Dun-Pikin Farm

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Pasadena, MD
Dun-Pikin Farm

Riding Lessons, Pony Parties, Petting Animals, Horse Boarding Dun-Pikin Farm is a small family operated horse boarding and lesson barn in Pasadena, Maryland.

We offer beginner and intermediate riding lessons for children and adults. Horse training. Boarding. Pony Pal program. Pony parties. Pony rides. Stop by and see us some time (visit by appointment only.) We'll see you 'Down on the Farm!"

Dun-Pikin Farm is a Maryland Horse Industry Board Certified Horse Discovery Center.

10/16/2026

A little tonight…

Sitting down after another long, rewarding day at the barn, I came across this photo and couldn’t help but smile.

Rick and I started our farming journey over 40 years ago, back in 1983. Following in my grandfather’s footsteps, we moved onto his land, dusted off the old farm equipment, and learned by doing. Back then, we were Holt’s Produce Farm. For 17 years, we worked this ground from sunup to sundown, growing fresh vegetables and filling wagons just like the one in this picture.

That’s me leaning against a loaded wagon of tomatoes! Rick had ordered tee shirts for the crew, and he planned to get just a couple special ones for me that read: "This farm(h)er is outstanding in her field."

Well, the printer got a little carried away, and when the boxes arrived, every single shirt in the order had that phrase printed across the back! The guys on the farm crew were spared having to wear them once the company corrected the order, which left me with an endless supply of "outstanding" shirts. I’m pretty sure a few are still tucked away in the house somewhere.

In 2000, we shifted gears and founded Dun-Pikin Farm, trading rows of tomatoes for pastures, run-in sheds, and horses. But every day when I walk out to the fields, it’s the very same dirt under my boots. The crops may look a little different now, but the heart behind it hasn't changed a bit.

Whether we’re picking produce or loving on our horses, we're still right here doing what we love.

Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/15/2026

It’s been a good news, bad news kinda day. Today we finally got some answers about the cause of Marley’s on and off lameness. The good news is, we finally know what’s causing it. The bad news is, we now know he has a fracture in his coffin bone located in the hoof. The good news is, if you can call a fracture good news is that the prognosis for a full recovery is good. It should heal. The bad news, Marley will likely be on the bench for about 12 weeks.

Marley will be fitted with a special shoe that will support and stabilize his foot. Until we can get the farrier out, he is now wearing a trail boot. Even with just that he seems more comfortable. Marley will be spending his nights inside. During the day when we can keep an eye on him he will continue to turnout with Lillie.

We have no idea how or even when Marley fractured his foot. Horses seem to have a talent for keeping us on our toes! But with a solid recovery plan, extra TLC, and a little rest, we know our boy will be back in action before we know it. In the meantime, the rest of the herd is ready and waiting. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/14/2026

At Dun-pikin we’ve always taken barn safety seriously. Evidently Percy does too. When I looked across the field, I saw what looked like Percy practicing some basic fire safety drills.

As Percy was walking with purpose across the field, he suddenly stopped. He was staring across the field when he threw his head up in the air. Did he smell smoke? Hmmm … With no grace at all, suddenly he threw all of his 1800 or so pounds on the ground. I could imagine the thud I would have heard had I been a little closer. Next came the ungraceful roll, with all four feet flailing in the air. Though he didn’t make it all the way over, he did manage to grind dirt and hay into every bit of hair, mane and tail. In a matter of a few seconds, Percy was completely dust covered.

Thankfully there was no fire, though it seems Percy has the 3 steps down pat. Stop … Drop … and Roll. It turns out he’s not interested in fire safety at all. All he was interested in was a good ole fashion back-rub. Listen for the thud when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/13/2026

It was a gorgeous day weather-wise, which was quite a welcome change from yesterday! The rain gauge at home was hovering right around 5 inches—sheesh! Meanwhile, the farm’s official rain gauge (the massive puddle in the middle of the parking area) was overflowing. Driving through it on the way to the barn sent a tidal wave swooshing down the hill toward the hay trailer, which pretty much sums up the situation.

