🌾 Hammie Ranch Update: Slow Seasons, Divine Delays and God’s Quiet Protection

Hey friends,
Welcome back to the porch for another Hammie Ranch update. I’ve got my iced coffee, and I want to catch you up on everything happening…the slow, the steady, the unexpected, and the ways I truly believe God has been protecting us behind the scenes.

🌱 The Reality Behind Slow Progress

To be completely transparent, things have been moving slower around the ranch than we originally planned. When you’re dreaming big and watching your future unfold piece by piece, you naturally picture things happening fast, barns rising quickly, fencing going in, animals arriving in perfect timing.

But the truth is… foundations take time.
Building a ranch isn’t just construction; it’s budgeting, planning, coordinating, saving, praying, and navigating life all at once.

We’ve been doing everything we can to keep momentum going. Clearing land, mapping the barn layout, planning the layout for the goats, future horse stalls, flower garden, chicken coop… all the little pieces that make a dream like this come to life. But this season looks more like faithful step-by-step progress instead of big leaps.

And I’ve learned that slow doesn’t mean stuck.
Sometimes, slow means protected.

And that brings me to the horse story.

🐴 The Horse Deal — and the Redirection We Didn’t Expect

Many of you know we were moving forward with a mare/foal contract, something I was genuinely excited about. We had discussed details, received the contracts, prayed over them, and really saw it as the next big step toward bringing our future horse home.

But after a lot of thought and late-night conversations, I let my friend know that I needed more time before we signed, and we both decided not to sign.

At the time, it felt unexpected. I wasn’t devastated, just… puzzled. Almost like the wind changed direction, and we weren’t sure why.

And then, the reports started coming in.

⚠️ The EHV-1 Outbreak: What It Is & Why It’s Serious

For anyone who hasn’t followed equine health news, there’s currently a rise in cases of EHV-1 (Equine Herpesvirus Type 1). It’s an incredibly contagious virus that can spread through:

• Nose-to-nose contact

• Contaminated equipment

• Shared water buckets

• Barn airflow

• Even someone’s hands or clothing

And the part that truly sent chills down my spine?

EHV-1 isn’t just a “cold.”
It has two extremely serious forms:

🧠 1. The Neurological Form (EHM)

This is where the virus attacks the horse’s nervous system. It can cause:

• Weakness in the hind end

• Stumbling or incoordination

• Inability to stand

• Loss of tail tone

• Urinary problems

• Paralysis

This form can be life-threatening and often requires isolation, intensive care, and strict quarantine protocols.

🤰 2. The Abortion-Causing Form

For pregnant mares, EHV-1 is especially devastating.

It can cause:

• Late-term abortion

• Sudden loss of the foal

• Stillbirth

• A foal born weak and unable to survive

Entire breeding barns have lost multiple foals in a single outbreak. And once EHV-1 enters a facility, it can spread rapidly before anyone even knows it’s there.

When I read that… everything clicked.

🙏 God Was Protecting Us Even When We Didn’t See It

If we had moved forward with that horse deal…
If the contracts had been signed…
If the mare had come from (or gone to) a farm experiencing an outbreak…
If our future foal had been exposed…

We could have been walking directly into a heartbreaking situation without knowing.

A neurological outbreak.
A compromised mare.
The possibility of losing a foal.
Being quarantined.
Facing medical bills, heartbreak, and impossible decisions.

It hit me so deeply:

What felt like a delay was actually the Lord redirecting our steps.
What felt like confusion was His clarity.
What felt like disappointment was His protection.

The timing.
The hesitation on my end.
My friend stepping back.
The slow pace of our ranch projects.
The outbreak that followed shortly after.

None of that was coincidence.

It was covering.

🌤️ The Beauty of Divine Delays

When God says “not yet,” He sees things we don’t.
He hears conversations we aren’t part of.
He knows dangers we never even knew existed.

And sometimes He slows our steps because He’s shielding our hearts.

So yes, things are moving slowly right now. But they are moving in God’s timing, and that timing has already proven to be safer, wiser, and more gentle than anything we could’ve forced on our own.

We’ll get our barn.
We’ll get our horses.
We’ll get our goats, cows, flowers, bees, and every single dream the Lord has placed in our hearts.

Just not before He clears the path.

💛 Thank You for Walking This Journey With Us

Thank you for being patient with our updates, for cheering us on, for praying over our ranch, and for believing in the vision even during the seasons that feel quiet.

We’re still building.
We’re still planning.
We’re still moving forward.
And most importantly, we’re still protected by the One who sees the full picture.

More updates coming soon, hopefully with some exciting forward movement. Until then, we’re here on the porch, trusting, working, resting, and thanking God for every hidden shield we never even knew we needed.

With love,
Maria — The Hammie Ranch 🐄🌿🐓✨