Category: Horse Care Tips

January is the season of resolutions and the time most people dedicate to setting goals for the year ahead, but whether it’s the start of the year or not, dedicating time to mapping out your goals is the most effective way to achieve your expectations. For equestrians, goals could range anywhere from aiming for specific […]

  Give your horse a break. If you and your horse have a strict schedule for training and competing throughout the year, the colder months can be a great opportunity to give your horse some time off to rest and recover. While some people feel their horse can’t mentally handle down time of more than […]

The feed room is a vital part of a horse facility. It’s a place visited at least twice a day (although usually more) by a farm manager and staff. Whether your feed room is a corner of your garage or a full room in your barn, keeping things neat and tidy is important to ensuring […]

How much time do you spend sitting behind your desk staring at the numbers that sum up the workings of your facility? Bookkeeping is integral to keeping your horse farm running, but it can sometimes feel overwhelming and disorganized. While many professional facilities can (and should) hire a professional to handle the complex parts of […]

Whether you’re just getting back into a riding routine after summer vacation or have been doggedly working all season on improving in the saddle, incorporating lessons into your training plan means you get the opportunity to check in on your progress and benefit from the eyes of a more experienced rider. While taking lessons can […]

1. Take advantage of scheduling tools. Carrying around a physical calendar isn’t an option for most managers, which is why digital scheduling tools are crucial for optimizing organization. Keeping your appointments, reminders, and tasks all in one place will help you maintain a more regulated barn and allow you to plan your days and weeks. […]

Every spring, home owners flock to greenhouses and garden stores to stock up on colorful plants to brighten their outdoor living – unsurprisingly, barn owners are often right there with them! Whether you have a green thumb or just love the look of a freshly planted bed outside your barn, we have a few suggestions […]

Every horse owner knows the dietary dangers of grazing horses on lush, spring pastures, but many forget the other dangers that come with warm weather. Here are a few other issues lurking around the farm during the spring months.   Ticks If you live in an area that doesn’t see ticks often, count yourself lucky! […]

Most of us have experienced that heart dropping moment when your horse suddenly isn’t moving right. Whether it’s a slight misstep every few strides or finding your horse three-legged in the field, lameness is defined as any alteration to a horse’s natural gait and signals that it’s time to call your veterinarian. While many horse […]

The leafy, lush trees lining the pasture’s edge are quickly giving way to bare branches, and your green pasture often starts out the day with a coat of silver frost. This can only mean one thing – winter is on its way! Whether you keep a couple of horses at home or manage a large […]

The high-level preventative and recovery treatments that used to be reserved for horses in the strings of upper-level riders are becoming more widely available to competitive horses of all levels. As research and understanding of performance and recovery in horse sports improves, there has been greater use of treatments such as acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractic […]

Ear plugs, most commonly seen in the hunter ring, are an often brought up topic at shows. If they can be used is regulated by the rules of the discipline at the level of competition, however when they should be used is another question entirely.  Ear plugs for horses are usually soft, squishy (and sometimes […]

As one of the top event riders in the US, Jennie Brannigan operates Brannigan Eventing at a high-quality facility in Coatesville, PA with a winter base in Ocala, FL. Brannigan coaches, teaches clinics, produces horses and competes year-round. With such a busy schedule, she depends on her team of professionals to maintain her business and […]

While most horse farms have settled into a “new normal” for rider safety in a pandemic-filled world, after a year of precaution it’s easy to slowly start letting things slip. Strict protocol is easy to maintain when the outbreak is at the forefront of everyone’s mind, but as some states remove mask mandates and the […]

It happens every year, and yet it still seems that most horse people are surprised when winter weather really sets in. Days of snow, slippery footing, and freezing temperatures are all an unfortunate symptom of the winter season, but with a few tricks, you can make caring for horses in the winter less of a […]

It seems like these days there’s an app for everything, including managing the care of your horses! How do you know if a barn management system is right for your facility? If you want to stay on top of horse care, make billing easier, and manage client records effortlessly – it’s time to look to […]

Welcome, Stable Secretary fans! We want you to know how much we appreciate you and your business, so each month, we will highlight our phenomenal customers in our blog series: Stable Secretary Success Stories. Husband and wife duo Kendra and Devon Bridges have been riding, training, and competing horses for decades. Together they currently own and […]

Oh, it’s the most wonderful time of the year! Why? Because everyone is heading to Florida, or California, where the warm breeze and palm trees are calling their names. Or… Everyone is enjoying the snow, drinking hot cocoa, listening to holiday tunes and enjoying tack room barn parties galore.Either way, we are in good spirits […]

Wouldn’t it be helpful if a horse could say “Help! Something hurts here!”? Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Galloping, leaping and sliding to a stop all can put an overwhelming amount of stress on a horse’s legs. Joints are made of up bone, cartilage, soft tissues and protective fluid- all of which can break down […]

In December, we talked to New Jersey based trainer, Amanda Steege. Amanda is the owner and head trainer at Ashmeadow Farm. She and her students have won tricolors at all of the biggest shows in the United States – and they also have a lot of fun in general! Ashmeadow nurtures a wonderful feeling of […]