Kearsarge Meadows

Big Dilemmas - Who With Whom

2011-11-27T18:45:00.000-05:00

Obviously the menu is critical. And of course, the flowers and overall decor. But for a fabulous dinner party, one must put great care and effort into the seating arrangement

Who would be best placed next to the recently widowed Lady? Who would be amused by an evening of conversation with the boorish Baron? Would the famous Inventor prefer a more technically minded dinner partner or a sports fan? Which guest would be best to seat along side the Politician?

These are critical problems to solve. Done well, the dinner will be the talk of the town. Done poorly, the whole town will be talking about it for weeks to come.

This is not a problem we encounter on the farm. No, if we have a dinner party, we simply have to decide whether to add an extra picnic table.

But pasture assignments ARE a challenge. Which horse should go out with which horse, and in which pasture?

Some farms make this easy. Got a mare? She goes in the big field to the left. Got a gelding? Put him in the field to the right with the rest of the boys. Alternatively, some farms provide individual turnout paddocks.

We do neither. First, we believe horses, being herd animals, need pasture mates. Next, we believe that horses need to be matched and grouped on their own merits. And so far, we have found that mixing mares and geldings in small groups of 3 or 4 works just great. And a scientific study helped confirm we are doing well with our horses. In it, it said that geldings are much more likely to relax, roll, and lie down in pasture if a mare is there. Why? Mares are natural nuturers who instinctively watch over the herd. Multiple mares? Even better, as they will take turns watching over the sleeping horses. Very nice. And natural.

So we work hard on finding a good pasture arrangement. And everytime a new horse moves in or a horse moves out, we have to rethink the seating plan. Who goes with whom?

Several weeks ago, a big fairly young horse moved in. Under saddle, but not fully mature and still growing, we put him out with a retired mare who would be most likely to be okay with the amount of grass and winter hay he would require. After the usual scuffles, they hit it off famously. Eating side by side, mutual grooming, missing each other when separated. It was cute. And both owners were pleased to see their horses having best buddies.

More recently, a previously boarded horse moved back in. And of course, seeing her, her old pasture mates were thrilled. So, assigning her pasture was easy. Sometimes it is like that.

Then, last week, we moved the big youngster and his old lady friend to a pasture which had been rested, allowing their pasture to be rested for a few months. The pasture is between two others. One which has 3 geldings, the other which has 2 mares and 1 gelding.

At first, things went just fine. However, within a short amount of time, the big youngster was no longer interested in the retired mare. Instead, he was more interested in a big young gelding on the other side of the fence with two other geldings. All day long, the two big youngsters would play fight, pull off each other's fly masks, and ignore anyone who wanted to bring them in for the night! The two horses bonded over the fence.

A dinner party disaster! The Baron was ignoring the carefully selected people seated next to him and acting like old mates with the waitor!

Now the challenge. It's seems obvious we should try putting the two big goofballs in a pasture together. But how? What to do with the mare? What about the other geldings who will lose their buddy? Should a third be added to the twosome or with that result in jealousy and fights? And there are other things to consider, such as who's wearing shoes and who's not? And how safe will it be for the owners to extract their horses from the pasture for riding? In general, what are the risks of allowing these two youngsters to play WITHOUT a fence between them?

It's a dilemma, but one we face over and over as horses move in and out, and has horses look beyond their groups and express interest in other horses on the farm. In the end, the solution will either be the talk of the barn, or talked about all over barn.

Fall & Thanksgiving Turkeys

2011-11-03T19:47:00.000-04:00

Let's see. Where did we leave off? First of all, does it seem to you like summer just zipped by!? For us, there were only a few weeks where T-shirts and shorts were appropiate. Now we're back to long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, flannel lined jeans, and hoodies. Yup, it seems Fall arrived in a hurry this year.

In August, we saw Tropical Storm Irene. We suffered no damage here, thank goodness. We were very lucky and only had a strong summer rainstorm. Can't say the same for our neighbors in Vermont, however! Yikes! The Green Mountain Horse Association showground was just one area of Vermont which was badly damaged. (Barn D shown here during the storm. The link will take you to more photos at the GMHA website.)

September brought the USDF Regional Championships, which were as fun as always. One of our horses attended and placed well in the Freestyle classes.

Then in early October, the local Warner Fall Foliage Festival, preceeding peak colors by mere days, was a big success with perfect weather.

But the big surprise this Fall was when we got SLAMMED by an almighty massive snow storm on the last weekend of October! We measured 15 inches of the white stuff on the farm. Amazing really.

This past week, we've enjoyed a week of weather in the 50's and yet we still have big piles of snow along the indoor arena, snow which slid off the roof and serves as a constant reminder of what's still to come.

Winter. Four to five months of winter.

Meanwhile, as time continues to march on, we're finally seeing wonderful growth in our Thanksgiving turkeys. We purchased our lovely Bronze Turkey poults in late July. It was not until October that we started to believe they would be more than "rock cornish game hens" by TG. Now, the difference in their size, week by week, is truly evident. They will be good sized in time for "the end".

Parting with these wonderful pet farm birds will be, as it always is, difficult from an emotional perspective. We round them up and load them into canine travel crates, all while our dog barks and whines at them, as if in warning! Then off the go on their road trip, returning a few hours later in plastic bags.

But until that day, we know they are enjoying life free ranging around the farm all day, sleeping in a cozy shavings lined stall at night. They munch on pumpkins, eat and play with apples, enjoy dust baths, sunbathe, and even waddle up to visitors' vehicles, greeting them with their "ar, ar, ar" turkey calls.

None of them is gobbling yet, but they will soon. Looks like we might have a couple toms. And that means more for Thanksgiving Dinner, the big Fall Feast.... and weeks of leftovers.

HHHH - Hot Hazy Humid & Horses

2011-07-22T10:16:00.000-04:00

It's the middle of summer. Seems like only a few weeks ago we were wondering where to pile the latest snow. Today, it's threatening to hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the relative humidity / dew point level is categorized as "Oppressive" by the meterologists, and we have hazy skies from the weather AND thanks to smoke drifting in from forest fires in Ontario, Canada. It's not the most pleasant weather New England has to offer. Especially if you work outdoors.

Yesterday - another blazingly hot day - and today, our morning staff arrived earlier than usual. Instead of keeping the horses in their stalls for their leisurely breakfasts, we put them straight out to grass. The horses were out of the barn early, making their own decisions about sun vs shade, in the shed vs out of the shed, to roll or not to roll.

Meanwhile, the staff accomplished their work in record time. This morning, the barn was spotlessly clean before 10 am and our employees were able to go off and make their own decisions about how to cope with the building heat.

Today, the horses will probably all have the day off. Tonight, if things cool down, some may get ridden. But for now, man and beast simply need to ride out the day, and the HHH weather, in their own ways.

Dare I say it..... Yes, I miss snow.

Summer Chorses

2011-07-06T10:11:00.000-04:00

Now that summer is here, the outdoor chores are stacked up like incoming jet aircraft approaching LAX International. These include mowing, and not just the little front lawn. I'm talking about riding trails, paths to and several meters clearance around the outdoor arena, and grass parking areas. From start to finish, a full mowing job takes 4 to 5 hours. In addition to that, brush hogging of the eight pastures, to keep weeds at bay and allow the grass to dominate, is another form of mowing which consumes many long hours.

Then there is the gardening work. A small part time job in itself. The veggies are growing well, the bittering hop vines are currently growing out of control, and the four year old Cabernet Franc wine grapes are thriving. I was not 100% convinced they would survive our cold climate, but they did. Thanks go to Vintage Nurseries in California for excellent quality vines!

And of course, as we do every year, summer is when we get our baby turkey poults and start raising them with an eye on Thanksgiving dinners for ourselves and several turkey sponsors.

And then there is building maintenance and paintwork that needs attention! While the old Colonial house and big attached barn were painted a few years ago, the huge indoor arena & stabling building was only painted on one side last fall. Three more sides to go. It looks totally overwhelming until remembering... How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

With the summer weather, more of the horses are being ridden, both indoors and out. And with that, more time is spent grooming the indoor and outdoor arenas. That's a fun little task that results in beautifully smooth surfaces.

While chores are being tended to, the horses are reaping the benefits, happily grazing on safe dry grass pastures. Their summer coats are in full bloom, some are nicely dappled, and without exception, all of the horses' hooves are hard and sound. It's great to see all of the horses healthy and happy.

With all the work involved in maintaining a working horse farm, it's hard to believe we, the owners, find time to fish or ride motorcycles or spent time with family or BBQ or..... Thanks to all of our great employees, we do.

April Showers Bring.... MUD SEASON

2011-04-05T16:44:00.000-04:00

The saying goes "April showers bring May flowers". However, as most New Englanders know, April showers bring our fifth season: Mud Season.

After an impressive April Fool's Day snowstorm, we are now enjoying rain and melting snow. Mud season is well and truly underway. The pastures we are currently using are all muddy. However, the pastures we have closed, protecting them for later use, will be the first to recover from winter, the first to become lush with early spring grass.

Mud season means daily leg hosing for the horses when we bring them in from pasture. And, depending on how thoroughly each individual equine has saturated their still shedding winter coats with mud while rolling, some of the horses are getting early spring baths as well.

While mud season only tends to last a few weeks, for horse people, it feels like a very long season. Shows are only weeks away and the horses just don't seem to take that into account. They love to roll in the mud. And when they run around, they kick mud up all onto their bellies and between their legs. They get mud throughout their tails and even into their manes. Oh yah, it's wonderful.

But April showers also brings May flowers. And grass. And the promise of new locally grown hay. But for now, it's all about Mud Season. Say it with me: Yuck.

Scratches

2011-03-15T18:31:00.000-04:00

Even the name of this equine medical condition sounds unpleasant. Alternative names include Mud Fever, Dermatitis, Greasy Heel and other names which are no less appealing. Googling for information, horse owners can find all sorts of gruesome photos and read tales of utter frustration by those trying to cope with the condition in their horses.

Scratches can be described as a crustiness of the skin of the legs. Once the skin gets infected enough, rubbed hair comes out in clumps. The hair can feel "greasy". There can be scabs and oozing of the skin. Swelling of the legs. Pain. And more. It is not pleasant for the horse and in some cases can apparently lead to severe illness and death.

Looking for a cause to their own horse's case, horse owners will find that scratches can be triggered by fungus, bacteria, unrelenting moisture, parasites, stall bedding, and irritants in the environment. That's a rather long list of potential causes to try to eliminate.

Recently, we have tried to address a fairly longterm, but not so frightening case of scratches on the lower hindlegs of a draft horse. Like many, we have been through the cleaning, shampooing, disinfecting, complete drying, and various commercially available medications and preparations. Believe me, there are a lot of products on the market from which to choose! But, her condition continued. It didn't get much worse, but it didn't get much better either.

On the advice of her farrier during his January visit, we decided to try a different approach to addressing her scratches. This started by trimming off her thick feathers, the very long lower leg hair typical of her breed. We also trimmed her luxurious tail which she would swing back and forth, brushing it against areas where the "infection" was most prevalent, possible spreading, aggravating, and perpetuating her skin condition.

Next, without knowing which of the many possible scratches causes were active and dominant, we mixed up a simple ointment to slather onto her legs. Using rubber gloves, the mixture was applied in the evening when the horses were in their stalls. No bandages were applied. Over the next couple of days, the mixture dried, leaving a think white coating which eventually disappeared. We did another application a couple of weeks later. And one more after that.

Last weekend, the farrier returned and was impressed at the noticable difference in the mare's hindlegs. Her skin was softer and less crusty, her lower legs were not as thick, and she was happier to accomodate the farrier during his farrier work. He asked what we had used, eager to suggest the treatment to another client dealing with a stubborn case of scratches. And so our "Secret Recipe" was shared.

PLEASE consult with your own Veterinarian before trying this!

The concoction we used was a mixture of the following.

15 SMZ/TMP Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim 800mg/160mg tablets, very finely ground up with a mortar and pestle
Dose of Ivermectin for 600 pound horse (Roughly half a tube)
Half an ounce of 1% hydrocortisone anti-itch cream
1 cup (8 ounces) of aloe vera gel

Mix well, breaking up any little clumps. Then, while wearing rubber gloves, apply by hand, truly slathering it on.

When done, the mixture has a pleasant consistency which is easy to apply on the legs. Since we use the tropical green No-Ad Aloe After Sun Gel, the final mixture is a very appetizing pale green in color, kind of like Key Lime Pie. So don't leave it on the kitchen counter!

With mud season underway, for horses prone to scratches this is Scratches Season as well! To help prevent infections (and be able to inspect for any injuries), we hose off all muddy legs when the horses come in from pasture. Standing in dry clean shavings all night helps give the legs time to dry and the skin time to breathe.

Removing the feathers and trimming her tail may in itself be playing a big part of the improvement in this one mare's legs. None-the-less, we will play it safe and continue to treat her every couple of weeks with our special key lime pie ointment and see how things progress as mud season continues.

Full Power!

2011-03-01T13:55:00.000-05:00

First, it is worth saying that the great water trough aeration test was interesting, but unsuccessful at providing a cheaper alternative way to provide water to the horses. While the water kept moving and remained unfrozen in what I will call "the bubble zone", eventually the tank froze up from the edges INWARDS. We discovered a very thick lining of ice inside the trough. And of course, the unfrozen water was frigidly cold.

