Dun-Pikin Farm

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.

10/07/2025

Now all I have to do is teach him to close the door and slide the latch. Honestly, I did not teach Chaps to open his stall door. Obviously, he got tired of waiting for me to come open it for him. I guess I’m just too slow. After all, his dinner was in there.

I tend to just open the gate and let the horses in one at a time down there. All the horses know where to go, and it saves me time messing with halters. The paddock is fenced so there’s nowhere for them to go except into the wrong stall. That’s why I let them in one at a time, opening only their door.

Chaps used to be a Dun-Pikin lesson horse. When he decided he had had enough of being a lesson horse I moved him to High Tide to retire. I ended up selling him to one of the boarders at High Tide who had lost their own horse. He just wanted a horse to trail ride, and trail riding was right up Chaps alley. He mostly just grazes but occasionally he goes out on a short ride. Both his owner and Chaps seem to enjoy it. It was a win, win for me. I was able to find someone who wanted to give Chaps their undivided attention, and pay his expenses. Plus I still get to see and take care of him.

Life with horses is always interesting. They never cease to amaze and entertain me. Horses are smart. Horses are fun. Come see for yourself. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!!Come Ride With Us!Cindy 🐴
10/05/2025

COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!!
Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

Today I was mowing down at High Tide. I was feeling a little melancholy looking over the field. I was missing Tiny. I wa...
10/05/2025

Today I was mowing down at High Tide. I was feeling a little melancholy looking over the field. I was missing Tiny. I was thinking how there was once five ponies grazing in the field and now it’s just Jelly Bean and Brownie left. The field looked way too big for two little ponies.

As I mowed up and down the field, I began to notice that both Brownie and Jelly Bean both had hitchhikers. There was a flock of birds that were constantly following the ponies. I suppose they were scaring up bugs from the grass as they grazed. The birds flew from pony to pony, hopping from the ground back onto the pony's backs. They continued for several hours while I mowed.

At feeding time when I took a closer look at the ponies, I noticed especially on Brownie that the birds had left their “mark” all over their backs. I guess the birds figured if they were going to get a free meal and a free ride, they should at least leave a big tip! At least it proves our little herd is still offering a ride to someone—even if they're not paying customers! Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

This has been a really bad week at the farm. Actually, the last 2 weeks have been really stressful. Come to think of it,...
10/04/2025

This has been a really bad week at the farm. Actually, the last 2 weeks have been really stressful. Come to think of it, 2025 has taken a terrible toll on us. We lost Julie, our donkey, in January. Next, we lost Ginny in May, Dublin, died a few weeks ago on September 7th, and yesterday we had to say goodbye to Tiny. I still can’t really wrap my mind around it.

Tiny, I have to say had to be the best pony EVER. We had him for over 15 years. In those years he went out 100’s of times and gave 10000’s of pony rides on the farm, at community events and at the Renaissance Festival. Many times he was a child’s first pony ride. He NEVER refused to get on or off the trailer, he NEVER hesitated to walk when asked to, and we NEVER had an incident when he was out. He was about as perfect as a pony could be. Not only that but he was beautiful too.

Though Tiny lived at High Tide, Tiny was a Dun-Pikin Pony through and through. Tiny was the head pony in his little herd at High Tide. He loved peppermints. He also loved to be brushed. I spent a lot of time keeping his mane untangled. He would peek around the corner at me when I would arrive to feed in the morning and greet me with a whinny. I’m gonna miss my morning whinny.

Tiny first showed symptoms of being sick two weeks ago when he stopped eating and developed a fever. We moved him to Dun-Pikin so we could monitor him around the clock. Tiny continued with fevers even though his appetite improved. He was put on antibiotics and had multiple rounds of bloodwork. He was monitored by Katie every 3 hours. His temperature was taken, his manure was monitored, and meds were given when needed. He was also fed small meals. It was a long stressful 2 weeks. His last bloodwork showed Tiny was in liver failure, most likely caused by cancer. Tiny was peacefully laid to rest yesterday morning after eating a fistfull of peppermints.

I know we’re not really cursed though it feels that way. Dublin was 31 and though I don’t have papers to prove the age of the other horses we lost this year, I suspect they were all at least 30. I guess I should try to take comfort in the fact that longevity is something all of our horses and ponies have in common. I like to think we’re doing something right.

Rest easy Tiny … You’ve earned your rest!

Cindy 🐴
Come Ride With Us!

I heard on the radio this morning that today is 'Thirsty Thursday.' Considering the banter on the radio I don't think th...
10/02/2025

I heard on the radio this morning that today is 'Thirsty Thursday.' Considering the banter on the radio I don't think this is what they had in mind. But at Dun-Pikin this is how we roll. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

I’ve noticed lately that Tic Tok and Lillie have become the official greeters at Dun-Pikin. They regularly hang out unde...
10/02/2025

I’ve noticed lately that Tic Tok and Lillie have become the official greeters at Dun-Pikin. They regularly hang out under the trees at the entrance gate, seemingly checking everyone out who opens the gate. All you have to do is look down and you’ll see the evidence of all the time they spend there.

