Orchard Equine Retirement - Est 1988
Providing Premier Full Care Retirement For Your Horse & Peace of Mind to You
570.345.3846
Full Care Horse Retirement Since 1988
Managing the Retired Horse
Retiring your horse is much more than turning your horse out in a pasture to live "au natural". The sections below with links provide detailed information on all aspects of our management of your retired horse and the reasons why each is important to you and the health and happiness of your retired horse.
Feeding
Extruded Feeds Standard
Fed individually in box stalls or individual paddocks
Premium Blue Seal Sentinel Line of extruded feeds
Extruded feeds optimize digestion
Horses utilize 30% more nutrients than textured or pelleted feeds
Research supports benefits of extruded feeds.
Each horse's diet customized to their needs
Diets to meet metabolic digestive disorder
No set limits on amount fed
Haying
24/7 Free Choice
Premium small hay bales
Fed in slow feed nets
Fed inside sheds during inclement weather
2nd & 3rd cutting
Orchard Grass
Orchard Grass/Alfalfa
Alfalfa
1st cutting for horses with metabolic digestive disorders met by 1st cutting hay
Available if required: Chopped hay (Dengie) Hay Cubes. Alfalfa Pellets
No large bales
Supplements
Fed & Reordered
SmartPak appreciated but not required.
Owners pay cost of supplements
Feeding & reordering of supplements -no charge
High quality forage reduces the amount of feed required
High quality forage & concentrates reduce need for supplementation
Stress free environment of retirement farm often eliminates need for ulcer treatment.
Stabling
Monthly or Daily
Nine Box Stalls
One 12’ x 16 layup stall with observation window
Options include
Monthly basis
Daily basis in severe weather
Wood shavings and straw bedding
Cleaned one to two times daily and picked throughout the day
Salt blocks in each stall
Water provided in five gallon buckets
Slow feed hay nets
Pasture Run in Sheds
Our Sheds Keep the Weather Out
Five run in sheds
South facing with overhangs
Bedded with wood pellets in summer
Bedded with wood pellets and straw in winter
Two 16’ x 24’ & 8’ overhangs with 8’ high oak kick boards
One 14’ x 12’ with 4’ overhangs
One 12’ x 24’ with 6’ overhang, 10’ high T & G kick boards
One 16’ x 24’ with 8’ overhang 10’ high T & G kick boards
Wardrobe
Repairs & Cleaning Arranged
Halters- Washable nylon with breakaway leather crown preferred.
Blanketing - high cut necks preferred
Sheets during Spring "mud season"
Fly Sheets -for horses bothered by biting insects
Fly Masks with ears washed & put on
Shoo-Fly Leggins - protect legs & reduces stamping
Cribbing straps/collars - Not required.
Washing & repairs included in flat rate board fee
Equipment supplied dependent on size availability
Laura Dapuzzo
“Back in 2004 I made the tough decision to retire my two horses. I had a successful show career with both of them and as they were getting older I felt they deserved to live out their lives just being horses.
I spent countless hours researching retirement farms. There were some farms that were downright scary – pastures that were poorly fenced, horses drinking out of dirty water troughs, no individualized care, no access to stalls.
Then there were places like Orchard Equine Retirement. Pastures with secure fencing, access to clean water buckets (and now automatic waterers that are heated!), stalls available when need and access to run in sheds in every pasture.
What made Chris and Jack stand out from the rest of the “good” retirement farms was their love for the animals. They love each of these horses like they are their own children.
The first time I went there to check out the farm Chris introduced me to every single horse there. She told me their background, what they like and don’t like, who their barn buddies are.
Chris, Jack and now Sarah provide exceptional care for the horses. They go above and beyond to make sure the horses and safe, healthy and happy. My gelding passed away from intestinal cancer in 2007. It meant so much to me knowing his final years were good ones.
My mare is still a current resident there and will turn 31 this year! With the exception of a few (ok a lot of!) gray hairs you would not be able to tell she was 31. Her weight is good, her coat is shiny, and she is happy. The wonderful care that Chris, Jack and Sarah provide is the reason she is 31 and still going strong.
This year I made the same tough decision I had to make back in 2004. I am retiring my two horses that are currently living on Long Island. This decision was followed by a lot less research as I knew the only place I would ever retire a horse to was Orchard Equine Retirement, the absolute best retirement farm there is. .”