Dun Romin Farm

07/05/2024

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

07/04/2024

Happy 4th Y’all! Remember why we are able to celebrate today. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

02/19/2024

Great advice!! 😁😁😁

01/20/2024

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

12/17/2023

8 Top Tips for Equestrians from Dr. Temple Grandin

10/23/2023

Hey everybody, wanted to let y'all know I'm back to shoeing! 865-203-4634

08/19/2023

Buy Sell and Trade.
New and used tack and saddles.
Something for all budgets!

05/03/2023

Bales Goats is still booking for the summer, so be sure to get in touch asap if you want to get one of our herds set up on your brush, kudzu, or other overgrown plants this summer!

04/29/2023

For over a century and five generations, Loy Stock Farm has been producing quality livestock in New Market, TN. We are now pleased to be offering packaged pork ready for your family’s kitchen!

Prices below⬇️⬇️
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Mild sausage $6.25/lb
Hot sausage $6.25/lb
3/4” Pork Chops $8.00/lb

03/12/2023

Full Board Isn't Full Service

A friend asked me to write this a while ago..and I have been thinking on it for several months. So here is a go.

Full board Isn't full board. The average boarding farm with anywhere from 5 to 40 boarders is so much work. Just the daily grind of getting up, feeding, haying, checking water takes up a significant amount of time. Stalls, another massive chunk, then repeat pm feed.

Then you want the boarding farm to do blankets ( something I refuse to do. I worked for a QH trainer in the 90s and spent hrs every morning and night reblanketing all the horses under lights ...cured me ) , meds, you want night check. You want their weight and physical appearance monitored through their blankets.

Now all the extras : tackroom swept, aisle perfect, walls hosed down, no rodents, cobwebs , working washrack with drain that never clogs...

Then perfectly manacured fields , mowed, fertilized, weedwacking. Fences repairs etc....

Board or bored...when your horse is in the stall more for inclement weather , you need to get there to exercise it and prevent colic ( motion is lotion for guts and joints ! ). Full board doesnt cover checking every single inch of the horse ( though most of us do take a quick look, i have trained myself to look at all 4 legs both side every day ) for bumps, bruises, shoes with sprung heels , mysterious fungus that appears on its flank. Owners need to be present, take responsibility for their own horse, make coming out to groom that retired horse on a schedule....and always always be accessible for emergencies.

When you see something needs done, just do it instead of complaining about it. We have all seen the posts about the costs of boarding and basically, if you are paying less than $1000/ month, someone is subsidizing your board. So pick up a rake, a broom, be present. Run a hose, scrub the tub. Triple check your horse. Check on the horse whose owner is ill ( with their permission ) . Leave things better than they were.
Many barns have a person or 2 that randomly helps with some stalls....I guarantee you the barn owner appreciates that person. I used to have a students father who would clean many stalls while his daughter rode. I know I'll never forget him.

Holidays....most barns have 1 of 2 ways of thinking. 1. Don't come out at all. 2. If you do come out, plan to help with feeding, haying, watering turnout and stalls. I can speak from personal experience...I havent had a holiday off since pre 2001 except for 1 Christmas, an exceptional student did all the work as my gift. I'll never forget that act of kindness. Nurses get double time for major holidays ( and still get to take off a day for Christmas , heck even the local convenience store pays double or time and half on major holidays) , barn owners get nothing, most of the time not even a thank you... I recall a colleague who boarded horses ( and of course taught lessons, trained horses, sold horses and ran shows because boarding doesnt pay the bills ) saying one day she realized her life was like the movie Ground Hog Day....and that she has done the same thing every morning every night for decades. Her farm went up for sale and she now boards her own horses.

Education. Do you know what horses diseases are, understand deworming, know what ailments to watch out for. When should the vet be called ? Can you wrap legs properly, handle an abscess, recognize fungus, spot a colic ? If not, pick up a book, watch some videos. Horse ownership means you love horses and you want to know everything about them.

Anyway...full care isn't day care you drop your "kid " off too and never pick them up from again. Be present. Your horse will appreciate the attention and the barn owner will feel relief that you are watching out for your horse.

3/27/23 update. 212,000 views. 1400 shares. And I have gotten a few nasty comments. I cannot understand the nastiness . Bringing awareness is a good thing. If it doesnt apply to you , then move on. Every barn has boundaries. Apparently some people are mad that I wont do blankets...not sure why, as none of them board with me ! Boundaries are made out of clarity and self respect. Every barn , I hope , has rules and boundaries ! Best wishes to all . Horses are my first and longest love.

( This post was made to bring awareness. At least in my area, boarding barns are becoming fewer to non existent. If we want them to stay, we must change . I have seen mostly positivity come from this...i particularly loved the person who shared it and wrote " I go a bit the other way . I try to help in some way every day that I am at the barn "
I , of course, want all the horses in my care to have good, healthy lives too. I would like to think we all do. )

01/24/2023

Sunday Soapbox:

This is why we lay them down. This is why we hobble them. This is why we leave them tied. This is why we take the time to educate these creatures how to survive in a humans world.

