Heritage Lard Hogs

Heritage Lard Hogs and their role on the modern homestead for a more self sufficient lifestyle! #homesteader #heritagepork #pasturedpork

What was old is new again! Heritage lard hogs are quickly becoming more popular on small farms again! For their excellent red meat pork and silky lard, they are niche pigs with great potential! 


Heritage 'unimproved' Hogs

 The picture you see above was a drawing in a book my wife found in a used book store. She loves to find "old school " wisdom in out of print books!

The drawing depicts a typical "Red Berkshire Hog" circa 1881. To keep that date in perspective America was only 16 years removed from General Robert E Lees surrender at Appomattox (still a dark day to my beautiful southern-born wife) and only five years from George Armstrong Custer's defeat at the Little Big Horn. So we were not talking about a feed store grain fattened hog here. 
The Book The Compleat Farmer was compiled in 1975 and was a collection of reprints from the periodical "American Agriculturist" (established 1842) spanning over 50 years of its publication.

 As a former breeder of American Guinea Hogs and now Meishan Pigs, both 'lard' hogs, I was very struck by the portly profile of the Berkshire pictured above. He looked way more like the America Guinea Hogs I used to raise than the common "improved" carcass hogs I have grown all to used to seeing. 

While Berkshires are the oldest registered hog breed and today are constantly referred to as a "heritage breed" I was struck that I never recalled them looking so short legged or frankly so fat. So I did a Google Search on "Berkshire Images". What I found confirmed my initial recollections.

The Modern American Hog

Yes, this is a very representative image of what I found. Hmm, obviously something had happened between The Little Big Horn and today's "New White Meat". But this blog post isn't about the Berkshire Hog. Today it is still touted as one of the most popular breeds to cross with commercial breeds to increase the intramuscular fat content and improve the dry wallboard texture (my opinion not a stated industry standard) of most commercial pork. I will assume it has become what its breeders, and what livestock show( 4H, FFA, County Fair, etc) judges wanted them to become. I do chuckle when its touted as a hog representing its "original" heritage, however.

The Lard Hogs Role On a Homestead

No, this post is about the role of the heritage lard hog on older small holding farmer operations and if that role is still applicable today in the "modern" homestead. How that traditional role affected its growth rate, fat to meat ratio and final size requires understanding its role on those farms. And if those traits, if retained, can make it an ideal addition to the modern small homesteader. Also, a fuller understanding of what the lard hog was and it will help us as lard hog breeders to celebrate and maintain the breed in its true "heritage" form. 

 In the discussion of the "old time" southern homestead, I have a unique and rich resource to get impressions of what role the farm pig played in smallholder operations. My wife was raised on a 100-acre farm in Athens TN. More importantly, she grew up knowing not only her grandparents but two of her great grandmothers. This was a resource that stretched back to early 1900s and before. Their impressions and statements have been very revealing in the search to define the role of the "pig" was on their farms. Her two branches of the farming family tree were a bit different. Her one paternal great grandmother owned 100 acres of rich creek bottom land. That grandfather raised cattle, had raised hogs, raised hay, grew all of his finishing grain (corn) and had large gardens both with cash crops and home usage crops. He had a smokehouse, corn crib, and a full working sawmill to utilize his woodlots. In addition to all those endeavors, he held down a full-time job at the postal service.

 Her maternal great grandmother was a Cherokee Indian (whose family refused to report to the reservation) who owned 80 acres of a rocky mountaintop. She bought calves and raised them for sale(never eating something so valuable herself) and raised a feeder pig which she fed with the table scraps she was allowed to bring home from her waitress job in a local diner. Ironically in those times, the 80 acres and 100-acre farm were considered small (or medium at best) farm operations of that day. I think both farms were very representative of post-depression smallholders in the southeast.

 Farming was a big part of their income but after the economic devastation of the depression not deemed reliable enough to be the sole source of income. These people had an incredible work ethic to work and farm at these scales. Every family member had their role right down to the pre-teens. My wife's grandmother commented the other day "Your grandfather wore me out over THOSE gardens!".

