Thistle Cove Farm

05/18/2026

It's a beautiful morning

05/15/2026

Interesting

Thatching a Horse: An Old-Fashioned Method for Drying and Warming 🐴🌾

This historical photograph captures a traditional stable-management technique known as thatching. Long before modern synthetic coolers and moisture-wicking rugs became common, grooms used clean straw, heavy rugs, and practical experience to dry wet horses safely. 🧥🐎

What was thatching? 🌾

Thatching involved placing clean straw underneath a heavy rug, blanket, or burlap sack. The straw was worked gently over the horse’s back and sides, creating a loose insulating layer between the wet coat and the covering above.

The result was simple but effective. The straw trapped warm air close to the horse’s body while allowing moisture to move away from the skin. As the horse’s natural body heat rose, the straw helped draw dampness out of the coat without letting the animal become chilled. 🔥💧

Why was it used? ❄️

A wet horse, especially after hard exercise or a bath, could cool down too quickly if left exposed. This was particularly important in cold, damp, or windy weather. Thatching helped prevent chills by keeping the horse warm while it dried gradually.

For working horses, this kind of care was essential. Horses were valuable partners in transport, farming, delivery work, and military service. Keeping them healthy meant keeping them dry, warm, and comfortable after a day’s labour. 🐴🛠️

A practical stable skill 🧹

The groom in the photograph stands calmly beside the horse, showing the quiet routine of traditional horse care. There is nothing ornamental about the scene. It is a practical moment: a wet horse being looked after using the materials available at the time.

Clean straw was cheap, absorbent, insulating, and readily available in most stables. Combined with a thick rug or sack, it made an effective drying system before the arrival of modern fleece and synthetic coolers. 🌾🧺

Why this image still matters 📸

Although thatching is now rarely used, the principle behind it remains familiar to horse owners today. After exercise, washing, or exposure to rain, a horse still needs to be cooled down and dried carefully. Modern coolers may be lighter and more convenient, but they serve much the same purpose.

This photograph is a reminder that good horsemanship has always depended on observation, patience, and practical knowledge. The tools may change, but the aim remains the same: to keep the horse warm, dry, and well cared for. ❤️🐎

05/13/2026

GREAT NEWS!!

For the first time in generations, some of America’s wild horses are getting back something they’ve been steadily losing:
Space. 🐴

Not a crowded holding pen.
Not a temporary facility.
But thousands upon thousands of acres where they can simply live like horses again.

In Colorado, The Wild Animal Sanctuary has created one of the largest mustang refuges in the United States. Spread across vast open land larger than Manhattan, the sanctuary gives rescued wild horses room to run, graze, bond, and rebuild natural herds far from the stress of confinement.

Here, there are no auction lines.
No endless cycle of transport and holding.
Just open ground beneath their hooves.

For decades, America’s wild horses have faced increasing pressure as roundups removed many from public lands and placed them into long-term holding systems. Supporters of the sanctuary believe there’s a better way — one that offers horses not just safety, but dignity and freedom of movement.

The refuge doesn’t solve every challenge surrounding wild horse management. But it represents something many people thought these horses were slowly losing forever:
The chance to simply be wild horses again.

Because maybe protecting them shouldn’t only mean keeping them alive.
Maybe it should also mean giving them room to run.

05/11/2026

May 11 Army gets free sandwich (Daddy)
May 12 Marine gets free sandwich
May 13 Navy gets free sandwich
May 14 Air Force, Space Force free sandwich
May 15 Coast Guard gets free sandwich
May 16 11:00 to 2:00 all veterans get free sandwich

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

05/10/2026

If today is a hard day,

05/04/2026

Bella then Honey. We're overwhelmed with rabbits, this is one less.

05/02/2026

TICKS! I HATE THEM! This isn't the first tick I've gotten off me and all of them have been this small.
Be careful out there!

04/29/2026

Amelia VA

04/28/2026

WHOA!!

The below was posted by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources on Nextdoor...

Report Your Nutria Sightings! 🗣

DWR is tracking nutria, an invasive rodent that damages wetlands and displaces native wildlife. Smaller than beavers and larger than muskrats, nutria can be identified by their rat like tail, orange teeth, and proportionally small, round head.

If you think you’ve spotted one in your area, please report it to DWR as soon as possible. Photos or videos of the animal are greatly appreciated. Your report helps biologists respond quickly and protect our local habitats.

To learn more about nutria or to report a sighting, please visit:
dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/nuisance/nutria/

Thank you for keeping Virginia's wetland ecosystems thriving!

04/27/2026

Only 52 percent of Virginia's livestock producers say they're receiving adequate veterinary care. That number prompted a new position at the college — and Thach Winslow DVM '91 was the right person to fill it. 🐄

After 35 years in large animal practice, state government, industry, and even veterinary work in Haiti, Dr. Winslow has seen nearly every version of this problem. Now, as the first Coordinator to Support Virginia's Large Animal Veterinary Workforce, he's hitting the back roads of Virginia to find sustainable solutions for producers, practitioners, and the students who might one day serve them both.

Read more: https://f.mtr.cool/mdkpsiqjjs