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Wentworth Hunter Pace - June 6, 2021

After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time!  most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the

Very Happy Hay Day!

So, I have had about 100 bales of AWFUL hay in my barn. Reason? See this post here and here.

I finally got around to putting an ad in Uncle Henry's about the hay. I wrote something like Hay for sale, dusty but stored in the barn, first crop, $3.00/bale, you pick up. We bought it for $4/bale, but because it was so dusty from mold, I did not feel right about selling it for that much. We figured we would just take a hit on the price and chalk it up to bad luck.

Well, it finally went in last week and I got three calls. The first one was from a neighbor of mine who ended up buying 66 bales for her new donkeys. Cool. I guess donkeys are OK with a little mold.

Then I got two calls the next night and told them both that whomever showed up with the money in hand would get it, first come, first serve, no promises. One person from the neighboring town came the next night, money in hand, and bought 40 bales. Then he and his wife decided on the spot to bring that load home and come back for the rest. They came back, loaded the remaining 34 bales, and off they went. I stood in the barn, cash in hand, moldy hay GONE and did the happy dance!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! :D All 140 moldy gross bales of hay are gone! I am so freaking happy that the $140 we lost is just fine with me. I really figured I would be stuck with this nasty hay and would have no place to put the new stuff this year.

The interesting part is that even the last bales we loaded (meaning the FIRST that came into the barn last summer) were full of white dust. Now you could not see the mold on the hay, but it was certainly covered as evidenced by the huge puffy dust clouds. And it stunk! So for my hay guy who sold it to me to tell me that it was MY fault for the hay being moldy was just downright lies. If it was my fault for having a "humid barn" then only the outside layer of bales would have been moldy NOT the inside bales! So having moved the innermost bales last night proved to me that it truly was made incorrectly (baled when wet) and that my hay guy is an ass. I am SO THANKFUL that I have a new hay guy who promised that if I am ever unsatisfied with any of the hay I buy from him I can have a FULL refund as long as I return the bales. He just won't pick them up himself. Not a problem! (My new hay guy and I went to college together so I know him and know he is a good guy....for real).

But the worst part? I warned all the callers that is was dusty. When this couple came out to look at it, I assured them if they were unsatisfied I would have NO problem with them passing on it. I opened a bale and SHOWED them the white dust. The wife liked the hay anyway (??) but wondered if her two geldings would mind the dust. I almost think she thought I meant "dirt" dust and not "mold" dust. I offered to give them one bale to try, and if the horses disliked it they could just throw it on their manure pile and be done with it.

Well they must have gone home and fed it right out, because within an hour they had called back and said they would be coming the next day to buy a load. While they were loading it, the white dust was EVERYWHERE and it stunk like mold. I mean, I personally would NEVER have bought this hay. But she was just tickled pink and was raving about how nice it was, and about how her horses would not touch the other hay she had and only would eat that one bale from me. Now, I realize that at only $3 a bale it was a bargain for her, but even for a bargain I just would not be able to bring myself to feed it to my horses. I dunno......I don't mean to judge this woman, but really, it was so bad. I felt AWFUL thinking of her horses eating this hay. And the worst part is we have the same vet! I hope her horses do not colic and I somehow find out about it. Oh well. It takes all kinds, I guess.

Anyway, nothing else is going on. I am just pretty darned excited that the only hay left in my barn is GORGEOUS and yummy and mold FREE!

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