LIllie and Tic are their own little herd now since Dublin left us several weeks ago. In the beginning Dublin and Tic were their own herd. Dub needed to be on the grass because he was unable to chew the hay in dirt turnout paddocks. Tic Tok recently joined Dublin for pretty much the same reason. He had begun to lose weight because of his teeth, or lack of them. He, too, has trouble chewing hay. They were very content as a duo until we realized we needed to make a change with Lillie.

After a lot of discussion and debate we decide to try Lillie in with the boys. Usually, I like to keep my geldings and mares separated. It seems like there’s much less drama that way. Lillie was very unhappy being turned out with the mares though. She spent most of her day standing at the gate looking miserable and losing weight. Since she looked so unhappy we decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a try. We thought the grass would be a good distraction and fingers crossed the boys would leave her alone.

Well boy were we wrong. When we first turned Lillie out with them, she would not leave the boys alone. She was quite the h***y! She would chase Dublin for a while, then turn her sights on Tic. For a while I was feeling really bad for the boys. Eventually she seemed to tire of the chase, noticed the grass and finally settled in. The 3 were finally a happy herd.

For a couple of weeks Tic and Lillie kept looking for Dublin after he died. Thankfully they seem to have finally given up on Dublin. Now they seem to be looking for someone else. Maybe it’s you. We hope you'll stop by the gate and say hello to Dun-Pikin's official greeters soon. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

Over the last couple of months I have been pretty diligent about keeping the fields clean. I’ve gone out most every day ...
10/01/2025

Over the last couple of months I have been pretty diligent about keeping the fields clean. I’ve gone out most every day to pick up all the manure and any wasted hay. It has kinda become an obsession with me, but the hard work has paid off. The fields look so much better. It does take time but it’s time well spent.

Today I realized I now have a new issue out in the fields. Not only do I now have to pick up the hay and manure, but now I have holes to fill in too. It seems either a fox or ground hog has decided to dig holes in the top field paddock. Ugh …. I have no clue why, but now I’m worried about one of the horses breaking a leg. Thankfully these holes are directly under the fence boards, but who’s to say they won’t start digging in the middle of the field. It seems there’s always something to worry about.

Now beside gathering my pitchfork and rake, I’ll need to grab a shovel too. The groundhog (or whoever it is) clearly thinks they're giving our fields "character." I've got news for them -- we prefer the character that comes from hoof prints, not paw prints (at least in the paddocks!) If you see me out there shaking my fist at the fence line, just know I’m just letting them know who’s boss. Please try to calm me down when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

09/29/2025

Pony party day. The party girl's favorite color was pink. Don't you think Tic Toc looks great in pink! Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

This morning was party prep day for me. We mowed the whole farm yesterday. So today I grabbed my trusty weed-eater and a...
09/28/2025

This morning was party prep day for me. We mowed the whole farm yesterday. So today I grabbed my trusty weed-eater and attacked fence lines and odd corners to put the finishing touches on things. In an hour or so I burned through three batteries and pretty much tapped out my endurance, though I did have enough energy to pick the manure out of a couple of the paddocks. Tomorrow morning we'll put a few finishing touches on things and welcome our pony party guests at noon.

W**d whacking and picking manure from the fields are pretty mindless tasks, so as my mind wanders so do my eyes. Today was fungus day at the farm. There was definitely some 'fungus amoungus.' I present to you here exhibit numbers one through four.

We love that working on the farm, even on a busy prep day, offers these quiet moments of discovery. When you visit us, whether for a pony party, a riding lesson, or other programs, we hope you'll also get to notice the unique and wonderful things that make our little slice of nature so special. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

This beauty is courtesy of Mother Nature and one of the horses. This is an example of the beauty that can come from some...
09/27/2025

This beauty is courtesy of Mother Nature and one of the horses. This is an example of the beauty that can come from something that most people turn their noses up at. Yes … this was planted by either Lady or Meaca via a pile of manure.

How do I know you ask? Lady and Meaca are both fed a quarter cup of black oil sunflower seeds.The oil in the sunflower seeds is good for their coat. It can also help with weight gain.

It's amazing how a simple act of caring for our horses can lead to such a beautiful surprise. It just goes to show that the little details are what make farm life so special. We love seeing what Mother Nature and our horses get up to! Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

Today we gathered together to remember Dublin. He was such a huge presence at Dun-Pikin for so many years, it’s been har...
09/26/2025

Today we gathered together to remember Dublin. He was such a huge presence at Dun-Pikin for so many years, it’s been hard for many of us to process his loss. Thanks to Bay Area Counseling & Consultation, LLC for planning this time for us to get together and remember all the fun and happiness that Dublin brought to us all.

We told stories and laughed about his quirky personality. We talked about his endless energy even at the ripe old age of 31. Dublin lived a good and full life. He touched the lives of many riders through the years. He was definitely a favorite.

While we were talking we were given the opportunity to decorate some rocks to remember Dublin. It was a beautiful way to share our memories. We will be placing these rocks all around the farm so that Dublin’s memory will live on here forever. We miss you, Dublin. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

Address

4808 Mountain Road
Pasadena, MD
21122

Website

https://www.rickholt.net/discover/

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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.