Faith arrives

Lending the perfect name to a wonderful season, last night Faith, a rescue mare, arrived from the Equine Angels Rescue Sanctuary (EARS). Her new owner and their family along with ours were here to greet her.

She has the most beautiful eyes and face and truly lives up to her name. The picture above is from the rescue website.

Chuck read to Elizabeth from the book that Frank Weller from EARS left last night about the plight of PMU mares and we were all disturbed and quite moved to learn more about the very difficult life these animals live in order to provide Hormone Replacement Therapy. As a woman of a 'certain' age, I must say I am relieved that I have avoided taking an HRT although it was more for the side effects it might have on me than from any knowledge of how they are manufactured.

Elizabeth is now determined to spend a week volunteering in Connecticut this summer and she and her cousin stayed up late last night designing their own Save the Horses blog to raise money for EARS. Check out wwwhelpthehorses.blogspot.com (no 'dot' after www ...)

Faith is in what our regulars will think of as Caesar's stall. As hard as it was to say goodbye to him, it feels great to have Faith take that spot in our barn.

The second picture above is Patty (who we are calling Peppermint Patty during the holiday season) chosen because it is a great shot AND the EARS organization actually has a medicine hat on their website and cards!

If you want to learn more about how Faith came to be rescued and got to our farm, check out http://www.foalrescue.com/.

Merry Christmas!

We have our work cut out for us tonight to insure no creatures are stirring but we are hopeful that Santa will forgive a few grazing horses, a hyper dog and affectionate cat.

As Chuck said at the barn party, we are extremely grateful to everyone who made our first full year in business such a pleasure and success.

We look forward to a great 2010.

For this post, you get Buddy and Sammie pictures. Both as photogenic as the girls and the horses!

New blankets

Three new horse blankets this week. Patty has a great purple one that will keep her warm and dry. She didn't seem to be bothered by this cold and her warm, winter coat is thick and soft. But the wind really does whip up here. Vixen has an equally attractive blue very warm new jacket. She has been getting cold -- she is one of the few horses in the barn who doesn't grow a warm, fuzzy coat. Her new blanket even has a 'hood' that is on in this warm weather tonight. And last, but certainly not least, Lizzy spent her birthday gift certificates at Country Tack for a very fashionable new blanket for Zeus. Chuck claims the dots are reflective! I just hope the other horses don't make fun of him for being dressed so fancy. :)

I have taken to mimicking the Chuck Uniform. With Krissy off for the week, I am spending a LOT more time in the barn cleaning stalls, turning horses out, etc.... I must admit those flannel lined overalls do keep you warm.

Despite the holidays and the cold, the barn still has quite a few riders coming for their weekly lesson.

Here is a pic that looks almost as cold as it feels outside. Now, back outside for Bradley's 8 pm feeding, cleaning the stalls of the horses spending the night inside so there is less work tomorrow morning.

Holiday Party 2009

We had a wonderful and festive event on Friday night ... thanks so much for everyone who came and brought food. What a feast!!!! Here are some pics ... the entire album plus some new horse pics are on Facebook.

Well, the cold has surely set in. None of our riders cancelled yesterday and all were dressed appropriately. "Andy" and Elizabeth officially launched the "its time to try riding bareback" season in their lesson with Karrie on Tuesday night. Elizabeth is an old hand, but it was Andy's first try and of course he loved it. Although Elizabeth says riding Magic at Oak Hollow bareback with all his fuzz and fur is the BEST winter bareback ride ever. I am going to take her word for it.

In the midst of all this cold, Jacki, Linda, Chuck and I are beginning to plan for the summer programming. We are going to try some new stuff out this winter and spring. Will probably do a pretty traditional riding day between Christmas and the New Year so if you are looking for something for your kids to do outside the house, keep an eye on the blog and posted in the barn!!!

I have WON the skating rink argument (did anyone doubt it?) but with some good input have recognized the best spot is up in the round pen. Hope to start this week ... will definitely let folks know when they might want to bring their skates.

Also, by the 1st of the year the 'boarder' tack room should be quite a good hang out for freezing, bored parents and siblings. If you haven't peeked in lately (or to the 'craft' room) check out Krissy's amazing work so far. The television, hopefully with cable access (FOR NON RIDERS ONLY) should be functioning in time for Bowl Season! :)

Lastly, in this cold weather we are going to use the 'real' door that enters through the tack room as our preferred entrance (hence, we will unlock it each morning). Keeping the garage doors down except when bringing horses in and out prevents the wind from whipping through but also will diminish the chance of spooking a horse in cross ties being brushed or tacked up by a rider.

Cheers!

Happy Holidays! Potluck celebration tonight

Festivities start at 6 pm.  Bring a dish, or just yourself and a friend.

Grab bag will be divided between adult or youth.

And riders, boarders, employees will get a special gift from the farm.  (If you don't make it tonight, make sure to grab your present the next time you are are the barn!).  Thanks in advance to Breann who spent tons of time and effort to help us pull off the Santa thing.

Here is a sneak preview of our holiday card photo (photo credit to the wonderful Krissy, of course).  Amusing that the level of enthusiasm in each girl's smile matches their enjoyment of riding!

Snow we can handle, wind can be a problem

First big storm of the year did some damage.  The newest run in shed -- as you can see -- got blown over by a gust of wind.

However, we are grateful no one was hurt.  Krissy and Chuck had been right next to the shed grabbing horses for the morning feeding 15 minutes before this happened.

We are counting our blessings -- and looking forward to a festive open house/potluck tomorrow night.  If only we could all be as happy as Lauren helping her dad to spread hay!!!!

