Maine Newbie

Now that I’ve searched the forum, read about every relevant post & lots that were just plain interesting, and posted some and asked some questions, I figured I better introduce myself & our farm…..

I’m Neal Foley from Montville, Maine. My wife, 5 daughters & I run Claddagh Farms, a small, mixed farm. We’re just getting started up here after moving from a small island off the coast of WA where we farmed, logged, built custom homes and just about anything else to afford the high cost of living there….

Here in Maine we’re focusing on livestock & on-farm education. As a former chef, I also offer cooking classes and we’re considering starting up a bakery. If you had asked us 6 months ago…or even 3 months….if horses would fit into our picture, Kathy & I would have said NO!

But as so often is the case, our past lives & dreams meet up with unbelievable opportunities to create great happenstances. We decided that we might look for a horse for our daughters to ride. There was a Percheron Mare which had been used in Pony Club for rides. The price seemed good, but we decided to ask an old, well connected teamster who lives down the road, if he knew of the mare, or at least might know of someone who would know…. Long story short, mare didn’t seem so great, but could we rescue a Belgian for free….YES!

So, Tony came into our lives. He had been raised in Amish country & made his way to Maine with a team mate, who is now lost & we’re looking for. He is 16-18yrs old and has been retired (along with his mate) from giving carriage rides in Acadia National Park.

My wife & I have both been around horses. Her more than me. But I have always wanted to have them in my life, and work horses more than pleasure horses have always appealed to me. Having an experienced teamster down the road, who grew up working the farm we own, is also a huge blessing. It has made the transition to having & working with Tony a huge pleasure & success. For first time draft horse owners, Tony is a dream. Bomb-proof. What’s more is he accepted us & our girls right away and trusts us with everything. One of our 10 year olds looks after him all the time, and is getting a sense of ground driving him. She is already begging to do the tedding with him.

Now, I am on the forum trying to learn as much as possible. I have worked with loggers running teams and have lots of experience with livestock and around horses, just not with them directly. It is great that we have Tony to help teach us.