Grooming is part of daily life with horses.

When we groom our horses, we aren’t just making them neat and pretty — we are finding their sore spots, locating hidden injuries, identifying muscles which need toning, working on stretches and obedience. And we’re also offering our horses a sign of our affection, by acting as member of the herd, giving out scratches in all the itchy places.

So even if your horse is neatly clipped and steps out of his stall like a fashion model, or lives out in the pasture and is rarely, or never, ridden […]

Magazine Review: Equestrian Quarterly – Celebrating Country Life

2:04 am

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Facility Planning & Design, Guest Author Farmgirl, Misc.

Magazine Review: Equestrian Quarterly

Do you ever find yourself thinking you signed up for the “Town and Country” life, but ended up with Green Acres (and speaking for myself, with a little Minnie Pearl vibe) instead? Do you imagine yourself with shiny, perfectly groomed, well bred steeds in the fanciest of stables but when you walk out to the barn you find sweaty, dirty and frankly backyard bred (albeit beloved) mutts living in what could hardly be referred to as a ‘stable‘? And like me, do you think of yourself as leading a Ralph […]

Keep Your Horse Cool: Summer Cool-Down Tips

4:21 am

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Equine Care

Keep Your Horse Cool: Summer Tips for Comfort

The hottest days of the year are upon us. And if you think you’re hot on a sticky, ninety-degree day, imagine how your horse feels!

Horses and humans come from two different worlds. Horses were adapted to the arctic climes: between thirty and sixty degrees Fahrenheit, horses don’t expend energy to stay warm or cool. Humans come from the warm equatorial regions of the earth: until they figured out clothes, they were pretty much relegated to staying someplace warm. And now, North America, we all […]

Selecting Hay for your Horse

7:31 pm

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Equine Care, Misc.

Choosing the Right Hay for Your Horse

In summertime, a farmer’s thoughts turn to thoughts of hay-cutting, and horse owners are eager to get their hands on the season’s best forage for their horses.

What are some things you should look out for when buying hay? Whether you wander a warehouse and order a truckload or go to the feedstore once a week with your pick-up truck, there are certain qualities to good hay that you should always watch for. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and make sure your […]

Hay Fever Season

7:25 am

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Guest Author Farmgirl, Misc.

This time of year I get hay fever.

Oh, not the coughing and sneezing kind. More like the delirious “I’ve got to get my hay in” kind of feverish rant that always hits me right around June 1, like winter is coming imminently and I need to store up for a long, hard one.

It is an interesting phenomenon how close I feel to farming this time of year. I am not a farmer. Oh, I have a few acres I refer to as my farm. But I have no delusions that I am one. Regardless, I […]

Bringing the Horses Home: Are You Ready?

5:04 am

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Equine Care, Facility Planning & Design

It’s the dream of many horse owners: to look out the window and see their horses grazing right outside.

Although boarding at a stable is a convenience some can’t imagine living without, there’s definitely something about keeping one’s horse at home that keeps people gazing at real estate ads or imagining just how their little acreage could be turned into farm of their own.

But keeping horses at home is a big step. Here are three things to consider before you decide to fire your barn manager and bring the horses home.

1 […]

Arena Grooming

2:07 am
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Guest Author Farmgirl, Misc.

Essential Tips for Effective Arena Grooming

One of the benefits of blogging for an equine architecture firm, besides having access to an architect for my barn and home (Equine Facility Design does both), is the access it also provides to new products they know about (and I don’t).

Such was the case recently when I was introduced to Chuck Baker of Eco-Terr Distributing Inc. who has created the Thunder-Groom arena groomer, a beautiful piece of design and innovation engineered to take arena grooming into the 21st century.

I already have an arena grooming […]

Choosing a Riding Instructor for Your Child

5:06 am
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Misc.

Thinking of starting your child in horseback riding lessons?

Congratulations! Riding is a skill that your child will keep forever. Like riding a bike, riding a horse is something you just don’t forget how to do.

Choosing a riding instructor for your child isn’t always simple. It’s important to find a safe lesson program where education and horsemanship are always at the forefront. Blue ribbons are nice, but without a safety-first, horse-first mentality, your child won’t learn the fundamentals that will make him or her a true equestrian. Fortunately, even if you […]

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