Dun-Pikin Farm

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Pasadena, MD
Dun-Pikin Farm

Riding Lessons, Pony Parties, Petting Animals, Horse Boarding Dun-Pikin Farm is a small family operated horse boarding and lesson barn in Pasadena, Maryland.

We offer beginner and intermediate riding lessons for children and adults. Horse training. Boarding. Pony Pal program. Pony parties. Pony rides. Stop by and see us some time (visit by appointment only.) We'll see you 'Down on the Farm!"

Dun-Pikin Farm is a Maryland Horse Industry Board Certified Horse Discovery Center.

10/24/2026

Gosh, it has been a long day. I’m just walking in the door at 9 pm. This certainly wasn’t the way I planned on my day going. I was thinking maybe a leisurely evening with the grandkids. Well, they had other plans and the universe had other plans for me.

But, I don’t wanna talk about my screwed up evening. Let me tell you about a real accomplishment for today. Cleaning out the goat pen had crept to the top of my todo list and for good reason. I’d say the litter in the yard was about 2 foot deep – mostly waste hay with a measure of goat p**p mixed in.

Some folks actually raise their goats intentionally on deep litter though usually indoors in winter. The litter composts and actually provides some heat in the winter. But even then you do have to do a seasonal cleanout of the litter.

Back in ‘the day’ we raised 100 chickens in a block building coop on deep litter. At that time it was mostly shredded paper we got from the back door of the school complex. I guess you could say it was one of those win/win sorta deals.

Well, anyway, back to the goat pen. Cleaning it out is always a back breaking job. I got this bright idea that maybe I could recruit Tycen and his handy John Deere tractor with the grapple attachment and see how well that would work. As you can see in the pic he was able to take big grabs of the litter. He’d just grab a chunk, back out and run it down to the manure pile.

That is a nifty, and handy gadget. I still had some hand work to do to fine tune the finished job, but I’m grateful for that mechanical assist. Thank you, Tycen! And oh yeah, thank you Jody and Roxanne for helping with this huge job.

Rick put in a couple hours with me this afternoon to help finish up the job and put the pen back together. We wrapped it up about 3 this afternoon just before feeding time. As I mentioned when I started this story, I never got to go home till way after dark. I missed dinner, that was the most painful part. But all that is a whole other story. I’ll save that for another day. And while you are still here, let me remind you to Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/23/2026

Something special today. Right from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

Cindy 🐴
*-*-*-*_____*-*-*-*
Hi! It’s me Tammy.

I have lived at Dun-Pikin longer than I can remember. In the old barn, out front. Nobody really knows what breed of pony I am. I am a pony; did I say that yet? So yes, I am a pony. I have spots and roan on me and white on my face. I have heard it mentioned that I could be a "pony of the America's" or part that, which I don't necessarily want to be, because we have one in our barn, Dually Delicate Dynamite, aka, Olive and her personality has a lot to be desired if you ask me.

I have never been a lesson favorite and I know it. It kind of bothers me because the complaints about me are all things I can't help, well except for maybe the occasional mouthful of grass here or there, I take full responsibility for that.

Riders complain that I'm scary because I carry my head up high. I guess you haven't noticed that the way I was built is with a very upright neck and front end. Meaning that I'm naturally going to prefer to have my head up since that's how nature made me.

Since I like to go with my head up, I tend to have choppy gaits, again this has a lot to do with my body and not me trying to do anything intentional. My high head leads to tight back muscles which cause me to move in a choppy manner. The older fancier riders know how to work with me to push forward from behind lift my back and stretch my neck down and reaching. But that is big kid stuff, and since I'm a pony, doing anything fancy isn't in my job description.

I think the very best thing about me is that you will always know where I stand. I make my body language very obvious. Whether I'm relaxed or tense, I try and make it really obvious with my body, so you people know what to do. All you have to do is pay attention. Which is why I kind of get grumpy when I'm telling you and you don't notice or care to pay attention. That's the thing about us equines people—see, we can't talk to you in words like you talk to each other, but our body language and expression in our eyes says it all. You just have to be willing to be quiet, not just your volume, but quietness in your body and mind, so you can really observe us! That's when you will begin to really understand.

