THE PINK PONY BARN AND EQUINE LAYOUT

The equine are the pride and joy of this little farm, and most of the property is arranged for their need.

We have walking trails for exercise, a dry lot, grass-pasture space, the main barn, and a lean-to.

The ponies here have no expectations or jobs besides being our companions.

THE MAIN BARN FOR THE PONIES

The main barn is off the right side of the garage and the house.

It’s a white and green steel-sided pole building that measures 30×32.

The ponies have free access to this barn 24/7 from a sliding barn door near the back right side.

Their space inside the barn is stalled off, and we have open space to add additional stall areas if ever needed.

This main barn also stores our hay, feed, and pony supplies.

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We rarely stall anyone unless for veterinary visits or health concerns, like when Mixie has a laminitis flare-up.

The space in the barn that the ponies have free access to is about 15′ x 10′.

The enclosed stall area is large enough for a pony or miniature horse to be comfortable.

It measures around 7.5′ x 8′ with a ceiling height of 9 feet, and we can heat in in the winter if needed.

THE NIGHT ENCLOSURE

In the evening, the ponies are enclosed in a space with metal fencing.

Doing this helps me sleep better at night, knowing they are secure in a safe space.

It also means they still have free choice to go in or out of the main barn at their leisure.

This area also has another shelter available to them, the lean-to.

Plus, it’s a nice space to have them enclosed when waiting on the veterinarian.

THE DRY LOT

Each morning, after breakfast chores, the night enclosure gate gets opened, and the ponies will spend most of their day in a dry lot.

This space is approximately 18,750 square feet.

It is tilled and dragged a couple of times a year to prevent grass from growing, and the soil is sand.

A dry lot is a space with no grass and is required for equine with restricted diets or health concerns.

They’re also great to have if you have miniature horses or ponies to limit their access to rich grasses, which can benefit their health and hoof quality.

My ponies, Mixie and Shiloh, have Equine Metabolic Syndrome, which is basically diabetes for a horse.

Grass can have different sugar levels, so they need the dry lot for their overall health.

Mixie has also foundered, and keeping her on a dry lot helps with hoof care issues as well.

To keep them busy in the dry lot, we have wooden fence posts placed in different areas with a hook to hang hay nets.

They also lounge under the area shaded with trees near the gate to the grass pasture.

THE GRASS PASTURE

The grass pasture is a solar-fenced-in area of 2.25 acres. Unfortunately, because of the health concerns with our ponies, turnout time in the grass pasture is limited to evenings

For solar fencing, we use a Zebra Electric Fence Charger, this panel has mixed reviews, but I can say that we’ve had it working just fine since 2017 with no issues. We keep it in a sunny location, and it works 24/7, even in our cold Minnesota winter months. It’s attached to a t-post.

As for the ground, we originally bought a complete Grounding Kit with a steel rod, but for our sandy soil, and after talking to a few farmers in our area, we found that a Copper Coated Ground Rod would work best for us.

All our wooden posts were installed by hand, using a post-hole digger, and they are spaced at 25 feet apart. I purchased the wooden fence post from Menards, and they are 3″x7′ AC2 treated.

We used Slant Nail Wood Post Insulators to hold the Power Fields Fence Wire and spaced the four rows at 12 inches. On the corners we used Corner Post Ceramic Insulators.

Since I don’t have regular-sized horses, I only run the electricity through the two bottom rows of wire.

BACKYARD TRAILS FOR PONY EXERCISE

One of my favorite places to exercise the ponies is on the backyard trails, and I think they enjoy them too.

We didn’t specifically make the trails for the ponies, they were created when my boys were younger, but now they are so great to have.

These days I even have a few fairy accessories along them to add a pop of color and a bit of magic.

And that's how the pony girls live around here.

XOXO

Emily

CEDAR

SHILOH

MIXIE