Bringing Hay to Horses in Snow

After yesterday’s post where I reveled in the fact that we’d actually had a decent snowfall, we went out in the cold to bring hay to horses. The temperature was about 15*F with a windchill factor of I don’t know what, but I’m sure ridiculously cold.

Bringing Hay to Horses in Snow
Heading toward the hay stash.

Rob takes the tractor and I go ahead of him on the 4-wheeler to open the gate. Well. I’m behind him when I took this photo, but after snapping the pic of him going down the driveway, I turned around. The gate I need to open is the other direction, through the creek and over the hill at the top of the horses’ pasture.

It was COLD.

Comanche watching our approach with the hay.
Comanche watching and waiting for the tractor to arrive.

My fingers and toes were frozen. I periodically put my hands (gloves on) inside my jacket and under my arm. This warmed them up alright, but brought with it the pain and stinging of defrosting fingers.

The horses were thrilled to see the hay arrive.

Comanche in the back, Shasta in front. Kicking up heels in delight. And because Bobbie Sue was harassing them.
Comanche in the back, Shasta in front. Kicking up heels in delight. And because Bobbie Sue was harassing them.

Getting back up the hill to the house was an adventure all by itself. The tractor going down it as we left out on our mission had crushed the snow and made ice. Then it made more when it went back up. I swerved, spun tires and slid sideways and had a grand time making the 4wheeler get back home.

It felt deliciously good to go back inside the house and take off the coveralls, the gloves, and snow boots in front of the crackling wood stove.


 

Comments

5 responses to “Bringing Hay to Horses in Snow”

  1. […] But the problem is that there’s no shelter in the field except the cedar trees, and they prefer to weather out snow and ice in the nice covered stall by the house. So hopefully the water holds out until after the precipitation is done. If it would just snow hard first, and cover all of the lines, then it’s easier to keep them running than when it’s windy and really cold with no snow cover. The horses don’t mind the snow once it’s on the ground, though. […]

  2. anyathefarmchiweenie Avatar

    Ugh. Farming in the winter is always an adventure. Glad you made it back to the house in safe and sound, and that the kids got fed. Stay warm!

    1. Madison Avatar

      The adventures never end, do they? LOL. Right now the hot water is frozen, but at least we still have the cold running and the woodstove to warm it up. Thanks for dropping by! Heading over to visit your blog with the next cup of coffee 🙂

  3. sustainabilitea Avatar

    I know how cold it was because it was frigid here and we didn’t have to be outside that much! Loved the photos but the mental image of the stove and warming up is even better. BTW, something’s going on with the blog because when I clicked on “Visit” from the reader, I only got an index of everything, over on the left side of the page. I put in just the website address, then clicked on the blog, and got where I wanted to go, but when I clicked on an individual blog title, I was sent back to the index thing on the side. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but…

    Off now to take a look at the snow post.

    janet

    1. Madison Avatar

      Oh mercy. Thanks for the heads up. I suspect I know what’s causing that. Put a new index on the site and it’s probably going for a power-grab, lol.

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