Spin Off: Tips & Tricks for Being Efficient at the Barn

[OnlyByNight]

I was reading through the thread about motivation for getting to the barn with a busy schedule, and you guys had some great tips! I’m in a similar boat with school, work, and a 50 minute commute to the barn. Since time is of the essence these days, I thought I might take it a step further and see if anyone has any tricks for optimizing barn trips.

It might seem fairly simple (for example, I know someone who uses two brushes at a time to quicken the job!), but it can’t hurt to ask. Maybe someone has a miracle product that takes a 15 minute grooming job down to 5 minutes… who knows!

Let the ideas flow.

[mortgagemyhorse]

My go-tos when I am under a time constraint:

1. Limit chatting with people unless they are on their horse are we are walking around before or after riding. I know it seems rude but usually if I am running around and say “so sorry, I need to get out of here by X hour, will call you on the way home” then they get it. I would say I spend about 30 min chatting to people at the barn (if a friend is out there) when I have no limit to my barn time.

2. Don’t clean my tack…sorry! I clean my tack after almost every ride but if I am trying to get the H out of dodge I will wipe the bit down in the wash stall and throw it in my trunk. Then next ride will do a good cleaning.

3. I will pick feet before I walk in the barn (if horse is out) so that I don’t have to sweep the area I was grooming in if there is dirt there. If horse is in 9 times out of 10 it’s only shavings in which case I will pick in the stall.

4. Change at the office. Saves me about 5 min of going to and from the bathroom and my car.

[SCI]

We have a horse vacuum at the barn and it is a big time saver when groomng -curry, vacuum, brush. Helps keep my saddle pad clean(er) too.

[wood_snake]

No chatting.

I love to chat but it is a massive time suck.

Once I’m there I never stop moving. Any conversation happens while I lead, groom, walk etc… Never pause, ever.

Not as much fun as the laid back days but you gotta do what you gotta do.

[woodhillsmanhattan]

I am at a private farm so chatting isn’t too big an issue for me.

-Don’t clean tack: I clean tack on the weekends and days where I am not in a rush. I would preferably clean my bridle every ride but 3-4X a week cleaning tack is plenty good enough in my book.

• Don’t boot/wrap: My horse lives in bell boots so he is covered in that front. Wrapping, although I am speedy, takes a few minutes to do the front legs. And with booting I like to hose/brush my boots off after I ride so that takes time as well. Some horses you can’t avoid this, but I am lucky that my guy travels pretty straight so I get away with this.
• Condense grooming: I still curry, brush, and pick out feet every day. But either use the two brush method you said or pick a brush that is an in-between of a hard and soft brush so you can just use that all over the body. To pick out shavings/debri out of his tail I shake it more than pick through it. I save the 30 min+ grooming days for the weekends and days I have more time. Don’t skip currying, even if it’s quick and just a once over. I find it takes longer to hose/groom your horse after the ride if you skip it.
• Strategic turnout scheduling: I am an evening rider. My horse stays inside during the day and gets turned out at night during the summer. It is convenient because he is already inside when I get there to ride and then I can just hose him after my ride, dry his legs, and throw him outside. I don’t have to wait for him to dry. At my other barn he lived outside, so that was also convenient (although added time in walking out to catch him)
• A good fan (if you can’t plan around turnout, for in the summer): I hose my horse almost every ride in the heat. He gets sweaty and it’s better for their coat to remove all the sweat than to let them dry and brush them. It’s not so good for their feet, but he is blessed with good feet and stays on a hoof supplement so we deal. Those industrial fans make them dry quick enough (5-10 minutes) that you can put them right back in their stall. If your horse has good ground manners you can use this drying time to put things away, change, etc. Speaking of, see below :).
• Good ground manners: A horse with good ground manners will make everything run 10X faster. I can leave my horse in the cross ties for hours and he won’t flinch (he also sucks on his peppermints for about 15 minutes so his good ground manners are more a byproduct of being distracted by that :lol:)
• Clip in the winter
• Plan your rides: I only jump on the weekends when I know I am not rushed. I only ride ~20-30 minutes during the week. Mostly because I have had my horse for 6 years so we know each other well. But also because I only have 1 set thing I want to work on each ride. Be specific. Don’t say, on Tuesday we are going to do lateral work…that can turn into an hour or longer ride because that is a large umbrella. You may do shoulder in, then haunches in, then leg yielding, and then find out today your horse is not responsive to yielding to the right. By the time you figure that part out you are already 20 minutes or more into your ride, haven’t even cantered and now you have to work on it. Probably for another 10 minutes or more. Be specific. On Tuesday I want to do a 10 minute stretching warm up, 5 minutes shoulder in at the trot in both directions, 5 minutes canter lengthening and shortening, 5 minutes stretching trot, 10 minute cool down. If the time you allotted wasn’t enough to accomplish what you wanted, do something you know your horse will succeed at, end on that note, and then re-visit what you wanted to work on again the next day.
• Wear a watch: Your cell phone clock doesn’t count. It’s easier to glance down at your watch while you are trotting/cantering around than to pull out your cellphone. Make sure it is water proof. I recommend leaving it at the barn. Put it inside your helmet so you have to take it out and put it on before you put your helmet on :yes:.