The pig in those situations was bought as an early feeder in the spring. It was raised on pasture and its omnivorous nature made it the perfect garbage disposal when kitchen garbage was more likely to be pumpkin rinds and chicken entrails than plastic wrappers. Corn was reserved for late finishing of both the cattle and the hogs so the pigs had to be able to forage and live through lean times and thrive and fatten in better.

 Every year like clockwork the day after Thanksgiving the hogs were slaughtered. This was done then because typically the onset of cooler weather in the southeast lent itself for less risk of spoilage and contamination of the meat and fat. It also signaled the end of rich pasture and in those days overwintering a feeder animal was a fool's exercise. The next day the families women (of all ages) gathered to render the fats into lard. That lard had the wonderful trait of being able to be stored without refrigeration. And refrigeration capacity was in short supply or nonexistent in those days. Too much meat was more difficult to cure and waste was not an option. That precious lard was put into Mason jars and sent to the root cellars of the household. That lard would be the cooking oil and baking shortening for the entire next year. Olive oil was in Italy not the home farms of Tennessee. 

Meishan Pigs are the perfect small farm lard hog with the most excellent craft pork!
Meishan Pig, The perfect Lard hog for us
The cracklins that remained were fried crispy and devoured like modern junk food or put into cornbread. Some pork was consumed on the spot and the rest was sent to the smokehouse where it was smoked for the preservation not just for flavor. In fact, in those days the homestead hog was a dual-use animal. Those purposes were as a source of meat and FAT. It can be argued that the hogs ability to produce a storable fat source was even more important than its role as a meat source in a culture that was more likely to dine on a pot of beans than a cut of meat. 

So in review, the ideal 'farm hog" would grow to butcher size (typically 150-200 lbs) in 8-10 months and would easily add back fat and lard without graining. It had to be docile and for those retained for overwintering and breeding a medium size. Raising a feeder hog had many advantages. When you look at that farming model you can see why the American Guinea Hog, as a lard hog, became the most popular hog in the southeast. And why the Meishan, also a lard hog, was so prized in China!

The Modern Breeding of 'lean' Pork

Meishan Pork! Not your typical pork!
Meishan Pork Roast

Flash forward 80-100 years. The 80 hours work week smallholder has given way to a society returning from World War II  and Korea that invented the subdivision and found the reliability of the factory paycheck much more attractive than the grind(not the "simple life as some romanticize it today or in 1975 )of farm life. Those households found the chest freezer as readily available as the telephone or the light bulb. This society needed cheap quick and convenient food sources. Those farmers who stay behind on their acreages found it more profitable to focus on fast-growing cash crop hogs and use the additional money to fill their other homestead needs at these new "Supermarkets" popping up in even small towns. 
Lard? Well, that was quickly replaced by margarine and Crisco heralded by Government as a superior "healthier alternative". And quickly the medium lard hog like the Guinea Hog was an anachronism. 

Unable to be "improved" to modern standards and USDA grading systems which put the highest price on pork with the "leanest" qualities. Lard hogs fell out of favor and dangerously close to extinction.
Today lard hogs like the Meishan are enjoying a remarkable resurgence! But even as the new "homesteaders" and those who seek to become genetic repositories for the breed begin to acquire these pigs I fear that we are losing sight of the true "heritage" of the heritage hog. 

Don't raise a Lard breed if you want Lean Pork!

As new farmers and breeders from a fat averse society obtain the breeds like the Meishan I am always struck by those who try to breed and grow the Meishan or other lard breeds as "lean". That wring their hands over how quickly they become "rotund". I am already seeing AGH bloodlines which look more like the second picture above and not the first. You see being "rolly polly" is their heritage. They are LARD hogs. There are few true lard type hogs remaining. They were raised and bred to easily add precious fat, be ready for slaughter in 9-10 months, be docile enough to be a "yard pig", not attack your chickens or your children!
 To raise the hog so as to minimize fat, accept growth rates ( or to make inadequate pasture or supplemental feed available) that result in pigs that take over 12 months (some up to 2 years!) to reach 100lbs is not the preservation of the heritage of the breed. Its just maintaining human-modified gene pool. But as I make this case understand I am not a museum farmer. I do not keep animals on my farm simply because they are "heritage".I do not begrudge those who do. But my animals must be low input animals that provide excellent efficiencies in both growth and utilization. 
No hog fits that better for my farm than the Meishan as a TRUE lard hog. 
Other posts about Meishans and how they improved our farm 

