Thanks to generous Chewonki friends, our beloved American Belgian chestnut mare, Sal, now has a run-in at one of her favorite pasture hangouts. The new structure gives Sal, who will turn 22 on July 19, the option of shelter from wind, rain, snow, and sun.

Howard and Nancy Alter, whose daughter, Dina, is an alumna of Maine Coast Semester 50 and worked at the farm in 2014, ‘15, and ‘16, donated funds for the project, which also received support from an anonymous donor. Farm Manager Megan Phillips says she is “very grateful to these kind people who made the run-in possible. Sal works hard, and she is getting older. We want her to be comfortable.”

Sal is a well known to Chewonki farmers, students, campers, and staff. Her powerful frame and queenly air always command attention, whether she is pulling a cultivator through the gardens, a log out of the snowy woods, a wagon full of hay, or a wagon full of campers. She is known to favor belly scratches.   

The handsome board-and-batten pine-wood shed, which came from Hill View Mini Barns,  is big enough so Sal can stand or lie. Look for it on the west side of Chewonki Neck Road near the bend in front of the Gatehouse.

Phillips is starting to think about a second, younger horse who can share Sal’s workload. Knowing Sal will have more free time once a new horse arrives, Phillips is planning to build a box stall in the barn where Sal can luxuriate when she is inside, too.

Asked if she thought Sal would pass her knowledge on to a new horse, Phillips replied with an affectionate grin, “Yes, but I hope she’ll keep some of her mischief to herself.”