What has been done already:

We have been very busy over the past four years fixing up the place and making improvements.  Some of them  were to make life nicer and easier, and others were necessary for structural and safety sake.  This is a very old barn dating back to the 1700's.  It needs constant care and attention.  We are very fortunate that Joseph and Barbara want to do right by the farm and us!  I can't tell you how refreshing that is.

2010 We finally got the windows added to the stalls that are currently Felipe and Secret's.  Thank you Biamonte Construction!  If there was ever a summer we needed more ventilation out there, it was this one!  The windows made a huge difference for the boys in all of this heat!  Plus, there is a lot more natural light in those two stalls now.

The manure spreader was acquired.  It's a little too small for the job at hand so we will have to trade up for a bigger one at some point.

2009 saw the addition of Online scheduling  for both Lorri's lessons and for volunteer things.  Give it  a try

Felipe had his surgery at the beginning of April 2009!  He is doing great!  He has moved into the rehab phase.  He was such a good sport about his 30 days of stall rest.  It is so nice to see him grazing in the pasture again!  I had forgotten how tall he is.  The first time I got on him I felt very far up there!  Late 2009 Felipe had minor set back in his come back.  After some time off  (until March 2010) he is starting back to work again...fingers crossed.

The new barn is done.  Now we have three barns!  With this addition we have 5 more stalls.  Each stall has 2 dutch doors and there are drop down windows on each end of the barn.  There is plenty of natural light, great ventilation and great views for the horses who live in those stalls!

Late summer 2008 we had a fence raising party and put in 3 new split rail fences.  The horses wish to thank everyone who turned out to help, as would I!  We couldn't have done it in 6 hours without you!!!  It was a lot of fun and we got a lot done!  The horses are now happily mowing the grass in them.  And the old pastures are enjoying a well needed rest!  Some of you may not know, but when we started 3 years ago, there was very little fencing in those pastures at all.  So we have come a long way.  In addition, the pastures are making a great recovery.  Three years ago if you walked out in them, it was mostly weeds or dirt.  Now they are really coming along with mixed grass, clover, and alfalfa.  The weeds are down to a minimum!  We aren't done yet however.  There is still much to be done in that department.

The bank barn, where we have the lesson tack room and a lot of storage, had some important structural repair work done on it.    It just finished getting re-pointed.  It looks great!  But most of all it was much needed for the integrity of the building.

The wash stall had modifications done.  The hot water heater was repaired and moved into the wash stall where it is no longer a fire hazard (minor detail)…yippee.  And then it broke again,  boooo, so then it got replaced...yeah!!!   So now we safely have hot and cold in wash stall!  What a plumbing challenge that turned out to be...those plumbers really did some thinking on that one!  Thanks guys!

We replaced the front and back barn doors which were in such bad shape.  Three new windows in the 1^st three stalls on the left as you enter the barn were added.  You might remember that there were no windows there at all.  That end of the barn used to get very hot.  The goal was to increase the ventilation and natural light in the barn.  They have made a big difference.  There was a great breeze through the barn all summer.

As soon as I moved in we took down the 3 falling apart pony stalls and made them into 2 nice big stalls.  They are the stalls that Felipe and Secret currently live in.  The run-in shed was converted into two nice big stalls so Tore could rehab with a companion. We took out all of the stalls in the lower section of the bank barn when the structural work was happening under there.  The net result was 14 horse stalls of various sizes, two large enough to be foaling stalls.  Hmmm, foaling stalls...  

Additional feed and supplement storage was added to accommodate the various needs of our horses.

Just in the past few weeks we have done a lot of interior painting to brighten and clean the place up!  And the "Wall of Fame"  is finally getting somewhere!  If you have pictures, do share!

The new barn signs are up.  The farm name has changed from Annandale to Groth Hill.  This is the farm's 4th anniversary with us all.

I'm sure I have missed more than one thing that has occurred over the past 4 years!

What is to come?

Clinics.  We hope to get our clinic series' started in 2011.  We are taking suggestions for clinicians!  We have some great ideas of our own but would love to hear your suggestions!

A tent next to the outdoor arena.  We would like to add a tent along side the arena for our ringside enjoyment.  We all spend a lot of time at the barn.  We have a very social barn with lots of gatherings and this will make a nice area for us out of the sun and precipitation.  Felipe, the tent is for people only, sorry big guy!

More fencing!  Sometime next year we will be enlisting your help again for another fence raising.    The more pastures we have the more rotation that can occur in the fields.  That allows the horses more time out, better grass to eat, and more of it. This in turn keeps hay and bedding costs down, which in turn keeps fees down.  Its a Win-Win-Win situation for us, horses, and clients

I want to landscape all around the outdoor arena.  This will mean it will have to be fenced off.  Yes, more fencing. Otherwise the horses will take up gardening.  And you know Felipe would!  Although he will be greatly disappointed when he can no longer roll the letter boxes around for entertainment!  So if you have low maintenance perennials and grasses that you will need to divide in 2011, keep us in mind.  I would also like to put in a patio with pavers and put some nice tables and chairs out there once the horses can no long have use of them.  When we are ready to tackle this huge project, if you like to garden....come on down!  I'm not kidding about the huge project thing...our outdoor is 200 by 90!  So if you love to garden too, I really will appreciate your help!  It should look beautiful when we are done!

Cabinetry for the boarders tack room and my tack room.  This is a big, and expensive, project but it is on my list!  All you carpenters out there, I am open to suggestions as they will need to be custom.  Handy and need a hobby?  How about tack room cabinetry!?