Latches and Rides

There are many things we want to change about the way a couple pastures are laid out and how the Wormhole fencing would make more sense to us.  All that in time.  For now we are using certain gates and getting rid of others.  The gates that are being use are all being converted to an easier latch system.  

One gate just had a rope holding it closed, some others have a slide bolt type latch.  There were a couple that had a "thumb" latch that is a chain with a hook on one end and a flip up round chain link that prevents pony lips from opening it.  These I like and found at Tractor Supply and Southern States  (here's a link with the name) I certainly love heavy duty latches too like this one but these hook and chain ones are more simple and work quite well.

One configuration in the wormhole that leads to Gallifrey are the two gates perpendicular to each other, it's obvious that there was another set of electric wire from the middle post to the outer property edge.  Each owner used the property differently and has things set up to separate horses etc.  We just use the one gate and have the other one chained shut using the rusted chains that are still attached.  We'll get to re-configuring this in time.  It's nice to have all the gates I use set up nicely with easy latches I can open with one hand.

And now for a fun video I made riding Dani around the property.  I set it to 2x speed so it wasn't so long, I sound like a chipmunk but you can see how much I talk to my horse when I'm on their back.  Chance was neighing and my dogs were barking at times on the video.  Too funny.  Sorry about me messing with the camera.  Just that tiny amount of weight was making my helmet press on my forehead painfully.  I will need to figure out the best mount for when I'm riding.

Little changes around Geek Acres

The Wormhole is composed of three smaller areas separated by gates.  With how we manage the horses it only makes sense to open it up a little bit.  We plan to keep the fencing around the barnyard in tact so we can close it up if needed for riding one horse outside of that area.  You can refer to the diagrams here

We still have the drainage issue but it's something that will take some time and money to fix, gutters and a french drain will not be cheap or quick to accomplish.  For now at least the rains we've had haven't been too bad and standing water has receded quickly.  Steve and I removed the fencing between the riding area and the other part of the "Wormhole".  Where the temporary white wire fence is located will be where we put in more wooden fencing to complete that area.  In a way it will give me a little larger enclosed area to ride in and will make a less compartmentalized sacrifice area for the horses.

We attached the gate post to the barn for more support since we removed the fencing, plus before it was never attached and that just didn't make sense to me.  Hopefully you can see in the picture below that the boards just extend from the fence a little bit but don't meet up with the barn.  Darn, I really thought I took a good "before" picture.  Will have to be better about that!

Anyways it feels so open now and the horses are already making different paths as they walk to the other areas of the wormhole.  The next plan is to move the fence behind the run-in shed out a bit so that we don't have an area where a horse can get cornered...this is the area that most likely led to Chance getting kicked in the chest.

Also in Westeros we've begun working on the gravel pit that surrounded a rose bush.  We'll remove the gravel and larger rocks and then fill in holes and spread grass seed in this area.  The gravel was used to fill the holes from the wooden fence posts we removed so it served a good purpose....aka no injured ponies!  The rest of it we'll utilize for the perimeter of a small dog run we'll need to erect before I begin my job...10 hour days gone won't be good for my older boys.

Throughout all the fields there are some large rocks that jut out and interfere with the lawn mower.  We are slowly working on getting those removed and the holes filled.  It's gonna be a process.

Lastly with spring has come the blooming of plants and weeds.  I spent a good part of a day cleaning out the beds at the front of the house.  There were many weeds but also offshoots of whatever shrubs are planted there too.  It was a crazy mess.  It looks much better now.  Still have to pull out old mulch and rock and replace with fresh mulch.  Then I plan to use some pretty edge stones for the perimeter.  I may pull additional landscape plants out that seems a bit hap-hazardously planted and get some pretty border flowers going.  

All in time!  It feels good to get little things accomplished!

Headed to North Carolina!

FINALLY!!!!!