Lard helps us achieve a Self Sufficient Homestead 

We celebrate and render the fats. The succulent and sweet fat makes the meat superior to what we can find from Krogers to Whole Foods. The reasonable(if slower than some breeds) growth rate of  9-11 months to `150# plus weights fits into our plans to butcher our own hogs in the fall and to smoke and can their meats in cool weather. For our application the Meishan is not heritage, it is superior. 

Lard Soap! Great Homestead business!
Lard Soap

My wife utilizes those lards along with other farm-raised products to produce an entire skin care line including soaps, lotions, and shampoo bars. We no longer buy cooking oils or butter as we bake, cook and fry in lard. We would be lost when faced with a "lean hog".So before we as a community lose these qualities I would refer you to a quote from the introduction of The Compleat Farmer:

"The Compleat Farmer is an indispensable guide to good country living. It is, as its subtitle suggests, "a compendium of do-it-yourself, tried and true practices for the farm, garden, and household" 

But it is more than that. It is the sage sound salient advice of the nineteenth-century American farmer and his wife, selected, edited, and arranged for its practical use today.....these serviceable, interesting ideas from America's past speak directly to America's present. All are immediately applicable to a society bogged down with energy and cost problems, wanting to cut back, wanting to live a simpler less costly life, but not knowing how or where to begin"

Those words were written 40 years ago in 1975. I would argue the simple life those evenings I work past dark and peel off my manure stain jeans. But there is much wisdom in those old small farming methods. Do they ring true for you too? In closing, I offer that if you choose to raise a Guinea Hog, Mule foot or a Meishan always consider raising it true to its "heritage". 

For if you do and if you learn to treasure and celebrate those wonderful fats its value to you will be more than just a museum piece. It will be an indispensable part of your homestead and possibly a niche business as the fats are becoming trendy amount certain healthy dieters as well as for high dollar charcuterie plates.

American Guinea hogs
American Guinea Hog 

Heritage Hog Breeds


For more info on Heritage hog breeds, including lard breeds check out the Livestock Conservancy

You can also check out the American Meishan Breeders Association

If you want to know even more about Meishan pigs and how they are the perfect homestead pig for us and our homestead business you can sign up for the list for regular updates on the breed and the press its been getting! 

Sign up for the Meishan Tales Newsletter and get all the latest info on this amazing pig thats perfect for many small farmers! #pasturedpork #heritagehog



Livestock Farming :Searching Outside the Box

Livestock farming doesn't have to be cows, goats and chickens! We looked to other alternative livestock to find what fit our dream homestead! It can be a deeper learning curve but when the perfect livestock works it just brings you closer to your dream! Worth the effort! #homesteader #livestockfarming

Livestock farming can be hard in the beginning! Finding the perfect animal for your climate, land, and needs when there are so many choices can be confusing. Often an animal may work out ok but they don't fit in with the personality of the farmer. Something that is rarely talked about but just as important! Your dream homestead isn't going to be very 'dream like' if your animals make you crazy! 😒

Sometimes things just don't work out

We've been through the livestock. Just about every breed of goat available in America, 5 breeds of sheep,, so many chicken & duck breeds, different breeds of hogs, many breeds of rabbits and so on! Sometimes it was the 'breed', like with hogs for us. Hogs work for our climate and our land.  My husband enjoys taking care of them because, for the most part, they are lower input than most livestock. The AGH didn't fill our needs after a while though. We needed a hog that had larger litters with more income potential so the Meishan fit perfect! More about that here The Heritage pig breed we had never heard of that fit our farm perfect!

