Forest Trails barn cat Coco sits on the conveyor belt leading to bales of hay and looks down at Sadie as the horse is groomed by her owner, Bartlett resident Stacey Rose. Sadie is one of 36 privately owned horses that board at Bartlett’s Forest Trails Stables — a 26-year-old barn at 600 S. Bartlett Road that owner Rita Hankins’ father, Anthony Kubon, purchased in 1991.
Rita first came to know the stable in 1984, when it was owned by Bud Wold and her first horse, Red, boarded there. Now, she not only owns the stable, which she bought from her father in 2005, but also lives in an adjacent house on the property with her husband and two daughters. “I love interacting with people that share the same hobby and passion as me,” Hankins said. “And I take care of every horse as if it was my own.”
7:00 a.m. The horses are fed their first meal of the day. Because most of a horse’s diet consists of hay, the barn goes through 6,000 bales per year.
8:00 a.m. Workers start turning out horses. This accounts for their daily exercise. On days when it’s nice, horses are taken to the grassy pasture, but on rainy days like Wednesday, Aug. 26 they are taken to either the indoor arena or the outdoor paddocks. This is done with the exception, of course, of some horses such as Bob who have “no turnout in mud” written on their stable.
9:30 a.m. Horse farrier Jean Martin stops by to cut and file Sadie’s hooves. This should be done to horses every six to eight weeks and costs between $30 and $50, Martin said. Next, she’s off to Wisconsin to lend her expertise.
10:00 a.m. Rose grooms her horse, which includes clipping her hair and brushing her tail. Forest Trails is not a full-service stable, which can cost nearly $1,000, as compared to the $475 per month that Hankins charges.
11:00 a.m. Rose rides Sadie in the indoor arena to avoid the mud outside.
Noon The horses are fed hay for the second time.
12:30 p.m. The indoor and outdoor arenas are raked with a device called a TR3, which is attached to the back of the tractor.
1:30 p.m. Once the horses are all turned out, the stables are cleaned. This means scooping out the manure and adding it to the large pile behind the barn.
1:00 p.m. Hankins uses a curry comb to groom her paint horse, Ben. Ben’s top lip quivers. “It’s like a massage for him,” Hankins said. “This is a good time for a owner to bond with their horse.” She then cleans Ben’s hooves in order to avoid thrush, a bacterial infection.
2:30 p.m. After five hours of activity, the horses are brought back to their stalls. Hankins keeps a color-coordinated turnout board to keep track of each horse’s activity.
4:00 p.m. The horses are fed their third and last meal of the day.
