It's Early, But Hey
Early to be writing an entry today, I mean.
Today was a little smoother at the barn, but I was still there for about 2 hours. The best word to describe this morning is wet. The horses couldn't even go out because it was raining pretty heavily the whole time I was there, so I had to tie them out in the aisle one at a time while I cleaned their stalls. They were very messy again today, so I guess that's just how they are.
When I talked with Sharon about the job last Saturday, she complained to me about one of the last girls she hired, and how she used to take an insane amount of shavings out of the stalls everyday. Sharon didn't like this because she had to keep buying packages of new bedding, since this girl went through so much of it. At the time, I agreed that was unnecessary-- but now I think that girl had the right idea! Sharon doesn't want too much bedding in the stalls anyway, so I didn't replace any yesterday and only used one bag between two of the stalls today. Problem is, none of the three horses are particularly "neat." Sometimes horses will have one corner that they always go in with another area as the designated pee spot. Not so with these guys. One of the horses is especially bad, and his stall's taken me the longest both times. Also, she uses rubber mats underneath the shavings and those don't absorb pee at all, so the spots tend to get really spread out and huge. I'm trying not to be wasteful, but I can totally understand how the previous girl went through so much bedding.
Yeah, but the "best" part of the morning was right before I left, when I had to go dump out the wheelbarrows. The manure pile is not very close to the barn (fire hazard and attracts flies, otherwise) and, as I said, it was raining steadily. That in itself was not a problem; what WAS troublesome was how the path to the pile was more like one long pond. And there was no way around it or other way to get there! :/ You may remember how my parents "accidentally" threw out my old barn boots, so I've just been wearing my old sneakers instead.
Big, deep puddle - 4
My sneakers - 0
The best thing was, the closer you got to the pile, the more the "water" actually became run-off from the manure and pee-soaked bedding. It was unavoidable. Besides, I'd be walking through the cleaner water again on my way back to the barn, heh.
So yeah, time to invest in a new pair of work boots, methinks. :p
Gonna start moving things into Rich's apartment tonight. It's mostly going to be odds and ends for now. There are a lot of things I can't really bring over there til last minute.
Ice cream time!
Today was a little smoother at the barn, but I was still there for about 2 hours. The best word to describe this morning is wet. The horses couldn't even go out because it was raining pretty heavily the whole time I was there, so I had to tie them out in the aisle one at a time while I cleaned their stalls. They were very messy again today, so I guess that's just how they are.
When I talked with Sharon about the job last Saturday, she complained to me about one of the last girls she hired, and how she used to take an insane amount of shavings out of the stalls everyday. Sharon didn't like this because she had to keep buying packages of new bedding, since this girl went through so much of it. At the time, I agreed that was unnecessary-- but now I think that girl had the right idea! Sharon doesn't want too much bedding in the stalls anyway, so I didn't replace any yesterday and only used one bag between two of the stalls today. Problem is, none of the three horses are particularly "neat." Sometimes horses will have one corner that they always go in with another area as the designated pee spot. Not so with these guys. One of the horses is especially bad, and his stall's taken me the longest both times. Also, she uses rubber mats underneath the shavings and those don't absorb pee at all, so the spots tend to get really spread out and huge. I'm trying not to be wasteful, but I can totally understand how the previous girl went through so much bedding.
Yeah, but the "best" part of the morning was right before I left, when I had to go dump out the wheelbarrows. The manure pile is not very close to the barn (fire hazard and attracts flies, otherwise) and, as I said, it was raining steadily. That in itself was not a problem; what WAS troublesome was how the path to the pile was more like one long pond. And there was no way around it or other way to get there! :/ You may remember how my parents "accidentally" threw out my old barn boots, so I've just been wearing my old sneakers instead.
Big, deep puddle - 4
My sneakers - 0
The best thing was, the closer you got to the pile, the more the "water" actually became run-off from the manure and pee-soaked bedding. It was unavoidable. Besides, I'd be walking through the cleaner water again on my way back to the barn, heh.
So yeah, time to invest in a new pair of work boots, methinks. :p
Gonna start moving things into Rich's apartment tonight. It's mostly going to be odds and ends for now. There are a lot of things I can't really bring over there til last minute.
Ice cream time!
posted by Erica at 11:04 AM
3 Comments:
The joy of manual labour :) I used to move pianos and do gardening in my university days.
In terms of careers, I always recommend picking up some skills through education. It means after a while you can rely on them rather than back-breaking work.
---
On your boss and the bedding, it seems you might be able to do this:
1) She wants to use less bedding. But her set up and her horses means that it would be better if you used more bedding.
It seems that you are torn between two incompatible outcomes.
If it were me, and if my boss were the reasonable type, I would try to talk to her. Tell her why there is a case for using more bedding, and see how she responds. Even come up with some alternate solutions - ie something other than rubber mats which - would mean that you and the horses could get the best of both worlds. You might be able to do research on the internet to find alternative answers.
Also, did she specify how much bedding was too much bedding. The girl before you might have thrown out twice as much as you think is unreasonable. It might be worth getting the boss to quantify how much she thinks is too much.
Of course, your boss might be an arsehole - in which case the best defence is to look after yourself.
Anyways, it's a long, long time since I had to work as hard as you did. Hope these ideas help you structure your thoughts.
Cheers
Pax, don't worry about this becoming a career for me, haha. I love horses, but I am also a history major and there may actually be a way for me to combine both those interests in the future. There is a big museum dedicated to horses in Kentucky and I'm thinking of applying there after I graduate college. The barn work I'm doing now is just a temporary thing. :)
Re: the bedding matter. Today I went ahead and cleaned the stalls thoroughly and used as much bedding as I saw fit. Not an excessive amount, but what *I* would consider "just right." If she has a problem with this, I will definitely state my reasons why.
You're absolutely right, that talking to her would be the best option but she's actually not around in the mornings while I'm there. And no, she never showed me what she considered her "ideal" amount of bedding. I'm sure that if she has a problem with what I'm doing that she'd leave me a note or give me a call; otherwise, I'm just gonna keep doing things my way.
I'm probably going to call her for other reasons in a few days. I'll explain to her how the stalls are always very messy and ask if what I've been doing is okay or if she has any suggestions. She seems like a reasonable person, so I'm not afraid to talk to her or anything.
Thanks for the comments. :)
It sounds like a good way forward.
Also, reading your later posts I see that you're taking into consideration your work loads - ie college, + work. Very important. Life is hard when you are too tired to live it.
I was sorry to read about you and your boyfriend (? Rich). I hope things work out.
Post a Comment
<< Home