Dun-Pikin Farm

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Pasadena, MD
Dun-Pikin Farm

Riding Lessons, Pony Parties, Petting Animals, Horse Boarding Dun-Pikin Farm is a small family operated horse boarding and lesson barn in Pasadena, Maryland.

We offer beginner and intermediate riding lessons for children and adults. Horse training. Boarding. Pony Pal program. Pony parties. Pony rides. Stop by and see us some time (visit by appointment only.) We'll see you 'Down on the Farm!"

Dun-Pikin Farm is a Maryland Horse Industry Board Certified Horse Discovery Center.

12/10/2025

All the horses with the exception of Buffy and Charlie at Dun-Pikin have a job. Some do lessons, some do pony rides and some work in the therapy program. Some of the horses even have several jobs. Buffy and Charlie have had a pass until today. It looks like their life of leisure is over and they too will start earning their keep.

Charlie and Buffy are going to officially become a part of the therapy program, at least that’s the hope. Today evidently, they took a stroll around the ring. The therapists were getting to know both of them a little better and Charlie and Buffy were getting a taste of what it’s like to have a job. I have confidence they will eventually play important roles in the therapy program. Especially if cuteness counts.

I’m not sure if Charlie and Buffy realize it yet, but life is about to change for them. They’ll be getting a lot more attention. They’ll be getting out and about around the farm more and perhaps bring some calmness and healing to those who come. There’s nothing like scratching the inside of Buffy’s ears or finding that sweet spot behind Charlie’s withers.

They bring me a lot of joy. They’re kinda irresistible. You’ll see, when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

12/09/2025

Horses Make Me Happy… Horses Make Me Happy… Horses Make Me Happy… Some days I just need a reminder. After a day of cold and wind, mud, 2 tractors with dead batteries, and a frozen water spigot, today was one of those days.

What did the horse say when it fell?
“I’ve fallen and I can’t giddyup!”

What is the best type of story to tell a runaway horse?
A tale of WHOA!

Why couldn’t the pony sing?
Because he was a little hoarse.

What do you call a horse that lives next door to you?
A neigh-bor.

I hope these put a little smile on your face. They brightened my day, at least a little. Oh … and I do love horses! We have some great ones. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

12/08/2025

We’ve got mud. What you see here is God’s answer to mud, or at least I thank God for them (when they work). Don’t wear your best shoes and dress for the mess when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

12/07/2025

I have to confess my housekeeping skills are a little lacking. My house is usually neat and tidy BUT if you come to visit, please don’t look up, especially in the corners. You might just see a cobweb or two. I certainly would never pass the white glove test either. I never did develop any dusting skills. In my defense though I inherited my lack of cleaning skills. When it came to cleaning my mom’s motto was, if there was something better to do then vacuum just do it. That included taking naps. Housekeeping was just never a priority to her. Obviously I’m a chip off the ole block.

When it comes to the barn though, I spend the majority of my time there and I do a bit better. At least I thought I did. Several days ago our peacock escaped his pen and flew into the barn. I quickly went around and shut the windows to prevent him from flying out. I was appalled when I realized how terrible the back side of the doors looked. I can’t remember when they were closed last. We always leave them open to allow for proper ventilation. Evidently I need to occasionally close the windows and clean them on the outside. Nahhhh …

I’ll just continue to leave them open. After all, what difference does it make if they’re dirty? No one looks behind those windows anyway. Mom was definitely on to something. Between chasing loose peacocks and making sure the barn is running smoothly for everyone else, I think I’ll take her advice: there are definitely better things to do than scrub a door that stays open anyway.

Come Ride With Us!
Cindy 🐴

12/06/2025

Percy has decided that winter is absolutely beautiful... specifically when viewed from the dry side of the Dutch door. He is quite happy to supervise the weather from right here, thank you very much.

