I thought I would be clever and multi-task today using voice to text to write this - I have just spent a ridiculous amount of time fixing it as apparently I talk weird!!
This blog was going to be different. It was going to be about how I ended up here, doing what I am doing. However writing about your past and where you've come from is a whole lot harder than I thought.
So instead, my blog is about my average day. My average day has changed a lot over the years. As a nurse, I've had many different roles and positions so my shifts and hours changed frequently. As farmers, we've moved around a bit. We've gone from leasing to owning and had different livestock. Sheep have been a constant but we also had cattle and a free-range piggery.
A day in the life of an equine assisted therapist goes as follows: I wake up around 6 AM each morning and I'm presented with a cup of coffee by my fabulous Hubby. Or a little Border Collie called Stormy may pounce on the bed with a ball in her mouth.
Now that I'm running my business and working from home. I'm trying to get in the habit of walking the dogs every morning through our seasonal creek to get the blood flowing and my mind open and fresh. I usually have ideas galore running through my head.
My other daily tasks in the morning include checking all the animals, the chickens, ducks and rabbit. I check the horses to ensure they haven't got up to mischief overnight. Farm jobs might be feeding or shifting sheep. I prefer to do stock work on the horses with the dogs.
For me, the worse thing about this business is the IT side of things. Even writing this blog drives me insane as the apps dont talk to each other or keep freezing. A lot of time is pent on admin such as booking appointments, emails, advertising, applying for grants, phone calls, the list goes on. Everything takes longer with dodgy internet and phone service and a laptop that is trying to die.
Time with my clients (and the horses) is what I love and what its all about. Preparation can take half an hour before the client arrives and that includes, checking and preparing the horses. I may decide to separate them if one is not in the mood or perhaps I have a new client or younger clients. I may organize an obstacle course or have to tidy up the arena between clients. Picking up horse poo is a never ending job! Time after the client is spent writing notes, invoicing and again tidying the arena and ensuring the horses are happy and comfortable.
Not all clients want to spend the whole time with the horses and so I may incorporate some farm activities such as feeding the ewes and lambs. Checking and feeding the chickens and ducks and rabbit and collecting eggs. I also have paints and pencils for drawing and painting and getting creative. Horse Powered reading and math's is fun activities with horses while learning the basics of spelling, reading and math's.
Wednesday afternoon's the vet will attend if needed (hopefully not!). Annual events are the dentist visit for the horses teeth. Every couple of weeks, Ben and I give the horses a pedicure.
As a working farm there are always other farm events like shearing and crutching. Trucks arriving to cart sheep in or away. Sowing or harvesting crops and hay. It is hard to say what a usual day looks like!
Evenings are spent ensuring bookwork or computer work is completed. The dogs and humans are fed and the horses are let out to mosey around the paddock. Then it all starts again tomorrow.
What does your usual day look like??
