Lets chat, girl to girl.

Yesterday as I was bringing Poppy up from the lower barn to the upper in preparation for an evening ride, she suddenly freaked out, spun around, and froze facing the wood pile. Our conversation went a little something like this:

Me: [speaking in an exasperated voice] Damn it, Poppy! We have gone past this wood pile a hundred thousand times before! There is nothing there.

Poppy: There is. I saw it.

Me: [all sarcastic] Oh really? What was it?

Poppy: Well it isn't going to come out when we're looking at it.

Me: Can we go to the barn now please?

Poppy: Can't. Move. My. Legs.

Me: [insert grunting sounds here as I try to pull Poppy away from the wood pile]

Poppy: OHMYSWEETJESUSTHEREITIS! I SAW IT MOVE! RRUUUUUUUUNNNNNNN!

Me: [insert various curse words here as I chase after my loose horse as she gallops up to the barn]

Yep. That about covers it.

Red Flag Alert

I am in the market for a new pony. More specifically, a pony between the sizes of 13H and 14.3H that is quiet, between the ages of six and fourteen, has been used in a lesson program and/or ridden by young children, has good ground manners, and has trail experience.

The last horse I bought was Poppy. I was looking for a draft cross mare under the age of 10, preferably 16H or bigger, broke w/t/c for under $1,000. My search brought me to Craigslist where upon I responded to an ad for a "nice uncomplicated 7/8 year old draft mare with lots of trail experience". After a few e-mails back and forth and one brief phone conversation I went to see "Daisy" who might as well have still had the New Holland yellow auction sticker on her but. She was crusty. She was hairy. She screamed non-stop the entire time she was being tacked up. She was not 16H, and no where NEAR broke w/t/c, nor did she seem to have a lot of trail experience. She didn't have papers. The woman said she was a halflinger/belgian cross, which I am pretty sure she is.

Long story short I got her anyways, because I had enough experience to see with training and consistency she was a diamond in the rough. Now she's b-e-a-uuuuuu-t-i-f-u-l if I do say so myself, and worth about four times what I paid for her. BUT if I had listened strictly to the ad, if I had not known what I was looking for and not seen exactly what Poppy was within the first five minutes (a barely broke, obstinate, non-hoof picking up disaster) it would have been a major problem. So that leads me to this post's topic: sale ads that bring up red flags.

Now I'm not saying the following horses are bad, or have anything wrong with them. They could be awesome horses, but their ad isn't doing them any favors.

First of all, yes, this is a horse. I checked. What we have here folks is a two year old 14.1H paint stallion. I will allow that they've cleaned him up for pictures and attempted to take good conformation shots, but sometimes there's only so much you have to work with. It isn't what this ad does say - stunning homozygous perlino paint tested genetically to be CrCr, Agouti Agouti, Black/Chestnut, Tobiano/Tobiano. He has wonderful conformation and pedigree for either breeding or show. He would make a wonderful pony stallion. - it's what it doesn't. No mention of this little guy's training. No mention of if he is registered or not. No mention of his bloodlines. No mention of his attitude, or ground manners, or ability to pick up his feet. I commend them for not being on his back, but there is still a lot a two year old should be able to do: tie, lunge, trailer, bath, good ground manners, etc. That the owners did not offer up any of this information sends up a major red flag. They're asking $1,100.

I'll let this ad do the talking. Upon mounting, he tends to back, to jig. He just likes to try to unnerve a timid rider. A firm rider, once he is going, will find him an utter joy. I have found that if given a steady job, his testing diminishes and goes away [if you make him exhausted, he may behave]. He likes having a job to do and a PARTNER, not a boss [he will eat you for breakfast if you try to tell him what to do] . Ring work bores him stupid, so he tends to resent it - preferring to head off into the fields to explore (i.e. he would make an awesome trail horse) [ah, IE he will take off with you into the wild blue yonder]. Now, he has only had basic training. We're working on getting him backing reliably, but he has had little exposure to training involving anything more complicated like moving off leg pressure. He has been in traffic, with carriages, around minis... and had no trouble. I am selling due to medical reasons [I don't want to die] necessitating that I narrow down my personal “herd.” They are asking $1,000 for this gem. The scary thing is that people are never 100% honest in ads, so if this is how they describe him to sell him, I would be terrified to find out what he is like in real life. But hey, at least they're trying to be honest.

