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Sharing another blog from a fellow horse lover

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Sharing another blog from a fellow horse lover

You Don’t Need A Unicorn

Horses are every-day miracles.  They let us do the craziest things.  

Chex’s first trail ride

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This week during our regularly scheduled Saturday morning trail ride Rachael decided to take Chex on his first trail ride since joining the farm.

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He was joined by Apple, Cuervo and Nash.

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Chex’s mom joined us on Nash.  Her first time on him.
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The weather was good to us.  It wasn’t too hot and we stuck the the cut part of our neighboring fields.  The horse flys and bugs were out and bothering the horses despite being doused in fly spray2013-07-13_10-43-47_150

Sweet Summer Time

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Summer is in full swing here at the farm.  It is keeping me busy so this update is going to be full and all over the the place.

It is not all about work though, a couple of weeks ago the extended farm family went to a country concert. It was a great break from the farm work and a good time was had by all!

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Lessons are continuing I am now scheduling them for early morning or late evening to beat the heat.   This is my youngest rider, she is coming along by leaps and bounds.  Last week we were trotting with out a saddle!

2013-07-02_17-05-32_78We are also taking on new riders and beginners. I got Nash out for this lesson, he was great and is such a sweet horse for first timers.  The other day, I was telling folks about how much of a lover he is and then I recieved a big lick up the middle of my face!

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July 4th was a fun filled day OFF too.  We went for another trail ride around green lane.  I got Casey to jump a log for me.  I think he liked that.

Lastly some shots of when the ferrier was here.  Nash didn’t think it was fair to bring apples to the barn and not share.

2013-07-06_17-07-52_487The donkeys were brought up to have their hooves trimmed too.  Frodo said hello to Izzy.  It was funny after they were done and brought back to their pasture with the goats Cuervo kept whinnying and calling for them to come back.  It is amazing the bonds they share.

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Training at the Farm

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Warlock who is now affectionately called Baby cause he is only 2 is going through training to be ridden.  (Why do we use the term break and broke?  I guess it goes back to when trainer did break the horses down to submission. This is not the type of training that goes on at the farm so I will stay away from those terms.)

Rachael has been working with Warlock and his dad Chex since they came to the farm at the beginning of March.  She has done wonders with them.  They now mind their manners are are coming along great with the riding aspect.  Rachael spent last summer as an apprentice to a Josh Lyon certified trainer and now she is doing it on her own.

In these pictures Baby has the saddle and Rachael on his back fro the first time ever.  He did so good! Was not upset, worried or nervous. His head was low and his ear were up.  I even caught him licking and chewing a few times which is a sign for horses thinking and processing.

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Getting your horse to respect your space

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I think Warlock should watch this. Just kidding he is still a baby and doesn’t understand.

Found this video through FB.

Apple and Casey’s Big Adventure

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On Sunday we decided not to take care of the long list of things to do and instead go for a trail ride.  Green Lane Park  is about a 20 min drive from the farm. It has many trails for 2 legs, 4 legs and wheels.  We opted to go around the lake, which was a 15 mile adventure that took us a little less than 5 hours.  Before we left we brushed them and applied fly spray.  My 2 seasoned  geldings loaded the trailer like champs.  I rarely take them off the property so it is great to see that they remember and are ok with being trailered.

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Getting tacked up at the trailer.

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Are ya coming?  Casey is a much slower walker than Apple so we were often trotting to catch up.

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I was told that there are not enough pics of me in the blog (because i am always the one taking them).  So here ya go.

2013-06-16_11-39-50_299Put your ears forward Casey – Pretend like you like it.

2013-06-16_11-45-25_722Through the open areas

2013-06-16_12-26-40_20Across the bridge, past the fishermen, to the other side of the lake.

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Through the forest.  This part was only for advanced riders.  As we had to go down and up many steep embankments with a stream at the bottom.  A fun adrenalin rush as you are putting all your trust in to the horse.  They did great!

2013-06-16_14-19-36_662 2013-06-16_14-19-26_107Around the lake.  It was such a pretty day, not too hot with a cool breeze.

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Smile for the Camera.  I love that Apple and Casey’s ears are pricked forward for this pic.  They were checking out the other horses approaching us.

2013-06-16_15-16-17_942 2013-06-16_15-16-22_362Stopped at the bridge by the gas station for a break.  We needed to re-hydrate.   The nice man at the shop behind Casey, offered the horses some water.

2013-06-16_15-51-02_701 2013-06-16_15.50.53Almost there.  The last hour of the ride my bum started to hurt so I decided to ride side saddle.  Look ma no hands.  Casey was such a good boy that for the most part I didn’t have to do much, no steering and no stirrups.   The only thing I had to watch for was when he walked to close to the tree and tried to constantly take out my left leg.

It was a great day out!  So much better than working.

Farm Therapy

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Have you hugged a horse today?

Farm therapy is the best kind of therapy.

Petting animals can reduce your stress levels.  Check out this article on 27 ways pets can improve your life.  This past weekend a farm family friend and I went to the barn at night for some horse therapy. We were hugging and loving on Nash & Casey. Nash was giving me kisses and my friend was giving Nash a massage. We loved the quiet time with my boys.

Mucking stalls allows me to think.  If I ever need to clear my head I muck stalls.  It is a rhythmical task that allows for the thought process to open up.  I make my best decisions when cleaning stalls

Riding horse forces me not to think.  If I need to “get out of my own head” for a while I get on a horse.  There is so much going on while riding that I am not allowed to let the pesky issue seep in.

Special Delivery

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What does a cowgirl do before prom?  

Take prom pictures with her horse in her cowgirl boots.

Prom Pics

GSF’s Prom Princess did not have time to come to the farm before prom for pictures with Dalton. So we brought her horse to her!  Thanks to the farm family and her boyfriend they clean him up while I was finishing up my work (real job).  Then we loaded him up in my trailer and drove him to her parent’s house (which is also a goat farm).

She was absolutely thrilled  to have Dalton part of her big dayand surprised to see me as I said I would not be able to get out of work early.  The pictures turned out great!  Dalton was even in her friends pictures who stopped by for group photos.  Where else would you have the opportunity to have prom pics with a horse!

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Through the Forest

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The Memorial Day trail ride took us through a forest.  It is actually a local wildlife preserve, probably made just for people but don’t tell anyone.  We went down the mail path and Apple noticed a trail marked by colored bands around the trees.  He decided to go off roading and take us on a real trail.  I really think Apple Jacks was a trail horse in his previous life (before he was rescued and came to his forever farm).  He loves it and I just give him his head.  He is a great trail leader and will go over/through anything I ask him too.

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Follow up on pelleted bedding in the stalls

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Follow up on pelleted bedding in the stalls

Three months ago I switched from pine shavings to pelleted bedding. The farm used 93 bags of the bedding.  I decided to do a cost analysis to see if I was saving money in the switch. The cost for pellets turned out to be $177 per month and the shavings averaged out over the year (2012) to be $123 per month.  So at $54 more per month I am not seeing the cost savings.  However there are factors in there that I can’t quanify:

  • Time savings: the stalls are a lot easier to clean.  
  • The 3 months we used pellets were during the winter when the horses are in a lot more
  • Now all the stalls have horses in them: 8 stalls using the bedding,
  • Last year we had times when not all the stalls utilized and the donkeys had one stall. They don’t use much bedding at all. 
  • When I switched to pellets the cost of shavings from my provider doubled, so if I did the analysis based on that I would definitely be saving money

So bottom line I will keep using the pellets and try again maybe in 3 more month to see if the monthly usage cost has gone down.

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