First Snow, Ceasar's final day at CHF

It is stunningly beautiful on the farm this morning. Chuck is miffed that he hasn't finished everything before the first snow but the good news is it all gets covered up and looks beautiful.

It made Ceasar's departure last night all the more poignant. Chuck, Linda and Krissy have been thinking hard about winter, our program, capacity, etc... Ceasar, aka Chuck's Horse, has really aged in the last few months. He has been lame and just not himself. Last week Chuck mentioned to his last owner, our neighbor Nancy, that we probably needed to think about Ceasar's next home. She had always wanted us to tell her if we were going to sell him. And she had stayed in touch with the seller who she bought him from. Long story short, as Nancy told us last night, don't put her on a job unless you want it done! Ceasar's former owner and her young family arrived with an empty trailer (and a Christmas tree in the back of their truck along with two adorable young children ... really, you couldn't have picked a more idyllic looking family) and left with Ceasar for Vermont.

We already got a nice email passed along from Nancy that they arrived home safely despite the snow and were all settled happily on their farm. They have a few mares and Ceasar is great with the mares. Even though he was seldom used as a riding horse here, he has been an important part of our farm and our lives. The way he protected Vixen while she was pregnant and guarded over her and Patty that night they got out an open fence into the main paddock will be my best memory of the noble guy. He definitely lived up to his name!

Chuck is okay ... I was shocked he made the decision although it is hard to argue with whether it is the right decision. Krissy is here this morning and I don't envy him having to tell her. When she left on Thursday afternoon finding Ceasar a home was just a thought.

More changes likely coming ... going to have to spend some time updating the horse page on the site. Haven't put Zeus or Reno up there yet -- two great additions.

Holiday Party next Friday the 11th!

If you haven't seen the sign up sheet on the school tack room door, please check it out.  We are going to have a holiday celebration on Friday from 6 till 9 in the HOUSE (has been some confusion on that point!) ... casual, come as you are.  Bring a dish and a small (under $5) grab-bag gift ... or just drop in!

As we start the winter session of lessons Chuck and I continue to feel blessed with the wonderful riders, teachers, horses and families that have joined the Cobble Hill Farm family.  And, our wonderful support staff -- the vet, farriers, suppliers, etc....  We hope all of you will try to stop by!

We are looking forward to a wonderful holiday season and a great 2010!

Winter Scene at Cobble Hill

Much to our delight, a huge number of riders have decided to ride through the winter.  There will be some changes to the routine around here though:  We have scaled back Saturday lessons to leave a significant amount of time for boarders and leasers to ride.

Also, please make sure to keep the tack room doors and the office door closed whenever possible -- those areas are heated and the heat will escape quickly with an open door!

I spent a few hours yesterday helping Chuck put more of the siding on the barn.  HOPEFULLY our Thanksgiving visitors will want to do some heavy labor this weekend and we will completely finish the siding.  Next up:  getting the viewing room insulated, benches set up and a heat source in there!  I know there are a lot of moms, dads and grandmas who will be happy to hear about this!!!

Holiday Celebration on December 11th

We are going to hold an "open HOUSE" (not barn) on the 11th from 6-9 pm to celebrate the holidays and our wonderful year of operation at Cobble Hill. 

Look in the barn for a sign up sheet -- we will provide drinks, etc... and it will be pot luck.

Also we are going to do a blind-swap (I can never remember the fancy names) but anyone who wants to participate should bring a wrapped present worth no more than $10.

Until then, Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Sign up sheet posted for sunday jumping

Got the sign up sheet for winter jumping up in the brrrrr-arn today. PLEASE make sure you sign up for the days you want to jump.

In addition, Linda will be contacting everyone about the winter schedule. For those who aren't riding this winter, make sure to keep up with all our activity via the blog.

We are going to put together a Holiday Celebration ... stay tuned for the date. Riding and food will be involved.

Lastly, I am trying to convince Chuck that once the ground freezes and it is REALLY cold we should turn the outdoor arena into an outdoor skating rink. What do you think? The one time I got him to agree to try it in the yard was the warmest winter on record and it never froze, so if we can convince him we will either get a skating venue or a mild winter.

more pics

Chuck is sick, the Patriots lost a heartbreaking game last night and I am trapped at Bedard Brothers waiting for the Suburban to be serviced. At least they have internet access. So, I ordered the books Elizabeth needs for school, catching up on emails and now I'll post some more pictures.

I think I will do "B" horses today. Can you name all the B horses at Cobble Hill now? (hint: the horse page website has not been updated, so you'd have to actually have been in the barn to win this contest)

pics

Don't always have the ability to post pictures so here are some I like that don't fit any of my recent posts. Vixen in repose. Bradley -- posing!

Happy Birthday Jane (not the farmers wife)!

We had another great birthday party today for Jane's 5th birthday. Really funny -- she has an older brother John ... as do I! Don't find that many Jane's today.

Hercules and Jay had done double duty jumping (can you believe we are still able to jump outside and it is almost Thanksgiving???) so we used Zeus and Dixie for the pony rides. Once again, the boys and girls were most excited about riding the horses. We even did some trotting. The hay ride is also a great transition activity from the riding. Then we did the cake and presents and wrapped with the "needle in a haystack" (needles turn out to be individually wrapped candy).

The Hunt girls & friends did a little circus activity at the end which the kids loved, too. Hope to get some pictures.

I (we) LOVE LUCY!

With Linda's back hurt and then her family commitments in Florida, we've been shorthanded in the barn this week. Lucky for us, Lucy has been coming in the mornings to cheerfully help and clean stalls! Thanks Lucy!!!

