6.30 am. Staff arrive and the first thing we do is feed the horses. We all feel it is important to leave them to eat quietly for half an hour. The evening feeds are prepared and the feeds for the following morning which are stacked in the feed room ready. As we go round feeding we check previous nights feed has been eaten, check legs and see there are healthy droppings.
7 am. Start mucking out, taking of top night rugs where needed and preparing first horses to go on walker, this means changing rugs and putting on boots. As they are mucked out the morning hay is put in. This routine continues till 8.30 when Carl arrives to ride his first horse. This will have been warmed under the solarium and tacked up and walked ready for Carl.
8.30 am. Once Carl is on his first horse the yard is swept, while the rest of us continue to take horses on and off the walker and get Carl’s second horse ready and walk off his first horse, usually down the drive and back, before it is bathed or groomed.
9 am – 2 pm. Charlotte and Lucy start to ride the young horses and we continue with each of Carl’s horses. All Carl’s horses are walked ready for him to get on and walked off when he finishes. This is a really busy time with all the wash bays in use and everyone really focussed to get all the horses finished by 2pm.
2 pm. Time to sit down and have lunch, we do start tack cleaning and filling the washing machine during lunch hour. Carl will have gone to started teaching by now.
3 pm. We spend the afternoons cleaning tack, tidying the wash bays, emptying and re-filling the washing machine, folding cooler rugs used in the morning and general tidying of the yard.
4 pm. Back on the yard to start grooming horses that have not been ridden, putting on top rugs, skipping out and taking round the hay trolley. Donald is walked in-hand for 20 minutes.
5 pm. The evening feeds and hay are taken round then the hay trolley is re-stacked for the morning and the morning feeds are piled into the wheelbarrow ready for the next day. The barn is tidied, the yard is swept tidy and the horses are left in peace.
5.30 pm. The arenas are levelled when needed at the end of the day and all the wash boxes have a hose down and final tidy. In the tack room to do a final tidy, wash the floor and have a cup of tea and discuss how the day went and anything that needs to be put on the board for tomorrow. This is the time for everyone to have a say and discuss any problems or concerns. It is important for everyone to feel involved and this makes for a good team atmosphere.
9.30 pm. Late night check, a quick look round to see they are all comfortable and well.
This describes a normal day at home, in addition we need to arrange and supervise Farrier, Vet, Physio, Dentist, saddle fittings, rug repairs/cleaning collection, clipping, ordering feed and yard essentials, unloading deliveries etc.
Weekly Routine
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday : All the horses are worked as above.
Wednesdays and Saturday: Horses are hacked for an hour.
Sunday: Horses day off. Turned out where appropriate or on walker. This gives us a day to catch up on other jobs like pulling manes and tails, cleaning the horsebox and all the other jobs that crop up.