Friday, September 6, 2013

Very frustrated this week

The week has been kind of off because Tuesday was Monday with the holiday. Work is very busy for me right now, lots of audits and lots of findings with some not easily fixed or impossible to fix. I am glad I am doing the audits instead of the one who has to go back and try and fix the issues.

The weather is really nice, just right and we got some much needed rain. The horses are starting to shed already and the dogs seem to be okay on the shedding for now. When the dogs blow out their coat it is really a lot to keep up with.

The barn where we have been boarding is small and family run, the folks there are almost never home now and when they are they don't have time to run the barn, so other people are doing the chores and handling the horses and unfortunately the people that are doing this do a lot of things that aren't safe.

This happens in barns a lot when people can't make the commitment it takes to run a barn or won't pay someone qualified to run it. Aubrey is fairing okay, he's young but Cody is getting older and slower and requires more time and consideration. He can't be turned out with a large herd and especially when there are aggressive horses. We had enough space to have two herds and also to let everyone out equally one way or another, that isn't the case here.

So... I went to several barns in the area and with a long list of what must be right and safe especially for a senior horse. I found a barn and it is very nice with a paid barn manager. The best part is many grassy turnouts so everyone can go out and be safe.

The horses are never left out unless supervised, and a bunch of people aren't running in and out handling the horses or doing the chores randomly.

A schedule in a barn is important, we were a small barn and there were days when letting the horses out or cleaning stalls happened at different times of the day, we rarely skipped a day letting them out, once and awhile we missed a day on cleaning stalls. The feeding however, especially with having to feed four times a day with the seniors had to be kept pretty timely.

Our boarders were able to bring horses in and out but they were known and were focused on safety. Anyone who has boarded a horse know there are some folks that really don't have a clue and so it seems I am dealing with some now.

I also went to great pains to make sure that I found a place that seemed secure enough not to have to move them again. I hope to put a fence on the three acres here next year so at least I can have them here during the warm months if need be. I might just have a run in and a fence but I will be the one to take care of them and I know it will be safe. If this place is as nice as it seems though I hope to have them long term, still you never know and I need a real back up plan.

I'm frustrated and I feel that the situation right now is an accident waiting to happen, I have the ground work laid to move them by mid month, if things get worse it may have to be sooner. I did the right thing and gave a decent notice as I believe that is fair, I am praying that it all goes smoothly now that I have given notice but you really never know.

I will not sleep well until things are resolved. A board broke in Cody's stall this evening and so Cody and Aubrey will be in the arena all night tonight, they said they might not be able to fix it till Saturday. I had to stress that I'd fix it tomorrow myself if I had to, they said they'd take care of it tomorrow themselves. So... will I sleep well the next few days? Probably not, and especially tonight. I will be driving down at lunch time and after work too and check on them. I will also make sure they are in their stalls tomorrow night and the board ( a five minute fix) is done.

I hate to say it but we went beyond what we were paid to do so many times and it was taken for granted. We did it for the horses sake and sometimes we did things that the horse owners never asked for or even realized we did just for their horses. When I think about it now (not considering that I did it for the love of horses) I feel like such a sucker. I let people take advantage and then make me feel bad and that we weren't doing a good job. Truth is we did more than most barn owners would have done and we did things that really the horse owner's responsibility not ours.

I was brought up to do the right thing, to think of principles and if the other person didn't do the right thing it didn't matter I was bound to a code so to speak. I am glad I was brought up this way but it is a hard and merciless road to travel sometimes, never expect fairness or think that others will have high ideals, they won't... they'll walk all over  you, destroy your dream and blame you for it.

I have to say I can blame myself in the sense that I should have drawn the line at some point, even though it seemed nobler to go the extra mile. Being noble has cost something greater perhaps then I was willing to pay, the security of having my own barn for my own horses. A place for Cody to spend his senior years and a place for him to have a final resting place. I let people rob us and act like they were doing us a favor, my horses are now paying the price, Mare Girl paid the price.

With all that said, I am comforted by the memories of the horses we loved that were not ours and the comfort we were able to give senior horses that were very special. I pray, that someday I can do the same for my own horse again. God is merciful, kind and fair, He can do all things, and He excels at taking what was meant to harm us and turning it into beauty. Things seem difficult at the moment but the beauty will come because the bible says God hears his servants voice and He hears my pleas I know.


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