Big Toys, Big Chores

I love owning my own horse trailer (especially one that's completely paid for). And I feel very lucky to own such a nice horse trailer. I am not complaining, but with big toys come big chores.

It was more than ten degrees cooler yesterday than it has been, which meant I had to put the day to good use. I rode both horses, Izzy twice, but when I saw that it was still only 9:30 a.m. and the weather was still relatively cool, I gave my trailer the stink eye.

I normally plan for a trailer-cleaning day. It's such a huge, physically demanding job that it usually requires a few days to psyche myself up for the job. Not yesterday. I saw it sitting there in the driveway, close enough for the hose to reach, and decided to just go for it.

I grabbed a scrub brush, the broom, the rake, and a wheel barrow. I screwed the sprayer on to the hose and marched over to do battle.

Step 1 - empty tack compartment. 

Feed pans, buckets, spare halter and lead, hanging pocket storage, feed bucket, hay bag, rake, 5-gallon water jug, hay bag, brush bag ... It's all necessary!

Tack compartment emptied. The saddle rack swings out.

Step 2 - sweep out old shavings.

Notice grime on divider and beneath windows.

The wall is COVERED with poop. The photo doesn't show how thick it is. Gross ...

Floor is swept clean. I almost stopped right here. Looks clean to me! The tack compartment door collapses which makes it a lot easier to get the mats out.

Step 3 - remove mats. Here's where the real work begins. Those suckers weigh more than I do, and they just lie there like dead weight offering zero assistance. Bastards. I hauled all four of them to some pallets that I had waiting outside. I then scrubbed the mats and left them to dry.

Metal floor - how does all of the dirt get under the mats?

Step 4 - work like a dog. Seriously. I scrubbed the heck out of that floor removing all of the urine-soaked dirt that the dust layer was covering. I used the sprayer to loosen the gunk, and then I scrubbed. And then I did it again and again until I worried that I was scrubbing through the floor. I forgot to take a picture of the clean floor. Sorry, you'll just have to trust me.

Step 5 - continue to work like a dog. I next scrubbed every surface inside the trailer. The upper walls might have looked white in the earlier photos, but believe me, they weren't. After scrubbing the divider and walls, I tackled the poop-covered section. Yuck.

Do you know what happens to dried out poop when it gets wet? It turns into what looks like diarrhea. Lots and lots of diarrhea that covers your arms, hair, and occasionally lands on your face or in your eyes. 

Step 6 - get the heebie-jeebies and take a break. Everything needed to dry out anyway, so I went and sat in the shade and checked in on some blogs and Facebook.

Mats are drying and so is the floor. I so desperately wanted to just go home and finish the job the next day.

Step 7 - quit being a baby, and get back to work.

Step 8 - take a deep breath and wrestle the mats back into the trailer.

I know those walls don't look gleaming white to you, but believe me, they ARE!

Poop free!

I know you're asking how hard those mats really are to move. Getting them out is hard, but at least I have gravity to give me a hand. Getting them back in is like trying to pick up your car with your bare hands so you can change the tire. I can tug on those mats all I want, but they literally only move an inch at a time. And there are four of them. Okay, one is really tiny - up there in the front left corner, but the other three are HUGE!

Step 9 - reload stuff. You'd think this part would be fun, but it's not. By now, I am always covered in ... wet. Wet sweat, wet poop, wet water. And the wet is covered with dried poop, shavings, and dirt.

There is nothing more inviting than a pile of fresh, clean shavings. And no, I did NOT lay there and make "snow angels" - although I was tempted!

Even though this is a chore that really stinks, I love putting a horse in a clean trailer. I am certain they climb in, take a deep breath, and thank me profusely!

Izzy's going on another trail ride this morning, so I am going to wait for his nod of approval - or a gigantic spook!