Friday, November 22, 2013

Logistics

Well, (sigh)...Trailer tires ordered and trailer scheduled to be repaired with someone else. That coupled with a full set of new brake pads for the dually....Ka-chhiinggg!!! It's so depressing. I haven't even been going anywhere and it's still costing an arm and a leg. Sorry, I'm still feeling whiny about the whole deal. Not like me, but since I have other major considerations on my mind, I was feeling a little overwhelmed.

I have been trying to decide what to do about horse pens at the Arizona property. One one hand, I was thinking about hauling all of my panels down there, including the round pen (which I will need) and using them to build the pens I will need for horses. That is only cost effective if I decide to leave those panels down there and buy replacement panels for the Colorado property next spring when I come home. Either way, I'm going to have to buy panels...and quite a few of them.

My personal preference is to build pens that are no smaller than 16'x16', so that is what I had in mind when buying replacement panels. But 12' panels are way more common and obviously less expensive. This is why I love my husband, I was caught up in the 'I want 16' panels, but OMG, they are sooo expensive!!', when he pointed out that when you think of it in linear feet, it would be money ahead to buy the 12' panels, even if I bought more of them.

19-16 foot panels = 304 linear feet = $2,204 = $7.25/linear foot

26-12 foot panels = 312 linear feet  = $1,768 = $4.58/linear foot

That hubby of mine...He is so smart like that.

Only having 12'x12' pens is not a big hardship for the horses, since I will also be building a large turn-out area for them as well and can turn some out together during the day and some out together during the night. I just can't run this mixed herd I have now all together at once.

So I guess that dilemma is solved.

There is no way around the 2nd dilemma...

It's going to take two trips to get all of the horses down there. I'll haul 4 head down with me the first load, get panels bought and pens set up and then I'll have to come back for the 2nd load. IF I can get a driver for my little rig, I'll pop a couple in that trailer and haul 3 in my LQ. If I can't get a driver for my little rig right now, I'll have to pull a divider and fit all 5 head in my LQ and wait til New Years to bring my little rig down.

I'm telling ya'll...It's kind of a logistical pain in the butt until we get everything set up and situated. I'm sure it will become less of an ordeal as time goes on, we have several friends that go down every year and they said it becomes easier over time.

I told the hubby that next year....Probably going to head south around the first of November. It's getting cold here and I don't think it is going to warm back up much. I wished I was in AZ right now.

The one other little thing MH and I have been discussing is the pet situation. One dog would LOVE to go, the other one...No desire to go anywhere ever again. So I guess Red Dog goes with me and Ute stays home to hold down the fort.

I am also taking one cat with me. We have had regular cat wars here for a couple of years and I am so over cats. I'm going to take the problem child cat with me and although I'm pretty sure he is not going to appreciate having to stay in the house the majority of the time, he is just going to have to deal with it. Outdoor cats don't last long in Arizona. The other two can have a peaceful winter without being bullied.

For now, the squirrel will stay home too. He and MH got into a pretty good routine last winter and it worked. But, when MH goes on rotation and starts coming down regularly, the squirrel will probably have to come to AZ too. He hates being left alone and he would go bat-shit crazy if he was regularly left with no social interaction on a repeated basis. He's hateful for days after every time we go somewhere. He is a demanding little creature, but MH adores him...so the squirrel wins!! He has actually traveled pretty well in the past. We just put him in his little cage and set him in the back seat and it doesn't seem to bother him at all. He looks out the window and runs on his wheel and life is good in the squirrel's brain. LOL. I have a feeling he is going to be extremely pissed about the lack of cable tv in AZ, but maybe I can just put a movie on for him in the evenings and that will do the trick. I wished I was joking about that, even a little bit. But I'm not. The squirrel LOVES his tv time, particularly in the evenings. He totally watches the tv. LOL.


6 comments:

Cut-N-Jump said...

Not sure if you want to be here right now... It's raining and supposed to through Sunday. Highs in the 60's though so on that front (no pun intended) it is a bit warmer.

I hope it all works out. It usually does, it just takes some thought.

You're hubby is a smart man on the panels.

Unknown said...

I actually had to get a second blanket and shut my bedroom window this morning. And yes, like CNJ said, it is raining...alot. My ponies are soaked to the bone and probably shivering, but will be out in the pasture soon, and as we all know, grazing makes everything better!

I can't wait till this sun comes up to see just how flooded everything is here.

Moving logistics, with lots of animals, does take some serious planning, doesn't it? Truly my move down here would not have gone as well as it did if it weren't for the advice that you had given me.

I wish I could offer to drive a rig down for you, but sadly, there is no way. But if you need any help once you get here, give me a shout.

I think it is hilarious that your squirrel watches tv. Does he have a favorite show or just anything that is on?

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

Oh, usually anything that is on, I think it's mostly the noise and activity, but he definitely likes South Park and Family Guy.

Sherry Sikstrom said...

wish I was closer , I would be happy to join in on the road trip, even just to get out off this snow.Course the chance to party with some blog buddies wouldnt have anything at all to do with it ... lol

Laura said...

That is a lot of animals and gear to move back and forth...I can see how it would be tricky to try and fit everything in the least amount of trips.

If I had more time and knew how to drive a trailer, I would volunteer to help out! ;-) It is 10F and -4F with the wind chill here. We have a dusting of snow too. 60F and rain sounds quite pleasant!!! ;-)

Crystal said...

I wish I was down there too, we stopped there on our way home from Texas and my friend just about had to drag me to the plane home, lol. One day one day I will be there