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We Are Flying Solo

Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts

December 24, 2020

To Build A Fire

Since there seems to be a widespread desire for projects one can do at home, I thought I'd share a recent one of mine.  Perhaps not directly horse-related, but I can enjoy it while looking at my horses so I say that counts.

I have some things on the farm that can use burning:  fallen branches, old rotten pallets.  A co-worker recently inspired me when she told me she'd built a fire pit in her backyard & I thought, "Well, that would make said burning much more enjoyable!"  So here is my step-by-step guide to create your own safe, easy, cheap fire pit & enjoy the crackling warmth of a cozy-marshmallow roast at home.

My pit o' fire holding
SAFETY FIRST (duh, y'all know me):  choose your spot carefully!  Check your local rules for your property, which may have specific guidelines for outdoor fires.  If there aren't any, you should be at least 25' from any structures & do not place your fire underneath trees.  Get to know your prevailing wind patterns, if you don't already & think about where sparks may be carried (this also will inform where you want to sit).  I used to be a wildland firefighter, so I spent a couple of weeks evaluating different spots on the farm & thinking about fire & wind behaviour.

Working a prescribed burn on a federal wildlife refuge
I perused the interwebz for design & materials ideas & decided to go with simple hardware store pavers, some of which I already had.  I used 12" square flat blocks for the base & textured retaining wall blocks for the sides.

I very cleverly decided to employ tractor bucket to carry the blocks for me so I didn't have to make a bunch of trips (it's been raining a lot & I didn't really want to make ruts driving the truck all over).  

Reason #457 longbed truck is awesome
And then once I got all the blocks unloaded in my desired spot, naturally, I promptly changed my mind about where I wanted it.  But I didn't feel like getting tractor back out, so I just carried them all by hand anyway.  Net effort saved = 0.  Because this is how I roll.  Apparently.

I weedeated the grass down as short as possible.  I did not want the ground to be level, so it would drain, so I did minimal raking.  Then I set the 12" pavers for the base in the center.  I left a small gap between these pavers for sand, which will help prevent them from shifting & provide a barrier between fire & ground.  I ended up changing the arrangement after the initial picture to make them fit inside the circle.

The most thrilling photo ever
Next, the retaining blocks went in a circle for the walls.  Plan on plenty of fiddling in this step.  My ring is approximately 36" wide.  I just set the blocks on top of each other, with the 2nd layer set slightly to the inside because they have a lip on them.  I did not use any mortar or anything because that would cost more money & take longer.  It's not like concrete blocks are going to blow away.  I filled in the gaps around the edges with rocks that I collect in my pastures & pile around fenceposts for later use.
Other people cut square pavers to fill the gaps, I felt that was too much work

Final step:  add a bag of paver sand.  I dumped the whole bag in there & started with my hands, rubbing it back & forth over the seams to push it into the gaps.  I followed up with a broom, sweeping back & forth again to allow the fine silica sand to pack in & then pushed the rest to the edges.

All done!
And that's it!  In another "of course, because it's a Me project" feature, I ran out of wall pavers, so I have a, uh, "handicap accessible" gap in case I have any visitors less than 8" tall.  I originally was going to pick up another block at the store to fill this, but for now, I am finding this is kind of a useful spot to lean over & start/tend to fire, making it a little easier on my arthritic back.

So far, I have made two smokey fires, because everything is saturated & it's raining again today.  But it worked REALLY well & provides nice peace of mind that everything is contained by blocks.  After a fire, I do spread out the coals on the base before I go in the house so it will cool faster (doesn't take so long in Dec) & I go back & check them when I give the horses their late night snack.

Delicious & delightful
The whole thing took me maybe 2 hours and was less than $70.  Since I have to burn some things anyway, having this safe spot to do it is definitely worth that & then some & now I also have a nice activity to enjoy, say, while I watch The Great Planetary Conjunction (which was pretty neat)!

January 26, 2020

What Happens When Scientists Own Farms

We can't help ourselves.  We do this:

Why yes, that's a box plot of hay consumption from the past six years on Flying Solo Farm.  For the non-scientists, each box represents summary statistics for that month.  The t-shaped lines extending up & down represent maximum & minimum values.  The boxes themselves show the distribution of the data in quartiles (25/50/75 percentiles), with a horizontal line in the middle for the median. 

