Dun-Pikin Farm

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United States
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.

09/14/2026

It’s always stressful introducing a new horse into the herd. Last week we chose today as the day we would introduce Durango to Arlo and Percy. We chose to put him in with Arlo and Percy because like Durango they are both young. We’re also hoping adding another horse will help with Arlo’s obsession with Percy. Arlo is very herd bound to Percy. Everytime Percy leaves the field Arlo gets very upset. Over time we’re hoping Arlo will be content to have Durango as a buddy while Percy is out being used for other things.

We were second guessing our decision to introduce them today. The fields were muddy and the flies were bad. After talking it over we decided to just go for it. We had been planning this move all week. The plan was to move Arlo, Percy and Durango to the bottom field. Percy is a draft and we thought the bigger run-in would give the three of them more room. We thought perhaps if everyone was thrown off guard by being in a new place the introduction might go better. Cash, Marley and Shine will then move to the middle field. Marley and Shine have lived there before. It’s only a new field for Cash. The three of them settled in just fine.

The three boys in the bottom honestly did pretty well. The introduction went pretty much like l thought it would. Arlo spent much of his time keeping Durango away from Percy. Arlo has always been in charge and he was not willing to share his best buddy with Durango. As Durango explored, Arlo was constantly putting himself between Durango and Percy. There were a few kicks and a couple of bites, but nothing too worrisome. I was happy enough with how the first meeting went. Though the goal is to keep the three of them together, we decided to put Durango in his stall for the night. We want to watch them together for a little longer before trusting them out together at night.

Tomorrow’s another day and we’ll do it all over again tomorrow. My hope is eventually Arlo will just get tired of worrying over Percy and take more of an interest in Durango. I’m hoping Durango will find new friends in Arlo and Percy. I’m also counting on Percy just being Percy and just going with the flow. There’s not a horse more laid back than him.

Stay tuned for the next installment of "As the Paddock Turns" to see how our herd dynamics unfold—and as always, Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

09/13/2026

The view of my ‘office’ today. A lot has to happen when we host an event like a birthday party or in the case today a private event for our equine therapy partners at Bay Area Counseling and Consultation, LLC. (BACC) We had grounds to spruce up, a pony to primp and tack and our ‘petting’ animals to relocate and set up for easy access. Of course, that was after taking care of two barns full of horses.

Not complaining, just remembering my very busy morning. I did get to hang out with my animal friends for two hours in my temporary outdoor ‘office.’ What’s not to like? Congrats on a successful event to BACC. Many thanks to Amie for taking on pony duty and her daughter Lillie for her ‘sparkle tattoo’ art for the visiting kids. We met lots of the beautiful families and shared some Dun-Pikin magic.

Join the fun and Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

09/12/2026

Before I head over to see everyone at Dun-Pikin Farm, a good part of my day starts down at High Tide Farm caring for my ponies and the rest of the herd. One of the best things about High Tide is the setting—nestled right on the Magothy River with the Chesapeake Bay just across the way. It’s stunning, peaceful, and has unbeatable water views.

There is just one catch: the geese.

A LOT of geese.

They aren't just lounging down on the shoreline; they’ve moved up to the barn, into the riding ring, and across every single pasture. It’s lovely that our local wildlife is thriving, but these Chesapeake geese clearly skipped the memo on flying south for the winter. They are full-time residents now, and the massive flocks leave quite a mess in the grazing fields. We’ve chased them off more times than I can count, but they treat us like a temporary inconvenience and waddle right back.

Enter our latest experiment. Madelaine, the owner of High Tide, brought home a new farmhand: a 3D coyote decoy.

Apparently, these faux predators are popular deterrents for keeping birds from nesting on Chesapeake Bay navigation lights—rumor has it one of the lighthouse decoys even has its own name. The catch? Geese are smarter than they look. The secret is moving the decoy around daily so they don't catch on, and this one even has a tail that blows in the breeze to mimic movement.

The jury is still out on whether the geese have caught on to the trick yet, but it seems to be helping move them along. We’re definitely learning as we go, so if you have any tried-and-true goose-busting secrets that actually work, we’d love to hear them!

