Unfortunately, due to the circumstances of the past several months, our beautiful farm is being offered for sale. Ranch Marketing Associates, with the help of Ron Morris and Lar Voss, have done a beautiful job of representing the property.
See the following link for more information:
In the meantime, our horses and wonderful clients will continue to enjoy the property and call it home!
We are excited to host Stephan here this week on Thursday and Friday, June 17th and 18th. We are FULL with riders, but we encourage auditors to come and join us for just $25/day. Also, visit our Clinicians page of the website to read more about Stephan. Please see below for the schedule and cross your fingers for good weather!
Thurs. June 17th
8:15 Trixie
9:00 Brook
9:45 Mary E.
10:30 Trixie
11:15 Teresa
12:00 LUNCH
1:00 Jane
1:45 Sue
2:30 Anne
3:15 Eileen
4:00 Sue
4:45 Kelly
Friday June 18th
8:15 Trixie
9:00 Kelly
9:45 Anne
10:30 Eileen
11:15 Mary E.
12:00 LUNCH
1:00 Sue
1:45 Trixie
2:30 Jane
3:15 Sue
4:00 Teresa
4:45 Brook
Liz & David Schump
On May 2nd, our little farm lost two very special people. The heart and soul behind Chatellen Farm was taken from us in a tragic accident. There are no words, so I will share a quote from their “celebration of life” service:
Blessed are you whose love has created families.
Bless members of our family who are here and those far away,
those that are living and those who have died.
Open our eyes to see your goodness in one another.
Open our ears to hear one another’s needs.
Open our mouths to say uplifting words.
Open our arms to accept one another.
Open our hearts to be loving and forgiving.
Rest in peace, Liz and David, and know that you will live on forever in the hearts of the ones you left behind.
Recently we took on the immense, and necessary, task of re-doing the footing in the indoor arena. After consulting with Footings Unlimited, we established a plan to level out our base and then reuse the existing footing but spread it back out evenly, creating a better riding surface. We contracted with Jack Goodell, and as you can see below, his crew got right to work!
Making a pile of all the footing was the first step.
As you can see in the above picture, we had to make a giant pile of all the footing at one end of the arena. This allowed us to keep the footing from being contaminated, and also allowed the crew to level out the base on half of the arena at a time. They used an incredible laser tool that was set to a specific height and sensors were placed on their equipment, so that one uniform surface was created.
A large grader leveled the base.
After they leveled the base on most of the arena, they spread the pile of footing out and then were able to level the remainder of the base (what was under the footing pile). The laser tool again came in handy as they were able to precisely set the level at the same height as the rest of the arena, therefore ensuring the most level base possible. Once the base was completed, the crew set out to spread the footing back over the arena in a uniform thickness. We had previously decided that the arena had too much material in it before, so we had them spread it thinner. This again was accomplished with the use of the laser and many, many passes of the large equipment!
Spreading the footing using a box grader.
Spreading out the footing over the now level base.
The grader levels with the help of the laser.
The completed footing is fantastic! After spreading out the footing, and taking a bit out, we had all the footing treated with the dust-free product; Arena RX. We are thrilled to have completed this project so quickly, and proud of yet another improvement to our facility!
All the footing is back in place.
The finished product!
Zichichi Vineyard in the Russian River Valley
I was so excited to be in California, but our accommodations were a little slice of heaven. Located amidst the vines of Benovia Winery, we had quite the view each morning.
Morning mist over the vineyard.
For those of you not familiar with California wine country, the Russian River Valley is just north of Santa Rosa and is known for growing Chardonnays and Pinot Noir. And although this is the rainy season for Northern California, we were lucky enough to enjoy some sunshine, the spectacular cherry blossoms, and some wine!
Cherry trees line the lane at Trentadue Winery
We even found some happy equines in Napa Valley, and I couldn’t help but think how our snowbound horses would love to have an afternoon on this green field!
Horses in the Napa countryside
Pretty soon it was time to head home, although Delight seemed to enjoy her California accommodations, she seemed willing enough to load the trailer and return to Colorado.
Delight in her CA stall.
We stopped overnight at a delightful “horse motel” called Suzie Creek Arabians. They provided a clean, well-bedded stall so that our weary equine traveler could get some rest. Delight was bright eyed the next morning and ready to hit the road!
