Ferrell Hollow Farm

Happy Birthday Eagle!

Today Eagle turns 28 years old!  He came to Ferrell Hollow Farm 3 years ago to retire and has been a joy to care for.  He's a tall, lanky QH with a wonderful disposition.  He will get to enjoy even more of his tasty snacks today as eating is one of his favorite activities :)  Here's hoping to sharing many more days with you big guy!

Cindy Daigre is the founder and director of Ferrell Hollow Farm, an Equine Retirement facility in Middle Tennessee focusing on the unique concerns of Senior and Special Needs horses. In addition, she provides Equine Nutritional Consultations, has developed a specialized line of Natural Horse & Body Care Products, Herbal Blends and Seed Mixes for Horses, and has written several articles for Natural Horse Magazine.  www.ferrellhollowfarm.net

 

Soaking Problematic Horse Feet

Today was the day to do a Clean Trax soak on Mary's front feet.  CleanTrax is a deep penetrating hoof cleanser used on tough hoof infections, and does not harm healthy tissue.  It is a lengthy process to use this product.   The horses feet need to be cleaned first (I pick them out then put the foot in a pan of water, add a couple of drops of dish detergent and scrub the foot).  Once the solution is mixed, the horses foot is placed in a reinforced bag, the solution added and the bag sealed to lock in the vapors for 45 minutes!

Mary is a 26 y/o Standardbred, retired from life as a NYC carriage horse. She quietly nibbles at hay while her feet soak.  I use duct tape to reinforce the seams on ziploc bags and vetwrap to seal them closed.

Once it is time to take the feet out of the solution, the next step is to place empty bags back on the feet, seal them again, for 45 minutes so the vapors can continue to penetrate the crevices of the hoof.

It is very helpful to have a horse, such as Mary, who is calm and stands nicely for the entire treatment :)

It was necesssary to clean Mary's front feet with the Clean Trax as a preparation for canker treatment that is beginning this week.  Hoof Canker will be a topic for another blog entry ;)

Cindy Daigre is the founder and director of Ferrell Hollow Farm, an Equine Retirement facility in Tennessee focusing on the unique concerns of Senior and Special Needs horses. In addition, she provides Equine Nutritional Consultations, has developed a specialized line of Natural Body Care Products, Herbal Blends, Seed Mixes and has written several articles for Natural Horse Magazine.  http://www.ferrellhollowfarm.net

 

 

Calendula Special *2 days only!*

For 2 days only, when you order a Calendula Balm, you will receive a FREE sample of our NEW Calendula Cream, soon to be debuted!  If you have sensitive skin or require fragrance free products, this one is for you!  This offer lasts thru midnight Tuesday April 10th, 2012!  All proceeds from the sales help us care for the special needs horses we have adopted and retired at Ferrell Hollow Farm!  Our vet is coming this week for x-rays of 3 of the drafts feet and hocks, and to assess our mare with hoof canker.

Ferrell Hollow Farm’s Calendula Balm is very beneficial for healing wounds, soothing dry, cracked or chapped skin in both people and animals and taking the sting out of bug bites!  It has a very mild, natural scent with no essential oils added, making it exactly what those with sensitive skin need.

Cindy Daigre, owner of Ferrell Hollow Farm’s Equine Senior Retirement Farm, is continually inspired by the beauty of the gardens she lovingly cares for and regularly creates unique herbal blends based on the plants surrounding her home. As with all of our products, only cruelty-free ingredients are used.

http://www.ferrellhollowfarm.net/Store.html

The Senior Horses see the Dentist!

Routine dental check ups are a very important part of horse ownership.  Like anything else, it is less costly and better for the horse if preventative measures are taken yearly, rather than waiting until a problem arises!  Horses at Ferrell Hollow Farm are seen a minimum of once a year for dental check ups.

I am happy to say that my dentist completely understands my hesitation of using any form of sedation on the seniors and none of them needed any!!  That is usually the case, but I was unsure of our new drafts :) 

Siegfried was a complete gentleman and never moved an inch.  Mary has become my dentist's favorite as he loves the old style Standardbreds :)  She was a doll, of course ;)  Francis---well, poor old Francis--his vision is certainly not what it used to be ;(  He has cataracts in both eyes and his sight is slowly failing him.  He just had a hard time understanding what was going on, poor thing.  Willie has excellent teeth for a 32 year old, and Maggie has not lost anymore teeth-whew!  Eagle was a gem and never flinched-he has a slight wave to his teeth, but overall pretty good.  Tess is only missing 1 tooth from 3 years ago, and needs floating to keep the tooth above it from getting too long, since it has nothing to wear on it.

