Dun-Pikin Farm

URGENT NOTICE - SUMMER HORSE CAMP FOR TODAY CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
Camp families,
Regretfully the weather is going to be rainy today. We have decided to CANCEL CAMP FOR TODAY Tuesday, June 23, 2026. We will reschedule for either Saturday or Monday once we check with staff availability and the long range forecast. We're very sorry, but Mother Nature rules in this instance. Feel free to call or email me if you need further info.

Cindy 🐴

This morning there was a whole different vibe around the farm. The horses realized right away there was something different about today. I was there extra early for a Monday and yes I’m convinced they know the weekdays from the weekends. The schedule is different and so are the people. They know the routine and I know they know the different people who are there on certain days.

This morning Layla and Stella were going to take care of the barn chores while I set up for camp. The horses were angry with me when I ignored them. I didn’t start dumping the feed either. Nor did I start to bring anyone in. Instead I drug the ring, and hauled stuff out to the camp area. I had the nerve to do something other than follow the normal routine.

When they finally did get in to eat there was still something amiss and they could tell. As different people started to arrive they seemed to realize. Yikes!! SUMMER CAMP!!! I had to laugh though. As Marley was headed back out to the field after breakfast he looked me right in the eye and gave me a short pathic forced cough. I’m pretty sure he was reminding me, surely he was still on the disabled list.

As it turned out, Marley was not ridden today. Shine, Tammy, Olive and Tic Tok all were. All were patient and well behaved for the first ride of the week. All our riders had a story to tell. It turned out to be a good first day. 1 day down, 4 days to go. When camp is over and we’re back to our normal routine, Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

It seems a miracle has been slowly happening at Dun-Pikin. I hesitate to even mention it for fear I might jinx it. However I refuse to be superstitious so I’m going to share. After all miracles need to be acknowledged. It dawned on me today that it is now June 21st and Olive has been able to be outside with the herd. I’m pretty sure this is Olive’s 4th summer with us, and this is the very first summer she has been able to be outside this long. By now in past years she would have to stay inside because of her severe allergy to flies. Basically Olive has spent her summers in her stall.

If you don’t know, Olive has had issues since the first summer she has been with us. She has been prone to summer sores. Summer sores are caused by fly larvae that finds its way into the skin through any opening in the skin. A simple cut or scrap would cause Olive to develop sores. Treating her sores was obviously painful. Understandably she developed an attitude that caused a lot of mistrust on her part. It made treating her sores a fight everyday. Until now summers with Olive have been a real challenge. It turned her into a pony that you had to watch carefully. She would not hesitate to bite or kick out. We understood why she did it but ….

This year, we’ve seen no sign of any sores and very few allergic reactions to fly bites. Her attitude has improved 100 percent. She can still be nippy, but now she only uses her lips. I haven’t seen her threaten to kick, and though she will still shake and flip her head, she stops if you just ignore it. Olive has always been a pony that responds best when you ignore as much of her bad behavior that you can. Any physical correction just escalates her bad behavior.

Olive has been doing very well in lessons too. We have students asking to ride her. She walks trot and canters nicely. Her biggest issue at this point is being out of shape. We’re thinking this week of summer camp will help with that. We’re hoping our miracle will continue to happen and both Olive and our campers will have a great week of camp. We now feel we can count on Olive to be ready when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

This is Rosie, our new bunny. She’s a Continental Giant. She’s already a big girl and she’s only about 4 months old. I bought her as a new addition to our petting zoo. Yesterday she made her debut at our Farm Friday event. I have to say, I have to give her a mixed review.

Obviously, everyone loved her. How could anyone not? Those ears …. Anyway, she was very curious about all the attention and was great for most of the first hour. Then she started becoming fixated on people’s shoes. She began pulling on shoe laces. Then she started nibbling on socks. When she began nibbling on the edges of a little boy's shorts, we decided she was done for the night. We swapped her out for Dice, our tried and true petting zoo bunny.

I’m sure she’s gonna be just fine eventually. She’s just a baby and I’m pretty sure she was a bit overwhelmed. We’re making a concerted effort to socialize her more. With more time I’m sure she’s gonna make an impressive addition to our petting zoo. Take the time and walk over and say hello to Rosie when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

A Magical Farm Friday Success! 🦄🐴

​What a great evening we had tonight at Dun-Pikin Farm! We hosted our Farm Friday, and the energy, smiles, and laughter from the community made it a fun event for sure.

​The farm was bustling with activity! Children were thrilled with unlimited pony and unicorn rides, and they loved getting up close and personal with our petting animals. The kids had fun looking for stuffed farm animals and horseshoes in a simple scavenger hunt and "fishing" for grab bags packed full of goodies. Beyond the special activities, everyone really enjoyed walking the fence lines and visiting with all of our horses.

​Events like this take a village, and we are incredibly blessed to have such an amazing support system. A big THANK YOU goes out to everyone who helped make tonight a huge success.

​Our goal for Farm Friday was to give the community an opportunity to visit the farm, meet our horses, and experience a little bit of what we do every day here at Dun-Pikin. Hearing all of your positive feedback makes me pretty confident that this will not be our last Farm Friday! Thank you again to everyone who came out and everyone who helped.

​Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

I was at the barn just before dark tonight cleaning stalls. As I was working, it dawned on me things were getting loud out in the bird pen. It’s a pen of mixed birds. We have 2 geese, 2 ducks, 6 ancient chickens and a peacock and pea hen. Many people tell me you shouldn’t keep a mixed flock like ours, but it's always worked for us. As I listened to all the noise, I’m pretty sure they used all these same sounds in the movie Jurassic Park. Eventually things got loud enough that I stopped what I was doing to go see what was going on.

When I got there, right away I could see the problem. Evidently the peacock felt the geese and ducks were getting a little too close to “his girl” the peahen. He was strutting around keeping himself between her and them. She seems unimpressed by the whole scene. I was hoping to get all the sounds that they were making but as soon as I showed up all the noise stopped. The ducks and geese seemed to take the hint and they too moved on. After all, it’s about this time of day that I lock them in their house for the night. Once I shooed everyone in and closed their door, I stood outside and listened to make sure everyone was settling in for the night.

Our birds might be busy dealing with their own barnyard drama, but the horses are ready and waiting.

Come Ride With Us!
Cindy 🐴

A couple years ago we had to remove a large oak tree that was diseased and leaning over the barn. It was disappointing to have to remove it, but that tree was leaning over one of the busiest spots on the farm.

We had it professionally removed. It was a monster of a tree. They chipped up all the limbs and we gave away most of the wood, except for several of the sections of the bottom of the tree. We had a debate as to what to do with them. We couldn’t find anyone interested in dealing with cutting them up further.

Finally after months of watching them sit there Rick managed to push the smaller ones into the woods nearby. That left 3 or 4 big slices each so big that our loader wouldn’t even pick them up. I suggested that we leave them there for people to sit on. For lack of a better idea, Rick managed to push them around a bit and line them up so they would make a nice seating area near the riding arena. Problem solved…

Except for the stump…There was no way we were going to pay to have it removed, so it became a place to sit things ‘for a moment’, served as a sawhorse for a few projects and even served as a paint bench for a frequent craft project – painting old horseshoes to use for camp crafts. So often if you walked by the stump you would see horseshoe silhouettes painted all over the 100 year old stump’s top.

Gradually the stump started rotting a bit from the middle and I had a ‘lightbulb’ moment. I decided it would make a great planter for some flowers. We could always use a few more flowers around the farm. I even had some trays of flowers left over from our Spring spruce-up at home. So we went down to the manure pile and scooped up some nice composted manure and put the finishing touches on the old stump.

So the moral of this story is…that with a little time, a lot of imagination, and a little help from the manure pile, even an old problem can bloom into something beautiful. The farm is looking brighter than ever, so come check out the flowers, catch a sunset, and Come Ride With Us!

Cindy🐴

In exactly 6 days our first day of summer camp will be here. Besides gathering craft supplies, buying snacks, and making up the schedule, we’ve also been taking a hard look at all the horses. We have a lot of confidence in our horses doing their job safely. All of them have many years of summer camps under their belts but … they’re also all a year older.

Lately Marley’s heaves have been causing some issues. It’s been a while, so I decided to have the vet come out and take a look. We consulted with her over the phone about his medication, and after having him back on it for a week, she came to see how he was doing. She was happy enough with his breathing and his cough was gone. We discussed environmental changes that might help keep him breathing better. Unless something changes Marley will be ready for our first camp week.

Tic Tok’s hoof issue has finally resolved so Tic is a go for camp too. Recently we’ve realized Tammy has had some vision loss in her right eye. She was in a lesson tonight and was her usual steady self. Shine recently developed a rub behind his ears most likely from the combination of his cribbing strap and feed bag. Thankfully we saw it before it became raw and painful. We’re hopeful a fleece cover on the strap and eating out of a fence feeder will take care of the problem. Shine is gonna be a go too as long as we keep our eye on that rub. We don't want it to become an issue with the bridle. Lillie is ready and Olive was great in her lesson tonight so … I’m happy to report all the horses are ready for Monday.

We’re hoping none of them get wind that camp is just around the corner. If they knew, I’m sure one of them would start limping, or coughing, or running a fever. Let’s just say I don’t think they love summer camp as much as the kids.

They definitely have a sixth sense for busy weeks. But we're staying one step ahead of them this year, and we couldn't be more excited to kick off a great summer.

The horses are rested, the camp crafts are ready, so Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

They don't call them daylilies for nothing! Just like the beautiful blooms popping up by our old barn, farm life resets every single day with a brand-new to-do list.

While the lilies were busy opening up for their one-day-only show, I was trying to keep pace with them! Between the usual morning and evening horse chores, I took full advantage of this beautiful weather today to play groundskeeper. Armed with the mower and trimmer, I spent a few hours tidying up down at High Tide Farm. It’s hard work, but checking off that list under a clear blue sky makes it all worth it.

The scenery is blooming and the ring is ready, so Come Ride With Us!

Cindy🐴

Who says art belongs on a canvas? Tonight Tic Toc is showing off a little custom art work. At Dun-Pikin it isn’t always about the riding. It can also be about just spending and enjoying time with the horses. Obviously our horses wear many hats … they can be a teacher, confidant, therapist and sometimes, a coat of fresh flowers.

Lesson horses are the unsung heroes of any farm. They teach confidence, patience and kindness. Tic Toc was a good sport to stand there while someone painted a flower on him. A true “Steady Eddie.”

Whether they're teaching a brand new rider the ropes or standing patiently as a four-legged masterpiece, our sweet horses always know how to brighten up the farm. Grab a brush, pick your color, and Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