Stillpoint Farm Boarding Stable

If you have something you need to talk to me about, I prefer emails to phone calls, and phone calls to notes left on the tack room door which I might not see for a day or two--unless it's the kind of note that won't MATTER if I'm walking around in a daze and don't notice it for a day or two. That said, I'm very easy to get hold of, I do check my emails, all of us have cell phones, and most of the time I do see the blinking light on the answering machine in the kitchen that means that someone's left a message.

One point about notes: the more positive they are the more likely they will achieve the purpose for which they were intended. I prefer ones phrased in the round-about, benefit-of-the-doubt approach to the stark command format. It's a small barn and it has been my experience that poorly phrased notes can generate unintended negative feelings. If there's a problem face-to-face is usually the best way to work things out, and we can set up a time to sit down and talk over a cup of tea. 

In terms of caring for the horses, the key ingredients are good nutrition, a generally predictable routine, and turnout, turnout, turnout. Horses are a lot easier to take care of when they're getting what they need, and the first place to look in evaluating a stable is at the horses themselves, individually and in the group as a whole. While we're not always perfect we do our best, and the care we give them must be good enough because we've got a friendly, nice looking bunch of horses, coats shiny now that they've shed their winter coats, eyes bright and ears up when anybody comes to the gate. Even the ones that come in with issues settle in after a bit--some of them it takes about 10 minutes after getting off the trailer for them look around and give a big sigh of relief, like they're saying 'Phew!, finally some grass and some room to run!'

Though we like to have the horses out as much as possible, as the seasons change we of course have to adjust the amount of time they spend in the fields. In the dead of winter they might come in as early as 3:00 while in the summer when it doesn't get dark until four hours later they might stay out til 7:30 or 8:00. We also adjust the amount and frequency of hay feedings, which can be as often as 4 times a day in winter while in the summer most of the horses here spend the day on grass and there's usually still hay left in their stalls from the single feeding of hay from the night before when they're turned out in the morning.

A personal note: Over the years I have developed my own perspective on the old axiom 'horses come first' (in our house growing up that meant literally that you fed the animals in the morning before you poured yourself your first cup of coffee). Now that I'm a year shy of 60, though, I'm more inclined to say 'a horse is a horse' which doesn't mean I don't have great affection for them (well, in truth there have been a few exceptions). There are some horses I still love so much that I don't let myself think of them out there in the world without a lurch in my heart. And I'm truly grateful that I've got a good partner in the one horse in the barn that has my name on the papers.

That said, though, these days I'm pretty down-to-earth about handling the horses under my care. After a few needless batterings from horses that might have behaved differently if they'd been handled more sensibly, I'm a lot less compromising than I used to be on safety issues. In the long run the horses are going to be better off if we humans are around, whole in body, mind and spirit, to take care of them. Bones don't heal as fast at my age as they used to when I was younger and I have a few more things I want to do before I die. People have a lot of different ideas about the best way to take care of horses, and I'm willing to listen and to work with them within limits--after all, savvy horse owners are going to know their own animals better than any vet, farrier or caretaker, and I am eternally grateful for all I've learned from some wise and wonderful horse people (and horses!) who've come my way. But working with horses even without factoring in human error is risky enough. Being a good horse owner means caring as much about us humans--themselves included--as they do about horses. The point I want to make is that good horsemanship has to be a cooperative effort, that I'll be watching your back as well as your horse, and I expect you to do the same for me.

A few specifics:

• If your horse is to be blanketed in the winter, please provide us with a versatile, breathable, water-resistant blanket in good repair that's easy to get on and off. Medium weight is usually fine though you might need an additional heavy-weight blanket if your horse has just moved here from a more temperate climate or has been clipped. We like to have the option of leaving blankets on in the winter rather than having to switch to stable blankets at night, though when the temperature is fluctuating more than 20 degrees by night and by day we will adjust the blankets accordingly.

• We feed Triple Crown brand grains, and believe they are the best on the market. We worked with the nutritionists at Triple Crown to tailor the needs of individual horses with their products. Right now we provide Triple Crown Senior (which is really just a good quality all-around grain) and (for the majority of the horses here) Triple Crown Lite--lots of vitamins and minerals for easy-keepers on good quality grass and hay. If you would prefer another brand and are willing to provide it we will put an extra feed can in the grain room for you. We don't charge for adding supplements but we do like to have them bagged for us if there are more than two. There will be additional charges for horses that require extra hay (average 3/4's a bale year round, more in winter, less in summer) or more than 4 (generous) quarts of grain per day.

• Boarders also have the option of paying an additional $15/mo. for daily wormer. You can read more about daily wormer on the Smartpak site (http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductCompare.aspx?CATID=9 . If you'd prefer to use tube wormer you are certainly welcome to do so, but it's important to coordinate with the other boarders whose horses are pasturemates so the occasional horse with high worm counts doesn't reinfect the pasture. I stopped trying to organize worming days when I became converted to the virtues of daily wormer, so in terms of barn policy the only mandatory times to worm are in October or November after a hard frost with a tube wormer that kills bots (ivermectin) and again sometime in April or May (use one that takes care of tape worm).
• Students who plan to take their horses home for winter break will be charged the reduced rate of $125 for the month of January. All other months are considered full-board months, even if the horse goes home for a week in the spring or leaves a week early in May. To hold a stall over the summer for the following year students pay one month's board for June, July & August ($500 this year).
• We also ask for reimbursements for rehab medical procedures should they be required, though not if it's medication to be mixed in with the grain.
• Last of all, this is only about a 12-horse boarding facility, and things go smoother (and the place is a lot livelier) if owners participate in the care and training of their own horses. Lessons here are fun and not terribly expensive, and now we have TWO excellent instructors, Abby Connolly and Rachel Hackett, and the trails around here are the best. Saturday and Sunday mornings there's almost always somebody to go out with for a hack. Horses, just like people, need a job to do, even if it's only to stand on the cross ties with their eyes closed while a human does a thorough job of brushing them down. We all need attention, and as far as horses go, giving is as good as getting. And without it, well, this world's just a little bit lonelier place to live.