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Today is one of those days.

I love being on a farm.

I love having farm animals.

I love this life.

I'm also totally exhausted and fruatrated from today's events. That doesn't invalidate my love for it. It just means that it's not all cupcakes and roses! Some days really are hard. Today. Today sucked.

I was getting dressed when the driveway alarm went off. Turned on the front camera on my phone to see that damn mare running up the driveway and onto the road.

Pure panic. Threw on some clothes over my pjs, grabbed my boots, a halter and lead and went after her. You can't run at her. She spooks way too easy. At first she ran back down the driveway AT me then turned and bolted on the road again. Thank God it's open so drivers can see and there was no traffic.

Horse decides running through the ditch is a better way back to the herd which was watching her from the right side of the fence. And I swear shaking their heads!

Well 6 feet worth of snow and doesn't she get stuck. This gave me my opportunity to crawl down to her, halter her and hold her there til the kids brought me a longer lead. She had been struggling so much to get out she was exhausted. We both just sat there, me trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do next. Then the kids came with the longer lead, I hooked it up to her and she got a jolt of energy. We both made it up to the road again. Once I got her walked past our gate we shut it.

It's hard to keep that gate shut in the winter. It can freeze shut. And stopping the vans to open/close it can cause them to get stuck. It's a shitty entrance.

The rest of the day was spent with all of us (me and kids) putting up wood fences. Making a teepee type support than attaching them with 7 foot boards across, about chest height to the horses. Then crossers so they can't go under. Then a line of black electric flat rope. Came with the horses. Only problem is my energizer won't make it hot. IE send enough energy to zap them so I called my brother to tell him to get the horse owner to buy me one asap!

They are now confined to a small area behind the house where the round bales are. DS and I moved the second water trough over so it not only helps block part of the fence but is easy access in the confined area.

As I was filling that trough, that one mare decided to go for a fucking swim knocking the whole thing over. Had to start over.

She is a royal pain in the A$$!!!

Her owner hasn't come to see the mares in a year. No money given for feed. It's a shitty situation because now I'm legally responsible with them being on my property. Sad to say that's the last time I try to help out anyone with livestock!

The only other thing I can do now is fence off each side of the house to the fence lines so even if she gets out she can't get to the front. I still don't know how she got out today. The fences are up at the back around the round bales. Dd thinks she got out where the fence is along the driveway and the snow is high enough maybe she stepped over.

If I can get a good enough energizer I can line this entire area with this wider rope/tape and pray it zaps her enough to stay back from it.

Come summer I'm going to have to put wood posts into concrete. She's destroyed all of the T posts we put in and torn down the field fence.

Funny enough when I herded all the horses into the smaller area my mustang refused to go on his own. He knows that area was not for him. I had to lead him in the give him a treat.

Also their shelter is on the OTHER side of the small paddock so now I gotta get one up asap. They have a wind break thankfully.

This is just a hobby farm and some days it feels like Hell. That storm blew snow into the shed through the tiny ass door with the pigs so I had to dig them out then pile in more straw. So far so good.

Lost my big gelding a bit ago tangled in fence at the back and torn to bloody hell. Was told it looked like wolves. I've got motion lights and cameras but we saw and heard nothing that night. I was told to put up barbed wire on the outside of the fences but with this mare just ramming her way through fences she will cut herself up bad.

Between the wolves, coyotes, Mrs. Escapee Mare, and way to much damn snow, I'm mentally and physically drained.

I keep telling myself it's not always like this. Today was a bad day but maybe tomorrow will be great, hang in there.

My horsey friend called today and said that I got this. She knows how hard and heartbreaking it can be but I'm strong and will be ok.

Dragn, one thing really stands out in your post. HOW your kids jump in to help! You should be very proud of them. City kids wouldn't know what to do - but your kids are learning so much with their hands-on experience!

I think everyone is sick of snow. Just think...SPRING and it WILL come.

Dragn, one thing really stands out in your post. HOW your kids jump in to help! You should be very proud of them.

Thank you for this!

Little M got right in there. Even Big D carried one board at a time over. DD on the other hand came out but she held the container of screws lol. Once we had all the boards over the twins asked to play. They made a huge snowman while DS and I out up the fence.

I have to wonder in what ways they aren't wise though. Their cousin leaves for school on his own, walks there then comes home on his own with a key. We have a key pad to the side door the kids can get in through and dd has come home then gotten the other kids when I have been out. I worry because it would be easy to snatch them at the end of the driveway and take off before anyone would know. I'm cautious but I couldn't let them walk to school alone even if we were in town.

I walked down to open the front gate for wh. It's closed so even if the mare gets out she can't get onto the road. I'll open it for him in the morning.

