Holy Shopping, Batman!

I'm not usually one to go on big shopping sprees. For most intents and purposes, I have all I need. And I'd rather spend my surplus funds on experiences more than gear/clothing when I can. But when you're building a barn, spending priorities change! I've got a barn to furnish, after all.

Knowing I'd need to shop for the barn, I thought ahead to when there were likely to be some pretty solid sales. Considering the barn timeline, Memorial Day sales seemed like my best bet. And they didn't disappoint!

First, I nabbed four 12' gates and flitted to Tractor Supply on Friday morning to bring those home.

#redneckstyle

Figuring out how in the hell to bring home a 12' gate when no one around you has a 12' trailer is real fun. Fortunately, it worked out ...sorta... the trailer was still only 8' and the gates had a bit of overhang - but they were super solid! Now they're home and waiting for when we install the fence later in June.

Next, knowing I'd be hauling horses sooner than later, I hopped on Amazon and grabbed the aftermarket tire pressure monitoring system Jen posted about.

I'm pretty anxious in general when hauling, but when I break down the "whys" behind that anxiety it comes down to two things: the tires and knowing whether or not the horses are comfortable or fussing about. Fortunately, both of these things are easily remedied with some Amazon purchases! (Though, admittedly, getting the cameras will come a little later.)

Being able to observe the tire pressure in each tire from my driver's seat is going to lend so much more peace of mind when I haul. After having a tire blow out spectacularly on Grif and I on a friend's trailer in 2017, my worries and anxieties about it happening again have only grown. I don't mind having to change a tire, it's just the not knowing immediately that it's blown that bothers me. I want to be able to pull over ASAP if I have an impending flat and address it. Now I'll be able to do that!

As for the rest of my purchases, I headed over to Stateline to enjoy the 30% off orders >$129. Additionally, when you buy multiples of things from them, they often discount them further! Having those savings plus 30% off sounded pretty sweet to me since I needed to buy multiples of most things I was ordering. Ultimately, I saved ~$145. I'll take it!...even if the additional shipping costs from the weight of it all gutted me a bit.

So, what's coming my way, soon?

One fence energizer for obvious reasons.

Two pairs of cross ties to facilitate with grooming and vet/farrier visits.

Three zebra fly masks because they were one of the cheapest fly mask options. #sorryhorses Though, admittedly, I'm looking forward to my neighbors' reactions to these! lol

Three water buckets and three corner feeders for each of the stalls. At a later date, I will likely do the DIY insulation to the water buckets a la DIY Horse Ownership.

Four 2-way latches for each of the four gates. My current barn has these and I freaking LOVE them. They're so simple, save time coming in and out, and are easily locked. I especially love that I can bring multiple horses through the gate and then just give it a light shove and watch/hear it click securely closed.

Six tie rings. Because they're pretty damn handy for a multitude of barn necessities. I may end up needing more down the road, but six seemed like a good starting point.

And, last but not least, six saddle racks. I currently only have four saddles, so I've got some room to grow my collection (lol). But mostly I wanted the ability to set some of my heavier endurance pads (sheepskin + memory foam inserts) and a spot for the bareback pad so I'm not stacking them on my saddles.

And finally...

I, like any proper person, have amassed quite the pad collection over the years. I definitely plan to have some more towel bars out in the aisle to let these puppies dry out and not stink up my tack room, but for their ultimate storage, I needed something for the tack room. I wanted to be as space-conscious as possible, too, and a system that could go behind my tackroom door seemed wise.  Unfortunately, horse pad-specific versions of these start at $60 and only go up from there. And those are only for a 5-bar! Boo.

Enter: IKEA! I nabbed three of the above for $45. That's space for NINE pads! Or, honestly, more because I can double up the lightest pads if needed.

It feels really good to have all of these purchases knocked out. I still need to nab a trough, muck rake, shovel, and a hay basket + net, but these are things my local TSCo provides the best prices on that I can pick up between now and when the horses come home.

Set start date for earth moving is June 3. Fingers crossed that date holds and we get this party started for real!