Look! A two year old that knows rollkur! Sometimes in ads you have to let the pictures do the talking. ANY ad that claims to have ANY two year old for sale that is "broke broke broke" sends up immediate red flags for me. I don't want a two year old that is "broke broke broke." Two year olds are babies. They shouldn't even have anyone on them, let alone someone on them yanking their face in. This cutie pie is also "broke to spurs" (what the hell does that even MEAN?) and can be yours for the bargain basement price of $5,000. This looks like a sweet horse. He would have to be, I suppose. But a broke two year old often equals a broken twelve year old. Funny how they get all kinds of problems when you start bouncing on their backs before their bones have finished growing.

In this day and age, it really is "buyer beware." When buying a horse, don't follow your heart. Follow the advice of your trainer and the results of your pre-purchase exam. For those of you who have been in the market for a horse in the past, or are looking for one now, what is a red flag for you?

5 Things I am Thankful For

With Thanksgiving only six (SIX? HOLY CRAP! Why didn’t anyone TELL MEEEE!) days away, I have decided to sit down and think about five things I am thankful for that relate to my horses. If you would like to do the same, feel free to post in the comments. And yes, I went there with a silly animated turkey. Because eating turkey is one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving. And pumpkin pie. Turkey and pumpkin pie... is there anything better?

1) I am thankful I have horses. Because a lot of people don’t, and a lot of people who did have had to give them up. Growing up I always had a horse, thanks to my Mom and Dad. There was Sundance, Lori, Bars, Echo, Jiffy, and Zaz. And one or two crazy ones in between, but I won’t list those, because if I’m being honest I’m not that thankful for them. Then I went off to college, leaving my six year old paint Zaz behind for my parents to care for, and they sold him. At the time I was furious and truly upset, and I do wish I knew where he was now because he was a good sweet horse, but by selling him it made me go horseless for about a year and a half… and opened up the door for Darwin! My goofy, lovable, off the track thoroughbred I got when I was a sophomore in college. PS – If you ever want to give your Mother a heart attack, tell her you’re just got a horse despite the fact that you have no money and no place to keep it.
2) I am thankful I went to college and majored in Equine Studies and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree of Animal Science. Lots of people say horses are just a hobby and you can’t make a living off of them. Well, yes you can. I am. But you have to be careful how you go about it. You have to have the right personality. Loving horses won’t get you through, neither will being an awesome rider because those are a dime a dozen and lets face it if you were that awesome you would be off showing at some fancy barn on your outrageously expensive warmblood instead of worrying about how to make a living with horses. So I’m thankful I went to college and got my bachelor’s degree and got a job immediately working at a private farm which gave me free housing and free board and a salary. What other job is going to give you that other than a barn management position?

3) I am thankful for Darwin. If you read this blog, you know Darwin is my nine year old thoroughbred gelding. As I’ve said before I got him for free when I was a sophomore in college and he’s been with me ever since, bouncing with me from barn to barn (six barns in five years, I’m a bad Mom) and generally being AWESOME. Except when I had him at the last barn and he was a skitzso maniac terrified of everything. But I can’t really blame him there. Darwin will be my forever horse. I want my children to ride him. My friends already have on one drunken night that does not bear repeating. He is sweet and loving and acts more like a person than a horse, although he can have his freak OUT moments. Darwin isn’t the most athletic of horses. He can’t really jump, and he most likely will never go about first level dressage. He has had lameness issues with his hocks, but as long as I don’t push him he stays sound completely barefoot and on no supplements or bute, so I’m thankful for that too. He’s really just an overall awesome horse who I love to bits. Yay Darwin!

4) I am thankful I can teach lessons. This kind of ties into number 3, because I teach most of my lessons on Darwin, but I’m very thankful that his personality allows me to do that. Darwin has been giving lessons (we’re talking two – three of the same people every week, never more, often less) since he was five years old. He LOVES to be ridden by people that aren’t me (isn’t that how it always works?) and when a lesson student steps into the saddle a golden halo appears between his ears. The two lesson students he has now are at opposite ends of the spectrum. One is on her way to becoming a fantastic dressage rider, and the other is a middle aged woman who rode as a child but is just getting back into it. Darwin is great for both of them. He collects and has energy for the dressage rider and he acts dead to the world for the beginner. Yeah, he’s pretty awesome. No, you can’t have him. But I bet you want him, don’t you? Don’t you?! I’m also thankful for every lesson horse out there in the world who has ever quietly and gently put up with a yanking, bouncing child or impatient yanking, bouncing adult. You make the equine world keep turning, lesson horses. I tip my hat to you.