Come Ride With Us!
Cindy 🐴

12/05/2025

I had to laugh when Layla sent me this picture. I could not believe what I was seeing. Tammy was drinking out of a puddle in the field. The irony is we have been focused on trying to provide cleaner water. We just bought 2 new heated 16-gallon water buckets for the fields. The smaller buckets allow the horses to drink most of the water. We like to scrub the tubs every day. Since the tubs are smaller we don’t have to dump a lot of water on the ground creating less mud.

What were we thinking? We spent a lot of money on those tubs and the horses are fighting us at every turn. In the bottom field Cash is constantly putting his muddy feed bag in the new tub. It instantly causes the water to turn brown. After he eats in the morning there’s at least an inch of mud in the bottom. Evidently it doesn’t matter. Both Arlo and Cash are more than happy to drink it, Yuck!

Now I get a picture of Tammy drinking out of a puddle. Ugh … Why? She has a heated, just scrubbed, spanking clean water trough, and what does she do? She drinks out of a puddle. Obviously, my new obsession with clean water is not necessary.

The moral of the story? You can lead a horse to fresh, heated, expensive water, but you absolutely cannot stop them from choosing the swamp juice instead. I think I need to accept that 'clean' is a human concept that Tammy, Arlo and Cash just do not subscribe to. We pamper them, and they humble us!
Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

12/04/2025

I always say there is NEVER a dull moment at Dun-Pikin. Once again today proved my point. I was just getting ready to go home for lunch when I got a call from Katie telling me one of our peacocks had gotten out. She said Megan, one of our boarders had sent her a message saying Lee, her husband had discovered the peacock in the barn. Evidently it honked at him when he walked in. Ugh…

We’ve had the peacock for over 10 years. He escaped once years ago. He roosted up in the big oak trees in the yard for a week. One day he just disappeared. We thought he was gone for good. There were sightings of him all over the community for weeks. He got to be kind of a celebrity around town. Finally we got a call that he was in the barn across the road. He was eventually cornered, captured, and returned home. Here he stayed until today.

How he got out I have no clue, but out he was once again. When I got to the barn he was up in the rafters. We tried to coax him down with a broom hoping we could get him on the ground and corner him. Megan got a blanket to throw over him if the opportunity arose. Of course every time Lee or Megan got close he would go higher in the rafters. Lee and Megan got up and down on a ladder trying to convince him to come down. Finally he flew out the one door we cannot close at the end of the barn. He caused quite the ruckus when he flew out and into Shine and Marley’s field. He’s one big bird and all the horses noticed.

He went here and there, with the 3 of us slowly following, just looking for an opportunity to grab him. Thankfully he never flew again. We kinda surrounded him. Eventually I made a lucky grab. Lee then put the blanket over him to stop his flapping. In about 45 minutes the chase was over. The peacock was finally back where he belonged. Just to be sure I locked all the birds in the house for the day. The ducks were very sad.

I have no clue what I will do tomorrow. Should I leave them in or put them out? I’ll have to sleep on it. Thankfully the drama today did not involve the horses. Tomorrow … who knows? Stay tuned. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

12/03/2025

Today the weather here in Pasadena was lousy. A cold steady rain was bone chilling and miserable. You won’t hear me complaining though. At least the rain was not snow. Rain I dislike. Snow I hate!

I was able to get all my horses at High Tide in and fed this morning before the rain even started. I wasn’t quite so lucky by the time I got to Dun-Pikin but I do have good rain gear. By the time I got home I was just a little damp around the edges.

The rain allowed me time to actually get some stuff done at home. I think I even might have dozed off a bit in the afternoon. The rain stopped just in time for the pm feeding. All the horses were able to go out, the stalls got cleaned, and the barn was neat and tidy when we left for the night.

We also got a bonus of 10 minutes of sunshine, a sunset, and a moon rise too. All and all not a bad day. Tomorrow the sun’s gonna come out. I guess Dolly Parton was right when she said, "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." We put up with the rain today so we can enjoy the riding tomorrow! Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

12/02/2025

Considering that my daily schedule is almost exactly the same 7 days a week, you would think Monday would just be another day. The funny thing is to me there is still a little dread that once again it’s Monday. I especially felt it today. I guess it was because I was spoiled by having a little extra help over the weekend.

