Whisky changes everything!

In my last post I mentioned that we were getting a new addition to our family, Whisky, the little rescue horse. He is doing very well at Dreamscape Ranch, loving all the attention that Lea, Sara and the girls are giving him - along with all that good food! Lea estimates that he has gained 50 lbs since his arrival just a few weeks ago! He is looking much healthier and happier. The farrier (Shelley) has trimmed his feet, the vet (Jennifer) came up and gelded him (I'll leave it up to you to Google "gelded" if you're not sure what that means!) and removed a small growth from his thigh, Lea gave him his de-worming medicine, and Carol has been up working him in the round pen a few times. He is much improved and has bonded nicely with Mystery, his corral mate who will be accompanying him up to Gull Lake Ranch.

He seems very smart and learns quickly. So much so, that Lea and Carol decided to bring their favourite horse trainer, Ray Scott, up for some lessons with the little guy. Ray put him in the round pen and after a brief episode running, bucking and generally being a baby horse, Whisky settled down and went to work. He did well and even allowed Carol to mount and sit in the saddle while Ray walked him around the pen. It was all very exciting. Carol was a little nervous at first, but trusted that Ray would know if Whisky was ready for that big step. Apparently, Ray was right (as usual!) and rider and horse had an uneventful first ride together.

We had planned on owning horses "one day", but with the arrival of Whisky, that day is today. That means that all those jobs that needed doing next year to prepare our place for keeping horses, have to be done right now. We need fencing, corrals, gates, hay, feed, water, and shelter for Mystery and Whisky to be able to winter up at Gull Lake Ranch. We have decided on electric fencing as this will be much less expensive than traditional post and rail fencing. Arguably, it's also better for the horses as they tend to get tangled up in just about anything. The shock from the electric fencing keeps the horses safe as they tend to avoid getting too close to the fence itself. After asking around and shopping for fence vendors we have chosen Ferris Fencing on Vancouver Island to supply the fence hardware. We are already in the process of having all the fence posts installed by John Frolek of Frolek Fencing. Jim and Val Kershaw were kind enough to deliver 150 hay bales up to our place last weekend. We found some plans online for horse shelters, or loafing sheds as they are known. We will be building one using left over material from our house build. Eventually, we will dig a trench for a water line to service the paddocks, but for this winter it will be a "bucket brigade" job hopefully using the ATV to haul water in containers to the horses. Grain and supplements will be prepared in the basement/barn as we have come to refer to it lately. This gives us a warm place (thanks to the new heaters!) to perform this chore, but is 100 yards from where the horses will be so time will tell if this works out. Some friends have donated or lent us enough blankets, halters, and lead ropes to get us started. Lea has volunteered to bring the two horses up in her trailer once we have the fences in place. Lesley at Ferris Fencing thinks we should have everything we need by the end of next week so as long as John manages to get all the posts in by then, we should be good to go by the end of October. That should be just in time for the snow to arrive! I guess that finishing the siding will have to wait for now.
Hmmmm, better get cracking on the firewood supply, too. Where did the summer go?!