When you have horses of any size, you need to have back up so you can get away or have someone to care for them when you are physically unable to do so--illness, injury, or surgical recovery. I never thought much about this until my body decided to start breaking down a few years ago. I don't go away much--homebody deluxe--but I have had a too-long series of orthopedic surgical procedures over the past few years that have made me unable to care for my horses for various lengths of time. I have no horse knowledgeable family to help out. Mike lives too far away to be able to do day to day visits. My neighbors are great, but they aren't in a position to be able to do the full range of horse care and farm babysitting. I've hired a professional pet sitter for a couple of short vacations, which worked out well but was very expensive. Anyone doing this professionally has to understandably charge enough to make it worth their while.
When I was preparing for my first hip replacement in January of 2012, I knew I would be out of commission and unable to even walk out to the barn to see the horses for at least a few weeks. It was an easy winter that year but still winter in NY, with ice and snow that caused dangerous footing for someone depending on a walker or cane to even walk from room to room. I needed reliable horse care for a long period of time. I was freaking out because I couldn't find anyone for a reasonable price that I could afford for that length of time, and then I remembered someone ... a woman with whom I grew up and was in 4-H, Lisa, had a couple of teenage daughters who did odd jobs to earn spending money. These kids were raised on a small farm, had horses and a variety of other animals, and were known for being responsible and hard working.
I called and soon had 12-year-old Michaela and mom, Lisa, scheduled to help me out. I was in a pinch financially at that time, and they were SO great to accept whatever I could pay. Michaela was the official caregiver; Lisa provided her transportation and just kept an eye on things, helping Michaela here and there, although Lisa has told me that Michaela ran the show and had a better memory and handle on what needed to be done than she did. They visited twice a day and not only took great care of the horses and played with my dogs who fell in love with them, but also ran some errands for me picking up things from the store and even a bag of grain, which Michaela insisted on carrying the 200+ feet to my barn. Talk about industrious!!
Since that time, I have depended on Michaela for help on numerous occasions: caring for the horses after my surgeries, doing heavier chores that I have trouble with, assisting with the horses when Mac had to go to Cornell Vet Hospital last year ... the list goes on and on. Fortunately, I've been able to give her a raise in pay from the first round of post-op horse care back in 2012. I hope that money has helped her out. We don't have any set pay system; she just happily accepts whatever I pay her. When we made the Cornell trip last summer with Mac and Babe where Mac was euthanized, she felt bad for Mike and me and tried to refuse to take any money at all, even though she had spent the entire day working and being an integral part of the Let's-Get-Blind-Mac-to-Cornell team. I insisted and she finally accepted it. That's the kind of young person she is.
When I need Michaela's help whether it's cleaning up manure or feeding horses, I facebook message her and she always responds: "Sure! I'm happy to help you out!" When she arrives, she works hard and I know things will be done right. She handles my horses with confidence, kindness, and respect. I especially appreciate how well she deals with young Rosie, who can be moody and--OK, I admit it--bratty at times. She's got Rosie all figured out--Rosie is a drama queen; responding with drama back doesn't work because Rosie can "out drama" anyone. Rosie may approach Michaela with a snotty look on her face, but within less than a minute Michaela has softened Rosie's bratty look and she is just happy as can be.
Today I needed Michaela's help once again. She arrived with pitchfork in hand, ready to literally dig in and remove the large pile of now wet and half rotted straw-like hay left over from what the minis didn't eat over the winter. Mike had raked it all into a huge pile a couple of weeks ago but that was as far as it got.
We had a great system--I drove the lawn mower/tractor with a large yard cart; Michaela forked the hay into the cart; I drove it out to the far end of the pasture and released the dump mechanism on the cart; and drove the empty cart back to Michaela ... rinse and repeat ... a bunch of times. Two hours later it was done. Mike will go down and smooth out the piles of hay on the weekend and it should fill in some low spots in the pasture and compost into the ground over time.
Michaela is a personable 16-year-old with a variety of interests and life plans. I had a great time chatting with her while we worked (or I should say-- as *she* worked ... and *I* watched). As the years tick by since meeting Michaela, I become more and more aware that I may not have her smiling face and strong arms helping out much longer. She will move on to bigger and better things that life has in store for this industrious, intelligent, and wonderful young lady.
We all need to be on the lookout for our Michaela and when you find them, treat them like gold. They are not the "hired hand"--they are the wonderful assistant and helper enabling you to go on vacations or keep your horses at home despite an aging body that breaks here and there and/or doesn't want to do the hard physical labor like it used to. Don't ever isolate yourself and your farm so you don't have anyone for horse care and farm help if you are in a position where you are unable to do it--and you never know when that will happen.
Yet, be careful and choosy when you look for your Michaela--I recently heard of a couple who returned from a weekend away to find their three horses practically starving and all the feed and stalls looking the same as when they left. The horses had just been left out on their eaten-down late-fall pasture. Their hired caregiver did not feed the horses even one flake of hay, despite making at least one visit to the farm to pick up the money they left out for her! You can be sure that woman will never be trusted at that farm ever again. You need someone who is confident and knows horses--knows how to handle themselves around the horses and knows if something is not quite right and a horse that may need vet attention. You need someone who is not afraid to get their hands dirty and work hard, because horses ARE hard work, even minis. You need someone who can be trusted to do the job right, not because you are checking up on them, but because they are a person of integrity.
If you don't have a Michaela, I suggest you start looking and putting them into place today. No horse owner is an island, and no horse owner can stand alone all the time.
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