Chuck and David finished the third, and final, run in shed and thanks to the use of Morrison's truck, cleared (finally!) all the construction dirt out of all the paddocks. No more king of the mountain games for the horses (or riders)!!

And, we've replaced the footing in the arena. Still waiting for the calcium chloride to really kill the dust but a very productive week.

Also, hope you noticed the really super clean lights and ceiling in the indoor arena -- Chuck used a rented lift and the power washer till almost midnight last Sunday night to finish that project.

Don't forget to grab a newsletter and let Linda or me know what your riding plans are (or are not!) for the winter.

Winter Newsletter and Season!

Here is the text of the newsletter that should be out this week!

WINTER 2009-2010 Newsletter




Indian Summer! While we enjoy these last wonderful days of fall, the barn is busy preparing for winter. As many of you know, we have over 20 horses – a few new winter boarders and some new school horses. We also have three new run-in sheds and have replaced the footing in the indoor arena and are very hopeful to have found the right combination to control the dust!



Winter Lesson Packages & Season sign up now. Many students took advantage of the 10 lesson package (it ends 11/20!) so we are offering the package for winter – with a few tweaks. The session will run from November 30th through March 13th. There are 15 weeks in the session. However, between holidays and those days when it is just too cold for lessons (less than 20 degrees) we generally miss a few days. So, we are going to price the package based on an expectation that there will be 11 total lessons. Just like in the fall, if you have to miss a lesson for illness or a conflict, you may (with advance permission from Linda) join a different lesson for a makeup. We won’t makeup weather cancelled lessons though (just like the airlines ).

Prices for the Winter lesson pack are:

Half Hour Private: $375

Hour Semi Private: $375

Hour Group: $250

Sunday Jumping: $400

Sign up even if you aren’t doing the ‘pack’! Even if you don’t plan to pay for the season, please let Linda know soon if you plan to ride for the winter – I know several of you have already done so. In addition, let Linda know if your schedule has changed or if you’d like to look for availability on a different day.



Private and Semi-Private lessons. If you were in a group lesson but really wanted a smaller, semi-private lesson or even a half hour private, winter is a great time to take advantage of the slower pace in the barn.



The Orchards. As some of you may have seen on-line the Orchards has offered a special rate to visitors to Cobble Hill Farm. We can get a $90 per night rate on available weekend nights in November or December. We are advertising a riding and relaxation package on line, but feel free to let us know if you have out of town friends or family who’d like to take advantage of this great package!

Cold Weather settling in

As the weather gets colder the race is on to finish up the myriad projects that need good weather.  Chuck's list is endless, but the big priorities right now are finishing the 'run in' sheds.  These are mini-barns -- almost like a doublewide for horses.  Here is actually a great picture by Krissy from a rainy day where it is obvious that the horses know what the sheds are for! 

We got this one pre-made from Jeannie that she wasn't using.  Chuck did a ton of figuring and bargaining and ended up determining that we (well, him and David!) could build them for less than half of what we would pay for them pre-built.  Below is a picture of the building in process.  By the end of this week (fingers crossed!!!) we will have three of these.  One in the large back pasture and two in the largest (blue) pasture. 

As of today we have 23 horses and 16 stalls.  Several boarders are here on 'rough board' and some of our horses (Ceasar!) are just as happy outside as in and we have some spots inside the barn where we can feed them.  With the three sheds we should be able to safely feed 6 horses in the pastures and then we can generally feed one horse in each of the smaller paddocks (there are four of those if you count the round pen) so we should just about be able to get through the winter.  (So I guess absolute max capacity is 26 but I am not voting for that)

The second biggest priority is the permanent fencing on the perimeter of the two large paddocks.  Once the leaves come off the trees the horses start to figure out that there are paths up into the woods that might be interesting to take ....  Waking up at 5 or 6 am to a phone call that a horse is loose is NOT a good way to start the day.  And fence posts don't go into the soil easily or straight once there is deep frost in the ground.

If the fencing is done and the weather holds we REALLY want to finish staining the boards and then putting them up on the exterior of the building.  I am sure our neighbors would be happy about that too.  In addition to simply a lot to do and not enough time to do it I will let all readers of this blog entry in on the real reason that we (Chuck) hasn't done this yet.  Risking my questioning of his sanity, he is seriously entertaining a further barn expansion to add four more stalls (see the math above).  He can actually make the whole thing sound really really sane and reasonable which probably means I've gone to the dark horsey side myself.

Excuses, excuses

I haven't blogged at all in more than 2 weeks. In that time we've continued to welcome new riders, new boarders and new horses. Almost too much to catch up on. We are running programs every day of the week now and in addition to Linda's full time instruction, Karrie and Jeannie are each offering lessons several days a week. Chuck has two outdoor run-in sheds built in the two main paddocks as we have more horses than stalls.

Ginger has been doing so well at Jeannie's that she is coming back to see if she can get back in the school horse rotation! Her many fans will love that.

Prime is going to take her 'job' as a pasture pet/companion at Jeannie's. Kind of bittersweet for the Hunt family as Prime was the first horse we welcomed as ours on the farm almost 10 years ago. Mr. Tee is also getting a break with a sore back. Luckily, Reno and Ben have arrived and Boo is doing great in lessons. Also, Zeus is coming along really well and even though he is still only ridden by Lizzie in lessons, I am told that Annie took him on a trail ride and he was quite good.

For all of you who are Cobble Hill-ers you know that alot of my distraction has been my mom's bi-lateral knee replacements last week. I am happy to report that she will be released early next week from rehab and will be coming to the farm for a while to continue her recovery. One of her goals with those 'shiny new knees' is to be able to start riding .... with her remarkable recovery so far, that is probably not too far off. Thanks to everyone for their good wishes and for helping Chuck around the farm during my many absences of late. (And this picture of Ginger was taken by my mom who was a huge help this summer)

Do you want to jump like this?

