Farm Life Stables

04/17/2023

Our sweetest boy went home with his new best friend today. I never thought I would let this sweet horse go, but knowing that he has his very own little boy (and sweet little sis) to love him for the rest of his days sure did make it easier. 💙

03/14/2023

Scam alert!!! We do NOT have any horses for sale. We do NOT know who this Kelly Lowrida individual is. That person is advertising horses for sale on MULTIPLE sites and giving out my information as to where the horse is located. DO NOT SEND THIS PERSON MONEY. THIS IS 100% A SCAM!!!

02/17/2023

We have some news from the farm front....after a lot of consideration..we have decided that it's time to turn over the farm to someone who will utilize it to its potential. I have reached out to a few people that I know had interest in this farm and a few others have reached out to me. I am going to give them all the opportunity to decide what they'd want to do before I officially list with Elisha Hardison in March. When we bought this farm, it was my biggest dream come true. My family has loved this place and all the people it introduced us to along the way. However, Garland and I are ready for a life with a little less farm maintenance...and a little more down time. The girls are all grown up and venturing into their own lives. We will be rebuilding a mini farm just for us locally, once we decide which property we would like to settle down and retire on. Here is where I really need your input....tell me things that are MUST HAVES for you in your home. As we plan our new home I would love to consider things that I may not have thought of. Did you build or did you do modular? Did you hire a general contractor or did you manage the build yourself? What would you have done differently? What would you definitely do again? Any Barndominium people out there? How do you like a metal building for a house? All these things and more!!!

01/25/2023

2023 makes 10 years. We have had a BLAST and have thoroughly enjoyed all of the students and trainers that have graced our little farm. However, we have made the difficult decision to let our lesson program go. The increased costs of horse ownership, the ever rising costs of insurance to cover a lesson program and the aging of our beloved horses all play a huge roll in this difficult decision. We will continue our current program through the end of May, but will not be accepting any new customers effective immediately. I am encouraging anyone new to reach out to Kathleen Orphanos and Brody Hickman for lessons in Martin County and Ashlyn Batten for lessons in Beaufort County as they all offer a solid program and have lesson horses available. We will still have very limited boarding opportunities available with 1 spot for a Mare open in April and potentially a Gelding in June. We are so thankful for everyone who has been a part of this adventure with us as we watched our children grow into young adults on our beloved farm💗💗 We have so many wonderful memories to cherish😊

01/10/2023

Sophisticated Eighty AKA Peanut. You were a fabulous first horse for a little girl❤. You were Chances very best friend. You were as good as they come....and you will be dearly missed. Rest easy now sweet boy.💔😭🐴

01/02/2023

I have some square bales that are for sale. It's hay I bought this summer, but I won't need. I will reserve a few just in case I have to bring my horses in, but other than that, I feed round bales. Coastal hay. $8.50/bale

12/29/2022

We have 2 saintly horses availabe for on site 1/2 lease.

1. Chance: Large Pony. Will place in the hunters all day long. Knows his job and does it fantastically! He has been a very dedicated lesson horse here for many years and I am finally offering him the opportunity to have a more consistent rider. He is an older guy (but don't tell him that). Anyone who leases him will have to have direction of an approved trainer to come on site for lessons. Chance can also handle a small adult rider and LOVES the dressage ring. Chance does trail ride - but that's not his favorite thing to do alone.

2. Sundae. This girl does it all - - and excels at whatever she does!! She is also quite lovely to look at 😍. English, Western, ba****ck, eventing, hunters, dressage...then go out for a trail ride. She is a special one for sure. Safe for an advanced beginner under the direction of an approved trainer.

Contact me if you are interested in either of these two.

12/06/2022

Henry....oh Henry. I love this guy. He has such heart...just too much for me to bring along safely. Lots of baggage there on this guy. I sent him to Kathleen Orphanos for 30 days for a strong assessment of what he has to bring to the table...and if he will ever really enjoy what it is that I wanted him to do. The answer to that was...he is smart...really too smart🙄..and he doesn't enjoy the work I wanted him for (100% appreciate kathleen and Brody for the time and energy put into him to really TRY to get him to enjoy my world...and the honesty with which they told me he wasn't a good fit). I have posted him for sale a few times and taken him back down out of fear that he would fall into inexperienced hands and hurt someone...or get hurt himself...or that he would simply be miserably misunderstood for his whole life and get moved from place to place. I had almost resolved to him just being a extra trail mount who ate expensive hay and looked pretty in my pasture😌. One person kept popping into my mind..but he had not even mentioned that he would be interested in another horse. He had just lost his horse of over 20 years. I sent a message telling him to just come check my boy out. He came out yesterday and they INSTANTLY clicked. Henry followed him all around and was eager to please. This is really the first time I have seen Henry so engaged with someone and willing to work for affection. Henry had finally found his person...and he lit up😍. It was a happy day to see Henry load up on that trailer. I won't worry about him...I won't worry about his owner. I know that he will continue to bring him along slow and steady and will have softly stern hands when needed🧡. Be responsible horse sellers...be honest in what you have. Tell the good..the bad..and the ugly. Take the time to see if the bad and the ugly are showing up for a reason. Take the time to assess if the bad and ugly are showing up because the horse HATES his job...or even you😬. Help the horse find their perfect situation.

