Rain, cold, and stalls!

     Well we finally got everything under control this past weekend. The barn mess was finally resolved, at least until it rains again. We made some big changes, and hopefully the next time it rains we won't have major flooding again. This is mostly due to some different shavings appearing at a very good time.

     So when I last left you, Oberon was squishing around in his stall and Jellybean was displaced. Well Saturday we got started straight away and pumped the major water out of Jellybean's new stall. Once there was too little water to pump, we tried to rake the stall flat. Then we tried out the new shavings. They are very wood-chippy and almost chunky. This worked out very well for us, since mud has no structure and wood chips do! We loaded down Jellybean's stall and then left a fan blowing. In the evening when she came in, the stall was live able again!

     Oberon needed some help too, he had his stall raked forward to the front. Then we borrowed some stall mats to help pack down the mud and push the water out. Then more shavings! We filled and dumped a lot of wheelbarrows, but when we were done the stalls looked and felt 100x better! I didn't actually take any pictures, but you can believe that it was MUCH better. So now we just need to continue building up both stalls and soon everything will be better.

     We also started another preventative method. Home Depot sells some flood barriers, although they don't offer them in store.... only online. So we ordered a 6" x 10' and a 6" x 17'. They should be in early next week, just in time for the next round of rain!

     After the rain stopped, we actually had a real cold front and it dropped down to the mid 30s overnight. Chaos ensued at the barn as people tried to decide how to deal with their horses in the cold. Sunday we actually got to ride Jellybean, although not with a positive result.

     Consistency is completely key with horses, and we have not been able to offer that to Jellybean. Therefore, she doesn't always move forward in our lessons. She is fairly stagnant at this point. I need to figure out how to teach her to move forward off my leg. That will be considerable progress. Any ideas, feel free to advise.

Oberon's nasty dinner, which he seems to enjoy...