High Meadow Stables

04/22/2024

Hope to see you there!

01/25/2024

Nothing like a fun fact sheet to help us understand how horses stay warm! Our High Meadow herd is making it through these TX cold spells in the happiest and healthiest of ways 🤠

FUN FACT FRIDAY! Are you familiar with the many adaptations that help your horse stay warm during the cold winter months?

🌾 Hindgut digestion of hay produces the most heat, acting as a small furnace inside of the horse. This is why free choice, good quality hay is so important in the winter.

💪 Horses have a huge muscle mass and muscle activity produces heat. This includes running and playing and even shivering if their body temperature starts to drop. It is important to remember that these activities also will result in a bigger caloric demand so free choice hay and in some cases, grain, is often needed.

🧥 To blanket or not to blanket is a constant debate but either way, as it starts to get cold your horse will grow a thicker coat. If you decide to leave your horse unblanketed you may notice that they look “fluffy”. This is due to a phenomenon called piloerection where the hair stands up to better trap air within. Two layers of the coat also help with warmth. The inner layer is softer and has air pockets to create an insulating layer. The outer layer is coarse and has oils that keep moisture from penetrating the insulating layer and keep the horse warm.

⚖️ Wild horses go into the winter heavier than ideal and the fat serves as an extra layer of insulation. However, if a horse is going to be kept heavily blanketed and in a barn during the cold weather months this is unnecessary and can lead to obesity related issues.

🦵Their distal limbs (below the knees and hocks) are made of mostly bones and tendons, tissues that are resistant to the cold temperatures.

🦶The hooves have an alternative route of blood circulation through larger vessels that can be used in low temperatures. This is why horses can stand in snow without detrimental effects.

👃A horse’s nose has a robust blood supply and is rounded so that it is less susceptible to frostbite than a human’s nose.
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Courtesy of the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee

09/09/2023

High Meadow Stables is happy to announce it is under new ownership and has stall, run-in and pasture boarding availability! Feel free to message us on FB, give us a call for more information or you can visit our website at HighMeadowStables.org for details of the property. Below is a summary of our full-care boarding offerings:
* Facility:
* 56 large stalls across 3 barns
* 4 run-in sheds (will be fully renovated in Sept)
* Pasture boarding
* Each barn has large tack rooms (newly renovated), dedicated grooming areas and wash racks (newly renovated) with H/C water
* Daily stall cleaning
* Across the street from the beautiful, shady, Lake Lewisville equestrian trails. Ride 21 miles in one direction, or enjoy short evening rides on one of the beautiful loop trails!
* Amenities:
* Barn manager and wranglers who live on-site ensuring the best of care for all horses and boarders
* High quality local grain delivered fresh every two weeks
* Coastal hay fed 2x daily
* Daily pasture turnout on dry and grass 10+ acre lots surrounded by wood fencing from 8a-3p, weather permitting
* Night checks by barn manager
* Indoor arena
* Large Outdoor arena
* Trailer parking
* Hot walker
* Round pen
* All breeds and disciplines welcome!
* Friendly drama-free environment
* Recommended by local vets

08/26/2023

High Meadow Stables (previously known as High Meadow Arabians) is proud to announce we are under new ownership. As part of maintaining current operations of being an all-breed boarding facility we are happy to introduce our new Barn Manager, Amelia Thompson. Amelia has an extensive background with owning, showing and caring for horses. She has many accomplishments in the western all-around show pen as well as being on the NCAA Women’s Equestrian Horsemanship Team at Kansas State University. Now, as High Meadow’s Barn Manager she works alongside our experienced horse Wranglers to oversee the day-to-day care of all horses on the property including her own horse Juliet (pictured). Feel free to message us directly about stall, run-in and pasture boarding availability! You can also visit our website at HighMeadowStables.org for more information about our boarding program and property details.