Blossom and Golden Red - "Our Girls" are looking Good

On Friday, April 17th, 2009, we picked up our new Curly Mustang mare and her filly, Copper's D Golden Red and Golden Red's Nevada's Blossom from the BLM Paul's Valley, Oklahoma's location. Our good friends, Dr. Mitch Wilkinson and wife, Cheryl, picked up their handsome black, Curly Mustang, stud colt with a striking white star and together we drove our new friends back to the Lone Star State through wind, rain and bustling traffic.

The first few weeks were touch and go for all of us as the Mustangs had picked up shipping fever and Round worms in the holding pens. All of the horses responded well to the medications and feeding time was the highlight of our days. We spent a lot of time with the girls just getting to know them. Mitch shared with us his experiences growing up with and taming horses so we felt privileged the try the natural ways of communicating with our beautiful Curly Mustangs. For example, sitting quietly with them while reading a book, sleeping in their corrals with them under the stars, letting our girls get to know our smells, sharing apples an other treats and most importantly taking our time to develop and build the foundation of our relationship, trust.

It was great advice. The girls are doing really well and we ride Nevada Blossom on trails several days a week. She is a beautiful sorrel, smooth coated Curly. Now that it's summer, the sunlight shining on her coat glistens and is sparkles like copper. She has been training for less than 90 days and already is riding with a western saddle and bridle. She did really well on her first barefoot trim a few weeks ago. Bathing and grooming is one of her favorite activities. She has a wonderful, curious, personality and comes up to greet you with a soft nuzzle.

Copper D's Golden Red is a gorgeous Red Dun with a lovely dorsal stripe. She has zebra stripe markings on her legs and is a very Curly Mustang with a beautiful curly mane and ears. We had a small set back when our Golden Red delivered a premature foal, Tomahawk. We did not know she was pregnant and the previous months events affected her ability to stay healthy through the pregnancy. Golden Red is slowly getting back into great health. She, too, did wonderful with her first barefoot trim and enjoys her baths. She is very comfortable in a saddle. We are taking riding slow with her so that we do not compromise her recovery but working in the round pen shows she is regaining her strength quickly.

We encourage others to open their hearts and their homes to our nation's Mustangs. These horses have an equine intelligence that can only be found when survival is a top priority for living. They have wonderful strong hooves, well built bodies and personalities that once you gain their trust you will have a partner for life.

Hello All,

My darlin' sister, Diane and her wonderful hubby WC visited us at the Ranch a few weeks. We had a great time! My sister has the most energy of anyone I know and when she saw the rooster and the hens camping out in my patio she immediately decided we needed to put them in their own pad. (Don't think it had anything to do with the crazy rooster crowing at 4;42 am every morning. ) So she talked her hubby into helping me build a chicken coop.

First, we had to clear a spot of old T Posts that have been thrown in a pile since removing them and building new wooden railed fences. That was when my sister saw a copperhead up close and ...well, he was quickly added to the hawk's diet on the other side of the fence. Funny how family members share traits like my sweet sister and I. We both hop up and down like a new wave dance and scream to the top of lungs when we see a snake.

To Be continued....

Lucy and Ethel

Well, under the category of "you're never gonna believe what I found in my front yard".....last Tuesday morn the the wise men (Llamas) were staring down at the something in the front yard by the fence near the road. As I walked up closer; I thought, oh, it's just Guinness playing with the boys...then I realized it was two of the sweetest little pups I have ever seen. The girls were huddled together and obviously placed inside the fence so they would not be hit by the trucks - well in our neck of the woods the 4x4 Dualies.

So, dear Andrew and I decide they are Rhodesian Ridgebacks...Ethel the brown one for sure has the coloring of a Ridgeback and the black one - Lucy has the high ridge along her back and the personality to boot. They have been accepted by master Guinness and Miss Dixie Darlin' (OK yes we kept one of the sweet kittens that were left at Equest during Memorial Day) thinks they are great fun. She rolls and plays with them...they even eat at the same bowl of food with her. Guess eating kitten chow is no big deal when you gotta a lot of growing to...

Andrew told me the other night he might want to raise one. He better hurry 'cause these girls are gonna have great fun together at Golden Curls Ranch.

