• All shoes are to be removed before entering the house.  Under NO circumstances should anyone walk through the back door with shoes on.  Please remove them on the patio or back steps and leave them there until you come out.  Do not bring them into the house unless it is raining.  In this instance, the shoes may remain in the mudroom (located by the backdoor).
• Bathroom facilities are located in the house, which you may use.  Please do not use the sink in the bathroom.  The counter is not waterproof and damage is likely.  Please use the sink in the mudroom.
• When you need to wash you hands after working outside, please do so at the sink in the mudroom.  If you do not wish to come inside, there is a bar of soap hanging by the water pump beside the white block building.
• Please do not use the house as a resting area.  There is a nice patio by the back steps, as well as a patio set with table and chairs located next to the house by the driveway.  There is another set of patio chairs near the hitching posts.
•   Feel free to donate any snacks or refreshments.  However, we advise that you bring your own lunch, munchies and drinks.  There are bottles of water in the refrigerator in the equipment room for everyone's use.  Please recycle the bottles by placing empties in the hamper on top of the refrigerator.

LAND

The land has been fenced off into seven general areas.  Each area, with the exception of the paddock, serves a group of horses.  Some groups have more horses than others, but they have been often placed into specific areas for various reasons.

• Please do not move any horses from one area to another.  If you are in the exercise program, sometimes it is necessary to conduct the exercises out of your horses "home area".  Before doing this, please ask an officer, Joanie, or a senior member whether it is safe to ride in the area you have in mind as not all of our horses are familiar with one another.
• All fences are electrified.  Do not be fooled by the fact that you may grab the wire one day and nothing happens.  Be assured, that at some point you will get shocked, and they are hot!
• Always close any fence, gate or door after yourself.  If you are looking for where you may pass through a fenced area, look for a yellow, plastic handle.  This is the only safe part of the fence you can touch.  Do NOT attempt to pull the looped part of the fence toward the handle in an effort to close it-- once again, you WILL get shocked.

In addition to Joanie's house, there are several outbuildings located on the property.  Some are being utilized, others are not (for the time being).  The buildings which you will most often find yourself in are:  the old tack room, the tool room, the white block building, the old barn and the new barn.  A brief description of the contents and use of each are as follows:

THE NEW BARN

This building houses the permanent residents and contains a feed room and a tack room. 

• The new barn is surrounded by a concrete pad.  Heavy equipment such as the tractor and flatbed truck should not be driven onto  the pad.  This can cause the concrete to crack with wear and age.
• The interior of the barn is equipped with rubber floor mats.  These should be cleaned with plastic (no metal) rakes and shovels or a broom.  Urine can be soaked up with wood pellets.
• Please keep the feed room door shut at all times to prevent any horses from getting into the feedbins.
• Inside the feed room on the right is an electrical box.  Fire code compliance requires that this area be kept clear for safety reasons.

THE TACK ROOM (NEW BARN)

This is where all horse tack is kept.  Saddles, bridles, leads, and halters are kept here.  Policies concerning using and caring for tack are under USING TACK ROOM EQUIPMENT.

THE OLD BARN

The old barn houses rehabilitated horses awaiting new homes and a feed room.

• Keep the front gate to the old barn latched at all times. The back gate should remain open unless it is feeding time.
• Inside to the right of the entrance gate is a metal feed bin.  The doors should be kept shut tight at all times.  Please check to make sure no cats or chickens have climbed inside to sleep before securing doors.
• The feed room door should be double latched at all times. The feed room should only be accessed by those in the feeding program.
• The floors of the old barn are dirt and may be cleaned with either plastic or metal rakes and shovels and brooms.  Wood pellets are not used to soak up urine.
• NO ONE will be allowed to "hang out" in the hayloft.  If you are allowed up there (children MUST have permission) then it is only to retrieve hay.

THE TACK ROOM NEAR THE OLD BARN

• There is a refrigerator located in the tack room.  This is where we keep treats for the horses.  Please refrain from eating the treats. If you would like to bring a snack or lunch for yourself, you may place it in the refrigerator to keep it cool but please label it.  Volunteers may help themselves to bottled water in the freezer or refrigerator.  ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
• There is a plastic hamper on top of the refrigerator to place empty water bottles for recycling.
• A supply cart containing various ointments, salves, dressings, etc., is also to be found in the tack room.  If you are using some of these supplies for the first time, please ask an officer or senior member to either demonstrate its use or allow them to verify that you know what you are doing and using the item in a correct manner.  Please be sure to put all items you use back in the cart as soon as you are through using them. 

THE TOOL ROOM

This enclosure is located next to the tack room, on the left.  It is where manure rakes, pitchforks, shovels, brooms, and any other tools which may be needed around the are kept.

• After using any tools, please rinse them clean then place them back in the tool room as soon as you are done using them.  If the tool was hung on the wall on a hook, return it to that same spot.  Please take good care of our tools as our budget does not allow for replacement of items which have been broken through carelessness.  Also, leaving tools out where the horses can step on them can cause injury to them, as well as to our members.
• You will find wheelbarrows in the paddock area beside the white block building.  Please rinse the wheelbarrow out after use.  Once a week, salads are mixed in the wheelbarrows for the horses and we do not want to mix manure that may be ingested by the horses with the salad.  Please return the wheelbarrow to its spot after use.
• IMPORTANT!   When using the water hoses, please be sure to turn the hose off after you use it.  THIS MEANS TURNING IT OFF AT THE SPIGOT AND LEAVING THE VALVE AT THE END OF THE HOSE OPEN!    Leaving the valve at the end open prevents pressure from building up and wearing out the pump.  The pump costs thousands of dollars and was replaced only a few years ago due to improper treatment!  Please do not leave the hose in water when you are turning it off---water will siphon through the hose back into the well, contaminating the water supply.  Also due to the lengthy drought we have had over the last several years, we have a water shortage--please be careful and do not waste the water!

THE WHITE BLOCK BUILDING

This building is the white cinder block building located to the left of the old barn.  This is where hammers, nails, fencing parts, tarps, and other tools and equipment are located. 

• All tools are to be returned to the same spot immediately after use.
• No tools may be borrowed and taken home.