For the aeration system to work, more air would need to be used, which means more power, more electricity, more costs! And the motion of the water would probably be so intense that the horses would not want to drink from it anyway. And there is the question of whether they would drink the water if it were colder than a slush puppy?

So, we were back to electric powered de-icers and our experiments using 500 watt aluminum de-icers.

The thing we learned with these fabulous little de-icers was that while doing a satisfactory job, they require occasional CLEANING in order to operate at their most effective levels. The aluminum gets... slimey. The photo to the left shows 2 de-icers and a build up of... I don't know what, really.

During a spell of wicked warm weather, I put one of the de-icers on a timer, powering it up at 5am and then shutting it down again at 3pm. This worked great, until....

....the warm weather was immediately followed by a wicked cold snap with temps dropping back into the single digits at night. During the transition from practically balmy weather to downright artic weather, I failed to take the little de-icer off the timer. Sure enough, it became imbedded in a couple inches of ice at the bottom of a trough. It took a long time before it was able to free itself clear of the ice and start working on the water again.

Don't get me wrong! I like the aluminum de-icers. And of course the fact that they use one third of the electricity that the big boys use is good for the bank account. However, if I am clever, I can use roughly the same amount of electricity if the big plug hole heater coils are on timers. And now, with spring still weeks away and the water troughs still needing to be heated to prevent them from freezing, we have reverted back to that setup. Thank goodness for the timers!

The Great Water Trough Aeration Test

2011-02-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

Plan A - Movement Through Aeration

Full marks on the concept, design and prototype! Successful results, hmmmmm, not so much.

Through experimentation, we found that using air bubbles to create movement in a livestock water trough DOES definitely slow down the freezing process. However, after several hours of testing at single digit temperatures, ice started to form around the edges of the trough where the water movement was the slowest.

After draining the water out of the trough, we found that ice had also been building up inside the trough all along the interior wall. So it appeared the agitated water in the middle of the trough was going to be the last to freeze.

Plan B - Continuous Movement Through ..... TBD

Keeping the water moving definitely delays freezing of the water. With this in mind, the engineer has returned to the drawing board to continue trying to find a solution that is less reliant on heaters.

The 500 Watt De-icer

Meanwhile, with temps still around 10 F degrees, the Model C-500 cast aluminum utility de-icer from Farm Innovators, purchased from Horse.com for $27.99 each, are doing a great job while using less electricity than the big heating coils usually used in our troughs.

And as our mare Bea Yewtee demonstrates, she clearly approves of the new lower watt de-icer as well.

Winter FREEZE & Snow

2011-01-31T20:48:00.006-05:00

After a relatively mild December, January has really provided a very sharp reminder of just how cold and snowy it can get in New Hampshire! And February is already looking to be just as wintery!

Back to back storms have resulted in large snowbanks around the property, at the end of the driveway, along the roads, at the supermarket, everywhere you look. All in part due to the fact that the back to back storms have hit us without the benefit of the usual "January Thaws". The snow has remained fluffy and just keeps accumulating.

And to top that, temperatures dropped to the lowest WE have ever seen in our 6 years here, bottoming out at -14. FAHRENHEIT, not Celcius. Brrrrrrrr!!!

Since we plow the pastures, the horses always have space to "graze" on their hay without stomping through deep snow. But even providing that luxury may become a challenge as the storms keep rolling in.

As winter progresses, some of the horses are in light work.... But most are just resting, staying warm and well fed, and enjoying the season.

Without exception, all of our horses LOVE the snow. Each of them rolls in it every day. And they are all happy to soak up the winter rays, sometimes standing around, snoozing in their pastures. Even when the winds blow, instead of seeking shelter, we often see them standing outside, haunches to the wind.

It's all very peaceful until one of them starts feeling playful and instigates a round of horseplay.

As long as the horses have water, food, shelter, and are blanketed according to their coats and condition, winter is NOT a problem. As an added precaution, we put on fly masks to prevent damage to the eyes due to the bright sunlight. I like to think it also protects their eyes from possible harm from icy cold winds. I can say that, because I pulled a flymask over my own face the other day while leading a horse back to the barn, just to try to prevent my face from freezing in the wind.

It may have been a serious fashion faux pas, but it worked surprisingly well. My eyes were sufficiently protected. Watch. Flymasks will be all the rage next winter, on horses AND their owners! :-)

(Photo to left) 2009 USDF Region 8 3rd Level Dual Reserve Champion "Jeddien" is dieting as part of her 2011 new year's resolutions. So, the afternoon hay delivery to the pasture via a snow sled is always greeted with enthusiasm. As viewed from straight on, it's pretty obvious the 20 year old mare is not wasting away from winter cold.

With record breaking arctic temperatures and 100 gallon outdoor heated water troughs, we have been watching $$$ quickly evaporate into the cold air. 1500 watt heaters work great, but suck up the electricity. Using timers helps... Reducing the contents of the troughs to 50 gallons helps as well. Still, we believe there has to be another way.

We are now experimenting with two new concepts to help reduce costs while continuing to provide outdoor water for horses in each pasture.

1) 500 watt aluminum de-icers from Farm Innovators

and.... wait for it....

2) Aeration systems. Yes, aeration. Georg's own custom design!

Even early into the aeration experiment, at 8 degrees Fahrenheit, Georg's aeration system is preventing his test water trough, which has about 50 gallons of water in it, from freezing. Just by keeping the water moving with air bubbles.

Stay tuned for how THAT works out! Meanwhile, stay warm and stock up on flymasks!

Happy New Year 2011 !

2011-01-01T20:13:00.000-05:00

And so it all begins once again. A new year. And with it, thoughts about new goals.

By the end of 2010, Kearsarge Meadows lesson horse Piper Warrior and farm owner Kimberley had achieved their 2010 dressage goals, and then some. They made it to the 2010 USDF Region 8 Championships in 3 categories! And they finished 2010 with several National & New England Dressage Association (NEDA) year end awards, including:

Champion - NEDA Year End Award, USDF Freestyles
Champion - Top Scoring KWPN Dutch WB at the NEDA Fall Festival / USDF Region 8 Championships
Reserve Champion - USDF All Breeds, KWPN First Level Freestyles, Vintage Rider
3rd Place - USDF All Breeds, KWPN First Level, Vintage Rider
3rd Place - USDF All Breeds, KWPN Training Level, Vintage Rider
4th Place - USDF Region 8 First Level Freestyle Championships
Multiple High Score of the Day show awards

The 2010 NEDA Year End Championship for USDF Freestyles came with a massive championship ribbon and a gorgeous embroidered Mountain Horse jacket.   Very nice!

For the USDF All Breeds KWPN Reserve Championship title, we received a really nice 2 1/2 inch USDF silver medal on a red ribbon. That was quite a surprise. Now that we know about these awards, we would like to see Kearsarge Meadows horses earn some more All Breeds medals! Gold would be nice....

Anyone looking at Piper this morning would find it a little difficult to imagine the woolly black warmblood ready to compete again in four months time, but that is part of this year's game plan. Well, that's only if he does not sell before then.    (Click here to view Piper's online for sale ad.)

And the plan for Big Ben is for him to enjoy lots of dressage arena time before he is sold. (Click here to view Ben's online for sale ad.)

For another youngster in our barn, Jeddien's daughter Bea, training begins in earnest this year. Jeddien will be giving lessons to those who want to feel the upper level movements of dressage and also those who want to have a safe, easy, pushbutton ride.

And finally, we have a number of students who will be competing this year, training for and pursuing their own riding & competition goals. Whether their goal is to perfect 20 meter circles at home, develop a more confident trail horse, have a few enjoyable outtings with their horse, or compete in the 2011 USDF Regional Championships, we'll have fun working on progress and success together.

Today, January 1st, 2011, it is a whooping 55 degrees outside!!!!   Our woolly horses are outside, rolling in the melting snow, and enjoying a sneak preview of weather not meant to arrive in New Hampshire for another few months. It's all a bit surreal.

So, for now : Happy New Year, Everyone!

Now Hiring!

2010-11-08T17:12:00.000-05:00

Part of the challenge of running a boarding stable is in the hiring of good qualified staff to help care for the horses. During the summer time, when school is out, there's often a surplus of young women seeking an opportunity to be able to breathe the scent of horses for hours on end . But during the rest of the year, finding good people can be a lot more challenging.

We are now actively looking for a couple more people to join our team. But they have to have the right stuff! Horse handling skills, general horse health & care knowledge, handiness with stall & barn cleaning tools, a polite & respectful attitude towards clients and coworkers, and a strong belief that the overall wellbeing of all of the horses on our farm should be given the highest priority.

Interviewing candidates for these skills begins well before their first visit to the farm. A little can be learned about the candidate via email and telephone. And in this day of social networking and Web 2.0+, even more can be gleaned about a person by what they publish online about themselves and others.

When the face to face interview takes place, we look for the ability of the candidate to think in terms of safety. Whether it involves approaching the horse in a pasture, handling a leadrope, opening a gate, or picking a hoof, each test in the interview provides an opportunity for the candidate to demonstrate safety in action.

Being safe around horses is not easy to teach, and certainly is not an approach learned in a day or two. This is a big reason why we only hire people who have a lot of experience with horses. Not cows. Not dogs or cats. Not pigs. Horses!

So, if you know of anyone in our area who is savvy about horses and wants some part time work, please send them our way!

Falling into Winter

2010-11-04T08:59:00.000-04:00

Summer on the farm this year was dry. The vegetable garden required watering to keep the crops growing, but WOW our artichokes, tomatoes, and hot chili peppers thrived. The pastures all continued to have grass, but only due to careful management, restricting the number of horses per field. And the grass on the riding trails did not need mowing every week, as was the case last year. That meant more time for riding!

So far, autumn has been fabulous! The fall colors in the trees came slowly, peaking on schedule, just in time for the local Warner Fall Foliage Festival, and continues to linger. Very nice! However, winter is not far away!

Fuzzy Coats & Heated Water

Most of the horses on the farm are already looking pretty fuzzy. Jeddien and May, the matriarchs of the farm, both have good coats. And Piper, dark brown in summer, is just now developing his deep silky black winter coat.

With the temperatures dropping into the 20's at night, we are already seeing ice on the outdoor water troughs! And so this coming weekend, we will probably be putting the heating elements into the troughs, setting the timers, and start watching the monthly electric bills climb. But each of our horses will have access to drinkable water all day long, all winter long, and that's vitally important for their continued health.

Trail Riding vs Hunting

From a horseback riders' perspective, one of the joys of fall weather is the lack of bugs! The freezing nights and cool days keep the pesky flying bloodsuckers hibernating, allowing us to venture onto the trails and into the woods without having to fend off attacks! The sound of crunching leaves under the horses' hooves sends out a loud warning to the deer and turkeys, which tends to make meeting them less likely. And so, with no bugs and less likely encounters with wildlife, even the more timid horses tend to be a bit braver on the trails in the fall.

The downside of this time of year is that it's also hunting season. Hunters are stalking and hiding in the woods across New Hampshire, hoping to shoot a trophy deer. Hunting is posted as prohibited on our farm's land. However, just in case, we still expect all of our trailriders to hack out with hi-viz vests. Riding out in pairs and chatting while riding also helps make their presence known. The slogan, "be visible, be safe!", definitely applies on the trails at this time of year.

Winter Training

Locally, the horse show seasons are put on hold from November to March. But training and preparation for the Spring continues, albeit with less intensity.

Winter is a great time to work on submission, suppleness, and lateral work. Since we allow our horses to develop their natural heavy winter coats, when we train, we do so in such a way as to avoid them getting sweaty and overheated. Cooling down a hot, wet, heavy coated horse is not easy nor fun.

Of course, body clipping is an option, but requires extreme care in managing the horse's wellbeing as he is effectively "naked". When we do clip, we find the trace clip most effective.

One of the trace clips we use, the "Medium Trace Clip", keeps the horse's back warm, but the belly is still exposed to the elements. So for those colder days and nights, blanketing is still required once that clip is done. There are variations to the trace clip, which can be viewed on this great Clipping Horses website. For the youngsters being educated about clippers and those horses in very light work, the "Bib Clip" is very good.

So, Autumn is here! And hopefully it's here to stay for another few weeks before Winter comes blasting in!

Stay visible, stay safe, and enjoy the fall !

Magnesium Chloride

2010-07-10T11:55:00.000-04:00

There are few things worse for equestrians and equines than riding in a dry dusty arena. Even with a mix of sand and rubber, the recent dry hot spell of weather has completely baked our outdoor 20x60 meter dressage arena, turning it into a mini dustbowl. And that means either watering the arena or simply not using it until after the next rainfall.....

OR

....applying magnesium chloride to the arena surface.

This month, we took delivery of 2400 pounds of Mag Flakes and spread it across the arena. Within a couple of days, the mag "melted", absorbing moisture from the air, and holding that moisture in the sand. The arena now looks like it has recently been watered.

