One of my favorite songs from the 50’s, one of my favorite things to do.

But of course, if you have horses at home, getting away and worrying about them does take away some of the fun.

Did you ever wonder what would happen to your animals if you were seriously hurt, unconscious, or dead?

So what can we do to help the person being left in charge?  Here are a few things that I do to help whoever may walk into my barn.

I have a dry erase board in my feed room.  On it is a diagram of the stalls.  Each horses name is on the stall itself, and on the location of the stall on the board.  In each box of the stall I list what the horse gets at the a.m. and p.m. feeding.  This includes the amount of grain, supplements, and how much, and what type of hay.  On the bottom of the board is a list of any special medication and times of the day they are given.  I also put the date that the board has been updated.  I do all of this for the dogs and cats also.

Right next to that I have a dry erase calendar on which I have when the vet and farrier are due.  Along side of that is a list of when shots, worming, Coggins, and teeth were done and are due.

I have a different color bucket for each horse with their name on it.  So the right horse gets the right amount of grain and supplements.

On a clip board is the name of each horse and under the name, a description of each horse.  I include their likes, dislikes, personality traits, anything that may be unusual (spends a lot of time laying down working on their tan), pecking order, and where each one is fed in the field and in what order.  Always acknowledge the pecking order of the herd or you can cause a dispute.

By the phone I have my cell phone number, a list of the neighbors who know my animals, with their phone numbers, and of course the vet.  If the person taking care of your animals is not a neighbor, it’s wise to leave your address, the main road, and cross roads too.  In case of emergency the operator will ask you for this information.  Of course with all the modern technology GPS will find you, or not.  My GPS tells you that I live in my neighbors pasture and sends you down roads that have locked gates.

I let them know where my emergency supplies are, and where I keep my meds.

My one neighbors has birds, large, small, many.  She has a loose leaf.  For each bird she has a picture, the breed, the age, the name, and what they get.

These are just some thoughts to help the person caring for your animals, so that you don’t have to worry as much.  It doesn’t mean they will necessarily show up, but you’ve done your best.

Psst.  Have a neighbor keep an eye to make sure someone does show up.  Once I got an oops I forgot from the boy supposedly taking care of my animals over a weekend.  No big deal.  My horses are out on pasture with floats in the water to keep it coming.  The dogs however where angry.  They had a bucket of water, but no food.  It was only dinner and breakfast overnight.  They lived.  His family had horses, but he forgot mine.

Also tell the person when you are leaving and when you will be back.  Tell them to keep feeding until you call them to say that you are home.  You may tell them you’ll be back Sunday night and get in a car accident and not make it.  My one neighbor said she’d be back a week from Sunday night.  The person taking care of them put them in their stalls that Sunday morning and assumed my neighbor would be home that night.  She did not hear a week from Sunday night.  Those horses stood in their stalls for a week without food and water, and remember this is Florida in the summer.  They really didn’t think the horses would make it.  A lot of IV fluids and prayer.  They made it, but it could happen to you too.  Be clear and specific.

So now that I’ve told you all these horror stories, and the best ways to handle it – have a great vacation, and try not to worry.  Rest in the fact that you’ve done the best you could.