Winter wasn't without its challenges! Our barn closed last November. And we were all told to ...get out, get out now. There's never a good time for something like that to happen. But it *is* a risk you take when you rent space. Not only is the weather going to be a problem - here in greater Boston, usually by the middle or the end of October, people who otherwise keep their animals outdoors the rest of the year, they've reserved most (all) of the available space for the winter. Especially any place with an indoor arena.
I have some resources and I could manage. But..the situation ..well, some animals had no place to go. Five horses were homeless. I thought it over. I leased a farm. And took in the homeless animals.
What a huge adjustment! For everyone. Of course we had tons of work to do. Putting up sheds and fencing, getting stalls ready and of course moving. I've had horses for many years but I've never run my own farm before. Oh yes I have help. But still scary as all get out.
And this property is very different than where we've been for the past 21 years. Where we'd been in a huge (24 horse) barn surrounded by 1800 acres out in farm country, this is 12 acres in a (rural) residential neighborhood.
We made it through the winter with only one crisis. Everyone is still in one piece and we've experienced *many* new things. It's been good for the horses. Neighbors. Houses. Lights at night. Traffic. Lawn mowers...leaf blowers. Snow plows. Kids playing basketball. They'd never seen any of this before.
The barn is much smaller than we're used to, but it's cozy and has a certain charm. We're cleaning stalls with muck buckets because there's just so little room to maneuver. It's not permanent and we're making it work for now. And my core strength is pretty good these days!
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