It takes a team of Volunteers to help ensure we can maintain the best environment for our Riders & Four Legged Friends. The barn takes an incredible amount of work to run smoothly but when work gets done as a team it can be lots of fun and we can accomplish so much more together!
We are ramping up a 2021 volunteer team by categorizing chores in groups to help you decide what is right for you. Hopefully with enough help we can split chores so each person has just what they can handle with ease. It will not be up to one person to just do stalls because you said you could.
Below is a list of common tasks organized in groups, we are working on a youtube gallery for quick and easy reference demonstrating how each chore is done. If chores are not done in a specific way for our barn, it tends to make more work in the end. Just an example, you come to the barn and clean a few stalls, you leave the manure in the wagon… overnight that manure freezes and it takes 1/2 hour to chip away at it to get it free from the wagon. Simple things that don’t cross your mind cause more trouble than it’s worth. Simply following the way we like it done makes life much easier for the next person and will end up with an organized & clean barn full of happy horses!
No Experience Needed: A complete video demo will be coming for each
The following is a short list of the most common chores around the barn
Stalls
- Stalls are one of the heaviest of jobs when it is tackled by one person, when you are at the barn if you spend the time to make sure just a few stalls are done to perfection you help maintain the barn as a whole and alleviate the work load on one person
- All manure can be wheeled to the back of the barn in the appropriate pile, do not dump manure in roadways or the ditch areas
- Be sure to sift through the shavings to ensure you are eliminating all manure while leaving behind valuable shavings
- You may leave 1 flake of hay in the appropriate corner of the stall and ensure a full bucket of water is left on the appropriate hook in a clean bucket (1/2 – 3/4 bucket in winter as frozen full buckets are difficult to deal with)
- Rake around the door and feed area of the stall to ensure a clean entrance to stall
Feed & Water Buckets
- Another great chore made easier by helpers is to keep our feed and buckets looking sparkling clean by taking them outside and take the scrub brush & hose to them
- Feed buckets need to be placed back on their appropriate holders on each stall door, water buckets can be left empty stacked neatly in the feed room area (if they are not re-filled and left in each stall)
General Barn & Lounge Tidy
- Leaving the barn aisles & grooming stalls raked is essential in giving the barn that finished look we all deserve to walk into
- Everyone should be taking away the manure left behind during their lease rides, and group lessons. The occasional mess will be left behind from a beginner or someone who ended up side tracked, whatever the reason may be all manure needs to be picked up
- Halters and leads all have their appropriate hooks
- No brushes, or other items should be left on the floor
- All garbage should be in the garbage bin
Tack Room
- Saddles and Bridles all have their appropriate hooks and should be away accordingly
- Clean Figure 8 bridles will help keep our tack room looking organized
Water Troughs
- If you notice a trough is low enough it can be emptied this is a great time to flip it over and take the hose and scrub brush to it and re-fill it so it’s sparkling clean
- If the trough appears clean but is less than 1/2 full it can certainly be filled up
Horse Related:
- Bringing in and turning out horses
- Grooming
- Tacking up for exercise or lessons
- Assisting with lessons
- Lunging and Excercise
How it will work:
It’s imperative we keep very organized while multiple people are coming to the barn doing multiple tasks at different times. All chores will be categorized into slots which will be converted into blocks of time that must be booked online. After your shift (even if it’s 15 minutes) you must fill out the volunteer tracker online. Although I appreciate every effort made by the team for the greater good of the barn, failure to do these steps will only cause more confusion and disorganization and result in a loss of the extra time at the barn. The tracker also keeps track for High School Volunteers and hours will be signed on your sheets.
I’d like to get a general idea of who might be interested and what you think you could do and what type of timing suits you before I organize the online system. If your child is a current member and you would like some extra time with your child please fill out the form below. Approved afternoon members over the age of 12 may be dropped off to volunteer for their high school volunteer hours however all drop-off and pick up times must be adhered to.