This afternoon Vicki and I went out for a short hunt after I got home from work. This was special because it was her first time to go hunting in a tree stand with me. We didn’t see anything , but as a climbed down, some deer started snorting nearby. She is excited to go again soon.
Mack loves to ride anywhere I am going in the truck. Today he was helping me cut firewood.
I took a few days off work this week to get some projects done around the farm and have some relaxing time too. Since all the kids were at school/preschool on Tuesday, Anna and I planned a nice long trail ride to explore more of our access to Pachaug State Forest. I have been studying the trail maps and we had plenty of options for our ride. So we saddled up King and Calli and went out for what was planned to be about 2 hrs. In the end, we covered 8.5 miles in 2:40. While galloping up a hill, King managed to overreach and lose one of his hoof boots. Post accident analysis indicates his hooves are probably about half a size smaller than in the spring. Good thing we have more boots in inventory.
Here are some pictures from the ride.
Alex and Vicki working together to milk Maggie while Poco eats on the second stand.
Amanda cleaning paddocks.
Feeding some hay.
Rubbing Huey’s nose.
Feeding pigs.
When Amanda was 18 months old, she went on her first trail ride in a buddy saddle on King. Since then, she has logged many hours in the buddy saddle. Earlier this summer, Huey, a 12yo, 11hh Dartmoor pony joined the herd and Amanda immediately claimed him as her pony. Since then, Alex and Vicki have been allowed to borrow Huey for some rides and to help train him, but Huey is Amanda’s pony.
At 3 years old, Amanda is more dedicated to riding than both of her siblings. You can’t get a horse out of the barn without Amanda grabbing her helmet and following along. And Huey is a rock star for little kids. Amanda has gotten to the point that she can ride Huey by herself in the arena at the walk and trot.
So today, Amanda got to trail ride on HER pony instead of on the buddy saddle. I rode Calli and had a lead line connected to Huey’s halter so Amanda didn’t have to do any steering. A nice short 45 minute ride through the forest with the whole family and all 5 horses/ponies. Amanda and Huey did great. And Calli, my 6yo TB mare, did awesome with me riding western and a lead rope wrapping around her side and butt to Huey. It was a great afternoon.
I’m sure by the spring Amanda will be insisting she can ride without the lead rope!
Thanks to Judy at Ricketts-White Design for designing our new farm logo! Leave a comment with what you think.
Next weekend, we will be adding 2 pigs to the farm! These pigs will be raised on organic, GMO free, soy free grain, fresh fruits, and goat milk (the goats are also eating organic, GMO free, soy free grain). We can not guarantee the hay for the goats and pigs is organic, however, we can ensure the meat will be raised soy free from the time it comes to our farm.
If you are interested in buying some local pork, keep reading!
The pigs will be about 2 months old when they arrive. We plan to raise them to about 6 months old, which means they will go to butcher in January. Based on the results from another nearby farm who raised pigs on the same grain and milk diet, the pigs should be around 300lbs live weight at 6months old. It is possible for us to take a pig to slaughter earlier if desired.
Instead of re-typing, (or copying) what I have found about how much a pig will yield, I will let you read one of the better write-ups about yield: http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2006/07/04/what-is-a-half-pig-share/.
There are only 2 pigs. We will not be selling cuts, only a whole or half pig. Our pricing will be $5/lb hanging weight (without the head) for a half-pig and $4.75/lb for a whole pig. We will be keeping at least half a pig for our family. Buyers pay the slaughter and butcher fees directly to the butcher when you pick up your meat. We will likely use a local butcher in Preston CT. The slaughter charge is expected to be $75/pig and $1.30/lb hanging weight for butcher fees (please note, these prices are estimates).
If you would like to reserve a half or whole, email me and then send us your deposit. A deposit of $150/half or $200/whole is required to hold your pig. A second payment of the same amount is due on November 1st, and the final balance will be due when the pig is slaughtered.
Stay tuned for pictures in about a week!
