Heritage Farm

09/30/2024

The news has been full of devastating reports rock by hurricane Helene to the northwest part of North Carolina (and elsewhere). This group has been very instrumental in organizing loads of supplies to get to those in need. Please support their efforts if you can.

Our members are working together to raise funds for a full truckload of hay to be ready for horses displaced or in dire need following Hurricane Helene. Our initial goal will be the purchase of one truckload of hay; between $7,000-9,000. This first truck will meet emergency planners at a site that is both safe and that will serve the greatest number of horses. Many horse owners in the western NC area had to flee their homes and farms with very little time to prepare due to overwhelming flooding. ALL funds will go to relief efforts related to Hurricane Helene and equine needs. Please consider donating to the Sandhills Pony Club Venmo account: . You can confirm that this is the correct site as it has the SPC logo as seen in this photo. There will be no fees associated with your donation allowing us to fully utilize all donated funds for this intended purpose. Sharing this information will also assist us in meeting this goal! Our first donor will kick off the donations with $500 to .

08/27/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/2yD6RhYQxx3FqChW/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Whenever we talk about trail riding versus schooling and showing, I’m always surprised at the polarizing nature of these topics.

This shouldn’t be, folks! If we were talking about children, we wouldn’t be arguing whether schools should offer only gym time and field trips, versus schools that offer only mathematics. We wouldn’t be having the discussion because we would see that either curriculum would create very unbalanced students… with either their mental wellness or their physical health compromised.

And yet, we horse people stay firmly in either one or the other camp, all the time. We tend to say that we're either 'serious'... or we 'ride for fun'. Our poor horses.

I was at a dressage show once, when one of the advanced competitors caused a tremendous stir. Her horse wasn’t competing until just before suppertime, so in the morning, she took him out, dressed in her cut-off jeans and jodh boots, for a play in the nearby river. Early that afternoon, they came traipsing back to the show ground, he walking along on a loose rein, ba****ck, she with an inner-tube around her waist… and chaos ensued!

People were annoyed that she was scaring their horses. They were also astounded that she would ‘risk’ her art (the advanced dressage horse) on such a meaningless trek. It made me sad because both the horse and rider were so comfortable with each other. They should’ve stood as a beacon to all that might be possible, if only we would keep an open mind.

I needn’t have felt badly for them. They swept the boards when it was their turn to compete.

On the flip side, who has trail horses or working ranch horses who, after a haircut and a shampoo, head out on the weekends to show? These horses seldom, if ever, darken an arena door for schooling. Instead, their classrooms are found along the trails and the windswept hills.

My old teacher always maintained that if my horse couldn’t do the movements in a wide-open pasture, he wouldn’t put forth much of a test in a roped-off competition arena. And so, our practice schools were often performed from near the gopher hole at ‘A’ to the yellow w**d at ‘C’. The square halt was set to be just opposite that pink-coloured rock dubbed ‘X’… and so on, just for fun.

We miss a huge opportunity when riding our horses out, to sneak in a little schooling here and there, rewarded with a mile or two of time on a loose rein. We miss out on mixing experiential learning with the joys of building real relationship. Bottom line, those of us who aren’t interested in upping our horsemanship game are missing out on just as much as those of us who don’t want to ‘waste time’ on the trails.

More than ever, my vows to enjoy my horses '50/50'—both out on the hills and in mindful schooling—feel right.

Here, a great summertime memory captured by our friend Maggi, of Cinnabar and Mike, while riding in the Ranch Pleasure class at the local fair. Let’s face it. Neither horse nor man were exactly over-the-moon to be riding in public but they pulled it off with panache. I firmly told the pair that cultivating a little style would not take away from their ability to ride out and find a cow!

The better schooled our horses, the more fun it is to ride out. The more we ride out in nature, the better our horses will do in lessons, or at the shows. Do both environs require the same amount of time and enthusiasm? You bet they do.

Photo: Maggi McIvor.

03/05/2024

Everyone who is thinking of getting dogs should read this!
We need to understand this reality.

***I am a 21st century dog.***
-I'm a Malinois.
Overskilled among dogs, I excel in all disciplines and I'm always ready to work: I NEED to work.
But nowadays I get asked to chill on the couch all day everyday.

