Shumbashaba Reflection 5 - 15 - 14

Shumbashaba Reflection 5 – 15 – 14

            On Thursday, May 15, I learned how to blanket the horses. Blanketing the horses at the close of each night is needed to conserve warmth and provide mosquito protection. Specially made horse blankets are placed over the horses back. Ensure that the horse’s blanket is fitted the right way around, so that the tail flap is not on its neck. Basically, don’t put the horse blanket on backwards. Fasten the breast straps, allowing enough room between the blanket and the horse; so, you can slip your hand all the way around the horse’s neck. Fasten the belly straps around the horse’s belly. Also, allow enough space between the straps and the horse so you can run your hand around the belly. This assumes the blanket is not too tight. Put the horse’s tail through the strap to allow the tail to freely move.

            The challenge that I found a bit difficult is that the blankets are hard to tell which way round to put it on the horse properly. Thankfully, we have the Shumbashaba staff that is willing and always able to assist and help us in such a professional and kind manner. I thank them for all their service and knowledge. One of the learning moments here is that the Shumbashaba horses are so well taken care of and interacted with humans. Therefore, they are so wonderful to be around and tame. My motivation to volunteer at Shumbashaba allows me some great opportunities to interact with large animals to get the hands on experience that will be helpful for my future studies in zoology. I feel that volunteering my services to Shumbashaba is an asset to them and rewarding for me. Every Thursday, when I volunteer to work with the horses I give 100% with participation and effort. I accept all the new challenges openly and gain so much by doing so. I’ve realized that each and every time that I volunteer with Shumbashaba I’m going to have some sort of limitation because I’m always learning something new that I didn’t know. I thoroughly enjoyed this CAS project and I am looking forward to starting again next year. I want to thank Shumbashaba and the staff for giving me this incredible opportunity and opening their property and business and giving the AISJ students a chance to grow, expand, and learn.  

Shumbashaba Reflection 5 - 8 - 14

Shumbashaba Reflection 5 – 8 – 14

            On Thursday, May 8, I moved hay to the compost station. Prior to my arrival with the involvement of the moving of hay to the compost station, the staff had already cleaned and raked the soiled hay into large sacks. This is where myself and the other AISJ student volunteers began to drag or wheel barrel the sacks of soiled hay to the compost station. Once again this was a very labor intense work, but very fulfilling and important job. This compost will be used at the horse farm as a natural fertilizer, a wonderful way of recycling and giving back to the Earth.

            This particular duty of volunteer service was not particularly a challenge or a skill learned; but nonetheless it is a very important job that needs to be done when caring for horses. This important detail ensures that the horses always have clean hay in their stalls. Transporting the soiled hay to the compost station from the stalls requires stamina and muscles. Thus, take your time if your just starting out and endurance will increase with time. Even though I have not had the opportunity to volunteer at the zoo this would definitely give me the idea of daily jobs needed. I don’t feel any changes can be done on the transferring of hay. It’s a very well orchestrated, smooth operation. No conflicts arose. In the big picture, this experience could definitely help me in my field of study in zoology.    

Shumbashaba Reflection 4 - 10 - 14

Shumbashaba Reflection 4 – 10 – 14

            On Thursday, April 10, I learned how to take rectum temperatures on horses. The normal body temperatures of a horse is between 37.5°C and 38.5°C. Any temperature above 38.5°C is seen as a possible infection. A digital thermometer is the equipment necessary for this daily procedure. It will notify you when it’s ready by beeping. It will display the temperature on the thermometer display screen. I took the temperature of about 25 different horses at Shumbashaba during my volunteer service time. All the horses were waiting in the stalls for us. Temperatures must be taken every morning and night. First, position yourself on the left side of the horse. This prevents the horse from being scared. Approach the horse from the front at an angle and move towards the rear end. This will prevent you from being kicked. Second, gently tap the horse’s rear end so they know you are there and lift the tail. Third, turn on the thermometer and insert it into the rectum. Wait until the thermometer beeps to indicate it is done and ready to read. This takes about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Then, remove the thermometer from the rectum and record results in a chart. Warning: gas will escape from the horse’s rectum; so, be ready. The temperature will be lower in the morning and higher at night due to the weather.