Then it was the big boys turn :)  I had told Ben that I had 2 new horses, drafts, that needed to be seen.  They both drop their feed and Slim chews very slowly.  I was sure they needed a tune up since I did not know when they were last done.  He joked that his speculum might not be big enough to fit over Buddy's head, but sure enough it did!  Both Buddy and Slim were complete gentlemen--I was a very proud momma--they stood perfectly still--no head slinging, or pushing from either of them :)

Equine dentist, Ben Bowman, working on Buddy's teeth--notice how relaxed this massive draft is!

Cindy Daigre is the founder and director of Ferrell Hollow Farm, an Equine Retirement facility in Middle Tennessee focusing on the unique concerns of Senior and Special Needs horses. www.ferrellhollowfarm.net

 

A Day at Ferrell Hollow Farm

Saturday March 17, 2012

One woman, 10 horses, 8 cats, 2 dogs and 2 goats.  It just took 2.5 hours to care for all of them.  So?  The horses are spread over 6 pasture/paddock locations.  The cats are in 4 different areas.  Every horse receives a bucket meal with necessary supplements, and then enough hay until the evening meal comes around.  Poop is scooped or sprinkled with DE to deter breeding flies.  Nets and buckets are prepared for the next meal.  Everyone is checked over.  Yesterday we had a colicky horse related to ulcers.  This morning that is better. Whew!  A draft has active laminitis.  Another draft comes up lame and is blowing out an abcess.  If you've never worked with drafts, they are quite large and every thing is exaggerated with them.  The mare with hoof canker has a foot that is separating.  The gelding with the stifle injury is not quite as comfortable as he was a week ago.  The 2 Cushing's horses are way too hairy for our unseasonable 80 degree weather.

While this work load may not seem like much to some, realize that I am operating on less than 100%, still rehabbing from ACL reconstructive surgery 9 weeks ago, with continued physical therapy for at least another 2 weeks.

What does the rest of the day hold for this lady?  My house needs to be cleaned.  My farm house also needs to be cleaned-baths, kitchen, appliances, laundry room and windows cleaned before showing to prospective new tenants on Monday.

The laminitic horse needs a watchful eye and increased care, and the abscessed foot also needs more attention.  It is a 7 day a week job with long hours.  A labor of love.

If you would like me to work with you on getting your horse healthy thru a consult, but don't want to pay for it, don't ask.  If you would like me to board your senior, retired, special needs horse for less than my monthly boarding rate, I can't.  If you do however, see the value in these things, please contact me, as I would love to work with you and your horse(s).  This is how I make my living.  This is how I can take in special needs horses that need this level of care and pay for their upkeep myself.  It is not easy work.  It is a true labor of love.  These horses need me and I need them.  They are here to teach me things and I remain open to listening to them.

Please visit my website for more information and support our passion if you can, or share with others--thank you! Cindy Daigre

www.ferrellhollowfarm.net

Help Support Ferrell Hollow Farm's Effort with Senior Horses!

Ferrell Hollow Farm has chosen over the years to adopt senior horses that might not otherwise have a chance for a happy retirement.  Currently we  have 4 retired Carriage horses (2 from NYC and 2 from Michigan) and 1 retired Jousting horse (from NY) that we lovingly adopted into our Retirement Program so they could have a comfortable forever home! All of these horses are aged, with the exception of Buddy, and they all have special needs requiring lots of care and attention, not only from myself, but other equine professionals (vets, dentist, trimmer) which adds to the cost of keeping them comfortable. And that is our goal: to do whatever we can to make sure they have a happy, healthy and comfortable retirement until the day they decide to leave this earth.  They are such a joy to care for and we hope they benefit from many, many years here under our loving care.

Not only does it take dedication, commitment, unconditional love, and energy to make this happen--it takes a great deal of money to provide them with the standard of care we wish them to have.  Here is a bit of information on just how much it costs to upkeep these 5 horses:

Feb 2012 Vet Bill  (Blood work and Fecals) $400

Dentist (once a year-March) $375

Barefoot Trimmer (monthly) $200

Supplement Costs (monthly) $550

Hay Cost (monthly in winter) $450

Feedstuff (monthly) $200

Of course there are other things such as supplies, and the cost varies for those each month, but you can see that it is not an inexpensive endeavor that we have chosen to undertake.

Please share and thank you for your support of our passion of caring for senior horses!

Copy and Paste this link into your web browser for an update on the horses and link to the Chip In:

http://ferrellhollowfarm.chipin.com/fhfs-adopted-retired-draft-horses

For every $25 you contribute to Ferrell Hollow Farm, you will receive a high quality logo t-shirt!

