A Merry Christmas!

Wanted to give thanks for a wonderful reunion with my family! My Mother, her husband and my brother were able to make it down for a joyous visit on Christmas day. We kept things very simple, had a delicious spiral ham Christmas Eve, with roasted potatoes, salads and a few glasses of my new favorite wine "Crimson". Christmas Day we sat around reminiscing and enjoying each others company. Thank you everyone for a wonderful Christmas!
And now.......back to Monday. :)

Peace & Quiet

More and more we find ourselves lost in the "hustle and bustle" of life these days. It is easy to find yourself lost. That is usually when I catch myself putting the cereal in the fridge and the mild in the cuboard, or walkin up the house and trying the unlock the door by hitting the unlock button on my cars key fob! I know at that point it is time for a break!!! Earlier this past fall Michael and I celebrated our anniversary with a getaway to Marthas Vineyard, and had the pleasure of staying with my cousin Diane. On our relaxing visit we spent some quality time on her screened in front porch, and shared it with her GORGEOUS Great Dane "Sailor"! Here are some pics of us lounging on the porch, soaking in the lucious afternoon sun.

Moral of the story..... Remember to take time for yourself! Celebrate your birthday, or anniversary or just some down time. We all deserve it and cannot function in a possitive manner if we do not celebrate ourselves.

This past weekend I went on a road trip with my husband to look at a new truck to pull our new horse trailer. We have been looking and looking and we may possibly have found it. And it does not hurt that it is painted my favorite color.....Burgundy.

It was nice spending a simple task as a road trip with him. It gives us a chance to catch up and enjoy the little things like a nice drive in the mountains.

Stay warm everyone.....yes I broke out the warmies already.

Meghan

What is on your "Makes Me Happy List"?

What makes us happy? What is on your "makes me happy" list? Do you recognize what makes you happiest and what does not?


My friends tease me about being "miss positivity, or the universe captain". Truth is, I really enjoy feeling happy. I am blessed to have had a positive values and feelings instilled in me at a young age. We had a lot of love growing up.

Now, its not that I dont have frustrating things happen, things go wrong, or s**t comes up, it happens. Stuff happens to everyone, the key is not letting it "GET" to you. I try hard to steer myself back to my natural hapiness state as soon as I am frustrated.

I thought this might be useful for you if I shared a few tips on how I manage this- even when your let down and the crap hits the fan.

* I try to have a mantra for the day. I can often be quoted saying "its all good" or "it is what it is".


* I find things that make me smile alot....... teeth exposed smile!!!!

* I surround myself with vibrant, positive people and eliminate the ones who are perpetually negative from my life, even if their family.

* I expect good things all the time and constantly am looking for clues or signs that they ARE happening.

* I am always trying to see the possitive in any situation, and what can be learned from the situation period.

* I try hard not to over analyize things, and dont take things personally, their rarely meant for you anyway.

* I have a low tollerance for crap & expectations from others that make me feel unhappy for an length of time. BE YOURSELF.

* I feel deep profound gratitude and appreciation every day, especially my love for life.


So go on and make your "what makes you happy" list and stick to it. Eliminate what is not congruent in your life, get rid of the negativity and things that do not flow. You will find you will be constantly changing your life to meet your needs, as you are constantly changing.





Be true to you, honest. BEEEEEEE HAPPYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!





Cheers , Meghan

Happy Thanks Giving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

We hope the holidays will bring your families together and allow a wonderful day of reconnection. Have a wonderful day!

May the apple pie and turkey taste as good as it looks , lots of naps, and perhaps a glass of wine or two, and great company make your holliday the best!

Cheers, Sleepy Hollow Farm

Fall & Winter Preparations

Well its officially fall, crispy evenings, and nice days! Always bring thoughts of putting hay up for the winter, cleaning out the tack room, swapping all the blankets, bringing in all the freezeables from the tack room, digging out the water heaters, and certainly finding my winter riding tights!!!!

