My weekdays tend to be stretched pretty thin, time wise, between work/commute/riding/cleaning stalls. The fact that the days are getting longer (praise) definitely helps, but still… Monday through Friday’s daylight hours tend to be packed pretty tight. Therefore most of the non-essential or not-daily tasks around the farm tend to get saved for weekends, which also usually works out fine since SO comes out on Saturdays. This Saturday though, he was off with his rocket club, so I was on my own. I decided to stick to the same “Saturday Workday” format though, since it makes Sundays nice and relaxing.
I do let myself sleep in on weekends, in that I don’t set my alarm. Generally this means I’m awake sometime between 5 and 6, because I’m so wired that way by now. It’s still nice to not wake up to an alarm, no matter what time it is, and 5:30 feels pretty nice when you’re usually up at 4:45. I fed the horses, turned them out, and went back inside to start doing laundry and putting away dishes (and possibly got distracted by the puzzle for half an hour) while I waited for the stores to start opening up. Then I drove into town to pick up a new bag of cookies for the horses (they were down to like a few handfuls, it was almost an emergency). I got home, cleaned stalls, spread new shavings, dumped and scrubbed and refilled water buckets, put their evening hay in, and then raked and swept the barn aisle and tack room. Then ran the manure spreader, walked all the fence lines putting t-post covers back on (Presto loves to pull them off and it drives me BATTY), and re-set the jumps in the field. I dragged the arena, replaced some light bulbs in the house and barn that had burned out, and put a fresh coat of Chew Stop on the section of wooden fence that those idiots will not stop gnawing on. I fixed a few fence boards that were coming loose, picked up dog poop, gathered up all the trash from the barn/feed room/house, and hand-washed Henry’s embarrassingly dirty jump pad and flatwork boots. To cap off the morning I went back inside and cleaned the house, and finished doing laundry with a load of linens. By noon, everything was done and in order. Very productive and satisfying morning.
Then my dad came out to see the property, since he’s never seen it before, and I gave him the tour complete with a “this is where the tiny house is gonna go” highlight. He’s so nice that he brought an apple for the horses, but my turdhole jerkfaces don’t like apples and were rude AF, sniffing it before rejecting it with an “eeewwww grosss” expression. Thank goodness for the retired broodmare, she stepped up the plate and ate the whole thing. Mine are the worst. Then we headed into town for a late lunch at my favorite local restaurant, where I soldiered through chicken fried chicken and red velvet cheesecake until I wanted to puke. Yeah I know… real tough life.
The perk of a busy Saturday was a leisurely Sunday. I slept til 6:15. SIX. FIFTEEN. And I’d passed out before like 9:30 the night before, so that was some solid sleep right there. Guess I was tired. I rolled out of bed, fed the horses, put a little air back into Presto’s already long-suffering ball, turned them out, and went back inside. I finished my jigsaw puzzle. I laid in bed reading for an hour. I watched my recorded Project Runway episode (look, it’s literally the only tv I watch, give me this one indulgence). I puzzled the total mystery of who tossed the ball over the fence.
I put on some riding clothes, brought Henry in, tacked up, and rode. I went back in and ate my leftovers from lunch the day before, got lost in Reddit, then came back out and cleaned stalls and cleaned/refilled the water troughs. I brought Presto in, groomed him, and sticked him.
As soon as I turned him back out he went straight to the pond and rolled. I quit. Then I read some more, pondered over how to coordinate a pad with some burgundy sparkle boots in a way that didn’t feature overwhelming blobs of burgundy, shopped online for my next puzzle, took a shower, and started dinner. I went out and brought the horses in, fed them, and parked myself with my book again until it was time to do night check and go to bed.
Truth be told, I’m not sure a weekend gets any better than that. Getting enough done to feel like a productive person: check. Having enough downtime to recharge: check. Lots of playing with ponies: check. Oh, and the weather? Mid 70’s and sunny both days. I could do this every weekend. Sign. Me. Up.
Hope everyone else had an equally delightful weekend? What were you up to?
breedrideevent.com 
Sounds perfect. Unfortunately having a 7 yo kills any chance of a weekend as sublime as yours was. Mine was a mixed bag. Had the best cross country outing of my life followed by really crappy potentially career ending news about Eeyore…so you know…normal life kicking you in the ass
LikeLike
Not gonna lie, it’s weekends like this that make me 110% sure that childfree was the right choice for me lol. Really bummed to hear that about Eeyore, hope it’s not as serious as it seems!