Buddy: 11 y/o Percheron gelding, retired Carriage Horse-right hind leg-severe osteoarthritis

Siegfried: 23 y/o Percheron gelding, retired Jousting Horse, ongoing Laminitic issues

Cindy Daigre is the founder and director of Ferrell Hollow Farm, an Equine Retirement facility in Tennessee focusing on the unique concerns of Senior and Special Needs horses. In addition, she provides Equine Nutritional Consultations, has developed a specialized line of Natural Body Care Products, Herbal Blends, Seed Mixes and has written several articles for Natural Horse Magazine.

We have other natural, hand-made products for horses, dogs and people for sale on our website at:

http://www.ferrellhollowfarm.net/Store.html

 

 

Happy Birthday Siegfried!

Siegfried came to me in the Summer of 2011, however it was some months before when I first laid eyes on a photo of him, and an instant connection was made--I knew we were meant to be together!  I have had the pleasure of connecting with the important people from his past and am honored to be able to give him the retirement that he so deserves :) 

He is a strikingly handsome fella, reminescense of a fairy-tale horse with his large stature and long flowing mane.  Unassuming, yet completely adorable he is quite content with his current arrangement--after all--who wouldn't be--his every need is catered to with the utmost respect and love :)

Happy 23rd Birthday Siegfried and I hope that we share many, many more!!!

Siegfried gives BIG bear hugs :)

Siegfried receives treats and kisses from Cindy

 

Siegfried spends his time living the life of luxury at his retirement farm in TN-Ferrell Hollow Farm--a specialized facility for senior and special needs horses! www.ferrellhollowfarm.net

 

Herbal Skin Gel CLOSEOUT!

In an effort to streamline the natural products we make, Ferrell Hollow Farm will be discontinuing select horse products.  The Herbal Skin Gel is one of those.  While current supply lasts, this item has been marked down for clearance!

Ferrell Hollow Farm’s Herbal Skin Gel is very beneficial for soothing itchy spots, healing wounds, and soothing dry manes and tails!  Ingredients include Aloe Vera, Witch Hazel, Tea Tree, Rosemary, and Lavender.

http://www.ferrellhollowfarm.net/Store.html

Cindy Daigre is the founder and director of Ferrell Hollow Farm, an Equine Retirement facility in Middle Tennessee focusing on the unique concerns of Senior and Special Needs horses. In addition, she provides Equine Nutritional Consultations, has developed a specialized line of Natural Horse & Body Care Products, Herbal Blends and Seed Mixes for Horses, and has written several articles for Natural Horse Magazine.

Calendula

From spring to fall, calendula flowers show their cheery yellow or orange faces, opening during the day and closing up at night.  It grows very well in pots and loves the sun.  I harvest them for all of their growing season and dry them on screens.  Calendula has some pretty amazing skin healing properties.  When applied topically, it quickly soothes cuts and wounds and moisturizes dry, itchy, chapped or cracked skin! 

It is versatile enough to be used on both people and animals.  When working with horses, the petals can be added to their feed or given as a tea.  It is very useful for animals with dry, itchy skin.  A balm can be made and applied to any scrapes or wounds.  The dried flowers are infused in a carrier oil, which becomes the base for making a balm.

Ferrell Hollow Farm has a very healing Calendula Balm available at http://www.ferrellhollowfarm.net/Store.html

Natural Nutrition For Horses

Seed Mix for Horses  -  A Vital Part of your Horses Diet!

Horses on grass restriction or fed low quality forages may need to have additional vitamins and minerals added to round out their diet.  Fall is the time of year when the grass starts waning, and more forage is fed.

Loaded with vitamins and minerals, raw, organic seeds are designed to supplement what is often lacking in a horse’s diet, the natural way!  Naturally low in sugar and starch, these seeds boast good amounts of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper and zinc, as well as vitamins B and E.  They also contain adequate amounts of protein, fiber, amino acids and essential fatty acids.

(This blend was formulated by Cindy Daigre of Ferrell Hollow Farm, contains Pumpkin, Sesame, Sunflower and Chia seeds and has been analyzed by Equi-Analytical Laboratories for its nutrient content.)

The suggested daily feeding is ¼ cup.

Monthly auto-ship orders qualify for discount pricing!   

Contact:  http://www.ferrellhollowfarm.net/Store.html

 

Cindy Daigre is the founder and director of Ferrell Hollow Farm, an Equine Retirement facility in Middle Tennessee focusing on the unique concerns of Senior and Special Needs horses. In addition, she provides Equine Nutritional Consultations, has developed a specialized line of Natural Horse & Body Care Products, Herbal Blends and Seed Mixes for Horses, and has written several articles for Natural Horse Magazine. For more information, visit her website at www.ferrellhollowfarm.net or email her at cindy@ferrellhollowfarm.com.