Friday, January 29th, 2010 Last day

Day Eighteen - Last Day


-The story of my personal life at internship


This is one of the kitties that lives on the ranch. There are three of them...They're all black...O_O











This is one of the bigger turnouts. Right now in the far corner you can see Cobalt...I like him a lot. He's one of the most sweet horses I've ever met.











Cobalt! Yay! He's so sweet! I don't even know how to describe him...He's just amazing.

Almost every day I was there I would turn him out so he could go exercise and play. Usually he's with Lilly.








This is Audry, she runs a non-profit, savinghorsesinc.com, and Cobalt is one of her rescue horses. I worked with her almost everyday I was at the ranch.










While grooming and picking hooves I got some Thrush Buster on me...XP Blech.

Well...Just in case I ever get Thrush in my shoe then I'm covered...









This would be the stalls we relocated a lot of the horses too. The mud and rain just got so bad that the horses needed a more dry place to stay.











This is a giant truck full of hay...We feed most of the horses around 2-3pm...They know when we come around, so they make a huge racket. Every. Time. We come.










Some of the horses need supplements, so Audry has to mash them up into this sort of paste thing that they eat. That way they get both the good tasting food, and the not so good tasting but helpful supplements...=]









These are all of the stalls we move horses into, and the area we fed first usually.












This is where the hay is loaded off usually, then we took it and passed it around to other boarders horses and so on.











Cobalt and Lilly running around having a good time.



-Highlight the most significant personal learning experiences for me at my internship

I would say my most significant learning experience has to be about how some horses are treated. When Audry was telling me about how she saves horses from the feedlot I was very shocked. I didn't know that people auctioned their horses off to be killed for their meat.
She told me about two separate race horses that are at the ranch and how they were both dumped after they got too old to race. They were just sold at auction because no one gave a care after they had gotten older. I mean, come on, horses live for up to around 30 years old, and they were tossed away after they were 8-11 years old just because someone decided they were too old to race.
These horses are so sweet, and really, after getting to know them for a few days, you can tell that all they want to do is please you. They want to run and hang out with their buddies, and when a person is with them they just want attention and praise.

I'm glad there are rescues out there, because none of the horses on the feedlot or in auction about to be on the feedlot, deserve to be there. With the right care and training, they could be amazing companions and lovely riding horses.
All they need is someone who cares about them, and has some time to spend with them.

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Day Seventeen


These are pictures of when the farrier came. He didn't shoe anybody when he came, just trimmed hooves and checked to make sure none of the horses feet had gotten thrush from the mud.

This is his little cart of tools he uses. All of them have a different purpose and all of them be uses on each hoof pretty much. That's a lot of things to switch between constantly! Haha. But he did it very quickly and with efficiency.



First step, make sure tools are all there, and in a reachable area.




This would be Cowboy. It was his third time having his hooves clipped, so he was a little shifty while being worked on.

Second step, get the horse you're going to be working on, and make sure they are tied well.








This would be the farrier cleaning Cowboys hooves of all the mud and little rocks. Very important. Usually you start with the front on one side, then the back on that side, then move to the front on the other side, then the back again.

Third step, clean each hoof separately then clip and measure.






This would be him clipping the outer parts of Cowboys hooves. It's kind of like trimming a long fingernail.

Fourth Step, trimming the hoof and making sure nothing is overgrown within it or has any thrush.








This is the last part where he takes this big kind of file and just files down the outer hoof area. That's just to make sure each hoof is relatively the same size so the horse has an easier time walking on it. If they get to long, then the horse will have a harder time picking them up fast, so they would trip quite often.

Step Five, File the outer hoof and make sure they all match up so that one isn't smaller or larger then the others and therefore off balance.

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Day Sixteen


Have to wait a while more until my mentor says okay to a photo. =]

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 (IPOL)

Day Fifteen - Internship Presentation of Learning (IPOL)

How did you make a meaningful contribution to your workplace?

I think just for the main part I helped get things done faster. This just brings to mind the saying, 'Many hands make light work.' And in this situation I think that's what happened a lot. I would groom a horse and or turn one out as someone else was doing the same thing, or the same with blanketing. And the whole thing was that it just made things go faster.

How was your work as an intern meaningful to your education?

The main way it was helpful to me is in that, I got experience in a workplace. Somewhere that wasn't school oriented and with a lot of kids and being in a classroom all day. This was actually going to a place and doing work all day. Some days there would be more work then others, but I would still need to show up. And if I was sick or something came up, then I still need to inform them ahead of time so that they would know and be able to plan around that. Also that I got to follow most of the people around here at the ranch and figure out what they were doing. After a few days I could actually help people on the ranch instead of just following them around looking like, 'I don't know what I can do.'

