Only 3 weeks left until I will be done with my internship for senior year. It's very bittersweet. I am definitely ready to graduate and move onto college, but at the same time, I really love going to my internship everyday, and getting to know and bonding with all of the animals there throughout the year. I am going to miss it very much, but I am also very excited for what the future holds. I also believe that this is the last blog post I have to make for the year, which feels strange to me. Anyway, onto what I did this month at FOCUS.
This month was pretty chill at my internship, since all of the horses I was working/riding were either adopted or sent to foster homes. Because of that, I have mainly been riding Tundra, a Paint horse that was supposed to be in training for a little girl to take to fair, but because of her stubbornness the family took another horse (Ginger) from the rescue, and so Tundra will stay until the beginning of September. The main things that I have been doing with her is lunging, and teaching her not to yank her head around so much under saddle. I think the family made the right decision by taking another horse to fair, Tundra has a lot to learn and a child would not be able to handle her. Currently, while in training she has not been ridden in a proper bridle (with a bit that goes in the mouth, to give the rider more control), meaning that I have been riding her in a rope halter and clip on reins. It is slightly intimidating, since the horse is just supposed to respond to pressure on the bridge of the nose, but Tundra is very stubborn so I feel like I have very little control at times. All part of the training experience I suppose.
Not much else has happened this month. Most of the mini donkeys have been adopted, except for Tempo and Arien, a pair of bonded Jennys (female donkeys). The only other major thing I can remember doing is learning to drive the 4-wheeler that they have, so that I can easily deliver hay and water to the front pasture. The rescue also acquired some Guinea Fowl.
One way I have been able to show initiative at my internship this month was wanting to learn how to use the 4-wheeler. With this, I can now move heavy things, and deliver objects throughout the property by myself, without needing to wait for someone, or having to waste time carrying it by hand.
The highlight of this month was seeing Ginger find a home. To be honest, I knew that she would be good with a little kid, but had my doubts because of her (often times) stubborn attitude, and occasional aggression towards me. However, sometimes a horse and horse owner just do not get along with each other, and I wonder if that is why I did not make as much progress with her as I could.
Besides learning how to ride and work with Tundra, the main thing I learned this month was how to use the 4-wheeler. I know nothing about vehicles (and I mean absolutely nothing, like my car could blow up and I would just think "oh maybe it just needs an oil change), so learning how to use it seemed simple in theory, but when I actually sat down I had no idea what I was doing. My supervisor helped me through the entire process however, so now I can use it no problem.
The only real challenge I faced this month at my internship was the inevitable sadness that I am going to have once this whole experience is over. That and the fact that I do not know how to operate a 4-wheeler without looking like I just time traveled from the 1600s and am experiencing modern day things for the first time.
Next month, I really hope that I can do as much as I can, so that I can go out impressively before it's over, and I have to do my finals, APEX, and graduation.
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