Dead Shed

It Doesn't Look Good

Glad I got some pics of the shed while it was still up. It is presently a skeleton lying in the arena.

The wind sheared many of the bolts holding it together. Amazing to see what the power of nature can wreck on the constructions of man. The kind of gusts we had were unusually strong, but what could I expect? I don't tend to cry too much over spilled milk and remain optimistic that the shelter can be revived. If not, I own Mark a big apology for all the work he did helping put it up, and I'll just go on to find something else to provide some kind of protection for Tucker if he has to be left out in the ring in questionable weather.

Meantime, after my friend Bill's two great sons sorted out the shed mess, they decided to fix my broken fencing. I had one very badly set fence post in the riding ring and one broken one. I was using corral panels as replacement parts and had already replaced two other posts myself.

When I had my barn built, the builder did most of my fencing, which I had bought from a good fence company in Pennsylvania. (The state west of NJ) We ran short when I did a bit of paddock reconfiguring and needed more fencing to enclose the riding ring. The builder got some fencing from someplace else and those posts were not as well cut as the ones I bought. Since it was interior fencing, it really didn't matter security-wise, but darn if the horses didn't manage to do some pretty heavy duty destruction by playing "Fence" (a game where they spar over a fence) , cribbing, (Toby's specialty), and general scratching. (Fences make great places to scratch those hard to reach spots.) Once one post went, two more followed. The last post was, for some strange reason, set in cement and far more shallow than all the others.

Fortunately, when my pasture was fenced, there were extra posts--from the good company--and I'd managed to buy a bunch of decking lumber matching the size of my fence rails, so I had plenty of supplies. The two young men made short work of setting the new posts.

I did let them use my tractor which seemed to thrill them both--made sure each brother got to drive it a little. It was actually the best way to knock loose and remove the one broken post as I had discovered on my own earlier. And it was the best way to move the "corpse" of the shed's fabric cover--a heavy chunk of vinyl fabric--out of the ring so certain horses would not find it the perfect play toy.

I didn't do much work at all myself. Later, I went to get some grain and only bought half my usual order so I wouldn't have too much to unload. As per all of your advice, I am trying hard to take it easy until I am fully recovered.

So, aside from watching the Boys watch the boys working on the shed, I have no horse news to report.

Except that Billy, the elder son, told me he'd had a bad dream the night before that he'd been chased by a horse and had to climb a tree to escape.

Fortunately, this time, at least one dream did not come true.

Then again, I did lock the Boys out in the pasture while the bulk of the work was being done.