Summer Chores

All winter long, us horse people pray for heat and summer and sun. But when we are busy hauling water across fields and breaking ice in and on everything, taking blankets on and off horses and dogs, picking ice balls out of shod feet, hauling/dragging/hefting hay bales across snowy paddocks, trudging around in about 47 layers of clothing and that's NOT counting the insulated coveralls and heavy boots. And did I mention how often you are cleaning stalls all winter? Pushing and shoving a heavy wheelbarrel full of frozen poop to the pile?

But all winter long, while you are freezing your can off you forget about all the summer chores, that while being done in 99% humidity with temps over 90 degrees, are just as unpleasant. But, hey, at least you're getting tan, right? Let's see what we do all summer that really isn't any better than what we do all winter:

• mowing the lawn... which I'm pretty sure needs to be done every other day
• ditto that on the weed eating
• cleaning stalls that reek with heat-inhanced urine
• anything with hay. Maybe this isn't as big of a deal to most people, but I'm very allergic to hay (ironic, right?) and the heat seems to make my allergic reaction much worse. I get hay rash and asthma attacks and snot running down my face in a most undignified manner.....
• water...when you have to use 8 different hoses to make it from your spicket to your water tub in the back back. 
• riding. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE RIDING. I love that it's warm and dry and I can ride anytime I want..... as long as it's before 9am and after 8pm that is..... Sure I could ride anytime, but then both my horse and I want to die. I have such a willing horse. But when the heat index reaches a certain point he stops being amiable. And I don't blame him. I get down right cranky when I get overheated too. Just ask my riding buddies. They probably pack backup Gatoraid just for me....

But if I had to choose one season/time of year and the set of chores associated with them I'd pick summer hands down every time. It might be sweltering, but the days are longer and when it gets too much to bear, jump in a cool water trough and cool off!