About Black Horse Farm

Posted on June 20th, 2008

Black Horse Farm has relocated to 78 Old Amherst Road, Mont Vernon, New Hampshire.

We are in the process of renovating an 1850's antique cape and barn. It has alittle over 12 acres , mostly pasture.

The back pasture has a great hill and once at the top the view is breathtaking. The barn is a big ole dairy barn with hand hewn beams, wooden pegs, and 3 levels. It needs quite a bit of work to make it a horse barn but what a great building. When you step inside the main level and look up you say wow. Restoring it will be a huge undertaking but will be well worth it.

Mont Vernon is a beautiful quaint little town. It is an area full of history , charming villages and lots of horse country.
During this renovation period we will be unable to offer any services. Besides restoring the barn and home we have fence to put up, training and lessons areas to construct and many other details to attend to.

I will be taking some time to update Apollonia's story and keep you updated on our progress at the farm.

Our future here at Black Horse Farm may have some new adventures. Along with the horses we hope to offer organic vegtables next year if all goes well. Also a pet/farm sitting business. Stay tuned!
In the meanwhile if I can help anyone with horse related issues please call or email me. I would be happy to help in any way I can.
Thanks for visiting us.
Lisa , Jim and the horses

Black Horse Farm History

Posted on June 25th, 2008

Without ever meaning to, we ended up owning all black horses! Hence the name Black Horse Farm, a small quiet farm of 15 acres: seven acres of hay field, five acres of paddocks with 4-rail wooden fencing and cedar posts.
The barns were almost completely remodeled in the summer and fall of 2005 after buying the property in June of 2005. Currently we have 7 large matted stalls. We have many trails, quiet country roads and farm land around us. We hope to expand and continue to improve our horse property as we go.
Our horses consist of Percherons, Percherons croses, Traknher/Hanoverain and a Quarter Horse. All have been rescued from one situation or another except Willy our Quarter horse. I bought him 18 years ago. He is now 25 years old. Visit Meet Our Horses to learn about the rest.

All of our horses except for one is a rescue horse. We have changed our focus some. We know that there are a lot of unwanted horses. We would like to take them all and offer a safe and comfy place but since that would also include having access to a lot of money we hope to do our part in other ways.

Our Theory

One way is education. We used to do some focus on breeding and selling. We feel that there are too many horses in the world and not enough good homes for them so it would be contributing to the over population of horses if we continue to offer breeding. Like cats and dogs it has longed reached the point of too many horses. Blame that on the greed and irresponsibility of the human being. It is not the horses' fault. But they are ones to suffer in countless ways, race tracks, over breeding for the best head, legs, speed, turns, color, confirmation, or for profit, the list goes on.

So while we offer boarding, lessons, horsemanship, demonstrations and training it all goes back into the horses or education in some way. It also goes beyond buying hay , grain, bedding, farrier and vet costs. We invest and instill our horsemanship values and morals onto children and adults who come to Black Horse Farm. We teach what good horsemanship really is.

The value is a horse's life, whether it be blind, broken down or unwanted. A horse can be any horse and still be worth more to us than a big price tag. Bloodlines and registration papers are not important to us. In fact, it is "great bloodlines" that are a menace to horses. Breeding, and breeding to satisfy man's quest for the perfect horse. Some horses here will never be ridden because to us a horse does not have to be ridden to be worthy. Those horses are happy as they are. They delight us with their beauty or personalities. Their silliness or antics. By investing in people maybe we can teach one person at a time and therefore make the future a better place for horses.

So join us , open your minds, hearts and souls and come learn about horses.

About Us

Posted on June 25th, 2008

Horses are my life. I have loved horses as far back as I can remember. There is something about a horse. To me it does not matter the breed, age, temperament, color or sex. They are about beauty, power, and have the ability to capture you for life.
It is hard for the average person to understand this. Once you have some interaction with horses then you would understand the marvel they create.

I am addicted. My life revolves around them. Besides my children, I have devoted most of my life to them. I have happily given up my last dollar for them. The physical work is hard but it is good and healthy work. It is good for the mind and soul. Horses teach us many things. They teach patience, responsibility, goodness, caring and what hard work is. They share their power with us when we work and ride them. They invite us to feel their sense of freedom when we canter and gallop. They patiently wait for us while we learn from them. They offer us adventures in horsemanship as well as adventures in self-growth. They are always there for us.

I have seen horses change people for the better. I have seen them make a bitter man less bitter. I have seen a young girl with little confidence flourish with pride. I have seen angry people become less angry through the therapy of horses. It is their unselfish and giving soul that allows us to sit upon their backs. Listen to us when we are sad, mad or depressed. All without asking for anything in return except a kind hand, good food and shelter.

It is a passion we have when we share our life with horses. Our hard earned money is spent on them instead of fine clothes and jewelry and our vacations are not on some far away land, it is in our barns and pastures, happily.

My life with horses has gone from owning my first horse, a palomino named Stardust at the age of 12 to the present. In those 39 years I have learned that I feel responsible to do all I can to help the horses that need help. Call it giving back to the horse or call it seeing the horrible, inhumane and total atrocities that people have done to horses.

Jim and I started Black Horse Farm in 2005. In 2004 I had adopted 3 Premerian mares and their foals form Canada. They were all bound for slaughter due to the Drug Companies cutting their contracts with Premerin ranches in the US and Canada. Premerian, the menopausal drug, had been linked with heart disease and cancer in women. Premerian is made from pregnant horses urine. Thousands of mares were on pee lines to collect urine to make this drug. When the contracts were cancelled the ranch owners began to send the mares to slaughter. Many rescue groups began to try and rescue the mares and their foals. I selected 3 mares from thousands of postage sized pictures of horses that if weren�t adopted would go to slaughter and shipped overseas for human consumption.
After being shipped hundreds of miles from Canada to Maine, the mares were thin, injured and terrified. It took weeks before I could touch them. I earned their trust by thinking like a horse, not like a human. I offered them a kind hand and some good food. They accepted my offer and we became friends.

Our most recent rescue in August of 2007 was a new foal born blind. We named her Apollonia. She was born without eyes. Healthy otherwise except for an umbilical hernia and a pretty bad overbite. Apollonia has been an amazing journey. I can�t begin to try and explain the relationship we have with this filly. She is very special. You can read her entire and ongoing story on her web page Blind Ambition. We feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to be in her life.

Most of the time horse owners who find themselves in this situation think the only option is to euthanize the foal or horse. This could not be further from the truth. I can tell you since we started up Apollonia�s story on our web site we have heard from quite a few horse owners whose mares gave birth to blind foals.
Unfortunately some horse people stubbornly think that blind horses are not worth keeping around. Some owners desperate when first learning that their foal is blind have to listen to neighbors, their trainers, barn managers, instructors, veterinarians and others bombard them with negative advise. Without ever thinking out of the box. Making statements that they know nothing about. So hopefully we can help people to start thinking differently.

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