But with Goats, it was a different situation. They fit our land, filled our needs for meat (and milk before I became allergic) but didn't fit our climate very well. Nor did they fit my personality. They drove me insane with their high input deworming needs and other health issues. The smell of the buck really interrupted my 'dream' homestead. I need to walk outside and smell fresh air, flowers, horses! Not a musty buck stank 🤢

We were searching for the right animals and/or breed to fit our land and climate with the lowest input possible and greatest use of available natural resources. We started looking outside the box. Just because it is no longer a popular animal to raise as livestock doesn't mean it won't work for my small farm!  Again, some things worked, but somethings just didn't due to no fault of the animals themselves!
Livestock farming! Raising pigeons for meat

Livestock Farming and Searching Outside the Box 

Meat Pigeons, I wish they had worked!

There are many pros to keeping meat pigeons! And Of course cons like any other livestock. But overall they were pretty great! I was introduced to the meat when I worked at a Moroccan restaurant in Atlanta. It was called squab. I had no idea at the time that it was a pigeon and I didn't care! It was the most delicious meat I ever ate! When I found out what it was I did not care! It was SO good! I knew if someday I was blessed enough to have a farm I'd want to try to raise my own succulent squab meat!

So why didn't they work out?

The number one reason they didn't work is I suspect my breeding stock was highly inbred.
I got them from a breeder who had just let them mate over the years without tracking them. They had babies that grew up, paired up and mated no matter if they were brother and sister or not. He did not leg tag them so there was no telling how related they were.

I normally wouldn't have bought breeding stock from someone who bred like this but I was desperate! I had been looking for breeders within 4 hours of me for years!
They had problems being good mothers and laying consistently. The babies were sometimes very weak and didn't live at all.
Utility meat pigeons are extremely rare and their genetic base is very small. They are not cheap livestock to buy but if you can find good breeding stock you will have some of the nicest meat you can produce! 

Raising Pigeons for meat

Raising Pigeons for meat is nothing new!! Squab meat has been raised for centuries! It's been a meat served at high-end restaurants for many years! Here is an article dated 1970 from Mother Earth News about raising meat pigeons Raise Pigeons for Meat

They are very low input! They don't need a lot of room but they do need to be able to fly and exercise. The parent pigeons do all the work! They brood and raise the babies themselves. They start another nest of 2 eggs before the others are kicked out. If you have good breeding stock!
livestock farming pigeons for meat

Pigeons tend to be very prolific in the spring and summer. Eggs take 2 weeks to hatch, then squab is ready to eat in about 4 weeks. They are super fast to process!

They don't eat a lot. But they are seed eaters. Meaning none of my natural resources or gardens could feed them except my grain corn crops. I would have had to grow some other grains to feed them from our farm.
I might have done that if my stock had been more prolific.

I really liked them! I do admit I miss them...I really miss them! Their cooing and bathing .. Such beautiful birds! Birds I searched for years to purchase,,, it was a little heartbreaking for me to let them go. But I can't keep ALL the livestock animals. I have to focus on the animals I get the most out of and I can raise the most efficient way. Which for me means I can raise them without a feed store if I had too.

I won't say I'll never try these again if I could find quality breeding stock from someone raising for meat and keeping records.

There isn't a lot of information about meat pigeons online. I found this website and her ebook to be helpful, although she states that her pigeons ate vegetable and greens. Mine never would. Different breed maybe?
Pigeons for Meat

Donkeys Work and Took the place of 2 common animals that didn't! 

Donkeys took the place of 2 animals we had here on the farm that wasn't working out very well. Goats and Livestock Guardian dogs. 
This saved me a lot of money and time. Donkeys are much lower input and economical than lgds and dairy goat for us personally.

Replacing LGD's 

I was really tired of LGD's that killed poultry or ate baby lambs! If they didn't kill adult birds they usually killed chicks if they didn't kill chicks they still ate my eggs! Or escaping the fencing to roam! I even had several LGDs develop a taste for other animals feed so then they wouldn't allow the animals to eat their food! Sometimes they would guard the shelter and not let them inside during bad weather.

Lgd's are used by many but for me, they cost us a lot of money and caused a multitude of problems on my farm! They also clashed with my personality. I'm used to highly trainable obedient dogs like Dobermans and Poodles. None of the lgd breeds are very smart compared to the dog breeds I love. 