5) I am thankful for the big blond moose that is Poppy. I love my Popstar. I bought her at a dealer with the intention of using her for adult beginners at the barn I was teaching/managing. She did end up doing a few lessons, mostly lead line and one or two advanced “training” lessons for two of my students who were interested in learning how you go about training a green horse, but for the most part she is a one horse lady. Maybe it’s because I did all of her under saddle training and probably didn’t do it right, so all her signals are backwards, but she just does not respond that great to other riders (unlike Darwin). She doesn’t do anything bad. She just trots when they want her to walk, turns around when they want her canter, turns left when they try to turn right, like I said, I’m sure it’s my fault… mixed wires and all that. Poppy went a long way in restoring my confidence riding outside the ring. Darwin has never been a fan of traveling outside the safe zone, so relaxing trail rides were never an option with him and I never really pushed it. But Poppy… Poppy wants to feel fresh grass under her hooves. She wants the breeze in her face. She’ll take on any horse, anytime, anywhere in a head to head sprint across an open field (and yes, by some miracle of God, she always wins). I haven’t galloped like I have on her since Bars took off with my bucking across the field behind my house. My dream is one day do lower level eventing with Poppy. I know beyond a doubt she will be able to do it, but I just have to bite the bullet and get my ass out there on the cross country field. And for those of you who think I am cruel for putting Poppy in such a tiny field, let me remind you that I did not put her there. This is how I found her one summer morning when I came to the barn to feed the horses and bring them in. She's supposed to be in the field to the right.

So that’s it! Five horse related things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving. Thanks for reading!

A Horse's Apology Letter

Dear Mom,

I’m sorry I tried to kill you yesterday. I really didn’t mean to, but those white cones just jumped out of NOWHERE. Have you ever been attacked by a white cone? Well, I haven’t either and I plan to keep it that way. When I jumped straight up in the air I was acting on hundreds of years of instincts from when Belgians roamed the wild plains running away from cougars and lions and those sneaky white cones.

I didn’t mean to run, but white cones are fast, Mom. At least that’s what my brother said. He’s been jumped by a white cone, you know. Reached right up and bit him when he was trotting down the long side. Mugged in plain daylight, can you believe it? He doesn’t like to talk to about it much, but I know it still gives him nightmares from the way his head twitches when he sleeps.

I think overall I recovered nicely. The yelling on your part was a little overdone. You managed to haul yourself back in the saddle before you hit that big mud puddle. Using my mane was a brilliant idea, but I gotta tell you – OUCH! Whoever said horses can’t feel when their mane is being pulled is full of manure. But I guess it will grow back. Eventually.

You know, the more that I think about it, the more I think I actually did a good deed. I know you were angry that I wouldn’t go to the side of the ring after I spotted the white cone lurking under the rail, but I was really just trying to protect you. Humans can’t run as fast as horses, Mom. Didn’t you find that out when you were chasing my brother around yesterday? For a guy who only won $165 on the track he sure can go when he wants to!

So I’m sorry for almost killing you, but all in all I think it was a good thing I ran when I did. I know I’ve been past that white cone hundreds of times before, but I could feel it looking at me this time, getting ready to pounce. I saved your life, Mom. I really did. Actually, I think you should be thanking me. A big bag of carrots should suffice. I’ll be in my stall, waiting. And bring me some of that hay, won’t you? Not the first cutting dried up stuff you usually feed me, but the soft fluffy green hay that my brother gets. Are you trying to make me starve to death or what?

Love,
Poppy

Stable Sheets and Heavy Weights and Fleeces, oh my!

Attention: This blog post is not intended to debate the question of blankets versus no blankets. If I have the time and the inclination, I’ll post the pro’s and con’s on that little argument later on. For the record I blanket both of my horses. Always have, probably always will. This post is intended for those horse owners who do blanket.

It is now halfway through October. If you live in the northern part of the USA you have probably noticed a drop in the temperature (although as I write this it is an unusually bright and sunny 71 degrees). The nights are getting chilly. The grass is frosted over in the morning. The flies have all but disappeared (can I hear a big HALLELUJAH?!). The horses are starting to get fuzzy. It is fall.

