Dun-Pikin Farm

04/03/2025

Somehow the horses must have heard Rick and I talking last night. We were talking about what we each had planned for the day. I of course had my normal barn chores plus some mowing and trimming to do in preparation for an on-farm party this weekend. Rick was unsure of his plans. He was going to consult his project list and make a decision today. There turned out not to be any need to look at the list. Sometime during the night the horses came up with a whole new project that needed to go right to the top of the list.

As I was taking Dublin down to the bottom field, I noticed the fence had been broken. Not only were the boards knocked off, but the pole was broken off too. After all, we might as well make it a bigger project right? Who knows what happened, all I know is that it has to be fixed. Besides the boards being down there were nails that were sticking out.

After lunch and a nap, Rick appeared with the rolling toolbox. He got straight to work. Because of the broken pole, Rick admitted for now it’s just a patch job. A good patch job, but the broken pole will have to be replaced so the fence project will be added to “the list.” Be sure to put Dun-Pikin on your list and Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

04/02/2025

I’m not exactly sure why, because it happens every year, but I’m always amazed how Jelly Bean’s coat changes color with the seasons. His summer color is white with black markings. His winter coat always comes in white with brown markings. I guess in the fall, his coat comes in slowly and I just don’t pay attention. In the spring though, as I begin to use the shedding blade it doesn’t take long and there it is. It won’t be long and Jelly Bean will once again be white with black spots. I’m not sure if it’s genetics, nature or something else, but it sure is cool. There’s a lot of cool things about horses. You can see for yourself when you Come Ride with Us!

Cindy 🐴

04/01/2025

He’s back, and he had no problem letting everyone know. Today after 2 weeks at Dun-Pikin being monitored for an impaction Tiny returned to High Tide and his herd. He lost no time in letting them know he was back. It only took a minute and they came running. It took a minute or two for them to reestablish their order but by the time I went back to feed, things were back to normal.

It’s nice to have him back at High Tide. Tiny does come to Dun-Pikin occasionally to give pony rides. He travels here and there too, but his heart and buddies are at High Tide. Welcome home Tiny. We missed you. Keep an eye out for Tiny on his next visit to Dun-Pikin! Come Ride With Us!

03/31/2025

At Dun-Pikin we have always done birthday parties. We provide a place for the party to happen. Which is an open field with 3 picnic tables under canopies. We set up our petting zoo and provide unlimited pony rides during the entire party. Today we ventured into an entirely different kind of party. Today we had our very first party that catered to teenagers. I’ll admit I was a bit worried. It’s much easier to entertain children than teens. I shouldn’t have worried though Katie and Amie had it all under control.

Today’s party consisted of a safety talk about what you do and don’t do around horses. They learned about the different brushes and the order they are used. After brushing they worked on tacking up. Once tacked, they went out in the ring and learned the basics of how to walk, stop and steer. Eventually they were able to walk side by side together in a line. Not as easy as you think considering the horses are different sizes with different strides. A short trail ride finished up the riding. There was also a scavenger hunt around the farm, and the day ended with some horse painting. No they didn’t paint pictures of horses, they painted the actual horses.

I saw nothing but smiles. I’m pretty certain they all had a good time. My point in telling you about this party is because we can personalize a party for you too. All you have to do is let us know who the party is for, and we’ll create a party for you. Come Party with Us! Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

03/30/2025

There are some among us who see possibilities in even the simplest things. At Dun-Pikin our creative genius is our riding instructor/artist Aleta Daley. This past Christmas season we received a gift from Madelaine who owns our partner farm High Tide Farm on the Magothy. It was a ‘live’ wreath with an un-painted wooden ‘horse head’ silhouette. We hung it on the farm gate for the season and since it was wilted by then had planned on discarding it.

Aleta saw that plain weathered wooden silhouette and immediately saw possibilities. She saw Strudel. Strudel was a favorite pony at Dun-Pikin for decades winning ribbons and testing the skills of young riders. We lost her earlier this year when she crossed that rainbow bridge. With her memory fresh in Aleta’s artist’s eye she created this beautiful memory of our favorite pony.

Strudel will find her place somewhere on the farm. Be sure to thank Aleta and look for Strudel when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

03/29/2025

This is our white board that is mounted on the wall in the barn. Yeah .... it’s kinda a mess. If you look closely, you can see the neat lines that mark the days of the week. We kept the calendar once, neatly writing times of lessons, vet and farrier appointments. Notes were left for each other on it too. It’s obviously still used, but we use an acuity scheduling system now for our programs and lessons that all the staff can see. The white board now has just kinda become obsolete.

