Was wondering what to write about this time as I'd hate to bore you all with my tales of 'I saw this animal and that animal, etc'. So thought I would describe a typical day for me here.
Well, it normally starts around 6.30am as this is when the horses are fed. I would of course be lying if I tried to claim that I participate in that. Normally the syces have already fed the horses and are waiting around for their instructions. Generally, we have guests ride at 7.00am so it is a case of deciding which horses to use and making sure they are all tacked up and ready to go. Then meeting guests, briefing them, fitting them with helmets, and getting them mounted and away. I don't normally go out with them if they are doing a slow ride - I only tend to go if it is a faster ride for more experienced people. Besides which, the guides here are obviously far more knowledgeable about all the wildlife than I could ever hope to be so the guests will have a much more informative ride with them!
The faster horses need to be kept fit so I try to ride them every two or three days. Depending upon who is lame, there are normally about six of these horses so myself and a couple of syces will ride a horse each and lead another. At the moment, the polo ponies are on holiday (no, they haven't gone to the beach, they are just enjoying some time off work as the season doesn't start again until May). When they are back in work, then we will also have to exercise them each morning so I will be much busier then than I am now.
If we have a quiet morning without guests or the need to exercise any horses, then it gives me time to have a good look at all the horses as they head out of their stables and off to graze each day. Or to do jobs like shoeing (two of the syces are also farriers), or vaccinations. Injecting 40 horses isn't really my idea of a fun way to start a day but it's not too bad once you get started and the horses are all good to do (apart from the foal but that's another story). So far, I've had African Horse Sickness and tetanus vaccines to do, but the annual rabies jab is also due soon.
After riding, I normally have breakfast around 9.00am by which time I am truly starving! Then at 10.00am, I drive down to the shamba (the farm) where the mares and foals live to check they are all okay. Right now, I am in a routine of one day re-bandaging Santa's legs and the next day doing some handling work with Champagne. Santa is growing well but his legs are still a mess. The vet said it may be necessary to continue with the bandaging for 100 days!! In another place, he really would have had skin grafts but this is Africa and that isn't going to happen. Champagne is just the most gorgeous foal. Incredibly naughty but also very clever and affectionate. She accepts that she has to wear a head collar but isn't happy about being taught how to lead. She rears, has tantrums and has even thrown herself on the floor and refused to get up. Suffice to say, her first tetanus jab did not go well and three syces had to pin her into a corner in the stable as that was the only way to inject her. Despite all that, she really does love fuss and a cuddle - just don't ask her to do anything that she doesn't want to do..
The rest of the morning is free really. I might sort out ordering food or drugs for the horses, read, internet, or chill out by the pool. Then lunch which tends to be a prolonged affair (drinks beforehand, then 2 courses, then tea/coffee on the verandah after) as I eat with the guests. I start work again around 3pm when the horses come in from grazing in time to be ready for the 4pm ride. Asides from getting organised for that ride, every horse is groomed and has all the ticks removed so generally I am just checking all the horses and the stables. I can pretty much guarantee that at least one horse will have some minor cut or injury (usually from thorns out in the bush) that needs cleaning up and treating. They also like to lose shoes with amazing regularity. We feed around 5pm and then I just wait around for the riders to return around 5.30pm - just to make sure all went well and no one fell off..
So that is my day done. I then either relax until dinner at 8pm or may be play a little tennis or go out on a game drive. Dinner with guests is once again a prolonged affair but it is useful to chat to them about riding if they are planning to go on a ride the next day to figure out which horses might suit them. I have developed a bad habit of immediately trying to assess people's weight as we don't have many big horses so I hate it when heavy people want to ride. Also if they are over 90kg trying to figure out how to tactfully say they can't ride!
Well, that's about it for now. The two donkeys did their first bit of work yesterday. We have called them Up and Down as their job is to go up and down the hill to a nice picnic spot by the river transporting lunch. They were very well behaved apart from when they were left grazing and they decided to take themselves off back up the hill to the stables! Supukia (the camel/donkey guide) had to run after them which was quite hilarious. They were tied to a bush after that. The new picnic spot is fab. You can swim under the waterfall and jump off the rocks. The water does look a little brown but it's quite nice once you're in!
No rain for ages so the grass is now dying very quickly and everywhere is taking on a yellow / brown colour. Quite different from the lush green when I first arrived on Lewa.
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