Iron Ponytail Horse Health & Farm Support

Hi, my name is Baylee Beach, & I’m fundraising for the herd at Iron Ponytail Farm. I aim to help raise money for these wonderful horses that have given so much back to me throughout my life & for our lesson students. My goal is to assist with donations that will be used for paying for the shelter & housing of the herd as well as medical expenses. As the herd continues to age, they have developed some health issues & along with that comes bills from the vet. Being a responsible owner of horses requires spending the necessary funds to keep them healthy & happy; therefore, money that would normally be available from lessons for farm maintenance has been going to the vet bills. We at Iron Ponytail Farm are in need of an additional shed to store the farm tractor that we use on a daily basis to keep the horse paddocks in tiptop shape for the herd as well as other miscellaneous equipment. We now need additional permanent fencing for our dry lot as well due to Buck having laminitis & our new foal Tjassa who has turned into a little escape artist.

Since 2018 it has been Iron Ponytail Farm’s mission to offer an opportunity for people who would like to learn about small farm operations & maintenance &/or just spend time with the animals in a safe & controlled environment. Our approach has been very different & unique from other establishments. We focus on teaching clients & students how to care for & properly handle the horses in addition to introducing riding in a basic & easy-to-understand environment tailored to each individual focused on empathy & connection. Our hope was that we could provide down-to-earth, practical application & mentoring to a wide variety of people who wanted to learn how to connect not only with the animals but to the best version of themselves as human beings. We also had a special goal of helping our military, first responders, & children to find a unique outlet to express themselves in a positive way or gain exposure to animals that they may not otherwise have access to in a safe & affordable manner through our animal husbandry instruction.

With that being said, it is getting harder each day for our herd as they are all aging right before our eyes & require additional care. As the horses have gotten older they have developed a variety of ailments & are requiring more medicine to meet their medical needs. I’d like to tell you a little bit about each member of our herd so you can feel how special they are not only to us, but to our wonderful farm family & students alike. I’ll start with our matriarch mare Sal’s Sis. Sal is a 28 year old Thoroughbred who serves as the anchor of our herd. Unfortunately, her excellent breeding has resulted in a genetic predisposition to arthritis & her decline in health is taking a toll on the whole herd. Sal is a healer of many hearts for people & the horses. Sal has always been kind & a very fair leader. She has taught the students how to use nonverbal communication through reading body language & her sensitive response to different energies. She has offered the students opportunities to learn the application of acupressure & how honest horses can be when something is working or feels good to them or even in helping our students understand how horses express a pain response. This results in students having a greater understanding of the equine mind & has taught our students, both young & old to look deeper for subtle changes in the horses behavior. Unfortunately, Sal had to be retired from riding as her advancing arthritic pain is exacerbated by the extra weight. Additionally, Sal has experienced a medical colic resulting in a lengthy hospital stay & a couple of instances of choke due to the arthritis she has in her jaw which makes chewing difficult. She also has developed PPID (equine cushings disease) which requires expensive medicine to keep her stable.

Quintana Roo is a 19 year old half Arabian/half pony. She is great for all of our beginner students because she is very good at understanding what the rider needs for his or her lesson. Roo unfortunately has the grey gene which predisposes her to get melanomas. She has had two surgeries to remove multiple melanomas on her body which required lengthy hospital stays. At the moment, she has a large melanoma growing above her left eye that needs multiple rounds of chemotherapy injections to help slow down the growth. Roo is very stoic & hides her emotions a lot of times until something is really bothering her. Roo started having some behavioral changes that were uncharacteristic. When the vet conducted an exam they found her stomach was riddled with ulcers most likely due to the stress from her surgeries & the hospital stays she underwent, as well as the stress of her sister Sal not feeling well. The funds would help greatly to assist with the treatments each month for her stubborn ulcers that have been very tricky to heal for the past several months in addition to her insulin resistance & aging joints.

VB Too Much Java is a 12 year old, half half Arabian/half Quarter Horse. She has a spunky spirit & gives her riders a test when it is lesson time. She is very slow for the first time students but don’t let that fool you as once you start getting to the next level, she starts to push the limits on what you can handle. Java likes everything to be perfect, which makes Java push her students to strive for perfection each time. Not only did Java have a baby this Spring, but she has also taken on the responsibility of being the primary riding lesson horse. She is truly a working Mom. By doing this fundraising it is also a goal to be able to afford a laser to provide treatments to relieve sore muscles.

