[Auventera Two]

This morning it occurred to me how much I really dearly love all my horses, my barn, my routine, my whole setup in general. Every horse greets me with nickers and noses in the aisle when I come in every morning. They're all covered in shavings and yawning. The colt bellows out his powerful greeting and Sweets does the cute little girlie nicker. Le'Sorna never bothers to get up because she's so lazy but she'll still talk to me. Amadeus yawns 20 times and always has his long mane gnarled up with shavings and hay. Cricket sticks her little Mini head out through her bars and has her lips going looking for food. Monster goes to the door and does the dog stretch. The two boarder's geldings stretch and shake off the shavings and stick their heads out in the aisle. They're all so predictable.

The 3 Arabs usually are all up in my business wanting kisses and hugs and ear scratching. The others not so much, but they're still happy to see the hay come at least. Everybody gets blankets on then goes outside and I clean the barn and buckets and feed the cats and chickens.

The whole routine feels so comforting and familiar. I am so lucky that all 8 horses on the farm are polite, well trained, keep their stalls clean. All but one have great personalities, and the one crabby old heifer gets along fine with me....just hates other horses.

People ask about the work and the money and how awful it must be to haul all that hay and clean all those stalls, and the vet bills, and and and.............but you know, to me, it's just life. It's the way I live and it's what I'm used to. There is no inconvenience or pain in all the work, time, and money. I can't imagine it any other way.

I put this in the Horse Care section because it's all the care that goes into them that makes me happy and makes me feel like I have a purpose. The medicating, feeding, cleaning, grooming.....all the mundane stuff that some people might consider work. To me, that is even better than the riding.

Post your thoughts and feelings of your daily horse care routine and everything it takes to keep your horses healthy and happy. I'm curious to hear if you guys also get comfort and happiness out of the day-to-day chores.

[DLee]

Absolutely.

Except maybe in February.

[Jumpin_Horses]

LOVE IT! even in the winter

I would go crazy if I didnt have my chores/horses/dog/cats.........

I would go into like this vegetative/coma state in front of the TV without them

[KitKat987]

Yup. I can't say as I ever really don't want to go feed my ponies or clean their stalls, even when it is -30 and blizzarding. It doesn't ever get old. I really love my guys.

[kipster]

I honestly do love it! Morning is my favorite time - just me, the horses, dogs, cat, and chickens. My favorite is the friendly nicker I get each morning when I turn on the bedroom light. Kip knows I'll be out soon to feed them and he's telling the others it's almost time for breakfast!
When non horsey friends ask me about all the work I have to do around the farm - they just don't get how I can like to clean stalls and groom horses- I tell them it's my therapy! And sometimes they look at me like I'm crazy

[2DogsFarm]

Absolutely.

Except maybe in February.

Amen

Must be the Calm Before the Storm Syndrome - there's a similar thread on Eventing.

Yup on all counts.

Even in last Winter's godawful blizzard when I had to wade through hip-high drifts, shoveling the same path every day for a week, to get to the barn, or the year before when a power outage had me buying bottled water from the $1 Store (I still have 4gal left) to make sure the horses had water.
Still.Worth.It.

[AliCat518]

Agreed.

It might be hard to get up extra early and go out to the barn in the pitch black and rain, but when I get back there, I dont want to leave!

I'm excited to get home from work this evening and put the horses in their fresh clean stalls and OUT of the weather. Hearing them chomp their hay happily is music to my ears

[fordtraktor]

Absolutely!

I love my family dearly and enjoy spending time with them, but there is something so peaceful and wonderful about "having to go feed the horses" while my husband mans the toddler for half an hour. Nothing better in all the world.

I enjoy it even in the dead of winter. I can't bear to sit in the house all day. Sometimes on grey days my husband and I squabble over who gets to feed. When that happens I try to bundle the little guy up and take him too, he likes to "help" and we all need some fresh air.

[Cluck]

Yes I adore my little barn, my two horses, dogs, cats and all the chores to look after them.

There is nothing better than getting up before dawn, pulling on lots of layers, gloves, and hat putting on big dog Teddy's harness and leash (lots of deer and coyotes) and going down to greet my horses as the sun starts to rise.

I love my alone time in the morning with my animals. My Lusitano gelding YELLS at me and wants hay immediately and sometimes I get a gentle (and more refined) nicker from my little gaited mare.

I don't mind the hard work at all, even in the depths of winter. There is something so rewarding about looking after animals and being outside in nature.

