Scared of Night Checks

[horsepoor]

One thing that we had installed when we added on to our barn is a remote switch for the outside lights. I have a little remote that allows me to turn on the barn lights from the house, which is really nice as it gives a me a “target” when headed out in the dark, plus they light up the stairs from the path to the barn (house is uphill so there is a path down the hill then a set of stairs and a bridge across a ditch…not fun to negotiate in the dark). We also have solar path lights but those are useless this time of year as they don’t get enough of a charge, so we plan to replace them with low voltage lights that will be on a switch in the house. There is also a flood light on the corner of the house that illuminates most of the path, but I always forget to turn it on (switch is in a really dumb place…things you realize later when you build!).

I love the remote switch and it was IIRC really inexpensive, like under $100, to add when we redid lights down there.

And I do get nervous about night check at times. We have a lot of wildlife so when the momma bear with three cubs was hanging around, or most recently a cougar was spotted next door, I’m much more on edge.

[mmeqcenter]

@lilak357

Get you a flashlight/headlamp/spotlight, and then, (and this is my trademark secret which I debated sharing in a public forum): warm up those vocal chords and belt out a tune. You’ll either be distracted by how good or how bad a singer you are and you’ll forget all about the time of day. I myself have never hit a note in tune, and find much joy in yodeling in the dead of night. Even my separation anxiety ridden pup leaves me to it once I start on Total Eclipse of the Heart. No critter, crawler, or murderer is gonna stick around to hear more.

You win the thread :lol::lol::lol:

[whitmers]

I don’t do night checks unless someone is on stall rest for injury or a mare is due to foal. Otherwise everyone is out all night, even in the rain/snow. They’d have a fit if I locked them in! However for those rare times I have to go out there at night, my husband put in a switch for the barn lights in our house so we can turn the lights on before going out there, and turn them off once back inside. One of his best ideas! Sometimes I’ll drive my car back to the barn if the weather is bad, but having the switch has made a big difference since Id usually rather walk. (Its about 300-350 feet so not too far.)

[PaddockWood]

Maybe someone else already suggested this but how about walking out talking on your cell phone and saying loudly, “OK, so you’ll be here in 5 minutes? That’s great! Yeah, I do need help in the barn with moving those boards around”…(or whatever you come up with - be creative. Then you have your cell phone AND you’ve got your friend on the way. :winkgrin:

[lesson_junkie]

OP-I bet a dog will make a big difference to your after dark comfort level. You won’t be by yourself-you’ll have a protective buddy with “super power” senses. I live way off the pavement on a large property, and am often alone on the farm. My big working breed dog makes all the difference, I never feel unsafe.

You will get used to it, or not. As long as the chores are done before dark, if you don’t want to do night check, leave it alone-the horses will be fine.

[Pennywell_Bay]

@lesson junkie

OP-I bet a dog will make a big difference to your after dark comfort level. You won’t be by yourself-you’ll have a protective buddy with “super power” senses. I live way off the pavement on a large property, and am often alone on the farm. My big working breed dog makes all the difference, I never feel unsafe.

You will get used to it, or not. As long as the chores are done before dark, if you don’t want to do night check, leave it alone-the horses will be fine.

but the dog always lives in the horror movies, and I will always be slower than my dog . This is no help to me :lol:

[lesson_junkie]

@Pennywell Bay

but the dog always lives in the horror movies, and I will always be slower than my dog . This is no help to me :lol:

If there is a bad guy, my dog IS the horror movie!

Really, he is sweet, and friendly to everyone who comes here, but he does have a change in attitude after dark, and when I am alone in the house. He is a Doberman, so he isn’t aggressive, but he is protective, and has the looks and demeanor to make someone with bad intentions think twice.

[millerra]

So, I am a nighttime lover - I love the dark and quiet of the winter. But - I still like my yard light (comes on automatically when it gets dark). So I can see if I need to. And, the snow does make everything lighter. I HATE the winter nights w/ no snow and no moon. That is black. Moon + snow - you can actually see and it is beautiful.

