Red Sky Farm Hunter/Jumpers

11/27/2025

One of the most critical factors in feeding horses is the amount of FASTING TIME. A horse's gut should never stop moving. So feeding twice a day, or even 3 times a day, is not enough to keep the gut moving, especially overnight. The gut should never go more than 5 hours without food. With that in mind, this article from The Hay Pillow might be a little skewed. But using a "human" timetable for feeding (7-8am breakfast, 1-2pm lunch, 5-6pm dinner) with nothing for the 13 hours over night is not the healthiest feeding schedule for horses. Will I start feeding overnight? No. But I will make an effort to spread the feedings out, which will make my day much longer. We do it for the love of horses.

Happy Thanksgiving from Red Sky Farm!

From The Hay Pillow: the minimum amount of grass hay (10% or less in NSC’s) is 1.5% of your horse's current body weight or 2% of ideal weight, whichever is ​𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 with no longer than 5 hours of fasting.
Note: Flakes of hay are not appropriate to use as a measurement. A flake of hay can vary drastically in dimensions (size of bale), thickness, weight and density. ​

If you are feeding meals, these two steps will help to keep periods of fasting to a minimum
⚖Weigh rations to ensure the minimum amounts of forage are being provided and allocated.
🕰Allocate the amount of hay over a 24-hour period. For example, if you feed 24 pounds of hay a day (24 hours) = 1 pound per hour. Say you feed breakfast at 8:00 AM, lunch at 1:00 PM and dinner at 6:00 PM. Breakfast should be 5 pounds, lunch 5 pounds and dinner 14 pounds.

This is a simplified discussion: we can go down many rabbit holes on this issue. I just wanted to share info on something that is overlooked in the equine industry, even at the highest levels (fasting in stabled horses).

11/25/2025

These two! Such a treat to see my baby girl, Lanie, for the holidays! Short but sweet visit. She worked her f***y off for her mom for 3 days, but she got to spend time with her best boy, Pippin. They have always had a very special connection. You can see how animated and engaged Pippin is with Lanie around. True love!

11/20/2025

This was posted by my friend Jessica Reoch, owner and trainer at JR Equestrian.


Jumping on the band wagon of putting in my 2 cents on this whole EHV thing because I read a post and comments on a post and well…… not shocked by the post by said person but I am very much appalled.
There is so much misinformation out there and I do agree everyone needs to be careful. So here are actual resources and FACTS:
-Your vet is typically your best resource. Not sure what to do? Call your vet. If you are someone that doesnt have a vet you are established with IT IS OK but now is the time
-this is a state reportable disease
- EHV-1 is the respiratory form which DOES HAVE a vaccine.
**EHV-4 DOES NOT HAVE A VACCINE**
-Dept of Ag, AAEP and Equine Disease Communication Center are great resources
Just because your state doesn’t have a confirmed case does not mean it won’t and it also doesn’t mean you will.
As a boarding barn owner, the horses in my care are my responsibility and I take their care seriously. Ive been through so many mile stones with my clients and their horses and to not only think about the emotional devastation EHV causes but the financial devastation makes me sick. Does Illinois have any confirmed cases as of today (11/20), no. Does that mean im not taking every precaution to protect not only my horses but my client horses?
You bet your ass I am
Dont agree? Cool, dont need you to and i dont care. You do you but I dont enjoy waiting till there is an issue to do something. Just some unsolicited advice if you run a boarding barn and literally make a comment that says
🥴ThIs iS wHy We VaCcInAtE 🥴
Your ignorance is 💯 showing and please please PLEASE try to do better. Stop contributing to the on going issue of misinformation being spread. Yes, please vaccinate your horses but we cant vaccinate against everything
If you are new to the horse world or have been in it and overwhelmed and not sure what to do I am more than happy to help direct you to get your questions answered. Before you all come after me over that statement, I’m not here looking to give people my advice, I’m here to help educate people on resources that are available and which was are legitimate.

Send a message to learn more

11/20/2025

Having a good sense of humor is essential when you have horses, or you'll cry yourself to sleep every night! Working student, Emma, knows how to have fun at the barn, and so does Syd! These two make a cute couple!

11/18/2025

An interesting graphic: can my vet friends let me know if this image is anatomically correct or just something fanciful concocted by AI? (Desiree Boso I'm hoping to hear from you!!!)

11/16/2025

Young student, Addy, has a beam of sunlight to help her groom Oakley. We're just going to ignore Oakley's grumpy-bunny face and focus on Addy's technique.

11/15/2025

Banner day for Silas and T-Rex! Grandma and Grandpa were here to watch Silas's lesson and see him master the posting trot technique and timing! Posting is harder than it looks! Good job, Silas! And, as always, thanks to Rex for teaching a great lesson with patience.

11/13/2025

Student Grace has been putting a lot of hours into her riding this summer and fall, and it's paying off! She looks so comfortable riding Rex, and being in the correct position is coming naturally. Good job, Grace!

11/11/2025

Working student, Liv, and Polar were wearing matching cold-weather outfits! It's time to start layering and bundling.

11/07/2025

🐴✨ When one of the world’s greatest athletes admits horseback riding is hard, we can’t help but smile.

Olympic gymnastics legend Simone Biles recently took a walk-trot lesson — and quickly discovered just how much balance, coordination, and grit it takes to ride. 💪

We love seeing top-level athletes step into our world and appreciate just how athletic our sport really is. Welcome to the barn life, Simone! 👏🐎

Read more 👉 https://loom.ly/zghXvvI

11/06/2025

Some random cuteness for our FB friends: of course we think our students are the very best students in the world! Silas certainly enjoys his lessons with Rex and Lauren.

11/05/2025

There's always something cozy about riding indoors, especially when you've been riding outside under the New Mexico desert sky for nearly 40 years. Ann and Emma enjoyed some quiet indoor time last night riding Pippin and Indy. The barn cats always show up to help Lauren teach!