Brrr!
What a cold night! Before bed horses were given a warm beet bulp mash and had access to free choice hay and hay nets all night long. This morning before the sun came up, they were fed the same warm mash (and were told to not get used to it!) and more hay.
Why do the coldest mornings have the best sunrises?
Chilly Start to the Morning
It was a chilly start to the day, our first really cold morning. Horses had plenty of hay over night to help keep them warm and this morning enjoyed their breakfast mixed with warm water. Tank heaters are in and doing their job keeping the horses with drinkable water.
If you build it, they will come...
After a day of moving dirt and leveling, it took another day and 8 loads of sand to fill the standard sized dressage arena.
The manufactured sand gives the arena a little more grip for those rainy days and a little cushion for cold (frozen) ground days. Riders are still encouraged to ride in the pastures, especially when their horses get tired of those 20m circles…
First phase finished! Next phase is some edging…do you have suggestions? Send Kelly an email at: Kelly.L.Howe@gmail.com
Sleepy in the Sun
Finally a break in clouds and temperatures! The horses have enjoyed the sun yesterday and today.
Winter Wonderland!
This was what we woke up to this morning! Yay snow!
The shelters held up well during the rain, wind and snow. Jack and Sage were huddled together during the cold rain, staying nice and dry last night and here they are waiting for breakfast this morning:
Flynn and Kodi were dry and warm under the shelter next to the barn. Here is Flynn sporting a frosty mustache.
Everyone was warm this morning but they still enjoyed the hot water in the breakfast.
When the planets align...
If you were out just as sunrise started, you were treated to a lovely view. Now only was the sunrise beautiful (the picture below doesn't do it justice) but the moon was out with three planets:
the bright dot between the horizon and the moon is Venus. If you look very carefully to the right of the moon, you will see a couple of pixels that is slightly brighter than the background- that is Jupiter. Between the two would have been a reddish dot if you were there in person (the phone camera can't capture enough light to resolve Jupiter well or Mars at all but they were there) and that is Mars. If you go out about 6:30am tomorrow, you should be able to see the same line up again.
A good day!
Today we loaded another couple of months worth of hay in the barn AND started work on arena improvements. Despite having the arena dug up to flatten it, there were no rocks that came to the surface so its ready to ride!
Its being to feel a lot like Christmas!
Beautiful sunrise this morning!
It may not look like Christmas yet but a chilly start this morning with a windchill in the teens made it feel like it. With their thick winter coats, the horses didn't seem to mind. Tank heaters allowed them access to warm water all night and this morning they had hot water in their breakfast. Happy horses!
Shelter!
It might have taken all day Saturday (no really, we finished with flash lights and head lamps), but the small pasture now has a great shelter!
It came in three boxes delivered by semi truck to the end of the driveway.
So many pieces....
The first part, bolting the frame together, went surprisingly fast. Anyone who has tried to dig into the ground in NWA knows why the anchoring part too longer than expected.
And here is the finished product (picture taken the next day as we finished in the dark with flash lights and head lamps).
Early Mornings
Morning is the best time of the day! The horses are ready to greet you (okay, waiting for their breakfast, but we can pretend) and the scenery can't be beat. Here are some of the best sunrises from the last 6 weeks or so.
Early October with the sun streaming through the trees into the arena.
Just a couple short weeks later, the sun rise is a little later in the morning and shifted slightly to the south east (our riding instructor is also an astronomy instructor at Northwest Arkansas Community College).
Jayden and Summer enjoying some hay at the break of dawn.
Moving horses part 1
Moving Day! Part 1.
Moving Day Part ! Gramps and Seriff were the first horses here, followed shortly by a flat trailer tire fix and then Sage and Kodi. Everyone settled in very quickly and with no issues. Thank you Erin for hauling the horses for us! Macchi joined his friends a couple of days later. He is easy to spot in the pasture- just look for the only dark horse or the only one who is over 14.2hh!
Sage and Kodi.
Gramps and Seriff
Here we come!
The paperwork has been signed! Tavarish Equestrian Services (TES) has a new home at Serenity Farm. We have 8 acres split into three pastures and a large yard to graze in, an open barn to build as we need and a trailer for secure tack storage. Now to get the pastures brush-hogged and the horses home!