Levelling and grooming the arena just before the application was horrible work, kicking up a dust cloud that we would not have allowed a horse to work in. Levelling and grooming the arena after the Mag was in place resulted in NO DUST. And riding in the arena a few days later (when the seven day long heatwave finally broke) was fabulous! Not a bit of dust. No coughs from horse or rider. And the footing was more stable. Very nice!

We've been loving the Mag indoors for over a year. Now we're loving the Mag outdoors, too!

For Ann - The Foxhunting Story

2010-06-12T11:34:00.000-04:00

Before I moved to the UK from the USA, I visited for 3 months on a job rotation with Sun. While in the UK, I promised myself I would go foxhunting, to have a childhood dream come true.

This is the true story of that experience, something I have never done since that first time. It is rather long, but I hope you will enjoy reading it.

Kimberley

My One Foxhunting Experience

By Kimberley Brown

Stonehenge. It is quite a sight, this ancient man made formation, especially so as it stands all alone on a grassy hilltop, surrounded by miles of grass fields so typical of the Salisbury Plain area of Southern England. As I drove over the ridge of one hill, topped by a small woodland area and down the other side, Stonehedge could be seen in the near distance, just beyond the next fork in the road.

A lone guard watched over Stonehenge. In another hour and a half, visitors would be permitted to see the massive rocks up close. I videotaped for a few minutes, but soon turned my back on Stonehenge and filmed the fields and buildings 2 miles out in the distance. The morning mist was still heavy in the air making the distant views appear pale and ghostly.

Stonehenge was not my planned destination for the morning, but a pleasant side trip, as was a quick visit to Woodhenge. I was on my way to the buildings across the fields. I had arranged to spend the day foxhunting in Salisbury Plain with the Royal Artillery, a branch of the military.

Entrance into Larkhill Camp was swift. A simple "Hi there!" in my bold American accent told the guards everything. They were expecting me and replied back, "You must be Kimberley."

By the time I finished showing my passport and signing in, four more riders arrived to sign in. Following one of them for a couple of miles, we arrived at the camp stables. I was soon greeted by Lesley and her fiance and Huntmaster, Major Jonathan Seed. I was told how the morning would proceed, what to expect and that I would be riding Simon.

Lesley introduced me to another rider, Francesca, telling me that we would be riding together. Having never foxhunted before, I entered into this with very little idea of what to expect, so when I heard I would have a riding partner, I just accepted that either, as a visitor, I was being given a guide of sorts, or that when hunting, you ride in pairs, maybe for safety reasons. I didn't know, and didn't ask. I planned to take everything in stride today; to observe, partake, learn and enjoy.

More horseless riders appeared, most still not yet in their boots or coats. Like me, all of these riders would be hunting with camp horses. Two large lorries appeared and 12 horses were loaded up, fully tacked. Jonathan and Lesley's horses were loaded into their own box which was hitched to Jonathan's car. Riders got into their gear, and at 10am, a caravan of lorries and cars drove out of the yard.

We arrived in a small village a few miles away and pulled into the car park behind a pub. There, horses were unloaded and riders were assisted up by the grooms. Lesley pointed Simon out to me and I was soon in the saddle.

It didn't take long for me to learn why I would be riding with Francesca. Simon and her mount, Peter, are inseparable when they are within eyesight of each other. The two of them would become frantic each time we would separate them by even one horse. They insisted in being side by side. Fortunately, everyone who would be riding in the field today knew this, each finding it quite humorous. Many of the subscribers had ridden them both and understood all too well how these two chestnuts behaved, slamming into each other and sometimes trying to exchange bridles during quieter moments.

The hounds arrived in another horse box, were unloaded and soon were on their way down the road, headed for an open field. Once everyone was mounted, we followed the Huntmaster down into the village, trotting smartly down the road. Simon and Peter trotted together, probably in perfect step, both quite content!

Villagers watched us trot down the center of their little town. One woman even stopped hanging her wet laundry and came to the stone wall along the front of her garden to see us off. Shortly, we turned up a long driveway and towards a large white manor house. We had arrived at The Meet.

Horses were packed into the side yard as well as the front. Glasses of hot mulled wine where carried through the gathering and each rider drank. Near the top of the yard, my video camera was being used by a gentleman capturing the memorous occasion for me. Knowing this, the Huntmaster, Jonathan, called me and told me to ride over, making it quite clear that we were to leave Peter & Francesca behind. I wondered if Jonathan might be testing my skills as I rider, as I firmly convinced Simon that I was in charge, and not just today's passenger.

It was a proud moment for me, especially since one does not normally ride his mount this close to the hounds without invitation to do so.

As I approached the Master, he ordered me to stand my horse by the hounds for a nice shot. Sure enough, to my right, the pack of hounds had returned from the fields surrounding the village. As I rode Simon towards the pack and turned him to face the camera, Jonathan properly introduced me to the Huntsman, around whose horse the hounds waited.

Returning to Francesca and Peter, it wasn't long before we started off again. Going up behind the manor, we followed a muddy dirt road into the fields, first at a walk, then a trot.

As we topped a hill, I could see that the Salisbury Plain truly did go on for miles and miles. There were no buildings in view, short of the village behind us. Gentle rolling hills of grass lay ahead. Separating some fields were dirt roads. Some fields had tire marks cutting across them. Some fields appeared to be short grass, while others looked to be scruffier in nature. Every so often, there was a covert of trees and small woodlands. Some fields appeared to have a bank of thin hedges and brush along one side. In general, the view was quite peaceful and inviting. It would be pleasant and relaxing to ride here, or so I thought.

I lost track of time after we entered the Plain, and didn't look at my watch again until 1pm. During those two hours, alot happened.

The ride started quietly enough. Early on, I decided I liked Simon's gaits. They reminded me alot of a certain Dutch mare I am particulary fond of. And, despite the fact that Simon preferred to stay up with the Master, Peter obediently tagging along, I decided that Simon was quite fun and good at his work. Simon nimbly side stepped things I didn't see until it was too late and jumped the occasional hole that I failed to steer him around. He showed no feelings one way or the other regarding puddles and, like the other horses, showed no signs of concern when surrounded on all sides by other horses in very close quarters.

The field consisting of approximately 50 horses, cantered lazily along the muddy dirt roads while the hounds worked quite a way ahead of us. It was quite pleasant. The morning sky was a bit grey, but the air was not too cool.

Shortly after reaching a long slender wooded strip of land that separated two fields, a few hounds spoke. Our Huntmaster yelled a command to the field which I didn't understand, but obeyed instantly. We all cantered down the sloped field, halting our horses at different points and turned to face the woodland. Francesca and I were midway down the field, leaving half of the field on our left and half to our right. All was quiet except the occasional voice of a hound.

Francesca explained that we were lined up to face off and turn the fox around if it tries to enter the field. Ah! I understood the plan now.

Soon, the horn was blown signaling the hounds to return to the Huntsman. The fox had won.

It was a nice break, our pleasant rest in the field while we waited as the hounds did their work, but I was anxious to get going again, as were the horses. We were once again on the move.

It wasn't too long before the hounds went into full cry. Halting his horse and holding his hand up, the Huntmaster yelled "Hold!". Simon heard this and stopped! Everyone was quiet. The horses all stood perfectly still, ears pricked forward. We stood at the top of a rise and watched the hounds work on the next hillside. I whispered to Francesca, wondering again why we were never closer to the hounds. She whispered back that we were waiting to see which way the fox would run.

As I realized that we were at the top of a hill covered with very rough ground and started to wonder how long it would take to carefully walk down this nasty hillside, Jonathan gave the signal to follow and started cantering down the hill! Simon followed instantly. And here we were, at least 40 of us, charging down a rather steep hillside towards a muddy track used as a road, yelling "Hole!" whenever you spotted one, chasing after a pack of hounds that was out of sight!

I thought of Magic Mountain. They don't stop a rollercoaster once it's started. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster.

We made it down the hill and Simon, seeing that the sunken road was two waterfilled tire tracks with a grass section in the middle, treated it as a dropped in and out. We jumped down onto the grassy part of the track and back up onto the lip of the next hill and galloped on. Galloping uphill was great fun! Cantering downhill was scary as hell!

The hounds continued to give chase, and as the fox backtracked, we soon where cantering down the same hill back to the sunken track below.

Oh boy, this rollercoaster goes in reverse! Fear kicked in for a long moment and was eventually replaced with a sense of submission. My life was in Simon's care.

We were soon covering new ground, and were at a full flat out gallop. The footing improved from scruffy wild grasses to lush dark green shortcropped grazing grass. Even though the ground was wet from the daily rain of England, Simon never slipped. I soon believed that as long as I stayed balanced and let Simon manage things, I would be okay. At a full gallop, even though I tried, I couldn't judge the ground as well as he could, and there were a lot of ground obstacles to beware of.

I stayed in two-point, but further back over the horse than I was taught two-point to be. This, when galloping downhill, felt safe and kept me close to the saddle. Proper Hunt Seat Equitation was not foremost in my mind. Survival was.

The fox went to ground along a long natural ditch. The hounds were unable to get to him. Since a farmer had specifically paid for vermin extermination, the Huntmaster was obliged to kill this fox. The Terrier was called in over walkie-talkie. Once he and his terriers arrived, the hounds were sent off and we would be on our way again. I learned from Jonathan that the fox would be dug out and shot. It is against the law in England to rehunt a fox that has gone to ground, as in effect, the fox had won. However, an exterminator can kill the fox.

We had a good hunt. Now, while we waited for the Terrier, we rested. My heart, still racing, finally slowed a bit, and then it hit me. I was in pain!

My left ankle was screaming at me. My right thumb was in anquish as I pried the fat hunt crop and thong out from under it. My hams felt as if they were on fire. My cheeks were wind burned. My back was starting to lock up and my neck wasn't very happy. But, we must be nearly done, I thought, until I checked my watch. It was only 1pm! I raised my stirrups another notch and found that both of my ankles approved of this idea. Next, I wondered if anyone would mind carrying two hunt crops. Maybe if I just dropped it and forgot about it...

Francesca, seeing my discomfort, handed me a flask and said "Drink this. It will give you courage and stamina." Without asking what it was, I drank. The gulp of homemade sloe gin began to work it's warm magic.

The terriers arrived and we were off again. This time, the hounds found scent only a hill away. Some waited at the bottom of the hill, while others, including myself and Francesa on our enamoured chestnuts, followed the Huntmaster to the hilltop. In the distance, I spotted two deer as well as a couple of army tanks. At the top of the hill, a sign warned that we were not to leave the road, as the field was mined.

Due to the safety factors, the hounds were called back and put to another area where we followed them at a canter while they searched for scent. Cantering 20 or 30 abreast at times, the hunt field was quite a sight! I often found myself behaving more as an observer than as a participant, trying to record it all in my mind.

After a bit, we cantered back at the spot where we had put our first fox to ground. The terriers were done with their work and the fox was dead. Now the hounds were given their reward and incentive to find another fox as they tore the carcass apart, rolling on it, eating it and running around playfully with pieces of it in their months. The hound who was carrying the brush, dropped it. The brush was retrieved by the Huntmaster who handed it over into the care of the Terrier. It was a good hunt, completed.

Even though we had several breaks in the action, I was very tired. My body had had enough. Some riders said their gooddays to the Huntmaster and headed home. But, Francesca, who so generously shared her candy bar, sausage pies and sloe gin with me, kept me going. I was damned if I was going to quit! American pride kicked in. Or maybe it was pure Taurus stubborness. During each interlude, I was offered more courage from different riders. Sloe gin was tasting better and better!

The afternoon weather was surprisingly mild. Some expressed concern that the scent might not be so good because of it, but our next fox appeared within a short while of moving off again. And what a chase it took us on!

My weary body, having already taken enough abuse for one day, was complaining now at a full gallop. My ankles were okay, but my back, my hams and my shoulders were sore and tired. Galloping at Simon's top speed, riding in two point up and down hills was getting to be a bit much. When the hounds are in full cry, when the field is giving chase, Simon has only one speed. There was no half halt on this horse. If I put my feet forward and leaned hard, I might have been able to pull him up in an emergency, but then what? So I just stayed on. I steered sometimes, hoping to better negotiate galloping across the dirt roads, ditches and mortar holes (at one point we galloped through the artillery shell practice target zone). I only felt one bobble in the saddle, popping off a track and onto a new hill, Simon taking it at a funny angle, but then I got right back into the rhythm of the gallop and was okay.

It was on this very long chase that several funny things happened.

First, I noticed that I was carrying on conversations with other riders who would gallop up along side and ask how my day was going. I was engaging in pleasantries at a dead gallop!

Second, galloping straight down a slippery hill of rough grasses, it occurred to me that this was what "break neck speed" really was. To fall would be disasterous.

Third, I remembered that this hunt country doesn't have fences or stone walls and I wondered what jumping at this speed on a horse with no brakes would be like over walls - and was suddenly thankful!

Fourth, I started to miss my desk job. It was then that I decided these people around me were all crazy and that I, too, must be a bit crazy.

Finally, I realized that despite the intense beating my body was taking, despite the ever increasing levels of pain I was experiencing, I felt an exhiliaration like nothing I'd ever felt before. Out of sheer fear, or simple intelligence, I might never do this again, but for now my soul was soaring! I would never forget this day.

In the end, the fox went to covert in a large woodland at the top of a hill. The hounds were unable to find him.

