Five Acre Wood Farms

11/09/2024

TEN MILES!! 10! In under 2 hours!

We are getting faster and faster, and I just can't wait to see where we are at the end of winter! All these cool days and long hours are really paying off out here!

11/02/2024

11/01/2024

IT'S NOVEMBER!! Time to start prepping for TURKEY DAY!

These funky Toms were all about saying hello during one of my doggy nail appointments the other day, and they were happy to es**rt me to and from my car while I was there too!

PSA - if anyone in the Middleburg area has pumpkins left over, WE WILL PICK THEM UP! Our goats and other critters would LOVE THEM! They have to be unpainted, unwaxed, etc. pumpkins ❤️

10/09/2024

One last ride before this hurricane arrives.

Praying for the best case scenario for Florida and everyone in it right now, watching the blue skies fade today.

09/27/2024

We are okay! No fences down, barely lost any more of the metal carport roof, and only one limb down! Banana trees are torn to shreds but still standing, but boy, I wish I would've gotten a video of the wind trying to take them away last night!

09/25/2024

Just like with our last major storm, the Jacksonville Equestrian Center IS open for emergency evacuations for our equine friends! I know we are a decent bit east of the forecasted track, but we still have significant flooding in our low-lying areas, so prepare NOW! Do not wait until the storm is here and your barn is under water. Your animals will thank you!

Please complete the online reservation form at http://www.jaxequestriancenter.com/facilities/emergency-evacuations/ or give them a call at (904)-255-4254 for assistance!

09/25/2024

In preparation for this incoming storm, we're sharing a pertinent resource for Livestock owners! In the case of an URGENT EMERGENCY, please get ahold of the Florida Department of Agriculture at (863)-993-5460, or scan the QR code below to fill out their request form for urgent help!

** URGENT - an animal death is imminent, or emergency care is necessary within 48 hours.

A PSA to our amazing clients ahead of the storm!

We will be closing our office tomorrow at noon. We will still be seeing emergencies, however, if our on-call doctor gets bombarded then the photo below is a good second option in case of an emergency with your animals!

We plan to be open for our normal business hours of 8 AM to 4PM on Friday pending the weather.

Stay safe and dry!

09/25/2024

As we enter the fall, and soon winter, hay production slows.

The unwanted horse ads start to appear.

“Beautiful pasture ornament available, very sweet and kind. Cannot be ridden. But only 6 years old so lots of life left!”

Or

“Retired senior horse. Very arthritic so only pasture sound. We love her but can’t justify keeping a horse we can’t ride. We also can’t keep weight on her and she costs too much to feed!”

There are not enough homes out there for horses that have health issues and are “less desirable” due to not being rideable.

Not saying it’s fair but it’s the reality.

If a person doesn’t love a horse enough to keep them through their retirement, expecting a stranger to do so does not make sense.

In fluke cases, sure you may find the unicorn retirement home that has no bad motives and actually intends to keep the horse until they pass.

But, the fact of the matter is that these types of horses are most valuable when sold to auction, usually for meat.

And if the person who lamed them or owned them into their senior years doesn’t care enough to take care of them for life, a stranger with no attachment to the horse isn’t particularly likely to.

Are there some incredibly generous and kind strangers who do this? Yes.

Are there enough of them to keep up with the “demand” of all of these unwanted horses? No.

Rather than rolling the dice and hoping that these unwanted horses will find a soft landing when they’re given away for free or cheap, consider what kindnesses are within your power to offer them.

1. You could keep them, because an unrideable horse generally costs the same as one who is ridden.

2. If you’re unwilling to do so because of their health issues and lack of “usefulness”, you could give them a humane ending with euthanasia.

Horses don’t fear death like people do. They live in the present moment. They don’t spend time worrying about their mortality or if there’s life after death.

So, if that present moment is a miserable existence, that is what their life is. Miserable. That is their reality.

If all they know in the moment is suffering, that’s what their life is comprised of.