LikeLike
I have no idea how you got that saddle pad to look so good. THAT is a talent
LikeLike
Tiger’s tongue, shampoo, water! I hung it up in the washrack, sprayed the wool part and rubbed it lightly with my hand until the water ran clear. Then I hosed the cotton parts with the strongest spray setting on the hose, put a little shampoo on the Tiger’s Tongue side of my Shower Power sponge, and scrubbed the cotton top and bottom. Then I hosed it all again until the water ran clear. Took maybe 5 minutes total. I left it to dry in the sun for the afternoon, and after it dried I combed out the wool with a cat brush. Easy! The merino wool ones are much easier to clean than sheepskin (since you don’t have to worry about the “skin” aspect), I’ve got it down to a science now lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
ironically, best part of this post. I always struggle with washing sheepskin which is why I never want to put it directly on the horse because ill never clean it again (ever). Would you do the mattes the same way?
LikeLike
No. Sheepskin is different from Merino wool in that it’s still attached to the skin, so you have to consider that when you’re washing it. Sheepskin needs special treatment so that the skin itself doesn’t dry out and crack. Merino wool is sheared wool that is then attached to a backing (usually cotton) so you don’t have to worry about caring for skin.
LikeLike
Sounds like a pretty solid farm life weekend! I need to find a spot for a puzzle. I enjoy them too.
LikeLike
I think the answer might be a burgundy sparkle trim, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one in person. Would probably look super on a white pad.
LikeLike
I got sucked into the Mattes configurator for like an hour. Their navy sheen with burgundy trim would be pretty I think. But like… god, I really need to stop with the Mattes.
LikeLike
Would the PE pad that is navy and burgundy work?
LikeLike
The burgundy is pretty bright/reddish on that pad, I don’t really like it.
The boots are a pretty deep burgundy.
LikeLike
Oh good grief… thank you for making me feel like the slacker of ALL slackers. Your chore list for Saturday morning sounds like mine for the MONTH! I don’t know how you do it. I suppose going to bed early and getting up at a ridiculous hour helps (6:30 is unpleasantly early to me, let alone your usual time to rise), but you are one fit and motivated person. At least I did realize a long time ago I’m not cut out to live on a farm, haha!
Glad you had your version of a leisurely Sunday, too. I had a great weekend – rode on Saturday/had butt kicked by trainer (twice when I thought we were done, it was, “Pick up a trot and – ….”), got to watch the Chiefs win yesterday. EPIC and awesome sporting event!!! I am tired, hoarse and body sore today but it was all worth it.
LikeLike
Having everything right out the back door makes it so much easier to be productive. I can take breaks easily, and no one thing takes a particularly long time. Start to finish was less than 6 hours for all the chores, so it wasn’t bad. I keep a list throughout the week of things that need to happen on the weekend, so I can just go through and knock it all out. And there are only 4 horses, so stalls and cleaning and all that stuff doesn’t take too long.
I don’t watch sportsball, so that was prime quiet reading time for me!
LikeLike
That is a BUSY Saturday morning!
But, truth be told, I prefer to get things done in the morning (and if I can, a day or two in “advance” if possible) so that it leaves the remainder of the day wide open. This being said, I also try to not leave everything for one day, because then it gets overwhelming and it just sets off my anxiety. A lot of the big ticket farm chores get left til the weekend tho bc it allows for more daylight and thus, more time.
LikeLike
Had a similarly productive + fun weekend. The most important part of the post – imminent treat deficit avoided. ;D
LikeLike
You really had the perfect weekend! I was suppose to go to a baby shower on Saturday but she had her baby 4 weeks early and the party got canceled so my Saturday was super chill. Sunday was a bit more exciting with a lesson and Super Bowl party, which basically was an excuse to hang out with friends, drink cider, and possibly watch a funny commercial or two. Couldn’t help but laugh at the Doritos commercial!! Friesians doing piaffs is enough to incite a good giggle
LikeLike
My god your weekend sounds delightful.
LikeLike