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Here is a good one! What is your "favorite" barn chore?

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ymaisred
ymaisred Posts: 15 Member
in Social Groups
Ok, stop right there... riding is not a barn chore... I mean working at the barn/farm?

Ok, so it seems like a lot of us are do-it-ourselfers... folks that are not afraid, dare I say, love to dig in and get our hands dirty. Some but choice, they work off board or lessons; some because, it is their place. So, I am interested in your favorite barn chore(s).

I will start, I love most of them! I did self-care for years and now I tend the 2 pastures that my boy rotates in. I love to move hay/grain, muck stalls, mow, fertilize, scrub water troughs/buckets, fix fences (I would prefer they don't get broken), groom, clean tack, feed. The only things I would rather not do (but will) clean fans take down cobwebs.

I love the smell of the barn and seeing it after I have done some serious sweating.

So, you don't have to name them all (honest, I didn't). But what is your favorite?

Replies

  • TXBelle1174
    TXBelle1174 Posts: 615 Member
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    I enjoy feeding and cleaning tack the most. I don't mind mucking stalls either. I just like being at the barn.
  • rmh84
    rmh84 Posts: 28
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    When I get the chance I actuallt enjoy a couple of days bringing in hay.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
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    I actually enjoy mucking stalls. It's great exercise and I like the satisfaction of seeing the finished product. Least favorite job would probably have to be stacking hay. It too is great exercise, but I don't like the itching and scratching.
  • SophinMaine
    SophinMaine Posts: 48 Member
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    I do barn chores because I board my horse at a friend's backyard place, and when she works nights I help out at the barn while she sleeps the day away!

    My favorite would be turning the horses out in the morning because both my mare and hers are Ottbs and they LOVE a good run, roll, and buck in the chilly morning! The poor pony hides behind trees until they're done.
    Feeding is up there too, of course, since the horses love the people who feed them!

    least favorite has to be lugging buckets of water out to the paddocks in winter, when the hose is frozen solid!

    Even mucking stalls is soothing. I put music on, and I muck away, alone in the quiet of the small barn. No complaints there, unless of course it's freezing out. No fun doing barn chores when it's 10 degrees F out.
  • onawho
    onawho Posts: 196 Member
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    I was a professional groom/barn manager/do it all-er for 20 years. (started very young) I love it all. I HATE cobwebbing!!
  • jingoace
    jingoace Posts: 219 Member
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    I love the smell of freshly cleaned leather. Those old western saddles with the dark oil leather carvings & silver laced cantles were such a chore to clean, but so attractive to the eye & satisfying when you got them all done. Then, to open your barn tack-room door & have the smell of all that freshly cleaned leather is just lovely!

    I also enjoy repainting my jump poles with blindingly white paint. It is a peaceful thing to do, once you get all the set-up done, and the results always seem to make me happier. White poles & fresh silk flowers cheer me up!

    I enjoy feeding my horses & listening to them whicker at me when I'm not fast enough for their tastes, & then their satisfied harumphing sounds as they munch away. Again, a barn "chore" that I enjoy.

    :) J
  • spotteddrafter
    spotteddrafter Posts: 120 Member
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    I work off most of my board, not just because it's a great financial gain, but because I love it! I especially love the sound of the horses as they're munching on their breakfast and dinner. My favorite chore is cleaning stalls. Sometimes I play music, but mostly I just enjoy the quiet - it's great to just "zone out" and clean! :)
  • justagirl2013
    justagirl2013 Posts: 226 Member
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    I love anything pretty much. Well except spiders, snakes and rats. So as long as my chore doesn't involve one of them I'm good! I love stall cleaning the best. There is nothing more that I enjoy seeing than a spotless stall filled with clean fresh shavings, a rack filled with hay and clean water buckets.

    Unfortunately I take lessons and do not own a horse, so for now I'll just take grooming. I've had to start showing up to my lessons earlier because I tend to spend too much time grooming!
  • VesperSparrow
    VesperSparrow Posts: 14
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    Grooming! When I become too creaky to ride I figure I'll volunteer as a groomer/tacker-up.
  • Duckz1
    Duckz1 Posts: 145 Member
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    I like to muck stalls. Sometimes if I have a free morning I'll go help out with that.

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