Our Animals

So... we live on a ranch right? Right! So just to give you an idea of what and who we have to deal with everyday, I dedicate this post to all our lovely animals. 

Okay, we currently have 4 horses, 1 mare, and 3 geldings. Brian and Anson bought the 1 mare, Arrow, so they could start a horse breeding business. she has recently been bred, so we look forward to having a new baby horse join our family. Our 3 geldings are Spirit, Rocky, and Cherry. Cherry is named after my Grandfather Cherry Wilburn Talbot. I thought that was fun that the kids would name a horse a family name!

 This is Ammon letting Rocky have a break from a long hard run. Most of the kids enjoy riding the horses, and i know the older boys enjoy having a race now and then.

 

I apologize for not having some pictures to help you visualize this story, when i get home I'll be sure to get some on here for you.

So, once upon a time, at the Gathering Place Ranch, there were two young men who wanted to have a horse race. So... these two young men, named Brian and Ben, chose which noble steed they thought could win and got ti ready for the race. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... GO!!!! They were off!!! Matching paces, The two teams, 1 Brian and Spirit, 2 Ben and Rocky, sped across field after field. Finally.... after just a few short minutes... Ben and Rocky take the lead!!!! As they galloped toward the finish line, Rocky suddenly got too excited and ran even faster then Ben thought possible! Ben, while trying to regain control, realized that if he couldn't get Rocky to turn, and soon, he would either have to jump for it, hope Rocky obeyed, or hope that both he and Rocky would fit through the partially open gate. Well... he ended up doing the latter. Rocky, got through the gate with no problem... Ben however, got a huge scrape from the massive wooden fencepost on his left leg. But he decided he was okay, and was determined to teach this animal that obedience is what would get him a treat at the end of the ride.

So...

Off Ben galloped once again. This time he headed toward a field we don't normally ride in. and once again, Rocky decided to not listen to the commands being given, and started running way too fast. At this point they were only in one of the lanes between fields. (And forgive me for the lack of details on this next part, but nobody actually saw this next part, and it all went too fast for Ben to realize what was happening.) So... They were running, and all of the sudden there was a gate, 20 feet in front of them. Before Ben knew it, his body was flying through the air, over the fence, and then slid across a BIG piece of concrete that is just sitting on the other side of the fence. (don't ask how it got there, because none of us have ANY idea.) Ben ended up cracking 2-3 of his ribs, while leaving a very painful 1'x6" scrape along his ribcage and chest. And of course the earlier scrape on his leg.

The End

Oh wait... Ben is alive and healthy. At least with no permanent damage.

This is a previous horse Brian owned. Diligence was her name. The best horses Brian has trained and hasn't had one like her since. This is a sad story.      One stormy night, When little Annie Laurie and I were playing a card game, the train came rolling across the tracks that border our property, when all of the sudden there was this strange, loud thump noise. We had no idea what it was and thought little about it. Until the next day, when Brian and Anson went to check on their horses. Brian and Anson came home in a hurry, with an angry and tear stained faces. Diligence and Babe (Anson's beautiful paint horse) were gone. During the night, a tree fell and knocked down a part of the fence that belonged to the railroad. Which allowed the horses to wander onto the tracks. Remember that loud thump sound I told you about? Well... that turned out to be the sound that occurred when the train hit Anson's horse Babe. We know that because of the body remainders we found on the tracks. But Diligence was nowhere to be found. No evidence of her being killed by the train, although that is possible, but there were hoof prints on the other side of the tracks. We don't know if she got killed or if she is still alive, that is a mystery which will not be solved until the next life.

Goats!!! We have a LOT of goats. Most of the ones we have have been raised since birth. Normally, we keep the girls, and sell the boys. So, our goat heard is growing. These are all the names of our goats. Boys: Prince Charlie & Twister. Girls: Poppins, Dora, Jane, Jubilation, Tam, Little Darling, Amelia, Diamond, Ain't She Sweet, Forget Me Not, Kitty, Blackberry, Black Beauty, Milly, Molly, Lucy, Aurora, Briar Rose, & GG.                                               We have had many others, but some we sold some of them simply because they were sick and worth more money in meat, or they were deformed in some way. I could go into all the different types of deficiencies, but I won't.     The kids have enjoyed being there for the births of the goats, and they also enjoy being messengers for Sarah and I. The kids run back and forth telling us who's in labor, whether the goats being born are boy or girl, how many and so on.... once the baby goat is born, we bring it into the house, and rub it off and feed it the milk from it's mother. We have to pasturize the goat milk  just to make sure a certain disease (that affects only goats) doesn't pass on to the babies.

This is Pongoat, a baby boy we ended up selling when he was 1. That is the age we sell the boys. Isn't he just SO cute???

Laurie, Joseph and Mary Jane... sitting in one of the barn stalls waiting for a baby goat to be born.

 

 

Remember me saying that we bring the baby gaots into the house? well... it's true!!! Rebekah, Laura, Katurah & some on-lookers are having fun with some of the few month old goats. We have to put up a gate around them so that they don't jump out. And believe me... they can! sometimes, they somehow get out anyway.