Can I cry now? This week has been horrible. Where I have my horses is not a big fancy barn, but a private owner who has just a few boarders to help defray the costs of her having her horses. Right now, there's 3 others, AM-I haven't seen in a couple of years. She had a baby, and just sends her check in every month. CL-she has 3 horses. Her horses drive me nuts. The one is a jumper and a fence breaker. I think RU should start to charge her for all the additional work she has to do, but she won't. LF-she owns 3 regular sized horses, a mini, and a donkey and her baby. I have my 3, but also care for 6 for RU. (Most are ponies, and one is a mini) I don't give RU any money, instead I buy hay for these horses. It's actually cheaper for me than having just Misty at a regular boarding barn, and it's also cheaper than I'd pay to do self care anyplace else.
Then, there's KN. She used to have a horse, but lost her job. Quite truthfully, KN drives me nuts. LF offered to pay her to care for her horses. This was in addition to what she already pays RU. But, she figured it would make it easier on RU, plus give KN enough money to at least care for her horse. RU would not have charged her anything as long as she paid for her horse's feed and hay and helped around the barn. It would have maybe taken her 10 minutes a day. She turned it down, said she was too busy. KN is still allowed to come over and ride in exchange for helping around the farm, but we are all starting to wonder what she actually does. I'll tell her things that need to be done, but other than feeding "my" horses, I honestly cannot say what she does. The things I tell her that need to be done are never done.
RU left to go away for a few days late Tuesday. Wednesday was when I started to care for the horses, and also when I finally realized that I had a really nasty cold. Thursday, I got to the farm after work, and took a nap for quite some time. Because of that, I didn't leave the farm until late. But, everything was fine when I left. I overslept the next morning, so I didn't get to my barn job until late. But, I wasn't worried. My boss knew I wasn't feeling well, and I knew if I wasn't there by a certain time, she'd just feed the horses-which she did. So, it was late when I got there. The farrier was coming around noon, so I figured I had about enough time to do the stalls w/no problem.
Around 11:15, KN called me all irate wanting to know where I was. The front gate to my field was opened and the horses were out. Plus, 2 of CL's horses were in the round pen. (I don't call her if horses get out, I just round them up and put them away.) I was almost done, so I finished up, and went to the farm. Of course, by then, she had the horses all rounded up. But, in order to do so, she had to herd them into the RP, which meant she had to let the 2 horses already in there into my back field. They were in my front field when I got there quite happily munching on my hay. :/ So, we decided to take them down and put them where they belonged. That's when we noticed the lead rope. It was not a lead rope I had ever seen b4, but it was up by my run-in. We put the horses in the field where they belong and found that gate was open. Then, as we're walking back to my field, we notice a saddle pad in the riding arena. It wasn't there on Thursday. Plus, the mounting block that had been in my back field on Wednesday was now in the riding arena. We called the police. There was no way the horses could have opened either gate, nor was it possible for them to get the saddle pad out. It belongs to LF, and she had had it in her tack shed.
Fast forward to tonight. After the mess w/Mason this morning, I had come home, put a chicken in the oven and fallen asleep. I slept more deeply than I had intended to. The chicken was a bit overcooked, but wasn't bad. I hadn't gotten my shower yet, but figured I'd go feed my animals and get a shower b4 going to church. Around 5:00, I get a call from RU. Her husband had called her. There were horses out. So, that meant instead of going to church, I had to go out to the farm, and catch horses. This time, the back gate was opened to the riding arena. There is a horse in there that kept getting out of everyplace else, as well as a momma donkey and her baby. They were all out. And, one of CL's horses was also out. I managed to get them all caught, and back in the riding arena. CL's other 2 horses where in the field w/ LF's horses, so I put them in the riding arena. I figured if I didn't, they just might tear down a fence to get to the other horse.
I did have a bit of help from the neighbor and her 2 children. And, I let them know what was going on. They will call if they see anyone they don't know. Right now, I'm so tired I could cry. Plus, my cold feels like it may have moved into my chest. I hope this week is better.
Sorry about Mason. 
