- Thread starter
- #61
Bridgemoof
Overrun with beasties
Thanks Elevan! I was going to post that pic last night for the POW but got distracted...next week! 
Bridgemoof--Sheep & Wool festival
- Thread starter Bridgemoof
- Start date
GoatCrazyLady
Ridin' The Range
What a situation. UGH you are definitely between a rock and a hard place. My heart goes out to you sweetie.
you are definitely between a rock and a hard place. My heart goes out to you sweetie.- Thread starter
- #64
Bridgemoof
Overrun with beasties
TGIF! But as you know in the farming world, that means nothing, lol.
Not much new here, same thing, different day. The pheasants have been doing great outside and have been coming back to their roost at night for the most part. Some of them have stayed on the barn roof, and could fall prey to an owl. I swear they have grown double in size since we let them out. Funny how that happens.
The 20 CL chickens have been out roaming around as well. They are so pretty, I love the white Langshan. Oh, and I am up to 5 chicks from the incubator. One a day! There is nothing cuter than baby chicks, well, except a baby lamb or a baby goat. So my chicks are: Clinton, Buttercup, Cottonball, Peanut, and Texas Pete.
The pony that we got in trade for the alpaca is already out on trial. He is a pretty good pony, and hopefully Tim can make some money off of him. He picked up 3 more free horses on CL this week, but dropped 2 of them off on the way home at his friend's to take to the horse auction. The third was a skinny thoroughbred that he traded for yet anther horse that he sent off to auction.
The sheep are all doing okay except for Beastie. I'm really worried about him. His legs are not that great. I got the herbal tendon repair this week and have been giving it to him. There are a few ewes in heat and he has been following them around to the best of his ability, but can't mount them. Poor Beastie.
Nothing going on this weekend, that I know of anyways. In a couple weeks there is the Shenandoah Fiber Festival close by, and I am debating selling some of my wool in the fleece sale. I would have to sort through it all and figure out which ones might be best. I am unmotivated lol.
Other than the regular farm stuff, I've had a lot of graphic design work this week. So I've been busy with that. And that's the report, Happy Friday!
Not much new here, same thing, different day. The pheasants have been doing great outside and have been coming back to their roost at night for the most part. Some of them have stayed on the barn roof, and could fall prey to an owl. I swear they have grown double in size since we let them out. Funny how that happens.
The 20 CL chickens have been out roaming around as well. They are so pretty, I love the white Langshan. Oh, and I am up to 5 chicks from the incubator. One a day! There is nothing cuter than baby chicks, well, except a baby lamb or a baby goat. So my chicks are: Clinton, Buttercup, Cottonball, Peanut, and Texas Pete.
The pony that we got in trade for the alpaca is already out on trial. He is a pretty good pony, and hopefully Tim can make some money off of him. He picked up 3 more free horses on CL this week, but dropped 2 of them off on the way home at his friend's to take to the horse auction. The third was a skinny thoroughbred that he traded for yet anther horse that he sent off to auction.
The sheep are all doing okay except for Beastie. I'm really worried about him. His legs are not that great. I got the herbal tendon repair this week and have been giving it to him. There are a few ewes in heat and he has been following them around to the best of his ability, but can't mount them. Poor Beastie.
Nothing going on this weekend, that I know of anyways. In a couple weeks there is the Shenandoah Fiber Festival close by, and I am debating selling some of my wool in the fleece sale. I would have to sort through it all and figure out which ones might be best. I am unmotivated lol.
Other than the regular farm stuff, I've had a lot of graphic design work this week. So I've been busy with that. And that's the report, Happy Friday!
KinderKorner
Loving the herd life
I've been reading your journal. I wanted to say I'm sorry for your situation. 
I also wanted to ask how in the world you were making money on horses?
There is no money in them. Maybe your area is different, but down here horses can't be given away for free.