Donkeys don't eat eggs or newborn baby animals! It's easy to feed them separately if I have too. They won't tear through a fence to steal chicken food! Nor, do they break out of fencing and roam the area. Leaving my stock at risk and risking damage to a neighbors property. They are more trainable than an lgd! Yes, the stubborn donkey is more trainable than an lgd! For me anyways.

I did do my research and got an older trained donkey to start. Donkeys and equine are a bit different than most livestock. Not harder by any means, but they have different needs. 

Replacing Goats

Ok, Let me get this out of the way. My donkeys didn't take the place of goat's used as meat! Although donkey meat is sought after in China, Italy and many other parts of the world, equine is not on my menu! 

But Donkeys did take the place of goats for dairy, weed eating and manure for the gardens!

Donkeys For Milk

Equine milk, such as Mare's milk and Donkey milk, is nothing new either! The domestication of donkeys has been around for hundreds of years and so has the practice of milking them and using the milk as a food, a beauty product and medicinally!

I had been having some health problems for years and it sounded like donkey milk could help. I seriously didn't know how much longer I would be able to farm or do much of anything! Long story short donkey milk helped and got me on a road back to health! They will always have a special place because of that!
It also revived my soap and skin care business. Goat milk soap has become over saturated in the market. Donkey milk, which is actually better for mature and allergy prone skin allowed me to not only revive the business but raise my prices because donkey milk skin care products are rare in the USA.
Plus it is absolutely the best-tasting milk I've ever had. I'm not a milk drinker and That's saying a lot! I've had raw jersey cow milk, sheep milk, all breeds of goats milk and even camel milk. Donkey is lite and sweet! It's actually refreshing! A word I would never use to describe any other milk.

Donkeys do not require the higher quality legumes and grain most goats need to be productive for milking. They do not give as much milk as a full size improved dairy goat but my small standard donkey gives me a quart a day on my dairy management program. That's plenty for us!

Donkeys for weed control

My brambles and unimproved pastures work great for donkeys! They actually do a better job at weed eating than goats. They also never get their head caught in the fencing and other non-sense goats did!

No animal will eat ALL of the weeds! Donkeys did better than goats, but Icelandic sheep cleared the land the best of any animal I've had. So if pasture improvement, clearing brambles and wood lots are a goal for you get a few Icelandic sheep and a guard donkey!

Donkey Manure for gardens 

It wasn't until donkeys that I could finally stop trucking in compost and manure for my gardens. All the poultry and ruminants we had through the years never produced enough to feed my vegetables and grain corn. The mass amounts of manure they produce is amazing for my ever-growing 4 season gardens!
This was an important part of our homesteading goal. Producing all the compost we need right on the farm to feed our gardens!

Donkeys other uses

They have other uses too. Riding, working, packing! You can read more about their uses in these 2 post What are donkeys good for?
and Other Products Donkeys Provide on a farm
If you think donkeys may be right for your farm read my ebook before you bring one home! It will prepare you and let you know what to expect.


Replacing 2 high input animals with 1 was huge for our farm!

Lgd's and Goats are great useful livestock for the right people and farm!! Just not this farm!

Turkeys didn't work for us unfortunately 

And I come to turkeys! Though not an uncommon livestock farming animal. They aren't very popular on small modern farms.

The turkeys are wonderful, interesting, beautiful birds to watch like pigeons. Back and forth I went on keeping them. My husband even really liked them! And he's not really into the poultry at all!

We tried 2 breeds. We preferred the Midget Whites. They ate less and weighed about the same at slaughter time as the Bourbon Reds. They are both rare heritage breeds.
You can read more about the Midget White and Bourbon red history on Slow Food USA
and Livestock Conservancy
livestock farming turkeys

They were actually easy to process for a large bird! Extremely delicious unlike any turkey I've ever tasted they were worth growing! Except...

Why didn't Turkeys work out here?