It has been increasingly obvious that quite a few of our riders -- particularly the young ones -- are really excited about the jumping. The hunter pace that a few riders did had a jumping component and riders or visitors have likely noticed the beautiful fall-themed course on the lower track here at the farm.

Luckily for us, Karrie Holbrooke has cleared her schedule (just like she is shown here clearing this jump!) and is excited to offer a day of jumping on Sundays. We are going to start October 25th. The structure will be that beginner jumpers will be able to sign up for half hour slots of private jumping instruction. Some of the more advanced jumpers will be able to do two or three students to a class. I am posting (hopefully today!) a sign up sheet in the barn. A half hour private jumping class will be $40 and the hour class for two or three students will also be $40 each. We will offer the ability to sign up for a four class package at $150 for either.

Please sign up in the barn or send me an email at info@cobblehillfarm.com.

Comment! Zeus and Sammee

Not sure if I have ever done a shout out to John Albano who is the tech friend/wizard who has helped me set up the website, do our on line marketing, google adwords, etc.... And as of NOW you can comment on the blog!

You have to have a google account but it is pretty easy to achieve. Also, I will moderate all comments. So, content will continue to be appropriate for the multiple ages that visit our site. And, there may be a delay when I am traveling for your posts to go up.

We have welcomed a new horse to the barn! Zeus is an almost five year old gelding half quarter horse, half paint. He is Elizabeth's birthday present -- she turns 11 this week. He is certainly a little green, but really friendly and good natured. Karrie did his first ever jumping today. He was good -- not a natural, but went over everything she pointed him at. His worst habit is backing up so Elizabeth needs to be really firm with him and not let him do that at all. He also can't canter from a walk, so she will have to work him into a canter from a trot. He won't be a school horse for a while and only Karrie will jump him for now ... but hopefully he will develop like Jay and Hercules into a solid horse for the intermediate riders. Here he is making friends with Buck in the pasture. He has the white spot on his neck. Cute, huh?

Sammee (the cat) is obviously the perfect Halloween cat!

Going to post some new programs coming up .... stay tuned!

.... and happy riders

At the end of a long day when my feet are killing me and I think we are nuts to have taken on so much work with the riding school, I happen upon a few pictures like this .....

And Chuck and I went out to feed Bradley his late grain and the sky was so clear and the big dipper was hanging low in the sky ......

not a bad life.

Cobble Hill Riders

Better late than never. At the hunter pace Linda and Karrie placed fourth in their division! And Annie & Junie won the Junior Sportsmanship award. Probably because of the outfits -- shown here with the full team including Katie. Great shirts and great inspirational message!

Welcome MCLA riders!

This week we have started welcoming two classes of riders from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Jeannie is doing an early evening class that had four students in it on Monday and they all seemed to have a great time. This Friday afternoon Linda will do the second class.

This is exciting for us for several reasons. First, it is a different kind of class. Most of our classes are filled with riders of similar ability levels. Because the first priority for these riders is college class work, their schedule dictates that they come when there is a driver available in a slot that works with their other commitments. The Monday class had a very experienced rider, an intermediate rider, and advanced beginner and a true beginner. This is great from the barn's perspective because we can mix up the horses we are using. So Boo, Mr. Tee, Dixie and Hercules were used Monday -- I don't think we have ever used that combination in another class! And because these are young adults, it is easier to manage the different ability levels and have everyone enjoy their experience.

The other reason I am so excited is that it is just fabulous to have these young women in the barn to set a great example for our younger riders. I have seen this phenomenon in other sports in town where the Williams teams come and assist -- kids in elementary school just respond so positively to college students.

So, Welcome MCLA. We are delighted to have you riding at our barn! (And if you want your pictures on the blog, sign a photo release!)

Birthday Party pictures as promised

I posted pictures from the birthday party. Tell your friends to have their party here at the farm!

You can find the pictures and the details under BIRTHDAY PARTY on the website, or follow this link:
http://www.cobblehillfarm.com/services/birthday

Rain Rain Stay Away (at least till afternoon)

Quite a few CHF riders have been preparing for events this weekend. Annie and Junie (above with Linda's birthday cake in the barn earlier this summer) are doing their first Hunter/Pace along with Karrie and Linda. There is a dressage show in Shelburne Falls (Biscuit Hill).

The rain will definitely postpone or wipe out the hunter/pace. Hopefully, the rain will wait till the afternoon and the riders will have a great time.

Also, the farmer's wife is in New Orleans earning some hay money and I really want to get home tonight!

Do You BELIEVE Linda is going to marry the guy responsible for this?

The ever alert Krissy snapped this pic a few weeks back when Linda's fiancee asked why his horse looked so different with his halter on in the cross ties.

For all the riders who haven't been approved for a trail lesson yet, here is a good secret: she lets David ride on the trail ...

Weaning Patty, Working Vixen

We are quickly approaching the time to wean Patty. Today, Patty went into the stall she has shared with Vixen since her birth while Krissy saddled up Vixen and rode her for a half hour or more down on the hunter/jump course set up on the track (now, the barn is cleaner than my house and the track is decorated prettier for fall than the yard ... oh well).

Patty happily munched on hay the whole time -- a very, very good sign. I don't know all that much about horses, but I stopped to watch Krissy ride for a while and to the untrained eye Vixen looked beautiful -- smooth and sound. Krissy said all the horses are a lot happier in that setting. I guess they like the idea of no fences!

