Red barns are so classic. This was a pic taken prior to expanding the place.
In the past two years, they have expanded by sixteen outdoor runs. They did eight runs in 2016, and an additional 8 the summer of 2017 to help accommodate riders from another small local barn that was shutting down.
They have several turn out runs for the horses (everyone gets two hours of turn out a day, except Eddy, who has lost privileges), and they have added some perimeter fencing to help with horse security.
These are the stalls with runs on the North side of the barn.
We are on the East side and this summer they expanded the runs to the same length as the ones on the North. Ours do have some slope to them, but they drain quickly and dry out fairly fast.
This was the runs before. They are almost ten feet longer than they were, with additional pea gravel added. And obviously, plenty of dirt for Ashke to find.
One of the outdoor turn out areas
Ashke's stall front. He's gotten quite adept at letting himself, and anyone else that is nice to him, out of their runs
They have to use extra clips on the chains because he can let himself out of the normal ones.
The other thing we did this year, was add Arena Kleen to our indoor arena. It is a dust control product and it works very well. (We did need two containers of product, even after being told that one would work by the Arena Kleen rep in our area. The company made it right when we started seeing dust 8 weeks after our first application.) The footing is so much improved with the addition of the product, and the fine silica dust that is so dangerous to horses and peeps is gone. Can't recommend this enough. Bonus - no watering again eveh!
We've even had a WE fun day where people could play on the obstacles.
It was very heart warming when I arrived at my surprise birthday party expecting 6 people to be there, to find 40 people waiting for me, most of them from the barn. It is one of those places where I always feel welcome, where everyone says hi, where we look out for each other and help the BO as well.
We did a barn cleaning work day last Saturday after our shot clinic and a lot of people showed up. One of the hunter/jumper people did this:
Totes fancy
And a little less scary
We cleaned the dressage mirrors, washed windows, cleaned tack rooms, leveled the indoor and outdoor arenas, replaced halter hangers, soaped the wood where horses were chewing, cleaned and organized the workbench/junk area of the barn. There was a lot of work done and the barn feels so refreshed. The BO provided a wonderful white chicken chili and red bean with meat chili that was so tasty, plus krispy kreme donuts too!!
I really love this barn. It feels like home to me.
Your barn sounds perfect!
ReplyDeleteI've found that my horse eats better if the hay net is hung toward the front of the stall where he can eat without turning to look out. I don't know if it would help Ashke but it's an idea.
ReplyDeleteAllow me to make a prediction. If you enjoy your first LD, I predict you will move barns. I was in a similar situation, at a show barn, but they were not flexible enough with amount of turnout, so I had to leave for "rougher" places. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I did.
Ashke eats his hay fairly well, except in the morning sometimes when he is jonesing to get into turnout. I wouldn't want to move his hay forward, since quite frequently the horses throw their bags outside of their stalls to hang in front. I could see Ashke joining that game.
DeleteAs far as turnout goes, he gets two hours a day, seven days a week. That is by far the most of any barn I've been to or seen in the Denver area. And its included in the board costs. His first barn cost me $50 a week for turnout. His second barn did two hours, three days a week in a dry lot without company. His third barn would have done 30 minutes in the round pen for $65 a month, four days a week. I feel incredibly lucky that we have turnout and seven days a week is amazing. I can't put him in a field or paddock with other horses, because he wouldn't get enough to eat, plus he has to have his supplements.
Finally, although this barn has riders who show (and I am one of those in Working Equitation) it also has plenty of people who just want to enjoy their horse, take the occasional lesson and ride around the back field on a nice day. As far as I know, there is no drama, just a very supportive group of people.
Wow, Ashke and Baasha are so alike, you seem to have all the same issues I did. I couldn't put him in a field with others as he got older for that same reason. I was lucky to find a place with three horses and two pastures, and he got his own, so he was fine. But when he came to Germany he was in field with 2 others and he turned into a skeleton even though there was enough hay, he just didn't want to compete for it. Then I brought him home and was able to finally get weight on him. To keep weight on Mag, I have to separate my two every day for an hour, so he can get his supplements and mash, otherwise the donkey would steal it. That wouldn't work at most barns.
DeleteThe barn is gorgeous and the fact they the BO is willing to make improvements is amazing. So few are. I’ve never heard of that arena stuff and will be googling it.
ReplyDeleteThe Arena Kleen is amazing. I first heard of it on Bakersfield's blog - her barn owner used it on their outdoor arena - and then did a bunch of research. A lot of people in Colorado use magchloride, which wouldn't really work for us, since the horses are stalled around the edges of the indoor arena. The footing is amazing and at least my trainer says she doesn't have to use her inhaler when she is giving lessons any more. It is biodegradable and completely non-toxic. There is no smell and the footing is even better than it was before the application. I love the stuff.
DeleteWhat a great barn! The places where you feel truly at home are worth their weight in gold. Thanks for giving us the tour :) Horse keeping out there is so different than it is here, and I love seeing the runs and the various set ups that people have. Those mountain views can't possibly ever get old... WOW!
ReplyDelete