Last Saturday was most likely the last good day of the year, relatively speaking, and I was stuck inside.
Sunday came around and with it were dropping temps as in 10 degrees by 12 noon. I blanketed the horses, fed them breakfast and basically hibernated in the house all day. At 4:00, I went back out to feed. Noticed that the autowaterer was starting to freeze over. I hoped that it would not freeze all the way, since after all, it was heated right??
Well, as luck would have it, I saw the horses go to the tank to get water. AJ was first and stood a very long time. Cora came in and sat there a bit and then started pawing. Hmmm, she only does that when she's impatient during feeding times. Never have seen her paw while getting a drink.
Bundled up and headed out to see what was going on, temps were now -4 at 7:30 pm. This was not good! The waterer had froze over. I got my hammer out and chopped ice. AJ came over and got a drink but didn't like the ice chunks or the super cold water. Cora didn't want any of that. SO, I get her bucket and fill it from the hydrant. She drank a bit then.
I gave them some timothy hay and headed back to the house. My Dad came out to see what I was doing and distracted me.
Crapola, when I got back in, I couldn't remember if I shut up the hay stall and secured it. Great, just what I really wanted to do was bundle back up and check things out.
Glad I did though as the water tank was again froze over and the water in the bucket was turning to slush.
Rumaged through the tack room and got AJ's heated water bucket out and got that hooked up. At least the horses would have some water overnight.
Cora didn't look right so I spent some more time out there watching her. She had gut sounds, but her eyes and lips were droopy. Got more hay out and she perked right up. Maybe it was getting to be her bedtime.
The next morning, it was -5..brrrrrrrr and a strong northwest wind to boot. The horses finished off the water in the heated bucket and had licked the ice that was now formed in their water tank.
I propped the other side up and hoped it would stay up during the day and re-filled the heated bucket. Both horses had gotten a nice warm mash for breakfast so I wasn't too terribly worried about the lack of water.
When I got time, I called our well guy to see about heating elements, if they fix them etc. He talked to me about how to test, but to be careful because it is hot under there. He said he has burned finger tips of his own. Silly me, thought he was talking about burning his fingertips on maybe a metal pipe or something not related to a hot heating element.
Finally got home to do chores and checked the waterer out. Hmmmmm, good and bad news. The good news was that the water had thawed a bit and the horses had been drinking. Bad news was that the heating element is out as I could touch it with my fingers and it was cold. Real bad news was that I tested the 'good' sides element and sizzled my fingers! Ouch!!! Stuck them in the cold side and let them sit a bit. I tied the good side's lid up so the horses could get fresh warm water instead of using the bucket again.
Tuesday morning brought SNOW! But, the waterer was open this morning and the horses were happy.
Welcome to our home. Whispering Oaks is the place where things can just be. I can let my hair down and just relax. The woods are inviting to explore on horseback, there is a nice grass field to run the dogs in and then there is the deck to just sit on and watch the sun go down--when there aren't any mosquitoes. Grab a beverage of your choice-beware of spitting it on the computer screen as I will say very random things throughout the day, sit back and enjoy the happenings.
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