Many of us write on the board, but no one ever seems to erase anything off of it. All the little writing in red you see there are the notes Katie kept on Tiny when he was sick. Things like what he was fed and when. His temperature. The amount of manure he had at any given time and anything else she might need to report to the vet. There are notes to remind us about other things that need to be done for the horses and around the barn. If you look really close there’s even notes our therapy partners used in a program. Since everything seems important no one feels comfortable erasing things. I suppose that’s why the board looks like it does.

There’s still some available white space near the top, so I suspect until that’s used, the board won’t be erased. Now I know I could erase it but … I kinda like the chaos. I find it kind of interesting. This coming from a person who likes straight lines in the raked barn aisle way. Almost everyone who comes into the barn takes a look at it. Maybe I should hide a secret message on there somewhere and see if anyone finds it. What could it be? Hmmm maybe … Riding horses is fun. Riding horses is great exercise. Riding horses is for everyone, or better yet Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

03/28/2025

Sometimes writing about our struggles and issues here really pays off. The other day I wrote about Rick trying to put a new plug in a water trough. One he replaced the heater with a new plug he realized the water trough was leaking. When he tried the plug in another trough, he had trouble getting the plug to seal. A five-minute job took at least an hour, and it was only after putting the plug in a third water trough did he finally get it to seal. We do now have a working water trough.

Today while working at the barn, we had some visitors. The man explained he had a water trough. He said I could have it if I wanted it. Evidently he had brought it home from work. They had told him to throw it away. He must have a little farmer in him because he could not bring himself to throw away a brand new, still has the stickers on it water trough. Evidently his wife is getting tired of looking at it in the yard.

As soon as he told me he had a water trough, I have to admit the first thing I asked was if it leaked. I began to explain about Rick's issues with the water troughs when he interrupted telling me had read about it here. He told me he followed along and that’s why he thought of us. Before I knew it, he had unloaded it and was gone. We now have a brand spanking new trough.

I feel terrible. I didn’t get his name. I didn’t offer him anything in return, I just let him leave. If you’re the nice man who so generously gifted us the trough. THANK YOU! If you ever want a riding lesson, a tour of the farm or to meet the horses and our other critters just let me know. WE would love to give something back to YOU. We meet the nicest people here on the farm. We would love to meet you too. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

03/27/2025

Wayback Wednesday looking back to 2010. This big guy followed Rick back from The Old Lucketts Store in Lucketts, Virginia. At least I think that's where he got it as a birthday gift for me. There is an equine medical facility down in Leesburg, Virginia where we use to take our horses for special care. It was about an hour and a half drive with trailer in tow.

We would go right by the old country store and eventually decided to check it out. They have a lot of cool stuff including antiques and quite a selection of yard ornaments in concrete and even metal artwork like this fellow. He guarded the barn for many years till rust took hold and crippled him a bit. He's still hiding in the shadow of the corn crib.

You get Wayback points if you track him down when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

03/26/2025

You might say this is an insider's view at Dun-Pikin Farm. Or a job benefit of working at the farm. Or a nice way to start any day.

Every day is different. Every hour nature works her magic. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

03/25/2025

Spread the word...we still have some openings for the Fun Day on Saturday, March 29. Come Ride With Us!

Dun-Pikin Fun Day
Sunday March 16 10 am to 2 pm
Saturday March 29 10 am to 2 pm
Age 7 and up. This Dun-Pikin Fun Day be held from 10 am to 2 pm. Join us for some riding and fun farm and hands-on horse activities. Participants are asked to bring a lunch. A snack will be provided.
No experience required.
Cost will be $100.00 for one day session. Ok to sign up for multiple sessions. Sign up link in comments.

03/25/2025

Anyone who knows Dublin knows this look. It’s kinda his signature look. A little concerned, mixed with a little side eye. Yup that’s my Dub. Today he was a bit worried when Katie brought Tiny to share his field for the day. I think this look says several things. “Who the heck is that?” or “You’re kidding right?” or maybe it was a plea to make him go away. Despite the look, Dublin had to endure Tiny for the day. They made out just fine together as I checked on them throughout the day.

Tiny is at Dun-Pikin for at least a few more days while we continue to monitor him after his impaction. He seems to be doing fine but we just want to be sure before he goes back to High Tide.

Dublin will be the horse with the worried expression. Tiny is the pony with the flowing gold mane. You can meet them both when you Come Ride with Us!

