anoki
Well-Known Member
It was a very, VERY bittersweet evening when I moved my 2 big guys home yesterday!!!!! After 30 some odd years of wanting a big horse here, it has finally happened. Though the ball started rolling April '10 when I was told by the people who owned the barn my guy was boarded at that they were selling everything, it took until about December, when I'd had enough and started making plans to move them home.
I spent over 15 years at the barn they were at, and I was, and continue to be, very close to the people who owned it (even though they now live on the other side of the country)....they were like my second parents, and the barn was more than just 'a barn'. It was the place I went to for me....it was just sooo much more to me than many people realize. It was a dream of mine to be there, and I was absolutely devasted when they told me they were getting out of horses and selling the place. The last year has been a struggle...many ups and downs. A fabulous family from Winnipeg moved into the house with their 3 boys for a school term-to give their kids a new experience. They really made the last year do-able....and I don't think they realize how much I appreciated them. But even with them being there, it was hard for me to drive in there every day. The joy was gone....and the couple of boarders that we had in there were horse owners from heck...and completely turned me off boarding horses.
Of course spring was late this year, and we needed 'good' weather to start things off. We were converting a very, very old barn that had been housing pigs for the last 30 years, into a small horse barn-with 2 10x12 stalls, cross ties/wash stall, and a smaller area for the little horses...the rest for hay & bedding. So, first off, the cement wall had to be cut out, then we had to lift up the cement floor that had been poured for the pigs (and get rid of the foot and a half of sand underneath it). After the slabs of cement were removed, we had to jackhammer the aisle out (that's what I spent my Canada Day weekend doing....), fill in the gutter....THEN we could get started putting up stalls.....with numerous other jobs in between everything...2 paddocks had to be fenced off...and there are still things that need to be started and others that need to be finished. But it's safe for the boys to be here. Here are the last few months via pictures!
~kathryn
I spent over 15 years at the barn they were at, and I was, and continue to be, very close to the people who owned it (even though they now live on the other side of the country)....they were like my second parents, and the barn was more than just 'a barn'. It was the place I went to for me....it was just sooo much more to me than many people realize. It was a dream of mine to be there, and I was absolutely devasted when they told me they were getting out of horses and selling the place. The last year has been a struggle...many ups and downs. A fabulous family from Winnipeg moved into the house with their 3 boys for a school term-to give their kids a new experience. They really made the last year do-able....and I don't think they realize how much I appreciated them. But even with them being there, it was hard for me to drive in there every day. The joy was gone....and the couple of boarders that we had in there were horse owners from heck...and completely turned me off boarding horses.
Of course spring was late this year, and we needed 'good' weather to start things off. We were converting a very, very old barn that had been housing pigs for the last 30 years, into a small horse barn-with 2 10x12 stalls, cross ties/wash stall, and a smaller area for the little horses...the rest for hay & bedding. So, first off, the cement wall had to be cut out, then we had to lift up the cement floor that had been poured for the pigs (and get rid of the foot and a half of sand underneath it). After the slabs of cement were removed, we had to jackhammer the aisle out (that's what I spent my Canada Day weekend doing....), fill in the gutter....THEN we could get started putting up stalls.....with numerous other jobs in between everything...2 paddocks had to be fenced off...and there are still things that need to be started and others that need to be finished. But it's safe for the boys to be here. Here are the last few months via pictures!
~kathryn
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