The Winter of Our Discontent…

And it’s only January! During the first couple weeks of 2018 we experienced record breaking cold temperatures that led into one of the most significant snow and ice storms that any of us can remember. Luckily, horses and humans weathered the conditions just fine in the grand scheme of things, but the brutal cold has really done a number on our resources. To add to the strain, we are in the process of moving our retail location so our store and Trip of a Lifetime are shut down for the month of January. 

When temperatures drop below freezing (well below freezing in our case – into the single digits!) horses must consume more forage in order to keep warm. Horses are able to warm themselves from the inside out by constantly digesting food. For the horses at the farm, this means they need access to hay 24/7. Over the past few weeks our horses have been burning through a lot more hay than usual and we expect this to be the case for the majority of the winter. Consider our “Hay for a Day” program if you’d like to help us keep the horses fed and warm. A donation of just $24 will feed all 12 horses for one day. 

During this latest cold snap we unfortunately lost two of our water pumps. Despite our best efforts to keep them insulated and warm, the sub-freezing overnight temperatures cracked the pumps. Luckily we still have one that’s operating and we have hoses that can be linked together to reach all of the pastures, but replacing the two broken pumps will be costly. We would also like to have the pump houses, spigots, and pipes winterized a little better, and we are going to run electricity out to all of the pastures so that we can add additional heat sources (and fans in the summer!) if needed. If you’d like to help us out with the plumping and electrical work that needs to be done around the farm, you can make a one time donation via our website. Every little bit helps – give what you can and it will be most appreciated! 

Another thing that would really help us out right now are gift cards to Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, or Lowes. Now that we know where our “weak” areas are on the farm we have some work to do, including adding additional insulation, purchasing extension cords, heaters, and lamps, and also additional tank heaters for the water, hay nets, and we really need a drag harrow for the pastures to help with manure maintenance when it’s cold like this. Gift cards to Valley Vet Supply would also be greatly appreciated! 

Donations and gift cards can be sent to us at: 

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

PO Box 361

Corolla, NC 27927