Horses & Livestock

 

EQUEST BENEFIT RIDE is Oct. 9 at Spurwink Farm in Cape ElizabethThe Equest Foundation Benefit Ride will be held Oct. 9 at Mary Lou and Phineas Sprague’s Spurwink Farm in Cape Elizabeth. The Skyline Farm Benefit Ride will be Nov. 6 at Miss Margaret Gardner’s Kennebec Morgan Farm in Woolwich.  Both of these very popular rides welcome horsemen/women (by entry only) to explore miles of trails, through fields, forest and along the shoreline, that are generally not open to the public.

Horse Farms
by Sheila Libby Alexander, Cottage Farm

A hundred years ago, horses in Cape Elizabeth provided the power needed to move produce to market, families to church, and the sleigh over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house. That was a time when horses were essential for transportation of people and goods. I can just picture a fine pair coming around the bend on Old Ocean House or trotting quickly down Mitchell Road. Sounds like fun but in reality it was really work for the horses.

We’re fortunate to still have horses and ponies stabled in Cape Elizabeth. They certainly provide a charming rural backdrop to our town, so close to Portland, Northern New England’s largest city. The horses of today don’t do the hard work of yesteryear; instead they provide their owners with pleasure, whether from trail riding, carriage driving, showing, producing foals, or just the joy of having an equine pal.

From boarding farms with close to fifty horses, to the owner with the horse in the backyard, there are horses tucked here and there throughout Cape Elizabeth. Two local boarding facilities have indoor riding arenas and another has many acres with trails by the Atlantic. At last count there were more than 125 horses stabled in the Cape, including large warmbloods, Morgans, Standardbreds, Arabians, Anglo Arabs, minis, Thoroughbreds and draft horses, to name just a few. Some are pets, some show horses, some pensioners and, just like the people who live and work in Cape Elizabeth, I’d say the horses are very happy to be here.

Cape Farmers Raise a Variety of Livestock

We’ve long been proud of our fishermen but our small community also produces beef, pork, lamb, turkey, chicken and eggs on six different farms. The Jordans at Alewives Brook Farm are well known for their holiday turkeys (order early or you may miss out!) and their laying hens produce eggs year-round. Nick and Nicole Tammaro at Down Home Farm are currently raising beef, pork, lamb, goats, and chickens; their young son Ryan is especially fascinated by the pigs. (Could it be their “table manners”??) Louise and Red Sullivan at Journey’s End Farm raise Katahdin sheep for succulent lamb and laying hens as well. Beth Angle at Cranky Rooster Farm has hens, broiler chickens, pullets, and “replacement heifers”.  (Many of our farmers are raising just enough meat to fill pre-season orders, but some may have “extra” to sell you.)  Refer to our farm map and/or directory for contact information.

4-H in Cape Elizabeth

by Beth Angle

The University of Maine County Extension Office can provide information on all the 4-H Clubs in Maine.  There are 4-H clubs in dozens of subjects from Dairy or Sheep to Gardens, Robotics, Crafts and Horses.  Kids can belong to any 4-H group and participate in projects in any discipline.  4-H offers meetings, community service, national and regional 4-H and educational/informational trips. You can be a page at the legislature or do a project in journalism as well as learn to show your dairy heifer, lamb or chicken. 4-H Rocks!!