Delight, wrapped and ready to go!
The Chatellen rig, complete with driver.
Are we there yet?
So, from Elko, NV we made the final day of driving across the remainder of Nevada, all of Utah and Wyoming and into Northern Colorado. It was a beautiful trip, but I think I speak for the horse when I say, “It’s nice to be home!”
Home Sweet Colorado Home
I was reading the new March issue of Dressage Today, taking the opportunity of the snowy day and my employer being out-of-town (I raided her mailbox!), and came across yet another article on deworming practices. This must be the 3rd or 4th article of its kind that I have seen recently and I find it overwhelming, yet important.
The issue is; have we created parasite resistance to our commonly relied upon drugs by using them in rotation for all these years? And how do we prevent the situation from getting worse?
This, and other articles, refer to testing our horses using fecal egg counts to determine which horses are “high egg shedders”. These animals need to be dewormed more frequently using similar rotation methods that are already in practice. Low or moderate shedders, 70-80% of horses generally fall in this catagory, need only be dewormed 2-3 times a year and therefore would help to prevent resistance in parasite populations. However, this requires some investment of time and money on the part of the individual horse owner. So, is it possible to get all the owner’s in a barn to agree to this type of testing in order to benefit the entire herd? Are we ready for that? Those are the questions that cross my mind as a barn manager and individual horse owner. I know that soon this will be an issue we need to face head on as it may not be an option in the near future!
*To read the article I am referring to above, see the new issue of Dressage Today, March 2010 on page 77 & 78, “Parasite Control” by Hoyt Cheramie, DVM.
Well here it is, the middle of January, still very much winter, and your horse’s coat has grown in the clip you gave him just a couple of months ago. So do you clip him again? There are a few factors in this decision…
Well just some things to think about as we head into the last half of the winter! Stay warm!
Hunter Clip
Trace Clip
Blanket clip
As promised, here are some pictures of our recent weather here on the farm. It might have been a bit miserable, but it sure was picturesque!
Across the outdoor.
The view facing West.
Main barn in snow.
Picnic in snow.
View facing East.
Trees and fence in snow.
Facing South at the outdoor.
Wow, it is really snowing! I easily have a foot overall on the farm, but in places it has drifted to well over two feet. Here are a few tips for avoiding “change in weather” horse issues:
That is all the handy tips I have for now, I’ll try to post some pictures of the winter wonderland outside! Until then, it looks like it will be a white Christmas! Stay warm!
I always find this time of year to be magical. Not only the snow and the decorations, but there is something about everyone’s spirits that lends to a joyful feeling that is hard to duplicate any other time during the year. However, some of my favorite holiday memories are made with my equine friends out in the barn. I love being greeted every morning to the song of nickers, and around the holidays it is even more special. Not that horses know that it is any different than any other day, but all the same, I love it! One of my favorite traditions is giving a special treat to my horses on Christmas morning. Below is a couple recipes that will make anyone smile, horse or human and I hope they inspire you to share the magic of the season with your horse!
A Dash of Christmas Mash
6 cups sweet feed*
1 1/2 cups bran
1 apple, quartered
3 carrots, sliced
1/2 cup molasses
Hot water
Place ingredients in feed bucket. Pour on enough hot water to just cover all ingredients. Cover bucket with towel and let steam until cool enough to eat, but still thoroughly warm. Remove towel and mix thoroughly.
*Do not use sweet feed if it isn’t part of your horses’ regular diet. This ingredient can be substituted with your horses’ normal concentrate, or eliminated out of the recipe all together.
Rolled Carrot Nibbles
3 carrots with the green tops
1/3 cup cracked corn or feed
1/4 cup molasses
Brown sugar
Cut up carrots into 3 inch pieces. Cut carrot tops off, set aside. Pour molasses onto a plate with a lip. Mix in enough brown sugar, about 1-3 tablespoons, to thicken molasses. Onto another plate, spread feed or cracked corn.
Roll carrots in the molasses mixture until they are completely covered. Then, roll carrots in the feed or cracked corn. Place rolled carrots directly in feed bucket. Wrap the carrot tops around carrots, for a delicious addition to a sweet treat. If you have extra sauce, dribble over the top of treats.
Happy Holidays!