When Vixen went back in the stall with Patty she actually didn't let her nurse -- another good sign that she is actually weaning the foal herself! Starting tomorrow we are going to feed them their grain in separate stalls. Soon, Vixen will be in a different pasture and stall than Patty till she is completely weaned.

Linda told me today she thinks with a month of concentrated work, Vixen will be ready to put back in the school horse rotation! She is such a pretty horse. We just need to watch her leg for that old lameness injury, but so far she seems good. I worried about her the last few weeks of the pregnancy.

We can certainly use another walk/trot pony for beginners and advanced beginners. Vixen actually has great breeding and was destined to be a 'fancy' dressage horse until sometime around 2 years she went through a fence and hurt her leg. She recovered enough to go on to a YMCA camp where we are told she was a great camp horse. Being a sound and calm camp horse and a good riding school horse are pretty consistent.

I still hope to possibly breed her again one more time ... she did such a great job and threw such a beautiful filly! And speaking of that filly, it is clear why Vixen was so big those last few days of her pregnancy. Man, that filly is getting HUGE. The bigger she gets the more anxious all the riders get to saddle her up. But the really good news is what a great disposition she has. A little spirited for sure, but loves people and lets you handle her.

Who wants the first lesson on Vixen?????

Anatomy of a Successful Birthday Party

We had a very, very successful first attempt at a Cobble Hill Farm birthday party. Harper turned four and a dozen of her friends helped her celebrate!

We kicked the party off with the much anticipated pony rides. I had set up two craft tables with a fun decoupage horse jar project so that the kids who weren't riding could stay busy. I was very surprised that most of the kids preferred to watch the pony rides ... even after they took their own turn. Hercules and Dixie were, as we'd hoped, really calm and cooperative.

Some of the kids were hesitant but others were ready to go. A few progressed to putting their hands on their hips while the horse was led around and a few even did a lap riding backwards.

The birthday party guests were so captivated by the horses that I made a spur of the moment decision to bring Vixen and Patty into the ring to do the lunging demonstration for them. They really loved it but some of our new horses in the back paddock got all jazzed up by the action in the ring and came galloping down to observe and then try to join in the celebration.

The scavenger hunt was next up --- ten clues like "Where Jay might find a drink of water" (the clue was taped to the waterer in his stall). The clues each garnered a letter in a baggie and when collected spelled: C*O*B*B*L*E**H*I*L*L

Then, before breaking for the pizza, fruit, cake and juice that Harper's mom brought, we did our own variation on finding a needle in a hay stack. I was thrilled to find a perfect use for the bags of hay chaff that the summer camp kids had scooped up (here is a picture of that activity). I dumped it in the back of the barn near the wash stall and hid a bag full of double bubble gums (individually wrapped) in it. The kids loved digging through the hay ... and for a few of them, it was their first ever experience with gum -- Double Bubble is definitely a great first gum!

While the revelers stopped for refreshments, Chuck dumped the water out of one of our wagons and hooked it up to the tractor. We made seating with hay bales and backed the wagon into the entrance to the barn. All the kids (and a few lucky dads who were pressed into duty to sit at the end of the wagon) happily climbed aboard, the rain and mist let up for long enough for a 15 minute hay ride. I am hoping one of the moms who took pictures will send them along.

It was a fun day -- and amazing that it was not so hard when the birthday child is not mine. I had a blast and wasn't stressed at all. The Hunt girls were a HUGE help (I did bribe them with a promise to pay them $10 each if they helped ... which they each earned) and of course, my mom was once again the special sauce ... chatting with everyone and generally keeping the craft tables humming.

If you know anyone wanting a special pony birthday -- send them our way. Saturday late afternoon and Sunday mornings will be the blocks that we will schedule events.

This weeks horse news

This week, Sweet Pea went up to Karrie's for the winter to chill. If he doesn't have another seizure it is possible an experienced adult rider might want to take him on ...

Bradley also went back up to Karrie's until the big hunter/pacer event that several of the adult and accomplished older girls are doing next weekend.

Chuck -- aided enthusiastically by Elizabeth -- has started making calls about getting a new school horse. There are lots of horses out there, but finding the right one to fit into a school program is hard. Optimally, we'd like a younger horse who can do advanced beginners but also can jump up to 18 inches as the riders progress.

I am sad to miss our Saturday lessons tomorrow for an out of town event. Going to be a GLORIOUS fall day. Maybe I will get home in time to do a short trail ride.

And of course: GO RED SOX.

Lots of fun, some ribbons and a beautiful day!

We had a wonderful day at the Oak Hollow Horse show to benefit Equus! We had riders entered in just about every event and so many of our riders either won championship or reserve championship ribbons, achieved some personal goals or simply had a great time ... and the weather could NOT have been better.

Regular readers of the blog know that I never identify riders in pictures. Today, I am going to post results (without pictures) with real names. One thing that Chuck always tells our daughters -- and they both experienced this for good and bad yesterday -- is that you have to remember that a lot of the results depend on what kind of day your horse is having. Some days both the rider and the horse are having a great day and they win! Some days the rider is having a great day and the horse is being a complete pill -- and you don't win. From my perspective, the riders probably learn more in the second instance. And, I reminded a few riders yesterday that there have probably been days when the horse was having a great day and the rider was being a complete pill -- and you never hear the horses complain. :)

Unfortunately, I don't have all the results yet. The Advanced Walk Trot was a huge class -- 11 riders! And we never heard them announce the results of the trail class or any award of Champion and Reserve Champion.

