MAMA TESS has scored!
I got ahold of 3 – 12′ corral panels and Voila!
I took this mid construction… I was trying to figure out if she could get her feet caught under the panels. I figured she could, so I started to line the pen with shavings bags.
I took this from the knoll above the barn. (This is the same knoll that allows all the rainwater to run directly into the barn.)
Luckily, the panels came with pins and I come with Bungees. Easy Peasy!
Hubby is out of town working so it was up to me (with constant canine/feline/equine supervision) to figure out how to set it up.
This is the only idea that came to me.
So, that’s what I did.
She had fun exploring the new ground – hoovering every morsel I hadn’t raked away.
MT was very happy and excited to be a real horse again, feeling the sunshine on her back, eating with the others and feeling the evening breeze.
She was a happy girl!
I’M AFRAID FOR HER IN THERE WITHOUT SUPERVISION
I’m like a Mom who sends her kid to school for the first day… I’m OK to have her there as long as the periods are short and I’m nearby.
For now, until I know she is safe, her ‘porch time’ is limited to when I’m home.
I lined her pen with shavings bags. I am afraid of her sliding under the panels.
As it was, I lined the panels with bags of shavings. I had visions of her lying down and getting her legs caught under the panels. (Shudder.)
The ground in front of the barn is uneven and full of rocks… so she picked her way through cautiously. I liked that…
I sat with her (luckily, with the shavings bags all around, I was comfy) and watched MT explore. Very peaceful and rewarding.
She’d go in and out and in and out…
I did make a bed of shavings for her in a place I thought she’d like. It has sun and shade, depending.
It is big enough for her to enjoy but not big enough for her to injure herself. This is the bed of shavings that I made for her. That is Sam watching.
My hope is that when she is healed enough to go into a pen of her own, I can start her by using panels to keep the area limited – and then expand once she has more muscle and confidence.
Life is good.
The last shot of the night…
Please consider these guys!!! MARCH BUCKET FUND: RHODES ROAD BACHELOR BAND OF 8 WILD HORSES PLUS ONE LONE STALLION! – CAN WE HELP THEM GET OUT OF JAIL?! THEIR townspeople are gathering resources to house, feed and gentle them!
Mama Tess’ Surgery/Theraplate and everything else she needs Fund!
It’s wonderful that MT can get out in the sunshine for a bit! I have 36′ runs (corrals) out of my stalls, built of the identical panels that you have. I have had these for years and never had a problem. Lots of pens for horses in my area are made of these panels. Just make sure they are attached to a post set in concrete, or a T-post with a safety cap on top. Just the first & last panel need to be attached to a post. You want a sturdy set-up. Nothing that might collapse!
Bungee cords really aren’t safe/secure. (Sorry) They deteriorate, stretch and break. We get 2 1/2 foot pieces of chain cut at Tractor Supply or Home Depot and use a “quick link” to attach the chain together after it is wrapped around the post & panel. We use 2 pieces of chain to wrap around & attach to our anchor posts. Place one near the top of the panel & one near the bottom and it is very secure. I hope my explanation is clear. At homedepot.com put “zinc plated quick link” in their search engine.
I have a thoroughbred who has foundered in the past. His feet have to stay dry. I put stall mats in his pen with shavings in part of it and he is able to be outside more, even after it rains. After it rains, I sweep the mats with a push-broom and they dry quickly. I call it my horse porch :)
Prayers for Mama Tess
Best,
Sandy
She is heavily booted and padded on both feet. No worries about bruising.
Please be careful with those rocks, that makes me grinch looking at that! You really don’t need a bruise after all you’ve been through.
So wonderful for Mama Tess! It looks like a very nice set up for her.
Happy Dance for MT! She must be besides herself out from under “house arrest” and enjoying the beginning of Spring in the sunshine! Dawn, what we do when one of ours has to be confined is buy rolls of the heavy gauge, plastic coated garden fencing from Lowes or Home Depot and securely zip tie it to the bottom of the panels. We get the 2′ high rolls. BTW, MT looks amazing!!
MT looks so happy and content in her new pen. This just makes my Friday! Good Job!