At the start of this blog I wrote about several horses we have around the farm. My husband and I spend a large about of our time taking care of rescue horses. We both have a great passion for horses and horses are what brought us together! So, when I was contacted by Standlee Hay Company, Inc. to review their Hay Products I was over joyed because the review would directly benefit one of our rescue horses!


Standlee Hay Company, Inc. has several different types of forage for sale designed to help feed your animals as each has different needs and circumstances. Their focus is on alfalfa, timothy grass, orchard grass and mixes of alfalfa/timothy and alfalfa/orchard grasses, however they also provide beet pulp, whole oats, and even horse treats. Their hay products come in cubes, mini cubes, and pellets.

Blade, our review subject for Standlee Alfalfa Hay Cubes!

Blade's topline

When feeding rescue horses, particularly those that are elderly with teeth issues, we like to feed hay cubes. I decided to check out Standlee's Alfalfa Hay Cubes for our elderly horse, Blade. Blade is a 28 year old Thoroughbred/Quarter Horse cross. He raced for several years before be retired to enjoy trail riding, mounted posse, and 4-H. Blade's previous owner had several life changes that made it impossible to take care of her horses, so she donated Blade and his buddy Sabrina to the horse rescue. Blade has proved to be quite the hard keeper. We have tried a lot of things to keep weight on him, regular deworming, teeth floating, and different diets designed for elderly horses. Out of all the horses on the farm, Blade is fed the MOST feed. The only thing we have not tried yet, is hay cubes!

Blade munching on cubes!

Blade LOVES his Standlee Alfalfa Hay Cubes! He can chew them easier than regular grass or alfalfa hay, as it is soaked in water before consumption. I actually believe he looks forward to them at breakfast and dinner time and although it may appear that it is not a large quantity of food, once it is soaked and expands the amount is amazing and the quality is great. We have tried other brands of Hay Cubes with horses in the past and the Standlee Alfalfa Cubes take a shorter amount of time to soak and expand completely. I am pretty sure it has to do with some of the binders that the other companies use to keep the cubes in their compact square shape.

Dry Standlee Alfalfa Hay Cubes

Soaked Standlee Alfalfa Hay Cubes (Half Eaten, lol)

Blade has not been on his cubes for a long enough time to see big results yet, but I can tell that they are helping little by little. I will be updating you all throughout his progress. The older the horse is, the harder it seems for them to put weight on, so it may be a couple months before we will see the noticeable difference that we are expecting from the Standlee Alfalfa Hay Cubes.

Click here to see what My Rating means!
Cost: 50 pound bag Alfalfa Hay Cubes were $12.99 in Evansville, Indiana. Prices may vary depending on the state in which you live. Contact your local feed store. 
Where to Buy: Standlee Hay Company makes it easy to fine a retailer near you, click here to find one through their website tool! Our local Tractor Supply Company in Evansville, Indiana had the best selection of Standlee Hay Company, Inc. products. 
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Have a wonderful day dear followers and don't forget to hug your horse!






Disclaimer: Standlee Hay Company, Inc. provided me with $120.00 worth of their hay products in order to provide this review. I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are 100% mine based on my personal experience with their product. I, nor Standlee Hay Company, Inc. makes any guarantees about this product. I am not a veterinarian, so please consult with your animal's veterinarian before making changes to their diet or implementing anything suggested in this post.

The fields are growing thick with grass and the weather is staying consistently warm. I am so very glad that Spring has finally decided to arrive! I know that the girls are loving it too, since we can go outside pretty regular now. They love playing outside and visiting the horses. A lot has been going on at the farm and I figured that I would give an update, since I can't remember the last time I did one.

We tore down the little red barn next to the house, it was a sad sad sight, but it had to come down before it fell down and hurt someone. The good news is that we salvaged some of the exterior red pieces of wood and decorated the office and med room in the main barn with it. It looks amazing and so rustic!

We still have several really nice horses that are looking for homes. We adopt anywhere in the US, so if you are looking for a horse to love, check out some of ours, here.

The goats are no longer coming into the house at night. They are outside 24/7, doing great, and enjoy it. The girls and I take them for walks as often as we can. They are both learning to walk on a leash, I hope to take them to a couple shows in June, but we will see if I can get them ready in time. I have no idea what I am doing so we will either rock the show or at least provide the entertainment.


Speaking of the goats, I decided to name my little hobby farm Twinkle Little Farm. Big Sister is learning Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Old McDonald and sometimes mixes up the words. She was singing one day and said "Twinkle Little Farm" and I just fell in love with it. So, because my daughters were such a big part of my decision to get goats and more specifically Nigerian Dwarf Goats, I decided that it was only right that the girls be a part of naming the farm.

My geese decided they wanted to sit on their eggs, so I let them. I wasn't sure if they would actually hatch, but I figured I would let them try. Well, Mr. Goose is fertile and all my Girly Geese are great brooders because I now have three little goslings under a heat lamp on my porch. I was afraid they would get snatched by wildlife so I decided they were safer on the porch then outside with mom. There probably should have been 6 of them, but 2 were either squished or attacked by the geese and the one egg was busted before it was baking. The girls love playing with the goslings, Little Sister is a little too rough and I really have to watch so she doesn't squeeze their little necks too hard. Big Sister is great with them and I am pretty sure they love her too, or at least think she is "Mom."