Lots of changes in the last month. We have welcomed in our newest boarder& close friend Janet and her beautiful Friesian TB cross mare "Beaucoup", also welcomed Michele who has been riding our mare Farrah- and is presently distracted with her future "Friesian" purchase. We have also had several new buildings & run in shelters installed, wind break walls, new water tubs with heaters installed, new electrical and lighting put up, painting, whew.......it never stops.

With all our new updates, I find I need to carve out more time for my training and office time, in order to launch our new product and services. So with that, I have decided instead of sharing an office with my wonderful husband, I am moving it into our downstairs appartment and will be enlarging my office where soon there will be a recording studio and my home base for training and consulting services. Very exciting!!!!! Ps....looking for a really nice big unique desk!!! Anyone have something fun????
Cheers and break out the scarves already!!
Meghan

Creating a new Product

Well it is a cool crisp September 1st here, 55 degrees and wonderful sleeping weather.

I have a confession. The little gerbil wheel has been turning in my head as it always is, some tell me I have smoke coming out of my ears often. That little wheel has been spinning ideas left and right as we are working on something huge! Something that will be so useful to equestrians all over the world. Something that you can use at home, in the arena, on the trail.

A hint................It is in keeping with the times of technology! We are working on a product that is very affordable and usable by every horse person out there! We cant tell you yet what it is, but we can keep torturing you until it is ready for its release....LOL.
Stay connected and keep watching for our updates as we blog.

Have a beautiful Tuesday and enjoy it!
Meghan

What are you made of?

Well we could answer one way and say particles, atoms, engergy, skin, etc. Or we could go with the unknown. The part of you that one might call "Guts" or "Chutz-pa"!
A quote I really love is:

"Sometimes all that stands between you and the RIDE OF A LIFETIME is simply getting in the saddle and seeing what you're made of" -Unknown-

Simply means that you have to go out there and try new things, no matter how scared you are. Reach out to your friends, family and mentors for guidance when you don't know. Don't be afraid and get up on that tall horse and ride it as long as you can!

I could not be as successful as I am if it were not for the support system and mentors I have in my life. They have shown me and guided me to think for myself and when I don't have the answers I accept their help to guide me as well.

I dare you to go out there and ride that tall dark horse and find what your made of!

Madisons First Show- FIRST PLACE

Madisons first show was at the Marion Fourth of July 2009 Horse Show.

She was fantastic and quite calm. We are so proud of her.....Enjoy


Please use this link to YouTube......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToswFSS3C-8

Something Missing in the Equine Community

Ok.....so we have something in the works. Over the years we have noticed within our equine community, areas that desperately need help on the business side of things. Some of those things we noticed were: Profit loss, Going Green Options not yet applied, Customer Service, and more.

We are here to make a significant difference in the equine business community from the back yard urban farmers to the large elite facilities. Please stay tuned as we are tweaking this and that and getting ready to launch ourselves as Southern New England's Premier Equine Business Specialists! We will be bringing you tips on how to increase your profitability, decrease your carbon footprint, how to deal with difficult situations in the boarding business and provide outstanding customer service. Thanks Meghan

Ode To The Horse

Where in the wide world can we find nobilitywithout pride,Friendship without envy, or beautywithout vanity?Here where grace is laced with muscle,And strength by gentleness confines.He serves without servility,has fought without enmity.There is nothing so powerful,nothing less violent; Nothing as quick,nothing more patient.The world's past has been borne on his back.We are his heirs; he is our inheritance.The horse.

Ronald Duncan in Ode to the Horse

PROBLEMS ARE ONLY OPPORTUNITIES WITH THORNS!

Problems can always be solved no matter what. There is always a solution to anything if you want to make it possible! Be creative and find a way to work something out, you may be amazed at what the outcome may be. So often we tell ourselves a common story i hear so often " I can't do that, that can't be done"..... well let me tell you , we all live within the confines of our own heads and if we tell ourselves that we "cant" then it must be, RIGHT?

