Happy Trails Farm

09/13/2025

We held our Introduction to Working Equitation Clinic today for Newtown Bridle Lands Association members. Happy Trails set up a course with 12 obstacles. Clinicians Ed Prybylski assisted by Lucy Prybylski instructed participants on how to complete the obstacles in the Ease of Handling phase of Working Equitation. The rules are very specific and riders must focus on riding their horses with accuracy. This makes completing the obstacles more challenging. Riders worked with their horses on a variety of obstacles- waterbox, gate, bridge, double slalom, sidepass, garrocha pole, jump and more.
NBLA provided lunch for attendees and we all enjoyed the time visiting with NBLA friends on such s beautiful day.
Thanks to all the helpful volunteers who made the day run smoothly!

07/26/2025

Happy National Day of The Cowboy!

06/09/2025

Peaceful Sunday morning at the Farm. A whole lot of munching going on.

05/17/2025

One of our boarders would like to half lease her Morgan gelding. See below. Please PM for more info and we will put you in touch.

05/07/2025

When describing a trail horse, “take the just out of the sentence”

“I’m just looking for a horse I can take out on the trails by myself, nothing fancy.”

This is a sentence we, and many others in the horse industry, hear ALL the time.

If we dropped you off in a place you’d never been before, with an acquaintance you’d met once or twice, where they spoke a different language, and asked you to just be relaxed and explore…how would you feel?

I’m sure there is a subset of you that would be ok with that, and even enjoy the adventure. But for the majority of us, that probably sounds pretty stressful.

What if we did the same thing, but this time you got to go with a friend or family member that you knew well and had a good relationship with?

I bet a larger subset would be comfortable doing that. But some would still find the situation overwhelming.

That’s how we view taking a new horse out on a new trail by yourself, expecting them to be relaxed and not do anything “silly”.

The reality is, there are a lot of horses we can take out on solo trial rides comfortably, but we are also confident in how to handle them getting a little uncomfortable and needing more support. We also have ALWAYS spent time developing a relationship and foundation with that horse before we take them out on the trail.

That doesn’t mean someone could come out, ride them one time, and take them out for a successful solo ride (or many times, even a successful group ride).

Trail horses have to have a high level of confidence both in themselves, and in their riders. Especially if we expect them to never spook, speed up, or do anything else like that.

That confidence can either come from extensive training and experience on the horses part, or the riders. Often, a combination of both is ideal.

So next time you say you’re looking for a trail horse, we encourage you to take the “just” out of the sentence. 🙏

03/27/2025

702 reasons to NOT “bring your horse home”…
1.) horses are not meant to live by themselves, so having one by itself rarely ever works. If you have two they get so buddy sour you can’t do something with one without the other going nuts. Three is also inconvenient and gives few options for mixing pairs and preventing issues. So four is really the bare minimum to keep together
2.) Feeding twice a day is a minimum- even if they have access to hay/grass, plenty of water, and get no grain, you need eyes on them absolutely twice a day minimum. What if they are injured? Or a bird drowned in the water tank and it’s hot and the water is now full of bacteria?
3.) Horse care takes way more time than you think. If you think you’re going to save time by not having to drive to the barn, then I know how naïve you are on how much time it’s going to take to care for your own horse at home.
4.) Ever try self board?? Yay! That’s an adorable start, but you ain’t the one fixing fence, hauling out the manure pile, probably not ordering hay, and you ain’t making the tractor payment (doing maintenance on the tractor)
5.) think it’s gonna be cheaper??? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 it’s not. I promise it’s not. Most boarding barns actually subsidize the cost per horse, and they are buying in bulk. Keeping one horse is way more expensive than keeping 20 when you look at the cost per horse.
6.) Do you like having ANY amenities???? stalls if a horse hurts themself, or it’s freezing rain for a week? A hot water wash bay? Or even just an area with lights so that you can even see your horse in the winter?
7.) Do you think you’re just gonna ride out in the pasture? Because that only works for about a month until you tear it up so bad that the footing is absolutely dangerous.
I guess it would work if you only ride twice a month during perfect weather days. Not only does a small basic outdoor arena cost about $30,000, but you absolutely need a tractor and a good quality arena rake if you want to maintain it.
8.) Did I mention Tractor payment? Small tractors that can barely do the job are dangerous. Get more tractor than you think need.
9.) Do you ever go away? Kiss that goodbye. Or expect to drop some serious cash on a quality horse sitter. Want to go out in the evening? You’ll need to schedule that around evening chores.
10.) Right now you might love when you get the arena to yourself, but when you are by yourself ALL the time, its easy to lack direction or motivation.
11.) You’ll miss barn culture and riding buddies, and getting away from your spouse for a couple hours. There’s a reason why time flies at the barn!
12.) Mud.
13.) The tens of thousands of dollars you spend trying to get rid of mud, just to have more mud.
14.) have fun dealing with a manure pile on small acreage. It’s not enough to get anyone commercial to haul it out, but way too much to not have a place to go with it. 
15.) Lack of instruction. It’s hard to get an instructor to come to you.
16.) No one to share farm call fees with…
17.) IF you can even get a vet or farrier to come to you!

I know I’m 685 reasons short, but I promise they exist!!!! This is just a start! (And I’m sure others will leave their reasons in the comments.)

03/19/2025

Barn Time!

12/07/2024

The Sunday before Thanksgiving was cold and windy but it didn’t keep
15 riders from coming for an obstacle playday. It was a great opportunity to practice on many challenging obstacles. We’re looking forward to holding some fun obstacle events in the Spring.

11/04/2024

The costumes were so imaginative at our annual Costume Ride that everyone deserves a best costume award! A fun ride on the farm, through the fields of Tarrywile and the streets of Danbury on a magnificent Fall Day was enjoyed by many - riders, spectators and even the horses seemed to be in the spirit!
Back at the Farm we switched modes to continue on to our annual Witches
Dance. Our coven of witches performed a creative version of the traditional dance around the fire. It was a magical evening of witchery with food, fun and spells.

09/24/2024

When did you first realize your love for horses?

09/23/2024

What a spectacular sight to see 21 beautiful horses and their riders in a field of golden flowers just before sunset. Last night’s Summer to Fall Solstice evening ride was perfect. We rode on grass paths in the beautiful meadows of Tarrywile Park. The horses seemed to enjoy an evening out with their friends!
After the horses were tucked in for the night the apres ride gathering began. What a fun night with so many great horse friends. Good food and drink , warm fires and lively conversation. It was a night to store in our albums of special memories.

09/08/2024

We have a job opening to work part time including Sunday, feeding and caring for horses. It's a great opportunity to work off board or to earn extra $ and be part of our group at Happy Trails Farm. Must have solid horse care experience, able to lift hay bales, be extremely reliable, have dependable transportation, references. Must speak English and be over 18. Located in Danbury.
Please private message for more information.