Long Road Farm

01/26/2025

Thanks to Larch Vet for putting on a fabulous education day!

Equine vets have one of the highest injury risks of all civilian professions. To help address this serious issue the British Equine Veterinary Association (B...

01/25/2025

What do we 💕 about Transfeeder hay? This premium hay is air cleaned to remove dirt and dust, heat treated to eliminate spores, and it's CFIA inspected.💕

01/21/2025

👀 buckles matter!
Does your bridle have buckles which cover the TMJ? Are they stacked on top of each other?

It is extremely important that your bridle fits as well as your saddle!
Just look at all the nerves that exist in the horses head! All those pressure points!

It's important the buckles don't stack, don't cover the TMJ.

Does your horse rub its head during or after the bridle is on?
It's trying to tell you it has pins and needles and so the bridle is pressing on any of these nerves and is trying to rub feeling back into the area.

Discomfort around the head can lead to
- head staking
- head tossing
- tilting head
- avoiding flexing
- avoiding relaxing
- tension in jaw, neck, poll, shoulder
- poking nose
- high head carriage
- over bent head carriage
Avoiding work!

Get your bit and bridle checked! It's very important to your horses comfort and relaxation!
Let's stop anxiety and promote welfare!

01/17/2025

Our super fun Family Weekend Sleigh Ride Social is back! This Feb 15th and 16th, come to the farm for a sleigh ride adventure. Enjoy the “backstage views” of Caravan’s 80 acres, and get to know the teams and teamsters who drive for the winter sleigh ride show. Book through our website.

Bonfires will be crackling, and our concession will be serving an array of local and homemade foods and drinks: hot chocolate, Crannog Ales, and Okanagan Spirits Pear Brandy and Whiskey. We will be serving homemade chili and fresh focaccia bread, and for the kids (and adults) who like to cook their own food, we will be offering hot dogs for roasting on the open fire (vegetarian chili and hot dog options will be available). Come on into the fabled “Cookshack” our artist’s home away from home, to warm up, enjoy your meal, and visit with friends old and new.

Let’s get together!

01/16/2025

Yummy new doughnuts on Deep Creek Rd!

01/16/2025

01/13/2025

What a magical day at Long Road Farm. The sun has made an appearance! 🌞

01/13/2025

Upcoming Webinar: Horse Brain vs Human Brain - Cross Species Communication for Horse Professionals with Janet Jones January 13, 2024 11:00 am Pacific, 1:00 pm Central, 2:00 pm Eastern Place: Online - Attend via your phone or computer Speaker: Janet Jones Summary: When you ride and work with horses p...

01/13/2025

Yes they are cute, as are all puppies, but the Cavalier King Charles spaniel is also a gentle little pup who makes a wonderful companion. These friendly little guys are raised in the house and they are getting a lot of socializing and attention.

01/09/2025

Puppy photoshoot time! These sweeties are Cavalier King Charles spaniels with a dash of Bichon Frise.

01/09/2025

🐴❓I do not have access to an indoor arena and ride when the winter weather and footing cooperate. I think my horses get bored as some of them will chew on the fence or their feed pans. What can I do to keep them content during the off season? ❓🐴 ⬇️

Horses have a strong desire to actively seek food, socialize, and move. If these desires are not met, a horse may cope through stereotypic behaviors like chewing. Riding, as the weather permits, can help keep your horse active. However, the following tips may serve to reduce your horse's chewing behavior by satisfying his natural instincts on a daily basis.

🐎 Provide turnout or routine exercise when possible.

Turnout can give your horse freedom to move around and search for food. When kept in turnout full time, your horse should have access to a shelter to protect them from wind and precipitation. If stalling, develop a routine exercise program for your horse. While riding may not always be an option, lunging or hand walking can keep them active and allow a change of scenery from their stall.

🌾⏰ Maximize the time they spend eating forage.

Horses have evolved to eat about 14.5 hours per day. Keeping hay in front of them can help satisfy their need to forage and prevent them from seeking alternative materials to chew on like fencing, feed pans, or even bedding. Horses fed 2 percent of their body weight in hay, split into two meals per day and fed off the ground, typically spend about 6 hours eating each day. In contrast, using a medium- or small-holed hay net can increase the time spent eating to 10 and 13 hours daily, respectively. If restrictive feeders are not an option for your farm, consider providing a stemmy, more mature hay in addition to your horse's normal hay meal. A mature hay is a healthy option for your horse to munch on without greatly increasing their energy intake.

🐴🐴 Allow your horse to socialize when possible (e.g., group housing).

As herd animals, horses crave companionship. While it is not always practical or safe to house horses together, keeping horses within eyesight of one another can help satisfy this desire. Horses completely isolated with no sight of companions may become anxious and spend less time eating and more time pacing. Working around or handling an anxious horse can be dangerous.

01/09/2025

This is what you guys did! 🙂

A big thank you to everyone including Robert, who brought the hay, unloaded it and put it in the shed.

There are two more pallets but they're under a tarp-- no more room at the inn!

Again, can't tell you all just how appreciated you are!

01/09/2025

This may be too simplistic to be worth saying, but here goes---The best way to get used to the feeling of riding, to get in tune with the motions of a horse, is to ride as many hours as many days a week as you can manage to do.

For some, that’s impossible, for any number of reasons. Others have access and the time, but choose not to spend much time riding. That leaves the relative few who have access, time and desire. It will be no surprise when these riders improve.

“Fairness” and “equal opportunity” don’t have anything to do with this. Either someone can or she can’t. The better riders are usually the same riders who figure out how to get in lots and lots of riding time.

This is not a difficult concept to understand.

If you want to get better, spend more time looking between more ears.

01/06/2025

Worth a read!

01/06/2025

Going to keep this as simple as you should...Want to help your horse stay warm during cold nights??

Feed more hay!

Horses are better equipped to deal with cold than we are. Aside from their thick, insulated coat, the digestion of forage acts like an internal furnace to help warm them from the inside out.

You can use a slow feeder to slow down the fast eaters or “fluffy” ones (🙋🏼‍♀️ I have one of those!), but having access at all times is important.

A few other things to consider are adding extra salt or an electrolyte (like Bluebonnet Hydrate and Recover) or wetting down existing feed to help with water consumption. For older horses with bad teeth, increase their chopped forage or hay pellets at their evening meal. Avoid adding things they don’t eat on a daily basis like a mash of something other than their normal feed or a type of hay they don’t already eat daily. This can only add to digestive distress.

At the end of a cold day, feed more hay 😘

01/02/2025

What better way to start the new year than with a cuppa and a new novel.

01/02/2025