Two days ago I spent several hours searching through the attic of my barn top apartment, digging around various trunks, and looking in the back of trucks to round up the barn’s supply of winter blankets. Naturally not a single blanket was labeled, nor was there any type of handy dandy chart to tell me what size belonged to what horse. None of the blankets were organized (heavy weights were mixed in with sheets, 78” nestled up against 62”) and none were folded. Thanks, last barn manager. Thanks a lot.

Eventually I found every blanket I could find and dumped them in a pile in the middle of the barn. I then spent several more hours sizing every horse and separating the blankets in different piles depending on their weight and size. When it was all said and done every one of the ten horses had a rain sheet, stable sheet, and medium/heavyweight. The blankets are now labeled and folded neatly on the blanket bars awaiting the temperature to dip a few more degrees.

Someone asked me the other day what blanket she should buy for her horse. She showed me a blanket she had found online that was not at all suitable and I gave her my opinion on what would work best. I don’t know if she ended up buying the blanket she had initially picked out or not. I hope for the sake of her horse it’s not, but I am in no way surprised she asked me the question.

Blankets are confusing. After all, they take up at least 20 pages of every horse sale catalog. You have fleece blankets. Cooler blankets. Stable sheets. Rain sheets. Medium weight. Heavy weight. Grand weight supreme. 600 Denier. 1200 Denier. Ultimate rip stop. Buckle enclosure. Leg straps. Tail straps. No straps. Rain proof. Wind proof. The list goes on… and on… and on.

To understand blankets, you have to have a basic blanket vocabulary.

Denier: This refers, in the most basic of definitions, to the “toughness” of your blanket. The higher the denier the less likely your blanket is to rip, tear, etc. The higher the denier the more expensive the blanket. What level of denier you get is up to you. I can squeak by with a 600 denier for all of Darwin’s blankets because he isn’t rough on them. Poppy on the other hand needs 1200 denier or I would be replacing her blankets every year (a lesson I learned the hard way last winter).

Fill: This term refers to the “weight” of your blanket. Fill is measured in grams. The higher the amount, the warmer the blanket. Fill can run the gamut from 150 grams all the way up to 400. It is very important that you pay attention to the amount of fill when you purchase a blanket. Blankets that are “no fill” do not have any extra insulation and are referred to as sheets.

Stable Sheet: This blanket has no fill, is not waterproof, and has low denier (if it has any at all). A stable sheet is not intended for warmth, but is great for keeping your horse clean before and during a show, clinic, or event.

Stable Blanket: This blanket is not waterproof, typically has a low denier and comes in varying degrees of fill. It is not intended to be worn outside by itself. Stable blankets are great for layering under waterproof blankets and sheets or for just keeping your horse cozy while they are in their stall at night. The picture on the left is an example of what NOT to do. Ignoring the fact that the horse is behind barbed wire (people's stupidity never fails to astound me) you see that this horse has been turned out in a stable blanket that is well on its way to twisting all the way around and already has a rip on the left chest area. The highly intelligent owner of this horse has also failed to criss cross the belly straps, making it very easy for this unfortunate horse to get a hoof caught. Blanketing FAIL.

Turnout Sheet: The turnout sheet has no fill and the denier varies by price. It is waterproof. Think of this blanket as a windbreaker. It won’t keep you warm in the winter, but it is great to have during the chilly fall before it really turns cold and for rainy spring days.

Medium Weight Blanket: This blanket is water proof and generally has a fill count between 100 and 250. It should keep your horse warm in all but the coldest of weather. As always, denier count varies depending on price.

Heavy Weight Blanket: The heavy weight blanket is generally between 300 and 400 grams of fill. These blankets are best suited for freezing cold temperatures or horses who have been clipped and no longer have their natural hair to protect them. Think of the biggest snowman looking parka you could wear and you’ll have some idea of how warm the heavy blanket can be. A heavy weight worked out great for me last year when I body clipped Poppy completely. I bought this blanket online for $75. I can't even remember the brand name - Big D, maybe? - but I really lucked out. It did sustain a few rips that needed to be fixed, but after being worn by a 1,400lb moose all winter I think it faired pretty well. Here is Poppy taking a snooze in her heavyweight. She really liked it.

I won’t go into coolers and fly sheets and irish knits here. Two of those are for summer and if you have questions about coolers you can ask them in the comments (which are being kinda funky, but if you click submit a bunch of times it should eventually post… sorry about that, blogspot is weird with the comments). I do have three blanket rules which I believe every person who is going to blanket their horse should strictly adhere to.

