Everyday Barn Chores and volunteer positions
Knowledge & Skills Needed:
Location of premeasured hay for morning feed and how to distribute the hay throughout the pasture.
Quick morning wellness check & what to make note of before turning out.
Herd hierarchy and turnout order.
Know which stall doors need to be checked.
Location of water troughs and hose.
Double check that pasture gates are all locked even if you haven’t used the gate yourself!
Know your contact person and their cell #.
Have your cell phone on your person and charged at all times!!!!
Morning feed & turnout
Time: 7 am (about and hour)
Training needed!
Put pre-measured hay out into multiple small piles throughout the pasture.
Do a quick check to make sure that each pony/horse is well. No lacerations, colic, lameness or illness. And, the normal amount of manure is present.
Turn horses/ponies out of their stalls while understanding and respecting the herd heirarchy.
Double check that all stall doors, both front and back are secured properly after pony is out of the stall.
Check water troughs to make sure that horses will have clean and adequate amount of water while in the pasture.
Check to make sure that all pasture gates are securely locked (even if you haven’t used the gate yourself).
Please call your contact person with anything that may even seem slightly off or just not right!
Have your cell phone on you at all times, especially if you are alone, and please make sure it has a good charge on it!
Knowledge & Skills Needed:
What tools are needed and where to find an them.
A demonstration of how the stalls should be cleaned and what they will look like afterwards.
Where to sprinkle shavings in stall and how much to use.
Rationale: fly control, minimization of ammonia in stall and hoof health.
Not the volunteer spot for you if you have any restrictions lifting!
Stall Cleaning
Time: 8:30 am (about 1 hour)
Requires healthy back and shoulders for lifting and repetitive movements!
Training Needed!
Gather all tools ahead of time to save footsteps (you’ll thank me later!)
Pick up any manure in the barn aisle.
Gather up all manure and wet shavings from the stalls and dump into muck buckets.
Leave clean shavings from the night before in the stall but pick out as much manure shred as possible. (oh, joy!)
Place muck buckets with soiled shavings and manure into the ‘dirty’ wheel barrow.
Lightly sprinkle clean shavings on the back half of the stall.
Check for fresh water, skim out dust etc, and top up water if necessary. Do not fill more than half way!
Return the tools and wheel barrow with muck buckets to spot behind container for pick up and disposal.
Please call your contact person with anything that may even seem slightly off or just not right!
Have your cell phone on you at all times, especially if you are alone, and please make sure it has a good charge on it!
Knowledge & Skills Needed:
Where to find the tools.
How to place the tools in the ‘dirty’ wheel barrow safely to minimize any injuries to curious or spooked ponies. No wandering around like a unicorn with muck handles sticking straight out in front of you!
What to do with all the manure buckets and tools when you’re finished.
Know the rationale for mucking pastures every day.
TIP: Gloves will really save your hands from minor injuries and hard dry skin. Very much recommended!
Mucking the Pastures
Time: 9:30 am
Requires healthy back and shoulders for lifting and repetitive movements!
Quick Demo Needed to Share Tips
Load up ‘dirty’ wheel barrow with tools and buckets.
Head out and scoop poop!
The hidden poop is usually under the trees and around pasture fence line. These are the favorite spots. Behind the round pen is also a prime spot!
If there is any manure in the pasture that does not look ‘normal’ please let your contact person know. This is an important one!
Be aware that our pasture spaces were used for many activities for a very long time, so please watch for any debris that may come to the surface in the pasture. This includes everything from beer cans, bottles, pieces of glass, metal arrow heads, tools and pieces of cars. Please put anything you find in your bucket and we will dispose of it.
When finished return the equipment and manure buckets behind the container for removal.
Please call your contact person with anything that may even seem slightly off or just not right!
Have your cell phone on you at all times, especially if you are alone, and please make sure it has a good charge on it!
