We feed grain in the morning and grain and hay  in the afternoon. We purchase one ton of grain every two weeks and stick with the same brand. Again, we work hard to not change their diet. Twice a month, we also  purchase the large compressed bales of orchard grass/timothy mix or alphalpha. These large bales weigh anywhere from 800 lbs to 1200 lbs. It has to be mold free and quality hay.

The horses are watered three times a day in the summer. They can drink up to 15 gallons of clean, fresh water on a hot day. The water buckets are dumped daily to prevent sour in the heat and disinfected once a week.

The stalls are cleaned twice a day and bedded with shavings as needed. Bedding is usually once a week depending on the horse. Some horses like people are known as “easy keepers” some are not. I have to admit we have a couple of horses that are not “easy keepers” but I will not out them publicly. lol.

I would like to welcome Tiny/Buddy to the lesson program at the Blue Ridge. Tiny was rescued from an idiot who did not feed him, trim his feet, or take general care of him. He has gained an enormous amount of weight since his arrival but is still in need of some serious groceries.  Philip and I rode Buddy for the first time this weekend and he did wonderful! I am glad Tiny is in a safe place with people who love him. Please welcome Tiny to the Blue Ridge!

Time to switch to the summer lesson schedule.  Starting the first week of June, we will move to a Tuesday-Friday schedule.  Lessons start at 8:00AM which sounds early but much cooler in the heat of the summer.  We try to take our last lesson at 1:00.  I promise the earlier the better! If you have not scheduled your new lesson time, please give me a call or email.  Times are on a first come first serve basis.  Also, please send me any vacation schedules so I can do make up lessons during that time slot.

I look forward to this summer! Happy Riding, Vicki