Rain, Rain Go Away

A New Day at the Ranch.

Who knew a whole company could be so excited about rocks! It's taken 5 long months to build an incredibly important system in our pasture: A 200-foot pebbled drainage system around our barns, which will directly equate to longer lives for our rescues! How does a drainage system make such a difference? Checkout the earlier photos from the ranch (below). When it rained, the paddock around the barns turned to quicksand. Thousands of gallons of water starting high up on our hills, comes flooding down in rains. For years, it was just challenging: dragging 50-pound muck buckets through 6 inches of mud required muscle and endurance! Admittedly, several crying episodes when it was just too much for 1 person, and it's all but you can do, to sit in a stall and collect yourself before giving up entirely. But eventually, this situation became dangerous for the animals. Rescuing tough farm cases so often involves the feet. Former owners become negligent in their care --

- Otis our goat arrived with 1-foot hooves that had to be sawed off.

- Granny (our eldest donkey had years of neglected hooves, resulting in debilitating, life-threatening infections that had veterinarians at the ranch nearly monthly. We now wrap her hooves every 4 days in handmade diaper/duck tape "Gucci boots" to keep her hooves out of the mud.

- Willow (our draft horse) arrived with massive cracks in her misshapen hooves. This, on top of a lymphedema leg that has to remain untouched by mud - made her long-term care nearly impossible with a muddy paddock. So it was time, for the love of the animals, to create a system that could move the rain and keep their medical care improving their lives. We just completed the project.

- 70 truck loads of dirt were carved out of the hill

- Umpteen tons of layers of rock were strategically poured to create a nearly 2-foot deep filter surrounding all the stalls.

- A retaining wall was poured (and happily it doubles as a goat playground and balance beam!) This very complex project was only made possible through purchases of FarmHouse Fresh products -- so we are entirely grateful that you have found something to love within our line! You will help countless numbers of animals as they heal here at the ranch now, and in the years to come!