For example, in May I always have grass, so rarely feed any hay.  That box is very narrow, showing that the range of values over six years is very small (i.e. they're all about the same).  In February, though, generally our nastiest, coldest, most unpredictable month, you can see the long box, indicating there's a wide range of values.  One year I fed 17 bales, one year I fed over 40 bales that month.

I also plotted the deviation from overall average of the last three years.  This interested me because I changed hay suppliers in January of 2019.  The new hay does cost more but it is MUCH nicer & I felt like I was feeding less of it, justifying the cost, but I needed to see the data.  As soon as I plotted it, it was immediately apparent that yes, every single bar after the switch was below the average.  Win!

Some of this is just geek gratification, but I do find that tracking my hay use is VERY helpful in planning how much to buy & whether I need to resupply.  I have a paper planner that I use for everything (work & farm) & I just note for each feeding how much hay I fed.  It's an estimate, such as 0.3 bale.  Then I add up each week in a little chart, which goes into a spreadsheet.  I also include any notes of unusual things, like when Solo was on pen rest for his tendon injury in 2016 & ate up a bunch of my winter hay in fall (which is what is skewing the average up in Aug-Oct).
2019 planner chart of hay nommed
Weight would be a more accurate way to measure it, as the variation in bale sizes does introduce slop in the data, but I just keep that caveat in mind when I interpret the numbers.  Less work.

Those aren't even the only charts I have...     

October 10, 2019

Afternoon Project: Build Simple Jump Standards For Cheap (Or Free!)

In a fit of delusional optimism on Sunday, I decided to use some of my hoarded scrap lumber to build a set of proper jump standards.  This would be an upgrade from my previous scrap standards, which have now disintegrated since I never got around to sealing them & I gave up on them after Encore got hurt.

Said optimism was obviously misguided, since I am taking Echo to the vet tomorrow.  He displayed a very sore stifle last night with some odd characters.  I am hoping it's just a "young, growing horse" thing or some other mild sprain, but I want it checked out right away since I am EXTREMELY gun-shy on stifles after Encore.  Not like I need another vet bill, but the alternative is giving myself 47 ulcers over the weekend, sigh.

Anyway.  Buildy thingies.  Also excellent for distracting the Monstrous Voices Of Overthinking.

Quick How-To Guide For Simple Standard Construction

These actually cost me $0 to build.  I had an eight-foot 4" x 6" left over from another project, my pile of "scraps salvaged from house construction dumpster" five years ago, plenty of paint from painting ground poles, & I always have a tub of deck screws around.  It didn't take me long, about 2-3 hrs including sanding & a quick coat of paint on the bases.  

Standard Preface from the Safety Nazi:  Tools are awesome, but don't mess aroundWear your safety glasses, close-toed shoes, ear protection when necessary, & pay attention.  Horsewomen are badasses, but work smarter, not harder.  You can do most anything you set your mind to, but make sure you have been properly instructed, know your equipment, & always plan ahead.

My materials list:
  • 8-foot 4" x 6", cut in half to make two 4' standards (I don't need anything taller & shorter = lighter)
  • Eight 12" (or somewhere in the vicinity, some of mine are a little longer) long boards for feet; you can use a 1" x 6" or mine are leftover deck planking boards
  • Deck screws, 3-4 per foot board
  • Paint or stain to seal (after staining the shed footers was such a pain in the ass, I opted for paint, so much faster & dries quickly)
Tools I used:  Circular saw, drill, impact driver (I won't lie, I use this for everything), 1/2" speed cutting bit (for pin holes, you could also use a spade bit), tape measure, pencil
All my junk & my sophisticated work table, don't know why photo is dark
I started by cutting the 4x6 in half.  Yes, most standards are made with 4x4's but as long as you have a 4" face to fit a standard jump cup, it doesn't matter.  I think the extra 2" on the long side may be a stability bonus in the end.  I purposefully didn't make the cut exactly straight so that water will drain off instead of sitting there & rotting the wood from the top.

