barn moving 101.....

A couple summers ago, our friend Denise moved her horses and barn to the farm. It was fun having her around, but when she found a place to rent, the horses and barn left. Well... now Denise has lost the rental place, and needing somewhere to go.. we invited her to move back on the farm. Today is moving day!!! We loaded the horses first....

and then the truck arrived to get the barn. These are great little barns, and not really meant to be moved, but they certainly can be....

This company has it down to a science... the barn is built on "skids".. so it's just a matter of winching it up on the truck. However, this truck is also designed to do just this job, and really in a matter of minutes, it was up... on...

loaded...

and ready to hit the road. Fortunately, it only has to travel a few miles.... but it could go cross country if needed.

The barn was right behind us, and here we go.. onto the farm.

Now, putting it where we wanted it to be was another story. I opted for having them go up the drive and then just back it in. But, the drivers wanted to take it across the field. Hummm.. a field that has only just cleared of snow, has been rained all all spring and the ground is about as soft as it can be..... not a good idea in my opinion...

Yup, pretty much as I had thought... they go stuck... and the deeper that barn sank into the ground, the more worried I became...

However, the driver was not one bit phased. He unloaded the barn... turned the truck around, 

reloaded and came at it from another angel. Instead of pulling the barn across the field, 

He gently pushed it. And what was more amazing to watch, is the truck and trailer were all moved by remote control. He never got back in the truck but did everything from a little hand held unit. He would inch the trailer out, then the truck backed up to the trailer.... inch it out again, back up again... the weight was better distrubted..

and even though it sank a little in the field, the continual movement kept everything from sinking in too far...














Once it was in the proper place, the barn slipped off the truck. A bit of leveling (which wasn't hardly anything) and Denise was back in business.. Up went fencing and the horses were home again.....

Since it was such a pretty day, and the barn moving project went much faster than I had thought. I decided to pull ol Duke out.. give him a much needed brush out, and do a little driving....

Good weather must be on the way... once these big boys begin to drop coat.. it's a sure sign....

almost enough hair to cover another horse!!!!

all harnessed... ready to go.. and then Duke sees, we have new friends!!!


Looking forward to lots of horse stuff this summer!!!!