I heard the crash, glanced out the window, and started running. Yelling behind me “I need help outside!” Yelling ahead of me “get something to cut that chain!” Making it to my horse in my own state of panic while he didn’t show a single sign of concern. He waited calmly and patiently, while I climbed around to cover his face as my help made it to us with an angle grinder and had Copy cut out of this sticky situation less than a minute after he got caught. He was extra lucky everybody was home and able to react so quickly. But it’s a great reminder for how important it is to educate your horses, how ugly this could’ve been if he’d never experienced his leg being caught in a safe and controlled environment. An ignorant horse would’ve panicked along with me, risking injury to us both.

Edit to answer questions:
-this is the gate of a welded pipe pen that’s practically buffalo proof.
-the gate would not open due to the chain still hooked underneath his foot. Yes, there’s two chains here. One is not in use. I didn’t design it, but I sure changed it as soon as we cut the chain off.
-yes, the gate is chained too loose, it’s a valuable lesson. To err is to be human. Yes, we should still prepare our horses to be able to survive a simple human error.

11/02/2022

Coming 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟓𝐭𝐡, our books will be open for business again! 🧲
But I am starting some scheduling now. We do accept new clients! Contact me (Stephanie) here or on my phone (preferably text) to set you a date to get your horses taken care of!

Stephanie Spur-Lynch
(865) 771-8182

10/18/2022

Truth 🤣🤣🤣

09/14/2022

08/18/2022

07/25/2022

Horses travel every day for a number of reasons—to be bought and sold, for competition, for breeding purposes, etc. Whether your horse travels by road or by air, horse owners need to be aware of the complications that may occur due to transportation, including traumatic injuries, diarrhea, muscular problems, respiratory problems, overheating, colic, and even laminitis (in the case of overweight horses).

Following are a few tips to help your equine friend maintain good health and welfare during transport. This list is by no means complete and we encourage you to read "Practical Guidelines to Assess Fitness for Transport of Equidae” to find additional advice. This document will also help you understand regulations and avoid penalties for being out of compliance: https://tinyurl.com/yck9cz86

• Inadequate management of feed and water intake during travel could cause colic, gastric ulceration and heat stress. Food and water should be provided prior to transport, during regular rest breaks and upon arrival at destination.
• Ensure your horse’s immunizations are up to date against respiratory pathogens to protect your animal from these diseases.
• The horse should be rested before the journey, given rest stops during travel and have time to recover on arrival at the destination.
• The vehicle should be well-ventilated to help prevent respiratory problems or overheating.
• Drive slowly and carefully (NO TEXTING, avoid driving when fatigued or eating while driving, etc.) to provide a comfortable journey for the animal and reduce the risk of injury and fatigue.

As always, your veterinarian remains your best resource. If you have questions, consult your horse doctor about preparing your equine friend for travel and keeping them safe!

05/25/2022

If you ask, I will tell you. No secrets here! ❤️

03/21/2022

02/12/2022

Attention East Tennessee horse owners!

Spend a weekend fine tuning your Fundamentals groundwork and riding exercises at the beautiful Flat Rock Ranch in Soddy Daisy, TN.

All breeds/disciplines are welcome.

Contact me for more info!
📲 PM me!
☎️ call/text (831) 801-9754
📩 [email protected]

Limited spots available!

02/10/2022

Spend 10 days with me training on our ranch!

Fundamentals Bootcamp June 4th - 14th!

Inviting all problem horses, horsemen/women looking to become proficient in The Method, and owners looking to build a relationship with their horse based on mutual respect!

You’ll be working in the roundpen, the arena, and all around the 60 acres!

Our tentative schedule will be 9am-4pm daily with lunch break. We will also have a day off in between!

Contact me to reserve your spot! (831) 801-6888



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02/09/2022

The correct answer is: false.

The notion that the higher fiber content of bran will help prevent colic is an outdated concept. What actually helps your horse against the risk of winter colic, is the water you add to the mash and keeps him hydrated and able to move ingested feed through the gut efficiently.

Bran is expensive for the nutritional value it provides and, even more importantly, nutritionists point out several potential problem associated with feeding bran mash too often — namely, an imbalance of the dietary calcium-phosphorus ratio that could lead to bone disorders, and a disruption of the healthy fermentation patterns in the horse’s intestinal tract.

Beet pulp is a great alternative to bran: you can feed it warm like bran, and it’s a better choice from the nutrition standpoint. More importantly, its excellent digestibility is a useful addition to the diet of many types of horses — especially "hard keepers" that need to gain weight, horses with dental problems, convalescing horses, and geriatric horses who have trouble chewing or digesting other types of forage. Because beet pulp is really a fiber supplement, not a grain, you can safely feed as much as you like; just be sure to start with a small quantity and gradually increase the amount you’re feeding.

This all being said, an occasional bran mash won’t hurt your horse and will provide a good treat. But remember: whatever you feed, your first line of defense against winter colic is **keeping your horse hydrated**.

As always, your equine veterinarian remains your best source of information; contact them to learn more about feeding mashes to your horse and colic prevention. More information regarding bran mash can also be found on our website at: https://aaep.org/horsehealth/bran-mash

02/01/2022

We are so excited to announce our first clinic. This is for the advanced riders. (we will be having a beginner clinic soon) If you have any questions please reach out. We do accept Venmo for payment.