            This is a new challenge and skill that I have learned by volunteering my time at Shumbashaba. This interaction along with my other volunteer service at Shumbashaba has enhanced my knowledge and skill as a whole with working with horses. When I arrived at Shumbashaba this afternoon, and was told we were going to be taking the temperatures of the horses via the rectum I was a bit apprehensive. As I put my own unknown fears aside and got right into the task, I learned that this is a very important medical procedure to ensure that the horses are in good health. I overcame my apprehensiveness. The only thing I can relate this to is my dogs annual vet visit. I was able to observe my veterinarian performing this same task on my dogs. Now I’m able to take part in this task at Shumbashaba. At Shumbashaba I noticed that the thermometer was not being cleaned from horse to horse. A change that I would make is to clean the thermometer after every use. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue volunteering at Shumbashaba.

Shumbashaba Reflection 4 - 17 - 14

Shumbashaba Reflection 4 – 17 – 14

            On Thursday, April 17, I learned how to feed a horse. Anton, the hired help and myself prepared combinations of buckets of rations. I’m unsure of the exact feed used. This will definitely be a learning moment that I need to enquire about at the next feeding. I worked very hard in labor preparing these buckets this particular day. I returned home exhausted, but satisfied with my involvement. Along with the prepared ration, allow the horses to feed on hay at their will. After the preparation of ration buckets, we proceeded to the stall and filled each bin with the ration supply. Also, we payed great attention to clean drinking water in each of the horse’s enclosures. 

            Learning how to feed the horses at Shumbashaba is definitely a new skill I acquired. I didn’t realize they had special formulas, certain amounts, and that they needed to have hay incorporated with it. I accepted the opportunity and the challenge of the physical demand needed to perform this task and the importance of a properly balanced diet for the horses. There is a lot of similarity between feeding horses and one’s own diet. They must be balanced, full of nutrition, and have the essential portion of clean fresh drinking water. I can relate this to my own pets at home. A few minor issues that possibly conflicted with my performance were my ability to work fast and carry such heavy loads. My body is not conditions for such manual labor. I could see on a regular basis my performance and strength would improve. As I said before, I will continue to volunteer my time at Shumbashaba in my senior year.

Shumbashaba Reflection 3 - 27 - 14

Shumbashaba Reflection 3 - 27 - 14

            On Thursday March 27, 2014 my volunteer service at Shumbashaba was how to lead a pony. The pony’s name that I led was Mocha. I first haltered the adorable little pony. Then, I ensured that the halter was fitted properly, so that it wouldn’t rub on Mocha’s neck. Next, I attached the lead rope to the ring on the head collar under his chin. I made sure the clip was facing backward to prevent from pinching his muzzle. I held on to the lead rope with a length of 2 to 3 feet to spare with my right hand from the head collar. This action initiated the pony to walk. Then, I turned and faced the direction I was going to walk. Lightly tugging on the lead rope, Mocha followed me. I proceeded to walk and gradually release the pressure on the lead rope. If Mocha started walking too fast, I would gently and slowly lift my arm closer to the clip of the lead rope. For safety reasons, I always walked in front of the pony and was always conscious of my position to Mocha, because he cannot see his feet. I executed wide turns when I was turning a corner to compensate for his size.

            My learning moment today was how to lead a pony. I felt this was a great privilege to get to know Mocha and be able to interact with such a marvelous animal. One thing I want to reiterate on is that I did not know horses could not see their feet when they walked. This gives me great respect on their massive size and understanding. These actions that I take incorporated with the horses allows me to build more confidence learn a great deal about caring for horses, but yet I see that I still have many limitations that I am unknowledgeable about. Therefore, I can’t wait to learn what is next. This learning moment on leading a horse I can relate to when I was bathing a horse, on how I have to think before I act because the horses are unaware of my movement. So, I must move slowly. This was a very enjoyable day and I encountered no problems. All this experience that I am gathering by volunteering at Shumbashaba will enhance the horses well-being and my knowledge of working with large animals for my future career in zoology.