Life on the Ranch – Part 2

Horse Ranch Adventure

If you haven’t read part 1 yet, why not start there?

 

Life is sloooow here. Calm. Peaceful. Serene. All these words apply. It is a great way of living.

 

The past few days on the ranch have remained very relaxed. Even now, when there are guests on the ranch, taking them out on trails is by no means a chore, but instead a perk of the job. The past few days I’ve been riding up to 3 times a day, which, although leaving me with a sore bum, I really cannot complain about! I find it really funny taking guests out on trails, particularly when they are nearly always more experienced at riding than me. Admittedly, that’s not hard.

 

The work on the ranch is very flexible, and particularly with so many other people here from Workaway, we really do get to pick and choose what jobs we want to do, and it’s only the absolutely necessary jobs (feeding horses), there is any real urgency about. Since the two Spanish guys have left, I am the only male, and I appear to have assumed the role of chief handyman, with all manly jobs such as building bonfires, barbequing ribs and fixing electric fences being in my remit.

 

I feel so lucky to be able to have the opportunity to work here, and am enjoying the riding even more than I thought I would. There are a few trails here, but one of my favourite feels like a truly wild area and exactly as I expected riding in America to be; a great sense of wilderness and freedom. The trails are hilly and pass through singletrack where the bushes and shrubs close in on either side of you, through dark and dense forests, impenetrable by the sunlight, and through creeks for the horses to wade through and cool off. My favourite bit however, is as you reach the top of a big hill and out of nowhere, suddenly leave the forest behind and are greeted by wide open pasture. You can see far out to the horizon, and a wide open expanse of grass stretches out to meet it. This is the perfect place to canter off into the horizon. Ahh, I can’t believe I’ve already been here a week. I’ll miss it when I leave.

sad

Like camp, you’re with the same people all the time on the ranch. When you’re working, sleeping, playing, eating. As a result, you get to know each other well and make good friends. I’ve had a lot of fun here on time off. Although we mainly stay on the ranch, there always seems to be something going on such as going out on rides, floating down the creek on rubber rings, going swimming, playing pool or simply singing and having beers and smores round a bonfire on a starry night.

 

For part 3, click here!

2 Replies to “Life on the Ranch – Part 2”

  1. Martin.skeats@gmail.com says: Reply

    You are so lucky. It sounds brilliant.

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