I can’t think of anything else at the moment :).

[Appsolute]

Yep - ditto the no chatting! Its hard to do, but usually once I say “sorry need to grab my tack - you can talk with me while I walk” they either learn to walk BRISKLY or catch me another time.

And speaking of walking briskly - I do, I have a fair distance between my horse’s stall, the tack room, the wash rack etc - so I walk FAST everywhere. My horse has been trained to KEEP UP!!!

Get a routine - figure out everything you need to do, and how to accomplish it with the fewest number of trips. Here is my work day routine:

Change Cloths - walk to the changing room? Ha, what a waste of time I change in my car.

Next - go to my tack locker, grab grooming supplies, tack, and gear (tack locker is closest to my car). Some how balance it all and carry in one trip to the grooming bay.

Hike up the hill and get horse. Drag horse back down to grooming bay (hurry - we are walking fast remember!)

Quickly groom horse and tack up horse - I pick feet, then attack with two brushes at once. If shedding season (now! >:( ) then she gets a once over with a shedding block before the brushes. Mine wears “clothes” basically 24/7. A cool Koat in the summer, a sheet in the spring and fall, and a blanket in the winter. This helps cut down on grooming time, as the clothing helps keep her clean.

Ride ride ride (no talky talky).

Back to the grooming bay. Untack - take horse to wash rack - rinse off (I then carry my sweat scraper around because I am not taking the time to put it away!). Horse either waits tied, or goes to a small turn out while I prepare grain and hay for the night. (turn out and tie areas are near my feed area - “on the way” while trekking across the ranch).

I then do a very quick pick of her stall - just tossing the poop and wet stuff in one corner (staff will clean in the am - night time pick means its less likely my white horse uses a poop pile as a pillow overnight).

Put horse away - then walk - no maybe jog! Back down to the grooming bay - haul my stuff back to my locker (my barn is mellow at night, and okay with leaving tack out in the grooming bay - might not be cool at all barns), hop in my car - and head home!

Oh yeah - and no time for tack cleaning weekdays - I give it a good cleaning each weekend, but no time for it during the week.

[yellowbritches]

I try to get to the barn between 6:30-6:45am and try to be gone absolutely no later than 8:15. I prefer to spend as much of that time riding as possible. I do have it down to a science and know when I need to get off to have him settled and out away for day by 8:15. That’s a big part. Manage your minutes!

Chatting isn’t a concern as no one else is around at that time, so I can breeze in and breeze out. I keep grooming to a minimum, especially if he’s been in a fly sheet or blanket. A quick brushing or run rag to knock the big chunks off, spot curry the spots that are muddy, pick feet. As much as I would like to really apply some serious elbow grease, I rather be on than grooming. He gets seriously groomings on my days off and occasionally in the evening (I drive past him from work to home, so I will sometimes pop in and chat with him, do some chores that I really wanted to get done, etc). I also don’t clean tack. I rinse my bit and will run a damp rag over anything that has gotten really sweaty or muddy, but cleaning is reserved for days off. Neither my tack nor my horse’s coat have suffered with this protocol, as much as I would prefer to spend 30 minutes grooming!!!

i think the biggest thing is just managing your time. Figure out how much you have, how much you want to spend in the saddle, then condense everything down from there.

[Capital_Warmbloods]

Move quickly! Hose off right away and let the horse dry while you clean tack etc. pick hooves in arena before coming in to avoid sweeping entire aisle.

[kdow]

Might seem obvious, but - have spares. Anything not terribly expensive that is prone to getting damaged or dirty or lost, I try to save aggravation by having a spare. (In general, not just with horses.) That way if something happens you can still get what you want done, and put off properly dealing with the issue until you have more time. Possible spares: hoof pick (where do they vanish to?), saddle pads, bell boots if your horse wears them a lot so one might go missing, bridle/reins, halter/lead rope.

(Spares need to work but do not need to be super nice your favorite thing ever. You can survive riding for a few days with a less pretty non-matching bridle until you fix or clean your good one, yknow? It just has to do the job and be comfortable for you and the horse.)