It was definitely a muck boot kind of day.

The big dilemma was whether to put out a fresh round bale in the mares' field or just top off their hut with some square bales. I opted for the baled hay. Rick generously offered to help, but only from the comfort of the tractor seat—he wasn't about to venture into the slop with his "regular" boots! So in my trusty mucks, I took on the sloppy job of unhooking the net in the hut and sliding a few flakes underneath. The good news? I didn't take a tumble or lose a boot in the suction, both of which were distinct possibilities.

I didn't manage any farm photos today, either—too busy keeping my phone safe and dry (and saving the battery for a little game time).

It will take a couple of sunny days for things to completely dry out, but the riding arena handled the deluge like a champ. It looks like our recent ring work did the trick! So don't let a little mud stop you—pull on your favorite muck boots and Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/12/2026

This is what happens when you’re expecting 2 inches of rain and you don’t get the barn gutters cleaned out. We knew the rain was coming, and we knew there was a problem with the gutters but … we’ve had a very “busy” week. We had a hay delivery that resulted in a big fence repair. We finally got a much needed light installed at the end of the barn. We spent time removing a torn and tattered tarp off a roof, and we took our petting zoo out yesterday. All that was done on top of the routine daily chores. Unfortunately the sun had set yesterday before we got to the gutters.

I was relieved when I realized it had not rained much overnight. In fact the rain was just beginning to get heavy as we were finishing up feeding this morning. We closed the barn door hoping to keep out the blowing rain, but to be honest I knew we were going to have an issue. Even with a normal rain we’ve gotten water in the barn, and this was no normal rain. Sure enough when we came to feed this afternoon the tide had come up in the barn. Things were quite the wet mess. Yuck!

Guess what we’ll be doing tomorrow? The gutters will be on the top of tomorrow’s “to do” list. I’m praying for no more heavy rain. I’m hoping the tide recedes and we can get things dried out a bit. It really is only water. We’ll dry things out and see you on the sunny side. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/11/2026

Whew, what a day! Talk about non-stop—14 hours on the go, and we are finally catching our breath!

It was already a super busy morning with our amazing therapy partners hosting two programs today. Once we got our morning chores knocked out and got them settled, the real packing scramble began.

Even though we don’t travel for petting zoo gigs anymore, we just had to make an exception for our church’s Oktoberfest today. It's practically next door, so important to our family, and always such a wonderful community event.

But getting everyone there? Let's just say we were told we looked a whole lot like the Beverly Hillbillies making our way up the road! With three separate trips loaded down with cages, crates, kennels, and critters, I’m not sure I can argue with that! Here are the goats and our sweet pig looking surprisingly relaxed for their grand 2-minute journey up the road.

After a busy, wonderful 4 hours at the event, we reversed our hilarious "hillbilly hike" to get everyone back safely. As if that wasn't enough, we then scrambled to get evening chores done here at Dun-Pikin and down at High Tide Farm, getting everything buttoned up and secure ahead of the remnants of the tropical storm heading our way.

It was almost dark when the kitchen door finally closed behind us, but walking into the smell of warm tomato soup and garlic bread made every single minute of this wild day worth it. ❤️

We're tired, but our hearts (and bellies) are full.

Come Ride With Us!
Cindy 🐴

10/10/2026

I said, “Let there be light at the end of the barn!”

So Rick bought a fixture, Tycen wired it in, and behold… the light was good!

If you’ve been around the barn long enough, you know that particular gable has been practically cursed. I swear we’ve gone through a new fixture out there every single year like clockwork. But with these fall mornings staying dark longer, having a reliable beacon makes morning turnout so much safer—and lets us get a running start on the day.

Fingers crossed the barn curse is officially broken!

The barn is lit, the horses are ready, so Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/09/2026

What is Buffy doing? No, Buffy isn't telling a joke or laughing at Charlie—she’s demonstrating what horse folks call the "flehmen response!"