Then start attaching your legs.  Attach the first one flush with the bottom of your post & work around, attaching legs in a pinwheel fashion.  I put 4 screws on legs on the wide face, 3 screws on the narrow face, since it was a tight fit.
Attaching my mismatched legs (just like my actual legs)
Screwing tips (yeah, maybe I just wanted to type that):  (1) set your screws about 1" in from the edge of your board to prevent cracking.  (2) Drilling a pilot hole will help with the same, I did this extra step because my leg scraps were dry & old & it successfully avoided splitting them.
Pilot holes in the first foot
Measure out your pin hole centers.  I started at 18" from the ground & proceeded in 3" intervals up to three feet.  I did check how the cups would sit & confirmed that the top of the poles would be even with the pin hole centers, so that would be a true jump height.  Measure a second point from the edge of the post however far back your cups extend (mine are 1 and 5/8"), which will give you a target to center your big drill bit on.
I'll drill where the lines cross
Drill your pin holes.  Some types of cups demand straighter holes than others.  I'm trying out the Dapple Equine one-piece cups (I technically did spend money to purchase these, but as they are not part of the standard itself, I'm still calling them free standards), which allow for some slop.  So I eyeballed it & the ones that weren't quite straight were easy to shave a little extra off of.  Drilling treated posts requires power & a sharp bit - have a spare battery handy if using a cordless drill/driver.  I love these SpeedBor bits, they chew a big hole efficiently & don't require crazy torque like a ship auger does.
Drill w/ SpeedBor & completed holes
That's basically it, you now have functional standards.  I knocked the edges & rough bits off with a sander to hopefully reduce my splinters when I grab them.  I threw an initial trademark UAPJ (Ugly-Ass Paint Job) on the bases since the sun was setting & I wanted an extra coat there.
The finest UAPJ work
They now have two more coats on the posts themselves & I plan on putting another coat on the bases on Saturday.
Just waiting for that mythical creature, Sound Horse
If you want to add some decor using more leftover lumber, click for directions on how to throw together some even easier "Poor Person Flower Boxes."

I haven't gotten a chance to even set them up yet.  If you have any spare good luck to send our way, I could definitely use it.  I'm trying hard to hope that Dr. Bob will give us not-completely-terrible news tomorrow & I can use my pretty new standards soon...

April 21, 2019

Capital Improvements: Farm Edition

Any farm is essentially a never-ending project & mine is no exception.  Should a farm-owner feel that they have completed all projects, have no fear, something will break/flood/fail & voila, new project!  I am too poor to pay people to do things for me, so Flying Solo Farm is also a very slow project.

Two big improvements I've managed in the past year:

1.  Stabilize & fill run-in shed (July 2018).

This was the most critical & I've included some of the steps here in case someone else is looking for ideas.  This shed is our operations center, with half for the horses & half for me/farrier/vet.  The basic layout hasn't changed much since it was introduced here, although it now has half-walls on both sides for the horses.  However, runoff was undermining one end & too much dirt was migrating from inside to outside.  By last summer, I knew I had to do some sort of retaining wall/fill before hurricane season brought the next round of torrential rain.

The corner in the background was even worse
I spent my usual extensive time on considering design, materials, anchoring, & cost minimization.  I generally don't have any help, so I have to be able to lift & manage any materials I get.  It was a little tricky since the base of the shed is steel on cinder blocks, so the retaining wall would have to be independently anchored.  And yes, my planning phases always involve Googling "how to..." because there are inevitably helpful tips on details I might not think of.