1) Once you begin blanketing, you must continue. When you blanket your horse will not grow as thick a winter coat as they would normally, which means you can’t get tired of changing blankets halfway through January and decide to take them off all together.

2) Change your blankets according to the weather. If you have your horse in a heavyweight because the temperature has been subzero but all of sudden it skyrockets into the 40’s, you cannot leave the heavyweight on. You, or someone you trust (a barn manager, barn owner, friend, groom, etc) must put on a lighter blanket. Likewise if your horse is in a lightweight and it’s supposed to get down to -10 overnight, a heavier fill blanket is in order. The best thing to do is to have a “temperature chart” stuck to your stall especially if you are a boarder and are relying on other people to change your blankets for you. My personal temperature chart goes kinda something like this (aka I just made this up in my head and still have to dig out my real temp chart from the bottom of my trunk):

55 and up: no blankets
54 to 45 and/or rain: turnout sheet
44 to 35: turnout sheet during the day, stable blanket at night
34 to 15: medium weight
15 and under: medium weight over stable blanket

Make a plan and stick to it. Just like you wouldn’t go out in 10 degree weather without a heavy jacket on, your horse doesn’t want to sit in a cold stall all night with nothing more than turnout sheet.

3) Look at your real horse once in a while. Believe it or not, some people stick a blanket on their horses and don’t see what is going on underneath until four or five months later. Don’t let this be you. Ideally your horse should be checked daily for blanket rubs, skin irritation, proper fit (belly straps do come undone or twist or loosen), and body condition. Horses lose weight in the winter. Horses can easily hide that loss of weight under a big bulky blanket. Solution: look under the blanket.

Hopefully this long, drawn out post has answered some of your questions about blanketing. If you’re wondering what I use on my own horses, consult the temp chart above (just remember the actual temperatures aren’t quite right). Darwin and Poppy each have a rain sheet, a stable blanket, and a medium weight. The stable + medium = heavyweight and the rain sheet can double as a stable sheet for shows. If I had tons of money I would have six different blankets instead of three, but we do what we can. And lets face it, since I will be the one changing the blankets three is a heck of a lot easier than six. Please keep that in mind when you give your barn manager your blanket instructions.


Darwin & Harry at their old barn in lightweight sheets.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours

Picture day! As you know (if you read this blog) I own two horses, an eight year old bay thoroughbred named Darwin and a seven year old belgian x halflinger named Poppy. This is a picture of them I took last week. They are grazing in their new field at their new barn, happily in love and oblivious to my attempts to get them to raise their heads and take a proper picture.




Have a picture of your horse(s) you would like to share? Post a (working) URL in the comments and I'll post it!

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Don't tell me what my horse can't do

When I tell people I have a belgian x halflinger mare, especially fellow horse people, especially fellow horse people who show, I usually get a less than enthusiastic response.

"She's really cute and all... but, well, what are you going to do with her?"

I like to see the way their eyes get wide when my answer is: "Jumping, or low level eventing, or maybe dressage - I'm not sure yet, she's a pretty athletic horse."

"Well," they say dubiously, "she does have a pretty big neck."

Last time I checked having a neck the size of a mack truck does not a big jumper make, but at least they tried to say something nice. I appreciate the effort.

No, Poppy is not a fancy warmblood or a talented trakehner. No, she will never do the high level jumpers... but I never planned on doing those anyways, so that is just peachy keen with me. I have a 17H TB. I know what breeds are typically associated with jumping and dressage, and what breeds are not. I also know my beautiful TB spent twenty minutes stuck behind a 12" high rail (whinnying his head off and working himself in an absolute panic) that Poppy had already jumped over to get to the green grass on the other side.

Breed isn't everything. So for all your doubters out there, take a gander at this beautiful video of a five year old PURE belgian mare. It's a bit long, but if you fast forward halfway through you'll get to the jumping. I can only hope Poppy will look like that someday. In the meantime I'll be content with the picture of her free jumping while I progress with her flatwork, and just keep on smiling when people look at me like I'm crazy.

A Long Hiatus

My last post was on April 1st, 2011. Over four months ago. A lot has changed in four months, including my job, my living situation, and my boyfriend (who, after six years, has gone from boyfriend to fiancée).