Champion & Reserve Champions:
If a student and horse compete in all the events in their class, they are eligible to be named the champion or reserve champion for the class (an average of the results). Congratulations to the following Cobble Hill Riders & their horses who won these coveted ribbons yesterday:

Beginner Walk/Trot Division:
Champion: Elyse Jandl and Buck
Reserve Champion: Cameron Sabin and Hercules

Advanced Walk/Trot Divison:
No results yet.

Beginner Walk/Trot/Canter Division:
Champion: Elizabeth Hunt & Hercules
Reserve Champion: Samantha Dorwin & Dixie

Junior Walk/Trot/Canter Division:
Champion: Mercer Greenwald & Hercules

Senior Walk/Trot/Canter Division:
Champion: Audria Greenwald & Bradley
Reserve Champion: Alexandra Manello & Jake

Advanced Equitation Over Fences 6 inches:
2nd Place: Grace Smith & Buck

Advanced Equitation over Fences -- 18 inch
1st: Alexandra & Jake
2nd: Audria & Bradley

Individual rider & Horse results (what we have):
E = Equitation, P = Pleasure, O = Obedience or Command, P = Pattern and T = Trail
Cameron & Hercules: E: 2nd; P: 2nd; O: 1st; P 2nd; T 3rd
Elyse & Buck: E: 1st; P: 3rd; O: 3rd; P: 1st; T 2nd
Emily Shanley and Dixie: E 3rd; P 2nd; O 3rd
Lauren Hunt & Mr. Tee: E 6th; P 6th; O 8th
Jillian & Norman: E 5th; P 3rd; O 1st; T 3rd
Holly & Jay: E 1st; P 3rd; O 4th; P 4th; T 5th
Elizabeth & Hercules: E 3rd; P 2nd; O 1st; P 1st; T 3rd
Samantha & Dixie: E 2nd; P 1st; O 6th; P 5th; T 1st
Mercer & Hercules: E 1st; P 2nd; O 1st; P 4th
Grace & Buck: E 4th; P 3rd; O 4th, P 3rd, T 2nd
Julia Burdick & Blaze: E 3rd; P 1st; O 3rd; P 2nd
Audria & Bradley: E 1st, P 4th; O 4th; P 1st; T 1st
Alexandra & Jake: E 2nd; P 2nd; O 1st; P 4th

Fun Class Results for CHF Riders:
Costume Class:
Holly & Jay: 4th
Cameron & Hercules: 5th
Emily & Blue: 7th
Lauren & Buck: 2nd
Audria, Julia, Bradley & Blaze: 1st

Pairs:
Audria, Julia, Bradley and Blaze: 1st

Egg & Spoon:
Christine Condaris and Bam: 1st

JUMPING CLASSES:
Additional CHF Results
Beginner Equitation Over 6 inch Rails: Samantha & Hercules: 4th; Julia & Blaze: 5th; Elizabeth & Hercules: 7th

Special thanks to Emily Sabin for keeping all the results, to Annika Wells for all her help with the younger riders, to our riders who weren't competing who came to root on the riders, Linda and Jeannie for being there with advice and support AND all the parents who worked so hard to make it a great day.

What is up with Farmville?

I have noticed a really interesting phenomenon on Facebook. There are all kinds of people who are playing a virtual reality game called "Farmville". I haven't done it myself, but from what I can tell, they must play some kind of game to earn money (I hope they don't pay real money!) to use to 'run' their own farm.

Recently, my aunt bought her first tractor. She also has built a gazebo to sit and watch the sunset.

Any of our riders or visitors know the reality of farm life is that it is a 24/7 job filled with lots and lots of hard work. However, there is a lot about farming that is really rewarding and running a horse farm in particular.

So I am wondering if all these people who are 'virtual farming' would actually pay to come ride and experience real life on a farm. Kind of like the Life on a Farm packages that we did this summer for children. I need to do some market research! Or would they just even visit our site and contribute to it? We are making the transition to an interactive blog where you can post and make comments. Should be up and running soon. I will have the ability to screen submissions for suitability before they get posted so that our culture and philosophy are embedded in the content -- we just hope to get more of you to read and post!

Here are some real pictures of life on a farm .... feel free to pass along to any of your friends over at Farmville. :)

Countdown to the Oak Hollow Show Saturday

Even though our barn is primarily about learning and fun, many of the riders look forward to doing a low key show. The barn across the street which runs an Equus program (where Linda still does some classes) http://www.equustherapeutic.org/ runs two shows a year as fundraisers for their programs. In these difficult economic times all non-profits are struggling to make their budgets. Which is why we are thrilled that our barn will be sending about 13 riders to Saturday's show.

In the past the shows have been on a Sunday and the riders have spent a better part of their Saturday getting their horses ready. With the show on Saturday we are preparing for chaos tomorrow between 3:30 pm and ????.

Hopefully, we will get the trailer completely loaded and possibly even parked across the street tomorrow night. And Krissy has agreed to work on Saturday even though it is her day off.

Will definitely post results!

Sweet Pea and Seizure

Unfortunately, blood tests came back confirming that Sweet Pea did have a seizure. The disappointing thing is that the toxicology reports did not give us any information about what caused the seizures which means we can't be sure if it will ever happen again. Long way of saying, Sweet Pea has to retire from being a school horse. We would never put a rider or a horse into a dangerous situation. Still, this is a really hard outcome and we are all still processing it.

As always, a big THANKS for Dr. Dowd -- he really has been such a steady, reliable partner as we work through issues like this.

Here is a link to some info on Seizures in Horses. http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=410

Our Own Facebook Page

In my continued efforts to be the most media savvy, web savvy horse barn ... I have been working on our Facebook Page. One great advantage to 'friending' the barn and checking it out ... I can post TONS of the great pictures that Krissy takes quickly and easily, whereas it is pretty slow and tedious on the blog. So, Friend Cobble Hill Farm!