First, they were a bit delicate to raise as poults. For the first time ever I had to buy medicated food. I've raised many breeds of ducks, chickens, geese, and quail and I never had to buy medicated feed. But these guys just started dying and that was the only thing that saved them.
They ate a lot of grain. A LOT of grain! So they were way more input that I like to mess with.

Ultimately they couldn't' stay because they kept getting into my gardens and before long they would have been getting out of fences with no donkey to protect them. I'm not into feeding the local coyotes. And that was the end of that!
Turkeys must go :-( 

If I was ever to raise Turkeys again it would be the Midget whites and I got them here Midget White Turkeys

Livestock Farming Outside the Box

I've learned so much by looking outside the box when it comes to livestock farming and the gardens too!

Sometimes trying a little known breed can work out nice like
Silkie Chickens for productive homestead poultry!!
or the very rare but quickly gaining popularity Meishan hog! These hogs, domesticated over 5,000 years ago were exactly what our homestead needed when 3 other breeds didn't work out. Here is more info on them Meishan Pig Info and a video!

So yes, I'm sad turkeys and the pigeons didn't quite work out for us personally. But thankful I discovered one outside the box livestock experiment works like a charm and replaces 2 that didn't make the cut!

As always, Its a Journey!!
Have a blessed week and happy productive Homesteading! 


What are Donkeys Good For?

Donkeys are good for a homestead for many reasons! Easy to care and multipurpose! Some uses for donkeys you may know about, but some you may not. Could donkeys be useful on your homestead? #donkeys #homesteader #donkeycare

Due to the overwhelming response to my donkey posts I've decided to move them all to a new site all for themselves.

You can find this article and many others about donkeys here

Sorry for any inconvenience.


Training Horses with Goals and a Plan! FREE Sample Journal!

Training Horses with a plan! This journal helped me reach my goals with my horse last year and beyond! Get organized and make your dream horse trained the way you want a reality! If I can do it so can anyone!!! #traininghorses #horsetrainingjournal

It's almost warm enough for me to really get serious about training horses!! Which means set official goals and get my farm horses on a more regular training schedule! I couldn't do it without a Training journal planner!

This year I have major plans for 3 of my miniature farm horses and my pony mare I really want to accomplish some things with!

Training Horses with a plan!
My Pony Mare, Biana. Already a wonderful riding horse but I have plans to train her as a working Farm Horse!

Setting Goals and Making a Plan for Training Horses 

Last year I set my goals for Bianca.  The goals were, I wanted her to slow down (she's a bit warm!), I wanted a better whoa and I wanted her to learn some advanced cues, like backing up when I lightly take my legs forward. I used several training DVD's and some youtube videos to develop a plan to accomplish these things. I also joined Mustang Maddy's Club and watched her case studies on the different horses she trained. Very helpful when making my own case studies which gave me a lot of insight into my horses! (A case study page is included in the FULL journal)

I knew to keep on track of a plan and her progress I would need a planner or journal or some sort. I ordered a Horse training journal but it was a waste of money. There weren't any goal setting pages or daily planner pages.. just a bunch of notebook lines and sappy horse quotes. Not what I needed to be successful with my horse! The other horse training journals on the market I found were just plain old notebooks with pretty covers that offered no guidelines in helping me make horse training goals and plans either! Quite useless and uninspiring for the tasks I had in mind. 

Being a very planner oriented person I set out to make my own which kept me on track so that I not only stayed the course and accomplished my goals with Bianca. I accomplished more than I set out to do with her! 

This is a good article on developing a Training Plan for a horse Develop a Plan that Works

Training Horses with a Purpose!

I'm no professional trainer! In fact, I've only been riding horses for about 2 1/2 years! Just like homesteading and growing food I jumped right in with both feet and didn't look back! I did start out with an excellent trainer and took horsemanship lessons for about 4 months before I got my own horse. 
Bianca taught me really fast that to own a horse is to become a trainer. With all the available information out there, learning to train your own horse for your goals isn't that difficult.

Where to start can be difficult though! That's why I start with the goal setter page I created. That is my purpose. After that, I gather the horse training information I need (DVD's, Youtube, Clubs) to set the plan to reach that goal into steps. I record the lesson plan and progress. I take notes and make a case study to help me understand my horse better. 
I designed pages for my journal for each of these things. 

