Pasture Improvements and Barn[yard] Glow-Ups

A silver lining to COVID-19 is that I've had ample time to work on things around the property. Usually I feel pulled in multiple directions: photography gigs, hangouts, post-work libations with my coworkers, potlucks, travel, etc. Noooot so much now. As a result, my to-do list for the barn and property that I expected to take until autumn has been completed.

Preparation and Liming of the Pastures

I'll likely lime my pastures for a few years in a row to get them up to a better pH. When I tested the soils last year, they rung at a pH of 4.6  This wasn't at all surprising, but it is a bit too acidic to grow lush pasture grasses.

To prepare for liming, I spent a few days picking up rocks, firewood, and wood scraps/shavings from the milling process last summer. This involved three more pick up loads of firewood to be transferred (we had already done a good 6 loads last fall), raking and shoveling of all the scraps and shavings, and clearing out rocks that remained from excavation.

I slowly did these tasks over a period of a few weeks while I waited for the weather to get its shit together so I could lime. When I finally found a window of time, I headed up to Oakland to get a buggy from Southern States that was full of pelletized lime and returned to spread it in the first pasture (I'm waiting to do the other one this autumn). 

Spring pastures sans all the firewood that had been piled up here!

Wheelbarrow with scraps, one jump that hadn't been moved, and tarp-encased slab of wood we're letting cure before turning into a bench 

Hooked up to the buggy waiting for pelleted lime to fill 

Hooked up and about to drive around the pasture spreading the lime

Post-liming. 

And the only morel I've ever found in Canaan...in the middle of my damn pasture!

It was a funny shaped little thing, but I was happy to discover it right before liming. I totally ate it with dinner that night lol

Rock Path

As my barn routine normalized, I began to notice that I was wearing a path down to the barn. This wasn't unexpected or surprising in the least. What was a slightly surprising and a bit frustrating though was that the last 6 feet or so was muddy because despite spreading top soil back, the vegetation was really struggling to reestablish itself. My constant trodding on it really wasn't helping either. The area was muddy and becoming worse by the day.

A big reason why I designed the barn/dry lot/pastures in the manner I did was to avoid ever having to step in mud again. I hate mud and one of my big goals with the barn project was to do all I could to effectively manage mud around my property. And so, in an effort to resolve the little bit of mud I was encountering on my walk down to the barn, I began building a stone path. 

It wasn't anything special at all, but it did help get me up out of the mud! I worked on it bit by bit this spring. First the topmost and bottom-most sections. The middle remained incomplete for a long time. And when I was about to mobilize and go fetch rocks to complete the middle section, I screwed up my shoulder. 

Fortunately for me, my brother - who has been back in WV for a few weeks and staying with me during that time - took it upon himself to upgrade/complete my rock pathway last week. Thanks, brother!

Norah checking out the lower part of the walkway

Middle missing

Rock walkway pairs well with the rock perimeter on my flower bed

Brother and his work in progress

A lot of the small rocks in the middle of this image and the next have been replaced with giant river rocks

I'm a big fan!

Barn Mats

While not the biggest or craziest upgrade, I did finally buy a few more barn mats. These damn things are pricey - especially when one needs to buy multiples. I'd like to eventually get about four more before calling it "good", but for now this is more than workable. I LOVE having mats to sweep. It's so much simpler than raking them for cleanliness.

Earlier this spring, I just had a narrow strip of mats up the middle.

But now mats fill the very large majority of the space!

We're pretty happy about this development for all barn aisle needs.

Awry

Best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. And awry they went!

Remember my lovely winter board setup? Yeah. It didn't work out. Which is a huge bummer in some regards, but I'm at peace with my decision to leave. It's what is best for me and my horses right now.

Back to familiar stomping grounds

Stan will have the winter completely off most likely. Q and Griffin will be worked minimally between now and the new year with hope to ramp up a little more as the day length grows. Between daylight wasting, my work schedule, my side hustle winter jobs, and my commute, minimal horse time is just my reality. Not the reality I'd hoped for, but c'est la vie!

