Riverside Stables

They have a whole hay line and plenty of room to spread out… yet here they are, all together at the dinner line. ❤️

Horses are herd animals, and having constant access to forage allows them to eat naturally throughout the day without worrying about when their next meal is coming.

No standing in a stall waiting for feeding time. No fighting over limited piles. No stress-related stall habits that are sometimes mistaken for being “cute.” Just freedom, friends and unlimited second-cutting fine grass hay.

Do we waste some hay feeding this way? Yep. But we’d rather waste a little hay than restrict something their bodies and minds are designed to have throughout the day.

You’ll also notice our newest old man is a little thin through his topline. We’ll work on getting him rounded out as he settles into the herd. Most of our horses are in their mid-20s, aside from our younger drafts, and caring for seniors means constantly adjusting to what each individual horse needs.

Freedom. Forage. Friends.

A pretty good life we get to live. 🤎

For all the work, long days and never-ending to-do lists… then you look up.

Tonight’s view from Riverside. 🤍

Rain would sure look good about now.

This is what herd life looks like. 🤍

No stalls. No isolation. They have the freedom to choose where they want to be and so often, they choose to be together.

During night check, we went out to shine the herd and take off fly masks (the flies have been horrible with this heat!) and couldn’t help but catch Sugar & Lolli grooming each other.

Freedom to move. Forage to eat. Friends to live with.

So if you’re still stuck in the old ways of thinking a horse belongs alone in a tiny box for half or most of its day, I encourage you to look at ways you can improve their daily life. More movement. More turnout. More forage. More opportunities for safe social interaction.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Horses were made to move, graze and live alongside other horses. Give them the opportunity to simply be horses. 🫶🏼

Winter pasture prep starts long before winter actually gets here!

With our horses living outside 24/7, maintaining their environment is a year-round job. Manure is regularly removed to keep areas clean, and right now we’re hauling in lime to help firm up high-traffic areas and prepare the ground for the wet months ahead. The goal is to prevent those areas from turning into a muddy mess once winter arrives.

We believe horses thrive with freedom to move, forage and living with friends - but giving them that lifestyle takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work to keep their environment clean, dry, safe and stimulating.

📹⭐️: Lolli & Liberty approved!

So while we’re off from trail rides this holiday weekend, the farm apparently didn’t get the memo.

Dolly Parton said “working 9 to 5”… farm people would just like to know who gets to stop at 5. 😂

Sound on 🔊
I’m so glad I caught this for ya’ll. There’s just something about hearing the horses slurp up that river water.

It’s the simple things in life. 🫶🏼