Aside from our herd of equines, there is another, non-sentient being that needs daily and routine maintenance: our property. There is always something that needs doing around the farm, with the projects ranging from quick and easy to big and complex. Luckily, we have a dedicated and multi-talented facilities team, able to conquer all manner of tasks and trials and keep a sunny, upbeat attitude while doing it.
There are many little projects, both planned and unplanned, that get done each day at SAFE, but here is a (very small) collection of just some of the awesome things our facilities crew (with the assistance of our chore teams) have been hard at work on recently:
Diamonds are to girls what panels are to SAFE: a best friend. From dividing paddocks, creating paddocks, moving horses, blocking off areas… panels do it all. Recently, panels were at the forefront of a few facilities projects:
- When Autumn, unhalterable and nervous, was to leave for her new home in California, we had to figure out a way to safely get her from point A (her paddock) to point B (the trailer). Our marvelous team constructed a chute that led from the gate of her paddock to the trailer, complete with swing-gates to funnel her into smaller areas on the way to her destination. The route she needed to take was hardly a straight shot, taking her through our covered round pen on her way out the door, and it was important to ensure the stability of the panels in the (worst-case) scenario that she went crashing into one. Luckily, we are well-versed in chute construction, and were able to create a stable and highly functional space for her to pass through. It worked like a charm, and Autumn was out of her paddock and on the trailer in less than 2 minutes thanks to their hard work!
- Chip and Dale returned to SAFE when their circumstances changed, and while they settled right into their new (old) home here, they had grown accustomed to spending their days out on pasture, and we would catch them staring longingly towards our grass fields. Unluckily for them, the majority of our fields were still too wet for grazing, and also not outfitted for horses of their slight stature. Luckily for them, we have Panels, and a fabulous facilities team to assemble them. Finding a grass area adjacent to their paddock that was solid enough to graze, they paneled off a mini-sized section, and set Chip and Dale to work! Sometimes, the greatest thank you is watching two little mini horses kick up their heels in an area you built for them.
It is no myth that it rains a lot in Washington, and while our drainage systems do a pretty great job of managing the overflow, there was one drain on our property that consistently was failing at its job. Each time it rained, even a little, the main drain in our parking lot would fill and run over, creating what colloquially became named ‘Lake SAFE.’
This job was bigger than what our facilities team was able to manage on their own, but with the help of American Rooter, we were able to clear out a veritable truckload of mud that had been blocking the path of the water from drain to where it fed out into the retention pond. It was the very definition of a dirty job, but one whose effects were nearly instantaneous when, during the next heavy rain, the parking lot was clear. Lake SAFE, vanquished!
-
- Before
-
- After
There is a single road that leads in and out of SAFE, and with our three daily chore shifts, in addition to all the miscellaneous daily happenings on the farm, that road sees a lot of use. As a result, potholes are an inevitability. The team explored a lot of options for filling them, but ultimately landed on cold pack asphalt as the best and most cost-effective product for the job. We had to wait for a stretch of sunny, dry weather, but once the forecast looked right, the team got to work smoothing out the road. They made this hard work look easy, and within a few hours had made the road practically good as new.
It would be impossible to calculate just how much money we have been able to save by DIY-ing so much of our maintenance, but it would not surprise us in the slightest if it was well over seven figures. One thing that we do know for certain, however, is that our facilities team is priceless.
