The Twins

The importance of routines

Sarah Simmons

(11/2020) Over the past year, I’ve learned a lot about horses. But one of the most important and unexpected things I’ve noticed about horses is that they need a routine, just like I do. And their routine changes from morning till night and also with the seasons, just like mine do.

On the days that Emma and I ride early, I get to help with the horses’ morning schedule. They get up early like all the other barn animals do. Mike has two cats that sleep in the barn, Will and Q, and two dogs, Troy and Jake that come out first thing in the morning with Mike.

When Mike, Emma, and I first walk into the barn in the mornings, it’s very quiet. The barn is cool and dark with light coming in from the windows. Everything is very still. The barn smells like molasses and sweet hay.

The morning routine starts with a warm hello and lots of pets for the cats. They sleep in the tack room so I let them out as soon as I walk into the barn. Will is up early and greets me by rubbing against my ankles. I pick him up and put him on my shoulder, like a baby. It may seem like a strange way to hold a cat, but that’s what he likes. And if I don’t hold him just the right way, he jumps down and saunters off. I’m in the doghouse with him. Q is the ‘boss of the barn’ and he is sometimes a bit slow to wake up. He likes to lay in his bed while I tell him good morning and give him his first pets of the day. He purrs quietly, like he is completely content. But that doesn’t last long. Q and Will are hungry so it’s time to feed them. Will’s food bowl is on the floor and ‘the boss’s’ bowl is on the counter. They eat leisurely like well-fed cats, not the cats that have to catch mice for their food. Yes, Will and Q like to chase mice, but they do that just for fun.

After the cats are taken care of, it’s time to get the horses going. The horses have a very routine turnout schedule that they expect. When the weather is nice, they spend their days in the field or in the large turn out shed they like to hang out in. In the winter, they come in at night, where the well-insulated barn keeps them warn. Even on the most brutal of winter days, the barn in warm enough to go about my work in a simple sweater. In the summer, the horses come inside during the day, where they not only avoid the heat of the day, but the bit of flies.

As the dogs look on, Emma and I put food in their buckets. If we drop any, Jake the Jack Russell pup is quick to clean up our spills. He’s good to have around. We carry the buckets out to the run in shed, where the horses are already there waiting for us. They know it’s breakfast time.

It’s important to remember the order of feeding. Kit always gets fed first, then Scotty, and finally Wesley. The horses themselves established this routine long before Emma and I started riding with Mike. Each horse has an established place that they eat just like I always sit in the same chair at our breakfast table. Kit eats first because he’s the leader of the horses, which of course means his feed bucket is closest to the gate. Next comes Scotty who is next in the pecking order, and finally Wesley. If we change the order in which the horses are fed, all chaos breaks lose!

We always ride at night, that’s the routine, and the horses know it, so when they see us, they avoid us because they know they are going to work. Before we can ride, we need to groom them. Grooming takes about 10 to 15 minutes for each horse. We brush the horse’s coat first, then the mane and tail. Finally, we take care of the horses’ hooves. The hooves are really important to keep clean because if a stone get stuck in the hooves it can cause sore places and make it painful for the horse to walk.

After I groom my horse it’s time to put on his tack, that is, the saddle and bridle. It takes a while for me to get my horse ready to ride. I put on the saddle first, the quilt, saddle pad, saddle gel pad, and then the saddle, breastplate, and girth. Yes, that’s a lot of tack, but as I’ve learned, each has important purpose in making sure the saddle feels comfortable on their back.

Next I put on the bridle. This is the tricky part for Emma and me. I’m not sure if we’re just not good at it or if our horses are very very stubborn. Emma almost always has to get Mike to put on her bridle and I can get mine on by myself about half of the time. The problem we both have is getting the bit in the horse’s mouth. But Mike says that we just have to keep practicing. When I get the tack on my horse, I’m finally ready to ride.

After ridding the horses always get a bath or are sponged down. This can be a fun time with the horses. I think Scotty and Wesley enjoy the bath, but I don’t think Kit really likes his baths. He tolerates it and seems happy when it’s over. Like a lot of boys. In the summer I cool them off with cold water. In the winter, I use warm water. When I give them a bath, it’s from nose to tail and everything in between. When dry, they get another good grooming.

About a year ago, Mike and his wife got a new puppy, Jake. He’s one of the most amazing dogs I’ve even known. He’s so fun-loving. When I’m giving the horses a bath, Jake loves playing in the water. He snaps at the water coming out of the hose, and follows the stream from the hose no mater where I point if. When I’m finished, he runs out into the field, rolls around in the dirt, and then comes back into the barn looking like the dirtiest dog you’ve ever seen. And of course, he shakes the mud off and onto whoever is nearby.

After I’ve finished the horses’ baths, I dry them off and if it’s cold weather I put on a blanket. If it’s hot weather I put on their flysheet to keep them from getting fly bites. Next it’s time for the horses’ medicine. Right now, Kit and Wesley get medicine. Mike gets it ready and Emma and I help him give the medicine to the horses. This is good practice since I might want to be a vet one day. Then the horses get to go back to the field for some playtime before they eat dinner.

And finally, it’s time for the horses to get their evening feed. I measure out their food and notice the strong molasses smell of the feed. I used to not like it, but now it’s not so bad because it reminds me of the horses. Emma and I take the food out to the shelter. And sure enough, just like at breakfast, all three are waiting for us. They’re moving around excitedly, pushing against each other and against the fence. Just as I did for breakfast, the horses are fed in a particular order, Kit then Scotty then Wesley. I really like the sound the horses make when they eat. It’s a quiet but happy munching sound. Because Wesley eats fast, he finishes first and sometimes tries to sneak a bite of the other horses’ food. But I lead him away and try to keep him occupied until Scotty and Kit are finished.

Before Emma and I go home, Q and Will also need their dinners. So we feed them, pet them, and tell them good night. Then Mike puts them in the tack room for the evening. They’re warm and snug in their comfortable beds.

It’s the same routine, day after day. Everyone knows it and as long as we stick to it, everyone is happy. Routines make happy horses, and as I’ve learned, happy horses are much easier to ride.

Now we’re done for the day. It’s evening and getting dark and it’s time for us to go home and get our own dinner. I walk back through the barn to go to the car to go home. When Mike turns off the lights and the barn is quiet, it’s such a peaceful place. I love it. And I wonder to myself when I will be able to come back again. Soon I hope, very very soon…maybe tomorrow.