To begin, I don't live on-site which is both convenient and inconvenient. I must get up an extra 6 1/2 mins earlier to drive to work and when you have to get up at 5:15am, that's a lot of sleep! And i use quite a bit more fuel, but I think I would rather have it that way. I have lived both on-site and off-site in previous jobs and when you live there you never see anything else and that can sometimes make or break you! It's a good way to get away from work, it's different scenery, different people; it's good for the brain.
With regards to the yard, It's a professional and well thought out setup. All stables and arena facilities are within close proximity with suitable ground surface throughout the whole yard. Unsightly things such as the muckheap/tractors/hay/straw are all stored in a huge shed round the back of the indoor arena and main stable yard. Situated there for both security reasons and also aesthetics! Our stables are split into sections; a young horse barn consisting of 5 big stalls; a stallion barn, where all the big boys sleep! Along with the prolific Grandfather, the cheeky, loud and gorgeous Breitling. We then have the main stables that are attached to our huge full size indoor. This section accommodates 24 horses, 2 tack up boxes, 2 wash boxes and 2 hot air dryers as well as the tack room\laundry room, small feed room and other little rooms and storage areas.
With regards to our daily routine; We start at 6am every morning, an exception is made for public holidays and weekends where we start at 7am. You may all be surprised to hear that Public holidays are respected by the horse business over here and luckily for us the first 6 months of the year contain around 2 a month or more! For the moment there are 5 of us and the 2 bosses. One girl will clean 24 of the stables, usually taking her no longer than 1hr 30mins! Yes, 1hr 30mins!! She is a machine, one of the quickest most efficient girls iv ever worked with. The other three then have their own jobs of tacking up horses for the riders and putting the young horses and Breitling in the field. Both bosses and myself are on our first horses for 6:30am. Frau Wittig will ride between 6 and 7, Herr Wittig between 3 and 4 and I will have anything between 7 and 11, it normally averages out around 8 which is a comfortable amount...at least I no longer have to watch what I eat!! I am normally able to ride 6 in the morning which takes us to 1 o'clock which is lunchtime. Aswell as the horses being exercised in the morning they get groomed extensively before riding, which is good for their muscles. After riding they get washed well in warm water and placed under the hot air dryers to dry. Once dry, they have their rugs on, hoof oil and back in their stable to rest. The top horses or the ones that have worked especially hard or had previous injuries will have cold boots on and Like Ice. Feet and legs are treated with the utmost importance and checked religiously for even the slightest changes. We are all responsible for our own horses legs and are expected to know when there has been a change.
Our lunch break is 2hrs long which I must say I need. It gives us enough time to eat, digest and have that all important power nap! It's common for people to have 2hrs for lunch here. Our afternoon starts at 3 and we generally have 2 horses each to ride. This time is also used for us to lunge 3 yr olds, spend time with foals and have those all important lessons from the 2 legends that we work for. I mostly get help everyday, on every horse, as I'm constantly in the arena with them and the others will have help between 4-5 times a week and usually on both/all of their horses. I don't know any other place in England where that can be said! Afternoon jobs also include putting the stable bandages on, cleaning the yard of spider webs and dust, sweeping the drive and outside entrance area, washing of equipment and pulling in the edges on the track that builds up into a little ridge over the course of the day. We have a weekly rota for the arena...i can assure you it's a killer!! And the most hated job amongst all of us! To make our job easier we have a sit-on sweeper for outside and not a day goes by when it is not used!! We also have a bandage rolling machine, which I must admit is up there with electricity and running water! When there are 32 horses in a day being worked plus stable bandages etc, that causes some serious RSI!!!
Everyday is the same apart from Friday. Friday afternoon is used for cleaning. Horses are made as normal and then the wash boxes, tack up boxes and dryers are all power hosed and Cillit Bang'd with the drains cleaned etc. Tackroom, kitchen are cleaned also and so is the indoor arena. This is consists of de-cobwebbing , kickboards brushed and mirrors polished. Cleaning day can be long but I love seeing the yard fresh and spotless ready for the next week.
Weekends are a little more relaxed. Starting at 7, we lunge all the easy, non-complicated horses until around 9:30/10am when the bosses usually come out to ride their important horses. Most Saturdays just 2 people work and we are finished about 4:30pm. Sundays only one person will work and after feeding/haying/strawing, the Grand Prix horses will be walked, along with the horses that have past injuries as it is not good for them to stand in and get stiff. They believe that by moving everyday and thus keeping the blood supply to these areas flowing, prevents the risk of a reoccurring injury and I completely agree! Sundays we finish around 2:30/3pm. I personally like this way of working, I realise we have limited free time in the weekday evenings, especially as the long days and so many horses kill my energy levels but hard work is rewarded with a good day off system. It doesn't work for everyone and I'm sure many would dislike this system but then you have to think how much you want it. A job with horses has no daily time limit as they are not machines you switch off after using.
