Adventure at the Horse Riding Farm - Costa Rica Edition

The alarm clock rings at 5:30 am and if you haven't already been woken up by the dogs barking or started the day with a jog, the day starts on the finca at 6 in the morning. Before breakfast, the stables have to be cleaned and the horses taken care of. After that, it's time for hoof care for the horses. Due to the humid climate, many horses here have hoof problems, in addition to animal bites, ticks, and maggots. Each horse has its own care plan that needs to be followed every morning.

Before lunch, you will receive lessons in Natural Horsemanship, a more natural way to train, work, and ride the horse. From 12 to 3 pm, the famous siesta takes place. During this time, you can relax, sleep, eat, take a walk, write in your travel diary,... The main thing is to be awake and ready at 3 o'clock to work again. Or if you're lucky, for an outing. In the evening, the horses have to be taken care of again. But there are always tasks in between, so you are on your feet and working the whole day.

In the evening, everyone is so tired from the day that after dinner, one by one, they go to bed. If everyone pulls themselves together, there are sometimes campfire evenings or BBQ parties.

After some time, you also get used to some precautions in the jungle. For example, you shake the duvet out before getting into bed, the so-called snake check. You should also turn your shoe upside down before putting your foot in, because scorpions also like shoes. And you shouldn't leave your full plate 'just for a moment' on the table, otherwise the cat will have a tasty breakfast, not you.

We had to rescue a horse from the river this week because it couldn't get out on its own and had already spent the last 12 hours in the water. With the help of many people and ropes, the rescue operation was successful!

The stable, the shelter for the horses, and the gates and fences are all made of bamboo built by ourselves. We simply use the bamboo in front of our own front door. In general, everything that breaks or runs out is recycled, upcycled, and reused for another purpose here.

I will do a big clean-up and a riding lesson this week before continuing my journey.