Horse auctions around here are where everyone takes their unwanted horses, and there is a very low payout, then they load them up and take them for slaughter. Because because of all the horse slaughter houses closing in the states, our auctions have mostly closed down. Now the horses have to be trailered to Mexico, so it usually just isn't worth the hassle. Because of this all these unwanted horses are getting turned loose in parks. I went camping back in july and was hugely surprised to be awoken by the sound of a "wild" horse outside my tent.
I knew that was a problem in the US but I had never witnessed one in my area.
I just sold 2 of my 3 horses and got less for them that I orignally purchased them for, not counting the thousands in professional training I spent, years of care and feed, and all my time. But they had to go because like everyone else in the south hay is scarce and expensive. They were eating their worth in food every couple months.
I would never imagine getting any money out of selling horses, or even breaking even. But thats just my experience, and it may just be my surrounding states.
I also wanted to ask how in the world you were making money on horses?
There is no money in them. Maybe your area is different, but down here horses can't be given away for free.
Horse auctions around here are where everyone takes their unwanted horses, and there is a very low payout, then they load them up and take them for slaughter. Because because of all the horse slaughter houses closing in the states, our auctions have mostly closed down. Now the horses have to be trailered to Mexico, so it usually just isn't worth the hassle. Because of this all these unwanted horses are getting turned loose in parks. I went camping back in july and was hugely surprised to be awoken by the sound of a "wild" horse outside my tent.
I knew that was a problem in the US but I had never witnessed one in my area. I just sold 2 of my 3 horses and got less for them that I orignally purchased them for, not counting the thousands in professional training I spent, years of care and feed, and all my time. But they had to go because like everyone else in the south hay is scarce and expensive. They were eating their worth in food every couple months.
I would never imagine getting any money out of selling horses, or even breaking even. But thats just my experience, and it may just be my surrounding states.
- Thread starter
- #66
Bridgemoof
Overrun with beasties
HI Kinder,
Well, I'll see if I can explain what goes on around here! lol
First of all, let me just begin by saying that as much as TIM aggravates me, he is a VERY good horse person. He has worked with horses his whole life, and he knows everything there is to know about them. Secondly, we live in an area that is its own little horse world bubble. Middleburg, VA, is Hunt Country of America. The people who live her are very affluent, wealthy, and eccentric. The third thing we have going for us is we haven't had too much of a drought problem, so hay prices haven't been too much of a problem.
That all being said, the horse market IS in the toilet, as you say. And that is why Tim has branched out into sheep and goats. The bottom market price that a horse brings now is about equal to a boer goat.
Tim makes money various ways with horses. First of all he knows everybody around here, and really keeps his finger on the pulse of who is looking for what. Almost everybody around here has horses and rides. So if he picks up a horse that somebody wants to unload for free, he can quickly assess it. And he has an advantage whereas he can even load an untrained horse into a horse trailer. Not many people can do that. He either keeps it and works with it and usually finds a home for it based on its capabilities, or if its a bad horse, he sends it on his way to the auction. That usually means ultimately it will be shipped off to Mexico to be slaughtered. You are correct about there being no slaughterhouses left in the U.S. Tim is a proponent of bringing back horse slaughter to the U.S. because there will always be unwanted horses, and to ship them on overcrowded trucks to Mexico to be slaughtered in a bad way is just not good. BUt anyways, I'm not going to argue the point with anybody on here about the validity of horse slaughter in this country, so please don't even bring it up.
So, the auction horses bring bottom market price, a couple hundred bucks. I think its 35 cents a pound. Enough for him to buy hay and or corn for that week for the horses and other animals we do have. Then he also makes money by, as I said, working with a horse and finding a suitable match for it in our little bubble marketplace. We're not talking thousands of dollars, or hundreds of thousands, we're talking hundreds. Enough to keep him going. He used to keep all the horses he would pick up, but now they have changed legislature in our county making horses companion animals vs. livestock. So that means we are in the hands of the county animal law enforcement officials. So for example, last year, he had picked up a starving horse from someone who could no longer keep it, and we had it here in our paddock along the road. He had planned on doing something with it, but somebody saw it and called the animal control and they came out. They took an inventory of all of our animals, documented them, MADE us take the horse to the vet for an exam, made us get dog licenses for all of our dogs, rabies certificates, etc. IT was a major hassle. Therefore it's not worth it for him anymore to keep a rescue type horse, and off it goes to the slaughter house.