Have I ever been scared in the dark - yes. Terrified to move once, actually but I had too. I was taking the new puppy out for a walk in the late fall (no snow, dark by 5). I was walking along my gallop path up a hill (too far from barn or yard for light). And the puppy suddenly got very scared and ran back to me. I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t really hear anything. But I had this creepy feeling that there were coyotes around me. I picked up the puppy, yelled in my deepest scariest voice possible to GET AWAY and promptly marched back to the barn. I have no idea what, if anything was there but it could have been coyotes after my pup.

The other time it was a winter night out in the poorly lit hay barn. I was at the top of the pile, tipping down a bale, when out from under the bale, rose up this GIANT fur ball. I was screaming before I even was aware that I SHOULD be screaming. It wasn’t really a giant - it was a raccoon, hibernating. He sleepily and slowly trundled away… I quit screaming.

[skydy]

OP you don’t really need to hunt for your horses in the dark once they’ve been fed and watered and blanketed (if you blanket).
Is your fencing is unsafe? If it is,I can see why you would be worried. If your fencing is good you needn’t be out looking for them in the dark.

If all is well and good when you do your evening feed and water, then there is no reason to go looking for them in the middle of the night unless there is an electrical storm or other weather event that requires bringing them in. I’ve honestly never heard of anyone who goes out hunting for their horses in the pasture in the dark as part of their regular routine.

I’m sure it is an adjustment for you, having them at home, but don’t worry, you’ll find that they do just fine overnight. You’ll never stop being concerned about them but you will get more comfortable.

If you really feel the need to be able to look at them 24/7 then stall them or you’ll drive yourself nuts. Mine never had any problems overnight in the field. They got in more trouble when stalled (the mare being an expert at casting herself).

[knightrider922]

I felt the same way when I first moved to my farm. I installed motion detector lights on the way to the barn and use a big spotlight. I don’t have to go to the barn anymore for night checks unless the weather is so bad they stay in. But I do take out the spotlight which can see as far as 4 acres to make sure they are standing…

I also use the spot light to check for critters. I’ve had deer run me over in the pasture before… no lie… they coudln’t figure out how to get out of my fence and ran me over at the gate one morning.

I also use the spotlight to check for critters in the backyard for the dogs so I"m constantly shining it around the yard before letting the dogs out… I do this because one night my dog got skunked and it was an awful experience.

When I do need to head down to the barn or out to a pasture, I always shine the spotlight around me to make sure there are no bears or anyrhing on the property… but I will say that if you use a light, you should feel more comfortable if your horses are just relaxing outside. No one can come on my property without my horses being on alert. They tell me when the bear is around or if there is something of interest around like a dog or something. Just shine it on them and you will be fine.

[susanne]

There are two issues here: 1) real life personal security and safety, and 2) intangible, sometimes imaginary fears. I have dealt with both, and each is very serious and not to be made light of. Personal safety is common sense, while your imagination can feed upon itself, getting worse as time goes by.

I personally have found that dealing with the real life issues goes a long way to lessening the imagined. Take a dog with you at night, even a small one. Wear a good headlamp or carry a dependable flashlight. Install lighting wired to indoor switches. Carry your cell phone. Clear paths of obstacles. Secure all fences and gates.

By taking care of all that you can, you gain a sense of control and those less rational fears tend to lose their power.

[ThreeFigs]

I’d be the one who falls in a hole, twists an ankle, steps on an unseen garden rake & gets smacked in the face. Light good. Dark bad.

[Scribbler]

@MarianVdb

Hi,

I especially registered on this website so I’d be able to contact you (the people of this thread) I hope that’s ok!

I’m a Graphic Design student and I’m here for a specific question, based on some of my own experiences…

For my final year project (for LUCA School of Arts, Belgium) I’m looking for pictures of what scares you (a lot or just a bit) in the dark.

Beautiful or experimental pictures, good or bad… I’m looking for all types of pictures - as long as they’re about what scares you at night.

Capture your fear with your camera.

Go to www.picturesofthedark.com and share your story.

This student thanks you!

Marian.

Nice idea but really it is noises that scare me. Noises that don’t make sense.

When I lived in the city I slept through no end of ambulance drama. But one night I woke up out of deep sleep to the sound of racoons walking in dead leaves under my window, 2 floors down.

A full grown momma black bear in the barn parking lot at 11 pm is an interesting sight but not scarier than at noon

Random men on sidewalks for sure but I can’t get photos of them!

