I think we all have dreamed of owning our farms at least once in our lives as horse lovers. I know that having my senior OTTB in my backyard was everything to me.
However, what we don’t consider is all the upkeep that comes with having our horses at home. Anyone lucky enough to have public water and sewer access on their farms are living the dream. Our farm, like many others, has a septic & well system. I went from living in a condo to living on a farm, so imagine my shock and surprise the first time a storm knocked out the power at the farm. What I didn’t know was that without power, we also had no water and that first storm knocked out the power for hours. I had to empty out cases of bottled water into my horses buckets because I hadn’t planned for the situation. I learned after those nights to always have a back-up supply of water ready just in case the power went out again. The very next day I went out a got a 150 gallon water tub to make sure that I always had water available for them. Eventually we invested in a portable generator that could power the lights and well pump which was a massive benefit. Highly recommend all my fellow farm owners to get a portable generator to have during storms and unexpected power outages.
I cherish my time living on our farm full time. I was able to go out on the deck and see him in his field napping, eating, and living his best retired life. Unfortunately Rossi wasn't able to handle the backyard lifestyle, but for Merlin it was the perfect retirement. I eventually moved him to living out 24/7 rather than being in a stall overnight/day depending on the season in his older years to help keep him moving and limber. He crossed the rainbow bridge peacefully in March 2023 at 31 years old. I am now a dual-licensed realtor (PA & DE) living in Delaware and Rossi is boarded nearby at a wonderful facility that is taking amazing care of him. I miss my best boy every day and I am so grateful to have been able to spend his senior years so intimately with him. He was my heart horse <3
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