I leased out my horses when I was due with my daughter who recently turned one. Now, the leases are up and my horses will be moving back home.
I’m so excited to have them back, but struggling logistically with how to manage barn chores twice daily with a newly mobile one year old and a husband who travels more than he’s home
I plan on setting up a play pen in the tack room or putting her in the baby carrier or stroller so I can get chores done, but I’m sure some days will be a struggle.
Horses live out 24/7 so chores should be quick, just pick the run in shelter and dry lot, refill hay, and feed. I won’t attempt to ride unless my mom or husband has the baby.
But, give me all of your words of wisdom, advice, or ideas on twice daily chores with a baby in tow! I’m slightly freaking out.
You do what you have to do. The early toddler years are the worst when it comes to horse chores.
Screens are your friend. My kid spends way too much time on his tablet so I can get barn chores done. It’s safer for everyone.
Unfortunately the play pen stopped working for us once he was mobile. Strapping him into the stroller with snacks and a tablet worked for several months longer. Also, pulling the truck right up to the barn (I have a shedrow) and leaving him in his car seat with the tablet. I do leave him in the tack room sometimes, but I have a lot of not kid safe stuff in there and not a lot of storage space to better kid proof it. It’s amazing how many everyday horse things are not kid safe!
But honestly, I tried to dart out with the baby monitor while he was sleeping as much as possible for the first few years. That worked the best up until last summer when he decided to stop napping and started getting up earlier.
He’s almost 4 and it’s getting a bit easier finally.
And it’s not all bad. He can be an adorable helper. It’s only really a problem when the weather is bad or I have to do something more than the basic feeding routine (like tend to an abscess, etc.).
There were times I loaded up to go to a barrel race, with two little kids in tow, warmed my horse up by the trailer where I could see my kids. Then right before my run, rolled the wagon over to the side of the arena so they could see me, quick made my run, and came right back. Of course, these were local races so the adults around knew I was parking my kids and I’d be right back. It takes a village.
One time, I was at a local horse show with my mom, and we both had to be in the ring for Western Horsemanship at the same time. I think my son was maybe 3 or 4 years old; my daughter would have been 5. Found a safe spot for them to play, got into the arena, and was on the far side when I heard a child crying and determined it to be mine. One of the other mom friends was consoling him, but of course it wasn’t “his mom”. So I excused myself from the ring. What’d’ya do???
My arena is too far away from the house (1/4 mile) but fortunately my husband was usually home to watch the kids. I know of friends that would squeeze in a 15 minutes ride while baby was in the pack-n-play next to the arena. You just do what you can do. We’ve all been there!!
One time, I had a hurt horse when my daughter was about 2. I literally took the stroller out on the pasture to catch my horse, and treat his wound. (she thought it was fabulous) You do what needs to be done.
Caveat: no kids myself, but plenty of friends with them. This is what they do:
stroller works better than the pack and play after a certain age. They can see mom and the horses just get used to it . I’ve seen a wagon work as well - one with seatbelts
I don’t know if nap time just happens to fall at feeding time or if that was intentional, but one mom I know has a baby monitor on her phone and just listens for kiddo. She can talk through the system too, which can buy a few extra minutes.
baby wearing seems to work fabulously, especially if the barn is set up to where you don’t have to do any gymnastics like climbing through fences or whatever.
I really don’t understand how people baby wear while doing barn chores. I know a lot of people swear by it, but I always felt so hindered whenever I tried the do it. It’s ok if you’re just leading safe horses from point A to point B or doing some minor stall picking. But scooping feed, throwing hay, fly spraying horses, changing blankets, etc. were just too difficult and even unsafe for me with a kid on my front or back.
We did not have horses here when the kids were very young, the youngest was three when we brought them home, but then the adventures began,
More than once was one of those what did we get into moments, the most memorial were stopping by to check on things during a summer day to find daughter and her Horse peacefully watching TV in the den, she said it was too hot outside for her horse.
Often the kids coming and going in out of the house would fail to completely close the back door, then the miniature horses who were grazing in the backyard would push their way into the house to run up and down the hallway (house is old style ranch house that that is 110 feet end to end )
But the one that seems to be the high point was noticing that one child was missing, then counted the horses in the pasture, one was missing. Went to the barn to find then five or six year old daughter there with her horse in her horse’s stall. She had constructed a complete bitting rig from parts of tack we had and put it on her horse. She said she was Training her. OK, how did you come up with that bitting rig idea? She said she saw a picture of one . She took one of harness surcingle then attached side reins. OK, How did you get it one her? (horse was a large pony at a half inch under 14.2, kid was four foot something) She said she used the mounting block to get into the horse’s corner feeder to stand in then made her turn around as she hooked everything up. And actually she had put everything on just right. That was 33 years ago.
Today she is still at it, she has two horses here and she lives nearby so comes often to work her horses, much to their dismay.
Why did the play pen stop working? Was it because he could climb out, or because he’d cry/fuss being left alone there? Going to have to do something similar and I’m particularly concerned by the climbing out of play pens thing because I worry how my high-drive herding dog will handle a crawling baby and I really need a reliable way to keep them separate.
He couldn’t climb out, but by the time he was one and walking/talking, he was not content to be left alone in there and would scream bloody murder and throw a fit. And I’d get worried he’d hurt himself.
The stroller worked out much better because he was confined and I could move it around as needed so he didn’t feel left behind.
We were renting the farm pictured above with the aisle. We moved into our own place when he was about 18 months old. Sometimes he’s “helpful,” some days it’s maddening. My donkey has been the real MVP.
Set up a stall/panels/dog kennel just for baby.
Make it her space. She is secure from critters and stuff. Make it her personal play area. Use the baby monitor to keep a sound out for her. Will allow you to do chores, maintenance, ride etc. especially if its set up with a good range of view for both of you to see each other.
You should get a few years out of it - especially if if she can’t reach the handle.
That’s what I did with my daughter when she outgrew her stroller. The farm that I was working at had a couple of empty stalls and I used one to confine her when she couldn’t be running lose. It also worked as a great time out spot when she just would not listen. She’s working in the horse business now, so I don’t think it emotionally damaged her.
My mother put me on hi-line in the yard between two trees, just like the dogs. She could see me out the kitchen window and do her canning and chores. And see me from the barn/farm yard while she was on the tractor. Only way to do it in the 1960s and 1970s.
Not related to the kids…but the time management. You might want to evaluate if you can feed once a day instead of twice. Or only put hay out once a day. I have all my horses on free choice hay in hay baskets, feed forage based, and unless the horse has individual special needs (pregnant, nursing, etc) I feed once a day and they do great. As long as they have forage (hay or grass) in front of them 24/7 they really don’t need bucket feed twice a day unless the volume of the bucket feed is so significant. That’s really a habit we have as humans. I still always check on them multiple times a day, but only having to feed once is really helpful with my personal time management.
You actually could get creative with this wheelbarrow thing and make a little tray table for in front of him that would either screw on or snap on or whatever the front of the wheelbarrow and he could play with his little toys on it
It takes a village.