11/28/2022

If you have ridden past the barn recently....and thought it was falling down😬....it wasn't!! We are renovating!!!! We made the decision to keep our boarding numbers low at the farm and keep it to ourselves just a little more than in years past. Our children are all grown and moving into their adult lives and its just a good time in our lives to downsize and focus on making things work better for us. This is the beginning of our new covered sitting area. It will likely be well into spring of 2023 before we get it just like we want it...but this is a fantastic start!! Brian Ward and his crew making all my dreams come true in that big old farm house and in the barn💜

11/22/2022

I worked last night at the job that actually pays me🥴....the boys are quite disappointed that breakfast is late.....i think they will survive🤣.

10/26/2022

Its been a crazy few days here at Farm Life. 3 emergency vet visits in 5 days🥴. Pete choked on SOAKED FEED Friday...Dr. Lauren to the rescue!!! Aiden choked Sunday...he was certain he was not going to make it...but a quick after hours phone call helped him understand he would be just fine. Pheona kicked off yesterday with a colic...Dr Bob to the rescue!! She was feeling better by 1pm but by 6pm she was writhing in pain again...Dr Lauren to the rescue yet again with fabulous "last-ditch effort" advise to save sweet Pheona.

Greenville Mobile Equine Service, PA we are so very grateful and thankful to you and all you do for us!!

10/16/2022

What horse show moms really do at horse shows🤣🤣🤣

10/11/2022

HENRY is here❤❤❤. When I got to Ashlyn's to pick him up and finally saw him in person....I realized that he is quite literally my very first horse all over again😭 Midnight (1985ish)....and Henry.... I think I may have a "type"😉🤭 Henry, you have some huge shoes to fill to be a fabulous as that little black pony was💗

10/05/2022

Let's chat about horses and trailers.

Today I had to load up and haul a horse to the vet. I was the only one here and she desperately needed to be there today to get her foot taken care of. I grabbed her, walked her right on the trailer, tied her in, shut the ramp and was on my way. No drama...no stress. When we got there, she calmly backed off.

2 months ago that wouldn't have happened with this mare. She wouldn't load without someone behind her pushing her forward with a crop...she was so nervous on the trailer that when you tied her in she immediately started pulling back, trying to get away. She spent the entire ride in a panic mode. You had to untie her before you could open any ramps or dividers and she promptly turned around and took off out of the trailer.

We spent about 3 weeks doing nothing but ground work and really working with her and her comfort level inside the trailer. Because of that work....she is comfortable and confident about trailering.

Spend the time. Get your horse confident with trailering....you never know when you will need to load up in an emergency and that is not the time to try to fight with them!!

10/02/2022

Sometimes you look and look to try to find the perfect horse....and sometimes you ask your friend to "keep their eyes open" to help you look.....and they say "Oh...I have that at my barn...he is fabulous" 4th horse coming from Two Rivers Performance Horses to Farm Life Stables later this month!!

"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot"

09/27/2022

Today....we dressaged...sort of 🥴😬🤪

09/26/2022

Yall....I had the pleasure of riding Windstorm today 💗. This horse was AWESOME!! They brought him here and he unloaded without any yelling or nervousness...with 18 horses standing there egging him on🙄. I took him and let him walk himself around the arena once to see things...but he thought things were pretty boring🤷‍♀️. I walked him through the barn and he never hesitated. Tacked him up, got on and rode right off. He literally went anywhere I pointed his cute face. Ears were up and he was licking his lips the whole time. I was hoping that he may be my next horse to venture into the eventing world.... his demeanor is EXACTLY what I am looking for...but this big sweet guy is gaited. I was able to get him to do a nice slow rack that was SMOOTH!!! He doesn't check all the boxes for my next horse....but if you are looking for a horse to ride out on the trails, at the beach, around your farm....or hook up to a cart and pull you around in style...THIS is your guy💝. He is available for ✌️✋️0️⃣0️⃣