After I learned most of the horses names and where their stalls were I could much more easily help everyone when they told me to go get a specific horse. Before I was just like, 'Uh, that's the stall at the top right? With the horse that's kind of grayish? Right? Maybe...?'

How did your project go from an idea or inspiration to a final product?

My mentor has been wanting to get a few more boarders for her ranch since the economy has been slowly falling and getting worse. Other boarders she used to have there either sold their horse(s) or took them home to try and find a place to keep them because it's hard to keep a steady job and pay for a horse. There still are a few boarders there, but she would really like a few more, and maybe even a few more people to come and take lessons there.

She came up with the idea that I could market for her a little bit by creating a one page website that explains about her ranch and why it is such a unique place to be at. After the initial idea came up we later thought up the idea of interviewing the people who live on the site and the boarders and volunteers to get their ideas on the place and why they think it's unique and inviting.

What new appreciations did you develop while working as an intern? Why?

I would say I admire everyone's perseverance on the ranch mostly. Every morning they get up and feed the horses, un-blanket them, and sometimes turn them out, and then just a few hours later they come back to muck, check if the blanket needs to go back on or stay off, and turn new horses out. It's tons of work, especially on the days when their dressage trainer is in because then we have to prepare the horses so he can ride them. Mostly though I think it's amazing how everyone at the ranch here can get up and do the same things every day of the week, over and over.

What qualities or characteristics did you see in the people around you that you want to develop in yourself? Why?

I think it is awesome that Stephanie has her own ranch, populated with beautiful horses and other animals. She demonstrates so much compassion and care for not only her animals but all the other owners animals as well. She is an extremely talented and accomplished designer and I think it's great that she can do something she loves and have that support her ranch.

Ryan, the dressage trainer is someone I admire. He's punctual and expects and appreciates others punctuality. He likes things tidy on the ranch so whenever he sees something that needs to be done he will either do it himself or point it out to someone. He gets things done and usually it's pretty prompt as well.

Audrey is the woman who rescues horses, her website is savinghorsesinc.com. I really love how dedicated she is to her work. She loves saving horses and always has the best in mind for the horses. It's surprising how many horses are mistreated and/or trained poorly so that people don't know how to take care of them and they end up on the feedlot. At that point Audrey does her best to rescue as many as she can, because if not, then they get sold to be killed for their meat.

How did your view of life beyond high school change or develop during your time as an intern?

Well, I talked to a lot of people on the ranch about their traveling, because that's what I'm really interested in right now, and it sort of just reinforced my ideas already. That I would like to travel before I go to college, and then most likely through college as well. I'm probably going to take a year or so off and just visit places. One of the main things I think is really important that Audrey and Gail touched on is that, here,in the U.S. , there is a belief that we have the best of everything, and a little bit of the, 'we're on top' feeling. So after a while it's kind of like a tunnel because here we're only seeing our perspective, but as we travel there are so many different things to learn, and new ways to approach things that it's like, you get pushed out of that tunnel vision.

So I definitely want to travel, and learn as much as I can from other places.

How might internship influence the direction of your life?

Well, I've always loved horses. I love all animals in general and will always have an animal at every point in my life most likely, that's just something I love, always having an animal companion. Through this internship I wasn't really doing it because this is what I want to do for my whole life and I want to prepare for it, it was more coming from the area of, I really love horses and would like a chance to be with them. I will love some time in the future, probably way down later in my life, to get a few rescue horses and spend time training them and taking care of them, but I don't think that I just want to jump into owning horses because it is a lot of work.

The questions I asked in the interviews:

• How did you find out about HOTS?

• How long have you been at HOTS?

• Why stay at HOTS?

• Have you ever been at any other stables/ranches before coming here?

• Do you consider HOTS to be more clean or organized compared to other ranches you've

• been to?

• How many trails are there here?

• What do you like best about the trails?

• Are they gaged from easy - advanced? or more advanced?

• What are the people here like? Different personalities.

• What are the different seasons like here? Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer.

• Do you do different activities/programs during the different seasons?

• Do the normal lessons and activities continue through all season? Through rain, snow, mud, heat.

• Have you worked with the Team Esteem program?

• What do you think about the Team Esteem program?

• Is the training here beginner-advanced friendly?

• How many trainers are here?

• What types of training do you provide?