Lucy and Ethel

Eggcited Updates at Golden Curls Ranch

Hello All,

Well....it's hot in Texas! How hot is it? It's so hot that even the snakes wont come out and sun bathe, instead they stay where it's cool - like my chicken coop. Yep, I've had this ongoing battle with a big ugly rat chaser- chicken snake. I've named him Homer 'cause he kinda reminds me of the dad on The Simpson. He goes in and eats the eggs my sweet hens lay and makes my Rooster, Groggy Foggy (a descent relative to FogHorn Legg Horn) gest all in a tizzy.

I saw an ad on Craigslist a few weeks back where a fella was giving away roosters. Well, the magic word FREE struck me first and then I thought - what's a farm without chickens and fresh eggs. Wahoo! So my wonderful and always courageous son, Andrew, reluctantly agreed to go with me to pick up the rooster. Good thing 'cause the place was really in the East Texas backwoods and I would have never found it by myself.

The rooster is a handsome Red and Blue Laced Wyandottes. Most chicken breeds are given names where they are discovered like Rhode Island Reds etc. but Groggy Foggy's breed is named after the American Indians also known as Hurons.

(see http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=512-BLR_Wyandottes)

We chose Groggy Foggy because the other roosters picked on him. The owners were a great couple and the guy really knew a lot about chickens. Always begin of the mindset that critters like humans need partners in life I asked if we could buy him a few hens. The guy was so pleased that this rooster was going to actually be able to have his own little harem he just beamed at the thought. So Andrew and I came trucking home with a dog carrier holding a rooster, a Rhode Island Red, a Jersey Gaint and a Plymonth Bard Rock. The next day the rooster's previous owner emailed and asked if I wanted another Bard Rock .....apparently she was best friends with the Rhode Island Red and was depressed to lose her best friend. My sweet sister, Diane and her charming and handy, hubby WC was visiting so they drove over to get Miss Rockette. It was great too as they was working on a koi pond and the Rooster owner had built one so they exchanged ideas and tips.

So we initially housed the chickens and the rooster in the patio. Since Groggy Foggy thinks wake up call is 4;42 am it didn't take long to decide we needed a chicken coop - a distance away from the house. We decided the stall attached to the Llama Casa was prefect. WC put together the little coop giving each lady a nice cozy place to settle in and lay her eggs. We fill it with fresh hay. He even gave them a walkway to prance on with little steps so they don't trip going up and coming down. Diane painted them and beautiful bright sunny white and girls are quite pleased with their posh surroundings. Foggy is pleased too as he makes sure everyone knows with his loud crowing and flapping of those brilliant colored wings.

The first sign of snakes was when we were cleaning out the stall of T posts and my darlin' sister was reaching down to pick one up and I saw a copperhead all curled up in a circle. We both jumped around thinking &^#$@& and finally WC gets a hoe and puts an end to it. Sorry if it offends anyone but I have strict rules about snakes trespassing. Next, I see the longest black tail know to man sliding under pallets in the feed room, I know he is under there and that is my first glimpse of Homer. Then, a few days later I am walking up the chicken coop and there he is....all black and ugly. I stop and he continues to slide over the 2x12 board we install at the bottom of the fence to keep the dogs from digging under and getting into the coop. I am not a fisherman so my measurements are pretty exact and when I say his head was over 4 inches long I mean it! Seriously, he is big, black and determined. So shaking like a leaf on a willow tree I grab the hoe (which has become a permanent fixture at the chicken coop). Noting that he is large enough to eat my girls I start banging on the metal exterior of the barn. He looks at me with must have been great disgust and slides away. Where, I don't know....so I for reinforcements. HAAAANNNNNNKKKKKKKK....so what if he is 30 miles away in the concrete land of Cowboys in suits riding Hummers. "I just saw the biggest, ugliest snake in the whole world and he is in my chicken coop".....to which he casually responds; "get a hoe and kill it". Folks, I rode horses even horses that less than six months ago were wild on the range in Nevada but I dont do snakes......

So after much debating Hank decides he will call my neighbor Phil, a retired Fireman, to come see the humongous snake in my chicken coop. Phil arrives and immediately tells me snakes are not a problem and we should learn to live with them. Sure! Then we spot a copperhead and it's bigger than the last one....he kills it. (Well, maybe we don't have to live with all snakes) I explain I understand the circle of life and the need for all of God's creatures...but Homer is eating my eggs and I feel it is not right for him to benefit from our hard work so he must go.