Looking back from the direction we came, somewhere way out in the distance I could barely make out what might have been where this hunt started. It was indeed a long chase! I marvelled at Simon's stamina. He was winded, but he recovered more quickly then I.

Now I was done for, totally beat tired, knackered as the English would say. But still, I stayed on and wished others goodnight as they headed home. I wanted to be able to say that I rode to the very finish.

More courage, more stamina was passed around. Then, at a walk, we moved onto another area of the Salisbury Plain, still well within the military zone. An interesting note to make here is that while some other hunt countries are having trouble with "Anties" (Anti-Foxhunting) and "Sabs" (Hunt Saboteurs), the Royal Artillery doesn't have the problems. This is partly due to the fact that they are far from suburban areas but also because the area is mostly dedicated to and protected by the military bases.

During another lull, Francesca and another woman asked for their horses to be held, so they could run to a nearby covert. No sooner did they ask this, and the hounds gave voice again! Galloping off, Francesca hoped out loud that this wouldn't be a long chase. I laughed and was thankful that Lesley recommended I didn't eat or drink anything for 12 hours before riding.

At the next break, a gentleman on a massive grey asked if I would like to trade horses. He could see Simon was full of energy, much more than I had, and his own mount was tired. I gladly accepted the offer to trade and a chance to lag behind the field a bit.

Trying to get on this grey gelding was a laugh. I was too tired to climb and he was too tall for me to even reach the top of the saddle! A leg up failed as I couldn't find the strength to launch myself up. I apologized and was soon quite ungracefully pushed onto the loin of the horse, who refused to stand still, and I wiggled my way into the saddle. It was quite a sight I'm sure and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

An older gentleman held the grey from the back of his horse while I looped the stirrup leathers a few times, trying to get them short. But while doing this, the field left at a trot. And my kind sir thought to follow! After trying to adjust my leathers at a jog, I had to ask him to walk again. Once sorted out, then we galloped on to catch up.

Sure enough, my grey was quite tired, but still capable and safe. I was thankful for the different saddle, the differing width of horse, the change in gaits, even the different reins. Any change felt good. And it was such fun to watch Simon's new rider try to separate from Peter and Francesca without much success.

The day was nearly over, so they all told me. The sky was getting darker. One quick chase led to the second kill of the day. We were at the edge of the base. Buildings were nearby. As always, the Terrier was quickly on hand, driving up in his Land Rover. This time, however, the horse box for the hounds also arrived. The hunt was officially over!

I watch Jonathan and the Terrier struggle in a tug-of-war that left Jonathan holding a fox tail, the brush, and the Terrier holding the long slender bone + flesh of the tail. Jonathan called me over and presented me the brush, telling me it was from the first fox of the day and how to cure it.

I was thrilled and honoured! I thanked him, and for the hundredth time of the day answered "Yes, I had a wonderful time!"

It was over! I had fulfilled a life long dream. I had foxhunted and in England no less! I had the brush! I had video tape footage of The Meet. I had mud all over my white breeches and dressage show jacket! I was knackered, but alive and pleased. My three month trip to England ended with a truly traditional and exhiliarating equestrian experience.

So why were we all still mounted, I wondered?

As soon as the hounds were loaded up, we trotted off again, away from the buildings and back onto the Plain. I asked Francesca and her new partner where we were going. She informed me that we were headed across the field back to the stables, which was not far now, just over the next rise. I looked at the horizon and saw nothing but Salisbury Plain.

Riding along beside another woman, I looked down and saw that her mount was moving in a gorgeous, beautifully suspended extended trot. The little mare was covering ground both economically and with grace. "How far?", I asked, grimacing no doubt. "Just a short way", she answered, and like everyone else followed that with a query about how my first foxhunting experience was. When I told her how sore I felt, she recommended a hot bath, a couple glasses of port and codeine.

Several minutes later, still at a brisk trot, I felt ready to just roll off and walk the rest of the way. No sooner did I start feeling mutinous when the Huntmaster himself, Major Jonathan Seed, trotted up along side to chat. He could see that I was putting as much of my weight as possible into my hands which were braced against my giant grey's withers to avoid the pains of posting and he recommended a hot bath and whiskey. Ah, a pattern was emerging. I smiled.

Three miles later, we were allowed to walk. We had arrived back at the stables. We walked the last 200 yards and put the horses into their stalls fully tacked. They drank a bit and waited patiently for their grooms to untack them before they started to eat the dinners that had already been put in the stalls. Amazing horses. I said my goodbyes, my many final thank you's and drove 60 miles back to my flat in Sunninghill near Ascot.

Once home, I discovered how badly rubbed raw the insides of my legs were from so many hours in the saddle. Dried blood had sealed my jodphurs to my skin. Getting undressed wasn't going to be possible without a lot of pain. So, taking advice I'd received from one rider, I poured a Scotch, took a couple codeines, and jumped into a hot bath, fully dressed. Recovery was going to take time...

The next day, I had planned to drive 4 hours north to Lancashire to find my Great Aunt's birthplace. Less than an hour into the drive, I turned around and went home to yet another hot bath and more rest.

My heritage could have to wait until my next trip to the United Kingdom! Foxhunting still had me knackered. No muscle was without complaint. But my smile was still strong.

Kimberley R Brown
January 31, 1993

Saddle Fitting

2010-05-19T19:17:00.000-04:00

Today, we had Anthony Cooper, Saddler come to Kearsarge Meadows to fit saddles for the horses. Ideally, this is something we do at least annually, similar to Spring Vaccinations and regular dental work. I like to think of it as preventative in nature, allowing us to ensure that this very critical piece of equipment is fits comfortably for the horse, thus reducing the chances of back pain.

Each horse at our barn has its own saddle, which is fitted to the horse. While it would be seem to be much more economical to share saddles amongst horses, this proves to be a false economy when back issues occur due to poorly fitting gear.

Tony easily made each horse's saddle fit like a glove. Even saddles which were not originally purchased for the horses in question were adjusted and finetuned. All of the owners were thrilled to have their favourite saddles fitted successfully, something that is not always possible!

Most notable today from Kearsarge Meadows' perspective was the fact that our little homebred Bea Yewtee got fitted for her FIRST SADDLE today. As her "Mum", this is such an exciting milestone! Bea will be wearing a 17.5" Wintec Pro, custom fitted to her cute but rather pudgy body. In another 6 months or so, after she has been working under saddle for a while, developing new muscles and losing her baby fat, we'll have Tony back out to adjust the saddle again.

Overall, the visit from Anthony Cooper (and his pooches) was a great way to enjoy a productive rainy day. Thank you, Tony!

Fading Daffodils, Asparagus, and FROST WARNING

2010-05-10T16:09:00.000-04:00

It's that wonderful time of year when the last of the daffodils and tulips fade away, their color only to be replaced by the lilacs, azaleas, and rhododendrons that are now coming into full bloom.

On the farm, apples, crabtrees, and cherries are in bloom. And the asparagus plants are providing great edible stalks to accompany dinner. The vegetables that will be going into the ground soon are getting used to the outdoors in a cold frame, protecting them from the wicked gale forces winds of the past week or two. And the grapes and hops are already growing like crazy.

We are into the 2nd week of May, have already mowed twice, and yet tonight, we will have FROST. Ugh! Summer is just around the corner, but is not here quite yet. So, this afternoon, potted plants will come back indoors and the barn windows will be closed against the wicked cold. Again.

Meanwhile, the horses just seem to take the weather in stride. When they get too warm, they seek shade. When the sun is shining on cold windless days, they bask in the light, absorbing heat. On windy days, they put their tails to the wind and lower their heads or seek shelter in and around the field sheds.

Today, they are chasing loose hay as it floats across the pastures, nibbling on the early spring grass, and are goofing around, the way horses do, engaged in horseplay.

NH High School Equestrian Teams

2010-04-20T12:14:00.003-04:00

Thanks to the good work of John Keller of 3778 Photography, there are some great photos of the Kearsarge team on his website, including these of our own Kearsarge Meadows dressage horse, Piper Warrior and his rider, Eliza.

Well done, Eliza and everyone competing in the New Hampshire High School Equestrian Team events this year!

Piper Goes to High School

2010-04-12T10:07:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, the first 2010 New Hampshire High School Equestrian Teams North District competition took place at Wakewood Farm in Plymouth, NH. There, several NH High School Equestrian Teams competed in a wide range of classes.

One of the Kearsarge Meadows horses, Piper Warrior, made his show debut over fences at this show, representing Kearsarge Regional High School. He also showed in a couple flat classes.

This was Piper's first competition over fences, something for which he and his teenaged jockey, Eliza, have been training for the past few months. It was also their first competition together. So, the goal for the day was to simply go out, give it a try, and keep Piper happy.

Completely blowing that goal out of the water, Eliza and Piper overachieved on the day and placed very well, both over fences and on the flat. And not only had a very good first outing, they helped the Kearsarge Regional High School Equestrian Team start the year in 2nd place!

Well done to Eliza, Piper, and the whole KRHS Equestrian Team! We are very proud of you all!

Playing Ball

2010-03-14T22:27:00.000-04:00

With nasty weather rolling through, today was a great day to stay indoors and enjoy some quiet time with the horses. This included spending extra time doing pre-spring makeovers, grooming and shedding out some of the shaggy winter coats, removing any little knots in the tails, and tidying up manes. Old and young all enjoyed the TLC, nearly falling asleep in the cross-ties. It was all very chilled out, low key, and relaxing.

After a snack, Jeddien and I did a bit of ridden work in the arena. To cool down afterwards, we played with the Parelli ball.

Playing with the huge inflated ball is a unique way to help the horses learn new skills and become calmer about new things.

Jeddien pushes the ball around with her nose and her legs. And like a good ball player, she can kick the ball with both her left foot and her right. Sure, it might seem a bit goofy, but it's a good laugh we enjoy together! :-)

Refusing to Perpetuate Gloom & Doom

2010-03-10T10:45:00.006-05:00

In broad financial terms, Holy Moly!, what a century it has been so far! First the bubble burst, with a resounding Dot KaaaBoooom! I personally lost A LOT of money on the stock market. Ouch! Then the USA was attacked and the US started (or continued?) spending bilions of dollars on yet another war. More recently, the big financial institutions broke all their piggy banks. And the auto makers cried that they weren't making profits. Of course, as usual, the government is blamed and now Tea Parties are coming back into fashion.

Closer to home, we feel the financial down turn as well. My former employer, Sun Microsystems, was bought out after way too many unprofitable quarters. Several rounds of layoffs impacted tens of thousands of employees across the globe. After 20 years of service, most recently as a Director, I was laid off as well.

Thank you for your contributions. Good luck finding a new job.

And Kearsarge Meadows feels the pinch as well. The price of good quality shavings, used for bedding for the horses, has continued to raise in price over the past 5 years. Thankfully, the price of good quality local hay has not increased at the same rate. Horse owners who can still afford to own horses are tightening their belts, budgeting less dollars for lessons, shows, and board.

But even with the income slowing down, we are still paying our employees, matching Medicare & FICA contributions, paying taxes, and buying insurance. And, as promised when we hire them, our employees still get their well deserved pay raises in thanks for their continued good work.

Thanks go to our wonderful clients who continue to give us their custom, allowing us to stay in business, and continue staffing excellent horse loving employees. Together, we continue to see through and beyond the gloom and doom.

Spring Vaccinations

2010-03-01T12:42:00.002-05:00

A true sign that Spring is on the way is Spring Vaccination Day at Kearsarge Meadows. Each year, before show season swings into gear, we get all of our residents vaccinated against several equine ailments. This is part of our preventative medicine program.

(Photo from TNT Equine showing Dr. Deme Erickson, DMV) giving a shot

Friday, March 5th, Dr. Jen Sula, DMV, from Blackwater Veterinary Services in Salisbury NH will visit. Working her way down the barn, she will check each horse one by one. Heart sounds, gut sounds, respiration, eyes, and a visual check of their overall condition.

Next, each will receive vaccinations against:

Fortunately, instead of jabbing each horse 7 times, some of the vaccinations are provided in combo shots.

Finally, blood will be drawn from those who will be out and about competing this year. It's sent to the University of New Hampshire's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory where they test for Equine Infectious Anemia in what is known as the "Coggin's Test". Proof of a negative result is required to compete.

Some may question the expense of this spring ritual. However, we have enjoyed an excellent record of horsey health. And therefore, no vet bills for nasty equine illnesses. We really like Preventative Medicine!

2009 IRS W-2 Forms

2010-01-27T18:02:00.002-05:00

Today, 2009 IRS W-2 form, also known as the the "Wages and Tax Statement", were prepared and mailed out to the employees who worked for Kearsarge Meadows during the 2009 fiscal year (January to December).

If you were an employee at Kearsarge Meadows in 2009 and you had a change of address that you forgot to let us know about, please telephone or drop us an email and we will immediately send you a duplicate set of W-2 forms.

Thank you!

To Clip or Not To Clip ?

2010-01-21T12:03:00.000-05:00

So far this season, while the amount of snow we have received has been less than 3 feet, the temperatures seem to have been much colder than last year. This week, however, we are enjoying a bit of a January Thaw and it feels wonderful.

