Horse stables tour!

Today was one of the best field trips ever! We went to tour a horse ranch. Well, the stables anyway.  T and the other children toured the stables, learned how they keep the horses warm as the weather turns colder, made "salad" for a horse, and even got a short ride.

Touring the stables. Most of the stalls were empty as the horses were in the various paddocks outside.  

One stall did have a horse, and the children were told to keep away. This horse was newly rescued and was still skittish.  Sadly the former owner had crossed a line between discipline and abuse (unintentionally according to our tour guide). Now they were working on getting the horse once again comfortable with people. 

The children were able to see inside the empty stalls. They were being cleaned during our visit. In fact after the visit T couldn't get over how dirty the stalls got! 

"Do you know what a horse's bathroom looks like?" T asked me. "It has hay on it."

The children were fascinated by the "bedrooms" and how they hung their hay on the walls. 

Making "salad" from hay, alfalfa, and carrots

All was so enjoyable. Best of all though was getting to ride. Now T says he wants to take lessons.


Or as he put it "Join the horse riding club."