KeyVale Farms – An Awesome Stable

KeyVale Farms - Jefferson, Oregon

I had the pleasure of visiting KeyVale Farms and owner Lisa Harrell-Brock a few weeks ago. KeyVale Farms is a horse boarding facility down in Jefferson, Oregon and I was heading there with my daughter, Erika, to check the place out, meet Lisa, and hear a little about her rescue horses and how she and her husband run the place.

When I board my horse I can be a little picky. But, I also have to watch my budget so when I find a place that is really nice and affordable I’m totally jazzed. Unfortunately, Jefferson, Oregon is too far for me but for those of you who live near – this is a great place to put your horse! It almost got me thinking of relocating….

Lisa and her husband keep their facility clean, well-groomed and manage mud well (an amazing feat in this part of the country). The horses in the stalls have turn-out available to them all year round plus there are boarding options of paddock and shelter combination that I know my horses would love and were just the nicest and tidiest set-ups I’d ever seen! And the prices?? All I can say is what a deal.

There is a large indoor arena and a fantastic outdoor arena as well as round pen, roomy trailer parking, organized and secure tack storage and great grooming and wash stations. Be sure to check out their website if you’re looking for boarding options.

Lisa also showed us her two rescue horses, Polly and Angel. In the pictures I have up, Polly is still lean looking but compared to her pictures about a month ago, the change is remarkable. Lisa showed us these original pictures and let me tell you, “bag of bones” would be a good description for her! Angel had a bad quarter crack in her hoof that was compromising her soundness and her owner’s ability to care for her. Through the use of an innovative shoeing application her outcome looks very good!

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A Cytec shoe on June

Lisa was also using horseshoes on some of her horses I was totally unfamiliar with – something called a Cytec Horse Shoe. I plan on doing some research and posting a blog about this but Lisa was very positive, said it had made a huge difference in the way her show mare moved. I have to say that watching that mare walk around with these shoes on, you could see she stepped lightly, there wasn’t that loud ‘clank’ with every step, and her gait was very fluid. And this was a mare that had had some leg damage but now goes on to show and place all the time. So…the jury is still out on this but I’m going to do some ‘research’. The website sort of sucks but it’ll give you an idea of what the shoes are about.

Lisa was gracious enough to spend a good part of her day showing us around. Her love and care of the horses at her place is very apparent. She also gave us a quick tour of her “seamstress” facilities where she creates custom riding and show clothing. She showed us a few samples of clothing she had available and then went through all her material options and designs with us. Some really nice stuff here for you horse show folks…and again, reasonable prices – especially considering these are one-of-a-kind originals!

Ralen surrounded by Koi...Upstate NY.

And last but not least, we got a quick tour of the Koi fish she raises – mostly as a hobby although she does sell some. I have a soft spot for Koi as my mother has a pond in upstate NY with probably 100 of these fish she’s raised over many years. We’re talking some big fish…and tame as pet dogs….which is why I just have to include this picture of my daughter Ralen in the pond surrounded by giant fish!  For you Koi fish lovers out there – that ought to be inspiration enough for you to buy some babies from Lisa. Plus, she has some cool silver colored ones.

And finally, to top the day off just right, we were blessed with amazing sunshine and “warmth”. Plus I got to pick my daughter up at OSU to go with me which meant a nice long visit with her…something I cherish now that she’s a college ‘kid’!

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Categories: Horses in General | Tags: Cytec horse shoes, horse boarding, horse show clothing, Koi Fish, paddocks, rescue horses, stalls | 5 Comments »

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