Homer is a tricky one and we cannot find him. But, there is one less copperhead on Golden Curls Ranch and I rest easier that night with that thought.

To be Continued......

Lakota and Angie

Hello All,

We've been really busy and having a great time at Golden Curls Ranch. Our sweet Nevada Blossom is doing so well. She has taken to my big horned western saddle and loves to go on trail rides.

Mama Golden Red is doing better and looks much more like the Curly Red Dun Beauty we saw when she was captured in January. As they say, time is a a great healer.

Speaking of healing I've discovered if there is anything that feels wrong in my life I just climb up in my big horn saddle and ask Lakota to take me to my comfort zone. He is a true Curly Gentleman! I promise when you dismount you will have left your worries behind.

Hugs,

Angie and Lakota

Those Awful Preteen Days

Hello All,

When I was a preteen and things were not going right for me, such as, my friends needed a bra and I did not (for years) or my wonderful best friend received a call from the cool looking dude in school asking her to hang out after the the Friday night football game and I was left behind to go home and be with - ugh -adults; I would spend my all free time with a friend, Patches.

Patches was a wonderfully well trained and beautiful registered, American Paint. She was a gift from a family friend named Bill Burney. He trained her for shows as well as bred her for strikingly beautiful, colorful, foals. I was given Patches when she was older and had seen all the shows and gave life to many foals. She was gentle, yet spunky. She looked out for me; yet, understood my desire for adventure and freedom. But mostly, she knew I just needed a shoulder and her withers were mighty strong.

This past week has been equivalent to the those awful preteen days. OK, I do need a bra now and honestly I could care a less if my friend gets a call from the cool dude because I already have one who loves me very much; but, life has not changed all that much - it still can hurt.

This week, I really needed my gentle friend Patches to get me through - I've found that friend in Cinnamon River. He has a gentle yet very spunky spirit and he has the most wonderful withers for which to lean on. He understands my need for time away from the cruelties that living can bring and he is always willing to take me for a walk and let my mind relax.

We decided to try our hand at riding patterns to enter for the IPHDA - International Professional Horse Development Association. It was great....he is a wonderful partner - I could use some polishing - but the most important thing is it took my mind off the harsh realities of life and set me back on track for a new goal.

I hope you find your someone with strong withers to let you lean on when you are going through the awful "preteen" days, again.

Hugs,

Angie and Cinnamon River

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we write of Golden Red's Copper Tomahawk's passing. He died this morning at 5:15 am knowing he was a very loved member of Golden Curls Ranch's herd.

Copper Tomahawk's mother Copper's D Golden Red is a Curly Mustang who was captured in Palomino Valley in Nevada during the BLM roundup. She was rounded up with her two year old filly, Nevada's Blossom, by her side. They left Nevada in April and we picked them up in Paul's Valley, Oklahoma on April 17th and brought them to Golden Curls Ranch in Kaufman ,Texas.

Golden Red is a strong and smart horse with wonderful mustang and mothering instincts. Copper Tomahawk was so named because like a Tomahawk his life was bittersweet. He knew the hardship and sharp edges his mother's life encountered and yet he brought a reassuring peacefulness to our lives. He was ...as our good friend, Marion, said; a gift.

His mother's difficult previous months and poor health lead to his premature birth. He was unable to stand and nurse and after several trips to two vets and 24 hours of IV solutions he gave us the strength to let him leave us peacefully this morning.

We will always remember Copper Tomahawk who raised his head and gave a cheerful whinny when we called out his name. He will always be remembered as our brave little Warrior.

Grandmama Angie and Mama Golden Red

Golden Red's Copper Tomahawk

Hello All,

Our beautiful Red Dun BLM Curly Mustang Mare, Copper D's Golden Red has given us the most wonderful gift. A Copper Tomahawk. He was born early this morning, Friday, May 15th.

Mama Red is doing well and Auntie Blossom is very excited about the whole experience. Tomahawk is a very handsome fella and will continue the Curly Copper D lineage which started in Nevada.

We will post daily photos of our new little man, Tomahawk.


Grandmama Angie