Our competition horses start competing again in three months! Accordingly, Jeddien and Piper have recently came back into work after a couple months of vacation time. Both still have full winter coats and therefore are not being worked too heavily yet. To work them to the point of sweating requires extra care in cooling them down, insuring their coats are fully dried after work, and preventing them from getting chilled. This is where clipping the coat comes in handy.

Clipping a horse is not the easiest of tasks and can be quite a messy job as well as hair transfers from the horse to the floor and onto the person doing the clipping! The horse needs to be calm and sensible as the loud vibrating clipper glides across their body. The handler needs to be ready deal with ticklishness, grumpiness, anxiousness, and anything else the horse throws their way.

And then after the fact, the newly clipped "undressed" horse must be appropriately blanketed and rugged up according to the weather, hour by hour, until the end of winter. So clipping is not a task one jumps into without careful consideration.

To help make the longterm effects of clipping more sensible and manageable, there are several different "clips" (think haircuts) that can be used. This fabulous website from Peasridge Ltd in the UK shows many styles of clips from which to choose.

Right now, five of our horses are sporting the "Bib Clip"... Just the hair under the neck is clipped short. This is an easy and quick clip to do and a super clip for introducing clippers to youngsters and horses who have never been clipped before. The resulting haircut also made giving IV injections really easy for our Equine Dentist. :-)

The clip we will use next is the "Low Trace Clip". This is just enough of a clip to let the areas of the horse's body that tend sweat first cool and dry off quickly.

Now back to the question. &bnsp To clip or not to clip? There is no easy perfect answer. It is something that is completely dependent upon the horse, his coat, the work he is doing, the weather, and the level of committment the owner wants to invest in blanketing, both in terms of time and money, throughout the rest of the winter season.

Today, I will clip one. My nose is already itchy in anticipation of the horse hair that will soon fly!

Winter Wonderland Continues

2010-01-09T14:10:00.000-05:00

We are now well into 2010 and winter continues. Snow, cold, and wind are this winter's main themes. We are also enjoying a lot of winter sunshine.

The horses don't seem to mind the weather at all. Those who need it get blanketed before turnout. Heated water troughs are in each pasture. And hay is delivered to the fields throughout the day. So, with their basic needs taken care of, the horses are all content.

Admittedly, less training and riding is going on in the cold weather. But on the milder less windy days, since the snow in the woods is not very deep, trailriding is still enjoyed. And when work with any of the horses needs to be done, we simply retreat to the indoor arena.

Spring, when it finally arrives, will be greatly appreciated. Until then, Winter Wonderland continues.

Winter Crashes Into New Hampshire !

2009-12-09T16:43:00.002-05:00

After a wonderful extended Fall Season, we have been hit by back to back snowstorms.

The first was kind of a practice run. We got 5 inches, which thinned down to 1 or 2 very quickly. No plowing was required. It was a good reminder of what WHITE precipitation is all about... Mother Nature's way of giving everyone a couple days to prepare the snowplows and snowblowers, stock up on non-perishables, change to winter tires, buy a couple extra show shovels, and bring in more firewood.

That was a few days ago.

Today, we got hit much harder! We had our first plowing event. 12 inches of the white stuff. And wind that brings the phrase "windchill factor" out of storage and back onto the table again

Yup. Winter is here again.

Before & After - The Kitchen Door Yard

2009-11-29T20:49:00.001-05:00

The kitchen was another section of the house which received attention.

First, we put on new roofs, including copper flashing on the chimney.

Then painting began.

The kitchen door yard itself was tidied up, which meant transplanting all of the flowers and herbs away from the house. With it, the butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees moved as well. Now, grass and rhubarb are now the only greenery within the stone walled door yard.

Before & After - The Main House

2009-11-28T23:23:00.000-05:00

Today, we sat down and went through the photo albums, looking at the progress we have made on the property. The first and most noticable difference is in the main house itself.

The roof was given first priority after we moved in. WIthin a few months, it was completely redone in a nice dark charcoal colour. Painting was the next major improvement in the house... a task which took several weeks time spread over two years. There was no rush.

Big Ben & Piper Warrior at Play

2009-11-24T23:40:00.000-05:00

The video says it all.....

Trailblazing Project

2009-11-13T18:05:00.001-05:00

For the past week, we have been enjoying unseasonably warm November weather. Temperatures have been in the 50's and 60's during the day. Wonderful. But even better, there are no bugs! They disappeared after several frosts.

Taking full advantage of the weather, we've been giving our woodlands some long overdue attention. We are finally restoring the overgrown riding trails and we're even blazing new trails!

The work is very manual and truly backbreaking. Staying motivated is challenging, especially when the progress is slow. But the long term vision of enjoying quiet hacks in the woods keeps things moving along. And, after many hours of hard work, short test rides on the trails provide welcome rewards.

Hunter Jumper Barn?

2009-10-27T18:12:00.000-04:00

Another winter is fast approaching... A time when most of our riding will be done indoors.

As done in past winters, we will enjoy doing a lot of ground work with our horses, some light dressage work, jumping under saddle, and free jumping. We'll also be getting the youngsters well started under saddle. However, unlike our previous winters, this winter we'll enjoy a happy explosion of bright colors in our indoor arena with our brand new show jump poles!

Maybe we should designate Kearsarge Meadows as a Summer Dressage Training Center and a Winter Hunter Jumper Farm! :-)

Pumpkins & Horses

2009-10-18T23:06:00.009-04:00

The Courser Farm in Warner has tons of pumpkins for sale at their farm stand. Prices are low and the pumpkins are lovely. We've been purchasing lots of them, taking them home to split open for our turkeys and chickens to pick at. They really enjoy the seeds and the flesh.

Today, just as a goof, we placed a pumpkin into one of the pastures. It quickly turned into a toy for the horses.

Piper, our black 12 year old gelding, went after it first, quickly finding the stem and using it to lift the pumpkin off the ground. Dropping it, it rolled away. He and 3 year old Big Ben worked together to investigate, following it, and pushing it around a bit.

Soon, Piper returned to nibbling on grass. But Ben, a youngster who loves to play, kept himself thoroughly amused for quite some time, moving the pumpkin around with his nose and his feet.

Tomorrow, more pumpkins will be purchased. But instead of thinking just in terms of tasty food for the birds, we'll be looking for pumpkins that roll really well and have strong stems.

Sharing the Roads With Horses

2009-10-02T12:50:00.001-04:00

October has arrived, bringing beautiful fall colors, crisp weather, and the end of the bug season. And for us horseback riders, it also means great riding weather! Now is when lots of riders hit the trails and roads.

This month's issue of the local "Warner's New Paper" contains an article entitled "Sharing the Roads of Warner". The aim of the article, written by Kimberley, is to offer some advice to both equestrians and vehicle operators on how to safely share the road.

WNP owner, manager, and editor Richard Senor visited the farm to take a photo of Jeddien and Kimberley riding on the road. Unplanned, a neighbor drove by, passing slow and wide. It was a wonderful example of courtesy and safe road sharing on Kearsarge Mountain Road. The photo can be found in the paper.

The original article, as submitted to WNP, can be found on the Kearsarge Meadows website here, in PDF format. Feel free to share it with others.

Enjoy the great Autumn weather! And stay safe!

Something to Crow About

2009-09-25T11:28:00.000-04:00

We have a new rooster. He's a real beauty and won a Blue Ribbon for his breeder at the Hopkinton State Fair earlier this month. We admired him and purchased him on the spot.

Big Red is a young bird and had a bit of a time getting to know our hens. The younger ones befriended him fairly quickly, but the older hens beat the...., well, let's just say he was at the bottom of the hen pecking order for a week or more.

This week, Big Red has been making some interesting noises. We could tell something was up! And sure enough, this morning, he CROWED! Not once. Not twice. No, he has been trying out his new voice for the past half hour.

It's a proud little moment on the farm. Our young rooster has learned to crow!

The Magic Box

2009-09-22T22:53:00.004-04:00

We have a new horse game at Kearsarge Meadows, originally designed to help our most timid horse, Piper Warrior, learn to accept new things.... quickly! As those of you who follow the Dressage Queen Blog know, Piper is not the bravest of creatures. And this is not helping his career as a dressage horse. A sport where the horse has only 45 seconds to "get over" spooking at the flowers, or the judge, or the puddles and get on with the dressage test!

So, the game: We have a medium sized cardboard box most recently used to ship lovely smelling herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs. It's open at the top and is 12 inches deep, 18 inches wide. Inside it, we place bits of carrot, apple, and a couple of Canada mints. We play with the box a little, making sure it makes some noise without being terrifying.

For Piper, this is very scary. Even in the safety and comfort of a quiet barn. The first evening, it took Piper several minutes to even consider coming to the front of his stall to look at the box we were playing with. Even with us retreating away and reapproaching. He worried. It took a few more minutes before he would look into the box. And a couple more minutes before he smelled the Canada mints. But, in the end, he gingerly pulled the treats out of the box, enjoying an instant reward for his bravery.

Next, we decided to try the same thing with Big Ben, our 3 year old gelding out of Marja, not sure how the youngster would cope. However, Ben walked right up to the box, shoved his head in, and dug out the treats moving the box around while doing so. He showed absolutely no fear at all.

The first night, this was really turning into a fascinating exercise. So, we kept moving down the aisle.

Next was little Bea Yewtee's turn. She is our 3 year old filly out of Jeddien. Bea is sharp and edgy by nature. But also brave. At first, she was totally spooked by the box. However, her curiousity overwhelmed her fear and within a couple minutes, she was stealing treats.

Finally, we took the box to Jeddien who must have mentored Ben. She not only ate right of out the box, she turned it over looking for anything else that may have been hidden.

The next night, the magic box was used again. Piper was quicker to come forward, but still worried. Meanwhile, Ben, hearing that the box game was underway, started stomping! Bea was quite quick to have a look into the box when it arrived at her stall. And Jeddien nickered at the idea of treats, box or no box.

All four horses are Dutch Warmbloods. The youngsters were born on the farm and handled from birth. Jeddien & Piper were both purchased as 2 and a half year olds imported from Holland. All have been handled and trained with similar techniques and methods. And yet, each is so completely unique in their personalities.

And that, in itself, is part of the wonder of horses. They are all such amazing individuals.

Time to go play again.... Tonight, whole apples from a local farm will be rolling around on the bottom of the box. Great noise. Tasty treats.

Technical Difficulties

2009-09-18T10:08:00.000-04:00

We recently moved Kearsarge Meadows's home page to a new hosting site. Things were going quite well at first. However, with all things technical, glitches can occur and apparently, that is the case right now. So, if you find Kearsarge-Meadows.com to be unreachable, we apologise. The problem is being addressed....

Meanwhile, since you are sitting in front of a computer, here's a fun one. Lift your right foot of the floor and make clockwise circles. Now, while doing this, draw a number "6" in the air with your right hand. Without letting your right foot change direction.

I'm guessing our website will be back up before you succeed in this little exercise. :-) Thank you for your patience!

2009-09-12T20:24:00.005-04:00

At the 2009 USDF Region 8 Championships, Jeddien, our 18 year old KWPN Dutch Warmblood mare trained and ridden by Kimberley, earned the title of Reserve Champion at 3rd Level Open (Professional).

Jeddien was born in Holland, imported into the UK at the age of 2 and a half year, and started and trained by Kimberley through to Fourth Level Dressage. Over the past 15 years, Robert Pickles, Fellow of the BHS was the biggest influence in Jeddien's development. Clinics with Christine Stuckleberger (Swiss dressage star) and Jan Nivelle (German Grand Prix trainer & coach for Belgium) were influential along the way. And of course, Pat Parelli's Natural Horsemanship programs and trainers made an impact.

The weekend at the Regionals is still underway. But at this point, Jeddien has already proved herself a successful Dressage Queen. Any successes that follow will just be frosting on the cake!

Frosting! - An Update

On Sunday, the last day of the Regionals, Kimberley & Jeddien also won the 2009 Reserve Championship title for the 3rd Level Freestyle. Very exciting!

The 2009 Hops Harvest

2009-08-30T22:00:00.007-04:00

Today, we harvested all of our homegrown hops.

We started our hops bines in 2007, with the purchase of 12 initial rhizomes from Freshops.com. Georg built a 14 foot high, 36 foot long, single wire trellis with 12 full height biodegradable climbing ropes for each plant. Following the clear instructions from Freshops, we planted one rhizome at the bottom of each climbing rope. And then we waited.

By the end of the 2007 growing season, we had 3 foot to 6 foot tall bines, as expected. The energy of the plants was being spent on developing a strong root system. Spring 2008, after a cold winter, shoots soon appeared and the bines grew really well. In September 2008, we harvested a few ounces of hop flowers and were very pleased with ourselves. We used the hops to flavor one batch of homebrew.

But this year, we had our first true hops crop! Nearly all the plants reached the top of the 14 foot ropes and started working their way down again. The main bines were as thick as a finger. And the flowers were bigger and in beautiful dense clusters.

Harvesting 14 foot tall bines, which by nature do a fabulous job of adhering to the ropes, is a challenge. Ladders help. And figuring out how to unwind the bines from the bottom helps, too. It is the kind of work that requires a quiet patience. Like most farm work.