09/21/2022

Today I had a "practice what you preach" moment. Trying to get this giant, baby goof (and myself) better balanced has been a challenge as he firlmy believes that I should hold him up🙄 and I firmly believe he should tolerate my unbalanced seat and keep me in the saddle🥴. I have found that figure 8's really do help us both quite a bit. I caught myself arguing with him tonight and noticed that I was 100% looking at his head and neck the ENTIRE time I had been riding. I made myself look up and sit up and we INSTANTLY had a better ride. I was no longer picking on him constantly to "fix" something that really wasn't an issue to start with. He was no longer pi**ed off at me for constantly picking on him. I was looking where I wanted to go which fed right through to my seat and to him. He wasn't confused and frustrated...and neither was I....who woulda thunk it🙃🙂

09/10/2022

I love a good trail horse...why??? Because they are capable, thinking, agile, willing, trusting, brave, strong and patient. All of the aforementioned reasons are why I constantly tell riders here to get OUT of the ring as much as possible. Sundae and I did just that today!! She has never been to an organized trail ride before and has never crossed a bridge before. Today she learned how to negotiate steep uphills and down hills, ditches, bridges and crowd control. She learned to listen to me with softer cues, she learned that waiting patiently while others walk away gets you a cookie🍪😜. She learned so many things today that she cannot learn in a ring. Dont get me wrong. I absolutely 100% believe that strong work in the ring is also extremely important. I just thing that a fantastic combo of the 2...Makes for a fantastic horse❤️

09/09/2022

Gotta love a girl who thinks out of the box❤️and ROCKS the black!!! The FABULOUS Holly weaver took some AMAZING photos of Sadie and Gunner last night. Holly is now booking clients in NC.....hit her up!!!! Holly Breeden Photography

09/05/2022

Winter hay ✅️

09/01/2022

We had a situation arise today that I feel as if I need to address. I am going with the assumption that MAYBE some people just don't realize...
Horses are "fight or flight" animals...most of the time flight. Big loud noises or sometimes a falling leaf can set them off into panic mode. We often have drivers who drive by riders who may be riding out of the arena and close to the road. Drivers used to slow down a bit and move over a little bit, but we are seeing this less and less. Because of that, we created a riding area off if the road and around our farm. Today a horse was spooked when a big truck drove by, it was loud and the horse reacted dangerously. The rider was scared and also reacted. The driver TURNED HIS TRUCK AROUND and came back by BLARING ON THE HORN. People...please don't do this. You could have gotten a rider killed. It is not acceptable to TRY to get a person hurt. If you are upset, you are welcome to have a conversation...what you did today to try to prove a point to a young person was extremely dangerous. Please don't do that again.

08/28/2022

We haven't done a lot of horse showing this summer...so not very many "way to go" horse show posts. I do have to brag on these two just a little bit 🤗. They both faced some challenges today and both persevered! Perry and Maddie you both were fabulous💗💗

08/16/2022

Keep your horses well rounded 💗....he's usually an eventer..but today...he is a perfect trail horse😍

08/16/2022

I know that there are several people who have reached out to us recently regarding lessons. Our schedule is pretty full - so I highly recommend checking out Moonbeams and Miracles! She does great things there!!

Our Fall 2022 semester will begin September 12th! As always, our horses are enjoying a break, but we’re looking forward to seeing all of our smiling students back at the farm! We will be emailing to schedule lesson times next week (trying to survive our yard sale fundraiser first! 🙃), so be on the lookout for an email early next week! If you or someone you know is interested in lessons, this is the perfect time to schedule an evaluation and get involved!

08/08/2022

Axle, Dakota and I will be running and walking again this evening 730ish. We welcome anyone who wants to join. Serioulsy...my goals are pretty small...I run 4 fence posts length and walk 4 fence posts length ...and we go the whole way around the farm. My ling term goal is to eventually run the whole way around the farm. Let's get those hearts pumping strong!!

08/07/2022

We all start somewhere. Chase your dreams.

08/03/2022

Just a little spotlight moment for this kiddo.

Maddie was walking out to the pasture to get her horse this morning for an early morning ride. She noticed that another horse in the pasture didn't look quite right from a distance and let her mom know. Her mom quickly reached out to me to let me know Maddies concerns...and even went out to the pasture to bring her in so we could get her treated quickly! Thank you Maddie for being so observant of all the horses when you come out!! Thank you Meredith for caring and taking quick action!! We are blessed with the best here❤️🐴