A Visit to a Kentucky Horse Farm

Despite tundra-like weather conditions, I spent Saturday morning with some friends having brunch and then visiting new born Kentucky thoroughbreds.  This event was a fundraiser for the local Philharmonic orchestra, and the weather certainly didn’t dampen our spirits, although our toes and fingers were a bit frozen.  The morning started out with a delicious brunch in the owner’s cottage at the horse farm.

I wish you could have been there.  You would have loved the cottage.  The owners are from out of state and only spend a few months each year on the farm.  It truly was a cottage.

 

It had beautiful reclaimed floors……..

large windows with a view of the farm and……….

 

the barns in the distance……..

 

colorful furnishings……..

 

vintage touches here……

 

here…….

 

and here…..

 

and colorful kitchen cabinets and concrete counter tops.

 

 

I think the table was made from old wood from a horse fence because it looked as if a horse had been chewing on the edges.  (That’s a past time and bad habit of some horses when they get bored.)  The table was just loaded with charm and personality.

 

Our menu consisted of pastries, fresh fruit, salad, and alcohol-free mimosas.  Isn’t that salad bowl the best?

 

We were also served eggs Benedict with crab for the entree.  Eggs Benedict are always my go-to when we eat brunch out, but I had never had crab in them before.  They were so delicious that I wanted to lick my plate.

 

After we ate, we all bundled up and visited the farm’s three beautiful barns and met the new foals.

 

Hearing a horse’s story always makes meeting a horse so much better.  This mama lost her baby during childbirth.  My friend Carol, who was the hostess for the event and also the farm’s veterinarian, said the mother cried out in sorrow.  They gave her hormones so her milk would continue to produce.

 

This newborn foal and its mother were rushed to the equine hospital after its birth due to the mother’s having complications.  Carol knew the mother couldn’t nurse the newborn, so she had the baby brought back to the farm.  When it entered the barn, the mother of the dead foal cried out for it.  The baby ran to that mare and immediately began nursing, and they bonded right away.  That’s a beautiful adoption story, don’t you think?

 

These thoroughbreds are beautiful and expensive animals, and each has its own distinct personality.  Ears up are good.

 

Ears back mean the horse is ticked off about something.

 

The farm has three barns.  The youngest foals were in the first barn.  This duo and others like them were in the second barn.  You can see that the baby isn’t as young.   Some of the mamas were not too pleased with our being there.  The first-time mothers were very protective of their young, and some became agitated about us at times.  The third barn contained what I call the teenagers.  Carol said they were suffering from “testosterone toxicity” meaning they were like middle school boys!!!

 

Horse barns often cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Some horses also cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they are treated with kid gloves.  This is what a high profile horse barn looks like.

 

This is a typical stall.  Even in cold weather, the horses still spend some time outside to get exercise.  The windows were all open on this cold day.

 

 

They use this simple equipment to muck the stalls and lead the horses.

I love living in Kentucky, and Jordan loves coming back to visit.  Even though we don’t own horses or a horse farm, I am very proud to live in an area that has such beauty and is surrounded by such beautiful things.  We hope you enjoyed this little behind-the-scenes tour.  Lexington and its surrounding areas have become vacation destinations by many because of the horses and the bourbon.  If you haven’t been here already, put it on your travel plans for the future.  If you would like to read about a bourbon tour fund raiser that we did for the orchestra, go here.

 

Take care.