After a few hours of work, and earning the multiple scratches from the rather itchy plants to prove it, we had gathered a whooping 10 full gallons of hop flowers! They are now air drying and will soon be packed in the freezer for preservation until Kearsarge Meadows' BrewMeister, Georg, uses them to add wonderful hoppy flavor to his beer recipes.

Henniker Chili Fest

2009-08-23T18:11:00.004-04:00

We will remember the weekend of August 22 -23, 2009 for two key events.

First, this was the weekend Hurricane Bill skimmed past New England, given those on along the shorelines a bit of excitement, but no real troubles.

Second was the Henniker Rotary Club's Annual Chili Fest at Pat's Peak.

The Henniker Chili Fest is a great afternoon out, with it's Classic Car Show, BBQ, arts & crafts vendors, and of course, the famous chili cookoffs. The 2000 or so people who attend the event, get to taste test over 40 chilis, then cast their votes for their favorites. And despite all of the threats of foul weather, the clouds held onto their rain until we got back home again.

We tasted between 30 and 40 different chilis. An ounce of each. Yes, that's approximately a QUART of chili. Our votes went to "Vindaloo", who used a lot of Indian spices to give their chili a very unique taste, and "Chappin" who had a very sweet chili.

We are already looking forward to the 2010 Henniker Rotary Club's Chili Fest.

Watching The Radar

2009-08-21T12:51:00.003-04:00

Horses. All day grass turnout. Summer weather. Thunderstorms. Keeping safe. That pretty much sums up summer time horse turnout management. :-)

Most of our weather comes from the west, allowing us to see it approaching if we happen to be looking out the kitchen window. However, if we're sitting at a computer, radar is our friend.

My favorite weather radar site is this one from Radar.Weather.Gov and allows me to view weather coming from all directions via the Adjacent Radars arrows.

I first learned about this site when a colleague at Sun Microsystems emailed out a warning to everyone in the Nashua office about a strong front speeding its way to New Hampshire in July 2005. Thanks, Eric!

The storm of July 2005 was quite intense, rather terrifying, and caused a lot of damage including shearing many of our tallest trees and washing out the entrance to our driveway, as shown in this photo. While we have not seen a storm as strong as that since, we still listen for rumbles of thunder, keep an eye on the skies and watch the radar whenever thunderstorm alerts are posted.

Like today.

New School Season = New Evening Grooms

2009-08-21T11:04:00.003-04:00

"What happened to Summer?", seems to be the favorite question around these parts. With June and July being a total wash out, August is providing the only true taste of summer. And September is only 10 days away!

With the new school season starting up, we will be saying "So long & good luck!" to two of our employees, both of whom work in the afternoon / evening shift bringing in the horses and feeding dinner. One is off to College! Congratuations! The other is entering the High School Senior year and will be deciding which College or University to attend after that. Both will be missed!

We're now looking for 1 or 2 local people to replace these great kids. It's a good physical job for someone with horse experience who wants to earn a bit of cash working no more than 2 hours per day on a friendly, beautiful horse farm.

If interested, contact us via our farm website, Kearsarge-Meadows.com.

Declaring War, Again

2009-08-04T21:20:00.002-04:00

Too many emotions are experienced when a small scale farmer such as myself comes to find a collection of beautiful, soft, silky young chicken feathers on the driveway, feathers of young hens you know, young hens you raised from chicks.

Once again, another predator has made off with 2 young hens. Both of the girls were born on March 23rd this year and were just starting to test their mature hen voices. In another couple months, they may have started laying an egg here or there. But, really, they were still babies.

Over the past few nights, twice I have seen a fox trot down our driveway around 2 am. It sets off various alarms, including the dogs. What a great way to wake up suddenly. Anyway, it looks like that fox has been scoping out the farm, smelling chickens, and learning they hang out around the manure pile, where they eat fly eggs and various bugs. One kill was done there, in the hen's own safe zone only yards from their box stall where they roost at night. There is no sign of the other hen.

So, he came. He found a plentiful source of food. He killed. And now you can bet your bottom dollar he will be back. Most likely tomorrow or the next day.

This time, I will be waiting. Yes. This is war. Again.

Got Rain?

2009-07-31T15:21:00.003-04:00

April 2009 was stunning in New Hampshire! May was pretty spectacular as well. June and July, however, have been the rainiest &coolest summer months in a very long time. So bad, in fact, that we have not had a BBQ in weeks.

With our farm on a hilltop, our pastures usually dry out very quickly after a storm. But with so many storms stacking up like airplanes on final approach into Oshkosh, even the highest hilltops stay saturated a lot longer. Fortunately, we somehow keep managing to squeeze in a few mowing hours here and there, allowing us to tidy up the pastures, our groomed riding trails, and of course, the front lawn. But it is a challenge!

I don't mind riding my dressage horses in a light cooling misty rain. But the kind of rain we have been having for the past couple months has even driven me to ride in the indoor arena more than the outdoor arena. And on the few days that we have had hot sunshine, the humidity that arises from the saturated ground has been another good to avoid the outdoors!

While the horses, chickens, and turkeys don't seem to mind the AWOL summer season, our garden areas sure do. The vegetables, grapes, and hops are all crying out for warmth & sunshine, and lots of it. And I know our pooch would rather see more dry days on the calendar. She is definitely not a water dog.

Tomorrow, August 2009 arrives. The Meteorologists at WMUR Channel 9 promise it will begin with stunningly beautiful weather. Here's hoping we will see lots of great August weather! Until then, folks in town are maintaining their smiles, pointing out that "at least it's not snow!"

Got rain? Too much rain? We understand how it feels....

Hiring Farm Employees

2009-07-10T14:59:00.002-04:00

One of the challenging areas of owning any business is in the recruitment and hiring of good people with the right skills and attitude to do the job and represent the business with pride. Whether a high tech firm, a medical centre, a super market, or a horse farm, finding good staff is always critical to the success of a business.

(From the website http://www.apprenticesearch.com/ in Ontario Canada)

In general, we have been lucky in finding employees who have the knowledge, passion, and skills needed to provide the horses and our clients with the kind of care they need, deserve, and have come to expect. Some people stay with us for years and some only for a few months. No matter how long they are on the payroll, the good ones are a joy to have working on the farm.

As with all companies, we also run into our share of "misfits", people who do not care... They don't last long at all.

At this time, we are expecting one of our fabulous employees to move on to another job in the next few weeks. And so once again, we will be looking for the next right person to fill their muck boots.

It's actually hard work, recruiting. It takes time & money to advertise, time to interview, and even more time to through the required paperwork, including IRS and U.S. Department of Justice forms. But, when the right person comes along, it's worth it.

So, we are hiring again... We hope to continue to find good horse people in the Warner area to join the team at Kearsarge Meadows.

Bird Eat Bird World

2009-06-15T12:45:00.003-04:00

This week, we are happy to have visiting family from the Black Forest of Germany. Georg's mom, "Oma", and his eldest sister Beate are enjoying a rather unique farm vacation!

Part of the fun of life at Kearsarge Meadows involves seeing the livestock that live here. Of course this includes the pampered horses, friends' sheep and lambs who summer here, our egg laying chickens, and our newest critters, baby turkeys.

In less than 5 months time, the young poults will gain anywhere from 35 to 50 pounds. In November, they will be the guests of honour at Thanksgiving Dinners in both Warner New Hampshire and Dunstable Massachusetts.

Having European guests gives us a fun opportunity to have an early Thanksgiving Dinner. And so we stuffed and cooked a lovely little (14.5 pound) turkey, prepared 4 different autumn vegetables, and provided the usual fixings. And of course, there was pumpkin pie.

With Ian Grey, our African Grey, suggesting "Who wants Turkey?" and interjecting lots of comments of "Gut Gut Guten Tag!!!", we all enjoyed a late afternoon feast. Even Ian who truly enjoys eating turkey.

Green Grass, Blue Sky

2009-05-26T15:24:00.003-04:00

Is it possible to have too much grass on a horse farm? Hardly! But what a wonderful "problem" to have! :-)

Fabulous May weather has caused the grass pastures to grow really well again. Of course, good pasture management is part of the overall formula.

Lime. Fertilizer. Controlled use of the fields. Mowing, mowing, and more mowing! All of these things have helped our fields become the lush greenlands that they are today.

Later this week, sheep will be moved into this field which is viewable from our Kearsarge Mountain webcam. And occasionally, we let horses into the plusher pastures for some afternoon feasts.

Such a difference from only 8 weeks ago when white snow dominated this view. But for now, it is green. The songbirds love it. The horses love it. The sheep love it. Our boarders love it. We love it.

Today, the view is green.

Milk Snake

2009-05-10T21:51:00.002-04:00

Sometimes farm life includes encounters with wildlife. Twice in the past couple weeks, we have had such experiences with a "Milk Snake". This one is not particularly large, as one can tell in comparison to the rather healthy May crab grass, but it was surprisingly easy to agitate.

Now I'm not a huge snake fan, but I must admit, this one is quite.... well... pretty. And knowing that it lives off small rodents, one has to agree it must be a good thing to have around in the fields and woods.

Assuming it manages to avoid capture by a hawk or other predator, maybe we'll see this fellow again one day...

Mowing

2009-05-08T20:46:00.005-04:00

So, maybe it's sad, but it is true. I love to mow!

But only because we have a Husqvarna Lawn Tractor. A riding mower. A true joy. A wonderous machine. My personal time machine.

Yes, put me on my Husky, with a full tank, and I can go for miles and hours, hours and miles. Georg knows I am gone....

My boarders love my work. Groomed riding trails around the property. My neighbors probably like the work as well. A tidy grass area around the outdoor dressage arena. And of course, the lawn benefits...

I have enjoyed my jobs in the computer industry, programming, providing support, managing, and directing. But mowing provides a level of instant satisfaction that none of those roles ever could.

I really love mowing. Time Travel Season has arrived!

Gardening in April

2009-04-24T21:15:00.003-04:00

With unseasonably warm weather this weekend, gardening is now underway at Kearsarge Meadows. Our 2 year old hops vines are already breaking through the ground and the wine grapevines of the same age are budding out. It's a good sign.

This weekend, early crops are already going into the ground. Snap peas, onions, garlic, and strawberries. Frost sensitive plants will be started indoors.

With temps expected to hit the 70's this weekend, little milestones will be reached. For example, the baby chickens will see sunshine and grass for the first time. Horse baths will take place. Garden weeding and ground preparation will take place. And the first motorcycle ride of the season will have to take place.

Spring with summer temperatures! No problem! Bring it on!

Big Ben is 3 Years Old Today

2009-04-21T20:36:00.002-04:00

Today was Ben's 3rd birthday.

As planned, it was a Milestone Day, with Ben being ridden for real for the first time. He has been sat upon a couple times in the past and led around with a rider. But today was a different. Today, Ben stood on his own to be mounted and then walked around a bit without being on a lead.

While he is still learning about steering and "Go & Whoa" aids from the ground, he did a super good job nonetheless today. And the best part, he was never stressed out by the session.

Sigh. Late at night 3 years ago, a tall leggy foal entered the world and our lives. Tonight, a young riding horse sleeps in his stall. We could not be prouder of our big KWPN Dutch Warmblood boy.

Freestyle Debut - The Movie

2009-04-21T09:30:00.001-04:00

Mystic Valley Hunt Club
April 18, 2009
3rd Level Freestyle
Score: 70%

The First Show of 2009

2009-04-20T19:33:00.003-04:00

The first USDF dressage show of Spring 2009 took place this weekend, April 18 2009, at Mystic Valley Hunt Club in Connecticut.

Jeddien and Kimberley competed there, contesting the 3rd Level Test 3 Open Qualifier and the 3rd Level Freestyle Qualifier. Both classes were won with qualifying scores of 64.884% and 70% respectively. Having already earned one qualifying score for back in September, they have now finished qualifying for the 2009 USDF Region 8 3rd Level Open Championships. To finish qualifying for the Freestyle Championships, one more score of 65% is needed before mid August.

While at MVHC, they competed at 4th Level, contesting Test 1. In this, they earned 62% and came 2nd.

The first show of 2009 and truly a great start!

Then & Now

2009-04-15T17:51:00.008-04:00

In New Hampshire, RSA (Revised Statutes Annotated) 79-D starts with the following information:

79-D:1 Declaration of Public Interest. – It is hereby declared to be in the public interest to encourage the preservation of historic agricultural structures which are potentially subject to decay or demolition, thus maintaining the historic rural character of the state's landscape, sustaining agricultural traditions, and providing an attractive scenic environment for work and recreation of the state's citizens and visitors. It is further declared to be in the public interest to prevent the loss of historic agricultural structures due to property taxation at values incompatible with their preservation. The means for encouraging preservation of historic agricultural structures authorized by this chapter is the acquisition of discretionary preservation easements by town or city governments to assure preservation of such structures which provide a demonstrated public benefit.

Now, I don't know if our old barn qualifies, but today, I submitted an application to find out. While doing the required paperwork, I found the following comparison of photos kinda cool.

	Estimated to be at the turn of the century, more than 100 years ago.
	Today.

Aside from a few pasture sheds, a one car garage, and the annex being extended out and up in the 1970's, the picture is pretty much the same. I wonder what things will look like in another 100 years...

