Olivia Has Been Counting...

Hello everybody.

It's me, Olivia.

You may recognise me from the photograph where I'm sticking my tongue out.

I'd like to point out that I wasn't being rude.

I was concentrating. Very hard. Because recently, I've taken on an important responsibility here at Tower Hill Stables.

I've been helping to count hay. Now, I should explain that horses aren't particularly interested in spreadsheets, budgets, fundraising targets, or something the humans keep calling a "Bale-ometer".

What we are interested in is what those things eventually become.

Breakfast.

Lunch.

Dinner.

And perhaps a little extra supper if nobody is paying attention.

The exciting news is that, thanks to some very kind supporters, the 350 Bales for Winter campaign has now reached 92 bales.

The humans seem incredibly pleased about this.

Personally, I think they should always be pleased about hay, but apparently this is a special occasion.

I've been keeping a close eye on proceedings from inside the hay barn, assisted by my good friends Spotty and Rowan.

Well, "assisted" might be stretching things a little.

Spotty mostly wanders around looking cheerful and pretending not to notice where the best hay is stored.

Rowan, being herd leader, takes a much more managerial approach.

From what I can gather, herd leadership largely involves standing somewhere important-looking and supervising everyone else's efforts.

He tells me this is called delegation.

I suspect it mostly means letting me do the counting.

What 92 bales looks like to us

Humans see numbers.

Animals see something different.

We see winter mornings when the frost is lying thick across the ground.

We see hay nets hanging full.

We see shelter from the weather and a good meal waiting when the grass stops growing.

We see peace of mind.

The humans tell us that each of these enormous Heston bales is roughly the size of a small family car and weighs more than half a tonne.

That sounds very impressive.

What I know for certain is that they contain an extraordinary amount of deliciousness.

Still plenty of squares to colour in

Of course, while 92 bales is fantastic, the Bale-ometer tells us there is still some way to go before all 350 bales are secured.

The good news is that every new supporter helps colour in another square.

Every contribution helps build the reserve that will feed the cows, horses and sheep during the colder months.

And every square filled means one fewer thing for the humans to worry about.

Believe me, they worry enough already.

From all of us...

So on behalf of Spotty, Rowan, Bart, Dennis, Flora, Chester, Bill, Kia and all the rest of us here at the sanctuary...

Thank you.

Thank you for every donation.

Thank you for every share.

Thank you for helping us reach 92 bales.

The humans may be counting the squares on the Bale-ometer.

But we're counting something else entirely.

We're counting future breakfasts.

With gratitude,

Olivia

Chief Feed Store Inspector, Bale Counter and Part-Time Photographer's Assistant