[KateKat]

I just try and be efficient with my steps. Like plan out my route i.e grab boots and helmet first, because it’s the first place I hit on the way to grab horsey. Put horse in crossties, then grab everything I need in one trip. It’s the walking back/forth/all around that sucks up a lot of time for me!

[sma]

Each one of my DDs has a smallish (probably 18"-2’ across?) hard plastic solid laundry basket-shaped tote (I don’t know what to call it…) from the Christmas Tree Shop that I’ve found to reduce time spent at the barn immensely, as stupid as it sounds. Let me explain with a day in the life of a “barn basket”…

After barn:
The basket starts in their rooms (or, realistically, somewhere downstairs–likely directly in the way in the center of the kitchen) where the contents from the day before are parsed. Dirty school clothes go into laundry baskets, weird things from their trunk go into the trash or an appropriate home, horse things go to the trunks in the garage. Clean barn clothes for the next day then go into the basket, along with anything else needed for the barn that comes from home.

Before school: The barn baskets get carried out with backpacks and go into the trunk of the car. Snacks, treats and water bottles go in while passing through kitchen.

After school: The barn baskets go from trunk of car to next to their trunks at the barn. We are lucky in that there’s room, but they honestly don’t take up much space, and are not ugly or messy at all, even in a nice tack room. Clean barn clothes come out, they change in bathroom or closet (off tack room), and dirty school clothes go in. The headache of lost socks/pants/uniforms that have been left in weird places after changing either at school or at the barn has vanished! Barn stuff goes into trunks, etc, and after riding, stuff to go home goes in.

And it’s over!
The tote/basket shape itself is open on top, so it’s really easy to see what’s in it, etc, and the handles make it easy to carry. We tried duffel bags, and they were fairly successful, but it was easy for DDs to lose socks/bit keepers/anything inside them since you can’t see every crevice no matter what sort it is, and they got so dirty even with regular washing.

This is the closest thing that I could find… ours are very similar.
http://onemold.imould.com/product-28561-Oval%2Blaundry%2Bbasket%2Bwith%2Bhandle%2Bmold.htm

[NSRider]

Have a routine!
For me I do the exact same thing every time I get to the barn: catch, tie, groom, tack. If I’m in a bit hurry, I do the cheat groom (zip on flame suit) - groom only where tack will be touching! I know it’s not the most glamorous, but it does cut time down a lot for those quick rides. Forget the tail, forget the mane, so what if there are stains on his hind legs? If you’re not booting, it’s fine!
Whenever I have a time for only a quick ride, I like to make sure I have a plan for my ride, and try not to cram too much into it.

[RS]

I used to be a working student for a trainer that rode 15+ horses a day in addition to teaching. I can groom and tack in five minutes flat.

If possible, coordinate turnout with barn staff so that the horse is in when you arrive. Either they leave him in and you agree you’ll turn him out later, or they bring in an hour or two early…etc.

Grab all your stuff from the tack room in one go…saddle in right hand (cantle against hip), pile pads, girth, and bridle over saddle. Chuck boots/polos in grooming tote and grab with you left hand. Helmet over wrist by it’s chinstrap before picking up grooming tote if applicable. Drop by crossties.

Pick hooves in horse’s stall. Curry and brush with vigor. Contrary to popular belief, if mane and tail aren’t brushed before ride, the world will not end. If the horse is dirty enough to warrant extreme grooming, as long as the weather agrees, just hose the horse off. World will not end if you saddle a wet, clean horse. Much better than a dirty horse, and scrubbing urine/poo is a waste of time when they’ll be cleaner if hosed anyway.

Actual tacking should take less than three mins – slapping boots on legs and saddle on horse doesn’t have to be a time suck. Throw tack on, helmet on, go ride.

Afterwards, take all tack off as expediently as put on, hose horse (weather dependent), set in crossties to dry while you wipe tack down, then brush tail/mane/paint hooves/etc as time allows now that you’ve gotten your ride in. In the winter, hot towel horse, throw anti sweat and cooler on, clean tack and do little extras while the horse dries. Tack off and horse hosed/towel/etc first, then putting away everything can double as horse drying off before turnout/blanketing time.

[Flash44]

My horses are at home, so I have to do barn chores as well as ride. If I wasn’t married, I would put on clean barn clothes before I went to bed. Saves having to get dressed in the morning.

My trailer is always packed with everything I need to go to a show or lesson or trail ride, save my horse and tack.

I leave the horses turned out at much as possible, weather permitting.

In a few weeks, I will bang tails up to the hocks, as I don’t compete in the winter. This helps keep tails mud-free, and they are back down to the ground by the end of winter.

[french_fry]

Make sure your horse is already inside when you arrive to ride. Throw some money at the situation if necessary.