Drop your best ideas in the comments, or come swap farm stories with me in person when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

09/11/2026

Apparently, nesting season has officially arrived around the barn.

Every single day brings a brand-new, carefully selected nap zone. One morning it’s a freshly folded horse blanket turned into a luxury penthouse suite. By the afternoon, it’s an actual, perfectly constructed hay nest in the corner of a stall. And when all else fails, a patch of dirt right along the fence line clearly makes for five-star real estate.

No two days are the same around here—especially if you’re asking our feline supervision crew where the best seat in the house is.

Whether you're looking for world-class lounging tips from the cats or a great lesson in the ring, Come Ride With Us!

Cindy🐴

09/10/2026

I’ll admit I don’t know the back story of this video.

I’m assuming Katie was either going out or had come home from somewhere when she found Lillie wandering around outside. Obviously her stall door must not have been latched properly at feeding time. Things happen, we get in a hurry and before you know it a pony is out. It’s just a reminder that we have to take the time and make sure we pay attention to what we’re doing.

It’s also another reason why I’m grateful we have the automatic gate on the driveway. Even if Katie had not noticed Lillie out, Lillie never would have been able to get off the farm property. Lillie wasn’t going anywhere beyond the property line. Thankfully, Katie and Kiley had her safely back in her stall in no time—no harm done, just a pony wondering why her midnight snack patrol was cut short.

There’s never a dull moment around here, so pack your boots and Come Ride With Us!

Cindy🐴

09/09/2026

This time of year some of the best rides are by the light of the moon. Come Ride With Us!

Cindy🐴

(Photo credit - Amie Sawyer)

09/08/2026

Ugh… another “temporary” fix.

Though honestly? I was pretty proud of this piece of backyard engineering.

We found a top board down in Arlo and Percy’s field. Clearly, the grass is always tastier on the other side of the fence, because in their quest for a snack, they didn’t just knock the rail loose—they snapped the post clean off.

Knowing our boys, one more hopeful lean against that fence would bring the whole perimeter down. So, Roxanne and I sprang into action. We grabbed two metal T-posts and the post pounder, drove a post into the ground on either side of the snapped wooden post, and zip-tied the whole thing into a makeshift splint. Rock solid. I left the fallen board on the ground for Rick because my hammer skills are a danger to everyone within a ten-mile radius.

The fix works, but here’s the unwritten law of Dun-Pikin Farm: nothing is more permanent than a temporary fix.

Our track record speaks for itself. We have a “temporary” tarp on a roof that’s been holding strong for three years. When we upgraded the arena ring in May, we tossed in a few straw bales to “temporarily” keep the sand from washing away; four months later, those bales are part of the family. And the steering column on one of our tractors? It’s been happily secured with a ratchet strap for an entire decade.

We don’t buy zip ties in small bags—we buy the 1,000-count contractor bundles. Multi-packs of duct tape and leftover baling twine are the real backbone of this operation. So many repairs, so little daylight, and never enough budget.

When visitors pull up the driveway, they see lush fields, beautifully maintained grounds, glossy, happy horses, and our incredible staff and volunteers making magical memories for everyone who stops by. It looks like a postcard.

Just do me a favor: don’t look too closely at the fence posts. Or the tractor. Or the rafters. If you squint, it’s paradise—and as long as the zip ties hold, we wouldn't trade it for the world.

Come Ride With Us!
Cindy 🐴

09/07/2026

This week we had a new trailerful of hay arrive. I always have mixed feelings when a new trailer arrives. When I write the check for over twenty two hundred dollars I always have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. It’s a big bill for our small farm to absorb. It’s also a huge relief to know we have plenty of hay.

Over the years we’ve found getting a trailer full of hay dropped off works best for us. When the trailer is empty, we call our hay man. He brings us a full one and takes the empty trailer away. There is no unloading a truck and stacking 100 bales of hay at a time in the barn. We only take small loads from the trailer as we need them.

When the trailer arrives I always ask the hay man to please put the door up and pull out a dozen or so bales. It can be a little scary pulling out those first few bales. Our hay bales weigh an average of 50 to 60 pounds.More than once I’ve been knocked out of the trailer by bales of hay falling out. It is definitely not a soft and fluffy landing.

