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fjthomas-author · 7 years

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Last Blog Post

In an effort to streamline, I will be shutting down the Musings From The Leadrope blog. As we’re in the final stages of getting the farm sold it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to keep a blog up for a business that no longer exists. In the coming months, I’ll be working on downsizing as we re-locate and re-build on a much smaller scale. The great thing about that is that we’ll have a good bit…

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fjthomas-author · 7 years

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THE FARM IS FOR SALE

Unfortunately, we were not able to get the level of horse business that we needed to keep the farm afloat, nor was I able to refinance due to filing a loss on the farm taxes last year. Word of wisdom to those out there that claim your farm expenses on your taxes — if you plan on financing anything for TWO years, you won’t want to file a loss on your taxes even if you work a steady full time job…

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#agriculture #business #farm #farm financing #finance #for sale #horse farm #knoxville #Loudon county #Monroe County #Real estate #River Rock Realty #Sweetwater #Tennessee

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fjthomas-author · 7 years

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Under New Management

This past year has been one of a LOT of uncertainty and change! The farm was put on the market due to my divorce back in the summer. The farm has not sold and in the meantime, I’m making a run for my dream of trying to bring in some boarding and training business. We’ll see what happens -at least I know I gave it my best shot! On a side note, my boyfriend (yes, I call him that! Lol) and business…

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#4H #APHA #AQHA #barrel racing #dressage #eventing #Horse boarding #horse trainer #horse training #horsemanship #jockey #Jockey Club #jumping #Quarter Horses #racehorses #reining #Tennessee #Thoroughbred #Thoroughbreds

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fjthomas-author · 8 years

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Dead or Alive?

Let me ask you two question…Does you horse load into a trailer in two minutes? Can just anyone else get your horse on a trailer? Those two questions can literally determine whether your horse ends up dead or alive. Two minutes to load… Several years back, in researching an article I was writing for America’s Horse Magazine, I learned that during that wildfires that year, they gave people two…

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fjthomas-author · 8 years

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Save Some Hay!

With as many horses as we have, I’m always looking at ways to save money. It’s expensive to keep nine head and a donkey, especially when you have to feed hay during the winter. We have a regular cradle hay feeder for the horses that are in our back pasture. Although the cradle feeder does a great job at keeping the hay up off the ground, just like any other regular hay feeder, there’s a lot of…

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#agriculture #equine #feeders #feeding #hay #hay feeders #hay saver #horse health #Horses #save money #Tennessee

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fjthomas-author · 9 years

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Saddle Bronc Rider Kaila Mussell

Earlier this year, I found out about female Saddle Bronc rider, Kaila Mussell. Photo by Filene Mussell The fact that she rides Saddle Bronc is pretty impressive in itself, but the fact that she’s come back from a broken neck is a clear witness to the strength that she has on the inside. She’s a phenomenal athlete and I think she’s someone who exhibits the strength and toughness we all aspire to.…

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#Canada #cowgirls #fitness #Horses #riding #Rodeo #roughstock #saddle bronc #spinal injury

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fjthomas-author · 9 years

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Horses Off The Race Track...

Horses Off The Race Track…

At the end of September, I wound up with Dynamic Host, aka “Louie”, thanks to Prancing Pony Farm owned by Julie & Justina Faunt of Riceville, Tennessee. An own son of Dynaformer, Dynamic Host is a 17.1 hand, 9-year-old retired Thoroughbred race horse that was originally entered in the Retired Race Horse Project. Unfortunately, through no fault of his own, he did not make the deadline for…

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fjthomas-author · 9 years

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Calming Show Nerves

As a judge and a competitor that trains my own horses, I’m all too familiar with show nerves in both horses and people. The funny thing about show nerves is that they tend to be a vicious cycle. The more nervous we are, the more the nervous the horse becomes. The more nervous the horse gets, because we’re nervous, the more nervous we get! Warm up pen – Harriman, Tennessee It’s a never-ending…

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fjthomas-author · 9 years

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More Thoughts On Horse Slaughter

Earlier this year, I wrote a post entitled “A Solution To The Slaughter Issue“, in which I proposed the rescues start a “Rescue Registry”. In my blog post, I suggested that they could not only limit breeding to a certain extent, but also provide an incentive to rescue by offering large events with a pay back. Basically, they could offer a nationals and a “Mustang Makeover” type event for rescued…

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fjthomas-author · 9 years

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Happenings At Fairweather Farm

It’s been a while since my last post and a lot sure has gone on since then.

Just this month I wrote an article on Time Tips For Showing that Horse & Ranch magazine published. If you get stressed showing you’ll want to check it out!

My article in Horse & Ranch Magazine

I also launched Cowgirls With Curvesa couple months back. It’s a blog and website for plus size riders to highlight their efforts,…

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fjthomas-author · 9 years

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A Solution To The Slaughter Issue?

There’s been a lot of very heated debates world-wide over the horse slaughter issue. The one thing that I’ve noticed is that a lot of people like to complain about human nature but very few people actually offer a solution that’s realistic. One of my favorite quotes is, “If you’re not offering a solution then you’re whining.” I think that’s true.

One of the horses we…

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fjthomas-author · 9 years

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Cardinal Rules Of Showing - Tips For Your First Show

Cardinal Rules Of Showing – Tips For Your First Show

Spring is almost here and if you’re like a lot of folks, you’re already thinking about the show season. Some of you may have already scheduled your entire show season, and others may be considering showing for the first time. Either way, now is the best time to set your goals and schedule accordingly.

Being a competitor and a judge, I see a lot of new comers to barrel races and horse shows.…

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fjthomas-author · 9 years

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More Than One Way

First of all — MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

With a new year and resolutions it’s time for new thinking which is what led me to my post this time. Sit down and think a spell….

Recently I had the wonderful privilege of being called the “Idiot Of The Day” when I responded to a post on Facebook about how selfish and cruel it was to clip the muzzle on your horse because they needed their…

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fjthomas-author · 10 years

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Water For Winter

Cold weather is here and in some cases the temperature has dropped drastically in a matter of just a few hours. While extreme changes in weather can cause some concerns for managing your horse, there are things you can do to minimize your horse’s risk of getting sick.

Any time the thermometer drops it’s a good idea to add water to your horse’s feed. Horses generally drink less and eat more hay…

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fjthomas-author · 10 years

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There's Only Two Things To Worry About...

There’s Only Two Things To Worry About…

This year I haven’t ridden nearly as much as I should have due to some overwhelming events coupled with some soundness issues. When it looked like I might be able to finally haul to a horse show, I jumped at the chance. I knew ahead of time my horses weren’t really ready to show but for me it was just an opportunity to get them out and hopefully have some fun. We both needed it!

I decided to take…

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fjthomas-author · 10 years

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Horsemanship & Entitlement

Good horsemanship is not just about horses. Ideally, it should extend to all other areas of our life in the way we conduct ourselves and have respect for others. After all, a big part of good horsemanship is consistency. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case and truthfully, when you see poor horsemanship in the ‘human’ world chances are the horsemanship suffers in their ‘horse’ world as well.

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fjthomas-author · 10 years

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Taking Risks....

Musings From The Leadrope talks about fear and taking risks with horses. #MondayBlogs #horses #Tennessee

Giving lessons and being an active part in the local horse community, the topic of fear or the inability to do something comes up on a regular basis. Sometimes it’s a conversation about being afraid to break colts, other times it’s the inability to work with a difficult horse. Other times it may be as simple as not being able to do an exercise that’s needed to ride better.

When I was young, I…

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