Passing off the unwanted horse to be someone else’s issue in lieu of giving them a humane ending may feel more noble because it extends longevity of life, but it doesn’t factor in quality.

A horse being passed off from home to home, always a second class citizen due to being unrideable, isn’t a kindness.

It is humans continuously evading accountability for the care of the horse and instead passing the horse off to be someone else’s problem.

It is the humans feeling morally superior for doing so because they think keeping the horse alive is a kindness.

Even if the life is no life to live.

Or even if it is condemning the horse to be taken to the auction and sold to a kill buyer.

Love your horses enough to love them through their lack of rideability or at least give them a humane end if it’s between that and rolling the dice and throwing them into a market that is already flooded with unwanted horses.

Horses should hold value whether they’re rideable or not but currently, that’s largely not the case.

Rather than ignoring that fact, people need to be honest with themselves about what they’re actually doing.

What their choices put their horses at risk of.

Let your elderly horse pass in the home they’ve known for so long instead of throwing them out into a new environment as soon as they can no longer be ridden.

Give your lesson horses the gift of retirement after they’ve kept your business afloat instead of pawning them off when they are no longer useful.

Or give them the gift of a good death instead of just making them someone else’s problem.

If you do not love the horse that you’ve spent years bonding with enough to keep them through their “less desirable” stages of life, why would a stranger be more likely to do that for you?

Winter is coming. Don’t throw your damaged horses to the “wolves.”

Part of owning horses is caring about them enough to give them a good end.

If you feel like a bad person for euthanizing them because you know retiring them would be the kinder option, that’s likely a sign that you should buck up and keep them into retirement.

The answer is not playing Russian roulette with your horse’s quality of life.

Stop pawning old and lame horses off onto other people.

There is not the amount of kind and caring homes available that people are making it out to be.

Words Stolen from Milestone Equestrian and picture from TheHorse/Google images.

09/19/2024

If you guys haven't noticed, we've been a little quiet lately. We have two lovely new additions to our home!

Meet Sugar and Silver.

Sugar, our perfect little black panther, was found behind the Fire House in Orange Park. After asking all the firefighters and checking out the local neighborhood, we brought her home, got her vetted and spayed, with the intention to adopt her out. Then she absolutely stole our hearts. So we got her a friend. 🤣

Thank you Safe Animal Shelter for letting us bring home Yankee (now Silver)! He and Sugar, after a couple days and slow introductions, are best friends! And as much as they chase the pups around, I think the dogs are loving their new interesting friends.

Unfortunately that means our rescue and fostering capabilities are limited as of right now, but we've been cleaning out A LOT around the house and carport to get ready for some major renovations, to finally make this place not only a home with my own personal touches (since this was originally my dad's place, and since he passed in 2018, I just haven't had the motivation or desire to make any changes or updates to the place) but also more spacious and comfortable for us and all of our fur-family!

09/13/2024

All this rain is HORRENDOUS for those in our community with low lying land and livestock! Mud does NOT go well with hooves.

If anyone local to this area needs a place to evacuate their Equine companions, the Jacksonville Equestrian Center is open for emergency stall rentals.

We are open to take emergency stall reservations. Due to the amount of rain our area and surrounding areas have received. We have opened up our emergency stall rentals for people who are experiencing the effects from the rising water levels.

Must submit reservation at https://jaxequestriancenter.com/facility/emergency-evacuations/

09/04/2024

Remember guys - the backyard breeders pumping out litter after litter of "designer" pups and selling them for top dollar AKC prices are JUST as bad as these larger scale puppy mills.

Adopt or Shop RESPONSIBLY!

September is National Puppy Mill Awareness Month! 🐶 🐾

Puppy mills are large-scale, unregulated, for-profit breeding operations. Puppies from puppy mills are often sick, unsocialized, and live in confined conditions. The adults are forced to breed and are discarded when they are no longer useful. Learn to recognize the red flags; together, we can make a difference and stop the suffering.

09/03/2024

Since I've been doing this on my personal page for a few weeks now, I figured I'd officially move my free food giveaways to the farm page so we can reach more people and give to LOCAL families in need!