After leveling the ground for installation (which involved plenty of sweating since of course it was packed rock hard, with a zillion actual rocks), I ended up using treated 6" & 4" x 6" beams.  The bottom row is anchored with 24" rebar at even intervals.  These were super fun to drive into the ground with a hand sledge in July.  But those things aren't going anywhere in my lifetime!  I anchored the second row with galvanized landscape pins.
One of the galvanized pins
Thanks to Google tips, I put in a strip of drainage rock inside of the wall before I backfilled.
The one easy step:  dump rocks out of bags
Then it was a "simple" matter of adding 9 tons of limestone screenings.  Yes, it was literally 9 tons.  Tractor required.  Plus 1 more that I used to even out the crosstie area.  I originally wanted to just use fill dirt.  My go-to hauler did not have fill dirt, but he had screenings & $300 for 10 tons was cheaper than I expected.  Pro tip:  if you fill a wheelbarrow with stone screenings, you will not be able to lift or move the wheelbarrow.  Because stone.  I know this now.
I hope I never have to do this again.  But it is awesome.
I had not planned on buying any more mats, because they are expensive.  However, Echo found the screenings delightful to dig in & enjoyed his new sandbox far too much.  So now I have four more mats in the middle part of below pic.  Bad horse.
He dug a hole & rolled in this 30 mins later.  :/
I finished it by cutting the corners off at an angle where the horses would step over & sanding off the edges of the lumber.  This whole project took me two solid days, working all day.  I was afraid to stop because I was certain that if I did, it would be way too painful to start moving again.  At the end of the second day, I discovered that guess was correct. 

The shed is SO MUCH NICER now, though.  The drainage works perfectly (I also added a water re-direct, you can see one end by Echo's nose in the pic) & I can hose a horse in the crossties without flooding the shed or washing out the floor.  The horses have a dry place for their feets no matter what the weather.  And oh yeah, now the shed won't collapse & roll down the hill.

2.  North windbreaks/gates (November 2018)

This project was much cheaper & easier!  I never want a completely enclosed shed, since we are in the South & airflow is critical in the summer, but we can get some pretty nasty, cold north winds in wintertime.  Once again, I considered lots of options, including hanging plastic strips like you see on walk-in freezers, which I still might do in the future but are too expensive currently.  The front of the shed is 24' wide & I already had ~7' of half-wall on Solo's side, along with posts.  I decided to build a 5' scrap-wood gate on that side.
From the inside; pre-existing wall to left
This part only cost me about $20 & two hours.  Since I already had the lumber in my "salvage" pile, along with 2 hinges, I only needed to buy 1 more hinge & a brace cable.
From outside, after a coat of paint
For the remaining 12', the simplest option ended up being a standard gate.  I didn't have THAT much lumber, & even if I did, it would have been insanely heavy.  My neighbour helped me set that post, because I am very strong, but I cannot lift a 16' long 6' x 6' post & square it without probably crushing myself.  He also made the clever suggestion of leaving a human gap on the end so I can squeeze through without opening gates.  Um, I love this feature.
Both new gates + gap for me
If you're saying, uh, a wire-filled gate is not a very effective windbreak..., well, you are correct.  Which is why I wrapped it in a tarp.  It's not pretty, but it IS effective & it allows me to keep things nice & open for the rest of the year.
The winter version, complete with "rustic" weights
I remain really happy with both of these investments.  The horses definitely appreciated the windbreak this past winter, it was much cozier in there.  And I just took the tarp off two weeks ago.  The 5' gate can also be latched open & horses have plenty of space to lead through either side.  This also provides another layer of security, so if for some reason they were to break through the tape gates, they are still contained by these new gates.  That did happen once, I found horses outside the kitchen window last year -- I think it was a freak incident, but just in case...

July 9, 2016

The Day The Sheds Flew: Farmpocalypse 2016

As I was preparing horsey dinners last Wednesday, I never imagined the building I stood in would be torn violently apart 30 minutes later.

So many stories are overdue, but this one must be vexed about not getting a full telling, since it revisited last night!  I hope you'll forgive my job for swallowing me whole -- wildlife don't seem to courteously time their activities to my convenience, alas.

It Seemed Like A Normal Day 

Just home from work, I noticed the darkening sky, but it wasn't unusual for an early July evening.  Carolina summer frequently includes late-day cloudbursts, when hot, humid air blows its soggy overload.

Glancing west as I carried buckets to the boys, I was arrested by this...thing:


I know just enough about clouds to be afraid, very very afraid.  Convinced the Hand of Sauron itself was coming for us at an unsettling speed, I secured horses & hay in a record 7.8 seconds.  My ears popped as the temperature & barometric pressure went into freefall.  The passing Coast Guard rescue chopper you can hear in the video did not seem like a good omen.