My niece came to spend Thanksgiving and the weekend with Katie. She has always enjoyed spending time in the barn. Occasionally she comes on Sundays and rides. She almost always stays and helps at feed time. Over the course of her visits, she has learned how to put a halter on and lead a horse. She’s learned which stall every horse lives in, and what field they are turned back out in. Kiley has learned and has the barn routine down. Over Thanksgiving and the holiday weekend she was a huge help. On Friday morning she walked every horse out. That saved me not only a lot of time, but a lot of work. She asked me “Aunt Cindy can I walk a horse out?” I told her she could walk them all out. After that she was out there every morning before dawn lending a hand.

When barn chores were done, despite the wind and cold, Kiley rode. It seems that Marley is Kiley’s favorite. After getting him tacked up, another skill she learned, Kiley and Marley spent some quality time. I guess you could say her saddle time was her reward for her outstanding efforts. It was a joy having her here and knowing she earned those rides made my Monday morning just a bit sweeter.

Come Ride With Us!
Cindy 🐴

12/01/2025

Remember that barn floodlight we replaced a couple weeks ago? It has been acting up once again—first it went dim, then it just quit entirely. It just so happens we have a replacement that has been sitting on a shelf in the corn crib for probably a year, so we were planning on replacing it.

But this morning, after that freezing cold night, it miraculously turned itself back on and is shining bright as ever.

My internet guru tells me it’s a physics thing called "thermal contraction" that bridged a loose wire or part on a circuit board. I’m just calling it a farm miracle because it means Rick doesn’t have to fix it tomorrow. We'll take the win!

The lights are on, and the horses are ready for you to Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

11/30/2025

There’s a lot of things that go on around the farm. Lessons, therapy, birthday parties, boarders riding, there’s always something happening. It seems like I’m always around, busy doing something. While I work, I watch. Occasionally I see something that just makes my heart happy. Today was one of those days. Today as I was on the tractor, I saw Lillie going out to the field with a rope and halter to get Olive. I was on the tractor so I’m not really sure but I’m thinking Lillie must have called her name. I saw Olive pick up her head. She looked right over at Lillie and went trotting over to her.

I suppose to most that doesn’t seem like much of a big deal, but for Olive it’s huge. Olive has had many issues since she’s come to Dun-Pikin and until recently has never really bonded with us. She tolerates us but is always wary. Olive finds it hard to trust. It’s obvious she has found a friend in Lillie.

Lillie with a little nudge from us has been riding Olive. She’s learned to ignore her head tossing and fidgeting on the cross ties. She isn’t intimidated by her ear pinning either. Because Lillie has learned to just carry on and ignore Olive’s silliness, Olive mostly now just stands while on the cross ties. I think Olive has come to realize she likes the attention and has a friend in Lillie. From the look on Lillie’s face, I think Lillie feels the same way about Olive. There’s just something about horses. Come see for yourself. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

11/29/2025

The wind was really whipping out there today! I realized that once again It’s that time of year. 🥶Time to hunt down extension cords, test the water trough heaters and do a silent prayer before turning the key to the tractor.🚜 As always, we have quite the to-do list to prepare for the winter weather coming soon.☃️ Leave the shivering to us and Come Ride With Us! 🐎

Cindy 🐴

Address

4808 Mountain Road
Pasadena, MD
21122

Website

http://www.dun-pikin.com/, https://www.rickholt.net/discover/

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Our Story

Dun-Pikin Farm is a small family operated horse boarding and lesson barn in Pasadena, Maryland. We offer beginner and intermediate riding lessons for children and adults. Horse training. Boarding. Pony Pal program. Pony parties. Pony rides. Stop by and see us some time (visit by appointment only.) We'll see you 'Down on the Farm!" Dun-Pikin Farm is a Maryland Horse Industry Board Certified Horse Discovery Center.