• What do YOU think makes HOTS different from other ranches?

• Do you feel that HOTS is a safe environment? Not just around the horses, but with the people who work here as well.

• Do you feel that the horses are given the best care possible when they are here?

• Do you feel this is a child-adult friendly place? Or is it geared more towards one then the other?

The interviews from different people:

Wanda, Ryan and Client interview

1- Ryan 2- Client 3- Wanda

1. Word of mouth

2. Saw sign, website

3. Word of mouth, someone who already worked here

1-3. Been here between 5 months – 3 years

1. Feels like home, people here are friendly, horses are amazing, the atmosphere, they all bring a difference to the table, very loving

2. Warm, everybody can benefit, no one is too 'odd', people here want you to succeed

3. Relaxed, accepting, (Not like the 'dressage world'(snotty))

1. Way cleaner then other ranches/stables, no comparison, the owner is an interior designer so the layout is amazing

2. Care has been taken for even the little things around the place

3. Not very 'commercial', more homey feeling, non industrial, not so fast paced

1. Unbelievable trails, bodies of water, different trees, rock sculptures

2. Very green around here, natural water not man made, it's all very real, brooks

3. most fun, chest deep water on the horses

1. Easier to advanced riding, all ages welcome, there has been an indoor arena there for approx. 3 years

1-3. More authentic, kind of low key, LOVE of the horse is what brings people together there, peaceful environment, non explosive, passionate and relaxed

1. Jan-Feb can get snow, Spring- beautiful, very green, bright healthy colours, Fall- very orange, changing of the seasons actually happens here!

1-3. Don't stop training/lessons throughout the seasons

1. Team Esteem curriculum modified to fit a group, THERAPUDIC horses, wash away the bad feelings and show you there is still good in the world.

1. VERY well taken care of horses, “Horses are your partners here.”

Interview with Gael

1/21/10

• Been a boarder for 13 years approx. (Since when it was Pine Valley Stables)

• Covered corrals, covered barns, lots and lots of turnouts, the people are great and extremely helpful, the people in charge are very grounded and know what they're doing, trails are beautiful, the atmosphere overall is just really good

• Very clean and organized, the layout is well planned out

• The people here are open minded and willing to try new things, they aren't just set in one way

• The outback trails- obstacles, wonderful, secret canyon(drop off ledge), Out front- Beautiful, noble canyon(Windy road to get there though)

• The clients are amazing, they're all great

• There actually are seasons here, but there is always a turnout to use, and place to lunge your horse, always

• Team Esteem(and working with the horses) gives children(teenagers) a destination, confidence and teaches them about horses in a very safe environment

• fen shui oriented, layout is very pleasing to the eye, there are a lot of pastures to let your horse graze in, the grounds are very well kept, the bathrooms as well, and the covered arena

• They are focused on safety and awareness of what is going on around you there

• Very child friendly, Team Esteem, Phoenix House, education, it's all great

• People go above and beyond to take care of the horses, feeding is always on schedule, your horse is always well taken care of

Mike Interview

1/08/10

• Tear Jerking, all around rewarding experience

• back and front trail entrances, 100 or so trails leading to Mexico and Canada and so forth. easy-advanced trails, you can walk through water on them

• Versatility, have a good time, very relaxed there, no-stress

• Very safety oriented

• 1 trainer for dressage

• More very tame horses

• A lot of rescue animals

• 4 or so regular volunteers

• Very beginner friendly

Stephanie added on:

• Social/Trail rides

• Funding and donations needed

• Semi-Private

• Maintained grounds

• Statues around

• In ads –Friendly faces, nice facility, non rude behavior, respectful

• Not over bearing, very accessible, thoughtfully planned out

End product: A one page informative inviting piece that is based on the key of simplicity and yet still effectively markets their ranch and ideas.

Welcome to Horse of the Sun, a haven for horses and people.

Merely 15 minutes East of Alpine, 40 minutes East of San Diego and an easy one mile drive North off of the 8 exit, we are nestled among the trees and streams of Pine Valley California.

Situated on 36 acres of land we have 11 turnouts and two arenas, one covered and the other open. We provide dressage lessons and boarding.

Our trails are unrivaled in that they are enjoyable for both the beginner and the master riders. Just out our back gate you can ride under the Pine Valley bridge, then onward all the way to Lake Morena reservoir and beyond. Or, if you prefer, out our front gate is a brief 20 minute ride to the Noble Canyon trail head where you can access the Cuyamacas and some of the most beautiful trails in East County. The sky truly is the limit when it comes to trail riding at Horse of the Sun! Also, there are plenty of creeks around, and centuries old California live oak trees.