We welcomed our new filly Tjaasa IPF to our herd on March 12, 2022 at 11:37 pm. She is a half Friesian/Arabian/Quarter Horse mix. Ms. Navairre decided to breed Java so that myself & other students could experience the entire process of reproduction & foal management & training. She is strong, bright & has already brought our farm much happiness. Tjaasa is very independent & has a streak of curiosity that gets the best of her. Due to this, she is an escape artist. Being able to purchase permanent fencing for the farm would help keep Tjaasa safe. She has fast become a farm favorite & her kind & friendly spirit has allowed even our youngest students to learn about foal care.

Now I will introduce Buck. I do not know exactly how old he is as we rescued him, but we believe he is in his early 20s. Buck has a sweet & low-key personality, but unfortunately he has had a rough past: therefore, we can’t ride him but we use him for building confidence during ground lessons. Buck has a difficult time trusting his handlers but when he does, it makes the students feel very special. Buck also has PPID (equine Cushing’s Disease) & is also insulin resistant. Unfortunately, he is unable to go out on the grass as his body can’t handle the amount of sugar he intakes & it will cause inflammation in his feet, leading to laminitis. Everyday we struggle to keep laminitis at bay, so these funds would help the farm afford his special slippers as he can’t have regular horseshoes due to his traumatic past & would offer a better fence to keep him off the grass during the summer.

Last but definitely not least is Frosty, our little “Peanut.” Frosty is a very silly boy. He is a great teacher for demonstrating how to be light because he is very sensitive. He’s a kind soul & gets along well with all the other horses except when he bickers back & forth with Java like brothers & sisters often do. Frosty is willing to always try for his student even if he doesn't fully understand & looks to the student to be his leader. He can be easily frightened but with the assistance of the student, he overcomes his fear. He is a very hard worker for the students & always looks forward to what lesson will be next. Frosty is getting older & with that comes more joint issues & some intermittent pain. The funds would help us afford joint supplements & laser treatments to provide relief to Frosty at the recommendation of the vet.

The horses have been a huge part of my life, but I have to thank Ms. Navairre & Mr. Terry for that as well. They have welcomed me into their family with open arms in addition to all of our students in the program. The working students love helping Mr.Terry take care of the pastures & barn with him when they can. Things around the farm would definitely not run as smoothly without him. He is always out there helping us with our farm projects & chores. He helped install new mats in the barn aisle to provide the horses more comfort when shoeing & during lessons & even put more support beams up in the tack room. He is always there for us & the horses no matter what. He helped trailer Roo to her surgeries & Sals emergency visit to the equine vet. He also helps with pressure washing, pasture care, fence maintenance, trailering, & landscaping. He even sometimes provides us a very well-cooked lunch on extra long work days! Ms. Navairre had cancer several years ago & was never able to have children. All she ever wanted was to pass on her love & knowledge of horses & she has been able to achieve that with Iron Ponytail Farm’s lesson program. Ms.Navairre got Sal right before she was first diagnosed with cancer 18 years ago. Sal really helped her push through & keep fighting giving her comfort & something positive to focus on. They have a very special bond with one another, so you can imagine how hard it is for Ms. Navairre to see Sal’s decline in health which tugs at her heart every day. It is my goal to help Ms.Navaire & Mr.Terry to offer them the best chance to give Sal every resource we can to make Sal feel her best for the time she has left with the farm family.

As you have read above, I am asking for donations to help the herd & our farm family to maintain the property. This herd of horses are not just horses to me. They are my whole world & truly make me who I am. Each & every single one has given so much to me personally for the past five years. In addition, our program has offered our working students an outlet to connect with animals on a deeper level. We work hard on connecting one on one with each student & tailoring to both their needs & the horses. Our program not only teaches students how to work with horses, but works on instilling lifelong skills that they will carry with them all throughout their lives. Some of the life skills our students have learned are empathy, confidence, hard work, accountability, responsibility, public speaking, & passing on what they have learned to others. I have personally witnessed growth in not only our working students, but even our regular lesson students. The horses truly inspire us all to be better & I just want to be able to give back to them what they have done for me & hope you can help. Words could never express what each & every one of these horses & Iron Ponytail Farm has done for our farm family. They have healed many souls from the inside out. Please help me help repay this special gift so they too can feel the love & affection they give come back to them.

Additionally, I wanted to add some quotes from our working students as they express their feelings about the herd at Iron Ponytail Farm.

One of Iron Ponytail’s prior working students, Liv (age 13) stated, “Roo’s personality changes depending on who is riding or working with her. She is always such a calm & responsive lesson horse when young inexperienced riders are with her. That changes when she’s out in the field where she gets very energetic & speedy which makes the lesson lots of fun for some of the more advanced students. She truly is my favorite at Iron Ponytail Farm.”

