I don’t think it will surprise anyone reading this that Christmas is different for horse owners. While many of us also work jobs that allow us to take a nice long break over Christmas, it won’t be as lazy as our non horsey friends and family.
Before Scottie, my Christmas usually comprised of a late Christmas Eve watching Elf with the family and having a few drinks. We also go to our local Chinese for dinner. We would then wake up fairly early on Christmas day and open our stockings. At a slightly more reasonable time we would get up and open the presents under the tree. The rest of the day would then be spent eating, drinking, playing games and watching Christmas TV. Boxing day and the 27th (my mums birthday) is more of the same, usually seeing friends before having a quieter few days before New Years. New Years would always be a late night and we would make the most of the bank holiday to have a lay in and recover from the festivities.
Of course, having horses changes this routine slightly. I am very lucky that Scottie is stabled just a 5 minute walk away. So it’s a better routine now than years when he has been stabled further away. When I had to drive to see him I of course couldn’t start drinking early in the day. I am also lucky to have a really lovely group of girls at the yard and we all pitch in to help each other.
My Christmas Eve routine is pretty much the same as it is still a working day. I might just finish Scottie off a little bit earlier than normal. Christmas day I wake up a little bit earlier than I would normally at the weekend. I open my stocking, usually with my brother and sister. I then head up the yard.
We quite often keep in on Christmas day as everyone has a different routine and plans. Sometimes there is prosecco as we muck out and give our horses a little Christmas treat. This year I am looking after Rupert on Christmas day as his owner is seeing family. So I will be there a bit longer than normal. But I’ll try to get home as early as possible to open the rest of our presents and tuck into breakfast.
It’s easier when they are already in as we don’t need to worry too much about when we go up to finish them off. If we do turn out, we try and buddy up so one person brings in early afternoon and the other finishes off later in the evening. We can then all return to Christmas with our families.
We then return to weekend type routine until New Years eve. I am planning to spend New Years with my boyfriend this year. So while I am around to finish him off in the evening, I won’t be there in the morning. Rupert’s owner will be doing Scottie New Years day morning as she will still be in the village. They might get done a smidge later than usual. But we always give them a bit more hay just in case.
Last Updated on 24/12/2021
