Summerhill Boarding LLC

We support the Xavier Equestrian Team, you should too!!

The team is hosting a fundriaser to help with our season. We would love anyone’s support! The fundraiser will be going on for the next 21 days! Here’s the link:

https://vraise.org/u4dOce

Had to repost. Loved this take. Loving animals is a commitment. This winter I’ve had the privilege of watching our barn manager do this all, every day. Sick, tired, cold, doesn’t matter. She busts a move, every day and the horses are happy. Immense respect goes out to all that endure this for the soft hearted creatures that they care for out there.

Before you get into horses or decide you want to keep them at home instead of boarding, especially in winter, take these things into consideration:

Winter is not cozy barn vibes and hot cocoa. Winter is survival mode

• Water freezes. Constantly. Buckets, troughs, hoses, automatic waterers. You will be breaking ice multiple times a day or running heaters that can fail, short out, or spike your electric bill.

• You are hauling water. In the dark. In the cold. Sometimes multiple times a day. Snow, ice, mud, all of it.

• Mud season is real. And it is relentless. Everything is wet, slick, heavy, and filthy. Your boots, your clothes, your horses.

• Hay usage skyrockets. Horses eat more to stay warm. That means higher feed costs and more frequent hay deliveries, which can be delayed by weather.

• Your pasture is basically unusable. You are feeding hay full time, managing sacrifice areas, and trying not to destroy your land.

• Blanketing is not optional for many horses. That means on, off, change weights, fix straps, deal with ripped blankets, soaked blankets, and frozen buckles.

• Ice is dangerous. For you and your horses. One bad slip can mean a hospital visit or months of rehab for a horse.

• Vet and farrier access can be limited. Weather delays happen. Emergencies do not care about forecasts.

• You still have to go out there. Every day. Sick, tired, holidays, snowstorms, freezing rain. There is no calling out. In fact, even if you hire people, they will probly call out, leaving it to you anyway in bad weather.

• Your equipment suffers. Frozen gates, snapped hoses, dead batteries, tractors that will not start, heaters that quit at 2 am.

• Your time commitment doubles. What takes 20 minutes in summer can take over an hour in winter.

• Your costs increase while your enjoyment often decreases. Less riding, more maintenance, more stress.

None of this is to scare you. It’s to make sure you are informed.

Horses at home can be amazing. They can also be exhausting, expensive, and unforgiving in winter if you are not prepared.

If you are thinking about it, plan for worst-case scenarios, not best-case Pinterest versions.

Winter does not care how much you love horses.

This is shared with respect for the work, not frustration with it.
Jaks Stables

Sweet sweet little floof

Keep frost free spigots closed! If you have them on a drip the water is siphoned to the top and they will freeze over. The valves are buried to keep them from freezing. If you open the valve it pulls the water to the surface.
Make sure all gas meters are free and clear of snow and ice.
Open cabinets inside warm spaces to allow plumbing to be heated by the ambient air temperatures.
Hydrate and God speed!

❤️

UPDATE: NO VACANCY

40acre Farm for lease: minimum 1 year
(12) 13x13 stalls with hot and cold water to each
Wash stall
Arena
Pastures with run in sheds, water and electrical run to each
Perimeter trail
Parking for trailers and boarders
Hay fields and hay included

Entire Facility Rented. No Vacancy.

Lesson inquiries: Saybrook Farms