Horse Protection Society of North Carolina

FACILITIES

• All shoes are to be removed before entering the house.  Please take your shoes off before entering the house. 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, work with your horse in the side field in the area designated for exercising horses. 
• 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, barn 1 and barn 2.  A brief description of the contents and use of each are as follows:

BARN 1

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 located in a metal trashcan in the tack room.
• Please keep the feed room and tack room doors 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.
• There is a refrigerator located in the feed room.  This is where we keep supplements and medicine for the horses. 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.

THE TACK ROOM (BARN 1)

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 tack room is kept locked except for when the training & riding program is in session.

• 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 old tack room, on the left.  It is where metal rakes, pitchforks, metal shovels, and any other tools which may be needed 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.

BARN 2 
Mares are stabled on the right side of barn 2 though a few older, quieter geldings are occassionally mixed in among the mares, and geldings are stabled on the left side.  Most of the horses in barn 2 are available for placement.

• You will find wheelbarrows, plastic shovels and brooms in the equipment stall in the 2nd barn on the gelding side.  Please rinse the wheelbarrow & other tools after use then return them to the equipment stall. 
• 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 end in a water tub after you turn the pump 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 (aka 'Man World') 
This building is the white cinder block building located near 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.