Summer Riders!

Summer riders start today. I am giving the older girls on the full lease program the opportunity to write about their day, a horse or their ride and then I will post their writing here.

Except for our three daughters, we are not identifying any riders with their actual names. Obviously, friends and family will be able to recognize them in pictures (if we've gotten a signed release) but we are really working hard to protect the privacy of our student riders.

It is going to be hopping busy on the farm this week. Learn to Ride program kicks off tomorrow for three days and the primary ring sign-in board is pretty much full from 9 am till 6 pm every day!

I think I got everything ready: there is a refrigerator (clean) in the quiet tack room, the television with no cable access but the ability to play Videos and DVDs with a few horse-themed tapes and DVDs out there. I left lots of notes and lists .... because I am headed to San Diego this afternoon till Wednesday! This trip is always easier to make in January than June.

Rain Rain Go Away!

Just heard on the radio that it has rained 17 of the 22 days in June so far -- that didn't surprise me. The horses get all muddy, the indoor arena gets a lot of use and it dampens spirits!

Yesterday Lauren and I gave Dixie a bath. She was filthy. We were giving a two-year old a pony ride and there was no way I was going to put a saddle on such a filthy horse. She walked half way around the track and back and did a few loops in the indoor arena. Patty and Vixen were friendly to our guests and came over and nuzzled everyone. All in all, a good day despite the grey, overcast skies.

Lots more riders doing extended programming starting next week so we are scurrying to have many projects ready. Maybe it is good that it is going to rain most of this week -- doesn't that increase the chances of warm, sunny days next week?

Dressing your horses each morning

There is still a lot that must be done on a rainy day on a farm. The horses still go outside -- especially when it is a warm, rainy day like today. Some of the horses have rainsheets that they wear on cooler, rainy days.

Actually, for all the moms out there getting our horses out of the barn in the morning is a little bit like getting your kids out the door in the morning. The biggest difference is that the horses eat the same thing for breakfast every day, they eat what you give them and they never complain. However, based on the weather, we have to decide if they need:

fly spray, fly masks, fly sheets, rain sheets, sunscreen, blankets and twice a year their types of shoes even change for the ice and snow!

We work hard to keep the bug population low on our farm. I hate bugs. I was really pleased when Matt was here the other night and commented on how few bugs we have! But even still, when the weather gets warm, there are flies (in the picture above, Hercules is probably trying to shoo a fly). And they love the horses -- especially their eyes (which is really gross). The fly masks keep the flies out of the eyes of the horses. However, horses can get them off and every year we lose a few in the pasture (kind of like how dryers eat socks -- sorry for all the mom analogies this morning). There is also fly spray that you can apply to the coat of horses -- it is time consuming but it keeps the flies down. And, some horses (like the new guy we are trying out -- Sam) hate bugs so much that you can even use a fly sheet.

One of the things that will be really helpful about having four girls on the all-access summer lease program around this summer will be having their help getting the horses prepared to go back out to the pasture in the morning.

In applying the fly spray, you put it on a soft glove and rub it on against the direction of the coat so that it 'sticks' and gets down to the skin. It is also good for the horses to be handled like that. We are proud of how good all our horses are -- but a big part of that is we handle and work each of them every day. If they aren't used to kids and adults handling them then they will react unpredictably when someone tries to do something unfamiliar with them.

Vixen and Patty both have a lot of white around their noses -- so they have to be sunscreened! Their skin can burn just like humans. We haven't had to worry with all the cloudy, rainy weather about sunscreen on Patty yet which is good because Dr. Dowd (the vet) has told us to use our discretion -- we don't want to interfere with Patty's nursing by getting sunscreen smeared on her nose that then goes on to Vixen's bag and makes the milk taste bad and the bag smell unfamiliar. However, Patty loves running around outside, so we are definitely going to have to figure out the sunscreen situation for her soon!

Second Grade Outing

Yesterday, Lauren and Sarah's class came to the farm for an end-of-the-school-year outing. It was a lot of fun for everyone!

Many of the children and adults met Patty for the first time -- boy, is she getting big. This is a picture my mom took during the day.

We also led all the students who wanted to around in the outdoor ring. We used Sweet Pea -- who lived up to his name. And, Dixie who is always reliable. The kids had a great time -- as did Mrs. Kassin who we convinced to be the lead-off rider!

Also, Sam the horse we visited this weekend arrived at the farm Tuesday night. A few of the students and Linda rode him today. It is dark out but Chuck is still out in the barn. With our summer programming starting a week from Monday, we are in a scramble to get as much done as possible before we are inundated with riders (although that is a very good thing!).

