A Long Hiatus

My last post was on April 1st, 2011. Over four months ago. A lot has changed in four months, including my job, my living situation, and my boyfriend (who, after six years, has gone from boyfriend to fiancée).

One of the great things about being a barn manager is that you get to live (usually free of charge) where you work. This was the case at my previous job. I lived with my boyfriend (now fiancée – following me so far?) in an old three bedroom farmhouse that was a hop, skip, and a jump from the equestrian center that I spent the majority of my time at. No rent, no utilities, no repair expenses. My two horses lived free as well (I did have to pay for their utility and repair expenses; I’m still working on a repair expense to the tune of $600, as a matter of fact). It was all nice and cozy. [on a side note, the picture is of my new apartment, not the old house]

One of the worst things about being a barn manager is that you get to live where you work. Lose your job, you lose everything: your home, your utility free way of life, your nice one minute commute, and board for your horses. I think it was those fears that kept me at my old job longer than I should have stayed, and were ultimately the reason I left.

I now live in a beautiful open concept apartment above the barn that I manage. There are ten horses (including my Poppy and Darwin) instead of twenty, and four dogs in addition to my two, but it has been a lovely, calm, and comfortable transition (and it doesn’t hurt that the owners, who are kind, generous people to work for in their own right, are out of state for two weeks). Poppy and Darwin not only have free board, they have their own barn. Yes, they have to share that barn with two goats, but for right now everyone is ignoring each other and they’re getting along just fine.

This new barn management position also comes with benefits, something I did not have at the last place, and some other new things as well: I will be actively riding and training the owner’s eight horses (so far that’s been a swift kick in the ass to get in shape, as I rarely rode at my last job; my thighs hate me right now), I will not be teaching any lessons to start, and when I settle in only a few per week at my choosing, I will be babysitting and carpooling – which comes with the territory when you agree to manage a private family farm, and I will once again be immersed in the world of homeopathic medicine (more on that later).

So that is what has happened to me over the past four months. It was a rocky road getting to where I am now, but I’m happy and content with my decision. I know it won’t always be roses and rainbows, but I’m OK with that too. Darwin and Poppy are unbelievably happy, the dogs can run off their leashes without the fear of running in the road, and I have time to write my blog again.

All is well.

All About Me

As the heading of this blog states, I am in fact a barn manager. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, I am the person who takes care of other people’s horses night and day, through sleet and sunshine, and every holiday you can think of. I get fifty two full days off a year (at least that’s what it says in my contract). I’m the first one at the barn in the morning and the last one to leave at night. I own more boots than I do purses, I don’t wear makeup, and I consider “dressing up” to be a clean shirt and semi-clean jeans.

I live on the farm that I manage in a one hundred year old three bedroom farmhouse with my boyfriend of six years. He’s a math teacher and knows next to nothing about horses (thank God). We have two dogs: a fifty pound mutt and a twenty pound mutt. I’m sure you will be hearing lots about them later on.

I have two of my own horses. Darwin, an eight year old thoroughbred gelding, has been with me since I was a sophomore in college. He is 17.1 hands of pure teddy bear and hates the color white (along with ponies, trailers, indoor arenas, new places, the trail, puddles, anything that resembles a jump, and the wind). I bought my second horse, a belgian halflinger cross that I named Poppy, four months ago from a dealer who most likely bought her at an auction for the price of slaughter (unfortunately, I didn’t get to pay that price when I bought her). She is 1400lbs pounds of pure beast and is adjusting very well to eating four times a day, being blanketed on cold nights, and having her very own stall to call home.

I am not a spectacular rider, but I can hold my own. I am a good riding instructor and have just around forty clients that I teach on a weekly basis (in addition to caring for the farm’s twenty horses).

So that’s me in a nutshell. I also enjoy reading, going to the movies, and I love Applebees. Chinese takeout is also high on the list. Pizza too. Hey, when you’re running a farm and a lesson program 24/7, who has time to cook?