I haven't spend much time at the barn riding lately, because of the weather. It's been cold and damp. This is about the time that I fall out of love with Fall. It's great that the weather changes and the leaves turn golden and the sun seems to make everything grow, however, it's just a matter of time before the rain comes (in Pittsburgh it's inevitable) and the ground stays wet instead of drying.
The trails have been muddy and slippery to the point where I'm afraid Angie would slip going downhill, and that could be disastrous for both of us. The outdoor arena also has not had ideal footing. Last week she slipped going around a corner, and I won't attempt jumping if she slips doing ground work. So, it's been slow going for me.
I've still enjoyed being at the barn- there are always things to do there. The barn owner went out of town to a horse show, so I was cleaning stalls for her. Usually the country music is streaming out of the radio on Y108, but I turn it down when I'm there alone. It was peaceful to clean stalls in the evening after Grandma Donna has fed. The only sound would be the horses nosing through their hay to find the best pieces and the swish of their tails.
I took my time, shaking out all of the sawdust from the pick before throwing the waste in the muck bucket. The repetitive motion of this for twelve stalls relaxed my mind, letting me think over things, letting me get ideas for my Thesis and Nature Writing essay together. I loved it, even if by the end of the night my shoulders and arm muscles ached like I had been bench pressing all evening. My back was grateful to be in bed by the end of the night. Hard work is something to appreciate though.
I am grateful of my experience to own Angie and to have been around horses my entire life. I feel that I don't shy away from hard work. I do what I have to. With horses you can't choose to clean their stall, they're not children- they can't do it themselves, so you have to. I cleaned twelve stalls daily for five days, adding sawdust to at least six stalls each day (we had just completely stripped all of the stalls so they all needed to be built up again) and didn't complain. I have to say that being around these magnificent animals has contributed to my character and I cannot be more thankful for it. I think everyone deserves to be around horses at least once in their lives.
I loved how you mentioned you turned down the music and used other sound descriptors, such as "horses nosing through their hay" and "the swish of their tails." I could hear the silence in this post.
ReplyDeleteThere's something satisfying, as you've evoked here, about solitary work, hard and meaningful work that allows us plenty of time for reflection.
ReplyDeleteThe hard work that you do for horses is amazing. I have experienced similar thoughts and experiences (on a much, much smaller scale, of course) while caring for my cats. I think it's so cool that animals can bring out positive traits in people.
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