Wrong....... we all have a power within ourselves to reach out and be more creative than you ever imagined. There is no such thing as "Can't", it is plainly called WONT. Because you are not comfortable coming out of your comfort zone to try a different way to get what you want. By saying "Can't" you are taking the easy way out.

When we are confronted with every day life "problems" be creative and use the problem solving part of the brain..... go with the "What if we did this instead" scenario and see what happens..... There are always solutions to a problem if we think hard enough and get past the daily grind and the storys we tell ourselves.

Be proative and solve a problem today!

-the voice of an experienced horse woman

2009 FARM WORKSHOPS DATES FINALLY!!!!

2009 Workshops
Located at Sleepy Hollow Farm in N. Dartmouth, MA
Visit our website for more details on workshops offered.
Sleepyhollowfarmma.com
Call 508-317-0098 or email us at:
sleepyhollowfarm@live.com
A unique farm inspiring brilliance within
2009 Workshops Now Available:
Visit sleepyhollowfarmma.com for Workshop Details & Registration.

May 23, 2009- Gaining Ground Manners Part I $55
9-11am. Improve your horsemanship w/this fun & unique workshop. We will work on ground work techniques, improving your horse’s response to your cues, create working space, and have your horses attention riveted on you. Gain respect and confidence with our workshop.

June 6, 2009- Gaining Ground Manners Part II $55
9-11am. This is a continuation of Part I, trouble shooting what has been practiced during the 2 weeks between classes and expand more on teaching the horse to walk without being pulled by your horse, to stop when you stop, and yield respectively out of the handlers way and become soft on the lead rope at all times.

July 25, 2009- Lil’ Britches Junior Horsemanship $40
9-12pm. A 3 hr mini day camp for youngsters who love horses and do not have much experience with them. We will provide a supervised, fun, creative, learning environment for these youngsters. Included: basic horsemanship, safe handling methods, how to lead and handle a horse/pony, basic care, hands on, activity packed, and lead line rides time permitting. Aprox 3hrs, recommended for ages 5 to 12yrs.

August 8, 2009- Long Lining- Ground Driving 101 $75
9-12pm. An introduction to long lining/ground driving/long reining. Perfect for all ages. We will provide valuable, hands on training techniques that teach you how to begin long lining or ground driving. We will provide you with easy steps to begin long reining and also increase relaxation, trust, confidence and develop a fundamental connection.

August 29, 2009 New Horse Ownership 101 $45
10-12pm. New owners and parents guide to prepare you for new horse ownership. Find out what owning a horse is all about from the experts. We will share our secrets to finding your perfect horse, getting exactly what you want out of the deal, how to protect yourself and have a smooth transaction. We will reveal secrets most sellers do not want you to know! How to research registration papers, finding a trainer or barn, and learn what it REALLY costs to own a horse. Perfect for all ages.

All workshops taught by Meghan Hamilton Yallen- Licensed MA Riding Instructor, Certified Equine & Canine Massage Therapist, Experienced Horse Woman.

Dont judge a book by its cover!!!

This is amazing!. Just goes to show how fast people judge!!




Susan Boyle Stuns Crowd with Epic Singing - Watch more Funny Videos

Losing a Legendary Leader

LEGENDARY WOMAN, AUTHOR AND FOUNDER OF CENTERED RIDING LEAVES THE HORSEWORLD IN MOURNING

Sarah Rodman Swift known to her worldwide following as “Sally Swift” passed away on April 2, 2009. Sally was less than three weeks away from reaching her 96th birthday. She was born on April 20, 1913 in Hingham, Massachusetts to Rodman “Tod” Swift and Elizabeth Townsend Swift. She had one sister, Agnes, who died in 2004.
Sally Swift was known all over the world for her innovative horse-riding methodology known as “Centered Riding.” She was the author of two books Centered Riding and Centered Riding II – Further Explorations which, together, have had sales of more than 860,000 copies worldwide in fifteen different languages. Sally was the Founder of Centered Riding, Inc., which is the non-profit organization that oversees the worldwide membership of instructors and horse riders. Sally began Centered Riding at the age of 62 upon her retirement from the Holstein Association in Brattleboro Vermont. Her first book, Centered Riding was published in 1985.

