Virtual Barn Tour (finally)

So May and I have officially been at our current barn for a year (actually a year and 7 days), so I figured it is probably time for a barn tour!

When May first arrived and for the first few months of our stay, May lived in the (very small) barn on the right side of the map that I circled in dark purple. The barn holds around 6 horses, and, at the time, they were all geldings. I think everyone was relieved that May doesn’t hate gelding and isn’t prone to squealing and kicking walls.

There were some advantages to this barn. It was quiet, there was plenty of room for my tack trunk, and May went out in the paddock right in front of the barn by herself (between the purple barn and the pool). There is also a separate wash stall for his barn and it pretty much never had a wait.

However, there is no direct route from this barn to any of the arenas (Indoor is circled in orange, the outdoor is in lavender, the dressage court is in bright blue, and the small outdoor is in pink). You have to walk along the driveway. This wasn’t an issue when I wasn’t working and was at the barn during the day.  However, once I started a full time job, riding in the evenings as it was getting dark got a lot more difficult. Much less trying to do so in the rain. I also felt like May would benefit from some buddies, and I would benefit from being in the more social part of the barn.

So we moved once a spot became available in the main barn (highlighted in light green). She seems to like this stall about the same amount as she liked the other one. Maybe more because she can more easily see above the front wall.

May is now turned out in the light blue field with a few other mares. There are literally only 5 mares on the property, so they all go out together. The field runs up next to the property next door that has a herd of cows, and May LOVES them. I once caught her reaching over the fence to groom one of them. The grassy fields of KY do mean that May wears a muzzle anytime she is out now, but she really doesn’t object to it at all. She also seems to be benefiting from getting the majority of her calories from grazing now, rather than from grain.

May’s Field:

About the arenas. Every barn I have ever ridden at before this had a maximum of 2 arenas. An indoor and an outdoor (or back to my really early days, a jumping arena and a dressage court). This barn has 4. It also has 2 fields that connect to the outdoor arena with cross country fences in them (once fenced and once completely open.) We also have one field that can be used for fitness, as it has a huge hill in it.

XC field next to outdoor arena (there are actually 3 ditches dispersed throughout this area of various widths and difficulties. There is also a bank complex directly to my right):

Dressage Court (not set up but freshly dragged… Ill take it):

Indoor Arena:

Funnily enough, I have never actually ridden in the small, fenced arena on the property. It is really only ever used by people with really green horses either lunging them or starting them under saddle. So that is pretty much it! There aren’t any trails (bummer) but no area is off limits for meandering around, and meandering we have done a-plenty! Hopefully, next year we will get to test out some of those XC fences.

And that is pretty much it! Hope you enjoyed checking out the place with me. 🙂