[allons-y]

@walkers60 If that was a joke it was done quite poorly. I was a victim of an armed home invasion here, shots fired, they shot my Pitty in his rock hard head (he’s fine!), 9 mm I think. They missed me by an inch, twice. Am I scared to go out in the dark, alone here? Damn right I am. But I do it and after two years I no longer take my gun, just the Pitty.

Sometimes people are scared for a reason and sometimes there’s no good reason, but scared is still scared. You should have more compassion and understanding. If your dog is afraid of thunder do you cut him down as well?

[Bogie]

@lesson junkie

As long as the chores are done before dark, if you don’t want to do night check, leave it alone-the horses will be fine.

My horses are at a co-op barn. There is no night check. Sure, the owners of the property will get up and check if they hear something alarming, but after they are fed, they are on their own until morning.

I agree with motion sensors, a dog, and a big flashlight if you need to go out. My husband has a flashlight that lights up the whole backyard like a spotlight.

[clanter]

I’m looking for pictures of what scares you (a lot or just a bit) in the dark.

this becomes political which we are not allowed to discuss on this board

[MarianVdb]

@Scribbler

Nice idea but really it is noises that scare me. Noises that don’t make sense.

When I lived in the city I slept through no end of ambulance drama. But one night I woke up out of deep sleep to the sound of racoons walking in dead leaves under my window, 2 floors down.

A full grown momma black bear in the barn parking lot at 11 pm is an interesting sight but not scarier than at noon

Random men on sidewalks for sure but I can’t get photos of them!

Ok, yes, maybe no pictures of random men I understand about the sounds. Sometimes I’m outside in the early morning and when you don’t see anything, the noise is even more unnerving.
In any case, if maybe you do get scared about seeing or not-seeing something, take that pic

[skydy]

@allons-y

@walkers60 If that was a joke it was done quite poorly. I was a victim of an armed home invasion here, shots fired, they shot my Pitty in his rock hard head (he’s fine!), 9 mm I think. They missed me by an inch, twice. Am I scared to go out in the dark, alone here? Damn right I am. But I do it and after two years I no longer take my gun, just the Pitty.

Sometimes people are scared for a reason and sometimes there’s no good reason, but scared is still scared. You should have more compassion and understanding. If your dog is afraid of thunder do you cut him down as well?

You are spot on allons-y. Fear is fear.

I have a friend, a man, who is very well educated (Juris Doctor) but he was truly frightened of the grasshoppers that would hop around when we walked from the house to the barn to visit the horses. He said before we left the house “oh I hate the grasshoppers”. I didn’t think much of it, they were everywhere that year, including in the yard at his home.

As we were walking to the barn I saw that he was truly frightened of them. I don’t mind grasshoppers but if I had to walk amongst a lot of hopping spiders it would give me the willies . Anyway, I turned him around, brought him back into the house and gave him a nice glass of wine. Fear is fear.

[PsyPsy]

Update time!
Just hit the 6-month mark of having horse at home, and I still fear the dark and going to the barn after the sun sets.
BUT, I just don’t do it! My horse has settled in wonderfully and is so independent. I’m the evenings he hangs against the neighbor’s fence and socializes with their herd. The times when I’ve gone out there, he doesn’t even acknowledge me.
I bought a hay basket with a Hay Chix net installed, so he has plenty to eat for days. On top of that, I check his 100-gallon trough during daylight. So I have no reason to go outside after dark now, and I’m perfectly okay with my set-up.

[skydy]

@PsyPsy

Update time!
Just hit the 6-month mark of having horse at home, and I still fear the dark and going to the barn after the sun sets.
BUT, I just don’t do it! My horse has settled in wonderfully and is so independent. I’m the evenings he hangs against the neighbor’s fence and socializes with their herd. The times when I’ve gone out there, he doesn’t even acknowledge me.
I bought a hay basket with a Hay Chix net installed, so he has plenty to eat for days. On top of that, I check his 100-gallon trough during daylight. So I have no reason to go outside after dark now, and I’m perfectly okay with my set-up.

Well done you!

If you haven’t had them at home it does take some getting used to, but once you make sure everything is done, they really do quite well overnight.