While we were in the yard building every day, the horses got precious little attention from us. We had our trainer Rachel ride them from time to time, but they were pretty much on vacation for a few months. We know they really missed the affection and snacks, but we think they understand that it was all for their benefit in the end.
The site we'd picked for the barn was on the side of the house where there had been a large shed on a 14x32' cement slab. Unfortunately, the land surrounding the shed was pretty much a trash heap for the former owners. They had copious amounts of garbage and junk in the vicinity and we had a TON of cleaning up to do before we could even think of building. Eventually we got all their crap hauled away (in more than one giant dumpster) and got the land leveled and cleaned up of their nasty trash.
We decided to build a 2-stall pole barn with a separate feed room. The slab is the aisle and their stalls are built just off that cement. We've got cross ties and rubber mats, and soon we'll cover the concrete with rubber pavers so it's cushy and nice for their hooves. Eventually we'll enclose all the sides and even have some pretty landscaping, but our first priority was just to get it horse-ready so that Guinny and Jessie could move in and be with us forever. By way of visual explanation we've attached photos of the build in chronological order below.
Guinness and Jessie didn't really know each other since they were boarded at separate facilities just up the road from one another. We had a few rides together but they didn't spend much time bonding. So when we introduced them at the new barn we were delighted to see that they ADORE each other -- just a few days after being home they've started mutual grooming and kissing each others' faces! Jessie historically hasn't even acknowledged other horses' existence, so the fact that she not only tolerates Guinny but seems to really be in love with him cracks us up! She walks around her paddock squeaking and making cute little noises, and while each sleeps they guard one another. Much to our surprise Guinness hasn't made even one Ugly Face as he's so prone do to with most everyone else. Jessie is definitely the Alpha horse, and Big G seems to be happy about that fact!
They're so funny together. We never saw Guinness lie down and nap much at his last facility, but he seems to be making up for that now. His favorite activity (other than smooching on his girl) is to lie in the dirt and snooze. He is a rough sleeper, though, and Jessie's probably glad they don't share a paddock! He twitches and jerks, grunts and snorts. We have a funny video of him getting what appears to be some very deep REM sleep -- legs flailing and dust flying (you can hear crap he kicked up hitting the camera at the very end)! He's a total goofball....
We took our first ride this past weekend from the new property and all 4 of us had a blast. We expected it would be a bit of a rodeo since neither horse had had much work the previous few months, but they were on their best behavior. Jessie is a bit bolder than Guinny and he seemed to derive a little confidence from her about the new things we encountered. There is an 18-mile trail that runs just past our front driveway, but we were delighted to learn that there are miles and miles of wooded trails that branch off of that main Tolt Pipeline Trail too! It's lovely back there in the forest and both horses, though not at peak fitness, thoroughly enjoyed themselves and their adventure. We'll slowly start building up their fitness (and ours) and find a regular training program with someone who'll work with us and our quirky schedule issues.
Life is very good now that our entire family is on the same property. We still have tons of work looming ahead of us (finishing the last 100 shingles on the barn roof, fencing and planting grass in the large meadow on the other side of the driveway, finishing enclosing the barn walls, cementing the feed room floor, building a compost area for manure, and planting grass in their now-dusty paddocks). It's sometimes overwhelming to think of all the things left to do, but when we look back at the photos of where we started it's hard not to smile in satisfaction.
This is a life-long dream come true for both of us and we couldn't have chosen two more perfect horses for our family than Guinny and Jessie. Please consider coming for a visit -- we've got a ton of space for guests and if you're lucky you can even get a guided trail ride!
Neal and Shanna at the original barn site (a disaster).
The poles are in and cemented!
Shanna managing the 16-foot board by herself
(like she did most everything!)
Some of the metal siding removed from the shed.
All the trusses are finally in!
What will be the paddocks eventually was initially a burn pile.
It's starting to look a little like a barn.
Shanna in the rented Bobcat (some of the best $ spent),
leveling the lower meadow for future pasture.
She became a master at maneuvering this thing (after getting it high-centered once!)
Some of the gang taking a break (Gary, Al, Neal and Shanna)
Outer stall walls going up.
Gary, Dad's awesome buddy, putting on the roof fascia.
Neal being hoisted up in the Bobcat
The boys pulled down the last of the nasty old shed!
Erin and Dad on the roof installing the shingles.
The stalls are coming along.
Chaos.....
It really looks like a barn now!
With our new barn we obviously needed a new rig!
Jessie and Guinny meeting for the first time at the new barn.
And it was love at first sight!
They spend hours smooching on each other....
And we spend our mornings in our jammies smooching on them.
Geez, it's a shame they're so tense and can't seem to settle in.... ;)
Congratulations Erin and Shanna! The photo of the "gang taking a break" almost looks like you've got one of those ginormous horse hauler trailers (the 2-horse is sitting in the driveway immediately next to the RV).
ReplyDelete--Shawn Baker
Good eye, Shawn! Yeah, I thought the same thing.... maybe someday! Actually, while we certainly have the space for lots of guests we still don't have much furniture (and what we do have isn't yet unpacked), so that'll tell ya what kind of friend Gary is. Not only does he slave away for 3 days he also brings along his own accommodations! :-)
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