-I am an Akita Inu.
My ancestors were selected for dog fighting.
Today I get asked to be tolerant and I get scolded for my reactivity when another approaches me.

-I am a Beagle.
When I chase my prey, I raise my voice so the hunters could follow.
Today they put an electric collar on me to shut up, and you make me come back to you - no running - with a snap of your fingers.

-I am a Yorkshire Terrier.
I was a terrifying rat hunter in English mines.
Today they think I can't use my legs and they always hold me in their arms.

-I'm a Labrador Retriever.
My vision of happiness is a dive into a pond to bring back the duck he shot to my master.
Today you forget I'm a walking, running, swimming dog; as a result I'm fat, made to stay indoors, and to babysit.

-I am a Jack Russell.
I can take on a fox, a mean badger, and a rat bigger than me in his den.
Today I get scolded for my character and high energy, and forced to turn into a quiet living room dog.

-I am a Siberian Husky.
Experienced the great, wide open spaces of Northern Europe, where I could drag sleds for long distances at impressive speeds.
Today I only have the walls of the house or small garden as a horizon, and the holes I dig in the ground just to release energy and frustration, trying to stay sane.

-I am a border collie
I was made to work hours a day in partnershipwith my master, and I am an unmistakable artist of working with the herd.
Today they are mad at me because, for lack of sheep, I try to check bikes, cars, children in the house and everything in motion.

I am ...
I am a 21st century dog.
I'm pretty, I'm alert, I'm obedient, I stay in a bag...but I'm also an individual who, from centuries of training, needs to express my instincts, and I am *not* suited for the sedentary life you'd want me to lead.
Spending eight hours a day alone in the house or in the garden - with no work and no one to play or run with, seeing you for a short time in the evening when you get home, and only getting a small toilet walk will make me deeply unhappy.
I'll express it by barking all day, turning your yard into a minefield, doing my needs indoors, being unmanageable the rare times I'll find myself outside, and sometimes spending my days sunk, sad, lonely, and depressed, on my pillow.
You may think that I should be happy to be able to enjoy all this comfort while you go to work, but actually I’ll be exhausted and frustrated, because this is absolutely NOT what I'm meant to do, or what I need to be doing.
If you love me, if you've always dreamed of me, if my beautiful blue eyes or my athletic look make you want me, but you can't give me a real dog's life, a life that's really worth living according to my breed, and if you can't offer me the job that my genes are asking, DO NOT buy or adopt me!
If you like the way I look but aren't willing to accept my temperament, gifts, and traits derived from long genetic selection, and you think you can change them with only your good will, then DO NOT BUY OR ADOPT ME.
I’m a dog from the 21st century, yes, but deep inside me, the one who fought, the one who hunted, the one who pulled sleds, the one who guided and protected a herd still lives within.
So think **very** carefully before you choose your dog. And think about getting two, rather than one, so I won't be so very lonely waiting for you all day. Eight or ten hours is just a workday to you, but it's an eternity for me to be alone.

01/20/2024

This is a PSA for deer.

Critical information from NYSDEC!

[Dire] Consequences of Feeding Deer in Winter

Now that white-tailed deer hunting seasons have ended throughout most of New York State, it may be tempting to begin feeding deer to “help” them through the winter. However, feeding deer during the winter or other times of the year is unnecessary, prohibited in New York, and can have very negative consequences for deer, your neighbors, and surrounding wildlife habitat.

During the winter, deer mainly rely on woody vegetation (known as woody browse) for their nutritional needs. The digestive enzymes in a deer’s stomach change in the winter to better digest this browse. If deer are provided with unnatural food sources such as corn or hay after this change in diet has occurred, it can result in deer becoming ill or even dying. Deer will eat the unnatural food source, but can develop acidosis (grain overload disease) or enterotoxemia (Clostridium overgrowth) disease because they can’t digest the food properly. Both diseases can result in the rapid illness and death of deer even though their stomachs are full.

Deer also gather around food sources in winter which can increase the risk of spreading disease. For example, if a deer infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD) visits an artificial deer feeding site it will shed CWD prions (protein) in its saliva directly on the food which can infect other deer that feed there. Deer gathering at these sites can also increase the risk for deer-vehicle collisions and deer-related damage to landscape plantings, orchards, and tree farms.

