomorrows hay hanging on his door. Lan said they will all eat through their doors but I don't think they will get much.

This is what it looks like outside his door. Wifi's hay is next door

And here is Gus's door with his grass hanging on it

A little electricity to lighten things up

Lan removed the heavy duty pallets, this is all the chafe from 4 years. There were 2 big dead rats and another live one. It was bright green alfalfa, not this nasty brown color.

Barn looks nice without the chicken coop in front

This was last week, I've put some of these items away and cleaned a few times since this was taken

Piggies

The horses are all fat, except Gus isn't, YET.

This is Joey, walking past the wood shed. It looks awful but its back there so its not in front of the house.

And WIFI, OMG! 

Mack is a huge horse so he carries his weight well.

And little Gussy, he still looks good.

In this photo he is chowing down on Wifi's alfalfa while she thinks shes getting the better deal with loose grass.

Halterless gus

Gus without his halter loose in the arena for the first time since April 4th.

He's got a handsome face.

Now that Shadow/Laddie is gone, Gus really loves to play with his treat ball.

Lan has the outside runs just about finished. The electric rope is up, tape along the tops but there needs to be a bit more rope inside.

This was as he was taking down the old wooden fence.

Another view

And with it getting cleaned up and mowed. The pile of sand is buckshot, it will be the top finish in the runs. We need another 6 trailer loads, about 36 tons.

This is out back, there's still a lot to do out there too