My run-in, hayshed, & house are all engineered for 120 mph windstorms, my construction default here in hurricane country.  Feed & tack I keep in smaller kit sheds, but both have weathered much larger storms & are stuffed with heavy objects.

So while I wasn't thrilled by less than five minutes of warning, I hunkered down in the house feeling that all major bases were covered.  NOAA weather alerts showed this particular beast hurtling SE at interstate speeds, with angry windshear.  And hail.  (Some news photos of aftermath in the area here)

Run with the Tolkien theme
Fortunately, I keep 17 water bottles filled in the fridge, because I had time to run a whopping 1/2" of water into the tub before the power blinked out.  I was a little surprised, as in three years, I've lost power (>5 mins) exactly 0 times.  Hazarding a guess from the perfectly horizontal rain out the front windows, I'd say there were probably some trees down already...

But Solo & Encore have their safety walls I built during our first brutal winter.  I uneasily watched the now-rain-hail-mix swing 180 degrees from West --> East to East --> West in 10 seconds, but I was glad they were protected.

A half-hour seems a lot longer in the dark.

I went out front as the rain stopped, to attempt salvage of my now-shredded hay tarps before the next band moved in.  It was then I noticed the horses standing in the farther corner of their paddocks.  Which they only do if something scares the bejeezus out of them.

Like, I don't know, flying walls?

The remnants of Structure Formerly Known As Feed Shed

Priority One:  Horses

Both horses were luckily unscathed.  It's always a dilemma of intense storms:  flying debris risk vs. building catastrophe risk.  Sometimes you get both -- along with storms that don't read textbooks!

Incredibly, both fencing tape & posts held.  I called my Miraculous Rescue Neighbour as I had to get buildings off the fences & important gear/feed under cover immediately, because more rain was on the way.

Tack shed flipped off foundation

My big lag screws had been ripped out of the walls, but stayed in the brackets, so I made sure to account for each one as I dragged scattered panels out of horse areas.  Red arrows in the pic show locations over about 3/4 of an acre.  The last thing I needed to add was a punctured hoof.

Priority Two:  Additional Waterlogging Prevention

Homeless things
Gear got hurled into vehicles as quickly as possible.  I was grateful I hadn't unloaded three bags of feed in the backseat of my truck.  Although improbably, feed lid bins had stayed on & watertight!

We only had about an hour before it started raining again.  Just enough time to get pastures cleaned.  And just enough time for the full weight of the damage to begin sinking in.

Bathed in exhausted sweat, I was very glad it was at least 9 pm & NOT 100 degrees as no power = no shower.  And given the chorus of sirens in every direction, it wasn't returning anytime soon.

We gonna eat it all!
The horses were ok.  I was ok.  Major structures & vehicles were ok.

But rain had blown UNDER my hayshed walls in seemingly impossible ways.  I finally got the tarp off the roof, but some of my beautiful bales were decidedly wet:  not ok.  And it's pretty hard to keep mice out of a building with one wall, which didn't bode well for feed security.

Two words echoed in my head:

December 25, 2015

There's No Present Like The Time*

Holidays & I have mixed relations, but there is still no repressing my smile at Solo’s unfailing welcome nicker as I step out the back door.

So I relish every opportunity to lean on that massive shoulder & giggle at his never-ending fascination with nuzzling feet.

I’m filled with gratitude for this time off work to continue Operation Encore (v. 6.0?); we’re on day 9 or 10, I think, of my modified fitness regime. It’s some pretty thrilling stuff, like 20 minutes of walking while on the bit, or adding in some trot transitions on our longer hill walking sessions.

Where did everyone go?
We spiced it up yesterday with some radical Guinea Cutting & I think we’d have scored very well, successfully isolating the same bird three times in a row! You may not have heard of this discipline yet. That’s probably because I invented it yesterday.

Don’t worry, there’s still time to qualify for the Championships the next time Neighbour Vanessa’s flock wanders over (ride times are subject to change at the whim of pea-brained fowl).

It may have rained 427 inches in 24 hours, but at 75F, no one’s cold OR dehydrated.

For all these moments & many more, I say an inadequate thanks. Solo hates it when I press my face against his neck to absorb him with all my senses – so I try to do it often. At least he doesn’t mind my irritating chest congestion visitor (blech).