This morning I dropped Amanda off at preschool for the first time. As we left the house she noticed her Morning glories had finally started blooming almost as if they had been waiting for this day. She walked in the door at preschool and started playing like she had been there for years. Washed her hands, put away her lunch box and hung up her bag like she had done it a thousand times. Her preschool is the Little Log Preschool in Griswold, a whopping two miles or less from the house. It was recommended to me at the three year old Griswold schools screening, and Amanda will attend two days a week. Full day. I’m feeling a little emotional, but I have to get some work done on the farm, so off we go (Mack and I).
While Anna and the kids were in Sweden, I bought a new toy. I believe the comment when we pulled in the driveway was “Why is there a travel trailer parked in the yard?”
That’s right, I bought a 29′ toy hauler without telling my wife. We got it because we are now spending more weekends at fairgrounds showing the goats and rabbits. And who doesnt need a travel trailer.
Since we have a fair next weekend, this weekend is alpha trials at Hopeville Pond State Park, all of 2 miles from home. It makes it easy to go home and do chores and pick up things we want to add to trailer. In fact, since we didn’t make reservations we actually have to break camp in the morning and go home then come back later to a different site. That’s fine, we didn’t plan to site here all day.
Calli and I have been having a tough time lately. I have been busy working on projects and just wasn’t making progress (read – wasn’t riding). I finally broke down and hired a friend to do some training with her. The first ride went well and the trainer agreed that Calli has potential and is willing to learn. The second ride – Calli was lame. This was a lameness in her back/SI joint area. I saw the exact same lameness in her last fall after a few days of harder work.
In frustration, I actually listed her for sale on a Facebook group. Of course, when I read my own ad, there is no way I would buy her. I guess that’s why no one was interested.
So, I had some massage work done on her, which helped some. Then a Chiropractor came to visit. I hope she appreciates her spa treatments…
Tonight, I took her out for a ride. My instructions from the Chiropractor were to take it VERY easy. That was my plan.
About 7, I left for a trail ride. Alone. Just before dark. Without my trail pack/saddle bags. Without a trail map. Calli. Ok, it doesn’t sound so smart when I write it down. I did wear my helmet, protective vest, and did let some friends know I was going with a return by time.
So, with Calli’s Easy Boot Gloves on front and back, we headed out and decided to scout a different trail that we hadn’t ridden before. Did I mention this was the first time I had ever ridden Calli on the trail by herself? It turns out, turning right, instead of left is not a good plan. We ended up on what is probably the most technical trail I have ever ridden on. I know it was the hardest trail Calli had ever been on. We definitely couldn’t go faster than a walk, because it was extremely rocky.
Calli was AWESOME. She got nervous a couple of times, but trusted me and kept going. There was one point we when she was clearly too nervous about crossing some large rocks, so I hopped off and she followed right behind me. Then we started climbing a hill. This is when it got interesting. We had been riding for about 30 minutes. I was pretty sure I knew that we could keep going and connect to trails that would bring us home. Or go back through all the rocks. The problem was, if I was wrong, we were going to be out in Pachaug after dark without all the things I mentioned earlier. So, on we went.
Once we got to the peak, the trail became more open and only average rocky instead of crazy rocky. I gave Calli some rein and she picked up a trot! That was a very good sign because I was worried the rock work might have been too much for her to handle. As it was starting to get dark, I discovered Calli was unsure about going down rocky hills in the shadows of dusk. Not wanting to push things too far, I just jumped down and we jogged down the trail. It was actually good for me to stretch my legs. Eventually, I recognized the trails and we connected back to the gravel road leading towards home. Based on Calli’s nervousness in the quickly fading light, I decided to just ride the road home. We had enough success for the day. Calli was feeling very good and kept trotting down the road.
Overall, I was thrilled with the ride. First, Calli was completely sound. I guess the chiropractor visit did some good. Additionally, she was a champ on some very challenging conditions. I did learn a few lessons and I don’t think I will be trail riding without my pack again. I also plan to add a few things to the pack just in case something happens and I get stuck out after dark – headlamp, reflective vest, snack food, etc. I’m looking forward to another ride this weekend!