Easter Chicks

2009-04-11T11:02:00.004-04:00

Easter. Aside from a big holiday, it brings to mind several wonderful memories... Beautiful church services. Visiting Nanny & Pa. Spring flowers. Newborn lambs playing in the pastures. Visits from the Easter Bunny. Tons of chocolate. And chicks.

Watching healthy happy chicks can only bring a smile to one's face. They jump, run, "fly", roll, scratch, eat, drink, fluff, and snooze. All in the same few minutes. Then repeat it again.

After the local fox (who, by the way, is still at large) got three of our hens, we obtained some new chicks. Black Australorps and Araucanas which are also known as the "Easter Egg Chicken" as it lays really cool blue-green eggs.

There is something wonderful about new beginnings.

Clipping

2009-03-31T17:56:00.002-04:00

Clipping. The process horse people use to remove large quantities of hair from the horse and deposit it upon themselves. At least, that is how it usually ends up.

Temperatures during the day are getting up into the 50's. Jeddien's first competition is only a couple weeks away. And yet, she is still sporting a full winter coat. Too much of a coat for the practice we are doing. I don't want her overheating.

So, out come the big heavy duty clippers tomorrow. She will end up much cooler and happier. And I will end up coughing up horse hair for a couple days. :-)

PJ's Birthday

2009-03-30T15:22:00.007-04:00

We just waved goodbye to Mark & PJ Hayden of Wokingham England. They enjoyed a holiday on the farm as a special birthday present for PJ. Mark kept the trip secret and packed PJ's riding gear without her knowing. Even as I stepped out of the house to greet them, PJ still had no idea what was in store for her!

Mark had planned this trip specifically for PJ's birthday, with a focus on horseback riding. PJ is just getting back into riding after a long hiatus. So lots of time was spent with the horses. We even got to use the outdoor arena for the first time this spring. (Only a small amount of snow still remains.)

Riding Jeddien, our 4th Level / Advanced Medium Dressage mare, PJ got to work on all the lateral movements, flying changes, and piaffe. They also popped over a few jumps, which Jeddien thoroughly enjoyed.

However, life at Kearsarge Meadows is not just about horses!

The Hayden's helped Georg and I with the hard work of collecting sap, chopping wood, boiling the sap, filtering, bottling, and of course, in the end, taste testing the homemade maple syrup. And since this past weekend was the official New Hampshire Maple Sugaring Weekend, we visited 4 different sugaring operations. Fun. Educational. And a nice way to meet some of the local people of Warner.

Over the course of the visit, we feasted on New England fare of "lobstah", "steamahs", and champagne, fabulous prime rib, locally raised buffalo from Keira & Brian Farmer's own Yankee Farmer's Market in Warner, and brunch at the Foothills Restaurant in the center of town.

With crappy "English weather" on Saturday, Mark & Georg headed to Best Buy in Manchester while PJ & I travelled to Dover Saddlery. Much to my delight, when we arrived back to the farm, Pink Floyd was playing on new speakers in the indoor arena. My long awaited sound system will soon be installed. Yippee!

PJ and Mark will soon be back in the UK. We look forward to their next trip to Warner... a trip for which PJ will once again be allowed pack her own luggage! :-)

My Last Day at Sun Microsystems

2009-03-20T11:31:00.004-04:00

Spring 20 years ago, an awful lot happened in my life.

My first dressage horse, an off the track Thoroughbred (OTTB), was declared unsuitable by my trainer for advancement to the levels I aspired. This was due to the toll racing took on his legs. I gave him away to a coworker who wanted to trail ride.

I was laid off from Gould Computer Systems Division, in round 3 or 4 of post-acquisition reductions. It was a difficult period for Gould employees, watching a great computer company slowly disappear.

My divorce became final and two weeks later, my ex remarried his new girlfriend. I was very single.

Single, jobless, horseless. AND I turned 30 years old. Very depressing to say the least!

Within a few weeks time, however, my world was completely turned around again.

I purchased my first KWPN Dutch Warmblood from J. Ashton (Jeff) Moore, a fabulous big imported mahogany bay mare by Rubinstein. No, I did not exactly have a job yet, but I knew I would soon.

Next, after receiving job offers from Cray, Sequent, and Pyramid, I joined Sun Microsystems as a UNIX Support Specialist only because the hiring manager understood about horseownership and knew what dressage was. :-) Hey, these things are important!

I had a new job and a wonderful new horse. Things were good again.

That was 20 years ago. A helluva lot of living has happened since then.

I lived in the UK for 12 years, wrote a technical computer book, became a Brit, became a Sun millionaire, married a European, watched my millions disappear when the markets crashed, trained and competed my new KWPN Dutch Warmblood horses, moved back to the USA, and got promoted to Director of Operations for Global Product Development. Cool title, eh?

Sun was 7 years old when I joined 20 years ago. There were tons of good times, and some hard times. The hardest, it seems, have been recent. And with that, we had a big layoff in January. Mine was one of several thousand positions that were impacted.

My last Sun blog entry says good-bye. (Snippet shown below)

So, Monday, March 23rd, is actually my last day at Sun. It's strange to think about. And again, laid off right before a big birthday, the big 5-0 no less. (Ugh) Not unlike a friendly divorce, this is definitely the end of a very long relationship. I will miss Sun.

However, now rumours are rampant that the Sun Microsystems I knew and loved may not be around much longer. Google "Sun Microsystems IBM" And that may even be a little bit sadder.

See ya later Sun! Good luck & all the best!

36 and Rising

2009-03-17T10:22:00.003-04:00

As promised, today looks like it'll be another beautiful day. Temps may even soar into the 50's!

We can see more and more patches of dormant pasture grass as the snow continues to melt. Even the outdoor riding arena, which has a 12 inch border around it, is finally making an appearance after a long winter hidden under deep snow.

Everyone is itchy to get back to trailriding. Bugs or not! But until the trails are clear of snow and safe for riding, the driveway is our trail, as demonstrated here by Ann and her trusty steed, Sole Express (aka Sole).

Happy trails to all!

Mud Season Begins

2009-03-16T18:11:00.001-04:00

Suddenly, it seems like there's lots happening all at once!

We have the perfect weather from a maple sugarer's perspective. Freezing temps at night, mild days. The sap is running! And we've already boiled our first batch of liquid gold!

Of course with the milder days, so begins New England's 5th season: "Mud Season". Before it gets into full swing, we had my Miley horse trailer uncovered & extracted from the snow today. Hitched up, we're now doing loading practice with some of the horses. More work will follow tomorrow.

And two new employees started today. I think as the winter blues melt away, working on a horse farm becomes much more appealing to real horse lovers.

With the temps now easier on both horse & rider, we are getting back into serious riding again. Our first dressage competition is less than 5 weeks away, but we will be ready. Training here includes "hacking" up and down the driveway and through any snow that is not too deep!

Clipping the competition horse's coat will be done this week. And midweek, all of the horses will be getting their spring vaccinations and other veterinary attention needed at this time of year.

And new chicks will be ordered, replacing those lost by the killer fox.

As the snow continues to melt, the garden area will appear. It won't be until the last week of May that anything will go into the ground. But the crops that take the longest to grow can be started indoors... Right about now. The seeds, pots, and seed starter soil is ready to go! So, another thing to do!

It's been a busy little week! And it's only Monday. :-)

Schooling Shows

2009-03-09T17:28:00.003-04:00

The big goal for Kearsarge Meadows this year is to run our first Dressage Schooling Shows.

This historic farm has been host to many shows over the past decades. We've even seen photos from the 1970's showing riders going over cross country fences that no longer exist. But since our arrival in 2005, we've been focussing on making major improvements to the property (new roofs, painting, outdoor arena, sand & rubber footing, pasture renovations, and more). All this while the goal of hosting shows has been kept quietly simmering on the back burner.

If all goes well, the final big improvement we're making will be completed this spring. We're putting in a decent sized trailer parking area. Being able to envision this happening, I'm now sitting down with various calendars to select SHOW DATES!

2009 Schooling Dressage Shows

So far in the plans, we will be offering Intro, Training Level, and First Level classes. There may be "Gaited Horse" classes and "Stock Horse" classes as well. No matter what the program looks like, emphasis will be on SCHOOLING and FUN for both horse and rider.

As I sit here looking out the window at the results of yet another impressive snowstorm, I find it hard to imagine that in a few months time, we will be handing out ribbons to riders sporting huge smiles. What a wonderful vision!

Chicken Killer

2009-03-01T08:41:00.004-05:00

Life on the farm. It is very different from city life, different from life in the suburbs.

For us, life on a farm includes sharing our property with more than just horses. We also have a small flock of chickens.

The hens and rooster spend nights in a stall fitted with nest boxes, suspended birch tree limbs for perches, shavings, hay, water, and feed. During the day, they free range around the barn and house, scratching around for bugs and insect eggs, bathing in the dirt, and nibbling on plants. Generally, they do whatever comes naturally.

Our hens were purchased as new chicks, spent their first week or two in a warm box in my office, and then moved to a heated nursery set up in the barn. From there, they eventually moved to the big stall. Within their first year, they started providing us with wonderful eggs.

I really like my chickens. Apparently, so does a fox!

Yesterday, the 3 hens above were killed by a fox. Right next to the barn. Feathers are everywhere. The two brown hens were carried away. The black hen was left behind, throat opened, but otherwise intact. It is not a pretty picture.

War begins.

Bea Yewtee

2009-02-23T20:09:00.012-05:00

Bea Yewtee is out of our own Jeddien, by the grey 1990 17.1h Westfalen, Da Vinci (shown here).

Da Vinci, owned by South Gate Farm, was standing at Cornell University when Jeddien went through quarantine there as part of our move from England. Since he was accepted by the KWPN, we used that visit to breed Jeddien. Once she was done with quarantine, they simply moved her to the breeding barn and did the deed. :-)

Bea is Big Ben's "sister". Ben and Bea grew up together, sharing a big pasture for the first two years of their lives, at first with their Mom's, then with another young playmate during the weaning process.

Both Ben and Bea are registered KWPN Dutch Warmbloods. Both are chestnuts. Both were imprint trained from birth and handled daily ever since. Both are very friendly and really enjoy being groomed & scratched in the right places.

And that is where their similarities come to an abrupt end.

Bea's personality is best described as "sharp". She is edgy, sensitive, quick, and clever. She is a fast learner, but not a pushover. A lot like Jeddien.

Watching Bea play in the pasture this weekend, I wondered how many horse people would think she was part Arabian instead of pure Dutch Warmblood. Tail in the air, showing off incredible movement, throwing in tempi changes for the hell of it, snorting and blowing, she makes us laugh.

Bea will be 3 years old in June. Sigh. The 2006 babies are growing up. :-) It's kinda sad, but also so great to see.

Riding Ben

2009-02-21T20:21:00.006-05:00

Today, for the third time, I rode Big Ben. Until he is better at working in driving lines, we are still at the early stage of just posing for photos....

...and going for "pony rides". Sure, I know "pony ride" photos are not exactly exciting news. Unless you are the pony's mom. :-)

But then, Big Ben is only 2 years, 10 months old. And still growing like a weed! We have nothing but time ahead of us.

What's important right now is that Ben is becoming accustomed to the idea that humans can sit on him, and not just in his stall when he's lying down. :-) All while he's still unfit, unbalanced, and a bit unsure about this new activity.

Over the next few weeks, we will continue working in long lines, "driving" around the arena, developing responsiveness to verbal commands, and getting "pony rides". We have no deadlines to chase. Just positive experiences to share. It's a precious time for the young horse and his first trainer.

(Thanks to Kyle for capturing these photos for us!)

2009 NEDA Omnibus

2009-02-21T12:12:00.002-05:00

Winter blues so are easily crushed with the arrival of the NEDA (New England Dressage Association) Omnibus.

The 2009 issue arrived this week. Before I even left the parking lot of the post office, I opened it up and soon found Kearsarge Meadow's full page ad on page 37. Aside from the fact that the publishers goofed a little and used the 2008 ad instead of the 2009 ad submitted to them, it's still good to see....

Doing advertising is something I had to get my head around when we started the Kearsarge Meadows business. However, I enjoy the design work involved. I use Open Office, "The Free and Open Productivity Suite", to do all my presentations, spreadsheets, and advertisements.

Enough advertising for today. Now we return to our regularly scheduled program. :-)

Perfect Storm

2009-02-18T23:13:00.006-05:00

Once again, we are getting hit by a wintery storm. When checking the horses at 10:30 tonight, we had to trudge through 4 inches of new snow.

A quick pass up and down the driveway with the plow soon looked pretty pitiful with the snow still falling quite heavily. But, according to Chief Meteorologist Mike Haddad on WMUR News 9, the back edge of the storm is not far away and hopefully, when all is said and done, we should top out somewhere between 6 and 9 inches total. Fingers crossed.

Best part, however, is that the storm will have completely passed by the time we turn out the horses after breakfast. Snug and comfortable in their stalls all night, this storm has no impact on them or their schedules. Tomorrow, they will have sunshine, fresh snow to roll and play in, and lots of hay to munch on in the pastures. Now THAT is a perfect storm.