We are still working on the new house, it seems to be taking FOREVER! I never knew how hard it was to find GOOD Contractors and good construction workers. I hope and pray we are in the house by Big Sister's 4th Birthday. Most of the drywall in the new section is in, so God willing I will be choosing paint next week. Any suggestions?

Wow, if I were a super blogger, I probably would have been able to split this post into several, but that is not how I roll, hehe!

God Bless and have a wonderful day dear followers!

The only thing you can predict about Indiana weather is that it is unpredictable. I'm not complaining one bit, but today is was 60 degrees, in JANUARY! How crazy is that? It is supposed to be 70 tomorrow, but we'll see, I'm still somewhat skeptical at that. Either way, I decided to take advantage of the warmth and took Big Sister to go ride her pony.

Big Sister, 3 1/2 years old riding by herself!

Up until today, Big Sister had only been lead around on her pony. I decided today to see what she would do if I gave her the reins. She loved it, despite her pony being ornery coming out of winter and the reins being little too long. I have to say I was impressed with the pony as well. He was a trooper, especially since Big Sister doesn't quiet know what she is doing yet. He needs some refresher on ground manner, but we can fix that this spring. We worked on using the reins and learning to kick the pony to make him go. Big Sister listens well when I give her instructions and she handles the frustration of the pony not minding her right away pretty good. I explained to her that it will take practice and she is just learning. She seemed to except that fact and kept on working at pulling his head up when he would stop to stiff something on the ground.

I had hoped that at least one of my children would take and interest in horses, since they are such a large part of our lives. Seeing her up on that pony, determined to ride him on her own was just magical. I can't wait to be able to let her ride the trails with me! This is the begging to an awesome new chapter for Big Sister and I!

Have a great day dear followers!

Both of my daughters have a love for horses, however they both have an infatuation with donkeys. Whenever I take them to the barn, they casually look around, check out the horses, play with the barn cats and then ask me to go see the donkeys. We currently have two donkeys that live at the farm, Samuel and Solomon. Both came from not so great pasts but both have made great improvements. This summer we learned that Samuel would accept a young rider, which is saying a lot since when he arrived he would just assume kick you as look at you. He just LOVES kids and after several months of coaxing from our friend's 10 year old grandson, Samuel decided life was okay here and that he could trust us (okay the kids at least). Big Sister was the first to "ride" Samuel, that first day, he acted like he was carrying precious glass that could be broken with the wrong move. I was amazed! I think that that day was the day Big Sister REALLY developed her infatuation with donkeys.
  About a month ago I was contacted by Cheryl Pollak, the producer of a children's animated series, "Jasper the Mule." I was excited and honored at the opportunity for us to review "Jasper the Mule" , espeically since the girls love horses and donkeys so much.

 "Jasper the Mule" is a series of holiday-based 22 minute specials following a young mule named Jasper and his best friend, a Jack Russell Terrier named Moxie, on their adventures.

Screen shot from JasperTheMule.com

I knew that my girls would love these specials and boy was that an understatement. There isn't a day that goes by that my girls don't ask me to watch "Donkeys" as they call it. They don't quiet get the concept that a mule is a cross between a donkey and a horse, yet. To them, are the same thing. Anyways, "Jasper the Mule" was a HUGE hit in my home! My girls are 3 and 1 1/2 now and just get a kick out of Jasper and his adventures. I have to admit that they are addiciting to watch for adults as well, my favorite is the Valentine special. Althought, after the girls fighting over and pulling out the "Jasper the Mule" DVD out of the drawer constantly for me to play, it has scratches now that affect our Valentines special a little bit.

 As a parent, I found it very neat and educational that during each special the animals discuss the "meaning of" or the "reason" people celebrate that particular event/holiday. The language and conversations between characters are poliet and not contriversial. The subjects are relevent, up to date, and enjoyable for the whole family. The colors are also vibrant and attractive for children.


Have a wonderful day dear followers!

Wes, from Indiana Horse Rescue Southwest

Well, it has been a sad couple of weeks around the farm.

We lost one of our Miniature horses, Prayer, a couple weeks ago. He died naturally, just laid down and passed. He was the smallest of our Pint Sized Posse and the sweetest as well. He was always willing to do anything you asked, no matter how silly. He also LOVED pulling his cart, he loved having a job and it gave him a purpose.

Then, yesterday, my husband called me on his way to work and told me my Peacock had been hit by a car. I got up immediately and went out. He was in rigor and had been hit sometime early in the morning. Our farm help came down to the house and helped me bury him next to the woods in our back yard. I sure will miss him. He was becoming part of the family and I thoroughly enjoyed him hanging around the backyard and herding my ducks and geese. I am sad that he is gone, but I don't regret letting him free range, he was the happiest he had ever been with me and I am so glad that he was able to have that!


They say these things come in THREES, but I hope not. I really don't want to loose another animal this month. I guess it is just a reminder that life is short and we should appreciate every minute we have!

Have a wonderful night dear followers!