We were so excited and happy to hear that after the reality TV show Horse Rescue Heroes, that we are proud to be a part of, premiered at the EQUUS Film Festival this weekend, that it had won the Winnie Award and we wanted to share the news with you all right away! However, Mother Nature had other plans…again…the reality of horse rescue…
This weekend in Wisconsin was beautiful, relatively speaking, as it was a weekend of balmy days in the mid-30s. There was much work to be done here, as always, and we took full advantage of the weather and got as much done as we could with the few hours of daylight we are provided with this time of year. We picked up more hay. We mended some fences. We were finally able to strip the stalls in the old barn (though the soft ground and 8 inches of snow made that rather difficult), but it allowed us to bring in some horses who…with the upcoming tank in temperatures…are most appreciative of. We got everything ready that we could prior to today to prepare everyone for this impending “polar vortex”.
There were a couple things that we could not get done prior to the storm today though. One…was filling water tanks to ensure that the horses had plenty of fresh water to help heat their “furnaces” in this upcoming cold. We could not put blankets on those who were going to need them as it was so nice the last few days that they would have become relatively ineffective with the drastic temperature drop…leading to sweating under the blankets followed by sub-zero temps. Our only option was to wait until today…during the storm…
We started the day out bright and early, sure to get out and get the blankets on and the tanks plum full before the storm hit and the temps tanked. No sooner did we get the blankets on that the snow/sleet started. The skidsteer thankfully started and we were able to restock the feeders that had gotten low before it was too awful outside. Then came the water tanks…
Extension cords for the tank heaters that had not yet been needed, were buried in the snow. The water in the tanks was starting to get slushy and the temperatures were dropping by the hour. We brought out new extension cords (several of them running 100+ feet and a couple running close to 300). The snow and the wind was relentless, but we trudged along. Dragging our last existing extension cord out, we discovered that the circuit running the heaters to the paddocks by the new barn kept tripping. We had two options…keep plugging them in and hope they don’t trip and the water freezes…or reduce the number of heaters running off of them. The obvious decision was to reduce them, but that would mean larger stock tanks that could be “shared” by adjoining paddocks. So, it was time to be off to Farm & Fleet. The trip to Farm & Fleet for us is around 30 minutes in perfect weather conditions. However, we were under a “winter weather warning” and it was white-out conditions. But…we had no choice…
We made the journey, with several stops to break ice off our windshield wipers. The roads were a nightmare and vision was terribly impaired due to the snow, wind, and white-out conditions. We purchased 2 300 gallon tanks for the 4 paddocks to share (by having 1/2 on one side of the fence and the other half on the other). I don’t think the yard workers at Farm & Fleet were very happy to see us, but they did not complain and even helped us break the ice off and wrestle with the toneau cover so we could load the tanks into the truck. We eventually arrived back here safe and sound, but conditions had deteriorated quite a bit and we still had to get the fences situated to provide for the adjoining paddocks with one tank and still had to get those tanks up the big hill.
To pat myself on the back (even just a little…lol) I drug both tanks through the new barn and up the hill myself. Nate was gone pulling a sheriff’s deputy out of the ditch and conditions were getting worse by the minute. When Nate returned, he grabbed his tools and we got to work fixing the divider fences so that the tanks would fit underneath and allow ample access to the water. While all of this was going on, I was also dragging 300 feet of hose around through the snow (as it continued to get buried by more) to the other existing tanks. I then drug the 100+ feet of hose out to the paddocks by the new barn and began filling them. For a reference, a 300 gallon tank takes an hour and a half to fill here. No, I did not have to stand out there the entire time, but I did have to trudge through (by this point) almost a foot snow going back and forth from tank to tank…they are not close…and I had to fill 6 of them…
None of them were empty, other than the 2 new ones we put in today, but it will be very sub-zero both tomorrow and Wednesday morning. My 70+ year old mother typically comes out on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to do chores. She spends hours at it just plucking away, taking her time, cleaning in the shop while she waits for tanks to fill, but…I would not wish this weather…and this work…on anyone in those temperatures…so, there was no way I was leaving any of this up to her to do the next couple of days.
For the better part of the day, my gloves were wet. Either from early in the day when my hands got sweaty inside them, or from as they got wet just handling the hoses. By the end of the day (7 1/2 hours) they were not just wet, but they froze from the cold. The wind was raw. Only adding to the cold temps as they continued to drop. The snow finally stopped, but then the sky began to clear. I felt, as I moved from water tank to water tank watching the clearing in the sky getting closer and closer, that I was in The Day After Tomorrow when the skies cleared and everything froze instantly. Obviously it wasn’t that bad here, but the urgency to get done had me running on full-throttle as my legs and my back screamed at me to stop. My feet went from sweaty and warm, to wet and frozen. There was little point in putting my soaking wet, frozen almost rock solid gloves on, other than to block the wind. But, in the end, just as the sky was getting dark…it all got done.
The 40+ horses and donkeys here…have ample food, water, and blankets as needed, to get them through this vortex. Why am I telling you all this??
Because this is reality. While the TV show will provide an amazing insight to the reality of horse rescue…this is something it will not show (only because it did not film during the winter up here). But, this is what horse rescuers endure all the time in the winter…in WI and the other northern states. Along with the emotional drain and just the mental struggles that rescuing horses requires…the physical labor aspect of it, is often forgotten….
In closing though, I would like to leave you all knowing that the horses here, that your donations and your support help provide for, are ready. We busted our butts the last few days to make sure (as much as is humanely possibly anyway) that they will get through this first polar vortex unscathed. That while we realize that every horse owner out there in the northern states (and every other rescue as well) is enduring the same weather…that rescue it is not just an emotional/wanting to help horses thing. It takes massive labor, long days, and exhausting physical effort to do. This is a huge part of the reality of horse rescue. I am exhausted. Both physically and mentally, but…I will be able to rest easy tonight and let my body recover…knowing that the 40+ horses here are provided for and not facing an uncertain future or freezing somewhere with no food or water. And THAT is what keeps us going….
Some worry that donations go to “pay” those running or working at a rescue. And, sometimes, they do. But, you know what…there was no one else here to do the work that we did today (or most any day for that matter). I don’t know anyone who would (other than my mother) without getting paid for it. So…if you worry that maybe your donation won’t “go directly to the horses” (even though none of us doing this work are getting paid)…just remember that if we don’t do it…who will…and our time, our labor, in addition to your donations, goes directly to the horses….