Everybody Should Have To Muck Stalls Every Once In A While
Earlier this month I posted a photo of my horse and I showing off two hard-earned blue ribbons after a recent dressage show. Through the sweat and the dust, I was beaming from ear-to-ear. The likes came flooding in, and then a curious comment among the many supportive, “congrats!”
“WOW! You look so clean!!! I wish I could afford a groom!”
The comment was made by a friend, but somebody who has never seen me ride in person. I was initially stunned by the comment. While this was a rated show, it was only my second ever. And I’ve never, ever, had a groom in my life.
The comment wasn’t meant to be hurtful, I don’t think. But to an amateur who is bringing along a green horse, trailers herself, often shows by herself, mucks stalls herself, gets up before the sun to feed and walk my horse around in the morning before classes in the late afternoon, it got under my skin.
There are some hard days, usually the long ones, where I question why I do this. Why do I want to spend my hard-earned dollars to slog around in the mud or the heat for three days straight, to come home sunburned, exhausted and broke… sometimes, on the off chance, with a ribbon?
Horses are an all-in or nothing kind of deal. You get what you put into it.
A close friend of mine reminded me recently, when I was feeling a little down about horses… “You do this because you wouldn’t be same person without it.” She’s right.
Mucking stalls at the end of a long day can certainly feel like a chore. Yeah, there are days when I wish I could pay somebody to do it for me. But it’s usually in those quiet moments, as I listen to my horse munch his hay, that I feel the greatest sense of gratitude.
The physical work is humbling, to me at least. It’s a reminder of all the blood, sweat and tears it takes to do this sport I’ve chosen. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.