Difficult Ending to a Saturday full of riding

Our first day of Saturday lessons with Jeanne went great! We also had lots of boarders, leasers and FOCHF (Friends of Cobble Hill Farm) here all day.

But our day ended on a sour note when Sweet Pea was getting tacked up for his lease ride by "Amy" and her mom. It appears that he had a seizure. Dr. Dowd was here (yes, we have now ruined two of his weekends in a row, but he is really, really nice about it!) and stitched up Sweet Pea where he had some pretty bad cuts (either on the way down or the way up). I don't want to write much more speculation because SP is one of our most favorite horses in the barn and while I want everyone to know what is going on (the Hunt girls, Amy's family and several boarders were here for the excitement) I don't want to speculate. It was a scary incident.

Everyone's thoughts and prayers worked great with Bam's injury ... so please do the same for Sweet Pea tonight. He is comfortable, seems fine and is in his stall eating hay and a bit of extra grain he got to get him to eat the anti-biotics and little bit of bute to help the pain (one gash was pretty nasty).

We have so many great pics of him, but here is a good one of many.

Strength and Conditioning

Many new riders who come here are active in other sports in their daily lives. It is interesting how surprised they are at the soreness they feel after riding or the difficulty they have with certain aspects of riding. (For me, it is the core strength needed to post while keeping a steady rein)

I just came across a great website that gave some good conditioning tips for riders. Here is the link: http://www.ehow.com/how_2247007_get-shape-horseback-riding.html

Of course, it is also true that runners or bikers might benefit from some horseback riding in order to improve things like balance!

And, this picture of Chuck and Lizzie has nothing at all to do with this post, but Krissy has taken so many great pictures that I hate to do a post without putting some up. And this is one of my favorites. And we are putting some more hay in this week -- today, actually. So ....

Moms who canter

This picture is Buck (my favorite trail horse!) and Ceasar in the paddock scratching each other. It is so interesting to see the different interactions and relationships between the horses.

Had to switch into an earlier lesson today. Ended up with Christina, Brenda and Lucy and I rode Mr. Tee. He was a much better workout and harder to ride than Buck which shocked me -- it sure is different riding than watching! You need to work very hard to keep him on the rail (the periphery of the ring) by keeping near-constant pressure with your inside leg. Probably a lot less work at age 10 than 40-something!! It made my ankles kill.

Christina has been cantering Sweet Pea but today Linda was determined to get her to canter Buck. She was nervous (after my disastrous attempt to canter on Buck, I understood why) but she really stuck with it and did it! We were all cheering ... which Linda leveraged to challenge each of us to do more than we were planning. We all cantered! It was such a great, affirming and supportive experience. I think we were all near tears building off each others confidence and achievements which sounds sappy, but it was powerful!

In addition to cantering Mr. Tee (twice! no pulling back on the reins, but hard to keep him on the rail and me in the saddle) we got lots of my 'administrative' responsibilities done today.

Linda and I have nearly finalized the fall schedule -- no mean feat as we are bursting at the seams after school. Jeannie is going to have 3 lessons on Saturday of beginners and advanced beginners! But I also solidified our Thursday night Ride and Relaxation program by recruiting Kerry Holbrooke to run it! Watch for an email or announcement on the "What's New" page. It will be at 5:00 till 6:30 on Thursdays ... $50 per ride. 45 minutes of instruction and 45 minutes of wine tasting on the deck (hopefully with sunset)!

Also, Tasha spent some time here today and we were all SO glad to have her in the barn. She, Linda and I finalized plans for a Tuesday morning Yoga & Riding experience. Each class will do half an hour of Yoga floor work in the space downstairs in the house, then move to the barn for 45 minutes to an hour of tacking up and riding. Tasha has a numerous different aspects of riding and will focus an entire class on that -- for example: keeping your heels down (which sounds easy till you try to do it for 45 minutes on a bouncy horse!). She' ll do related yoga moves and then she and Linda will co-teach the riding portion which will be a continuation of that one area of concentration. I am often out of town on Tuesdays ... and I can tell I am going to be really jealous of the riders who can work this in to their schedules. It will also be $50 for the session and limited to four riders per session -- at least to start.

A pretty productive day. And in between I wrote a short op-ed piece that will be in the Washington Post this weekend! (alas, about politics and not horses or being a farmers wife ....)

Back to School ....

Most of our riders started school today and many are getting underway with fall sports. We are thrilled that so many folks want to ride this fall! (If every day is like today, you can see why!)

Most of our after-school youth groups are full and we are adding two new groups on Saturdays with Jeannie.

We are also adding some adult programming. At the moment it is primarily lessons -- in the ring and for advanced riders, on the trail. But we are hoping to get more creative and do some more stuff as the fall progresses. Keep an eye on "what's new".

Update on Bam: He is doing really well. Dr. Dowd is keeping him splinted for a few more days, but we are cautiously optimistic that he simply pinched a nerve .... so if you were sending good thoughts our way, thanks.

Check out this article in today's Globe:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/02/in_search_of_greener_pastures/

So, so sad. We are going to consider adopting one of these abandoned horses. We are lucky to have the staff and space to potentially turn lemons into lemonade.

the Boys!

Sometimes there is a misperception that all youth riders are girls. While we have many, many girls who ride, we also have a healthy group of boys who are riding here.

Mickey is featured here tearing it up on Buck! He loves to ride western and he can make Buck move. Watch out for him in the barrell races.

I want to get good enough to challenge him (me on Buck, him on Dixie) to a barrell race!!!

... on a positive note, both cuttings of Hay are in the barn!

