A day in the life…

Today I want to share what a typical day of work looks like on the farm with anywhere from 140 to 160 young thoroughbred racehorses. Though the days are long, the weeks are flying by. There’s only about a month left of work before I set off to travel Australia in July before returning home. Truth is, I drafted this to publish last week, but have been feeling a bit uninspired to share my life as it’s easy for the days to feel and look the same. I really don’t have much of a life outside of work right now (relative to before) and that’s alright. The reality of a working holiday visa is that you’ve gotta put the work in before the holiday. All that said, I’m grateful for the quiet time to reflect, gain experience, and remind myself of the value in being comfortable being uncomfortable.

Our schedule is typically released on Tuesday evenings with the weeks starting on Thursday (payday). Everyone works six mornings a week with one full day off, and about three to four afternoon shifts in addition to those morning shifts. It works out to be about 38-42 hours a week, which isn’t all that bad considering some other equestrian jobs I’ve worked in the past (cough 90 hours at the first week of the national horse show cough cough). With the exception of Sundays (7:00AM) we start at 6:20 every day and end around 12:30 for the morning shift. I’ve been lucky the past couple of weeks with a half day before my day off on Thursdays, so I can get into Sydney in about an hour and a half via the train and explore different parts of the city (feel human again.)

5:20 AM: Wake up! Given the 16-hour time difference with home, I typically use the first 15 minutes of my day to catch up on texts and socials. Said texts usually come from my mom, sending photos of Gus and Pete and all the animals back home that never fail to make me smile. Leaving family and friends is one thing, but leaving pets for extended periods of time without any way of telling them that I’ll be back soon is so heart-wrenching.

5:40: Get dressed and bundled for the day. It’s winter here in Australia, so the evenings get pretty chilly. The morning temps are between 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit, with a whole lot more humidity than Colorado. I typically wear my Ariat paddock boots, jeans, and about three layers on top, with some sort of hat. By 10:00 AM the weather usually hits the mid-60s with nice sun, so the layers are quite helpful.

5:45: Breakfast. Before arriving in Australia, I rarely ate breakfast. I was on somewhat of a lazy intermittent fasting schedule. Given the physical and busy nature of the job, I’ve realized how vital it is to fuel my body appropriately. Some mornings it’s enough to eat a protein bar, banana, and my Amino Lean energy supplement, but other mornings I put together a bowl of yogurt mixed with some protein powder, peanut butter, honey, and some bee pollen (great for energy + recovery).

6:10: Leave for the farm: There are currently six of us living in the staff house about 10 minutes away from the farm. We have one shared vehicle for the house, but have been taking the farm truck (or “ute” as they call it here) back and forth to fit everyone as necessary.

6:20: Morning meeting and assignments for the day: Everyone working that day will meet in the tack room to receive their assignments. With ~150 horses to feed, check, and care for, the day has to start early!

6:30: Feed grain: I’m typically assigned to the barns or a specific set of yards to feed. All of the grain is prepared the day before and organized in stacks topped with a lid listing the correct stall (or box/yard) numbers to ensure each horse receives the appropriate grain and supplements. It’s been pretty cool to learn the ways simple tasks are done on a farm of this scale. A couple of people are typically assigned to “spellers” where they take the buggy across the farm to all the horses “spelling” in the paddocks.

Spelling is a term that describes racehorses going out to pasture to rest and recuperate as they prepare for the next race or racing season.

6:40: Begin mucking out the stables. There are 57 stalls or yards across the property that must be cleaned every day. Only one barn uses shavings, while the rest are filled with straw. To my horse people - it was such a strange adjustment learning to muck out straw, but now that I’ve got the hang of it I almost prefer it! Mucking usually takes up the majority of the morning, but plenty is going on across the property while the barns are being done.

If I’m tacking up or treadmilling horses, I typically muck out a specific set of yards that takes about an hour and then start that task. The work list is set each morning and consists of horses being ridden, treadmilled, or put on the automated walker. There are two treadmills, two tracks, and one automatic walker on the property. Every horse’s temperature is recorded and they are assessed for any injuries before work.

10:30: Sweeping aisles, tidying up the barns: Once all the boxes are cleaned, the waters refilled, and hay is thrown, the barn aisles are swept and tidied. Cleanliness and organization help ensure safety for both horses and humans.

11:00: Additional jobs begin... anything from filling up straw boxes, holding horses for vets, moving horses from pasture to boxes, medical treatments, laundry, making PM feeds, and raking walkways. These jobs change from day to day, but I’ve become pretty fond of making feeds. There’s some sort of organizational itch that is scratched by following the feed board and organizing the buckets for the next feed time. I’ve also had the privilege of holding a couple of colts to be gelded (gory), and some ultrasounds and X-rays. These horses are elite athletes and are treated as such.

12:30 Lunch: The morning shift typically ends around 12:30 and we head home for lunch. Those who are working the PM shift typically return to the farm at 1:50/55 which makes for about an hour lunch.

I have to say, in writing this post it doesn’t feel like I can do justice to the amount of work, collaboration, and communication it takes for the farm to run smoothly day in an day out. Everyone on the farm is included in a Whatsapp group, where we share photos, updates, and requests needed to complete the daily tasks, but if you know anything about horses, you know they find the most creative of ways to surprise you at the most inconvenient of time.

12:45: Lunch goes by pretty quick, I usually put together a turkey and cheese gluten free sandwich, or tuna salad on a rice cake, with carrots + hummus or a bunch of grapes. On quick lunch days it’s a simple cup of noodles or microwaved soup before heading back to the farm for the afternoon shift. On half days, it’s a treat to hop in the shower and have the rest of the day to relax and recover. Unfortunately, we only have one car right now, so it’s challenging to leave the staff house during time off.

2:00: Feed grain and hay: Same thing as the morning, all the boxes and yards on the property are grained, given hay, and their waters are topped off. Those assigned to spellers drive the buggy out to the paddocks to feed and check in on those horses.

4:30: Once every horse is fed, treatments are completed, the aisles are swept, grooming areas are tidied, the walker footing is raked, and the trash is taken out, we head home.

4:45 Home! Usually I take some time to decompress, about 30 minutes or so to just sit down on my phone and aimlessly scroll. After that, it’s into the shower and a quick dinner. I’ve been pretty good about prepping a couple of meals but it’s purely for sustenance. Dinner is usually made up of rice, steamed broccoli, and sauteed chicken with some variant of indian sauce. Though it’s no culinary achievment, I’m actually pretty stoked about how much I’ve simplified my diet while working on the farm. Being able to control of my diet without the social schedule and pressure is an unexpected silver lining of remote farm work.

7:30: I try to start winding down around 7:30 by reading a book, watching some Netflix, or writing. I’m actually kinda surprised at how much I’ve been enjoying the writing process with this blog and journaling in general. I’ve always held some amount of pride in articulating my feelings, communicating directly, and expanding my vocabulary, but it feels good to write in a way that I want to share with people, so thank you all for reading! Until next time…

xoxo,

Alli