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| If ya don't like the weather here, wait a minute... Har har! |
This is a continuation of
TTTL I.
"Never again" becomes "I'll never learn!"
Sunday night (June 3), I was asked to pinch hit for another worker and do night turnout. I reluctantly agreed, as that is Bob and my "date night" --or what passes for it at age 50 and 60, respectively. We eat out at a diner.
Anyhoo. The afternoon had been a doozy, careening from sunny/windy to rain/hail/thunder, then sunny again. At 5:45pm, Bob and I headed out to the barn, thinking we'd stop by the diner after turnout. The sun was shining, but it was windy and clouds were rolling fast. There was a weather alert for a fast-moving front, but one had just rolled through. Forecast was 40% chance of scattered t-storms, so following barn practice the horses would be turned out.
As soon as I started turnout at 6pm, it started to drizzle, then rain lightly, with the sun shining as white and dark clouds rolled in. Two more horses went out, and then winds started to gust. Now I could see a front coming in on the horizon. I kept going. Two more pairs were turned out, and now it was raining steadily. I started turning out the horses in the most nearby pastures, hoping the rain would let up. It just rained harder -- and off and on it poured. At least I had my rain gear.
Fifteen minutes later...
Thunder... Lightning... Winds... (25 minutes ago the sun was shining!). I changed into my "serious" raincoat, as my windbreaker is soaked through. One more pair, and three singles left to go, and I see my husband Bob
driving out to meet me at the the pasture gate. He rolls down his window. "Lightning is hitting the ground just south of us. You shouldn't be out here."
"Call a retreat?"
I can't recall anyone having abandoned turnout and leaving some horses in, some out. This worries me. You can never predict how horses will handle a change in routine. I go to get the next pair, and while we're walking out, the wind catches my rain slicker making it billow and whip. The horses spook badly, and I barely get them in their field before they take off. Surprisingly, they let me approach and remove their lead ropes without much fuss. I'm grateful because the thunder is now right over my head.
Note to self: Better wet than trampled, no more flimsy rain gear.
I jog back to the barn, with three more "singles" to turn out. I try to halter Rudy, a high strung OTTB, but he is jumping around in his stall. The other single is new to the barn, I don't know him, and he's going to an unfamiliar field tonight. The last horse is a warmblood cross who routinely runs like a nut, just because he enjoys running. They're all stabled next to each other (along with Harv/Riley who are staying in) in the lower barn. If I choose not to turn them out they are in company.
"Oh, yeah -- I'm mortal."
I'm agonizing over the safety of the horses, and Bob gets exasperated. He knows someone that was struck by lightning, and he assures me they did not enjoy it. He also impresses on me that in these conditions, it is a real possibility.
All this agonizing, getting soaked, and Monday morning quarterbacking by boarders/trainers, for -- well, let's just say monetary compensation seems a little meager. But the bottom line is, it is thundering with lightning directly overhead. No sane person would be walking around outside. I leave a long note on the board describing what happened, and why I stopped turning out. Then we left.
No right answers! WWYD?
How do you all make the turnout call? What factors do you consider? I will mention that I've become more conservative re: turnout with Ri and Harv. If the forecast calls for more than a drizzle, or if it is less than warm, they both stay in. I don't envy barn owners/managers who have to make this call daily. Stay tuned for Part III: My (theoretical) barn turnout rules
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