I bet we are one of the few farms in the area who has two cuttings of hay off their fields and in their barn -- without any mulch hay!

Kim did a great job timing the weather. There have been very, very few windows to put hay in this summer. As I wrote when we did the first cut, you need to have a few days of dry weather to have the hay dry out enough to bale safely and put in the barn. We got a very light rain on the second cut and then had to race to let it dry out enough before Tropical Storm Danny came this last week.

This morning we put the last two wagon loads in ... we had to speed them in to Kim's barn on Friday afternoon when it started to rain. The second cut looks great!!!

Here is a great picuture Krissy took with all the hay cut and on the ground before we baled it.

Send Good thoughts Bam's way ....

Yesterday morning we discovered Bam in the paddock very lame. Dr. Dowd was here most of the day and Bam has a splint on. His injury is in the same spot as Fritz -- high up in the shoulder where portable x-ray machines don't do a lot of good. Greg emailed the pics to the surgeon who could also not be sure what was going on. They did see one area of 'concern.'

Bam seems to be putting weight on his leg today and getting around a bit more. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he will have a full recovery.

Here is a picture of him prior to the injury!

Never a Dull Moment

Have my laptop back!

What a week on the farm. Just back from vacation, Chuck got stepped on by Junior. Unfortunately, his foot got infected and he needs to keep it elevated through the weekend. Of course, all this happens a week when we are putting in the second cutting of hay from our field (got it all in ... looks great, hooray) and there is a lot going on in my 'other' life.

Decided today to keep my regular Friday lesson and at least get to ride this week as I had been doing lots of barn stuff all day. Jacki, Linda and I did the long trail loop again and I was on Buck. Jacki rode Dixie and Linda took Hercules, because Mr. Tee seemed a bit lame when being ridden by the girls earlier.

Buck seemed really tired and sluggish to me ... I could ride with a really loose rein, which is out of character. It made for a really relaxing ride!

We got back and were getting ready to put in another load of hay when Dixie started to stumble backwards. In the end, we think she was dehydrated and she seems fine tonight, but it was a scary few hours.

Then, while Linda was bringing in horses to feed, and I was walking Dixie to make sure she didn't colic, and Chuck was on the phone with Dr. Dowd, two of the riders yelled to Linda: Bradley had thrown a shoe. What an afternoon!

All seemed quiet when I left for Boston tonight, but life on the farm is never boring!!!

updates, no pics

Besides being on vacation last week, my laptop went on the blink! All the pictures are on there, so for today I am simply going to do some quick updates.

This week is the last week of our Tuesday and Wednesday programming and we had a full house today.

As all our youth riders get ready to go back to school, we are trying to figure out fall scheduling. A newsletter will be coming out soon with options for securing your preferred riding slot for the fall so watch for that in the barn!

Today, Ginger is heading to Jeannie's farm. She had her feet trimmed by Matt today and with the new boots she seems to stay sound and not be in any pain, but we are convinced she can't be ridden. We are going to try out one of Jeannie's younger horses that might be a good school horse for us. It is a great solution all around, but Ginger is a real favorite around here so it will be sad to say goodbye today.

And, as most of our riders now know, we also had to bade farewell to Chandler last weekend who couldn't recover from his latest bout with colic. We are keeping him and Tasha in our thoughts and prayers.

Update on Chandler

One of the worst days for a horse owner is when their horse is sick. Obviously, it is hard to diagnose a creature that can't tell you their symptoms.

The other morning when Krissy arrived Chandler was lying down in the paddock and wouldn't get up. That is a really bad sign. And Chandler (a boarder) has had surgical colic twice before so we were very worried. We called the vet right away and started walking him.

The decision was made mid-morning to bring him to the vet hospital in Saratoga. He has been there for about 48 hours now.

He had some colic but also strangely had a good deal of blood pooled in his abdominal cavity -- but not in his stomach.

He was laying down again yesterday but was up and walking with his owner by midday. A second ultrasound showed that about half the fluid had been absorbed. That was a good sign.

The challenge is to figure out what caused the blood to pool so that they can determine treatment or even if it is treatable. The best news is that his heart rate has stayed normal which means he is not in extreme pain or duress.

We are thinking about him.

Featured Rider: Amy

Promised the riders in the barn that I would begin a new item occasionally on the blog: a featured rider. They all filled out questions for me and our first featured rider is: Amy! (Her barn name, not her real name....)

Amy has been riding for two years. This summer, she and her mom are sharing a lease on Sweet Pea so she is getting to ride quite a bit. During the school year she tries to ride once a week.

Her favorite lesson horse is Hercules, but for a show give her Sweet Pea! Great choice -- he cleans up nice and doesn't get too rattled.

Amy hasn't done a trail ride yet, but her choice for a trail ride is Buck. Buck has a well deserved reputation as a great trail horse!

Amy hopes to become a professional rider one day. And she keeps coming to Cobble Hill for the FUN and the HORSES!

More riding -- experienced rider summer fun

The most experienced riders are always looking for a new challenge. One of the great assets of our farm is the 1/3 mile training track that Chuck's Aunt Alice built to train her horses on jog carts for trotter and pacer races. Today, it serves as a great place for a first trail ride. The views (as you see from this picture!) are gorgeous. And it is a pretty safe area.

Now, our industrious riders have worked with Chuck to put some hunter/jumper type obstacles (I am sure all my verbiage is wrong -- way out of my element) down there to make a fun course. Safety is always a priority, so Linda has told the riders with permission to use the 'course' that they must be supervised by her AND they have to wear a flak jacket. As you can see in the picture, it doesn't seem to diminish the fun!