Barn Work

Though I work with horses at least five days a week, it's not so often that I actually do "barn work" - cleaning stalls, sweeping aisles, dropping grain and refilling water buckets. For the past several years, I've been fortunate to teach at EAAT facilities where this work is done by paid barn staff, who are assisted by wonderful volunteers. Most of the time, I show up as this work is being finished, and teach.

However, this weekend, a friend is out of town and asked if I'd feed her horses and tend her barn. Horse care is hard work (I don't want to downplay that!) and doing it well requires knowledge, training and skill. Caring for my friend's horses this weekend, I have been reminded there are also many pleasures of barn work.

There is something rewarding about being the first person in the barn in the morning, the horses waking up to your footfalls, beginning to nicker or paw for their feed. There is something rhythmic about scooping and dropping grain, then going about the tasks of removing blankets, dressing turn out boots, fly-spraying. There is the slight adrenaline rush of turning out very large and energetic animals who are especially eager to greet a still-damp pasture on a quiet, sunny morning.

Finally, there is definitely something meditative about cleaning stalls - the slow and careful act of removing piles and pieces of manure, sweeping up the pee spot, spreading the bedding. It is a great time for thinking: just enough physicality to distract you from your problems, not so physically difficult as to be unpleasant. There is the wonderful smell of barn dust, settling over your hair and clothing.

Of course, I recognize that this is the glorified version of morning barn work. I don't do it often, so it feels special and fun. But I was grateful to be reminded of the pleasures of being in a barn and not asking the horses to work. Just taking care of them, appreciating and hopefully meeting their needs. I've missed that!