"HOME GROWN"
What does the phrase home grown mean to you? It’s something we fondly refer to here when we reference our youngstock. Home bred is another terminology you hear being used often in the breeding / producing world. But to us “home grown” runs deeper than that.
Our youngstock follow a diet of grass, which has been carefully and painstakingly managed throughout the year. Everything is monitored and maintained; from the specially selected horse specific grass seed to the ideal weather for cutting our haylage.
Haylage is another hotly discussed topic in our house ! There are weeks on end over summer where “favourites” on our phones are BBC weather and the first thing we ask the local farmers is “well is it to stay dry?” You won’t go far to hear “sure you’d be better sticking your head out the window than listening to thon on the tv”.
But when the time is just right, the grass is cut, turned, turned again, and maybe turned again. By the time it’s ready for baling we’re praying to the rain gods to stay away and drinking our fifth can of red bull carting in and stacking.
Grazing ground is also carefully managed; from the dreaded ragworts being pulled by hand, the unruly hedges being cut back from the fences, and the famous electric fence dance that’s done morning and evening. (“Were you away moving that fence AGAIN”… is often the words uttered around dinner time when the potatoes have boiled over and the meats been burned)
Home grown is important, it’s the “meat and veg” of the horse world. We believe if you know what’s going in, they have the best start to life… we’d like to say “free range” but in that case it usually means an escape … so let’s stick to home grown for now !
October 2021