https://www.allisonhealy.com/blog daily 0.75 2024-10-10 https://www.allisonhealy.com/blog/my-favorite-aussie-isms monthly 0.5 2024-06-24 https://www.allisonhealy.com/blog/a-day-in-the-life monthly 0.5 2024-06-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/38a4a0cc-e9e3-46bf-8c57-af829fab29bc/7E0537FE-A315-4EC4-84F1-52079D742C8A.jpeg blog - A day in the life… 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. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/1717066889296-U3JWGSMM9NGLSJ3OCJ8Q/IMG_0830.jpeg blog - A day in the life… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/1717066889545-0NHCPOITALL9AM4FSYST/IMG_0715.jpeg blog - A day in the life… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/1717066893286-KYFO684C8YWLEXU65PAK/773581E0-EBCB-4271-A434-38DA8C0DBE27.jpeg blog - A day in the life… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/1717066925423-U08FXXU1W7T7N8Q6VXOQ/IMG_0860.jpeg blog - A day in the life… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/1717066924089-29PDNSJU014KF86ICY0S/0BADFABD-1716-4795-81F7-0AA351F1DED1.jpeg blog - A day in the life… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/1717066973704-XGE9G2TURYHHQAC3UDHA/IMG_1073.jpeg blog - A day in the life… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/1717066955761-MTH25Q1Y9SXE099NIK7Q/IMG_0897.jpeg blog - A day in the life… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/1717066965362-IHJDLSY5ZLZWUZH0IZRG/IMG_0935.jpeg blog - A day in the life… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/1717066989462-RI9OTYMM6023SWQWOCG7/Tezza-4509.jpeg blog - A day in the life… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/1717066983462-HB323KTJFF21ZIDN55GF/8ca20939-5112-4f8d-94f2-5751b5599593.jpeg blog - A day in the life… https://www.allisonhealy.com/blog/in-retrospect-8-changes-to-get-me-to-australia monthly 0.5 2024-06-02 https://www.allisonhealy.com/blog/she-made-it-to-australia monthly 0.5 2024-06-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/662b8d88bb3225762484e11a/1714811883844-B4NRMZA6VZNZDU88SD9M/IMG_0057.jpeg blog - she made it to australia! 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