Where Does the Time Go?

Seems like just the other day we were complaining about how cold it was outside and now here we are with a heat index of 105 degrees! Our horses are enjoying summer pasture today, but were thinking a little differently about it in January when I took this picture with snow on the ground. The difference reminds me of how different management of your animals can be in just a six month period. In January you might be concerned with keeping your water source from freezing and keeping enough hay in front of your animals. July presents a completely different set of challenges, managing heat/humidity and delaing with insects just to name a few. Our location close to St Louis gives us both extremes in summer and winter with a lot of humidity mixed in. We are typically checking horses at least twice a day to ensure they are not having issues when we get into extreme weather. The barn crew was sharing a laugh this morning when the weatherman explained that you should not be outside unless you absolutely have to. With horses it does not matter, you are out in the best and worst of what mother nature has to offer!