Winter on the Farm

Just because the temperatures drop and the snow piles up doesn't mean that work ends on the farm. There is always something that needs fed or fixed. Along with all the work, there is plenty of fun to be had. Winter at my family's farm in Chester means sleigh rides. 

Before going on my first sleigh ride of the year (more accurately of two years), I wandered around our corrals and got reacquainted with all our animals. This is Kit, my brother Luke's horse. 

Across from Kit is a whole pen of goats and sheep belonging to my brother Tyler and his wife Kelsey. Well, he claims the sheep but not the goats -- those are all Kelsey's. Those two love animals, and own or have owned all sorts of furry and feathered pets including: goats, sheep, horses, dogs, cats, llamas, turkeys, raccoons, turtles, rabbits, geese and chickens. I know I'm forgetting a few. If you can think of it they've probably owned it, wanted to own it, or ridden it.

We are a family that loves horses. This last year, both of my brothers have purchased quite a few new horses, so our little farm is populated with them. There are more horses currently on the farm than ever before. This pretty roan is named Spaz.

Dad had a Percheron stud horse named Mario that died in 2010 from liver problems. Dad loved that horse and took the loss really hard. Since then he's gotten two new stud horses, named Herby and King. This picture is of Herby. It doesn't do him justice, because he is a big horse. His hooves are easily the size of dessert plates. 

My Dad breeds his horses. This "little" Percheron colt was born this summer. Dad still hasn't decided on a name for him yet. I've been throwing out new names every day, and I'm hoping that Dad will like one of them. I want to name him!

Ever since I can remember my Dad has had horses. The team that I grew up with were named Jack and Johnny. Jack was a Belgian/Quarterhorse mix and Johnny was a Percheron. Johnny started out as pure black and by the time he was about 13 years old he had turned completely white. This is an old picture of Jack and Johnny I took about 15 years ago.

I loved Jack, he was my favorite. He was born the same year I was. My Dad raised him from a colt. When Jack wasn't pulling sleighs or inner-tubes full of children, he was a saddle horse. He died about 7 years ago when he was 24 years old. He was just too old and his heart gave out. I cried when I heard that he died.

Today, my Dad has four working teams of Percheron horses. He converted my brothers' sheep barn into a horse barn once they got rid of their sheep. This was my first time to see it. He's got a pretty nice setup.

Here is my Dad hooking Maude and Molly to the sleigh. Molly is Maude's mom. Say that four times fast! Haha.

Here, my siblings Luke and Annie are loading some hay bales on the sleigh so we can go feed the horses out in the field.

They're such pretty black horses.

When I was in elementary school, each year my class would take a field trip up to our house to go on a sleigh ride. Dad would always let me drive the team for a few minutes during the sleigh ride and all of my friends always thought that was the coolest thing. I got to drive the team again when we were feeding the horses.

After we got done feeding, we took an extended ride up the hill behind my parents house. This is a view of "The Homestead." You can see the corrals and barns that sit behind their house.

My brother Tyler and sister Kiley raised and bred border collies when we were all in high school. Tyler has continued raising and breeding them. This handsome canine is my brother Luke's right hand man, Ranger. He is from one of Tyler's dog's litters. I love this dog. He is so full of energy and is constantly moving. He is a character, just like Luke. I like to have him along on the sleigh rides, because he'll sit on my feet and keep them extra warm.

And finally, for your viewing pleasure, here are a couple videos I took of our ride.