Chop Water

There is a saying, “chop wood, carry water”. In this cold silence of a winter morning, we are chopping water on frozen tubs for the horses. We have two facilities, one owned by the Sanctuary, one at my home where everything started.

While Mark cares for the herd at the big facility, I do meds and treatments at home where more special needs horses live with individual pens and shelters. This morning is bitter cold, but there is no wind… it looks like we’ll have sunshine, so the high desert will warm up soon. It is eerily quiet in the cold, crisp air.

The horses are wild! They buck and run around as I feed their breakfast hay after giving meds. I pull blankets so they won’t sweat when the sun gets higher. And I chop water. There is a layer of ice on every tub. When it is thick, I pull off the sheets of ice with bare hands (don’t want wet gloves!). When the sun hits the dark water tubs, the water will warm up for them. The chopping is done with golf clubs. We have found them the most useful tool for the job.

I am planning for New Year’s Eve when fireworks will go off around the neighborhood. There is valerian root syrup to make; fed in their mashes at supper that night, and again before midnight, it calms them naturally. We set up lights everywhere. We play Equine Relax Tracks on a professional sound system at the main facility. The sound system was a donation from Equine Audio and has been a godsend for the horses. At home, we will play it on a less impressive system.

This morning, I’m sitting with my cup of tea and making the notes I need to remind me of what needs to be done. Some things (feeding, treatments, chopping water) are just done by rote, day in, day out. Others, like fireworks prep, I need a guide because they are out of the ordinary (thank goodness!) and even with a day planner, I forget what day it is.

All of our focus is on the well-being of these horses. Every day is an adventure!