Where were you raised, a barn?”
Yes I was. And it was a very clean barn. Every fall and winter, I am especially grateful for my years spent out at the barn.
The barn had two long aisles with an indoor riding ring in between. The stalls were mucked out every morning and the aisles were sprinkled with water mixed with a pine-scented disinfectant, then swept.
In the evening, the stalls would be picked out and the aisles would be sprinkled down with the pine water and swept again. There was usually a mid-day scenting and sweeping, too.
That sweeping was great training for raking leaves. It was a lesson in rhythm and pacing, learning to make it down the length of the aisle without sweating too much.
On quiet days my trainer would go through and vacuum cobwebs. He would have horses turned out and he would go in and gently dust the high parts in the stalls to rid them of the sticky webs. Nothing was too good for his horses, and he knew the importance of appearances.
And winter? Well, shoveling snow corresponds pretty well to shoveling manure. Knees bent, scooping the load from underneath to protect the back, sometimes flipping the contents up to get the maximum load. Immediate results are so satisfying.
Raised in barn? Yep, and since I live in a snowy area, I am really glad I was.
Yes I was. And it was a very clean barn. Every fall and winter, I am especially grateful for my years spent out at the barn.
The barn had two long aisles with an indoor riding ring in between. The stalls were mucked out every morning and the aisles were sprinkled with water mixed with a pine-scented disinfectant, then swept.
In the evening, the stalls would be picked out and the aisles would be sprinkled down with the pine water and swept again. There was usually a mid-day scenting and sweeping, too.
That sweeping was great training for raking leaves. It was a lesson in rhythm and pacing, learning to make it down the length of the aisle without sweating too much.
On quiet days my trainer would go through and vacuum cobwebs. He would have horses turned out and he would go in and gently dust the high parts in the stalls to rid them of the sticky webs. Nothing was too good for his horses, and he knew the importance of appearances.
And winter? Well, shoveling snow corresponds pretty well to shoveling manure. Knees bent, scooping the load from underneath to protect the back, sometimes flipping the contents up to get the maximum load. Immediate results are so satisfying.
Raised in barn? Yep, and since I live in a snowy area, I am really glad I was.
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