Donovan Stables and Horse Farm

The Donovan stables are centrally located near the saloon and general store, with the paddock facing the main street of New Shelby. It is built to house up to thirty horses, but usually has less than two dozen on hand at any given time.

Horses currently on hand include: 

          • Trixie ; bay mare

          • Bella ; sorrel mare

          • Penny ; chestnut mare

          • Bandit ; bay colt (foaled of Trixie on May 16, 1867)

          • Odysseus ; chestnut stallion

          • ...and assorted geldings that turn over regularly.

*For several weeks, the stable also housed an Appaloosa stallion the stablehands called 'Hellfire' because of his bad temper. The stallion turned out to belong to Dell -- her own horse, Flash -- and was sold back to her.

Now that Trixie has delivered the farm's first healthy foal, there has been talk of expanding and taking on a few more mares and another stallion or two for stud.

Current employees of the stables include:

          • Elijah Donovan, stablemaster and owner

          • Floyd Huntington, stablehand

The stables are laid out in an 'L' shape, with larger stalls for the stallions near the back, and a double stall for foaling removed from the main thoroughfare. Most of the stalls -- those adjacent to the paddock and those along the rear of the stable overlooking the stableyard -- have sections of the wall that swing up to open out onto the green area and allow for cross ventilation. Since the stalls along the far side don't have this kind of open access, the stable rates for them are generally cheaper to the public.

The Donovan residence is located just to the side, with a large porch facing the street.

Site map:

(front of property only)

Stable layout: