Saturday was the big day…the SAFE horses moved to their new home!
A caravan of trailers brought our horses over two or three at a time, with the operation timed perfectly to get the new arrivals settled into their stalls before the next group arrived. As each horse stepped off the trailer, they looked around in amazement at their beautiful surroundings, and sighed a happy sigh knowing they were finally home. Each horse had a roomy stall waiting with a pile of hay, a bucket of sweet water, soft bedding, and an attached run for a short stroll in the fresh air. As each trailer pulled in and unloaded another group of familiar friends, the horses grew more and more relaxed, with the occasional whinny breaking the stillness and peace of the sunny afternoon. By nightfall, everyone was tucked away in their stalls, happily nibbling on hay and settling down to rest.
The next day the horses got to enjoy their new turnouts and pastures, and there was a lot of galloping and snoozing in the sunshine. Our volunteer crews began getting accustomed to the new commute and the new routine, and while there are still a number of changes to be made, so far so good. Some things here are easier (like dropping hay into the stalls from the hayloft in the upper barn) and some things are harder (like pushing wheelbarrows up the hill to the upper barn) but as we get more comfortable, we’ll make the adjustments needed to make life easier for everyone.
Transporting the horses was smooth and peaceful, but the weeks leading up to the big day, as well as the days that followed it, have been buzzing with activity and hard work. So many SAFE volunteers devoted long days to ensure that the farm was ready, and that all of our belongings made it over from the old farm to the new. As you can imagine, after nearly 10 years leasing in Redmond, we accumulated a lot of stuff! We still have more items to take down and transport over the next month, so keep an eye out for notifications about the work parties we have planned for April, particularly the one on April 11. We’re also going to hold a garage sale on April 12 to get rid of farm items we don’t need. Both of these events will take place at our old home in Redmond.
There are so many people to thank for their tireless efforts and incredible generosity in getting our move underway. Trailer drivers, carpenters, gardeners, people who took shelters apart and loaded them on flatbeds, people who loaned us the use of their flatbeds, people who unloaded piles of panels from flatbeds, people who hauled SAFE tools and wheelbarrows and hoses and shovels and tarps and buckets and boxes in the backs of their trucks and cars, people who organized, people who repaired, painted, swept, cleaned, pounded posts, strung hot wire, dug ditches, limbed up trees, cleared brush, mowed…the list goes on and on. The end result is that our new home looks incredible, and the pride in ownership shared by the staff and volunteers shines through. And best of all, the horses are happy! We are so excited about this next chapter. Thank you to everyone who made this possible for us.
