Horse Heaven

As you may have worked out, the horses were moved from the big shed (where they had spent two previous winters luxuriating in extremely big loose boxes which took me ages to muck out) when we replaced the shed. “Where will they shelter from the wind and rain now?”, I hear you ask. Well, we did up the old stable block and it’s now fit for the poshest of snobby horses. It is half-lined with wood, set at an angle in case they get stuck (it’s referred to as getting cast in horse parlance and can be dangerous for both stuck horse and any humans trying to help it back up), a new roof, and fresh paint. It also has art and music courtesy of AiR, mirrors in each box, and a scratching post in Cushy’s box (she’s a very itchy cart horse). Here are some pictures of the GS resortation (it’s a word, the Experts assure me).

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After the roof was replaced, we pulled out a tree and weeds at the gable end, only to find they were helping support the stables, eek! A large crack developed so we got the end underpinned by injecting lots and lots of concrete underneath.

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The mats need to be taped down as Cushy seems to catch the corners and move the mats as she rolls about on the floor. The mats weigh 50kilos each so this is impressive and then hard to fix. We could bolt them down, but it’s good practice to get them up once a year and pressure wash the undersides and the floor.

Using rubber mats helps take the weight off the horses’ legs and we can use less bedding. They also last for years and can be moved, although I think lifting ours in was enough cardio for a year!

Tim was a bit anxious at first because he doesn’t like new things, but after a while he settled down. Both horses now stand at the field gate at twilight hoping to be taken in to their cozy hotel.