[hightide]

Count me in. It's one of the only constants in my life atm and I really look forward to it.
My TB is being boarded over the winter so I have access to an indoor and a trainer and better, winter proof pastures for him and it's killing me not being able to do any of the work! Tack up, ride, untack, go home. I'm trying to spend all the time I'd usually spend doing barn chores around him just grooming him and hanging out, but it's just not the same!

[candyappy]

I agree with you 100% !! It was 6 below yesterday morning, but I still don't mind doing barn chores. In addition to 2 horses and a mule to feed and clean up after we have 14 goats, a pig, chickens,2 steers and a cow to milk. They all have to be cleaned up after, water hauled to and fed and it happens day after day, just the same. There is a comfort in the routine, but the happiest I feel is after the barns are clean I like to just watch everyone eating their hay. They seem so contented.......

[amm2cd]

I agree. i love cleaning the stalls, or bringing hay out.

Though the horses are boarded for the winter (no running water in my barn, renovations to make, and access to an indoor arena was a perk), I actually caught myself thinking "Oh, this is so easy with just the two here.... "


So now I have three.

I love every minute of it (sometimes after the fact). Keeping horses keeps me active, gets me outside, and keeps me from thinking about how cold/hot/unfair life is

Better than therapy... though probably just as expensive.

[Trevelyan96]

Yup. I'll spend all day out in the barn looking for things to do. I love cleaning stalls, sweeping the floor, picking up the paddock, you name it. So much so, that I literally lost my center of gravity for the short period of time that my boys were boarded.

[katyb]

I saw and copied this on facebook yesterday. It pretty much sums it all up.


For all the young girls and women with the muckers, half chaps and gloves with a hole in a finger. For the girls who skip a party because they have to get up at 4:30am. The ones who will feed, muck, and repair a fence for the love of their best friend. This is for the girls who can drive a tractor before they can drive a car. For the girls who would rather jump fences than skip rope. This is for the girls who think bailing twine and duct tape are tools. For girls who spend more money having manes and tails braided than have their own hair done. This is for the girls who are excited opening a box with a leather halter in it. Who shovel snow to get to the barn. For the girls who filled a stocking for a horse. Who wear a bracelet or a belt with their horses name on it, not a boy. This is for the girls who dreamed of a pony for Christmas. This is for the dreams we hold and the memories we all share. We know how to love unconditionally because a horse has taught us. This is a lifestyle not a hobby. We are all sisters. ♥

[deltawave]

Love the horses. Mostly love the chores. Sure beats going to the gym!

Since mine live out, it is sort of sad that around this time of year, when I leave and come home in total darkness, I rarely get to see more than the stars or blazes on their faces some days.

I have my place set up so that the most hateful jobs (hauling buckets and hoses in the winter) are eliminated (auto-waterer) and the horses can be looked after with very minimal work on days when I'm super busy. I save the more fun things (and the less fun things!) for days off. But the daily "basics" can be handled in minutes if necessary.

[coloredhorse]

Absolutely love it. Even when I hate it, I love it. There is something soothing and meditative about the rhythm of the chores, day in and day out, and how things shift with the changing seasons. Of course, there are occasional frustrations, but that is true of any area of life at times. I love my farm lifestyle and wouldn't change it for anything.

[gallopinggal]

Absolutely! Honestly love it more than riding. I love it most in winter. I know it sounds crazy but I like bundling up on crisp and crunchy mornings and snuggling my hairy mammoth in his blue blankie and watching him pin his ears since breakfast isn't in the tummy. I swear breakfast is like my horses caffein. After that first bite of hay, he's ready to roll but don't bother before!

[Zu Zu]

ABSOLUTELY !!!!

THE AIR I BREATHE !

THE LIFE I LEAD !

MY HEART AND SOUL !

NOTHING COMPARES ```

[Laurierace]

No, I am just in it for the tons and tons of cash!

[JCS]

Count me in. I'm one of those who loves the feeling you get when everything is done... all the stalls are clean, shed is clean, horses groomed, blankets on, water scrubbed and filled, and everyone is happily eating hay. I love that!

I've always loved doing stalls. There's something so meditative about it. It's like having a zen sand garden. My horses live outside too, but we're going to build two new stalls so they can all come in when the weather's bad (we have 4 horses and only 2 stalls right now) and I'm looking forward to those moments when it's yucky or freezing outside, but everyone's nestled all snug in their stalls at night.

The only thing I don't like about horse chores is mud. You can never get everything clean when the paddock is full of mud. Ugh. I'm ready for it to freeze already so the mud is gone.