No I haven't had Covid but for the first time it hit pretty close for me. I found out last weekend that the other boarder at the barn has it. Rather than ask for help, he has been coming out to feed when he has the energy to do it. Until I found out about it. Thankfully I have other stuff I'm dealing with at the moment that keeps me from getting to the barn until around 8pm. By then the other boarder Tom has been and gone. (Hopefully not leaving germs all over everything.... 🙄 Ugh!)
When the barn owner let me know what was going on (BO tested negative) I let him know I would be happy to feed, clean stalls and turn out his geldings, just stay home and get healthy. He has expressed his gratitude and appreciation several times over since then. When we're sick we aren't the best drivers. We feel like shit, our reaction times suck and our mind probably isn't focused on driving like it should be - making us a hazard to ourselves and everyone else on the road.
Add to that- we are already a man down at work due to medical leave. I handle a lot of things at the office, one of which is all the LTL shipments so I can't really afford to get sick. Taking in the care of the other horses was kind of two-fold. It helps him out so he can recover and keeps him out of the barn so I don't get sick.
I sent Tom a text the other night letting him know that his horses have all been well behaved and perfect gentlemen this whole time. They enjoy their time in turnout and go straight to their own stalls when let in. I have also been giving them all hot mashes for dinner and they really enjoy those too. The mashes also have a two-fold effect. The weather has turned cold here in Houston. Last night around 11pm and 1:30am we had freezing rain. The temps today are forecasted with a high of 23° F. Tonight it is supposed to get down to 16°-18° F (Yes you might read the F as meaning F that!)
Remember the coffee pot I have in my tack room? Well the hot mash helps warm the horses up, but actually the more soupy and sloppier the mash- the more water goes into the horse and the risk of colic and dehydration goes down. When it's that cold outside would You want to drink cold water? Horses don't either, so consumption goes down and the risks go up. A soupy hot mash gets water into their system and helps warm them up. They think they're getting a real treat and usually snarf it down. Win-Win!