ONE BOX OF FOOD. FREE. MUST PICK UP in MIDDLEBURG/CLAY HILL AREA off CR217.

Includes - 2 bags coffee BEANS, larger one is Dark Italian Roast and smaller one (bag busted) is Original. 2 bags Raisins. 3 bags Walnuts. 2 bags Roasted Almonds. 3 cans Diced Tomatoes, no salt. 2 cans Canned Salmon. 4 bags of Supreme Enriched Rice. 1 bag (bag ripped on corner) Split Peas. 2 bags Navy Beans. 1 bag Bagel Thins. 1 Loaf OPENED Italian Bread (out of date, but looks and feels fresh). 2 packages of Ramen noodles (organic & potato starch).

09/02/2024

I know, normally I have a LOT more photos. But it was Orange Park Farmer's & Arts Market FIRST DAY back for the season, and it was just such a fun time I stayed busy busy busy walking around and chatting with some incredible people!

Huge shout-out, as ALWAYS, to the lovely Southern Style Bread Pudding because we FINALLY made it there a little bit earlier and got some of her Classic Style bread pudding - though her banana and blueberry were already sold out. I'm telling you guys, she is THAT GOOD!

And a big welcoming hand to O'Connor Farms, who Facebook won't allow me to tag for some reason. Another woman-owned business, this lovely lady is out here pickling peppers and other fun veggies, and also making unique syrups to add to lemonades, mixed drinks, or different desserts. The possibilities are endless with her products!

Here's the link to her Instagram page, since Facebook likes to make things difficult, and I'd LOVE for everyone to go check out her stuff! https://www.instagram.com/oconnorfarms?igsh=MWhnY2twNjMxY25vdw==

08/28/2024

Kash was ADOPTED!

Thank you to everyone who shared his post, and to the one family who submitted an application to make him theirs! We are SO happy to say that Kash has found his forever home. 🥰🐾

(This is, of course, a late update - mainly because with our adoptions, we always offer a full 14 day trial period to ensure the pet is a good fit with their new family and that they get returned to us if anything doesn't work out).

08/16/2024

We had a couple of clients, new and returning, that wanted to give our new Bathing Services a go! The handsome Golden boys got their fluff all cleaned and grinch toes neatened up (but still left slightly natural), and the lovely Shepherd gal got a full Deshed! They were SUCH great furbabies and as always, it was a pleasure to get them back to feeling funky fresh!

08/07/2024

Mother Nature sure has a way of making up for the crazy weather we go through.

Water is up 16 - 19 feet on the local creeks, other neighborhoods are still under water, but we are SO incredibly lucky to have a high and dry patch here at our farm.

10/08/2023

The PUMPKINS are out guys!! The cheapest large pumpkins I've seen so far have been Walmarts at 4.59! That's not bad at all, especially for kids wanting to carve pumpkins, and that'll give you plenty of seeds for snacking and some leftovers for some pie if carved and cleaned out just right!

Keep the farms and wild animals in your thoughts when carving and decorating these awesome gourds. If you don't bleach them or paint them, you can place them at the back of your fence line if near a wooded area to watch the wildlife snack! Or you can find farms like us (and plenty of others) in our area to donate to the piggies and goats and other critters that will absolutely love the snacks too! 😁

10/01/2023

It's been a slow recovery. Apparently liver infections not only have to run their course on their own, because your liver would essentially dissolve any antibiotics given, but they ALSO are very hard to find a cause for! 🤦‍♀️

I got out of the hospital a few days ago and have been taking it slow. Very slow. My muscles were a little sore from not being used, but now that I'm holding food and water down, I'm doing a lot better! I know I say this a lot, but I won't stop saying it - I cannot ever thank those of you that reached out, even if just to ask how I was doing, for the help we received! Not being a licensed, big facility, can really have its draw backs sometimes, but our community really does try to make up for it! THANK YOU!!

Video from a cute little spot on the water I passed today while we were working (gotta catch up on these bills and everything our animals are needing)!