Cindy 🐴

03/24/2025

Our niece Kiley and her dad came to visit. Dad wanted some manure for his garden. Kiley wanted to get in some horse time. It’s always special when family comes to visit. The farm keeps us close to home, so it’s always fun when family comes.

Kiley loves the horses, so it’s especially fun when she comes. It’s been a while since she’s been on one of our horses, but you never would have known it. Katie said she was very nervous when she first got on, but it wasn’t long, and she relaxed. Katie assured her Marley would take care of her. It wasn’t long before Kiley and Marley along with Lillie and Olive were riding around the ring and through the trail. The only instruction Katie gave them was to remember who they were riding and to keep their distance from each other. Marley and Olive do NOT like each other. We actually moved Marley into another field to separate the two.

Lillie and Kiley did a great job of riding together but keeping a safe distance. It seemed like Marley understood he needed to be on his best behavior and Olive, she listened well to Lillie. I think everyone had fun. Especially those of us that were just watching.

I’m always so proud of our horses. They’re not young or the most athletic, and they’re certainly not always perfect. They all have their own little issues, but I always feel they are safe. As safe as horses can be. It’s one of the many reasons why I can confidently invite you to Come Ride with Us!

Cindy 🐴

03/23/2025

Did I mention it was shedding season? This is what Jelly Bean left behind when I finally opened his gate and let him out this morning. This is what he allowed me to take off in less than 5 minutes this morning. He was in a big hurry to get out. Evidently he has a lot going on. He needed to vacuum up everyone else’s breakfast that was dropped on the ground. He needed to clean up the hay scrapes out of the tractor bucket and he definitely needed to get out to his hay pile before Brownie and Ginny ate his too. Even with all this hair gone, Jelly Bean still has a long way to go before his winter coat is finally gone. I’ll keep plugging away at it, at least on the mornings Jelly Bean has the time.

Spring is here. Shedding season is here. Riding weather is here. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

03/22/2025

I delivered a few supplies down at High Tide Farm this evening just about the time Cindy showed up to feed the horses. She offered to let me fill all the water troughs (there are a bunch of them,) so of course, I obliged. I didn’t know I was going to have a bunch of help on the job. Actually the ‘help’ was more of a PIA, but I was nice and tolerated it. There were a couple others from his herd who did more than look (this guy just stared at me the whole time.) The other ones got more ‘involved.’ Apparently horse like playing with hoses, or maybe they just didn’t like me having my own personal hose. In any case, with all the help I was able to get the water troughs filled and got out of there before Cindy found something else for me to do. That sounds bad, but really I was just heading home to cook dinner and have dinner waiting when she got there.

She got home, ate dinner and promptly fell asleep. I didn’t want to wake her, so I filled in for her with this daily Dun-Pikin doodle. Forgive the intrusion. Oh, and of course, Come Ride With Us!

Rick 🐴

03/21/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/17YZpGVzWR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

This was sent in by Rosie. L Dunlop

Why My Mum Paid for Horse Riding

When I was little, I remember sitting quietly while my mum and her friends had a good gossip over tea and biscuits. One of them turned to her and said, “Why on earth do you spend so much money on horse riding?”

My mum just smiled and said, “Oh, I don’t pay for horse riding.”

Cue confused looks and someone nearly choking on a custard cream.

She continued:

I pay for the moments when my child is so shattered they want to quit but can’t, because the horse still needs mucking out and, funnily enough, doesn’t clean up after itself.

I pay for the days they come home from school “too tired” but still drag themselves to the yard, because apparently, horses don’t appreciate being left to their own devices.

I pay for them to learn responsibility,since forgetting your PE kit is one thing, but forgetting to tighten your girth leads to a very public lesson in gravity.

I pay for them to understand that no matter how much you beg, horses do not do homework extensions, and “the pony ate it” is not a valid excuse.

I pay for them to develop patience, because sometimes, your horse just decides that a leaf, a shadow, or absolutely nothing at all is life-threatening, and you have to just sit there and accept it.

I pay for them to learn resilience when they fall off, get covered in mud, and still have to get back on while their so-called friends are laughing instead of helping.

I pay for them to experience character-building situations, like being soaked, freezing, and smelling like a stable, while their non-horsey friends are warm, dry, and wondering why their car stinks after giving them a lift home.

I pay for them to understand that success doesn’t happen overnight but vet bills, saddle fittings, and emergency farrier visits sure do.

