The Rancho del Paso horse boarding stables and equestrian facilities have been built to U.S. standards--generous size, quality materials, safe and secure, and easy to use...in addition to being beautiful and luxurious. Over three-quarters of a million dollars has been invested to date in constructing these facilities for 10 lucky horses and their riders.
Horses mowing the arena for us (stables in background)
Ten 12' x 12' stalls, open, airy, well-lit, well-drained, thick bedding, feed and hay container off the ground, 2 water buckets. Half of these stalls are dedicated to the owners' horses, and half are available for boarders.
Attached 12' x 22' private paddock for each stall
Three grassy turnout areas with safe metal fencing, water troughs (cleaned weekly) with automated water dispensers, sun shelters with salt blocks. Turnouts are watered all winter long to keep the grass green for good forage. The horses' turnout time is scheduled and rotated to keep the pastures green and healthy.
Feed room is 15' x 45' to store a full year's worth of quality hay
Boarders' lounge has a guest bath, sink for cleaning tack, and a fridge and microwave. The 15' x 20' tack room has individual storage for each stall, well lit and well ventilated. 6 car parking area inside the secured, and automated entry gate.
90' x 125' walled riding arena has a gravel base for drainage topped with a 10" layer of soil and sand, regularly-mowed grass on top of that to limit dust and puddles.
Round pen with sprinklers to cut the dust, dedicated horse wash area, and vet stocks.
Regularly scheduled worming (with worming paste imported from the U.S.) is included in the horse's board.
On site trainer available for training or working your horse (for a fee).
Every pasture has shade and water - and a view of the lake!
Horses grazing in RDP pastures (Hacienda Alta 1 in the background).
Boarders side of the tack room
Owners side of the tack room
Lounge - fridge and sink
White board and bathroom
Vet Stocks
Parking Lot at the Stables
CLICK HERE to see More Pictures....... mostly of the equestrian facilities but a few of Hacienda Alta
For more detail on the stable design and layout, go to theARENA & STABLES page
Miles of quiet, level dirt, roads easily accessible from the Rancho -- seeTRAIL PAGE
Bits and Pieces of Stable News
We continue to poke at fixes for the high alkalinity of the water in this part of Mexico. It seems to be an endemic issue in the local water supplies – we’ve tested our well, the SIMAPA water, and a truckload of water brought in from a water supplier in Tlajomulco. They all tested off the top of the charts for pH and alkalinity.
Blood tests done on 4 of the horses here all show somewhat low red blood counts, and this may be due to the high alkalinity affecting the bio-availability of iron.
In January we added a filter to our well water which cleans out the mud in the water – it’s nice to have clear water in the taps in the house and the barn but it didn’t change the alkalinity.
We’ve been adding small amounts of food-quality citric acid to the horses’ water buckets since mid-February, and it doesn’t seem to bother them, they still drink several buckets a day plus whatever they drink in pasture. The citric acid lowers the pH of the water into a neutral range, and citric acid in the diet makes it easier to absorb iron and other minerals. It also has the added benefits of providing anti-oxidants to the horses, and keeping their water fresher.
We’re considering adding some alfalfa to the horse’s daily ration, as the vet said that would help buffer alkalinity in the stomach
We already feed ½ cup / day of mixed chia and ground flax seeds; and on the vet’s advice, we’ll be adding a daily cup of wheat germ to that
Our good farrier, Alfredo de Santiago, is available again. He had damaged the tendons in his right hand during an accident while vaccinating cows, but is now working again. Alfredo lives several hours away but comes by the rancho when he is on his way to his clients in Guadalajara, and will be shoeing/trimming for us soon. I am excited because my mare Gracie, who has been growing out her soles and hooves following a recovery from laminitis, is going to be shod again. Yippee!
Javier and Rickie have been re-painting the metal in the stalls – when they get to the swing-open manger, they have to take it off its hinges, steel brush and sand the rust off it, prime it, paint it and then let it dry. That takes a whole day, so we’ll be shifting horses around the stalls while we’re doing this.
Soñador, the new palomino Peruvian stallion, is settling in nicely. He needs a little more meat on his bones before we ride him, but we are ground working and grooming him, and getting him oriented to his new place. He has our gelding Pildorin as his pasture pal now; and has a serious crush on Lily, the Tennessee Walker mare.
Summer 2015
Pasture rehab is proceeding nicely this rainy season. The patures were over-grazed while we were away and developed bare spots. These are an issue because a) with our slippery jaboncillo (Soap-like) clay soil, horses can slip and injure themselves on bare spots; and b) once the grass is gone, the good soil we've laid down washes away and it's a real hassle to re-establish the grass. We've been using temporary electric fencing to move the horses off one strip of grass onto others; and the bare spots have been given sulphur (to counter-act the alkalinity), our very best "Paso Poop" compost and top dressed with new soil and fertilizer. Javier and Rickie have cut some of the long seedheads from exisiting pasture and laid them on the bare spots to both provide seeds and protect the (hopefully) budding beds.
Black and White pasture -- Lily, Melaza, Meinke and Kerrie Bell out in pasture