“There are actually seasons here.” Mike, volunteer.

January through February there is a high possibility for snow and rain. Spring has been described as beautiful, very green with bright, vibrant and very healthy looking colors. Autumn is very orange as falling leaves decorate the ground. No matter what the weather condition may be there is always a turnout to use and a place to lunge your horse.

When you arrive here you are drawn in by the feeling of welcome and being at home. The environment is very safe, the horses are lovingly cared for and everyone here is passionate about what they do.

“Here, the horses are your partners.” Ryan Hopkins, dressage trainer.

Placed in a learning, fun, safe and friendly environment you can have dressage lessons without all of the hustle and bustle of city life. There are no freeways close enough where you can hear the rushing and honking of every car as they go by and no close by apartments with tenants blasting music constantly.

“Here it is very child friendly, there is a definite focus on safety and awareness of what is going on around you.” Gael, boarder.

Here we like to maintain a low key, no-stress, relaxing, and authentic place where we can share our interest of horses. Love of the horses is what brings us together here, and what keeps things going.

“People here want you to succeed”. client

Emphasis is placed upon communication in both human to human interaction and human to animal relations. We believe that everything matters, and will meet the needs of both horse and human here, whether you are looking to board your horse or take lessons in riding, or all of the above, we make sure everything you need is taken care of.

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Day Fourteen



THIS IS AMAZING! Haha. This is what I found most interesting about my day. This is a pad used on the hooves of Shires and Quarter horses, and so on. Basically the world of working horses. This thing is HUGE! It is literally the size of a dinner plate. So as to show how large this thing was, I put my hand in the picture and dang, my hand doesn't even come close to covering the thing. Can you imagine putting that on a horse?

He showed me the halters they use on the bigger horses and it was giant. Usually those horses are between 18.5 - 20+ hands. That's GIANT! Haha.

This is his little furnace like thing in the back of his truck where he heats up the horse shoes and bends them to the shape he needs to fit the shape of the hooves he's working on. All hooves are different shapes, therefore all the shoes need to be bent in a different way to be a comfortable fit for the horse.







This is the farrier filing down Cowboys back hooves. He puts the hoof on this little metal stand and just files away the outer part. This is sort of like having your fingernails get really long and/or kind of jagged. This process is just like trimming nails. Only...You know...On a few thousand pound horse...*Shrug* No biggie...

=]





This is the farrier reaching for his tools, Cowboy had moved away a little bit, so he really had to reach for his tools.











The little add on at the top of the pole just allows him to put the horses hoof in it so he doesn't have to constantly hold all of the pressure that the horse is pushing down on him as he holds the leg up. Those horses can get pretty heavy, and if you do three or four in a row then I'm guessing your back might start to ache. Add onto that the fact that this is only the third time Cowboy's been with the farrier and it makes it even harder to do.





Without the added on top the horses hoof just sits on the top of it as he he measures the angle and how much is left of the hoof to see how far there is till he reaches blood vessels and hurts the horse. Can't have that.









This tool digs around the horses frog area and gets out any overgrown parts of the hoof or any dirt that's lodged deep in the hoof.

From this picture you can't really tell what he's doing that well, but you can kind of see the tool.








The front hooves seem a lot easier then the back since they lift up a little higher and are easier to hold onto. The back legs are more muscled and therefore if they pull away, stronger and make it easier for them to pull you away as well.









This is just another picture to show how fast he does his work. He's been doing this four around 10 years now, so he's pretty experienced.











This is what a hoof looks like. It's pretty cool. Earlier I mentioned a 'frog' and if you don't know much about horses or anything really horsey you were probably really confused and/or laughing. So I will clarify for you. In the hoof, the area that sort of looks like a triangle with the crevices on either side of it, that is the frog.







This horse shoe is made from a sort of plastic and it's referred to as the tennis shoe of the horse shoe world. I actually wasn't aware how many different types of shoes there were and what the differences between them were, and what they meant. This shoe is used for horses who walk on pavement or concrete a lot, generally police horses and the like.






This is the part that gets attached to the hoof.

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Day Thirteen




This is the barn, there's a little shed thing along the side of it where all the tools and hardware are kept. The logo is of one of my mentors first horses, Khali.











This whole area is pretty much clear of all the horses because of the rain. This area was a potential flood zone, so everyone's moved.












This is actually the inside view of the barn, it's rather large. They had to move a lot of the horses here because of the rain.


