Horsekeeping
Our horses live out. Milton is the one who mostly uses the stall: for a few minutes at mealtimes and when Rodney is working in the pasture or away on a trip. So, the stall is only occupied a handful of hours each week. Since Milton prefers not to pee in his house, spot cleaning of the poop is all that is needful.
As a result, I go weeks without having to strip the stall. When I do, I’m usually tossing out old, uneaten hay as much as old bedding. Rake everything into a pile. Remove pile. Fill any holes that have developed. Adjust mats. Let air. Slice open shavings bag. Dump. Spread.
Is there anything prettier than a clean, raked stall with a pile of clean shavings in the center?
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 
Love it. I worked at the barn for a few weeks and it was very satisfying, in its way. Only then I got an infection in my face and almost died, so that was the end of that. Probably just as well, it put a lot of strain on my spine.
End of summer. Did 11 loads of laundry in 2 days. Same feeling.
If I remember correctly, your first ribbon, way back in summer camp, was for mucking out stalls. They called it something else but, as your grandfather said at the time, a ribbon for shoveling…!” It amused him. Both that you were so eager and that there was an award for it.
Some things don’t change.
d&t: Sorry to hear about your face. How awful.
J: Awards for shoveling came from Longacres (second camp). I don’t remember Fireplace (first camp) letting us take care of the horses. Maybe they let the older kids. But yeah, shoveling awards. I think I earned the whole series.