Mucking Stalls

Mucking stalls is one of my favorite things to do in the barn.
It occurs to me that this may not be typical of horse owners. And those who don't take care of their own horses certainly assume that mucking stalls would be on the bottom of the list of all barn chores.

But NO!

Mucking stalls falls into the same category as mowing the lawn. It is a mechanical process for your body, which requires totally repetitive but mindless activity. While your body is working, your brain is free to wander all over the place. And mine does.

My favorite time to muck is Sunday morning. It's quiet in the world except for the birds and the munching of horses eating hay. I wander down to the barn with a cup of coffee, turn on the radio to NPR, get my tools and enjoy the quiet.

In the summer, I turn all of the horses out into the paddock to eat their hay. (I have three horses, not a huge herd..) Then I am free to choose the stall to start with. If I am feeling energetic, I choose the dirtiest (my mare's... she drops her poop wherever she happens to be at the moment and then circles the stall enough times to spread it into every nook and cranny). If I am feeling a bit lazy, I start with the easiest one (my older gelding's, he poops a lot but puts it right in the same corner each time.)

And then the fun begins. While shoveling, sifting, and dumping, my mind takes off to places unknown. Some of my best ideas come while mucking. A lot of "what if..." moments, and a lot of "Why not...?" moments.

Or maybe I've been struggling with a problem. Could be a problem with a person who I am trying to figure out, or could be a problem with the Horse Council, where we are always trying to squeeze one more drop of activity out of the staff and board.

The most difficult problems mean the cleanest stalls. This is good.

In the background, NPR is talking about some international problem, or how to clean artichokes ("The Splendid Table" show), or whether Acai is really good for you (The "Dr. Zorba on Your Health" show). I tune into what they say occasionally, but usually it is background noise while I think.

May you enjoy mucking as much as I do. At my house, when they say "shit happens", it's not always bad.