Training my Farm Horses this year: Goals

  • The goal for Bianca this year is to get her to pull a wagon. 
  • The goal for mini farm horse Comanche is to also pull a wagon, though smaller one! And to work more on Liberty with him. He has a flair for it! 
training horses, training miniature farm horses
Comanche is a larger, stocky mini horse that is very full of himself and really needs a job!
  • My goal for Dreamy is to get her pulling the cart without sass! and team her with Stormy. 
  • My goal for Willow is to get her broke to drive and pair her with Comanche if Comanche is ready. 
Miniature horses can be used for farm work as long as they have appropriate sized equipment. Need more reasons to have a miniature horse check out this post Reasons to have miniature horses on your farm

This is a neat article on Magnificent Miniature Horses that contains a lot of history on the breed.
Also I love this article about the farmer using his miniature horses to mow hay! Mini Horse Haying Talk about goals!! 

Training Horses with a Journal Planner

I wouldn't have accomplished my goals last year and I won't accomplish them this year with a record-keeping planner which I am now offering to others to help them achieve their dream goals with training horses! I'm also into natural horse care so I extended the journal to contain DIY herbal remedies for horses and essential oil and herbs for horses guide! There is also a health record sheet!

You can get the FULL journal here Ultimate Horse Training Journal

Training horses with the ultimate horses training journal #horsetraining #traininghorses #homesteader

Not sure about keeping records to reach your goals?
I've got some sample pages of the horse training journal for you to try here for Free. You'll get the cover page, a notes page, and the daily training page to try out.

Training Horses and Natural Horse Care go together!

Taking ultimate care of my horses is important to me. I believe in natural health care for my self and family as well as my horses. The less exposure to chemicals my horses have the better!
Chemical fragrances have been proven to lead to many hormone and health issues for humans. I can't help but think these even less regulated chemicals for horse grooming products are equally or maybe harder on our super sensitive horses. 
I mentioned I have 5 DIY herbals for horses in my horse training journal. Here are 2 of the recipes you can try out for free!


Accomplishing Horse Training Goals

I truly, truly hope my post and my journal (free sample pages or the Full version) help you achieve your horse training goals like it has helped me! If a major horse newbie such as myself can train my own horse and accomplish my goals then I know you can too!

If you have any questions about the Horse Training journal and herbs for horses guides please don't hesitate to email me! angie@godsblessingfarm.com

Until next time! Happy homesteading and horse training!

DIY Hand Scrub for Gardeners!

Make this DIY Hand Scrub especially for Gardeners who may forget to wear gloves :-) Its easy to make! Gets hands SO clean and leaves them super soft. #homesteader #DIYhandscrub #DIYscrub

This DIY Hand Scrub is formulated especially for gardeners! I know I can't be the only one who forgets their gardening gloves! Sometimes on purpose, once the soil warms up because I just really like the feel of warm soil in my hands.

But that makes my fingers look awful and sometimes does cause surface scratches on my skin that needs to be cared for so nothing gets infected!

What makes this DIY Hand Scrub special!

When I was in Esthetics school my favorite chapters in our textbooks were about ingredients and their effects on the skin. Natural plants and herbs have so many benefits, not just for our insides but for our largest organ, the skin. The skin has optimal abilities for absorbing what it comes in contact with. So being chemical free is important as well as needing products that really work!

I came up with this easy DIY Hand scrub with gardeners in mind several years ago. I actually sold it for a few years in my online shop! It did really well. 

Since I no longer sell scrubs I decided it was time to share it with my fellow gardeners and previous customers so they can make their own. 

The Ingredients and why they are important

The key ingredients are infused comfrey oil, tea tree, and lavender essential oils. 