When our trailer arrived on Thursday, the first thing I said to the hay man was please don’t take any hay out this time. To empty the trailer we had already stacked over 20 bales of hay in the barn. We didn’t want to put any more hay in the barn and they were calling for storms that afternoon. I was afraid too many bales would fall when he pulled hay out and we would have no place to put them. He dropped the trailer, he took my check, and the door stayed closed until today when we needed to get some hay out.

Rick wasn’t around so I attempted to get the first bales out myself. I managed to get the door most of the way up. It was then when I realized the bales were bundled together. You couldn’t just pull out 1 bale. You had to pull out 21 bales at a time. Hmm… I realized I could cut the strings that held the bundle together. I managed to pull out 3 bales with the help of a hay hook. Just then, Rick showed up and of course had a plan.

After grabbing a rope he tied the hay hook to the rope. He then hooked the rope to a string on the bundle of hay, then attached the rope to the tractor. He told me to put it in reverse and drive. After repositioning the hook several times, out tumbled the bundle of hay.

They say where there’s a will, there’s a way—and on a farm, if there’s a rope and a John Deere, there’s definitely a way! It wasn't the prettiest maneuver, but the horses have dinner, the barn is stocked, and most importantly, neither of us got taken out by a stack of 60-pound flying bales this time. All in a day’s work!

Come Ride With Us!
Cindy 🐴

09/06/2026

Our barn aisles will have a colorful little upgrade! Katie and Kiley broke out the paintbrushes to craft some personalized name plaques for the stalls. Between Lily the "Garden Wrecker," Tammy's "Spots n' Spice," and True Class (if you know, you know) and old man Tic Toc our Rock Star every horse’s personality is officially on full display. There is also a designated "VIP Room" in the barn. You must know the secret password, the special handshake and sign an NDA to enter there. A little color and creativity always make barn life brighter, and our herd is ready to welcome you to their newly decorated quarters—so Come Ride With Us!

Cindy🐴

09/05/2026

Today the flies were HORRIBLE! It is so disheartening to me. I spend a fortune on fly predators, fly spray, fly traps and a feed thru fly control. Some days we have barely any flies but then there are days like today. Not only do they drive the horses crazy but us too. It can make being around the horses dangerous when they are being driven crazy by the flies. All day long I have pondered why God would have created flies. I can’t take all the credit for this poem but here goes:

The Lord looked down on paradise, complete in every way,
With rolling hills and noble steeds that munched upon their hay.

He made the dog, the barn owl, the gentle morning breeze,
Then paused and scratched His heavenly chin: “They look too much at ease.”

“The horses need some cardio, the humans need some grit,
A test of pure endurance while they shovel out the $hit.”
And so with one swift flick of wrist, He forged the housefly clan,
To test the faith and sanity of barn-maintaining man.

Today they brought their cousins, their aunties, and their peers,
To orchestrate a symphony inside my horse’s ears.
They mocked the spinning fan blades, they laughed at every tail,
While I stood by bewildered with an empty supplement pail.
For every morning without fail, the horses get a scoop
Of fancy feed-through fly control to sanitize the p**p.
It promises to break the cycle, halt them in the muck,
Yet here they come in squadrons, completely out of luck.

Beneath the fence I scattered bags of tiny allies, too—
The mini fly predators that eat them before they brew.
I paid good cash for wasps so small they barely can be seen,
Who swore to wage a stealthy war behind the stable screen.

Along the rafters hanging low, the yellow jars reside,
Those rank, fermenting fly trap bags where millions go and died.
A swamp of doom that reeks so foul it makes a grown man cry,
Yet for every dozen trapped within, a hundred buzz on by!

Three lines of high-tech warfare, a budget blown to bits,
Against a tiny, brainless bug that’s driving me to fits.

Perhaps the Lord just giggled as He set the swarm in motion,
To show that even barn managers can't master earth and ocean.
So take a breath, adjust the spray, and swing the trusty bat—
God made the fly for humble pie, and brother, this is that.

Come Ride With Us!
Cindy 🐴

Address

4808 Mountain Road
Pasadena, MD
21122

Website

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

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