All equines at Fallon’s Farm require support from every angle: financial, physical, and mental. The financial commitment waxes and wanes throughout the year with steep demand in the spring and summer months when new hay supply becomes available. Our costs are directly correlated to the farming process—cost of machinery and labor with supply and demand teetering each year on the dependence of our weather systems. Because we take in horses that may require costly maintenance, whether it be temporary or lifelong, there are specific feeding or corrective shoeing needs that have to be met.
Daily chores include feeding, mucking or dragging manure, general maintenance of grounds, grooming (or lack thereof depending on the equine’s preference), tending to any current medical issues, and taking a close look at each member of the herd to ensure their safety and wellbeing. More sporadic chores include but aren’t limited to bucking hale bales, buying new equipment to keep up with the daily demands, gas and wear and tear on vehicles for transporting animals to the farm safety, and unplanned veterinary procedures and subsequent care.
Just as demanding as the financial load, and perhaps the most overlooked, is the mental and physical strength needed to run a sanctuary. Anyone who has ever said goodbye to a beloved
animal knows how crippling it can be to one’s heart. At Fallon’s Farm, goodbyes are facilitated with compassion, appropriate time management, and heavy, heavy hearts. Each animal—no matter how long they graced us with their presence—is loved the same as the next and we feel the weight of their lives in everything we do.
