The day after Christmas and a two day blizzard, I came out to do morning chores (you know feed the horses, turn out, water, clean up, etc...) and found that nearly 40-year-old blind Hackney pony Kiwi had not only let herself out of her stall and explored the barn but found the one open stall in the barn and put herself in it, standing there all cute and innocent waiting for her breakfast as if she hadn't just had a night of fun.
Seeing her stand there so innocent struck me as adorable and I knew anyone who knew her personally would love it, so I shot a quick 20-second video and posted it with just a silly question - "what's wrong with this video?" - and absolutely no context.
I know better. I know that we need to provide tons of information because people won't know the backstory. I know I also opened myself up to all sorts of comments with the question.
Most people have been kind - especially locals who understand. Some have had an instant response about the barn and then read on and been mature enough to comment that the explanation made sense.
But boy, have some of you taken that opportunity to be mean!
I've done my best to be kind. I've discouraged name calling, I've gently explained all of the above, I've even agreed that in that 20-second moment of time the barn is indeed dirty. Most barns are first thing in the morning, and especially after a blizzard - that's why sweeping or raking the aisles is a part of stall cleaning. Pointing out those things as "what's wrong" are perfectly valid.
What isn't fair or valid, or even kind, is how far some of you have gone. The assumptions that have been made; the accusations leveled at us, and the superiority from some of you have just gotten old. If you are someone who has watched a 20-second video and chosen violence, I just ask you to take a moment and ask yourself - do you consider yourself a kind person? And were you kind? Did you learn more and give grace?
I'd delete the video, but the one good thing of all your negativity is that video is making money 
But for those of you who have commented and either ignored or refused to read all of the other comments I have a few questions...
Did you or your staff clean your barn "several times a day" on Christmas? Or did you spend it with your family? When it was blizzarding were you out there sweeping your barn or did you ensure your animals were safe, happy and warm and not ask anyone to risk their lives?
When you first came out in the morning to feed and start the day, was your barn spotless? Especially if an animal may have gotten out of their stall and moved around all night? Did your animals eat their feed overnight and have to be fed more in the morning?
Did you know that we all work full time jobs in addition to the rescue? The one paid position we have is a stall cleaner ... but we know that a dirty stall isn't going to kill a horse, and gave him the holiday off. Do you think that was the wrong decision? Should we have made our teenage stall cleaner drive during a blizzard on a holiday just to ensure that the stalls didn't miss a day of being cleaned?
Watching the video, I can understand the comments especially because the aisle is dirty. But do you know that was because of the blizzard? We don't have enough stalls for every pony/donkey to have their own stall, so the last stall is designed so that the gate can be opened to block the aisle and allow several animals to use the aisle and one stall as a run in shelter so they can be with their friends and inside during a blizzard. That does mean that shavings get spread across the aisle ... something that can be easily swept up during blizzard recovery. Even then - the video is short and dark. Ponies don't poop that much. They weren't even that dirty - so I have to assume most of the comments are based on the aisle.
Have you ever been in a blizzard? Even if we'd gone out and picked the stalls, how would we have dumped the wheelbarrows in a whiteout and several inches of snow?
Normally, I don't bother to "explain" or respond. If you know us, you know the truth, but it's gained enough of a life of its own that I felt it important enough for a post.
To those of you who defended us ... thank you. To those of you who figured out the lightheartedness of the video and enjoyed it ... thank you even more!
To those of you who feel we should do more ... we're always looking for volunteers. We'd love sponsors to allow us to hire a barn manager. We have tons of project as we restore this old cattle farm and turn it into a fabulous horse facility. Come on out! Or donate.
Otherwise ... feel free to scroll on. Or ... take some time to see if that was "normal". I spent a bunch of time downloading about 20 videos to make a compilation of the pony barn under regular circumstances and then realized that was stupid. We share everything, good and bad. We are real, raw, and it's all out there (another reason I won't delete the video). We know the truth, as do our followers and anyone who has been here. We don't owe someone who will make those kind of mean comments based on a 20-second snippet of time anything. We've already given it too much.
Choose kindness, eh?