Oh yeah, one more thing you should know about me, I'm blind in one eye, so please use extra caution not to startle me and if I want to turn my head around to look at something please let me because I just want to try to get a better look.

Requests for My Riders
Please keep your hands nice and still and low. It feels terrible when I have my head in its natural place and it feels like you are trying to yank it up higher.

On behalf of all my other friends, quiet voices and slow movements make us feel safer.

I can teach you a lot! To be an assertive leader on the ground because sometimes I try to eat grass or go to my stall and it's your job to keep me under control!

I will teach you the importance of having quiet hands because if your hands move a lot, I will have to put my head higher and higher.

My choppy trot can tend to make you want to ride in a "chair seat" with your legs out in front of you. I will teach you why you need that straight line from shoulder, hip, to heel.

On behalf of my other friends who will probably say the same thing, we are all different just like you and your human friends are different and unique. No horse or person is better than another, we are all just ourselves. If we were all the same life would be way too boring!

Tam Tam’s Advice of the Day
"If you want to be a good horse person, learn to understand our silent language. We say a lot without saying anything at all. And most of all, it's okay to be your sassy self, embrace who you are and keep on keeping on."

— Tam Tam
with a little help from our guest blogger Ellison Hartley

Come Ride With Us!

10/22/2026

I’m used to seeing the horses lined up. They can be seen lined up to drink at the water trough or standing in line waiting to come in. They always line up with a purpose. 🐴🐴🐴🐴

That’s why I was so surprised to see the chickens lined up. 🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔

They looked kinda like they were lined up for a family photo or something. Even the rooster was standing in the back seeming to look over his flock. 🐓

I just couldn’t resist taking their picture. After all, they seemed to be almost begging me to take it. It did turn out to be a cute picture, but I still wonder why.

Why the line up? Maybe you can figure it out when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴🐔🐓

10/21/2026

What’s wrong with this picture? I’ll tell ya, but first let’s get something straight. Hay is expensive. A round bale costs about $75 and with 4-5 horses eating on it will last less than a week.

Now for the problem with this idyllic image - there is hay on the ground! And unfortunately most of it will not be eaten, just stomped into the ground. Fortunately, and it is probably a bit of a stretch to call it fortunate, this mostly happens when we first put out a round and it is up above the feeder openings.

Even though our hay huts have built in slow feeder hay nets, the horses (well, mostly it is the mares) somehow manage to pull bunches of hay through the nets instead of the bits and pieces that the ‘slow feeder’ net is designed to allow. Darn mares!

Well, anyway, this is just another of those ‘why do horses do that’ moments. There is a solution. Yeah, a more expensive solution. I could and have fed those mares square bales (more $$$) in the hut. I just slip the fresh flakes under the hay net which is a bit of a pain and just one more thing to do, but as long as I keep the level of the hay in the hut below the feeder windows we don’t get the waste you see in the pic.

I’m not complaining, just breathing out loud. Sigh. Talk to those mares for me when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/20/2026

Ode to Baling Twine

We go through the winter, we go through the fall,
Feeding hundreds of bales to the horses in stalls.
With two hardy strings wrapped around every square,
a mountain of twine is always there.
It multiplies wildly defying design.
What do I do with my baling twine?

My coat pockets bulge like I’m smuggling snakes.
It spills from the tractor. It tangles in rakes.
It’s jammed in my pockets. It snakes round my boot.
It’s kept on my person like valuable loot.
I look like a scarecrow in fashion decline,
So, what do I do with my baling twine?

Need to hang up a bucket or latch up a gate?
Fashion a muck bucket handle? It really works great!
A belt for your pants when the buttons pop free?
A leash for a dog or a strap for a tree?
It’s stronger than steel and the craftsmanship is fine,
Yet what do I do with my baling twine?

I can’t throw it out, nope, that feels like a crime!
I might need a piece at another time.
It outlasts the tractor, the barn and the fence,
Defying all logic and practical sense.
My collection of twine is not hard to find.
Lord, what do I do with my baling twine?

Come Ride With Us!
Cindy 🐴

10/19/2026

Everything that's old is new again. We'll maybe not new, but at least usable.

A little while ago, we thought we’d seen the last of this old hay hut. We had it officially "retired" because it was pretty far gone. The bottom was warped so badly it wouldn’t even fit over a hay round anymore, and some of the feeder openings were cracked and snagging the horses' manes. Safety and usability first, so out to pasture it went (and not the good kind!).

