How To... Hay & Bedding

While the barn I board at offers full care services, I prefer to stick to self care. Basically this means my horses get a stall, and whoever is working at the farm (aka George and Colleen) turn them out or bring them in once a day and I do the rest. I clean their stall, provide hay, grain, shavings etc on a daily basis. I like it this way because I get to see them every day and when I'm on vacation I still know they're well cared for.

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Now that I'm starting to prep for the arrival of my four legged creatures, I'm remembering the quirky ways of horse ownership and management in Kentucky.

Step 1 - Find a good friend at the barn that doesn't complain when you ask them to go get hay or shavings with you.

Step 2 - If you fail at previous step, find a friend in same situation so you can complain and cry on inside together because you're about to turn your 4-5 person vehicle into a farm truck.

Step 3 - Despite seeing your shavings or hay pile diminish daily, wait until last possible minute to get more. It's a good challenge to see if you can make it to the store and back on your lunch break.

Step 4 - If you have to settle with step 2, make sure you don't clean your car before before going to pick up shavings or hay. It's a fun game of Tetris trying to fit everything.

Step 5 - Stand at the register and act like a fool trying to guess how many bags of shavings or bales of hay will fit in your car.

Step 6 - If you over estimate, don't worry about returning any. Just ask for some spare baling twine or rope and tie the trunk of your car shut.

Step 7 - Finally unload everything at the barn, but only after you let your car sit in a parking lot all day so many people get to see your new handy farm car.

Step 8 - Two options here. a) attempt to clean the hay or any shavings the might of fell out of the bag. b) leave it, you only have horse friends, they'll understand.

Step 9 - For hay - watch your horse devour the hay. For shavings - watch your horse do it's business in your efforts. Regardless, cry a little more on the inside.

Step 10 - Repeat.