The Who…

Katie and Horatio at Sport Horse Nationals. Photo taken by Ruth V. Sobeck, DVM

PasturePuff was founded by Katie Ferencik, a U.S. Army Veteran and former professional dressage athlete, competing on behalf of the U.S. Army.

Prior to creating the PasturePuff Equine Mattress, she trained with Barbro Ask-Upmark, David Hunt, Becky and Hannah Moody, and taught on the Racewood Equestrian Simulator! While pursuing and achieving a preliminary acceptance into the Army’s World Class Athlete Program, she and her husband pivoted into raising a young family when two young family members were in need of a soft landing.

With a new focus on family and her horses moving into an “occasional athlete” status, she also adopted two sweet ponies, Gracie and Whinnie for the kids to ride. (Fun fact, they were originally called “Whip” and “Nae Nae”)

Katie, under the tutelage of Heather Jantzen of Sovereign Farm, began to breed and raise Trakehners, hoping to eventually replace her competition horse, Horatio. She currently works full time as a Data Scientist at an Analytics company, as well as in the U.S. Army Reserve. She and her daughters also participate in the local Old Pueblo Pony Club!

Actual mattress size, shown in a 14x14 stall.

The What…

The PasturePuff Equine Mattress is essentially what Katie likes to call a “really, really nice, giant dog bed for horses”! She developed it as an alternative to permanent (and expensive) stall mattresses, and wanted it to be mobile so she could put them inside the stall or outside in the turnout/paddock area, and her ponies could stand or sleep on them. To her surprise and delight, she found that her big horses loved them, too, but they absolutely destroyed the first few sets of mattresses, so Katie set out to find materials that would withstand the destructive and playful nature of her horses, and also would give both supportive and soft relief for her entire herd.

Over a very long testing period, it was found that the horses didn’t prefer anything less than 4”, or at least they didn’t specifically seek out sleeping or standing on them, and anything at 6” or larger was a definite NO, as they were too squishy and unstable for standing, so getting up and laying down was too much of an effort to make it worthwhile. When given both options, they always went for the 4” size!

Next up was finding the right combination of memory foam to use. Luckily, a manufacturer nearby was available to consult and together they came up with just the right amount of supportive density while still keeping it luxuriously soft for both the ponies AND the horses!

Now, don’t forget that horses love to paw before laying down, and some of them are mischievous and really get a kick out of destroying anything they get their hooves (and teeth!) on, of course some are not as clean as others are (GRACIE!) and this is where the all-important cover comes in!

We tested out 12 different fabrics of varying types, thicknesses, durability and more, and settled on a rugged material that is still soft to the touch and fit snugly to the mattress. Countless beds were destroyed in the search for just the right combination of luxury and durability.

In the end, we settled on a waterproof fabric that is widely used in the outdoors industry and regarded as one of the toughest and most premium fabrics on the market. It fits tightly to the mattress, utilizes high-quality YKK waterproof zippers to keep moisture out, and best of all, is really, really difficult for even the most rambunctious of horses to destroy! This mattress is quality - big time.

The icing on the cake is that it’s all made in the United States (really!) and manufactured with love in southern Arizona!

Dani and Gracie - best of pals!

Well, Why not?

But seriously - it’s our passion for the welfare of horses and our vision of giving peace of mind to their owners that is driving the “why” behind PasturePuff. Seeing our horses so happy and comfy, just like we are in our own nesting places fills the heart!

We want to see you enjoying your horses as they enjoy the comfort and rest that they deserve, and make it affordable to do so! We love our horses just as much as we love our dogs, right? Why not provide the absolute best for them to promote healthy sleeping habits? It just makes sense!