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A little about me that I submitted for my work’s newsletter

June 30, 2015

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Employee Spotlight- Jen Frasier; Project Manager 2

I currently live in Quakertown, PA where I am fulfilling my lifelong dream of owning and managing a small horse farm. I didn’t start out here though. I am originally from Miami, FL where I had my first pony in the front yard by 7th grade. After college I became an Au Par to my cousin who lived just outside of London. After my 6 month contract with them was up I ended up staying in England for another 2 ½ years. It was there that “by accident” I discovered clinical research. My first job in the field was with a CRO that is also based in Radnor, PA. When I got home sick they paid for my transfer to that office.

Several jobs, homes and “manfriends” later I am running my own 10 acre farm called Golden Spike Farm. I teach riding lesson to kids and adults just for fun. I really love to watch their confidence grow as they gain the skills needed to handle these gentle giants. I also board other people’s horses. My favorite thing to do is trail ride. Right now my furry friends consist of 3 horses, 2 miniatures spotted donkeys, 2 goats, 2 rescued dogs, 1 foster dog (looking for a home) and 4 barn cats. I have a picture blog where I post pictures and stories of the farm for my friends and family to keep up to date. Feel free to check it out at http://www.goldenspikefarm.com.

I am very fortunate to have a work from home job that allows me to take care of the horses in the morning and evening instead of commuting to and from work. For 2 ½ years now I have been working with a small group in Janssen responsible for piloting innovation in clinical trials. Research & Development Operations Innovation (or RDO-I & formerly known as CTI) collaborates with internal and external stakeholders to evaluate innovative solutions that have the potential to reduce cost and cycle times for clinical trials. From my perspective it is a “cool little niche” to be part of. I have the opportunity to explore many technical advances and manage the process to pilot these innovations in clinical trials.

Pictured with me is Nash a Tennessee Walking Horse I rescued. A professional photographer volunteered her time and services to a fund raising campaign for his surgery. Sadly Nash is no longer with me, he survived the surgery just fine and passed away last fall from an unrelated illness. Life is fragile for even the most resilient.

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Very interesting article on Equine Therapy

June 24, 2015

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“Horses make great companions for psychotherapy because they can mirror and respond to human behavior. Being herding animals, they rely on an acute stream of sensory data to sense safety or danger; they can also hear the human heartbeat within four feet, and research on heart-rate variability indicates that horses have a profound ability to synchronize their own heartbeat with that of human beings. When people are introduced to the herd environment for therapy, horses respond within the same spectrum of physical and emotional responses that govern their own behavior, allowing therapists an insight into the inner psychology of the client.” ~ in San Juan Capistrano

You can read the full article on The Guardian’s website.

Decisions

June 20, 2015

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At the beginning of the year I made 2 decisions:

  1. Start fostering one dog at a time to help the rescue Critter Cavalry. My first one was Missy and now I have Jett aka Cecilia
  2. Move out of PA to live closer to my family (especially my nieces).

So I put the farm on the market at the end of January.  It is a very unique property so I knew I would take a while to sell. During this time I am waiting for my family to purchase a home in California.  The housing market there is so crazy that they have actually given themselves a year to buy. If they don’t find a place in a year, they will be looking to move maybe to Austin,Texas. So I have decided to wait to move until they buy a place. I have not had any luck selling the farm, the contract with the realtor is up at the end of July.  So I will wait it out and take it off the market at that point to wait for the family decision on where we are living.

My parents and I went to visit Austin in May and loved it.  We have family and friends there, so I am secretly pulling for Texas.  Here are a couple of pictures from that trip.

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Another great article

March 20, 2015

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See this is why I have my lesson students go get the horses, groom and tack them…

http://alphaequestrian.blogspot.com/2015/03/one-vital-question-parents-should-ask.html

Welcome Spring

March 20, 2015

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Mother Nature welcomes the first day of spring with the embrace of a fresh blanket of snow.WP_20150320_12_36_06_ProSeriously!  All of the snow had just finished melting.  We saw grass for the first time since January. Now this!  Not fair she is seriously not playing by the rules.  Maybe April will be good to us?

Song For An Old-Fashioned April

April, April, how do I know
whether thou be friend or foe?
Give me sunlight, give me breath,
Give me belief there is no death.

How I wonder, my giver of the flower
Whether I’ll have staying power;
To wage this battle through thick and thin
To know my love will come back again…

Tell me April, who is my love,
The red robin or the cooing dove?
How can a messenger seem so still
While streams overflow with winter’s swill?

Give me love or give me power;
I’ll take some of both
And contemplate the flower……

Source: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/song-for-an-oldfashioned-april#ixzz3UwjiAbGP
Tulips

Do you want to build a snowman?

February 23, 2015

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What do you do on the first 40 degree day in a month?  We at GSF built a snowman.  This is my first ever snowman.  I did tell you I am from Miami right?  And well I rolled the massive snow balls but you can see I didn’t do the finer details.  The second ball for the chest was so heavy it had to be lifted by the bucket of the tractor.

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We added two eyes made out of coal.  The nose is a carrot.  The hat is Cuervo’s feed bowl. The mouth is made of braided bailing twine.  And here you have it folks GSF’s first ever Snowman!

Then we decided we needed a group photo so we had to set up the timer.  That took a bit and produced funny photos in the process.

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Then we decided we need the shot where the horse eats the snowman’s nose.  Casey was the perfect horse for the job, it just took us a while to get the timing of the photo right.

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My First Foster Pup – Missy Mudpie

January 15, 2015

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My next venture in helping the animal world is becoming a foster mom.  I contacted Critter Cavalry Rescue where I got Riley my flat coat retriever and have since become their first ever PA foster mom!

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We went to pick up Missy a couple of Sunday’s ago not knowing much about her except she’s a lab mix who starts off shy but warms up nicely.

