Hope Springs Farm

08/09/2024

Loosing a friend is never easy, but especially hard when they are as sweet, gentle and kind as Rollo. He and his owner Amanda, came to us over thirteen years ago and have been part of our "family" ever since.

When we take in boarders, they become part of us and form a special bond. When we saw that at 32yo, he was beginning to struggle with weight, stability and eating, we knew it was time. It's never easy, but I will take a planned "peaceful" exit any day, over one of fear, pain and anxiety.

There is no way that Rollo's presence will go unfelt. His "Eeyore" personality, stubbornness, and very strong opinions on life will be missed sorely. Run on good horse and Godspeed until we meet again.

05/02/2024

They arrived this past weekend!

The swallows are coming back. They weigh about 20 grams, but they covered more than 5000 km during the flight. They passed through the Sahara desert. They flew over the Mediterranean without having a break. They fought the rain and wind, and the scorching sun. They are extraordinary little beings. . And now they will live under the roofs of our homes and bear the offspring. Embrace their presence. Be kind to them. Respect them. One swallow can eat up to 850 flies and mosquitoes a day. One pair can kill about 1,700 flies and mosquitoes a day. There is no more effective and ecological insecticide ... Make them feel welcome here

03/11/2024

Just another day teaching!

01/11/2024

“Farm work doesn’t make you stronger. It doesn’t make you anything. It reveals you.

There’s gym strong and then there’s farm strong. They’re mutually exclusive.

The toughest women you’ll ever meet spend their days on a farm.

There are more uses for twine than you can possibly imagine. You can tie up a hole in a slow feeder, fashion a tail strap for a horse’s blanket, mend a broken fence and use it as a belt.

“Well that certainly didn’t go as planned,” is one thing you’ll say quite a bit.

Control is a mere illusion. The thought that you have any, at any given time, is utterly false.

Sometimes sleep is a luxury. So are lunch and dinner. And brushing your hair.

If you’ve never felt your obliques contract, then you’ve never tried stopping an overly full wheelbarrow of horse manure from tipping over sideways. Trust me, you’ll find muscles that you never knew existed on the human skeleton to prevent this from happening.

When one of the animals is ill, you’ll go to heroic lengths to minimize their discomfort.
When you lose one of them, even though you know that day is inevitable, you still feel sadness, angst and emotional pain from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. And it’s a heaviness that lingers even though you must regroup and press on.

You’ll cry a lot. But you’ll never live more fully. You’ll remain present no matter what because you must. There is no other option.

You’ll ask for so many miracles and hold out hope until the very last.

You will, at least once, face-plant in the manure pile.

You’ll find yourself saying things like, “we have maybe twenty minutes of daylight left to git ‘er done” whilst gazing up at a nonspecific place in the sky.

You’ll become weirdly obsessive about the weather.

You’ll go out in public wearing filthy clothes and smelling of dirt, sweat and p**p. People will look at you sideways and krinkle their noses but you won’t care.

Your entire day can derail within ten seconds of the rising sun.

You can wash your coveralls. They won’t look any cleaner, but they will smell much nicer.

Farm work is difficult in its simplicity.

You’ll always notice just how beautiful sunrises and sunsets really are.

Should you ever have the opportunity to work on a farm, take the chance! You will never do anything more satisfying in your entire life.

Well, that about sums it up, folks!” - unknown author

So true. All of it.
Cheers, Christina - Handley Acres Metal Creations

12/25/2023

Merry Christmas from our farm family ~

12/17/2023

12/10/2023

Beginning this week, I thought it would be interesting to post a weekly topic. Sort of a question and answer type of idea.

The question often comes up why we don't allow others to feed the horses. Although we have signs posted along our fence line, we still have to remind people that have stopped to feed the horses, that this is simply not allowed. Here's why, and please feel free to remind your non- horsey friends.
1. These are privately owned horses and as such we prefer that strangers not feed them. Just like you would not want someone to feed your child or your dog without you knowing or permission.
2. Many of our horses have dietary restrictions and you don't know that something you're feeding may just kill them.
3. Some of our horses also have dental issues and therefore something being fed to them could cause them to choke since they can't chew properly.
4. When horses are given treats over the fence, they begin to fight and can injure themselves or other horses.
5. They BITE! Horses cannot tell the difference between your child's finger and a carrot.
6. Last but not least, the sign says "do not feed". I once had a woman retort "it's just grass". Well, you're still.... feeding... so...🚫

09/17/2023

04/07/2023

Full of the joys of Spring, Happy Easter!