Comfrey: The healing action of comfrey on wounds comes from a constituent contained in the leaf and root called allantoin. This compound is a cell proliferate which helps to regenerate wounded areas of the body and speed up new healthy cell growth! In most all of my skin care products over the years, I included comfrey because it works to support healing and beautifies! Allantoin is used in most skin care products but is typically lab synthesized. The real thigs works SO much better! I add a comfrey leaf infused oil and a tsp. of comfrey root powder for its help and support to heal minor skin scratches that can occur when gardening without gloves. I can not say enough about the positive effects of comfrey on the skin for these reasons and so much more. It's literally worked overnight for me in some situations! I believe in it so much I'm actually writing a whole book on it! Check this post if you do not know how to make an herbal oil infusion DIY Herbal for Horses whether you are making it for human or animal its the same thing 🐴 

Lavender Oil: Has wonderful antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties that help with bug bites as well as minor wound healing support! Plus it smells amazing and helps mellow out the stronger fragrance of comfrey and tea tree oils.

Tea Tree Essential Oil: Helps with dry, itchy skin and skin irritations. It's anti-inflammatory and also helps support any minor wounds. 


The other Ingredients that make it work so well!

Those are the ingredients that help support any healing of bites or scratches from rocks out rough dirt that can occur for us that 'forget' our gloves occasionally!
But these are the ingredients that get your hands clean!! Even the tiny little crevices in the fingers!

Sugar: Just plain old cheap sugar! In fact, scrubs are the only reason I have sugar in my house at all! It is a natural, gentle abrasive that removes dead skin cells and dirt easily. It helps keep skin unclogged and clear! 

Olive Oil: Is what I use to infuse the comfrey. Its prevents signs of photo-aging and sun damage. The fatty acids absorb quickly into the skin making it a great moisturizer. 

Soap Sheds: I prefer adding soap shreds to this and really any scrub I make. Soap shreds add another level of clean! And also help reduce an oily feel that might be left behind on the skin. I highly recommend you use a natural handmade soap with extra moisturizing benefits like a goat milk soap or one of my Donkey Milk Soaps


Making a DIY Hand Scrub


Vegetable Glycerin: It's a natural humectant that locks in moisture! It's optional for this scrub but really adds to it if you have drier skin!

DIY HAND SCRUB RECIPE

This recipe/formula is for 4 oz. of hand scrub. You will need a kitchen scale, a grater like you would use for cheese, small mixing bowl, spoon and a small jar with a lid to put the scrub in.

2.5 Oz. Sugar
1 Oz. of infused Comfrey olive oil
.25 oz. of soap shreds
10 drops of tea tree oil
10 drops of lavender oil

Optional
1 Tsp. Of vegetable glycerin
1 Tsp. Of comfrey root power.

Mix it all up and scoop into your jar! Easy peasy and ready to use! 


Making a DIY Hand Scrub

I hope it helps you like it's helped me!

This scrub has been so beneficial to me over the years. Keeping scratches from getting infected and keeping my hands so clean and soft you'd never know I garden without gloves, trim hooves, shovel manure, etc... It's really great for all-around farm work!

Another DIY Herbal to try is my Homemade Fly Repellent Salve
I actually developed this for my equine but it works great for people too! 

Other resources

Sourcing out good herbs and essential oils is important if you want your DIY Herbals to actually work. I highly recommend Mountain Rose Herbs
If you are a member of AHG you can get a 20% off discount as well as if you enroll in some herbal student programs. 
For essential oils, I really like Majestic Pure

More About The Comfrey Book and recipes!

Comfrey Benefits so many things! Livestock, the garden, healing support for the body and healthy skin! This ebook goes into details on how to use it, grow it and harvest it! Recipes included! #comfreybenefits #herbgarden #homesteadgarden

I mentioned above I am working on a book about Comfrey because it has been such an amazing herb for us on so many levels! The book will be about its many uses, growing, and harvesting as well as many formulas for healing support. It will also include a bonus booklet with recipes for a complete facial skin care routine!

When it's released I'll be doing a deeply discounted special on it!! So if you'd like to be notified sign up for our email list! 
We never share emails, nor do we hit people up every week with affiliate links! We are not affiliate bloggers. We are real full-time homesteaders and don't have time to full your email box. We do like sharing what we know to help others build their dream farm... just like we did!