I pay for them to have friendships built on shared experiences, like the trauma of a pony refusing to be caught for an hour, only to suddenly trot over the second you give up and put the headcollar away.

I pay for them to learn that a “quick trip to the yard” is never, ever quick, and that one horse hair in your food means there are probably ten more you just haven’t noticed yet.

I pay for them to spend time outdoors, learning life lessons, instead of glued to a screen (unless they’re watching riding videos on YouTube and planning their next unrealistic equestrian purchase).

I pay for the absolute chaos that is Pony Club on a Friday night, where kids fly in all directions, ponies test every boundary, and parents question all their life choices but still show up again next week.

At the end of the day, my mum wasn’t paying for horse riding. She was funding a lifelong obsession, an impressive collection of bruises, and a social life that revolved entirely around the smell of hay and manure. And honestly? It was worth every penny.

03/21/2025

If you’re not a horse person I know this is a gross disgusting picture. If you’re a horse person dealing with impaction colic, it’s the most beautiful sight in the world. I realized something was wrong with Tiny when he did not eat on Tuesday morning. Tiny is one of our ponies that lives down at High Tide. We took his temperature first, it was normal. We then decided to keep him in for the day to monitor his manure. To look at him he looked completely normal, except for being extremely put out at being locked in. He had no temperature, no appetite and no manure. Tiny was officially put on colic watch.

We decided to move him up to Dun-Pikin so Katie could keep an eye on him easier. We put him in a stall with some water, watched and waited. We checked his temperature regularly, consulted with the vet several times a day over the last few days, walked him regularly, and prayed.

For the last 48 hours Katie has set an alarm for every 3 hours to check for manure. After the first day he got his appetite back. With the vet’s blessing, we then began feeding him very small wet meals of mostly bran with just a sprinkling of grain in the hopes of getting things moving again. It seems like slowly things are beginning to move. The bran is why the manure is so ploppy.

We’ve had several piles since this one. I’m hoping Tiny is on the mend and he can go back to his home at High Tide Farm. He is very missed by his herd mates. Till then, maybe you’ll see him when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

03/20/2025

I realized yesterday when I was about to leave the farm for the day that our bottom field water trough was leaking. We had dumped and scrubbed it the day before, so I was not shocked to see a puddle, but it dawned on me that there should still not be a puddle 24 hours later. I did what I always do when something seems off. I ask Rick to take a look. It turned out to be a frustrating afternoon for Rick.

The trough was definitely leaking at the drain plug where the heater had been installed for the winter. One of my problem geldings AKA Finn, Cash and Rusty had grabbed the heater element and twisted it, obviously damaging the heater and the seal that keeps the trough from leaking.

Of course it was not a simple fix. When the heater went in, the plug came out, hmmm … what did we do with the plug? No worries there was an extra trough that still had a plug in it. That trough was given to us. We quickly found out it leaked like a sieve, so it’s been sitting down there upside down since the first time we tried to use it. Problem solved right? Nope, evidently once the plug is taken out, it’s hard to get it to reset so the trough doesn’t leak. It was late in the day, Rick was tired, so I suggested he go down to High Tide and reclaim a trough we had taken down there that was not being used. Problem was, once Rick got the plug set, that water trough leaked too from an actual hole in the side. Ugh!

There was a lot of frustration, and some bad words muttered but an hour or so later, we finally had a filled water trough that didn’t leak. It took 3 separate troughs to get one that was usable, but hey … at least we had them. We’re just gonna pray we’re done with heaters for the year. Do me a favor and check for leaks when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

03/19/2025

I have never been good with tools. When my dad was alive and helped around the farm he would get frustrated with me. He would always tell me to use the “right tool for the job.” Evidently many times I was not. Today I found my dad’s words coming out of my mouth when I asked Rick to untie a knot for me.

We were relocating a hay bag on the fence. The knots had tightened because of the weight of the net. I struggled to untie them for a bit so when Rick came along, I asked him to try. He struggled too. Finally, he reached in his pocket to get his keys thinking he might be able to loosen the knot using a key. When he realized he didn’t have his keys he looked around and grabbed a pitchfork. Within seconds he had loosened the knot with a tine of the metal pitchfork. Talk about the wrong tool. I do have to admit though, he got that knot untied.

I’m not sure what my dad would have said but I sure was happy to get that knot untied. I didn’t care how he did it, though I did have to duck once when he almost hit me in the head with the pitchfork’s handle. So, while we might not always use the right tool, we always find a way to get the job done here at the barn. And we definitely know the right tools for a good ride! Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