One of the great things about being a barn manager is that you get to live (usually free of charge) where you work. This was the case at my previous job. I lived with my boyfriend (now fiancée – following me so far?) in an old three bedroom farmhouse that was a hop, skip, and a jump from the equestrian center that I spent the majority of my time at. No rent, no utilities, no repair expenses. My two horses lived free as well (I did have to pay for their utility and repair expenses; I’m still working on a repair expense to the tune of $600, as a matter of fact). It was all nice and cozy. [on a side note, the picture is of my new apartment, not the old house]

One of the worst things about being a barn manager is that you get to live where you work. Lose your job, you lose everything: your home, your utility free way of life, your nice one minute commute, and board for your horses. I think it was those fears that kept me at my old job longer than I should have stayed, and were ultimately the reason I left.

I now live in a beautiful open concept apartment above the barn that I manage. There are ten horses (including my Poppy and Darwin) instead of twenty, and four dogs in addition to my two, but it has been a lovely, calm, and comfortable transition (and it doesn’t hurt that the owners, who are kind, generous people to work for in their own right, are out of state for two weeks). Poppy and Darwin not only have free board, they have their own barn. Yes, they have to share that barn with two goats, but for right now everyone is ignoring each other and they’re getting along just fine.

This new barn management position also comes with benefits, something I did not have at the last place, and some other new things as well: I will be actively riding and training the owner’s eight horses (so far that’s been a swift kick in the ass to get in shape, as I rarely rode at my last job; my thighs hate me right now), I will not be teaching any lessons to start, and when I settle in only a few per week at my choosing, I will be babysitting and carpooling – which comes with the territory when you agree to manage a private family farm, and I will once again be immersed in the world of homeopathic medicine (more on that later).

So that is what has happened to me over the past four months. It was a rocky road getting to where I am now, but I’m happy and content with my decision. I know it won’t always be roses and rainbows, but I’m OK with that too. Darwin and Poppy are unbelievably happy, the dogs can run off their leashes without the fear of running in the road, and I have time to write my blog again.

All is well.

Poppy is as Poppy Does

I rode Poppy today and she was pretty spectacular, especially given that I have only ridden her twice in the past two weeks. Having owned a thoroughbred for the past four years, I am constantly amazed at the differences between my old horse and my new. Darwin does not like to be ridden in windy weather because leaves blow up in his face. Poppy loves being ridden in windy weather because leaves blow up in her face and she gets to eat them. Darwin does not like to go out on the trail because of all the scary things that could potentially kill him (you know: trees, grass, scary branches…). Poppy loves to go out on the trail because of all the things she can eat (you know: trees, grass, scary branches…) People say that drafts just naturally have a quiet personality. I don’t think they necessarily have a “quiet” personality… I just think they’re so busy thinking about what to devour next they don’t have time to spook at anything.

I’ve been working a lot on trying to regulate Poppy’s tempo, especially at the trot. Like any green horse she has no sense of natural rhythm under saddle and either tries to run full speed ahead (she is surprisingly quick on her feet despite her size) or stops to admire the fence. For the first time she picked up the trot and went along very nicely on a medium rein with little contact and I didn’t feel like I had to post a million miles an hour.

Her canter transitions where also very good; she even picked up her right lead which she has been sticky on lately. The next step will be canter circles; we always start with the best of intentions but never seem to make it all the way around. We also attempted a x-rail… lets just say her jumping career is a work in progress.

The ride ended with a very nice trail ride (mainly because I didn’t have to fear for my life) and Poppy plodded quietly behind her frenemy Cami and Harry (Harry is the four year old wonder horse – it was his first trail ride and despite the dark skies, crunching leaves, and wind he was, of course, perfect). I’m planning on taking her out for some gallop work on Friday and am really looking forward to it. I need to start hacking her out with a little more consistency to really build up her hind end which will hopefully lead to an improvement in the jumping career. On a high note, she didn’t break out of her field today (YAY!) and I managed to get some tranquilizer from the vet so the next time the farrier comes out she will be all set to get her feet done. All in all, a very good day for Poppy.

Fencing

There are many different types of horse fencing. Here at the farm, we have 90% split rail and 10% wood board. I wish it was 100% vinyl fence, but we all have our dreams. As with anything else, there are positives and negatives to every type of horse fence. Many of those positive and negatives are based on personal experience or stories that have made their way from barn to barn. Here are my opinions on five of the most widely used horse fence materials (ranked best to worst).

1) Vinyl Fencing. It looks beautiful, it lasts forever, it doesn’t rot, and you can tailor it to meet your needs. On the other hand it is very expensive and a clever horse could potentially pop out a board here and there. A quick solution to that is hot wire tape on the inside top rail, which I suggest with any type of board fencing whether it be synthetic or real wood. This is also a good fencing option for rings. If you can't afford to get your entire fence line in vinyl, a great way to spruce up your farm is to at least get the fencing that faces the road done.