03/01/2023

I shall
Gather up
All the lost souls
That wander this earth
All the ones that are alone
All the ones that are broken
All the ones that never really fitted in
I shall gather them all up
And together we shall find our home

“Gather up” A Poem written by Athey Thompson
Taken from A Little Book Of Poetry
By Athey Thompson

Photograph taken from “Through the back door” by J Pickford and A Green

02/11/2023

💚GO BIRDS!! 🦅💚

01/05/2023

This is so very true. Some things I’m still learning. Here’s to 2023

For my fellow barn owners/ trainers out there!

Lessons learned long and hard in the horse business as a professional..

1. It's easy to fall in love with your customers. They become a family who you spend a lot of time with. However, in the end they will do what's best for themselves. And, for you and them, those paths may not be the same. Prepare to get your heart broken. Keep business and personal relationships separate.

2. People will not always trust in your experience and will second guess you. They will think they know better because they read it in a book, or saw it online. Don't try to be all things to all people. Do what you are good at. Run your barn in a way that you can sleep at night knowing that you did right in your mind by them and their horses. The clients opinion of that may be different than your beliefs, but you have to live with choices that leave you at peace. That may mean confrontation, hard conversations and even asking people to move on for your own peace.

3. Horses are easy 99% of the time. It's the people who come with them that make things complicated.

4. Remember that horses need to be horses.

5. People will always judge you, and have opinions. The better you are, the more haters will have opinions.

6. Success isn't measured by ribbons and show placings. It's measured in happy animals and the quality of their lives.

7. There is always an exception or quirk that doesn't " follow the rules" in horse care. Do what works, not what the books say works.

8. When you get annoyed by seeing somebody's car pull in to the barn, it's time to let that person move on. Your barn should be a happy place. It literally only takes one bad sour apple to ruin the whole atmosphere and dynamic in a barn.

9. Let it go.... if someone moves on don't be upset by it. Ignore what they say. Don't take it personally. Every barn is not a good fit for every person.

10. This is a business. If a person or horse isn't working for you, or the compensation isn't offsetting your cost, it's time for them to go. The exception to this is your retired horses, see #11.

11. Horses only have so many jumps, so many runs, so many rides. Don’t waste your horses. Teach your students they aren’t machines. You owe it to your retired horses to have a safe, comfortable and dignified end. Your schoolies worked for you. When the time comes they can no longer do that, either give them a pleasant retirement, or put them in the ground where you know they are safe. Do not dump them at auctions or onto other people where you are not 100% sure that they will be cared for.

12. There is no shame in euthanasia for a horse owner. Always better a week too early then a second too late. Do not judge anyone for their reasons for doing this.

13. Most clients fall Into two categories. Those who are "high maintenance", open in their opinions and will confront situations head on. The second is the quiet type who will not say a word and will not openly talk with you about their expectations or issues. You have no idea they have a problem until it's too late. The people in between these two are the clients you want. They will be long term and make life easy.

14. Know your worth. KNOW YOUR WORTH. Your time and experience has a monetary value. Don't do things for free, even if you like the person. Every bit of time or effort you give to clients has value. So when you don't value your effort, neither will a client. They will come to expect "freebies", which always leads to resentment from someone.

15. Be honest. It's not always easy. But in this business it takes forever to build reputation and seconds to destroy it.

16. Remember horses are dangerous. Always use your best judgment and air on the side of caution when working with horses and students. Their lives and your own life can change in an instant.

17. Get paid up front. Keep good records. People don't go to the grocery store and ask for food they will pay for next week. Good business practices keep everyone honest and sets boundaries for clients.

18. Normalize passing on price increases. Service industries, especially ones like ours always "feel guilty " when raising prices. You are not there to subsidize someone else's horse habit. Prices have been going up on costs, so should your fees.

19. The buck stops with you. Your employees mistakes fall back to your responsibility. Always verify and check on important care aspects of daily activities.

20. Make time for family and rest. Too many of us get burnt out from the stress of expectations in this industry. In the end, boarders and students come and go. Your family is who you will have left.

Thanks for reading my thoughts. I hope it can help support some of you feeling burnt out, and maybe help some people who are starting out in their journey into this industry.

Written by Rhea Distefano

11/24/2022

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family!

09/04/2022

😂