Why is WildeWood Farm Closed on Sundays?
One of the things nobody tells you about farming is that animals are completely unimpressed by holidays.
The horses do not care if it is Christmas morning, your birthday, your anniversary, or if you stayed up too late the night before. They still expect breakfast at the normal time. Preferably early. Preferably with extra grain.
Farming is not a seasonal activity. It is not a Monday-through-Friday occupation. It is an every-single-day lifestyle built around living creatures whose needs do not pause simply because you are tired.
The Horses Need Rest Too
People often imagine lesson horses spending all day peacefully grazing and occasionally carrying happy children around. What they do not always realize is that horses become mentally tired too. Constant interaction, constant requests, constant stimulation, and endless people asking things of them can become exhausting — especially for sensitive, intelligent horses.
Even Good Work is Still Work
Our horses spend their days carrying nervous beginners, encouraging timid riders, tolerating accidental bouncing, interpreting confusing signals, listening to instructors, adapting to different personalities, and patiently trying to understand what each human is asking. They give emotionally as much as physically.
And just like people, they need time simply to be horses.
Time to graze.
Time to nap in the sun.
Time to stand quietly with their friends.
Time without people constantly needing something from them.
Now, unless there is a true emergency, Sundays are protected at our farm. The animals are still cared for, of course. Horses remain deeply committed to the importance of breakfast. But we do not schedule lessons or activities on Sundays.
The Horses Seem to Appreciate It As Much As We Do
There is something peaceful about seeing them simply wander their pastures without halters, saddles, children, schedules, or expectations. They roll in the dirt, graze quietly, nap under trees, and settle into the slower rhythm they were created for.
There are still emergencies sometimes. Animal life guarantees that. Last Sunday, one of our broodmares died unexpectedly, leaving behind a five-day-old orphan foal. On days like that, you step in because living creatures depend on you.
But emergencies should remain exceptions. They should not become the permanent rhythm of life.
And perhaps one of the kindest things we can do for the animals we love is allow them to rest too.
The Farm Taught Me Many Lessons Over the Years
how to work hard,
how to persevere,
how to care for others,
how to survive heartbreak,
and how to keep showing up even when life becomes messy.
But one of the most important lessons was this: You cannot continuously pour into others if you never allow yourself to be refilled too.
Not people.
Not horses.
Not even the land itself.
Even the land rests.
Even winter exists.
Even God paused after creation.
Perhaps we should too.
