Lessons From a Farm Girl- Responsibility

I step out the backdoor. Greeted by Zeus the dog, I carry a bucket of milk replacer to the tack house as I walk through the yard. A tractor is parked on the front lawn. A faint breeze blows past, taking in a whiff of air, I can smell I’m on a farm alright. I close my eyes and listen to the rustle of chickens, the mooing of cows, and the sign of a horse. Looking out over the land, I see fields of grass, littered with hay bales in early summer, and a glistening pond just down the hill. Opening the door to the tack house, I smell leather and grain as I grab another bucket and head out to the pasture. “Hey boys!” I call out to my horses waiting for me at the gate. I let them into the dry lot, give em some sweet grain and move on to the next pasture. Greeted by two horses and my bottle calf Ruby, I give Chestnut some grain and lead Penny and Ruby through the gate. I give em their breakfast, allowing my only gal horse and her little shadow to eat unhindered. Then I stroll back to the tack house, Zeus at my side to remake Penny’s mush grain and head back in the house. I sign with pleasure cause I have just finished my morning chore routine. 

Looking back, I realize how far I have come. 2ish years ago I was having trouble remembering to do my chores, I had forgotten to collect the eggs and was frustrated cause my horses wouldn’t come up when called. Now I enjoy my routine, it’s not always flawless and sometimes I run a little behind schedule, much to my horses dismay, but I am glad my hard work has paid off. And it was hard to get responsible. To realize that these animals were placed in my care, their life in my hands. Cause if I didn’t care for them no one would, it is my job. But I couldn’t be more thankful for what these daily chores have taught me: responsibility. 

What is responsibility? I am not sure about the dictionary definition, but I view responsibility as not only holding oneself accountable, but taking action as well. In other words, responsibility is a combination of self-accountability and perseverance. Because being responsible takes both of these. Doing my farm chores takes both of these. 

Making sure my animals, five horses, some chickens, and the occasional bottle calf, not only stay alive, but thrive is my job. I don’t get paid for it in money, I get something much better, a life skill that will stay with me forever. 

Becoming responsible took some work. First I had to hold myself accountable, with my horses this wasn’t that hard, I loved em and wanted to care for them. But with collecting the eggs daily, that took some rotten eggs and the realization that wasted eggs equals wasted money to get me to be accountable for doing my daily chore. I started to feel mad at myself and guilty if I forgot to collect the eggs, which was good because I was keeping myself accountable. But that was only one piece to the equation; responsibility takes perseverance too! 

More horsey posts: How Horses Benefit from Chickens!

So I decided on a routine to do and picked a time to do it. And while the routine has changed a little and the time I do it has shifted since when I first decided upon it, the overall concept has not. I feed my horses in the morning and then again in the evening, collecting the eggs after the evening horse feeding. It took strong self-accountability and perseverance, some reminders from my alarm clock and family, but now it seems like at five o’clock in the afternoon there is only one thing I should be doing and that’s feeding my horses! 

Living on a farm has taught me numerous life skills like: how to weld, how to deal with unexpected problems, the importance of a team, and on and on. But the one thing my farm experience has taught me and continues to teach me, is responsibility. Having a living animal depend on you really forces responsibility. I had and still have to keep myself accountable and be persistent in my daily routine. And I am so thankful that I was raised on a farm and got the opportunity to learn how to be responsible. 

The lesson of responsibility was a hard learned one, but I am so glad I learned it! Hopefully you can be encouraged today to press on and take responsibility for your horse(s)!

Tails & trails, 

Reese