Habitat improvement, especially the creation of shrubland and young forest habitat, is a good way to help deer and other wildlife so they have food to eat all year. For a list of tree and shrub species that deer prefer to eat in winter that you can promote on your property, visit DEC’s winter deer foods page.

Photo by John Lehmann.

11/15/2023

Well…
Didn’t we mention that Harlem Equestrian Center was planning on more events after the Spooktacular October event?
Here is one winter lesson series for you to fight off the winter blues…

Contact Rachel Brown with any questions.

We are excited to partner with Kerry Varble for a winter series beginning Dec 2. Join us for this great opportunity! Thank you Rachel Brown for organizing!

11/07/2023

This is a PSA concerning the health of your pets.

PSA: We adopted our dog, Rowdy, from the shelter 5 years ago. He was already an adult dog, so we estimate he is about 11 or 12 years old at this point. I love this dog. He is the sweetest soul and my BFF. For the past week or so he hasn’t been acting like himself. He licked a raw spot on his foot. He was panting constantly. He was pacing. Sunday morning, the pacing and panting got so bad, and I was REALLY nervous that there was something seriously wrong with him. For 45 minutes, he panted like crazy and constantly paced back and forth. He was keeping his tail tucked down all the time. His ears were pinned back. He would not settle down and he wouldn’t eat. We tried everything. I ended up giving him a trazadone that he takes sometimes when he goes to the groomer. It seemed to take a little bit of the edge off, but not much. He still wouldn’t eat and still wouldn’t settle. I took off work on Monday so I could take him to the vet. We did bloodwork and x-rays. Knowing he is a senior dog, I was trying to prepare myself for the worst case scenario. I was glad to see his bloodwork was great except for some elevated liver enzymes. The x-rays showed he was a little backed up but no major issues. He got an anti-nausea injection and some Gabapentin to help with some tenderness in his back and to hopefully help keep him calm. When we got home, he was ok for a little bit, but eventually started pacing and panting again. We walked around the neighborhood for a long time and he used the bathroom a lot. He seemed pretty happy about that and was in good spirits until we got home and he refused to come back in the house. Every time I took him out that evening, he would hunker down like he didn’t want to come back in the house. When my vet called and I gave her the update, she suggested there may be some new electronic device in the house that was emitting a high frequency noise that is hurting his ears. We had just put new smart outlets in the house about a week ago. His pacing and panting were worse when the lamps were on, so I unplugged all the smart outlets. He stopped panting, stopped pacing, and ate his food. His tail was even up and wagging again. When I plugged the smart outlets all back in and asked Alexa to turn on the lamps, he immediately started panting and pacing again. My husband used an app to test the frequency of the smart outlets. It was off the charts. We've left the outlets unplugged for two days and have confirmed that it is definitely the smart outlets that are causing his stress and discomfort. He's back to being a totally normal dog now. I really thought this was the end for Rowdy based on the way he was acting. I am so thankful for Dr. Newell at BoonesCreek AnimalHospital for figuring out this simple solution. If your pets are exhibiting similar symptoms, you may want to consider checking your electronics first. I cannot express how relieved I am that he is ok now. 😭♥️🐶

10/20/2023

Now that your costumes have dried from the pace… and before snow starts falling on us… are you planning to join the Harlem Equestrian Team this coming Sunday, October 22?

Come for a fun day of obstacle trail practice (morning) and/or obstacle trail arena competition (afternoon).
Intended to be a VERY low key, fun learning atmosphere for all horses and riders.
We will be ready to start by 830am, the farm is yours…
In the morning …
Follow a 2.1 mile path around the farm, stop at trail obstacles along the way and test out your trail maneuver skills.
In the afternoon,
At 1pm, if you would like, participate in the arena competition for a chance to be the inaugural HEC grand champion!!
Or practice your cross country skills.

We have been working hard to prep the farm, design course and trails… and even nature is helping … The trees are showing off their beautiful fall colors. It’s prime time!

We will look for feedback from you as …
drum rolls…
the Harlem Equestrian Center will be hosting more events next year! It’s your chance to come and tell the team what you like/dislike.

We hope to see you there.