April Showers Bring May Flowers
Spring is here in full force. I spend all winter waiting for the warmer weather. What I seem to forget about spring during the long cold winter is the storms and the mud. So much mud! Although the pigs are happy to have their wallows back. We have been busy with our classes and tours, but mother nature has thrown a wrench in our plans. During a very windy night we had extensive damage to our horse and cow pasture fencing and it forced us to cancel a couple of classes.
While Keith was walking out to the chicken coop to close them up for the night, he saw our whole fence line had been pushed over by the horse shelter. It seems the wind had picked up the shelter and thrown it into the fence. It must have been a strong gust because it as it ripped all four anchors out of the ground. Luckily our horses and cows never left the field. Normally our horses and cows are out on pasture 24/7 unless there is extreme weather such as a blizzard. This means our stalls are used for other things like our rabbits’ winter homes and brooding chicks. The next hour was focused on moving rabbits into temporary cages (luckily there are no chicks here at the moment) and getting the stalls and barn isle ready for the horses and cows. The horses each got a stall and we bedded down the cows in the barn isle. The rabbit cages were moved to a safe spot in our feed room.
After getting our horse Oakie in the stall we realized something was wrong with him. His breathing was off, and he was making weird noises. He also was acting like he was in pain and couldn’t swallow. We tried to offer him some water and there were already pellets in his stall. When he had no interest in the food, we knew something was very wrong because that boy loves his food. We didn’t waste time and called the vet even thought it was already almost 10:00 at night. I feel very fortunate that our vet got out of bed and came to help right away. After the vet finished working on Oakie, clearing out his choke and giving him meds, Oakie is doing well. Hes stuck on stall rest and soaked pellets for a few days. As he is very food obsessed, he is not happy.
When the sun was shining the next day and the adrenaline has passed, things seemed better. Luckily we have great neighbors who lent us an auger attachment for our tractor and we were able to track down a lumber yard that had our fence posts in stock. Keith and I spent the day replacing that section of fence and securing the run in. It also made is take a good look at the rest of the fence and we found some other weak spots we didn’t notice before.
This evening was a good reminder that farming is full of surprises, good and bad. Also, it’s important to have an emergency fund. Between the emergency vet visit and the materials it cost to fix the fence, it was a very expensive night. All in all, I am grateful that the fence blew down. When it first happened, I was extremely anxious and angry that I had to deal with the situation. However, if that had not happened, I would have already been in bed sleeping when Oakie needed help and a vet. I also would not have seen the other weak points in the fence until it was probably too late. I really do believe that things happen for a reason and that wind may have just saved Oakie’s life.