Building her own stable followed years of disappointment with the safety, health and/or management practices at facilities where Julie Karpus kept her own horses. She had crystal clear priorities when she started from scratch building a facility to meet her own high standards.
The result is Maxton Meadows in Stoughton, Wisconsin. Four years in the making, the 14-stall boarding facility is home to Julie’s two treasured Friesians. Bred by Black Earth Friesians, Delores and Patton are both KFPS-registered. They reflect the best quality that Julie insists on in everything involving their care.
The farm’s name comes from the name of Julie’s first horse – “the best horse ever!” – the Andalusian/Quarter Horse Maximilian, and Patton, “my heart horse.”
Maxton Meadows’ boarded horses benefit equally from Julie’s careful considerations of design, materials and products. She knew to start from the ground up. Along with ventilation, stall size, flooring and bedding are critical to her horses’ year-round health. That’s especially true through Wisconsin winters when horses spend more hours indoors.
While they’re not the details fantasized about in many barn building dreams, Julie knew these components had the biggest impact on horses’ health and comfort.
“In every aspect, I prioritized the safety and comfort of the horse. So, all those things were really important to me.”
“Amazing Bedding Alternative”
Airlite Cardboard Bedding came to Julie’s attention in a chart comparing the characteristics of various bedding materials. The categories included her key considerations — dust, absorption, contaminants, ammonia control, durability, cushion, composability and cost.
Made of pre-consumer cardboard, Airlite is a premium bedding product that out-performs pine shavings, wood pellets, straw and other bedding materials in every category.
Airlite is approximately 5X as absorbent as traditional shavings and that detail alone inspired the new stable owner to try it. Made in Kentucky of cardboard that has never entered the consumer stream, Airlite exceeded Julie’s expectations from the get-go. “It was super cushy and we were excited that it’s 100% dust-free and clean.”
It’s especially ideal for newborns, including Delores’ month-old filly, Ember fan Fein Friesians, sired by Omer 493 Sport AA.
Prospective boarders hadn’t heard about cardboard bedding before visiting Maxton Meadows, but they’ve quickly come to share Julie’s enthusiasm for it. The YouTube show BarnBesties delved into Maxton Meadows’ use of Airlite in a recent episode entitled “Amazing Bedding Alternative!” Hosts Stephanie and Megan went from unaware to awed over the unique bedding’s many benefits.
The Airlite word is spreading. “My vet tells people to go check it out at Maxton Meadows because it’s so cushy and clean. He especially recommends it for laminitic horses.”
Double Cushion, Easy Cleaning & Dry Surface
Julie uses Airlite atop Mayo Mattresses in the stalls. These 4’ x 6’ mats are 1¾” thick and were first tested by Julie’s gelding, Patton. His 1,400-pound weight tests flooring systems’ durability and comfort. Julie loves the double cushion Patton gets from the Mayo Mattress and Airlite combination.
Ease of maintenance, cost and environmental sustainability are close behind horse health as stable management priorities.
Regarding stall maintenance with Airlite, Julie says it took a little time to develop stall picking practices that maximize the bedding’s benefits. “My barn help absolutely loves the cardboard bedding. They all say it’s easier to pick than any other bedding, and so much more absorbent. It’s easy to keep the bedding clean when the pee spot doesn’t fall all out of the fork as you clean.”
“One of my pet peeves with the way people pick pine or sawdust shavings is that they shake the daylights out of the fork to get the bedding off,” Julie continues. “That breaks up the manure, which goes back into the bedding. The cardboard bedding is nearly weightless. So you can gently ‘fluff’ the fork and the bedding comes off easily without breaking apart the manure balls. It’s amazing!”
She also loves how Airlite draws urine to the flooring base and clumps around it – somewhat like cat litter – for easy removal. A sweep of the Mayo Mattress flooring and spray with Thymox Botanical Disinfectant readies the formerly wet spot for new bedding.
Low Impact on Planet & Pocketbook
Thymox is an ideal companion product to Airlite bedding in maintaining healthy environments. Its active ingredient, thymol – from the plant thyme – kills 99% of disease-causing bacteria and viruses, yet is non-toxic and non-corrosive. Julie loves that she can spray it in water and feed buckets to clean and disinfect without having to wipe them down before refilling.
Airlite’s long life in the stall makes it economical over time even though its initial per-bag price can be higher than traditional bedding. “We always have cost in mind,” Julie acknowledges. “It may take a bit longer to clean the stall because we’re careful to conserve the cardboard pieces, but it ends up cleaner and healthier.”
Grooming is easier with Airlite, too. Friesians’ gorgeous manes, tails and the “feathers” on their lower legs are beloved breed traits – except when it comes time to remove bits of bedding from them. “Airlite doesn’t stick to them and we love that!”
Maxton Meadows’ monthly board includes 20 20-pound bags of medium-size Airlite bedding. That is sufficient for most horses. Boarders can order more if their horse is unusually messy or they have different preferences for bedding depth.
Maxton Meadows’ neighboring farm owners love Airlite, too. It enhances manure as pH neutral fertilizer and compost. “The farmers don’t want to be spreading pine shavings on their property,” Julie explains. Pine shavings can draw the soil’s nitrogen into their decomposition process, thus depleting the soil of this important element in healthy plant growth. The used Airlite bedding and manure she gives away is referred to as “black gold” in her rural neighborhood. “They love the cardboard.”
New Year with New Friesians
The arrival of Delores’ filly fulfills Julie’s high hopes for Maxton Meadows’ boutique Friesian breeding program this year.
Originally from Holland where they were bred as carriage horses, Friesians number only about 8,000 in the United States. Yet the Friesian community is strong and growing in the Midwest. Julie is excited to make more top-quality horses available. The breed is known for its fiery, jet-black appearance paired with gentle temperaments.
Julie didn’t consider herself a “Friesian person” when her trainer suggested a test ride several years ago. But one ride on the then 5-year-old Patton changed all that. She bought the gelding and has never wavered in her enthusiasm for the breed.
Maxton Meadows is named in honor Julie’s first horse, Maximilian, and her current horse Patton. They are special favorites, but all of Maxton Meadows’ residents are treated like royalty. The indoor arena is footed with renowned ReitenRight material, the outdoor with sand, and grass pasture turn-out is available during the warmer months.
Every detail of the horses’ daily care is managed with knowledge, design and products that support their health. And with lots of love.
“It’s a big responsibility and there is a weight on your shoulders to be responsible for other people’s horses,” Julie reflects of the time, effort and always-on-call nature of stable ownership. Thanks to the forethought invested in planning and managing Maxton Meadows, Julie sleeps as soundly as the horses in her care do, knowing she’s given them the best of everything regarding their health, safety and comfort.