I hope I get many more chances to harass both of my ridiculous redheads in the coming year. But one thing all of us can do without fail is to seize the wonderful gift of Now.

Our bests to you from Flying Solo Farm -

My highlights
*Yes, I totally stole this from a movie.  No, I do not feel any remorse.  ;P

September 27, 2015

TFS Time Machine: My Life's Lullaby

On these quiet evenings, having walked out to groom the horses as the weekend rain subsides, I'm reminded of a constant.  That balm which soothes pain, fear, worry, even exhaustion, which has been the solace of my life as far back as memory can reach.

So I share it anew, as I think it cannot be possible to ponder it too often. 

Striking: five years ago seems another lifetime, yet some patterns persist, before & since.  This text is excerpted & slightly updated, you can find the original post here.

Little Melodies

I often feel sorry for people who never know the companionship of animals, outdoors in their own realm.  Their playlists are missing the sweetest music I know.

Just today, I am struck with the notes:  embraced by the gathering dusk, my left hand rests on warm, red hair while my right guides a soft brush in its particular rhythmic chord over Solo's side.  Pay attention to that sound next time you groom:  there is a real, earthy caress in its tone.  


Prairie Warbler surveys FSF
Sheltered alongside us, there is the ever-present, ever-pleasant undertone of Encore pulling at his hay.  A barred owl throws his signature announcement to the evening sky, following the burbling arpeggio of an immature bluebird snatching gnats from the fenceline.  

I can feel my heartbeat slowing & my subconscious finally allows the tension to leak out of my muscles.

It's a quiet symphony, syncopated by Solo's tail, a gentle, slow, swishing counterpoint.  The growing chirps of the crickets, the string section of all Southern nights, adds a higher harmony.

 
You will never hear it on the radio, although it's not because such peaceful music is rare.  But drinking it in doesn't cost a thing beyond allowing an inviting silence, through which the song may enter your life.  


Take a sip; you may find yourself enriched in ways you never knew existed.  You too can know the wonder of feeling your pulse hum in tune to the ancient song of horse, of nature, of life.  It is always there, just waiting for you to listen.
 

July 10, 2015

Pool Party: Solo Style!

Don't you hate it when it's too sticky to ride in the afternoon?  BUT!  There is still equine entertainment to be had that doesn't result in sweat!

Although I didn't get an invitation.  Typical.  They probably snuck the beers in after I went inside...

Who needs hosing? *apology disclaimer for lack of real camera in pocket*

Aaaand that's why I call him my hippo.  I've been known to scramble on bareback with a neckstrap & swim him around a pond or two:  So. Much. Fun.  Although he's a very powerful swimmer, gotta keep your legs clear of hooves...

Solo:  "C'mon in, bro, nothing bites except me!" (Encore is the clothed one)

Finally, the temptation is too great...who can resist the full head-dunk??

I believe that is Encore's first, adorable, tiptoe pond swim.

i did it image

June 15, 2015

We Have A Winner!

From CBS Sports
Well, yeah, there’s that.

My apologies to the patient (& hilarious) entrants to our SmartPak gift card giveaway for not posting sooner.  Jobs & sad things both tamp one’s ability to keep up with it all.

Hey, some work!!
It was very educational for me as well.  I learned that HorseWorld has no faith in my redneck ideas either, ha!  I kid, I’m sure (at least, I’m telling myself) the guesses at my ETA to failure were based on personal experience.

However, apart from the eventual smashing of aforementioned magnet (which I maintain doesn’t really need a shape anyway, now it’s just unique), my Bucket Magnet actually worked!!  Well, I didn’t find any nails after a very thorough search, but the mechanism stayed intact for the entirety of the search area. 

Alas, the universe always seems to hear when you start getting all proud of yourself.  Across the final slope of the evening, the edge of the bucket juuuust brushed the rising ground mid-turn enough to produce that ego-popping bump.

So congratulations (and thank you very much for your vote of confidence!!) to Abigail Powell, charming  author of The Maggie Memoirs, for coming the closest the optimum time of 0.8 hrs (48 minutes; you were only 3 minutes off, I see a bright eventing future!) by tractor hour-o-meter!!!  You can click the little green email envelope at the top right of the page to contact me or leave your email in the comments & you get $10 to splurge during sale season at SmartPak!

