Awareness of the outside world. Did you see the disheartening news in the article I posted last week? “After 35 years in Boston, the annual prize ceremony will take place in Zurich, Switzerland, this year and will continue to be held in a European city for the foreseeable future. The reason: concerns about the safety of international travelers, who are increasingly reluctant to travel to the US to participate.” Ars Technica: Meet the 2026 Ig Nobel Prize winners, Ouellette, Sep 3, 2026.
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I continue to be amazed how at good the floor of the run-in area looks and how quickly it turned around with the addition of barn lime. [Floor Maintenance]
We have been on this property for over 30 years (!?!). The floor had never looked like that. What happened? I have a theory.
Food.
Specifically, hay.
At the end of 2022, Milton had colic surgery. The vet recommended taking him off coastal hay. As a result, we switched both horses to timothy & alfalfa. If one horse couldn’t have it, we didn’t want it in the barn. [Rodney’s Hay Roster]
If the input changed, why shouldn’t the output?
Of course we cleaned the floor of poop. But a) you never get it all, outside of sanitizing stalls at a vet clinic & b) while it is lying on the ground waiting to be picked up, there would be leakage.
More importantly, at least by volume, is piddle. Milton goes out of the barn to pee. Rodney does not. He prefers to pee in the stall, but will use the run-in area in a pinch. (Insert eyeroll.) [Barn Remodel]
The theory is that the different hay made the urine more acidic. Then, over several years – January 2023 to August 2026 – the change gradually accumulated. The massive amount of rain this spring can’t have helped. The chemistry of the dirt got out of whack. Barn lime restored it to the dirt behavior we are used to.
Could be.
I have run this post past the ship’s science officer for confirmation.
Addendum. Exterior mud hole was better but not dry. We dropped another bag of lime. The interesting bit is that the floor of the run-in is looking even better. As the outside area dries it draws moisture from the inside? Fascinating.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 