Welcome to Choteau, Montana, in 2018. What was once only a small city focused on fossils, has now started to turn into an equestrian mecca. Everyone still knows everyone, so the question remains, what will you become? 
Foxtail Meadow Farm | |
Home sweet home | |
Home primarily to the in essence private barn, indoor arena and variety of pastures and paddocks, the owners of Foxtail Meadow Farm, Celeste Frost (vet) & Rae Carrigan (farrier and more) offer a range of services to (prospective) clients, ranging from vet & farrier services to a stud, mare care, raising youngstock, training horses, and other things concerning their welfare, as well as selling hay & grain grown locally. | |
The Clinic | |
Horse welfare | |
A little off to the side of the private barn, well away from the pastures belonging to Foxtail Meadow Farm is the rather aptly named 'The Clinic'. Home to the local equine vet (though in a pinch Celeste Frost will also treat other animals) and a farrier, their services vary from doing vaccinations and trimming at your place, to more intricate and dangerous procedures in the Clinic itself. The farrier, Rae Carrigan, can do most of her work off site | |
Stud | |
At the moment Foxtail Meadow Farm's owners are in possession of a single stallion: Zensure. This 8yo grey Trakehner stallion (registered in the German Trakehner Studbook) has successfully jumped 1.35m so far, but also goes on trail rides, swims in the river, can be used to pony around other horses or be ponied around himself. He's a true delight to work with. Further inquiries, such as determining stud fee, can be addressed to Rae Carrigan. | |
Mare Care | |
Only the best for the expecting mother | |
Do you want your mare feet away from medical care, rather than miles when she's expecting? Do you want the option of 24/7 overwatch, be it in person or via cameras? The option of safe, supervised turnout as well as a luxurious stall to call her own at night? Look no further! Foxtail Meadow Farm offers a 'Mare Care' program - bring your mare over a couple weeks before she's due to let her acclimatize, and the team at FMF will look after her and her foal until a few weeks after delivery, at which point you're welcome to come pick them up again. Of course, visiting in between is an option too. | |
Youngstock | |
Let's make it a party | |
Once your foal is weaned, it's a nice idea to find a place where he or she can learn to be a horse before he or she becomes your partner. FMF offers a youngstock program in which yearlings, two year olds and unbroken three year olds can mingle and play at their leasure in one of FMF's big pastures. They spend 24/7 outside barring extreme weather, are provided with plenty of water, hay and additional feed when necessary and have unlimited access to a shelter. They are checked on daily, and handled every other few days. Contact Celeste Frost or Rae Carrigan for more details. Fillies & gelded colts are always welcome; colts depending. Vaccinations & farrier services are included in the price. | |
Equine massage | |
Healthy in body, healthy in mind | |
Though not formally credited with a diploma, Rae Carrigan has spend her time learning about what makes horses tick - food, motivation, and welfare. An apprenticeship with a New Zealand certified equine massage therapist showed her the ropes, and since then she's used her skills on her own horses, keeping them fit and in fighting shape for shows. Upon request (either by client or via vet referral) she can take a look at your sore horse and try to work out the kinks in his or her musculoskeletal system. | |
Saddle fitting | |
You don't like an ill-fitting bra either | |
A self-taught skill, Rae knows how to adjust the flocking in wool-flocked panels, how to add or remove air in CAIR systems and how to swap out gullets. While her saddle fitting experience and knowledge is by no means sufficient to make custom saddles, she is a fair hand at adjusting especially English tack to no longer pinch or bump on a horse's back. If you suspect something is amiss with your saddle, give Rae a call or visit her at FMF and she'll see what she can mean for you. | |
Horse training | |
Good basics | |
Over a decade of (re-)training sore & troubled horses, working with rescues and even feral horses, such as the Kaimanawa ponies and Mustangs have given Rae a very solid understanding of the horse. She offers her services to gentle, break in, or train out of behavioral issues such as bucking, rearing or refusing. She never gives any guarantees, and her method may be a little unorthodox - it generally includes quite a bit of bitless and bareback work, as well as farm rides, swimming and other 'fun stuff' as well as the more formal work in an arena. If you have a horse that needs to be broken in or 'reset', contact Rae for a visit and something can be arranged. | |
Foxtail Forage | |
A horse's gotta eat | |
Spread over some 240 acres at the moment, Foxtail Forage provides the farm with all the (herbal) hay and grains they need. The excess harvest is offered for sale, often to local farms. If you're interested in hay and or grains, do let Rae Carrigan know. | |
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