But... I might have put a little bug in Rick’s ear about how much I missed having it.

Well, Rick works his magic again! He came back with a $100 Home Depot receipt. I jokingly asked if he’d bought a lifetime supply of duct tape. Turns out, I wasn't totally wrong! His secret revival kit included: Some duct tape (classic), Flex Seal, 4x4s and 2x4s, bolts ...and a "plumb bob" (I’m still not 100% sure what that is, but it seemed important)

I watched the transformation all day, and right around feeding time for the little critters, I got "recruited" to hold some boards. But hey, I’m adaptable, and I wanted this thing fixed!

And guess what? We got ’er done!

Today, this "revived" hut headed out to the middle gelding field. I’ve decided we’re going to use it for square bales instead of round ones. It’s the perfect spot for Marley, who is super sensitive to dust. Since square bales are generally cleaner and stay dry and waste-free under the hut, it’s a total win-win for everyone!

Take a look, you’ll see it out in the field the next time you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/18/2026

Today was really our first taste of fall on the farm. We have had some cool mornings but today there was no doubt fall was here. The air was crisp and cool, the wind blew and leaves were falling in earnest. The horses noticed too. There were a lot of sudden sprints across the field, tails were up and they all seemed to be just a little nervous. Before you know it, I’ll be writing about frost and frozen hoses. This is my kinda weather, and the perfect weather to Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/17/2026

A 69-year-old cleaning out barn gutters on a tractor lift is probably just as sketchy as climbing a ladder, but ya do what ya gotta do. Last week's major barn flood bumped this job straight to the top of the to-do list!

My trusty tractor operator didn't fail me. I started to say he didn't let me down, until I realized that being "let down" was actually the best part of the whole trip! The gutters are officially clean—let it rain! While I take the high-altitude tractor rides, we'll save the much safer, four-legged ones for you, so Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/16/2026

A little tonight…

Sitting down after another long, rewarding day at the barn, I came across this photo and couldn’t help but smile.

Rick and I started our farming journey over 40 years ago, back in 1983. Following in my grandfather’s footsteps, we moved onto his land, dusted off the old farm equipment, and learned by doing. Back then, we were Holt’s Produce Farm. For 17 years, we worked this ground from sunup to sundown, growing fresh vegetables and filling wagons just like the one in this picture.

That’s me leaning against a loaded wagon of tomatoes! Rick had ordered tee shirts for the crew, and he planned to get just a couple special ones for me that read: "This farm(h)er is outstanding in her field."

Well, the printer got a little carried away, and when the boxes arrived, every single shirt in the order had that phrase printed across the back! The guys on the farm crew were spared having to wear them once the company corrected the order, which left me with an endless supply of "outstanding" shirts. I’m pretty sure a few are still tucked away in the house somewhere.

In 2000, we shifted gears and founded Dun-Pikin Farm, trading rows of tomatoes for pastures, run-in sheds, and horses. But every day when I walk out to the fields, it’s the very same dirt under my boots. The crops may look a little different now, but the heart behind it hasn't changed a bit.

Whether we’re picking produce or loving on our horses, we're still right here doing what we love.

Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

10/15/2026

It’s been a good news, bad news kinda day. Today we finally got some answers about the cause of Marley’s on and off lameness. The good news is, we finally know what’s causing it. The bad news is, we now know he has a fracture in his coffin bone located in the hoof. The good news is, if you can call a fracture good news is that the prognosis for a full recovery is good. It should heal. The bad news, Marley will likely be on the bench for about 12 weeks.

Marley will be fitted with a special shoe that will support and stabilize his foot. Until we can get the farrier out, he is now wearing a trail boot. Even with just that he seems more comfortable. Marley will be spending his nights inside. During the day when we can keep an eye on him he will continue to turnout with Lillie.

We have no idea how or even when Marley fractured his foot. Horses seem to have a talent for keeping us on our toes! But with a solid recovery plan, extra TLC, and a little rest, we know our boy will be back in action before we know it. In the meantime, the rest of the herd is ready and waiting. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

Address

4808 Mountain Road
Pasadena, MD
21122

Website

https://www.dun-pikin.com/

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