I could set the bar higher, hope to ride more, lesson once a month, do all the things, but I've learned to be a lot easier and kinder on myself this year. Part of that is introducing more flexibility to my hopes/plans and trusting the process/journey and not creating so much of a to-do list or discrete goal list for myself. I'm certain I'll fit in some lovely rides and a lesson here and there, but it's best I don't plan for it from the get-go.

Matching game

I'm happy the horses will have 24/7 turnout in a huge pasture with free choice hay for the winter months. They are very happy and will maintain a fair level of fitness just from having so much turnout and playtime. And when I do work with them this winter, it will be on foundational strength-building and suppling exercises, nothing earth-shattering!

Super dirty grey horse season has arrived. No hot water = stains galore. 

Reflecting back on this summer with the horses in Canaan makes me smile though. It was amazing. I enjoyed so many wonderful rides solo and with friends across beautiful landscapes. In fact, sharing the horses with friends was one of the best parts! There are several horse ladies who are adept riders but simply don't have the time and/or finances to have their own horses. This sets the stage for the perfect mutualistic relationship: they get horse-time and I have help keeping all horses fit!

But this field tho... So ready for a winter of ground pole exercises and gallops.

Beyond the riding and the friendship, my favorite part about this past summer was finally getting to take a more active role in my horses' care. Prior to this, their turnout situation was such (and is such again) that they don't require much human intervention. They're on 28 acres of some of the best pasture in the area complete with a stream that has enough flow to never freeze over and free-choice hay in the wintertime. I've never had to worry about them having enough to eat!

This summer though, with much smaller turnout areas and poor grass, I finally had to figure out a good recipe for proper nutrition to keep weight on them. It was a bit of a learning curve at first finagling things, but they're easy-keepers all things considered and once I got it right it was easy enough. Seeing them and caring for them daily in this way was so good for all of us. The three of them are closer than ever and the relationship I share with each of them has grown stronger. There is nothing better than seeing them march across the field to greet me, even after a hard ride the day before. (Sure, they know I feed them, but knowing that in the past hasn't stopped them from ignoring me following a big workout.)

Griffin wasn't on board with selfies

While winter plans weren't what I hoped, I'm grateful the horses are in a place they will be happy and well cared for. With any luck, it will be their last winter in Elkins as big changes are afoot! 😉

Barn Blog Hop

Ashley at Horses: The Process of Learning started this blog hop.

It's time for a blog hop of barn tours! Ever wonder where your horsey Blogger friends spend most of their day?  Want to show off the amazing place you get to keep your fur child? Now is your chance to share and get to know your friends just a little bit more!

Here's how it's going to work; its simple and fun!

Share with us the following 5 photos:

1. A View of the Barn

 

Taken from the horse field; the barn

The interior as viewed from the main door

Big enough area to back my car and trailer into

The aisle; one larger foaling stall + tack room on the left and then three smaller
stalls on the right. The indoor round pen at the back. Wash rack is just out of
view to my right, too.

2. Your Horses' Living Space

 

24/7 turnout on many many acres

3. The Tack Room

 

Panorama taken from door in barn that leads to tack room.

The door into the tack room from inside the barn

The door to the outside from inside the tack room..and oh, a horse.

From the blue bin at center to the bottom saddle rack to the saddle pad hanger..my crap

4. View of Where You Ride

That's the area I refer to as the "barnyard" where I set up jumps and hope to
create a dressage practice area with letters this summer

Its nice to have a flat area to do this

I also ride around the property like this.
(A ride from Griffin earlier in the year.)
The barn is the roof in the upper right.

 

Indoor round pen

Outdoor round pen

Trails woods and the rail trail

5. Your Favorite Feature of Your Facility

Access to a trailer to travel far away trails

Access to versatile trails

The opportunity to ride in a place like this

 My absolute favorite part about my situation is the versatility available to me.