2) Wood Rail Fencing. Before vinyl came along, the best thing you could get was wood rail. It looks elegant, is very sturdy, it can be painted any color you wish, and it is simple to replace. The only problem is you will be replacing it a lot after the first few years. Cribbers love this type of fencing and eventually it will begin to rot.

3) Split Rail Fencing. When installed correctly this fencing is just as good as wood rail. It is sturdy, looks nice, and is usually a less expensive alternative to #1 and #2. Unfortunately, if it is not put in the right way, it really sucks (case in point: the fencing I have to deal with at the farm). The rails must be fitted correctly or they will fall out ALL THE TIME, it will eventually rot and need to be replaced, and, as with wood rail, cribbers love it.

4) Wire Fencing. There is a variety of wire fencing. High tensile wire, hot tape, poly coated wire, and woven/mesh wire (not recommended, especially for young horses with tiny hooves). Growing up, we always used wire fencing. While the fiber glass posts really stunk, the hot tape was easy to install and our horses stayed in for the most part. Wire fencing is the cheapest of all the fencing options and is also the easiest to install (you can do it yourself in a few hours). If you are going to use wire, tape, etc. it has to meet a few requirements. First, it must be electric. Second, it must be TIGHT. No drooping wire, no leaning posts, and no, you won’t get away with just using one strand to keep your thousand pound horse in. Or your four hundred pound pony. If a horse has not been behind wire fencing before they need to get used to it slowly. Wire fencing is not for every horse. We always tied orange tape on the wire every fifteen feet or so to reinforce the idea that it was, in fact, a fence.

5) Barbed Wire. The fact that I still see this being used for horses is absolutely disgusting. Don’t. Do. It. If you keep horses on your property and there is barbed wire anywhere on the premises your horses will find it and they will make hamburger out of themselves.



All fencing needs to be maintained. Don’t do it once a year. If you check the fence lines visually every day and go over them by hand once a week, you will catch little things before they become big things. If your fence is starting to rot and fall down, replace it. Of course, if you come into managing a barn after the fencing is already in place and has not been properly taken care of for years and there isn’t any money to spend on new fencing, you work with what you have… and keep your fingers crossed that your belgian/halflinger mare (who is to fences what a wrecking ball is to old buildings) doesn’t feel like busting out more than two times a week.



Oh, that Poppy! This is where I found her two months ago... wedged in between two fence lines with no where to go. To get her out I had to move the water trough, back her up as far as I could, and give her a slap on the rump. She jumped out in style and figured out a new way to get out two hours later.

All About Me

As the heading of this blog states, I am in fact a barn manager. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, I am the person who takes care of other people’s horses night and day, through sleet and sunshine, and every holiday you can think of. I get fifty two full days off a year (at least that’s what it says in my contract). I’m the first one at the barn in the morning and the last one to leave at night. I own more boots than I do purses, I don’t wear makeup, and I consider “dressing up” to be a clean shirt and semi-clean jeans.

I live on the farm that I manage in a one hundred year old three bedroom farmhouse with my boyfriend of six years. He’s a math teacher and knows next to nothing about horses (thank God). We have two dogs: a fifty pound mutt and a twenty pound mutt. I’m sure you will be hearing lots about them later on.

I have two of my own horses. Darwin, an eight year old thoroughbred gelding, has been with me since I was a sophomore in college. He is 17.1 hands of pure teddy bear and hates the color white (along with ponies, trailers, indoor arenas, new places, the trail, puddles, anything that resembles a jump, and the wind). I bought my second horse, a belgian halflinger cross that I named Poppy, four months ago from a dealer who most likely bought her at an auction for the price of slaughter (unfortunately, I didn’t get to pay that price when I bought her). She is 1400lbs pounds of pure beast and is adjusting very well to eating four times a day, being blanketed on cold nights, and having her very own stall to call home.

I am not a spectacular rider, but I can hold my own. I am a good riding instructor and have just around forty clients that I teach on a weekly basis (in addition to caring for the farm’s twenty horses).

So that’s me in a nutshell. I also enjoy reading, going to the movies, and I love Applebees. Chinese takeout is also high on the list. Pizza too. Hey, when you’re running a farm and a lesson program 24/7, who has time to cook?