Who is your favorite horse? (Besides Jay ...)

I know I promised to bring you updates on the favorite horse poll ... and so Annie, Elizabeth and I took a peek the other night. And guess what we learned? We forgot to put Jay on the horses page and the survey! Uh oh -- he definitely would have gotten a vote from Annie! Here is a picture of Jay, anyway!

So far we have 16 votes, and not surprisingly, Patty is winning. I guess it isn't really fair to match up a 3 week old filly against all our geldings and mares!

Even so, it is clear why Patty is stealing everyone's heart. She is beautiful, full of spirit and starting to be a real charmer. She will now come up to most of us in her stall and sniff away at your clothes and then let you pet her. I have no idea how long a foal's coat stays silky soft, but it is definitely longer than the coat stays clean!

The second place horse is Sweet Pea which is somewhat surprising to me. While Sweet Pea is a dream to ride -- even though he is big, he will do whatever you want. However, he has his issues. Don't ever try to pet his face when he is eating -- he is very protective of his food! And while I haven't handled every horse extensively, I think he is the hardest of the beginner horses to bridle. It is a combination of him being so tall and so stubborn about taking the bit. It really is interesting that a horse that is obstinate at one task can be so compliant at another. And I will readily confess that when SP gets 'dressed up' for a show, no horse is prettier.

I'll keep the current survey up for another week ... then I'll take Patty off and add Jay and have a real competition!

Finding a great horse

Glad to report Ginger still seems sound and on the mend. But we've realized we probably still need another horse -- for two unmet needs: a bigger/stronger horse for adult riders and, if possible, another horse to use with all the new riders and beginners we are attracting!

When Matt, our farrier, was here last week he told Chuck and Linda about one of his wife's horses that they were thinking about selling. Sam is a Quarter horse gelding -- "bomb proof" and only 9 years old. Chuck and Linda both thought it was interesting enough to make a road trip.

The best way to judge a horse is to see how our riders do with her. Annie's mom was willing to let her spend the weekend here and come to see the horse. Also, if Sam turned out to be all that we hoped, we knew Elizabeth would be another good test rider.

So, with five girls (Annie brought her non-riding friend Kiki), Buddy (our Boston Terrier), Chuck, me, cold drinks and tack (saddle, girth, helmets) off we went. Of course, with this load, a 75-80 minute trip took two hours with our multiple snack and bathroom stops. It was a little tricky to find the barn -- Chuck had sketchy directions and the barn wasn't actually near their house. At one hysterical point we pulled into a driveway toward a barn that we thought was our destination and began pouring out of the Suburban like a clown car. A horrified woman came flying out of her house saying "you must be in the wrong place! I think you are at the wrong house!" It was as if she thought we were the kid equivalent of people who drop stray kittens off at welcoming-looking homes (very often, farms).

When we finally arrived, Sam was big and beautiful and seemingly calm. We tacked him up and Annie was the first on. She was definitely not a scary, spooky horse. And not at all 'forward.' After getting her warmed up and moving along, Elizabeth rode.

Sam definitely passed that first test. Annie and Elizabeth both agreed: very 'measured' pace (some might say pokey), very smooth canter. The biggest issue is that Sam has been trained to ride Western and she neck rains so our English riders had trouble 'steering' her!

So far, so good. Sam showed great progress for our identified needs, and might be really good for our growing one-time riding experiences for adults (who often feel more secure in a Western Saddle). A three-fer!

The next step is that Matt is bring him to the barn for a short stay on Tuesday night. We will have our vet check him all out and of course Linda needs to evaluate him.

If you are a rider, see if you can pick Sam out when you come up later this week.

Also, we added our 'horses' page to the site and a short "vote for your favorite horse" survey. I will post results as they roll in!

Supplements

One of the many things that surprised me about keeping the horses 'sound' is the number of variations to what they eat. We had a professional come in and take a sample of the pasture hay, our bought hay and some info on each horse (I can't remember how she did the analyis that tailored the feeding program to each horse but I remember being impressed at how scientific it was). We have 5 or 6 different types of grain and each horse has their own tailored morning and evening feeding.

A job I do that I am really good at is putting the grain 'up' -- basically filling the buckets for the next feeding according to the elaborate grid on the wall. This is also one of the activities that riders enjoy learning to do and helping to do.

