A Satellite Tour of Abby's Home

Using Google Earth, I took some pictures of Abby's home. I talk about the old barn the new barn, the blue barn, the different pastures... It can be hard to keep them straight!

Officially, the property is called Gibbs' Equestrian Center. (I just call it "the barn.") It is located in a very horsey section of the county; just within view are three other horse properties. And, the drive from my home is only five miles. If I am coming after work from school, it is actually just a short jog from my route home. Either way, a visit to Abby is convenient.

 This is an overview of the property. Sorry for the red pin - I could not remove it!

The agribusiness next door is the only thing in these photos that is not Tim's property. They dry and store grains from the farmlands in the area.

An elderly couple lives in the old farmhouse. They've lived in it forever, and Tim has some sort of agreement with them about letting them remain in the home. I suspect that when they leave or pass away, he will tear the farmhouse down.

My favorite spot - the old barn! Like the farmhouse, it's 100+ years old and is in good shape. I love to visit with Abby inside it. The lane back to it, though, can be difficult to navigate in the snow.

 The northwest pasture. It is L-shaped and the biggest pasture on the property.

The northeast pasture. It has a bit of a grade going up to the old barn and farmhouse. Sometimes the herd gets to galloping around, and can pick up a little speed as they race down it!

The loafing shed. Tim built it after these pictures were taken, but the red circle is where it is located.

 The hay field. Tim gets several cuttings a year from it and stores the hay in the old barn's hay mow.

 The new barn. It has an indoor arena, box stalls lining both the east and west sides, Tim's workshop where he restores buggies, wagons, and sleighs, a tack room, a bathroom, a lounge, and an office. It's really nice inside, but both he and I prefer to keep our horses outside, so the box stalls rarely get used.

The small paddock is a nice place to put a mare and foal, a new horse as you prepare to introduce it to the herd, or where I take Abby if I want to spend time with her without the other horses. Sometimes I bring her in there along with a lawn chair. I sit, and she grazes. But she will always stop grazing and come over to see me as I sit, just to touch base I suppose!

The southeast paddock is pretty. It's another place Tim will put a mare and foal, or a new horse. It's actually a pasture, but I've always called it a paddock!

The southwest pasture. It's next to the hay field, and sometimes the horses stand at the fence and watch Tim as he cuts hay. (Especially Trouble, who is SO nosy.)

This is the caretaker's home. It's a really nice house and every window looks out at horses! Tim's daughter and her husband live there, and they keep an eye on the place. (Tim lives about a mile away.)

Last but not least, the blue barn and its pasture. It is rented out by a middle aged couple who are here at Purdue University. They have three Rocky Mountain Spotted Horses and they do all their own work caring for their horses. The time they come out rarely coincides with mine, so while I have met them, I really don't know them.

I sometimes pinch myself that I am able to keep Abby here. Tim trims her feet, gives her her vaccinations, and feeds her hay in the winter. I have not had ONE vet call since arriving in April, 2012.

We are both very happy at Tim's!

Favorite Places - a Tour of the Barn

There are several places on earth that are my favorite in which to be:

~ My home or my children's homes. (Or anywhere my family is.)

~ The temple.

~ My classroom.

~ Kentucky Horse Park.

And...

~ the barn.

I am at home in most barns (er, ones with horses, that is!) and have been since I was 9 and began riding lessons at Horse Schuh Farm in Lafayette. I love the weathered wood many of them have, the aroma of horses and hay, the sounds of munching as the horses work on their hay, and the nickers and whinnies. Doing barn chores. Leaning over a stall door and visiting with its resident. And yes, I even love cleaning up what that resident leaves behind!

Since I adopted Abby at the end of April, I have been at the barn just about daily. It has become a very familiar place, and one in which I am very comfortable and at home. I thought it might be fun to write an entry about Abby's home so I took some photos last night and tonight.

The northeast entrance (where we bring the horses in for grooming, trimming, and saddling.)

 It leads to this welcoming aisle.

 You can see the southeast entrance to the barn at the end of the line of stalls. The indoor arena is to the right in this picture.

Next up - the lounge!

 Not that much lounging happens at the barn! Those windows allow you to view lessons and the door leads into an aisle that runs along three sides of the arena. I have used this room to clean tack, too.

 There are chairs to sit in if you choose. I use them as saddle holders when cleaning. (I just noticed that you can see my reflection in the window!)

The lounge has two more doors leading off of it. The white door is the office and the brown door leads to the tack room.

 There's a third door on the right (not pictured) that opens to a bathroom.

The lounge also has a working cast iron stove!

 I think it would be fun to set up tables and invite friends for dinner in the lounge and then have a barn dance afterward. Maybe this October?

 As you can see, the barn has a western theme. Even the office door sports a sign from the west.

 Tim stores my two saddles in his office along with an antique English saddle (on the rack above mine) and an antique child's pony saddle (left front) which I think is adorable! I don't think that the TV or VCR ever get used.

 There's also a mini fridge for water bottles, carrots, and medicines in the office.

Next up? The tack room! And it is pretty amazing in all it holds. (See that lariat on the far wall?)

 Saddles, bridles, halters, lead ropes, brushes, buckets, combs, longe lines, longe whips, saddle bags, chaps, a lariat, replacement hardware for broken tack... You can find it all in here.

 There are probably 14-16 saddles in the tack room and countless bridles, halters, and lead ropes.

 Speaking of such, can you guess which is my stuff?? The color kind of gives it away.

 Also in the tack room are cupboards full of helmets, dewormers, first aid kits, and just about anything you can think of that you might need when working with horses. And yes, the orange bucket is mine. So is the yellow one - I had to buy a four-pack of buckets to get the orange one.

 Some day I would like to take out each saddle, look at it, and give it a good cleaning. Some, I think, are vintage or even true antiques.

Saddles are stored on racks mounted on two walls of the room.

There are two walls of bridles, halters, lead ropes, etc., too. I think that is a harness on the top left but I have never looked at it closely.

Just as moms pack enormous diaper bags to take their babies places, and have rooms full of furniture, clothes, toys, and other necessities for their children, a horse also needs quite a bit of equipment in order to properly care for them.

And Abby is most definitely worth it!