Working on Sundays

I recently received a comment from someone (you know who you are!) that they would like to see a blog post on what I do on Sundays at the stable. So since I have nothing else to do right now, I will walk through everything I do at my job. Keep in mind that this is the most recent way I've done my job - the way I do it and the horses I feed change a lot. And yes, it is a job, because I get paid. Though I don't get paid directly, the money goes towards my lessons, so I only have to pay half price. In my opinion it's a very generous deal and I'm happy to have the job (I got it because I'm the only available person who doesn't go to church on Sundays).

The first thing I do when I get to the stable at 10:30 is check the barn floor for any papers. The barn owner usually sets out a cup of grain that I have to give to Captain, and if there's anything I need to know or do differently she'll tell me in a short note. When I get there there's normally one lady who rides her horse, but often times there won't be anyone on the property. I'm glad for the quiet time, just me and the horses.

After checking the barn I go get the horse Chief. He's usually in the Grandma Paddock (across from the Esbin Pasture), so I put on his halter and lead him to his stall in the barn. Then I go down to the hay shed. I get a wheelbarrow and haul a bale of hay into it, and then I stick some scissors into it so I can cut the strings. I wheel the hay back up to the Esbin Pasture and give three or four flakes of hay to Lucky and Dixie. A flake is one portion of hay - it is pre-separated into them when it's bought. This makes my job a lot easier. I then check the barrel of water and refill it if necessary (there are water pumps placed all over the property with hoses to connect to them).

Next I wheel the hay down to the Pony Paddock (next to the Grandma Paddock), where I give two flakes each to Rita and Rosie. Next to the Pony Paddock is another paddock which I cannot remember the name of. Anyway, I feed the two horses there, Dusty and Lionel, and check both this paddock and the Pony Paddock's water.

Next to the paddock I can't remember is the Middle Paddock, which has a gate that leads to a pasture. I give Annie, Janie, and Fresca only one flake of hay each and open the gate so they can go down to pasture. They only get one flake each because they get to eat all that grass too. I open the gate halfway and prop it open with a rock so the horses can come back up for water. I then climb through the fence leading to Ashlea's Paddock, and prop open Teddy and Mia's gate to a different pasture. I walk back up through the paddock and climb through the fence to go check Ashlea's Paddock and the Middle Paddock's water, filling it if it's less than maybe three quarters full. Usually by the time I get to feeding the Middle Paddock's horses I run out of hay, so a lot of the times I'll have to go back up to the hay shed and get a new bale (which is something I'd rather not do since it means more walking and heavy lifting).

Once all the horse's are fed on this side of the property, I take the wheelbarrow up to the barn and give two flakes to Captain and Chief, and only one to Tuffy since he's sick and I'm not sure he can eat that much hay. I check their water buckets and fill them if they need it, and I sweep the fallen hay on the floor into a stall. Then I abandon my wheelbarrow (yay!) and head down a big hill to what is called the Bair's Area, since that family owns two horses that stay down there. Often when I come down the hill Moo will see me and start neighing. I head into the hay shed that is attached to the side of two stalls (the stalls are open to the paddock) and I give one flake each to Moo and the other horse named Skye. Moo usually ignores the hay and heads over to the gate, waiting for me to open it, which is what I do next. He often canters down the hill and into the pasture, which is a fun sight to see.

Unfortunately I then have to head back up the huge hill which makes me really tired and out of breath. And once I'm up the hill I have to head up another one to the upper pasture. There I feed Doc, Magnum, and Chachi two flakes of hay each from the hay pile that is set near the fence.

This is where my feeding duties end. Now it's time for me to muck out some sheds. They're basically stalls inside a paddock that are open to the rest of the paddock so the horses can enter them at will. First I head down the hill to the barn to get a pitchfork and to retrieve my wheelbarrow, which I empty of any excess hay. Then I walk down to the Pony Paddock and head over to the sheds (there are only two). All I have to do is scoop out the horse poop and spread around the dirt to make it even. It's normally pretty easy when there's not that much poop, but on a day like yesterday when there's a ton I often have to make multiple trips to dump it out and I end up hurting my back. Not too mention all the flies in there and the sweltering heat when it's summer. Luckily it's not a very physically demanding job, other than bending over a little.

When I've mucked out both stalls I open a small gate near the sheds and wheel the wheelbarrow of poop into the woods where I dump it on the many piles of manure back there. Some are so old they have mushrooms growing out of them! Anyway, when I'm done I grab my pitchfork and head up to the barn to put that and the wheelbarrow away.

That's all there is to my job on Sundays. I don't have too much work and the job only lasts about an hour, so I'm happy to do it every Sunday. Especially if it helps pay for my lessons!!

Essay Update and Frolicking Horses

Well, I finished my essay. I cranked it out pretty fast yesterday, and then I went back and fixed it today. Basically I talk about how I started riding, Captain, my job (which I will elaborate on later in this post), and horseback riding in general. It's about three pages long (it's only supposed to be two - hopefully they won't care!) and it took me most of the afternoon yesterday. I'm just glad it's finished.

I've never mentioned this before, but every Sunday I work at the same barn I ride at. I'm in a Work-to-Ride program, so in exchange for working I only have to pay half price for my lessons each month. I feed all the horses on the farm (all of them get hay and some get grain), give them water if needed, let two paddocks out to pastures, and muck out two stalls. I start at 10:30 and usually finish between 11:30 and noon. It can be pretty tiring, especially when it's hot out and all the bugs are swarming, but I'm happy to do it to get a discount on my lessons!

Today was the third week in a row where I've gotten to let two paddocks out on grass. I couldn't for part of the winter because one horse destroyed all the fencing (and I think another reason but I'm not sure what that is), so I've just recently gotten to start opening the gates again. It's one of the best feelings in the world to open the gate and immediately see horses trotting or cantering out to run in the field. One horse was rolling his neck and bucking - he was so happy to be able to run around! It made me smile to see them having so much fun. Those kind of rewards are the most satisfying ones of all. :)

Happy Mother's Day!