Bringing Baby to the Barn

Shelby's been going to the barn with me almost every day for a long time now. Starting when she was teeny tiny last winter, I would wrap her in my Baby K'Tan and cover us both with a big jacket. She would snuggle against my chest and watch everything. Sometimes she'd sleep the whole time.

When she got a little bigger and it wasn't so cold out, I'd put her in my Beco carrier on my back. I was able to do more, mostly because I felt she was safer on my back than on my front. We longed Flash, Shelby peeking over my shoulder and laughing. Eventually, my mom made me a gauze wrap, and I learned how to wrap Shelby on my back so she is up higher and better able to see.

Wrapped and happy!

As she's grown, I've been letting her play on the ground more and more. Not around the horses, but in the barn aisle when no horses are out, in the driveway, and in the round pen. I don't let her play in the arena because I want that to be a no-play zone in her mind. The round pen is made of panels; you can see into it. The arena has solid half-walls. If she ever found an open gate and toddled in there, it would be too easy for someone to turn their horse out and not notice she's in there, and it would be too hard to see in. So the arena is off limits.

Shelby likes to play with dirt.

Now that she's walking, she's down on the ground more than she's wrapped. I haven't wrapped her at all in a couple weeks. I hold her while I catch Flash and turn her out in the arena, then she has free rein to play in (or in front of) the stall while I clean it.

What treasures could be here?

She's incredibly well behaved. I admit I'm biased, but I hear it from others at the barn frequently. She stays close to me. She doesn't scream and cry when I tell her not to do something. She's already learned that she can only play with certain things around Flash's stall; she doesn't try to mess with anyone else's stuff. That's important to me, because I wouldn't want someone else's kid playing with my brushes or grain scoops and not putting things back exactly where they came from.

Mama's little helper!

As I mentioned in a previous post, when I ride, Shelby's playing happily in Flash's (clean) stall. I start with her wrapped on my back until the stall is clean and Flash is groomed and saddled, then Shelby goes into the stall until I'm done riding. It's been working just fine for us. I think she'd rather be where she can watch, but she hates her playpen. She loves watching other people ride. She's even gone with me to watch a drill team meet. We were there for an hour and a half, and she was happy the whole time.

How does this work again?

I am so glad I get to share this part of my life with her. I love bringing her to the barn, and I love that she's more than happy to be there. I don't care if she has no interest in horses later on. I just want her to be comfortable around them, because eventually we'll have our own property and won't be boarding anymore. Whether or not she's into horses later, I will treasure these memories forever.

Off to catch a horse!