May 24, 2015

Prize Giveaway! Guess The Time To “Brilliant Redneck Solution…Fail”


It seemed like such a good idea at the time…

I know, you’ve probably never used that sentence.  Heh.  But here’s your chance to profit from yet another of my ingenious ideas!

Your prize:  a $10 gift card to SmartPak…and my admiration for your thorough knowledge of idea fail.
My endless love...

To Be Fair, It Was A Good Idea

Arriving home from work a couple weeks ago, I discovered that apparently a chupacabra had attempted to jump my fence.

Drawing by Michael Lee (2007)
SRSLY!  It was the only conclusion I could draw from the evidence.  For newcomers, my fencing is primarily the pre-existing & perfectly built hi-tensile wire, lined with a strand of bi-polar HorseGuard tape (Best. Product. Ever.); only the tape is hot.

I walked out the back door & found the top two wires (this is heavy-duty 12 mm galvanized wire) were snapped clean off about 1” from the corner & the tape had been snagged & stretched. 

Fortunately, HorseGuard is extremely well made, so while stretched, no wires or nylon fibres were broken, so that was a simple 5-minute job to re-tension.  Wire…less simple.

Epic Richard being epic
Thanks to Solo’s awesome Minion & wonderful neighbour, Richard (who has the big, professional wire crimpers), I spliced the wires back together & was able to repair the tensioners (I can’t remember if I’ve posted my discoveries about the amazing safety features of correctly-installed hi-tensile [post#17 in link]– but there are a lot, thank goodness!) that gave as designed when Mr. Chupacabra barged in.

What Really Happened?

Honestly, I still don’t know for certain.  Our deer are fairly small.  The damage was exactly the same as when Solo jumped through the fence when we first moved in.  :/  But he was still in (unless he jumped out, then back in?), there were no hoofprints of any kind on the outside, & neither horse had a mark on them.

See – chupacabra.

Let The Games Begin

The final missing piece was a pair of nails that held the wire insulator to the post.  At least I think so.  The insulator was pulled off, meaning the nails would have been ripped out.  However, because the wire fence came with the land, a few of the insulators are not nailed on anymore.  Naturally, I don’t remember if this was a loose one before or not.

Thx, Northern Tool!
But horses…nails…I had to do a thorough search.  I’d returned the borrowed giant draggy magnet I used to clean up after house construction, but I do have a very strong magnetic dish for studs that is also handy for random “I dropped another steel thing” jobs. 

Just holding it though, means I have to walk around bent over, holding it close to the ground.  Back arthritis.  Ow.  And it’s small.  So “let’s get creative, what can possibly go wrong?”

You’d think that’d be a warning flag, would you?

Tell me that's not genius
Brilliant Idea

Hey, it’s a magnet – why don’t I stick it to a shovel & then I don’t have to bend over?  OH SNAP!  I have to bush-hog that field, why don’t I snap it to the bottom of the tractor bucket:  TWO-FOR-ONE!

I was oh-so-careful, sticking the dish to the bottom corner of the FEL (Front End Loader) so I could see the edge from the driver’s seat.  I needed to keep a careful eye on it because it would require keeping the bucket extremely close to the ground to work, with frequent adjustments in order to not bump the ground & pull it off.

Because one of the first Laws Of Tractor Use is “anything you attempt to attach/use with a tractor will inevitably fall off/be dropped & you will run it over.”  Yeah, I bet you’ve done it.  But NO!  I was not going to let that happen, I was going to be vigilant!

Well, the Tractor Laws are like the Laws of Physics:  non-negotiable.

How To Win

In case it’s not blindingly obvious yet, yes, my dish is now, um, a different & distinctly flatter shape than it once was.  Hey, why does a magnet dish need edges anyway, it’s still magnetic?!

To enter:  in the comments, you get to guess how long I was proud of myself before I felt a thump & yelled “NOOOO!”  The closest person to elapsed time between idea implementation & idea fail wins!  You will have ten days from the time of posting to put in your guess.

Bring the noise.