This was taken from Sally's website, so sad.... what a wonderful exeuberant woman.... she had been battling illness for the last year.

Love, Peace, and Light as you join the horse anccestors.

The Journey!!

"It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end"

-unknown-

Have you ever found yourself working towards a goal or a commitment, perhaps you have an expectation of what you want to happen? Don't feel bad we all do to a certain degree. When we focus constantly on the goal or the "end" then we do not always enjoy the journey. We do not see all the little wonderful things that surround us everyday, all the "gifts" that are right in front of us every day.

I learn more and more from our 5 wonderful horses, friends, students, and mostly my husband Michael. From that quiet moment in the stall with my beautiful Friesian mare who wants to please me in the worst way..... when I rub her face she actually smiles! The corners of her soft black lips curl up and she smiles, and I know that at that moment she is as happy as I am. She has a place to belong to now and she knows it. To every time my husband does something small yet so significant. He is a saint. A week or so ago he came home with a brand new "red" manure fork, wrote my name on it and hung it up on the wall where my absolute favorite manure fork had hung, only the week before it had finally broke. I came in the barn and found my new fork and saw he had written my name on it with a black marker. I went out side and found him, thanked him, and gave him a hug and a kiss. He said "you know, some girls get flowers, but your happy with a manure fork"!!!

These my friends are the simple pleasures we need to stop and enjoy more along our journey. As they say "smell the roses".

Yesterday was a rainy Sunday, so we did grocery shopping, rented a movie and watched it in front of the fireplace. Slowing down for a few hours was such treat that we or I do not do often enough.

Enjoy the ride! Love the journey! Smell the roses! Slow down! Be grateful!

Happy Monday

Cheers, Meghan

FARM WORK DAY- A SUCCESS!

We would like to personally thank all who came to the farm and gave up their Sunday to help us expand our paddocks in a combined effort to accomodate our expanding business. Here is a picture before:

I hope you can view these pics. You can see all these high piles of brush left over from when we had all the trees cut down 2 years ago. Over the last 2 years lots of alders, sprouts, and prickers have "popped" up and needed to be nixed. Thanks to our troopers who all cames armed with chain saws, nippers, and shovesl, we accomplished everything and more than we anticipated! Great job everyone!

Here is an after picture:

Wow!! all cleaned out.... We still have a few areas we need to clean up, which we will hold volunteer work days in the future to help with. We cleared aprox 1/3 of an acre in these pictures.

In addition to clearing a new paddock area, we were able with the help of our volunteers, able to clear a new road aound the perimiter of the farm giving us a secondary access to the rear of our property another 2 acres. Here are pics of this road.... we still have rock removal but it is fairly clear for access with the bobcat , gator or walking/riding.

A job well done! Thanks everyone.

One door closes.......Another opens??

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."

I love this quote! So often we find ourselves looking at that closed door we really do not see the little opportunities that are presented to us, each and every day. If we really look at every sign and every event as a "message" or a "sign" we can begin to realize our everyday opportunities.

The universe has a strange sense of humor! Remember to always do what makes you the happiest. Even when it takes us a little out of our comfort zone to get there. Ask questions, don't assume. You will get answers that will ultimately help you make a decision on how to move forward and make yourself happy. Watch for the signs...... the doors that open, be aware of the "OPTIONS" that exist in everyday life.

Perhaps you applied at a company for a job that you knew would have good benefits and be a wise choice for your future, you interview and feel confident you will get this position. All is well right?? Over the weekend something happens.... a new door opens and this amazing position is offered at a company you never thought you would get into because you looked at the closed door too long! While you were putting out the vibe that you were looking for a job that you would really enjoy.... the vibe was picked up and a new door was opened for you.

