My work schedule rotates as follows, one week I work Mon, Tues, Fri and then next week I work Wed, Thurs, Fri. Back and forth... So my "off" days are filled with errands and chores and grocery shopping etc. but also are my barn days. This past Tuesday I went out to the barn about ten in the morning after getting some house cleaning done- which is torture for me- I don't understand why I would rather clean up horse/chicken poop than fold laundry and I know it doesn't make sense, but anyway, I bribed myself to do housework with the promise of a barn afternoon.
The weather was gorgeous. One of those fall days that literally makes you feel guilty if you spend it inside. When I arrived and rolled down the windows to say hello to the mares as I drove down the driveway, they trotted to the gate to greet me- which makes me feel very special. Jazz is NOT a super affectionate mare. Geldings tend to be more affectionate, and Ember is pretty affectionate as far as mares go, but Jazz distributes her love as only she sees fit. Today she immediately lifted her head at the sound of my voice and trotted to the gate to greet me with Ember following behind- so there my therapy began.
I know I don't have human children, but I absolutely do know how amazing it feels to be loved by another being. The fact that Jazz is rather picky about who she loves and how she shows it makes me feel even more special. When I first got her, I waited MONTHS to hear her nicker at me when I approached her. She still doesn't do it regularly, but her and I have a connection and she has funny ways of whispering her affection.
So I let the mares into the small paddock area around the barn to eat the "good grass" while I cleaned out stalls and tended to the chickens. Both of them immediately headed towards the hay storage because they are lazy and opportunistic and yummy hay is so much easier to eat than actually having to make the effort to graze! Busted...
I let the chickens out and marveled for a moment at how big they are getting. A mere six weeks ago, they were tiny tiny little balls of fuzz that we had to hand feed and now they are big and pretty and full of personality. They have been handled daily since hatching so they are very friendly and anyone who tells you chickens don't have personalities doesn't have chickens! They are quite individual, some are adventurous and some are shy, some are cuddly and some standoffish. Now that they are teenagers, they are testing their wings out and when I let them out they scurry out of the pen and flap and fly a few feet before finding a butterfly to chase or a yummy bug to eat. They also have started following me around- which is cute and also a little annoying. They usually just follow me outside, but today they were following me into the stalls and getting under the wheelbarrow and I even misted a few of them with the water hose- much to their delight it turns out!
We still have to thin our flock and as soon as we know exactly who are roosters, we will have to give them away or sell them- and I am already preparing myself for this. Buddha is def. a rooster- and has a bit of a tude and is literally the ugliest chicken I have EVER seen. He gets uglier by the day! I'm pretty sure Goldilocks is a rooster as well because he practices cocka-doodle-dooing even though no sound comes out. That would leave us with six- which is a pretty reasonable number, so I'm praying those are the only two roosters! See buddha- the ugly one front and center:
Back to Tuesday... after the chickens were out playing and the mares were munching on hay, I went about my chores. Jazz came in her stall for a few minutes to hang out with me and Ember inspected the chickens as always. I groomed Jazz as she ate and was proud that she's getting really good about tolerating all my fussing over her while she eats. She used to spin circles to avoid being brushed but I stopped currying her and she's much more into the grooming now. Grooming a horse is a relaxing process. I know every part of her and it's nice to know that she's ok and healthy and even her funky fungus on her cannon bones is going away. She turned to me and flapped her lips along my shoulder and breathed that big sigh out- which means she's relaxed and happy- as was I. The chickens threatened to come in her stall with us, but no one was brave enough to come in with the big horse for their dust baths. Ember stood outside the barn door softly nickering to Jazz to make sure she wasn't planning on going anywhere. After I finished doing water buckets and shavings and hay and cleaning the chicken pen I decided to ride. I put Jazz in the cross ties and Ember put herself in her stall so I closed her stall guard to keep her in while we rode.
*Disclaimer- Riding alone is not a great idea, let me just throw that out there. I do it often because it's a necessity and I also am very cautious. I wear a helmet, proper boots, gloves etc. EVERY time I ride. I check my tack before and after every ride- it's just second nature. I do it to my friends too and if I ever come ride with you or watch you ride I will check your tack and fix your keepers and probably look at the billets on your saddle- I don't even realize I'm doing it. So I feel fairly confident that I won't faceplant into the pasture due to some tack malfunction. Horses are inherently unpredictable but not inherently mean, and after riding for a long time, especially the same horse, you begin to learn to feel their mood through body language. Horses often give a rider AMPLE warning cues before they act naughty.*
I know Jazz well and I know exactly what she does with her body before she bucks (she shortens her neck and stride and coils her hind end underneath me) and often before she decides to increase our pace (hollows out her neck and stiffens her shoulders). So I feel FAIRLY confident that if she does misbehave, I am capable of handling it. So I ride alone, and even though I wouldn't suggest it, there is something about the feeling of just you and your horse that is peaceful and exhilarating. We birdwatch and I talk to her and she flicks her ears around alerting me to the animals and sights around us that I don't notice like she does. She tends to know my moods and she knew Tuesday that I needed a good gallop. After some trot serpentines and nice canter work from her, she picked up a canter and pricked her ears and said "let's go mom". So I indulged her and just sat in two point and grabbed some mane and let her go- as her back stretches and drops into the gallop, her neck lengthens and those ears are confidently pricked, but still flick back to listen to me. We did a quick lap around the pasture and ended our ride with a long walk. Both of us breathing audibly. I dropped my stirrups and lengthened my reins and just enjoyed the weather and the breeze and the sweet smell of horse and grass and closed my eyes for a minute. As I reached down to pat her neck she headed back to the gate looking forward to dinner and joining Ember in the barn.
I untacked her in the aisle crossties and she stood still without being tied, rubbing her head on me as I walked by asking for a scratch and a treat. I whispered to her that I loved her and thanked her for a great ride and always taking care of me. She put her head on my chest and paused for a moment.
You can't pay for therapy like that. Between the cooing and chirping of happy chickens, and the sights and sounds of the barn, and the feel of a horse galloping beneath you- there just isn't anything better. Even with the tremendous amount of work the barn requires, I always leave there relaxed and refreshed, and thankful for the opportunity to enjoy a simple Tuesday afternoon- picking up poop and riding my horse.
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