When an equine curls their upper lip and shows all their front teeth like this, they’re actually using a special sensory tool located just above the roof of their mouth called the Jacobson’s organ. By lifting the lip, Buffy is trapping a scent in her nose and directing it straight into that organ so she can figure out an interesting or unusual smell. Equines do this to analyze everything from new treats to strange scents blowing across the paddock.

Meanwhile, Charlie couldn't care less about scientific smells—he’s completely focused on licking every last crumb out of Buffy’s feed pan! Buffy is gonna smell ya' comin'(that's supposed to be funny, not offensive. 🤣) when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/08/2026

When people talk about the Dun-Pikin horses you’ll hear Marley’s name mentioned, Shine’s, Lillie and Olive’s. You’ll likely hear Kate’s, too, along with others. Seldom though is Tammy’s name even in the top 5. In the herd she’s near the bottom too. It used to always be Kate at the bottom, always coming in last. Lately though we’ve noticed something has changed. Suddenly now Tammy is last. She always hangs back. She also always waits at the gate for Kate to come before heading out to the field when she’s turned out.. She and Kate have always been buddies, bowing down to Ruby and Olive. They have learned to coexist together with Ruby and Olive.

I’ve been watching Tammy lately. We learned officially from the vet what we’ve suspected all along, Tammy has a vision issue. This summer Tammy had a constantly weeping eye. The vet was at the barn for something else so I asked her if she would take a quick look at Tammy. Right away she pointed out how much smaller Tammy’s right eye was than the left. I saw it right away when she pointed it out. How did I not see it before? The vet explained at some point she had had an eye injury at some point and she evidently lost some fluid from the eye leaving it smaller. There was really nothing to be done. The vet gave us some eye ointment when it ran more than usual and maybe looked uncomfortable.

We do use the medicine occasionally but it doesn’t seem to make much difference in how her eye looks. I have begun to wonder though, if her vision is not worsening. She seems much more hesitant to push ahead of Kate. Maybe because she’s uncertain of where Kate really is. Maybe she’s not comfortable anymore walking through the gate without it being wide open. Maybe it’s just all my imagination. There’s just something different about Tammy.

You don’t have to feel bad for Tammy. Tammy is still feisty. She’ll still try and drag you over to the grass to steal a bite. She’s still a great riding pony.

Tammy might be taking her time at the back of the line these days, but she’s still got plenty of feisty spirit left in her. Whether she's stealing a quick bite of grass or enjoying the view at her own pace, every member of our herd brings something special to the farm. Come see for yourself. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/07/2026

Since April, Brownie and Jelly Bean both have worn grazing muzzles. They live down at High Tide and the grass is just too rich for them. As they’ve gotten older they both have developed a sensitivity to the grass. It shows up as laminitis. A hoof condition that causes sore feet. It can progress to founder if measures aren’t taken to limit the grass. Founder can be fatal. It can cause the coffin bone in the hoof to rotate through the bottom of the foot. I use grazing muzzles to limit their intake of grass. They also are taken off pasture to eat hay in their stalls at night.

At first they resisted getting their muzzles put on. Eventually they came to figure out without their muzzle they were not going out. Several years later, they now stand quietly waiting for their muzzles. One problem has cropped up though. For some reason over the last week or so Jelly Bean has made it a point to take his off. He’s been caught using the board on the front of his stall to rub it off. This is how we find him. Standing with his muzzle dangling from his head.

Finding a muzzle that fits him has been a challenge. Even though he’s a mini he can not wear a mini size muzzle. He has a very wide face and his nose will not go in a mini size. His pony size muzzle is just a bit too big and doesn’t really adjust exactly right for him. Until recently it really hasn’t been an issue. I’m assuming one day he rubbed it off accidently and then figured out he could get it off. Now we have a problem.

Thankfully we have only a few more weeks until the grass begins to die. I have my fingers crossed we can get through these last few weeks with no issues. That will give me the winter to find a muzzle that will work better.

We’ve tried all the latest and greatest styles/models. If you’ve got an idea let me know when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

Address

4808 Mountain Road
Pasadena, MD
21122

Website

https://www.dun-pikin.com/

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