Nicole Schnell

I've just finished up my first full week working at Trackside, and I've had such an awesome time so far!  It seems like everyday something new happens or I'm getting to see something different.  Earlier last week the farrier came to trim all the broodmare's feet, and towards the end of last week the vet came out to do vaccines for all the horses.  We started teasing a few of the open mares at the farm yesterday so they'll be ready to go to the breeding shed once breeding season has started.  We've also been working on conformation reports for all the yearlings on the farm.  This has been neat to learn about.  I've gotten to learn what people look for in horses when they are at a sale, and how to stand the horse and lead him as if he was being shown at a sale.  Monday and yesterday the vet was back out to do x-rays and scope 6 of our yearlings who might be taken to a sale in February.  Getting to see the scoping was really cool.  It's a process where the doctor sticks an instrument down the horse's nose and he is able to see the inside of the horse's throat.  This procedure, as well as, the nearly 32 x-rays are commonly done on horses who are being taken to a sale. 

Our first foal was born Saturday night!  She is adorable and full of energy!  I wasn't able to go out to the barn for the foaling because the weather here was really bad over the weekend, but I get to see her everyday.  We have several other mares who are showing signs of being close to foaling anytime.  We have a total of 83 mares on the farm who are expected to foal this spring, so I'm sure I'll get the chance to see more than one foaling here soon. 

Aside from the constant excitement this week there has been a lot of hard work.  With over a hundred horses on the farm there are lots of stalls to clean, and many mouths to feed each day.  I work at Trackside 6 days a week from 7am to 4pm with an hour break for lunch.  The days are long and the weather has been really cold, but I've been enjoying every minute of it!  Tuesday nights the KEMI class meets for a lecture each week.  This week we had a guest lecturer come talk about disease control on farms.  It was interesting to learn what our own farms were doing right, and what we could be doing better. 

If you guys have any questions about the internship or anything else please leave a comment on the blog and I'll be happy to answer your questions!