Another Thanksgiving achieved! Happy Black Friday to you! I’m pretty sure Black Friday will mean something very different to you than it does to us.
Our version involves paddocks and copious amounts of rain! Ours is costly in many different ways! Horse shoes have a habit of being sucked off hooves, hay gets wet and dirty because, try as you might some animals just love emptying hay bags! Chores become a far more time consuming and arduous task. Wheelbarrow wheels disappear in deep, odious muddy channels. Thank goodness we’re all over a certain height because I’m sure we’d loose people if they were shorter! Equines appear to regard mud as a beautifying wonder application for all over body, head and ear use. This results in very fine airborne particles when the coating actually dries out enough to be brushed out. We train our equines to accept the shop vac both around the barn and as a grooming tool!
This job is not for the faint of heart, poor weather adverse individuals, schedule orientated persons with a need for a steady eight hours sleep, preferably during night time hours! This is for the extreme animal lover, outside of the box thinker, ‘drop everything for the herds’ individual. An ability to disregard the schedule, find another way, go the whole distance and beyond with a healthy ‘devil may care’ attitude to sleep, manicures, helmet/hat hair and finding a pair of boots/shoes that don’t smell of manure is not just required, it’s a necessity. Not that I’m saying our volunteers are smelly and disheveled but I do know that Janine and I have been out in the civilized world and had to check in with each other regarding the ‘smell-o’ level of our smart (clean) boots!
Let’s just put it out there, the pay is beyond dismal. The rewards, for the right person, are beyond one’s wildest imagination. We tick the boxes for contentment, happiness, worthwhile connections, respect with a healthy dose of seeking to bring the best out of our rescues while accommodating them to the highest standards. We are beyond fortunate to have a volunteer base that brings dedication, calmness, love and a sense of humor. They have barn clothes, brushes, imagination and grit. Probably best to decline arm wrestling with a GF volunteer unless you’ve been in training for years! This groups of people have a common bond, very different skills and have meshed together into a cohesive band of friends. We are beyond grateful and extremely lucky.
Finally, as Goldy’s Farm, Janine and I deploy the strategy that we keep our herds and flocks to a level that, in an emergency, she and I could manage to maintain to a safe and happy standard, by ourselves over a sustained amount of time. Our team currently care for, five large horses, four mini horses, one draft mule, ten donkeys, two mini mules, two zebu, nine goats, three dogs, two alpacas, ten sheep, two rabbits, and a flock of chickens that don’t stay still long enough to count! Wish us luck and no emergencies in our future!