A current working student, Teagan (age 11) recently stated, “ I was having a hard time with a couple of kids at school. Buck really helped me push through it & understand it is not a reflection of me but of them. These horses let us train them & ride them every day. They still try their best & put their heart & soul in it for us. He really helped me through some pretty tough times with school & home. Whenever I see him, it makes my heart jump for joy. He makes me so happy & makes me feel confident enough to do anything. He is my best buddy in the whole world. He makes me feel like I can do anything. Also, Mr.Terry is amazing as he taught me how to drive a tractor & plant trees. He loves his grass & it definitely shows! He is super funny & kind. He cares very much about us & the horses a lot.”

Another working student, Laura (age 12) stated, “ When I started coming to IPF I was super shy & had very bad anxiety. After about 6 months of having lessons at IPF, I started working there. I think the horses really helped open me up & come out of my shell. I think my favorite horse has to be Roo. Roo has helped me a lot because I think we can relate. My anxiety & stress used to make me have bad stomach aches. Roo has ulcers in her stomach. Even though Roo has ulcers, she always does her best for little kids to make sure they have a great time & learn a lot about horses while having fun. I really want Roo & the other horses to feel better because they do so much for us.”

One of our newer working students, Ellie (age 13) has shared, “The barn is an amazing place to go when you need an outlet & an escape from the outside world & just to go to relax & enjoy the horses. The barn has helped me build my confidence in riding & beyond that, it taught me how to talk to people. The people that work at the barn are incredible people who are smart, brave, funny, & friendly, & excepted me the first day I started working. Ms.Navairre is a bright & energetic person who can make you laugh a lot. She cares a lot about her students & is always there when you need to talk. She is there for her horses no matter what & will do anything for them. Ms. Baylee is an incredible worker who takes care of the lesson students & the working students. She is very strong & an amazing teacher as the students seem to form an incredible bond with her. She is an amazing person & is fun to be around. The horses have offered me lots of skills. Sal is the oldest horse who has the sweetest soul & is very kind. When I first saw Sal, I thought she was a very beautiful horse & has a gentle soul who loves kids. She showed me what to look for in a horse like whether they are either happy or in pain & every emotion. Frosty is a spunky caring & loving horse who will do anything for the people he loves. He always tries his best & he taught me to be light & calm with my motions. Java is a chill horse who would rather do nothing all day if she had the option. She is very sweet once she begins to trust you & while riding she will test you to see who is boss. She taught me how to be connected & patient. Tjaasa, although she is young, has taught me that not all horses are as perfect as Sal or Roo & it takes time & effort to make them into a well-trained horse. She is very sweet even if you make her mad when she doesn't get her way. She has also taught me to be patient in what I am doing & to not get angry when things don't go as planned. Everything about the barn is amazing & you learn so much even if you only come once.”

Another one of our newer working students Ms.Diane stated, “ It is hard to put into words how this barn & the horses here have enriched my life. When I first found Iron Ponytail Farm, I had recently lost my mom & my life was broken into a million pieces. I have always had a connection with animals, so I turned to the most sentient beings to help me heal. Feeling disconnected from the world around me because of my grief, I walked into the barn for the first time, & I met Roo. This beautiful flea-bitten gray mare with the most amazing brown soulful eyes was waiting & ready for me to begin my journey towards healing. It was love at first sight!!! Humans may be able to hide uncomfortable emotions like sadness but boy, we can’t hide them from a horse. Through their ability to live in the moment & emotionally sense the world around them, horses allow us to process our own feelings. We learn from them!! As I looked forward to each week I spent at the barn, I met Frosty, Java, Sal, Buck, & was able to look forward to the addition of the cutest, smartest, & most engaging “baby” Tjaasa. As I worked with the horses, they each taught me something different. They each highlighted to me what I needed to work on in my own life. Through my love of each of the horses, the pieces of my life began to slowly readjust & the awful grip of grief that was taking over my life began to dissipate into a new way of living. This was a direct result of the lessons I learned from the horses at Iron Ponytail Farm.”

Thank you for taking the time to read my story & any help no matter how small will be greatly appreciated. A general list of items I am hoping to be able to help fund include: permanent fencing for the dry paddocks, shed for the tractor/farm equipment, laser therapy machine, horse medications/vet & hoof care, barn loan, help with rising feed costs, & pasture maintenance. Blessings to all.