Ranch life and stuff

Is anyone out there reading this? If I had readers I would do this more often.

I've been told I need to blog about my life??? Seems I don't live a normal life, so here goes. I live on a ranch in western Oregon. It's tiny by Wyoming standards, only 35 acres and another 15 leased. My husband Dave and I own Menagerie Ranch and I rescue animals. To date I have 10 dogs, 9 horses, 8 cats, 5 goats, 2 pigs and 2 llamas.

Six of the horses are boarded here. Their owners live in town and pay me to feed and pasture their horses. Two are lovely Morgans, both chestnut (dark chocolate brown) with white stockings and blazes. Two are gray Arabians (if the horse's skin is black they're called gray, but there hair is white--go figure??). The last two are both buckskins and the only geldings (boys that have been "altered") on the ranch. One is Bucky (see my previous posts for more about him). The other is Monte, a knockout Keiger mustang.

I'm often asked what is a Keiger mustang. In the remote southeastern section of Oregon is the Keiger valley. Many centuries ago the Spanish came to this country and when they left they didn't take their horses. That's how horses came to America. Some of them got into the Keiger Valley and got trapped. Those mustangs are marked with stripes on their legs and one from the mane to the tail. They are highly intellegent and spirited. Monte is golden with a black tail and his black mane has an overlay of bright gold hair. (Many pay good mony for frosted hair!) He's been DNA tested against old Spanish horse bones and he's a direct descendent!

We had a good hay crop this year, I have a barn full of hay, a total of 1,085 bales. I won't have to buy hay this winter! But right now I'm worried about two goats. These two, son and mama, came to me a few years back. The woman caring for them couldn't handle them. The female, Helga, has a huge bag and had it for two years before I got her. It's a mammery tumor and it's so big she can't put both back feet on the ground at the same time. My vet won't operate because of the huge blood supply to that bag. She's not in pain and always runs for her bucket of grain.

Deufus, her son, has weird front legs. They bend at the knee, but they're bent sideways! I'm giving him Bute, (asprin for large animals) just in case he feels pain. It seems these two goats are terribly inbred. The parents of Helga were brother and sister and Deufus's father was probably the brother of that pair. Anyway it's painful to watch them walk and they're doing it less and less. They made it through last winter but I think the next one will be really hard. I'll watch them and make that Terrible Decision if necessary.

Well that's all for now.