Monday, September 17, 2012

Uncertain Times

I have read a lot of blogs recently either about people considering moving their horse or actually moving their horse. Well that question has risen at our barn.
We have been here for 10 years with no big problems. No place is perfect so some strife is expected. Lately, the owners have restricted what tractors we can use to the point that none are allowed. This means nothing to mow the fields or arena with and having to wait for them to have time to mow. Then the farm manager, really he is retired, comes by and says that the owner wanted to put the manure spreader in the barn's center aisle. Big problem since it takes up too much room and we would have issues moving horses or dropping hay. Plus we have no way to move it with no tractor. We solved that by buying a little spreader that can be pulled by our truck or by hand. Maybe we could even hook Rosemary to it to pull :)
He also made a statement that we use a lot of electricity and that the owner could save money if we were not here this winter. Uh oh, what the heck does that mean? That elicited many feelings of panic. With five horses, one a stud colt, you do not just pick up and move easily. Peggy and Larry immediately said that if we had to we could bring them all over to their farm. 4 stalls and 8 horses should be interesting to work out. Peggy also started asking around her neighborhood for people who have open stalls or barns.
One of her neighbors has a four stall barn with heated wash rack, H/C water, tack room, rough pasture, a small arena and a turnout with a run in shed. It is not perfect, but it would be workable. I think DaVinci would just get to roam the barn. Unfortunately, her daughter is bringing horses home from school in December, so it is not available any time soon.
I hope this will all blow over as I really do not want to leave. It has had one good effect in that it has Dad thinking more about getting our own place. That may not happen soon either though because my parents just refinanced the house and there is no way to sell for what they owe. We have put a lot of work into the barn that would be wasted if we have to leave. The horses on the property allow the owner to get a tax break. If we leave they would put cows in the fields to meet the requirements.
So right now we are waiting, but looking. Hopefully he won't decide after we get our hay order and sawdust in to call it quits.

2 comments:

  1. Ugh, that stinks. I hope you can work something out with a minimum of fuss.

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  2. I hope you find something if you need to. It sounds like they are trying to get everyone to leave. Some day you'll have your own place and won't have to worry about owners whims anymore.

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