OKay, we also stand a breeding stallion. He's a pretty big deal in the horse world, I'm not going to mention his name. He's a fabulous Oldenburg stallion. He is very popular around here, and the wealthy people who can still afford to "make" their own horse use him to breed to. That is the where the majority of the income comes from the horses. We also have some brood mares, and we breed them to our stud. So we have several babies around, 1, 2, 3 year olds and they are also popular for buyers in this market. They don't sell like hotcakes, but when one does, it can be pretty good.
We also board 2 horses, and get income from that.
So I hope that enlightens you a bit on how we make money from horses. I think it's an unusual situation due to our location and Tim's expertise, plus the breeding stallion.
Thanks for asking!
Well, I'll see if I can explain what goes on around here! lol
First of all, let me just begin by saying that as much as TIM aggravates me, he is a VERY good horse person. He has worked with horses his whole life, and he knows everything there is to know about them. Secondly, we live in an area that is its own little horse world bubble. Middleburg, VA, is Hunt Country of America. The people who live her are very affluent, wealthy, and eccentric. The third thing we have going for us is we haven't had too much of a drought problem, so hay prices haven't been too much of a problem.
That all being said, the horse market IS in the toilet, as you say. And that is why Tim has branched out into sheep and goats. The bottom market price that a horse brings now is about equal to a boer goat.
Tim makes money various ways with horses. First of all he knows everybody around here, and really keeps his finger on the pulse of who is looking for what. Almost everybody around here has horses and rides. So if he picks up a horse that somebody wants to unload for free, he can quickly assess it. And he has an advantage whereas he can even load an untrained horse into a horse trailer. Not many people can do that. He either keeps it and works with it and usually finds a home for it based on its capabilities, or if its a bad horse, he sends it on his way to the auction. That usually means ultimately it will be shipped off to Mexico to be slaughtered. You are correct about there being no slaughterhouses left in the U.S. Tim is a proponent of bringing back horse slaughter to the U.S. because there will always be unwanted horses, and to ship them on overcrowded trucks to Mexico to be slaughtered in a bad way is just not good. BUt anyways, I'm not going to argue the point with anybody on here about the validity of horse slaughter in this country, so please don't even bring it up.
So, the auction horses bring bottom market price, a couple hundred bucks. I think its 35 cents a pound. Enough for him to buy hay and or corn for that week for the horses and other animals we do have. Then he also makes money by, as I said, working with a horse and finding a suitable match for it in our little bubble marketplace. We're not talking thousands of dollars, or hundreds of thousands, we're talking hundreds. Enough to keep him going. He used to keep all the horses he would pick up, but now they have changed legislature in our county making horses companion animals vs. livestock. So that means we are in the hands of the county animal law enforcement officials. So for example, last year, he had picked up a starving horse from someone who could no longer keep it, and we had it here in our paddock along the road. He had planned on doing something with it, but somebody saw it and called the animal control and they came out. They took an inventory of all of our animals, documented them, MADE us take the horse to the vet for an exam, made us get dog licenses for all of our dogs, rabies certificates, etc. IT was a major hassle. Therefore it's not worth it for him anymore to keep a rescue type horse, and off it goes to the slaughter house.
OKay, we also stand a breeding stallion. He's a pretty big deal in the horse world, I'm not going to mention his name. He's a fabulous Oldenburg stallion. He is very popular around here, and the wealthy people who can still afford to "make" their own horse use him to breed to. That is the where the majority of the income comes from the horses. We also have some brood mares, and we breed them to our stud. So we have several babies around, 1, 2, 3 year olds and they are also popular for buyers in this market. They don't sell like hotcakes, but when one does, it can be pretty good.
