Spring Special Riding Lessons!

If you’ve seen our Facebook page or previous posts were are bringing home some mustangs as ambassadors for the free roaming wild horses of the west!

To help give these horses a great start we are running a special to establish a fund especially for them. See below for a few riding package specials!

Excellent opportunity for the new rider looking to save money on a fun new activity.
Pricing is comparable to what we offer on Groupon! Save now on adult outdoor activities as well as children’s outdoor activities. We are offering a great horseback riding lesson deal. This is over a 20% savings! We have a flexible schedule and great riding instructors. We want to work with you and help you enjoy the outdoors!

Buy Now! Special Riding Lesson Package

Six Pack Private Riding Lessons Plus 2 (Total Eight Lessons)

Buy a Six pack of lessons and get 2 additional lessons for free! Each lesson lasts 45-60 minutes depending on the age and skill level of the rider! We will start from the ground up for the beginner rider. Call or text 860-532-5898 once you've purchased your lesson package to set up your first lesson!

$225.00

Summer Full of Riding!

This package is for the individual that wants to purchase riding lessons in bulk. This includes weekly private lessons from May 1st to August 31st. It is one lesson per week. Lessons are to be scheduled ahead of time and a set lesson time will be established. To change a lesson we require at least a 48 hour notice. Summer full of Riding costs $450.

$450.00

Please share this link and purchase lessons!
Your help means these horses get the opportunity to learn about humans and being spoiled!

Buy a Semi-Private Riding Lesson Package!

Six Pack Semi Private Riding Lesson Package Plus Two (8 lessons)

Must call ahead to make sure a group lesson is available. Buy a Six pack of lessons and get 2 additional lessons for free! Each lesson lasts 45-60 minutes depending on the age and skill level of the riders! Perfect for people looking to get back into riding and want to ride with others! Call or text 860-532-5898 once you've purchased your lesson package to set up your first lesson!

$175.00

Be On The Look Out

Remember this Friday is Black Friday and we will be updating and posting some specials on riding lessons, leases and summer camp!

-Felicia Fountain

Do you want to make a recommendation about a service or a package we should offer? Drop us a line!

Hara would love to know what you are looking for! We are excited to expand our services! We will update you soon!

Glastonbury woman helping rehabilitate pregnant horse | News | wfsb.com

We were featured on Channel 3 news last night! Check out the link below and please consider donating towards Siara’s care!

https://www.wfsb.com/news/glastonbury-woman-helping-rehabilitate-pregnant-horse/article_e8def0cc-e6cc-11e8-a0d5-a38461beb8d1.html

The Start of A Sustainable Horse Farm

Two horses out in large arena with sunrise in the background
Horses out in the arena enjoying the early morning sun

A year and a half ago I foolishly thought it’d be easy to build a horse farm from the ground up. I had a lot of success at first and I thought wow, this is so easy. Now, I’ve realized that I have so much more to learn and not nearly enough time to learn it. In the beginning I didn’t think about money, I just wanted people to come board so I kept prices low. My kindness and hopefulness has been both a blessing and a curse it brought a great community to me but at the same time I’ve ruined my finances (not for the first time).

I wonder, do I have what it takes to run a horse farm full time?

The real question I should be asking is- do I want to run a horse farm full time? My answer varies day by day. Some days I’m enjoying every second that at the farm and I rejoice in the progress we’ve made. Other days I look at the area around me and I just want to walk away from it all. Maybe I’d go and travel the world. Explore new places and get lost for a time.

Photo by Sebastian Voortman on Pexels.com
Photo by i love simple beyond on Pexels.com

Photo by i love simple beyond on Pexels.com
Photo by Sebastian Voortman on Pexels.com

Then I think about my horses, the ones I’ve taken responsibility of, I think about my barn cats and the barn dog.  Then I think about my boarders and how much they need the peace my facility provides. I don’t walk away because this plan is about more than just me. At times I look around and curse my curiosity and my creativeness- follow us on Instagram if you want to learn more about all the projects we have going on.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to make my farm sustainable and I want to make it a place all feel welcome at. I’m an introvert by nature and so, sharing my peace zone is something I dislike but again, this place, this facility isn’t about me. It’s about building community and helping those around me grow.

Where does this cross with sustainability?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Well, there are a few things I plan on implementing. At horse farms we waste a lot of water, a lot of valuable manure and a lot of time.

My action plan is to create a way to capture heat/ energy from decomposing manure. I want to use the compost created to feed the plants I want to grow.  We have to dump water buckets daily and instead of letting it go down the drain I plan on creating a gray water irrigation system to water the paddocks and the gardens I’ve started.  I want to put solar panels on the barn roof and use wind energy (if we get any) to help power the water pumps needed to move water around. Lastly, I want to have a composting toilet for the human occupants of the farm. The thing here is to stop being wasteful. Ideally, I’d like to reduce our carbon foot print to zero. That will take a lot of work and a lot of retraining of my community. We are after all a little bit lazy and we will have to step back and try to make ourselves brand new.

baby wearing yellow crochet long sleeve dress sitting on brown textile
Photo by J carter on Pexels.com

This is a journey I never expected to take. If you had asked me five years ago I wouldn’t have said I plan on developing and building a sustainable horse farm. However, here I am in the midst of planning this great adventure. Something, that is sure to have many bumps along the road. I just hope that my errors will help future barn owners run better barns that cost less, so we, as horse people can spend more time with the beasts we love so very much.

Tack Room on a Budget

We officially have a tack room!

It took longer than expected and a little (well a lot of) improvisation to create “cubbies” for each boarder. After using a lot of hardware in out of the box ways, we have a great tack room that is organized and ready for use!

 

Working with Horses and their owners

Greetings!

Hidden Meadow Equestrian Center is in the process of getting ready for visitors. While I’ve managed other barns in the past, it has always been for someone else. I oversaw the day to day operations but I didn’t was the one who paid the bills. It was a lot of stress and I didn’t really have control over the outcome. Working for Whimsy Brook Farm taught me a lot and I am thankful I had the opportunity to work there right out of college.  I got to realize my dream of being a riding instructor and horse trainer. I also realized how hard of a life that is and I learned that I didn’t want to only be a riding instructor/ horse trainer. It took me a while to get back up from that realization. I had to reconsider my choices and what I wanted to do. I had to reinvent “the wheel” so to speak.

The most challenging thing about needing to realign my thinking was that I still had to deal with horses and their owners. It’s a joke in the horse industry that the worst thing about dealing with horses are the humans that come with the horses. An unfortunate truth is that a common thing to hear while at a horse show is “Ms. Smith Trainer Extraordinaire is great with horses but horrible to deal with in person.” Then there are horse trainers that are people savvy. Often these are the people who are great to deal with and can convince everyone around them that they are AMAZING at what they do as and yet for some reason the horses they work with end up lame or injured or unrideable. Those people are the ones who are flashy and can talk the talk but when it comes to the safety of horses, well, that is something they don’t consider.

Which is quite a difficult thing to work around the question usually ends up being- as a riding instructor/ horse trainer and human how do you maintain the contact you need to succeed while still keeping the safety of the horse in mind?

This question is especially relevant as we see horses compete and train at increasing higher levels. The more we demand of our horses, the more we need to think about their safety. As a horse owner and a horse professional I’ve opted to keep out of the show scene- for me, showing off my skills isn’t as important as providing a safe, relaxed and enjoyable environment for my horses. Luckily for me, I happen to have boarders who are of the same mind.

 

Stay tuned for more from the Hidden Meadow team.

Sincerely,

Felicia Jane

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