I can't believe it's almost been a week since I have blogged, where does the time go!? So this time last week I was preparing myself for my first day of work and tonight I find myself on my first night of foal watch and "on call" if anything does happen! We'll get to all of that later, for now I will update you on what's been going on!
Alrighty, last Sunday was my second day of work and my first day of actually driving myself to the barn I was supposed to be at. Well here's the rundown on that... WinStar is about 2,000 acres, has multiple entrances and gates, and countless barns. To pinpoint the gate that will open for me, find the barn I am supposed to be at in the pitch dark, and be on time.. yeah that was a huge undertaking and of course, I got lost. Here's the best part; Danielle and I drove separately thinking it would be easier for us since we are placed in different barns each day therefore I followed her to the farm. As we pulled into the first gate of WinStar (being able to see the barn we are supposed to be at) we realized it wouldn't open for us. So we pulled back onto the main road, drove 200ft and pulled into the second gate. It too would not open, go figure! At this point, we're desperate haha! Once again, we pull out onto the main road and continue further until the next green WinStar gate, thankfully this one opens!! At this point we've managed to acquire 4-6 other vehicles behind us also pulling through the same gate attempting to get to work, haha!! Now we can't see any barns and have absolutely no idea where we are so Danielle calls me and is in a slight panic because we're essentially just driving aimlessly around the farm! Finally I'm like just turn at the next right and park at the closest barn, well we ended up finding the basketball gym that's on the farm and right next to the main maintenance shop! You could almost hear the sigh of relief from the parade of cars behind us as we parked and got out of their way, haha! Our next task was to find someone and ask for directions since we were a little nervous to call our managers for help-- this is no longer an issue lol, we've gotten lost nearly everyday! To our surprise and pure luck, this guy (who may or may not have been totally adorable) walks over to us and asks if we need help. After a few giggles, he takes us to the barn we were supposed to be at and drops us off! We were only one turn away! After getting to the barn we learned that we were both supposed to be there and one of the managers was on his way to pick me up so he could take me around the farm and show me where each barn is and how to get back and forth.. this has been a huge help! For the rest of the day I was either riding around, cleaning stalls, or doing the outside rotations until 4 when I get off work!
The absolute best part of the day is seeing my Cass! For those of you who don't know, my first semester at WVU was a little rough as I was trying to adjust to life away from Front Royal. During this time I met some girls I would consider long lost family and love tremendously. They are Cass, Sarah, and Morgan. I am extremely lucky to have Sarah here in Lexington with me but Cass and Morg are in Texas and Montana so seeing them often isn't something that happens. The plan was that Cass and her man Kasey would drive up from Texas to head to WV to see family for their "holiday" and they have to drive right through Lexington! So when I got off work on Sunday I rushed home to shower and get ready to see my girls and meet Kasey! We met over in Midway at a little restaurant called "Grey Goose" which has become quite the happening place for me here lately! When I got out of the car I ran straight to Cass and naturally, started sobbing! It was so good to see her and finally meet this mystery man that has completed her life, we approve Kasey! Welcome to the family, we love ya! So Sunday evening was spent having supper, a few beers, going back to Sarah's and laughing like we were in college again! Oh how I have missed these days with these girls! Don't worry, I've got some great pictures ;)!!
Monday and Tuesday had me in different barns meeting and working with different people. Monday I was in the foaling barn and got to see some of the babies that WinStar has now and Tuesday I was in the Distaff barn with broodmares that are coming due soon. Each day was filled with cleaning stalls, doing daily chores, and filling in where I was needed! Wednesday was my first official day off!!! I was able to sleep in a little and had breakfast with miss Sarah, once I got home I found the house filled with plumbers and a roommate very ready to have water! Apparently our pipes froze during the negative temperatures and it took most of the day to get water back. Good news about Wednesday though, we have internet!! YAY! After a quick trip to Walmart to purchase a wireless router I am finally able to blog from home and work on some of my research assignments!
As far as the work goes for Thursday and Friday it's about the same. Turn horses out, clean stalls, bed down stalls, random chores, and be involved with what is going on in the barn so far. I am learning something new everyday and find myself still looking forward to the next day! I have only been there for a week but I am already getting to do a little more each day.. I was able to lead my very first foal the other day!! She was so cute! I have pictures, but I won't be posting too many of the horses and foals themselves for privacy reasons, but I will post what I can! Just know I am loving what I am doing so far and although it is tiring and hard work, I am staying warm and learning lots of new things!
Last evening (Thursday) we had our first KEMI class at the Kentucky Horse Park and talked about our syllabus and everything that is expected from us in terms of assignments and what we are being evaluated on in terms of graduating the internship. It is going to be a very demanding 6 months in terms of homework, actual work, job shadows, and volunteer hours, but I feel strongly that once completed it is going to be more than worth it!
Alrighty, enough reading.. Enjoy my pictures and hopefully I will get back to you all sooner than a week! Thanks for all of the love and support, I really appreciate it! Closing thoughts; negative temperatures royally stink, foals are adorable, frozen pipes are a farm workers worst nightmare, and good friends are the necessity to life next to family--I am lucky to have both; a great and supportive family, and loving friends that kick me in the tale when I'm out of line!