I grab my tack/equipment before getting my horse out of the stall. I can grab everything in one trip since I always take the extra minute to put my tack away in a way that’s convenient for me to grab everything the next time I ride, including a clean saddle pad.

When it comes to grooming, triage is key. My horse is blanketed in wet/muddy weather so isn’t usually a total mess. I bang the dirt off where any equipment will go (i.e. back, girth, legs if using boots, etc.) and pick out feet and call it a day. Assuage your guilt by promising to do a half hour curry session over the weekend when you have more time.

After my ride I walk my horse until cool (but realistically probably still wet) and either hose and stick in the cross ties (warm weather) or stick him in the cross ties under a cooler (cold weather) while I put my tack away and clean up the aisle. I have several of those sham wow type super absorbent towels that I will do his legs (and occasionally his whole body) with if he’s not drying and I’m really pressed for time. If he’s not going under a blanket I make sure his legs are dry and don’t freak out if he’s a little damp - the stalls have good ventilation.

I can be in and out of the barn in 1.5 hours on the weeknights when I take a lesson.

[hunterrider23]

Be incredibly organized and have a set routine. Here’s what I do.
When I get to the barn, if I’m not changed yet, I change. Then I pull on a hairnet and helmet, and put my gloves in my pocket. If I need spurs or a crop, that goes in the other pocket or tucked into my belt. I pull out my tack, which generally starts with me grabbing my saddle and bridle and placing them in the grooming area. Then I get my polos, saddle pads, and girth and put them in the grooming area. I grab a hoof pick and pick out the feet in the stall. I pull out my horse, and immediately put in his ear plugs. I curry then brush off with a softer flick brush and spray down with a mix of the pink spray and fly spray. I put on polos, then I brush out mane and tail if they need it. Then I paint the feet, because my trainers are a little anal about good turnout even when hacking. I put on the martingale then finish tacking up.
When I ride, I work. We power walk both ways twice around, then trot around 4 times each way, without a break changing sides twice with a figure eight, then we walk a lap and canter each way 3-4 times. Then I work on anything specific, and to walk out, I take a lap around the barn outside and end at the entrance so I can get off and go straight to the wash rack.
Where I really save time, however, is untacking. I undo the noseband and throatlatch while walking and then undo the girth. I pull off the bridle and martingale at the same time. Then do the halter and cross tie him. Then I pull off the saddle and stick it on the saddle rack. Then I undo the polos, and while I undo them, I simultaneously rewrap by rolling them up as the come off the leg. Then I turn on the hose and hose down the horse and sweat scrape, then hose and sweat scrape, which helps them cool down quicker. I use the hose to basically power hose off the feet on the front and the bottom so that I don’t have to pick them out unless there’s a rock still in them. I let them dry under the fan or throw on a cooler when it’s cold. While they’re drying I go put away my stuff and the tack, and wipe down everything with a damp sponge and use a bit wipe on the bit (though I’m getting those lexol wipes that should speed things up). Then I put them up, and boogie on out.

[Kat]

If you are riding more than one horse, put one together as you take the other apart. if you’re hosing shower one, get on the next and repeat until all are ridden. When you’re in a rush, get there during non-busy times so you can have the isles to yourself. Other than that, just efficency and making sure you’re never empty handed!

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=Kat.;7783050]
If you are riding more than one horse, put one together as you take the other apart. if you’re hosing shower one, get on the next and repeat until all are ridden. [/QUOTE]

I’m confused by what you mean?!

[Belmont]

I’m another quick tacker. My WS time also helped me. I’m also a spot groomer. Now that I live in TX, I am a “quick rinse and tack up” person. If I rinse the pig off before I ride, I will tie him and then go grab all my tack, put my boots on, put my helmet on. If I only spot groom, I have all that stuff ready and am usually booted and helmet’ed. I will try to clean on weekends or buff bad spots with a rag soaked in leather conditioner. It works.

If I am trying to get out quickly on weekends, I bring SO with me to do all the slave work while I ride.

[Vesper_Sparrow]

When I had two horses in regular work and was riding both (or trainer was riding one and I was getting both ready), I’d put them in adjacent cross ties and groom and tack them up them at the same time (curry one, curry next, dandy brush one, dandy brush next, etc., etc.). I’d throw the one I was riding second into his/her stall with saddle, breastplate and boots on and a flake of hay to keep him/her busy for the half hour it would take to ride the first.
I also don’t fa** around much or take multiple breaks on my schooling rides–I do walk, trot, canter for 15 minutes, take a breather, then another 10-15 minutes and cool down. And I pretty much have a plan for the ride as soon as I get on.