Yesterday I filled in for one of the barn's weekend muckers who had gone out of town for Christmas. I usually take her slot a couple times during the year, which is nice when the credit for the work gets applied to knock the board costs down a bit. I find it relaxing to work at the barn, alongside the horses, and chat with the other women who are mucking. It's a nice time to catch up on their news as well as completely random topics that come up. The forecast called for freezing rain, rain and high winds as a front came through the area, so we didn't turn the horses out. They were all quiet for much of the morning, just munching their hay and hanging out. Even Dude, who normally gets a bit antsy when he doesn't get turned out, was happy to eat his hay, and then hang his head into the aisle and doze. There's something so peaceful about the scene.
I've become a wimp in my old age; my back and shoulders were aching last night! When we first got involved with horses, the kids worked in the barn during the summer and I took over their mucking chores one day per week once they went back to school in the fall. There were days I'd do 14-plus stalls. Now I feel like I'm hitting the wall at about eight. Of course when I was doing all those stalls I was having frequent lower back issues. After an MRI and many visits to the chiropractor and physical therapist, I think I'm being much smarter about it. Taking care to lift with my legs, and never bending so as to put strain on my back. Knock on wood, it's been fine.
I guess they need a person to supplement the Sunday mucking crew, but I'm a little wary of committing to a weekly mucking schedule. Both for fear of what it will do to my back, but also because I don't want to be locked in to it. It does eat much of the day, from 7:30 am until about noon. I feel like I already spend so much time there, without adding more hours!
No comments:
Post a Comment