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I later learned out that the rescue group found her whole litter in a filthy and muddy outside run.  The puppies had no socialization and thus issues with confidence and accepting human attention.  She was very shy and didn’t even get out from underneath the bed for the first few weeks, in her first foster home in TN.   She has really come a long way from that with me now she is much more confident, social, playful and sleeps right next to me on top of the bed.  She had turned in to a complete love wanting pets and attention.  She follows me around the house and doesn’t wander off on the farm.

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We now have her schedule down which unfortunately has messed up my sleeping patterns. I forgot what it is like to have a puppy.  She has me up around 3 or 4 every morning to go to the bathroom.  I shouldn’t complain we haven’t had an accident in over a week.  She is also very good about chewing.  So far, knock on wood, she hasn’t destroyed anything except the toys I gave her.

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I was asked to write her bio and this is what I came up with:

Meet Missy Mudpie!

She is adorably cute, a great companion, and a very cleaver girl. She had it a little ‘ruff’ growing up but thanks to her foster mom and canine companions she is gaining confidence every day. She loves her stuffed animal toys and tends to horde them all on her pet bed.  The other day she had collected more than 7 toys!

A perfect day for Missy includes learning a new trick, sleeping at your feet and helping out on the farm.  At her foster farm, she is getting learning all about horses, goats and cats.  At this stage cats and goats are still fun to chase if they run but for those who are brave enough to stay put she just wants to say Hi!

Missy prefers not to be left home alone all day and would be best suited to share her home with a confident adult dog.  At her foster home Missy is learning to lay down and to sit patiently for things like dinner and going outside.  She is a love bug who enjoys chest and belly scratches. She follows the other dogs around and is quickly learning from them that not everything is as scary as it first appears to be. 

If your family loves the outdoors, enjoys quiet time, is looking for a good watch dog and a lifelong companion then you might be the perfect match for Missy.

Please share this post to get the word out and find Missy a forever home.

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This is her post on pet finder: https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/31107819/

Happy Christmas

December 25, 2014

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Wishing you, your families and your fur babies a very happy Christmas. We had a farm family Christmas party last weekend. See if you can find Axel, Riley, and Piper in the family photo.

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The last few days before I left for my Christmas holiday were completely crazy but I made it through and am now relaxing in the sun and warmth.

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On Sunday, I had to get Casey and Cuervo up to the barn to eat their breakfast. They were in the back hanging out in the pasture paradise track. They whole farm is a muddy mess from snow melt and the rain. So instead of walking them up they gave me a ride. I am lucky to have such great horses.

As I was wrapping up the day, I noticed Apple tossing his head and pawing. I finished up the shed and by the time I went to get him he was laying down.  I am not sure what he ate, but he had colic and his muzzle was stained green. I ended up walking him around the riding ring for 2 hours. Luckily it was a mild case and by 10:30 that night he was allowed to eat some hay. The next morning he was up to his usual tricks because he let himself out of the stall and ate the remainder of his hay.

On Monday I noticed the only faucet in the barn was leaking. My plumber friend was able to stop by to tell me the whole thing needed to be replaced.  This happened only hours before I was to take the train to Philadelphia. Luckily he was able to get it done and I was on my way.  Then on the train I missed my stop and had to wait an hour for the next train to get back.  I finally made it to the hotel to sleep and get shuttle for the plane early the next morning.

I get to Miami to find out the barn is flooding due to the screens on the new drains clogging it up.  I am lucky to have friends watching over the farm. So he fixed them and now things are flowing again.

Thanks to everyone who helps me keep things ticking. It takes a village.

Leaving you with some pictures of holiday decorations.

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A whole month since I posted anything.

November 21, 2014

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Hi,

I really wanted to get to tell you about the track around the back field, but alas I ran out of time.  I will try to create that post next week. I am on vacation the whole week!

In the mean time Paddock Paradise has an article in Horseback Magazine.  Check it out by clicking here.  Then go to page 33.

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Sincerely your favorite barn cat,

Jen

Dreams of Nash

October 21, 2014

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Last night in that half awake half asleep state I thought of Nash. He was walking beside me breathing on my hand.  This was the way we always walked.  I had my right hand on his lead and his nose was up against my hand.  I could feel his warm breath.  I have  had a few horses through out my life but I never felt as connected to one as much has Nash.  Maybe it was because I truly rescued him and he came from an abusive past that he felt safe at GSF and knew he was home.  The grieving process is interesting, I have had a blessed life with out a lot of the loss of those closest to me, but I can honestly say I am still grieving the loss of my Nash.

This past Saturday after we finished working on the new fence my friend’s and BF surprised me with a beautiful collage of my favorite pictures of Nash.  I feel truly grateful to have such awesome pictures of him taken by Judy and given to the farm as a donation to his hernia fund.  (Here is the original plog post about it.)  The pictures captured his heart and I will treasure them forever.

We were all coming up from the back field.  Bringing the ATVs and Tractors back up to the barn.  They were all acting a little suspicious as the BF was trying to intentionally slow me up and not rush through the barn.  He had me “help” put the tractor away (he didn’t need any help). I heard him check with my friends that they would meet us on the other side of the barn.  As I walked in I noticed all of them gathered at the far end of the barn.  I knew something was up, but for the life of me couldn’t figure out what.  Then they presented me with this:WP_20141020_16_08_03_Pro__highres

I could not believe they had all done this for me.  So quickly after his passing and it even included his name plate from his stall door.  I was so blown away that tears started streaming down my eyes.   They all came in for a group hug and I noticed a glimmer of tears in some of their eyes too.  Thank you all for this beautiful gift!  I will treasure it forever.  I look at it every day as it hangs on the wall beside the front door in the great room.

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