horse care

This past winter, Tonka and I had a terrible time with static electricity, which culminated in a disaster in the cross-ties. He got shocked, pulled back, panicked, pulled back harder, and flung out of the broken cross-ties like out of a sling shot. It took me a couple of weeks […]

Soothing Horse Grooming Anti-Static Spray

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Almost two weeks ago, Tonka left The Ark for his new home in Maine. The Ark was the perfect boarding barn and it was a challenge to find a place where my horse would be as content. I realistically accepted that there’d be compromises, but I also know Tonka well […]

Tonka Settles In

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This face mask makes me look like a court jester!   Much better.   In all seriousness, fly masks can be a life-changer for a horse. They keep the biting and annoying insects out of ears and eyes. For horses with white pigment around the eyes, they can literally save […]

Fashion Fail/ Fashion Forward

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If I’m in the room with five people, and there’s one mosquito, I’ll be the one that gets bit. Some people are like that. We give off whatever it is that the biting insects use for navigation. Some horses are like that too. Tonka is one of them. He attracts […]

Itches and Scritches

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I have a barn hack for you today! Finding the right saddle for your horse can be a journey as challenging as finding the right horse in the first place. Tonka has very specific ideas about what he wants on his back. (I wrote about that here.) Now that we […]

Stirrup Bags Barn Hack

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I’ve been thinking about horse stall design. Not all horses have to live in stalls. When I found Tonka, he was living in a huge grass pasture with another horse. They had a shed for shelter and could come and go as they pleased. I like the idea of a […]

A Stall for Tonka

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It’s still so cold that Tonka is turned out in a sheet or blanket.   But it’s been warming up to above 40° F in the afternoons. That’s a good thing/bad thing. The trails are clear of ice!   But the ticks have woken up. The other day, scratching the […]

Hands On Grooming for Tick Season

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In April, the Goat Boys, Pip and Caper, will be ten years old. They’re twins. They arrived here when they were 10-weeks old. They are delightful, charming, clever, and optimistic. I adore them.  Wethers (neutered male goats) can live to be twelve years old. Some live to be fourteen. So, the […]

A New Life For Old Goats

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The barn where I currently keep Tonka is perfect. Few people who board their horses can say that. I’ve written about why it is so wonderful in this post, but I’ll summarize that in one sentence: Tonka is happy. But perfection doesn’t last. The barn is changing hands and this […]

Looking For a New Boarding Barn

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