Frequently Asked Questions

A track system is a type of horse management that aims to give horses the most natural way of living. In the wild, horses will move from resource to resource, covering many miles per day to access food, water, and shelter with their herd. Tracks are designed so that different resources are in different areas of the track and to get the horse moving to what they need. If a horse is kept in a pasture or a stall, it's easy for a horse to camp out and not move as much when all the resources are usually in one spot (because it's easier on us humans to fill the water tank right next to where we toss the hay and grain! And we usually don't want to let that hay get ruined so it stays under a shelter). And in a field of lush green grass (as beautiful as it is to see a herd of horses on green pastures), it is easy for a horse to just stay in one spot and eat all the grass and move very little to the next spot of grass. Lush green grass is also not the normal horse diet...usually too high in sugar and starch and it fluctuates throughout the day (which we see so many obese horses, metabolic horses, and other issues with inflammation that comes from a diet high in sugars). Wild horses live on much poorer forages. A true track system also promotes foraging where the horse has to look for food, which we have various hay stations and the hay doesn't stay in the same place each day...it moves. We also use multiple stations in one general area so horses don't get kicked off the hay and so when one station runs out of food, it's time to move. By scattering resources and forcing the path they have to take to get there, they have to move more than a standard pasture and certainly more than a stall boarded horse. Additionally, controlling the type of hay a horse receives, we can make sure that horses are getting variable forages from multiple fields/locations  with lower sugars and higher fiber and not just limited to the pasture the horse lives in. 

No! We know you could find a pasture board situation much cheaper than us. But we will also provide significantly more care to your horse. Most pasture board situations will only provide a safe place for your horse to live with a herd and a run in shelter and a round bale station and some sort of watering system. We are filling and running hay bags around a track daily, we use a water tank that needs filled to monitor horses' water intake, we provide manure management, we build features, we will feed your horse a daily and balanced ration (tied so that a fast eater doesn't come steal the feed from a slower eater), mud management is on our minds, and we are very concerned about the quality of our hay. Again, we built this place to be like no other because when I had my old PPID mare that I couldn't find the perfect home for, we built our own. This place was built with horse welfare at the top of our minds...not horsekeeper convenience. But once you know better, you can't go back!

We focus on a forage based diet, since it is the most natural for a horse and since many commercial grains are high in sugar and starch. Currently, we feed quality hay of multiple grass species and from various fields and cuttings. We add a few alfalfa flakes to the hay bags to add a higher protein forage to the diet and account for it to be about 20% of the forage available. The hay is fed at various heights and in changing locations to promote foraging and having different postures while grazing the hay bags. Currently we use a mix of Hay Chix nets and Gutbustaz knotless hay bags. We will eventually have tested hay exclusively and will use all knotless bags as the knotted ones wear out. From there, we provide a pound of timothy pellets or Unbeetable Feeds alfalfa/beet pulp/flax seed pellets, depending on what is best for your horse. A daily ration of Vermont Blend Pro balancer is added to the forage pellets. Depending on weather, horses will then also receive 2-4 Tbs of salt, a mineral that is deficient in many horse diets. Horses are also generally deficient in vitamin E, but especially those that are fed hay and not fresh pasture. We provide 2000 IU of natural (not synthetic!) vitamin E to each horse's daily ration. Any additional feed or supplement that is required for a horse to maintain condition can be provided by owner to be added to daily ration or to be fed once daily. 

The tack room was built with the human in mind. The rest of the set up was designed for the horse...but the tack room, that's for us! Boarding your horse with us gives you a personal and lockable tack locker that is sizable. Inside the locker, there are multiple rails that you can use to hang provided hangers. There is a shelf towards the top for storage. English saddles are given a straight bar rack to prevent the flocking to be smashed down. Western saddles have a heavier duty and more substantial rack since they are heavier and don't have the flocking. There is a saddle pad rack that folds into the wall. The floor is open for shelves/drawer/chests/trunks. Each locker has its own light and outlet. The lockers have slats to allow air movement to prevent molding and other issues when you put sweaty tack in it. The tack room is heated, cooled, and has a dehumidifier running in it. Feed, supplements, and meds are also stored in here. There is a rack for blankets to hang from in the open to dry. There is a tack cleaning corner with saddle cleaning supplies available. There is an area with a mirror and yoga mats and kettlebells and information to prepare to ride to make sure you are symmetrical, warmed up physically, and can strengthen key riding muscles. There is also a bookshelf of resources that boarders are able to borrow. Boarders will also receive two totes. One for summer gear storage and one for winter. Winter totes can store your horse's blankets, winter riding skirts, etc. Summer totes can store your fly gear and other things only needed in summer time. Totes are stored on the mezzanine above the tack room when they are not needed and on shoulder seasons.