Ben's Second Ride

2009-02-17T11:02:00.009-05:00

President's Day brought lots of sunshine on a crisp winter day. During the afternoon, I went to Ben's pasture gate, called, and soon had his warm breath on my face. We went into the barn, tacked up, and started another training session in the indoor arena.

This session was the first where lines were attached to the rings of the bit as well as the halter. Attaching the lines to both the bit and the halter would help stabilise the bit and lessen the movement it would have in his mouth.

Ben lunged fairly quietly on long lines at walk and trot. At the walk, using the bit & halter for directional guidance, we did figure eights around the arena on driving lines. Ben also quickly learned that the word "Ho", which he knows means "slow down" or "stop", was followed by pressure on the bit if he did not respond. Once he BEGAN to respond, the pressure was released.

The work was generally calm and quiet. There were a couple bucks and squeals, but nothing major. And so, after a short session on the long lines, we switched back to a lead rope on the halter, removed the driving lines, and headed for the mounting block again.

Following the same routine as on Sunday, I stood above Ben, patting him, bouncing up and down against the saddle, and finally climbed on board. Again, he stood still and enjoyed lots of praise and a few mints.

This time, Georg led us up and down the arena, left, right, around and around, stopping, going, and finally finishing the ridden work with a mint.

Sounds like boring work, huh? :-) However, watching Ben's big eyes get a little bit bigger, it is far from boring for him. He is on a steep learning curve. Every little step is a big one for this young horse. And so far, he's making great strides.

Orchids

2009-02-15T17:49:00.012-05:00

I love orchids. Have for a very long time. In England, I grew many Cymbidiums, most of which were in "resting periods" when I purchased them and, thus, very inexpensive. These are what I refer to as "The Big Hawaii Orchids". Inaccurate, but one of the impressions of my one and only trip to Hawaii was the Cymbidiums. Bringing them back to full bloom was a job of patience and reward.

Wonderfully, for Valentine's Day, Georg took me to the New Hampshire Orchid Society's annual orchid show at the Radisson Hotel in Nashua. Now, having visited England's Kew Gardens and their wonderful orchid house, and having read a fair number of things about orchids, I already appreciated that orchids come in an amazing array of shapes, colors, and sizes, but I had NO IDEA! This was my first orchid show. It blew me away! And it wasn't even a big show!
By the end of our short visit at the show, my brain was overwhelmed by the immense variety of orchids on display. I was most blown away by the absolutely miniature flowers which I had no idea even existed. And scented orchids, while I knew they existed, were not something I had encountered in person. What a treat!

By the end of the afternoon, I had collected the business card of a new orchid garden based locally in New London, NH that I will visit shortly, if nothing else but to get some orchid fertiliser, and had purchased 5 plants from another exhibitor, Marlow Orchids of New York. After many years of owning the big Cymbidiums, the lady slipper Paphiopedilums, and a few "moth orchids" or Phalaenopsis, I found myself taking home orchids new to me.

Go add to my little collection at home, I now have 4 young Cattleyas as well as my first Oncidium, which won me over not only by it's miniature flowers, but by it's lovely scent of a hint of chocolate.

Orchids. I consider myself a pre-novice, but I love them.

Ben's First Little Ride

2009-02-15T16:15:00.003-05:00

Today, Big Ben was ridden for the first time, being led at the walk about 25 feet with a rider sitting in the saddle. And that was the end of the lesson.

I know this reads like such a little thing, but anyone who has trained a horse from the very beginning knows today's lesson was a key milestone event.

Getting to this point has involved many hours of work scattered across the past year. It included daily handling, groundwork, lunging, lunging under saddle, and lunging in full tack with a bridle & bit under the halter to which the lunge line is attached.

Today, while tidying up Ben's rather shaggy winter mane, he stood quietly in the crossties wearing his bridle and halter. For the first time, he was able to eat Canada mints while wearing his chunky Herm Sprenger KK bit. Another little milestone.

After the grooming session, I put his saddle on and lunged him a bit. He was well behaved, happy, and as friendly as always. When Georg joined us, he led Ben to the mounting block in the middle of the arena.

Standing on the mounting block, I wiggled the saddle, leaned on Ben, patted him all over on both sides from above, jumped up against his back, and finally, climbed astride. All the while, Georg stood at Ben's head, letting Ben watch me while also making sure Ben paid attention to him as well.

While sitting on Ben, I continued to keep busy. I leaned down & hugged his neck, sat up tall, wiggled around in the saddle, swung my legs, and even reached down and fed him a mint, all while watching for any sign of trouble brewing.

Nothing happened. So, Georg took one step backwards. And Ben took one step forward. And then they did another step. And then several more. And then we stopped. Big pats. More mints. I jumped off and kissed Ben's fuzzy face.

Little steps, but such a huge milestone for the 2 year, 10 months old boy. What a fabulous feeling! Tomorrow, we will try it again.

The Dangers of Wonderful Weather

2009-02-11T21:05:00.019-05:00

Today, we were treated to a preview of spring. Temperatures topped out briefly at 67 degrees on the farm according to our little Weather Channel weather station. 67! Truly incredible.

And with that, two long awaited projects swung into action. First, picking up the collection of winter poos in the pastures. This is a necessary week long chore usually undertaken once the snow melts. But, with the gorgeous weather, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to get started.

Second, and concurrent to the pasture work, involved thoroughly watering the indoor arena. Not just a sprinkle, but a real good soaking which hasn't been done since the fall.

After getting the watering started, I drove my fun little Honda Rancher ATV with the little John Deere dump trailer out to the pastures. Melting down a bit, the snow was not too deep and the ATV was able to travel along just fine. After gaining lots of confidence in the ATV, I decided to see if I could get the poo to the big poo pile out on the back 40 behind the indoor arena. Sure enough, I got out there and dumped the poo. However, as I started to drive back up towards the barns, I hit a deep spot. And got well and truly stuck. Stepping off the ATV, I sunk down over 20 inches into heavy wet snow. Ugh.

Dressed for Spring, enjoying the unseasonably warm air and bright sunshine, it felt like anything was possible. So, I walked back towards the house, moved the sprinkler as I passed the arena, and got into our Dodge 2500 Heavy Duty 4 x 4 pickemuptruck. Aka "The Beast". We would pull the little ATV out of the snowdrift area and get it back onto solid ground.

That was the plan.

Having learned the snow depths around the area where the ATV sat patiently, I drove the truck clear of the deep areas. A long tow rope would be used. Getting there was easy. Turning around and positioning. Easy. Testing the run back before hooking up a tow line, there was no grip in the snow! And the ever so slight incline of the land was not helping matters.

After working up a sweat shovelling & sanding, and making it half way back to the cleared roadway, I gave up. Tomorrow morning, a neighbor friend and his trusty John Deere farm tractor will save the day. Again.

That is the plan.

50 degrees & Snow

2009-02-08T19:25:00.003-05:00

The title says it all. Today, we had temps touch 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Snow was melting like crazy. Horsey poo piles long since buried in the snowy pastures suddenly made an appearance. And all of the horses enjoyed a day of nakedness in the sun. Rolling. Grazing. Basking in the sun. Equine bliss.

Until it suddenly started to SNOW! Yes, while it was somewhere around 45 degrees, we had a storm breeze through. Snow. Sleet. Rain. More snow. Then warm sunshine again. Very odd indeed.

New Englanders say if you don't like weather, wait an hour. Today, this was soooo true!

Saddle Training

2009-02-06T18:19:00.004-05:00

October. Mere months ago. We had GORGEOUS weather and no bugs. It was simply marvelous, and some will say, the most perfect of New England weather.

On the farm, October 2008 was a little milestone for our youngsters. Big Ben is shown below, learning to wear a saddle at the age of 2 years, 6 months. Using the pastures where the babies and their pals are turned out as the training venue, they do not experience the same levels of stress that occur when being pulled from the field (and friends), taken to a secluded site, and trained. Nope, we worked with the babies in the field. And their pals watched.

In dead of winter, with temps dropping into the single digits Fahrenheit (and a few times below zero!), the amount of training we do is limited. But this coming weekend, temperatures are going to SOAR into the high 30's, maybe even the 40's. Translation: HEAT WAVE! :-) And with that, another great opportunity to continue saddle training the kids.

Baby Teeth

2009-02-05T17:18:00.011-05:00

Last night, a friend and I attended a lecture at TNT Equine in Dover NH. The subject was "Managing Infectious Diseases", however, the speaker, David Pugh, DVM, MS, DACT, DACVN, Fort Dodge Animal Health, also spoke about general equine husbandry... which includes, among other things, attention to dentistry.

Hearing about the importance of equine dental care was a quiet reminder that in three months time, a couple of my horses are due to see Deme Erickson, DMV, of TNT Equine again for a dental checkup.

Three months ago today, every horse in our barn was checked out by Deme and Super Tech Erin. For most of the critters, only floating was needed. However, some of the horses needed a bit more attention. Especially the babies.

When Ben, 2 and a 1/2 years old, was examined, Deme was surprised to find 4 wolf teeth. Usually 2 are seen, but he had upper and lower ones. These little teeth, even if they have not broken through the surface of the gum, can be quite troublesome when training with a bit begins. Ben also still had caps on his front upper teeth. So, all of these were removed. Throughout the whole session, at which these images were captured, Ben was extremely well behaved. Of course, the mild sedation helped!

That night, Big Ben had 7 teeth to tuck under his pillow for the Horsey Tooth Fairy. I hear he used the money to buy 35 pounds of carrots, which of course he shared with his pals.

Plowing Pastures

2009-02-04T11:37:00.004-05:00

Mow pastures. Plow driveways. That is the usual way to do things. Plowing pastures... Now, that's not quite as common.

Last winter, we received around 10 feet of snow. And while we had a couple thaws between storms, the snowbanks eventually became unmanagable with a pickup truck and needed to be moved by tractor. During one of those occasions, as a goof, I asked my tractor operating friend to clear a little path for me at the gates of a couple pastures. From there, I plowed a bit deeper into the pastures with my truck. The end result was that it was easier for the horses to move around, easier for us to get hay out, and easier for us to get to the water troughs to top them up each day.

This winter, starting with the first snowstorm, I plowed paths in the pastures. And what a timesaver it has turned out to be! The ATV, instead of a sled, can still be used to deliver hay. And the horses have the option of walking through deep snow OR walking on a cleared path, which they seem to appreciate.

We have another couple months of winter to go. But so far, plowing the pastures has certainly helped make things a bit more bearable.

Speedi Worm

2009-02-01T23:10:00.003-05:00

No, it's not a new food stuff. Nor a new product. It's just a well practiced process.

Every two months, we worm our horses. We use the same routine at the same time of night, a routine which the horses have come to know, anticipate, and help us execute without stress or issues.

After giving evening hay and topping up the waters, Georg and I work our way through the barn. One by one, we halter each horse, squirt the mildly pleasant apple flavoured dewormer into their mouth, instantly provide a cup of sweet grain, unhalter, and move on.

The horses know the routine so well that they stand at their feed buckets waiting to be haltered, wormed, and given their extra grain treat.

Tonight, we performed the job at an average rate of 1 minute per horse! Now, THAT is speedi worming!

The Horse Tax

2009-02-01T12:13:00.004-05:00

Q: How do you make $1,000,000 in the horse business?

A: Start with $2,000,000....

Last week, all hell broke loose in the New Hampshire equestrian community as Bill HB427 came into view. The bill proposed a licensing of all equines in the state, as well as enforced vaccination for rabies. 40% of the license fees would go to the towns, 40% to the state in a "general fund", and the last 20% to the office of the State Veterinarian.

Now, I'm not going to rehash what a huge uproar this proposed horse tax created and how things proceeded from there, but I do want to comment about one assumption a lot of non-horse people have been making. And that is that horse owners are rich and therefore can afford more taxation, or "licensing".

I wish.

There may be some who are, but I don't personally know any horse people who are rolling in dough. In fact, most horse owners I know are fairly tight with their money and feel pain each time grain, hay, bedding, farrier, and veterinarian prices increase.

At the same time, many horse businesses I know are struggling to realise decent profits as basic running costs increase and incoming revenues from lessons and other fees stagnate. Yup, the current economic blues are impacting everyone.

Taxing horse owners? Hmmm. Not my first choice for how to improve New Hampshire's budget woes.

Q: How do you make $1,000,000 in the horse business?

A: Start with $2,000,000... Sad, but true.

Welcome to Kearsarge Meadows' Blog

2009-01-16T11:05:00.004-05:00

On May 2, 2005, Kearsarge Meadows LLC was registered with the New Hampshire Department of State. Since then, we have been providing board, horse training, and rider training for the local equestrian community.

During our first years here, we have kept things quite low key while we invested in the farm, formerly known as Elm Farm, and more recently, Runaway Farm. Some of the improvements include:

Pasture renovations
Additional pasture shelters
New outdoor dressage arena
Sand & rubber footing in the indoor &outdoor arenas
Screened windows in the stable area
Bright stable lighting

Now, as 2009 gets underway, we are working to expand the business. This will include us hosting our first schooling dressage competitions once the trailer parking area is ready. Also, lesson hours will expand to include weekdays. And Kimberley will be more available for judging, clinics, and lessons at locations in New Hampshire.

Hopefully this is viewed as good news for the local New Hampshire equestrian community.