These doors open and close all the time. Recognize which ones are for you. Recognize the draw that entices you to the new door opening! Smile and enjoy your day!!
Meghan

Trail Ride in the Copicut Woods

Well we welcomed spring early this year with our trail ride yesterday. We hit the trails and headed into the Copicut Woods on sunday and had an adventurous time! The sun was out and the temperature was about 55 degrees. Yeah!.
We have all been looking forward to this for so long, it was nice to actually get out and enjoy the day. We had a few water crossings and I have to say, they all were very succesful and cooperative. The dog and human interactions were minimal and very polite. A few steeds had a case of the "friskys", but seemed to work through them .
It never ceases to amaze me, how you can be walking along and your horse is so relaxed and "tired" (or so you thought) and your riding at the buckle. All of a sudden your trusty steed picks up her head, begins trotting and right there in the middle of your confusion in why am I know trotting to picking up your long reins you experience some turbulence as your 16.3H Belgian throws a little buck and you shriek "what the @#$! was that?" amonst other obsenities which we will not discuss here. We'll we all started laughing, so we made light of all the other moments when the, well call them "FRISKIES" came out.
Thanks for a great day!! I had a lot of fun.
Got back to the barn and spent some time with the black princess "Madison" and was able for the first time wash her tail and let out her braids. I took her and our Great Dane Ava for a walk.
Aaah what a nice day.
Meghan

Spring & Random Acts of Kindness

Greeting all! Seems the temperature is sneaking a little higher and higher every week. I welcome it, even if it brings a little mud here and there. Lighter longer is feeling great, the robins are out and the sun is warm on our faces.

Lots of news from the farm. All are well, aside from a few stifle injuries this winter on the ice and mud we are hanging in there and all are very healthy! The trails are beckoning our names. We have ventured out a few times, and they are in decent shape. Water crossings are melting and easier to cross, not much mud or downed limbs. We will soon be having a trail clean up day, as well as a farm clean up weekend!!! Yeah.....we have fun and provide food and drink for those who want to attend. I will post more information soon...

We would like to thank Shayna and Alicia both for choosing to board with us. It is not that often it seems that appreciation is given to those we provide a service too. We are so happy that you both found your way to SHF! It has been and will continue to be a true pleasure.

We would also like to thank Pam who is now leasing our Belgian gelding "Garth" who she has affectionately nick named "Garth Vader".... yes we laughed at this one too! She has put in the extra time and diligence and will be working closely to bring him along with his riding and driving training. Thank you too for finding us. You have been an immense help!

We would also like to thank Jaqui for all her donations of her time helping out at the barn and to her supportive husband and son who drop in to help too!! We look forward to seeing you all more often.

We are so grateful for all the "donated" time that has been given here at SHF. We wanted to recognize this gift. When people donate and volunteer their own time it goes much deeper than just "thanks". It is a gift that is given "just because". To us, this is one of the most valuable gifts we as humans can give. It comes from the heart and means the most. Imagine if more people in this world will stop and smell the roses for a minute. To recognize these individuals for who and what they really are??? To say "hey, thanks for holding the door for me" or "thanks for throwing the horses another flake of hay for me", or " can I get you a coffee?"

It seems more and more people are taking advantage of these acts of kindness, and we let them. The moral of the story folks is....if you have not done a random act of kindness just because , and just because you are not expecting anything in return but perhaps a smile, ACT NOW..... pay for someones coffee in line at Dunkin Doughnuts, hold the door for someone who has their hands full, let the elderly gentleman or lady go in front of you at the grocery line. Enjoy the feeling you will have inside, the giving you just gave may have just made their day. You will feel immediately feel gratitude for this act. And on the reciprocal end of this....when someone does a random act of kindness and you are the receiver- say THANK-YOU!

To all, have a fabulous Friday!!!!!

Peace, Love & Light

Meghan and Michael

Madison Arrives!!!!

After a long patient wait Madison arrived on January 3rd, and has successfully settled in here. She is absolutely more beautiful than we had imagined!!! We are very excited and will keep you updated as her training progresses. We are hoping she will make it into the studbook at her fall Keuring!!! This will be our main goal for this year along with her training..... She is truly a pleasure to work with. vist our website for more pics.http://sleepyhollowfarmma.com