I have access to:

• wooded mountain trails that I can create up to a 20 mile ride on.
• the rail trail that I could ride one way for 30+ miles; a flat trail with excellent footing.
• two different sized round pens for liberty work and simple basics.
• a barnyard area that is flat and perfect for jumping or dressage schooling.
• a back field with a hill that is perfect for hill sprint workouts.
• a TRAILER that I can use whenever to go off property to the new, big covered arena or head out to far away trails for a change of scenery.
• wonderful people who are always there to help me out at a moment's notice; people who keep an eye on my horses at all hours of the day from the windows of their home and inform me if something is amiss. This last part is probably THE BEST thing. Its why I don't feel overly guilty throughout the winter months when I cannot get out there for a week at a time. I know my horses are okay or I would have had a call. 

So, I live in a barn

Backstory: I'm currently working in the town I grew up in. I was fortunate enough to score a job in my field immediately after college. I wasn't thrilled to be moving back home,  a much smaller and quieter town than where WVU is (yes, yes, party school, blah blah blah), but I couldn't turn down the amazing opportunity present to me. The first two years of my position, which constantly evolved, was completed in short spurts. I wasn't guaranteed a job past so many months. Fortunately, as things evolved I was able to stay again and again. In the spring of 2013, the job became more permanent, guaranteeing me a position a year at a time for 4 years. And thus, I was able to begin apartment searching.

It became evident immediately that the listings available in local papers and real estate flyers weren't going to work for me. Having pets made things significantly more difficult. So, instead of relying on those modes of discovery, I reached out to friends who are VERY well-connected within the community to keep an eye out for me.

Within a week of this request, my vet (and friend) had an idea.

Her practice is one that involves a lot of travel around the area. She specializes in equine and large animal, but also supplements that with small animal work two days a week. (She's seriously super woman! She's also the one who performed Kenai's surgery.) She sees a lot of properties and knows a ton of people as a result!

She mentioned a barn apartment just outside of town. Its on a road I didn't even know existed until a few years back, despite growing up here! The location makes it seem like its way out in the boonies, but really its only a 7 minute drive from just about anywhere in town - and only a 15 minute drive to my horses.

She cautioned that the place would need renovated, that the landowners would do that, but not until I confirmed my interest and saw it first.

I was ecstatic.

In no time at all, I'd check it out, approved of the renovations they'd planned and we set a tentative move-in for July.

The apartment is linear. Front door leads into the kitchen/living room area and then a central hallway/doorways connect each of the rooms. It flows as such: kitchen/living, bathroom/gear storage space, spare bedroom/office space, laundry area and closet, bedroom.

An odd layout, for sure, bu perfect for a single person.

And, of course, I was allowed to bring the animals! Bonus? Kenai would have SO much room to run around the property!

So, without further ado, here is a photo tour through the months of my place. I absolutely adore it - minus the two gates I have to open/close to get from my residence to the road because of the horse field. (I have a moat of horses/fields, haha.)

The area painted red is the apartment. The rest is the barn. Their horses are on 24/7 turnout, so its not stinky or noisy.

The view as I drive in. The barn is on the right.

Better view of barn to right. Apartment is the red painted area on the far side from the point-of-view.

A baby Atticus enjoying a crisp summer day from the front door.

The view from my front porch. Autumn colors surround me. This view is to the west.

The view to the south. I come through that gate to enter my yard. I love watching the storms roll in during the summer.

The view to the east at sunrise. The bottom land area in this photo is an oxbow wetland.

I sometimes let the boys into the yard to mow it for me. L-R, Major, Cooper, Chester, Something. Magic is outside the fence behind them and Hammer isn't pictured. All of the boys except Hammer are TWH. Hammer is a QH.

Chester, one of their 6 horses, greeting me one misty morning.

Rain rolling off the tin roof during a summer deluge. Its so loud when you're inside the apartment. I love the sound of the rain on the tin roof.

A panorama of the southeastern view one frosty morning.

The living room from the front door.

The kitchen/living area as viewed from the doorway that connects to the rest of the apartment.

The office/extra bed space looking toward my bedroom. My bedroom was originally a garage.

My bedroom. The back wall used to be a garage door.

Not a bad place to hang out. We have big plans for summer "beach" parties in this yard. Complete with cornhole, croquet, a slip-n-slide, baby pool, mini sandbox, chairs, and shade umbrellas.