I'll do the rest of the fences tomorrow.

You and the little drgns are tough cookies!!!

Lol. Tough enough I guess.

They all know how to use power tools, swing a hammer and tell a horse to back off lol

I was wiped and decided it was a fend for dinner tonight. DS got kinda upset saying he wanted spaghetti lol. I said ok so cook it. He did it all except strain the pot.

The kids all made their dinners.

You're doing a great job!! There aren't many parents that that teach their kids to be self sufficient, at least that I see.

How is DD doing?

There aren't many parents that that teach their kids to be self sufficient, at least that I see.

Well I won't be around forever so they better be able to cook and clean and do their own laundry lol At least I know they can cook well enough not to go hungry. Little M is probably the one that is most comfortable around the stove. If she wants to cook something there's not much that will stop her lol

How is DD doing?

Unsure. She says she's ok. But as usual she stays in her room most of the time. She walked out to the kitchen and DS said "oh look whose come out of her room for once" lol

She will still come out and sit with me once everyone has gone to bed if she stays up however lately she's been going to sleep early. One evening I found her asleep at 7:45pm.

I had just gotten out of bed when my phone went off from a notification from the back camera.

I looked out the back window to watch that damn mare walking back into the paddock through the ONE SPOT we didnt put wood. Instead it's snow fencing. She crawled under it...

Going to go remedy that now.

Dragn, do you think your farm animals have little secret meetings at night, suggesting ways to have you chase them.

It's a thought.

Dragn, do you think your farm animals have little secret meetings at night, suggesting ways to have you chase them

Sometimes I think it's not only the animals but my entire household as well lol

Anything to drive me a bit more crazy lol

I'm still trying to picture that mare sneaking and crawling under a fence!

A large black and white pot belly pig got loose around here and everyone trying to catch her. She was ripping up stuff. I guess animals get bored too and find diversions. Took the police and animal control to catch this large pig and get her back home. We have cows and horses walking down the roads often. About one mile from me they keep a lot of goats. Many baby goats. They live at a 4-way intersection which is busy. Last summer, Goats were all out of the road and another woman and I stopped to 'herd' them out of the roadway. The owner finally came out and got them in. Meanwhile, her Rottweiler dog was wanting to chew us up.

I'm still trying to picture that mare sneaking and crawling under a fence!

It's just the orange snow fence I put up with the wood fence in front of it. Really the fact is that field fence is no match for a 1500lb animal. She pushed down all of our metal T posts. The only posts she didn't push down are the cedar wood posts we put in the corners with cement. So I'll have to do the entire fence with wood posts and cement in the spring then wood board across instead of field fence.

As for being bored. The horses have a good 90 acres to roam, or well they did. Now they are confined to a realitively small area. With two attacks and the loss of two horses this year it's best the rest are kept up close to the house, at least for the rest of winter.

Its good that it's so mild now the snow is melting. And my trough won't freeze. The electric line we had out to it fried. So I have to run a new one out. And put up a shelter.

We built a large hay feeder with a top a few years back. I'll start with that and extend it so they can all fit. I'll just need to close in the sides. We have 14 foot metal roofing sheets for that. Fun fun. What a way to end the year lol

Pigs are a blast. Luckily mine are in a very secure shed and run. I also put boards all along the edges so they can't dig out.

I've never had farm animals even though I have room. I've had people asking me to let their horses stay here -- or some calves but I said NO as I don't want to be responsible for them. No time. Coyotes are really bad right now. A neighbor lost 40 chickens. They figured out the coyote has slipped into the chicken pen and hid until they put the hens up for the night and closed the gate. They caught him after his big kill because the pen had been coyote-proofed ... so he couldn't get OUT. They shot the coyote which is allowed here if they attack farm animals. It's a sad chain of events because this is the time of year coyotes are trying to feed their young. I can hear the babies yelping at night while their Mom is out hunting.

I am in awe of you with handling the children, the farm, the animals and everything else!

Jeaniegirl I hate the thought of shooting an animal but at the same time I've lost all the goats, two horses and every chicken I had.

Electric fences, barbed wire on 6 foot fences along the south side, motion lights, cameras still not enough for these predators.

A person in town had a bear rip apart their chicken coop and kill everything they had. That's when I heard about putting nails from the inside sticking out. My coop looks like a porcupine. Sadly that didn't stop something from getting in through one small spot.

PricklePatch

I'm not sure if you should be in awe of me or shaking your head lmao. I'm stubborn and am just Hell bent on getting this to work eventually. Definitely a learning experience.

We went from 6 foot drifts to seeing grass. This mild spell has melted most of the snow. A good break and now I have easy access to the supplies I need to get a new shelter up.