We also board 2 horses, and get income from that.
So I hope that enlightens you a bit on how we make money from horses. I think it's an unusual situation due to our location and Tim's expertise, plus the breeding stallion.
Thanks for asking!
- Thread starter
- #67
Bridgemoof
Overrun with beasties
I think we are going to the Frederick County fair! I saw that Sheepgirl said she was going to have her lambs there, so I got the idea to go up and check out the livestock exhibits. That's always fun. So hopefully Tim and I will be going in a while, and we'll get to see Lady Gaga and Kate Perry in person! And maybe even Sheepgirl! I hope I hope we get to see them.
It's a beautiful day and I really felt like taking a road trip and getting away form the farm for a few hours, so this will be great!
I'll report back if I meet the infamous Lady Gaga and Kate Perry.
Oh, we sold 3 of the new hens to a hispanic lady that came by the farm last night. She wanted some laying hens. Tim speaks spanish, so word gets around in the spanish community around here that we hablo espanol and we have chickens!
It's a beautiful day and I really felt like taking a road trip and getting away form the farm for a few hours, so this will be great!
I'll report back if I meet the infamous Lady Gaga and Kate Perry.
Oh, we sold 3 of the new hens to a hispanic lady that came by the farm last night. She wanted some laying hens. Tim speaks spanish, so word gets around in the spanish community around here that we hablo espanol and we have chickens!
autumnprairie
Owned by the Rotten Heifers
that you get to meet them. Have fun today and have a good weekend- Thread starter
- #69
Bridgemoof
Overrun with beasties
I MET SHEEPGIRL!!!!
ANd Lady Gaga and Kate Perry. OMG they were SO adorable. All three of them. Her babydolls were just that, BABYDOLLS. I just wanted to pick them up and cuddle them and squeeze them. It was so funny because I walked into the tent where they were and asked this cute girl what their names were. She started to say Lady Gaga...and... and I squealed "Kate Perry!" She looked at me funny and I said "I'm looking for Sheepgirl" and she looked at me REALLY funny...lol...and said "That's me.." I squealed "I'm Bridgemoof from Backyard Herds Forum". lol It was really funny.
It was a beautiful day for the fair. We got to see all of the livestock. I saw lots of really cute Romney sheep I wanted. I also saw a sheep that looked like a giant babydoll, but Sheepgirl thought he or she was a Corriedale. Now I want THOSE too!
Lots of cool chickens and cute ducks. They had some Sebastopol geese and they were just beautiful.
Now we have a lead on a very cute Jacob ram up in Pennsylvania, since it doesn't look like Beastie will be the big stud I thought he'd be. We found him through Craigslist, not the fair. We'll see what happens with that!
Time to feed the critters! Again. lol
ANd Lady Gaga and Kate Perry. OMG they were SO adorable. All three of them. Her babydolls were just that, BABYDOLLS. I just wanted to pick them up and cuddle them and squeeze them. It was so funny because I walked into the tent where they were and asked this cute girl what their names were. She started to say Lady Gaga...and... and I squealed "Kate Perry!" She looked at me funny and I said "I'm looking for Sheepgirl" and she looked at me REALLY funny...lol...and said "That's me.." I squealed "I'm Bridgemoof from Backyard Herds Forum". lol It was really funny.
It was a beautiful day for the fair. We got to see all of the livestock. I saw lots of really cute Romney sheep I wanted. I also saw a sheep that looked like a giant babydoll, but Sheepgirl thought he or she was a Corriedale. Now I want THOSE too!
Lots of cool chickens and cute ducks. They had some Sebastopol geese and they were just beautiful.
Now we have a lead on a very cute Jacob ram up in Pennsylvania, since it doesn't look like Beastie will be the big stud I thought he'd be.
We found him through Craigslist, not the fair. We'll see what happens with that!Time to feed the critters! Again. lol
autumnprairie
Owned by the Rotten Heifers
it is so much fun to met the people that you talk to for months online. I am glad that you got to meet her
