Optional Extras with the Barn Animals

Horseback Riding

Our gentle and well-trained horses are great for beginners. Our guests can learn to groom and tack the horse, get a lesson in the arena and/or a relaxing trail ride around the property. Sadly, we recently lost our beloved bay mustang, Buddy, and are looking for an exceptional next horse (though none can replace Buddy). Our remaining gelding, Rio, is still available for rides and follows nicely behind Sierra (a sweet Kiger mustang mare who isn't rideable but is a companion for Rio and kindly on loan from a nearby horse rescue).

Rio (chocolate Rocky Mtn) does both arena and trail rides and is fun for more experienced riders wanting to try riding a gaited horse (Rio will do a smooth 4-beat gait about the same speed as a trot on other horses) and basic dressage moves like leg-yielding in the arena. Rio has also done a lot of "ground work" so is good to practice communicating with body language in our round pen. Most often, our horses are led on "pony rides" providing a fun horse experience for beginners and kids.

Please let us know what you'd like to experience with the horses and we'll customize some special horse-time for you -- truly riding and controlling a horse is an awesome experience compared to a large group doing nose-to-butt trail rides. Many of our guests have never been on a horse before, and Cyndi's safety-focus and cautious nature is reassuring to them. Dogs must be on-leash or preferably confined at the house when people are out with the horses. Please let us know before your arrival if you'd like to book a horse riding session. Typical requests:

• Lead-line "pony rides" (best option for children under 8): $50 for 1 child/horse in a ~30-45 min session with photos.
• Groom/tack/ride a horse in arena/trails (with instruction): $75 for 1 person/horse in a ~60-90 min session with photos.
• NOTE: We are not a large dude ranch nor rental string with lots of horses so we can't guarantee if or how many of our horses will be rideable at the time of your visit.

If you are looking for a trail ride for your group, there are several horseback riding options in the area we recommend.

Pasture-Raised Chickens Lay the Best Eggs!

Our guests often comment about how much better our chickens' eggs taste than anything they find in the store. One guest's post said it perfectly "All those brands that claim 'farm fresh eggs' have nothing on this! I actually picked out freshly laid eggs! It was so fresh that it was still warm!"

Not only are our ranch eggs fresher, but the eggs also taste better since our hens have the freedom to forage outdoors everyday giving them sunshine, exercise and a more varied/natural diet. We usually have extra chicken eggs that you can puchase (except for a couple of months in the late fall when chickens molt) -- please let us know in advance if you want to buy some eggs so we can clean and save some for you ($5/dozen).

Learn more about our darling chickens including seeing several chicken videos.