Tonight, as I finished preparing the buckets for the late night feedings and morning feeding, I wrote down all the different supplements and consulted with Chuck as to what they do. Here is a brief list:

1. Minavite: Almost every horse gets this twice a day: it is bascially a multivitamin
2. Horseshoers Secret: most of the horses get this daily as well: a pelleted hoof supplement
3. U Gard (calcium magnesium dietary supplement): about half the horses or less get this -- it is to protect against ulcers (think Pepcid)
4. Tandem (hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfates C4 and C6 AND N-acetyl D glucosamine): about half the horses get this once a day -- it is a joint lubricant.
5. Vitamin E tabs: actually the same stuff people use, but in horses (only two or three of our horses get 6 tabs a day) it is supposed to be good for their coats.
6. Tri-Hist: only two horses are getting this right now, and they only get it when needed for breathing and allergies. Believe it or not, even some horses get wheezy with the high pollen counts!

And like supplements for people, none of this stuff is cheap! No wonder we have such beautiful and healthy horses.

The importance of a good farrier

My first post from the road! Today, the farrier was on the farm to finish up spring shoeing. I've learned that there are a few keys to having good riding horses: the right diet, the right amount of 'work' each day/week and 'soundness' -- meaning, their legs/hooves (feet) don't have any issues. Keeping a horse sound requires a team effort. The vet can help you detect and treat issues but the farrier is also a really important part of the team.

Our farrier, Matt Reopel is terrific. Elizabeth, Lauren and Sarah love his little dogs he brings (so does Buddy!) and I appreciate his friendliness and willingness to explain his work to the riders in the barn. But most of all, it is his skill in tailoring individually appropriate shoeing options for each horse that is really important to running a high quality riding stable.

Lately, we have not been able to use Ginger very much. Ginger is one of our 'key' horses -- besides being beautiful, she is a really calm older horse that the beginner riders love to ride. Elizabeth won her first "Grand Champion" ribbon on her in the beginner walk/trot division. She and Dixie came to us together and, excuse the pun, have really been "workhorses" for us. But, for the past several weeks she's been lame and despite lots of exploration and expense using our wonderful vet, Greg Dowd from Arlington Equine, we have not been able to solve the issue.

Lameness in a school horse presents a huge emotional and business dilemma. We need horses that can be ridden every day now that we have so many riders. And heading into summer, we have a significant number of new and beginner riders -- which is GREAT -- but means our beginner horses will be earning their keep. It is a careful balance between using them and over-using them. And Chuck and Linda are adamant that we not work a lame horse. So, if Ginger can't work we not only are absorbing a lot of expense, but we then need to increase usage of our other beginner horses who we don't want to over work.

We had to begin to consider the unthinkable: finding Ginger a new, good home. Enter Matt Reopel! Today, he had some custom made shoes to put on her. She has had nevicular (spelling?) issues and these were designed to address that as a possible issue. And, guess what? By this afternoon Ginger seemed much, much better! She was used (I am told) for some light walking lessons today. Keep your fingers crossed. We would all be sooooo happy if this simple solution allowed us to keep and use Ginger. She is the perfect horse for new riders.

Krissy was going to get me some pictures of Matt working today. I will post those when I get back to the farm later tomorrow. And this summer we are going to do some amateur video with Matt and Dr. Dowd to post on this blog. They are definitely key members of our team!

Work, Work, Work

A nice day on the farm today, a miserable rainy day yesterday but they both have one thing in common: lots of work to do! Today, Chuck can work on fence posts. I am still trapped working on my day job and getting all the paperwork done for summer programs. If you are a rider, all your forms will be waiting for you at the barn today! I made a new board that we'll use for horse assignments, and bought some great containers for rider's 'stuff' this summer when they are here for longer programs. Found 8 pillowcases at a decent price so 8 folks will have a CHF pillowcase by the end of the summer! Also got a big water container for re-filling water bottles. All in green coordinated colors -- maybe Chuck won't notice? It is a very cool neon green. I will probably get everything nearly ready this weekend for the kick off of our summer 'season'. Then maybe I will get to ride?

Do you ride?

Last night Chuck and I were at a party with lots of local Williamstown residents. Many of them knew of our new farm business. And lots of people asked me, "Do you ride?" My answer is: I want to! But, lately, all my farm time is spent on business development (writing the blog, ramping up the website, getting us listed with the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce, getting the paperwork and programs ready for all our youth riders) or helping Chuck with things he has to do. Yesterday, I helped get more hay from Clarksburg. Chasing hay is an on-going thing around here. I will write more later about hay ... but it turns out to be why farmers are so obsessed with the weather. Not sure what farmers did before weatherbug and weather.com!

Trying to put pictures up with these posts as one way to show you more about our operation.