I worked with Audrey, one of the volunteers and boarders there, to let a few horses in after turning them out for a few hours.







This is one of the rescue horses, Gracie. Right now her leg has a little cut on it, hence the hot pink bandaging. XD

To find out more about who rescued her and others who have been rescued from slaughter, please take a few minutes to visit:

http://www.savinghorsesinc.com/






This is the corral where she and another rescue horse, Nuuki, are kept. She loves to chew the boards, as you might be able to tell from this picture...Haha, I think it's a slow escape plan...O_O










This is one of their turnouts. The horse is Patch, one of the boarded horses there. Every once in a while a volunteer will let her out to run around. When she first got in the turnout she was bucking and galloping all over the place. =]










This is all of the ice on the ground. It's cracked and broken appart so now it looks like glass. It's very slippery to walk on, especially with sneakers on.











This is how I travel around the ranch when Audrey is there. Yeah...It's a new style...Everyone is envious.

No, haha, just joking...










This is the outdoor uncovered arena, and as you can see, it did not fare so well with the rain. It's still got a lot of water in it right now, so that should actually be staying for a while.


In the background you can see the covered arena.








Giant lake in the middle of the path...I have fun walking horses around this...Not...

Slipping and trying to find your footing while leading a giant horse behind you is slightly terrifying...









This is just a picture showing more of the uncovered arena. I wanted to kind of try and show how large it is. Which, it is rather giant.












This is a corral which has Nuuki and Gracie in it. They're both bonded with each other and very close friends. Buuuuudies...













In the course of one typical workday, how many different people do you directly work with?

Well, depending on the day, I work with between 3-7 people. Mostly just feeding, suppliments, turnouts, shots sometimes, grooming, and lunging. On occasion I work with my mentor on her design business, but very very rarely.


How many people are indirectly affected by your work.

Seven.

Describe your direct collaboration with others—how does it go & how does it influence the work?

I work with Audrey to feed and turnout, sometimes lunge and give shots or meds. This usually just makes things go faster and easier. The more hands you have around the horses when you know what you're doing the better.

I work with Stephanie to do the one page website and so on, researching where they can place ads or put up some kind of link on horse sites.

When I work with Ryan usually it's to groom, saddle, and listen to what he has to say about the horses and dressage riding...Which is usually a lot, and I find it very interesting.

Describe your indirect impact on others through your work—there are probably many people you never actually see who are affected by your work. How does this happen? How does this influence your work?

I would say a few of the people who board their horses there are indirectly affected by me because I let their horses out and groom them sometimes, so they get exercise and cleaned. It just means their horses get some time to run around and play for a bit instead of being cooped up for such a long time until their owners come decide to let them out. (Which in some cases they don't even come to let them out, they just pay the board fee)

How might people work differently in your job in the future?

I don't really think it wold change much because it's the same basic thing. Taking care of horses there is pretty simply, so nothing would really change.

How might a different manager or mentor want people to work?

All ranches are different, so I've been with ranches that are very strict and others that are very laid back and carefree. Horse of the Sun is a little in between the two, but more towards carefree I would say. It's surprising how many boarders there don't come to see their horses, so I think another manager might try to get them to come in more or something. It's kind of sad that they don't visit their horses.

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Day Twelve


I went into my internship site today just to see if they needed me, and no one was coming out of their houses...O_O I think they were all still asleep, haha. There were no footprints on the ground, so it didn't look like anyone had been out yet, and no one was answering when my mother and I knocked, so we figured it was best to just go back home.

There was snow and rain everywhere. Rain + Dirt + Snow = Muddy sleet and little rivers going down the paths.


This is one of the houses there, right next to the office. There was a little river going through the walkway there. =P












This is the view from the office. Right next to the little stepping stones, there was basically tons of mud, covered with snow, and then with a river of water streaming over it. It was a very good thing that there were stones there, because if they weren't there, it would have been almost impossible to get into the office.








This is another view from just outside the office. You can't really tell from this picture, but that path that the stones are all lining goes down at a little bit more then a 45 degree angle. Plus the fact that it's covered in snow, mud, and rain, and it makes for a very slippery very dangerous path. If you walked up it like my mother and I did, I would not advise walking back down it. Find another way...Haha.






This is one of the corrals, right now it's covered in snow and there isn't a cover on it, so no one put any of the horses in there.












This is the path back up to where the cars are parked. It's hard to tell from the picture, but there's little rivers all going down it, and slush is all over it. We had to take our time walking up it so that we wouldn't slide back down.