When farming was not yet a reality, I bought some purebred registered Canadian horses, 2 bred mares with foals at their sides. One foal was a filly and the other a colt. The future sire was also brought out, Ty, a magnificent specimen of the old type of the breed. The mares were from the well known Ferme des Berges in Quebec, a long lived Canadian horse farm that was responsible for the continuance and conservation of this magnificent breed of horses, the Canadians. The animals were registered as The Eternal Herd under my name, and brought them out of Quebec in 2010 during October. I had come out of BC in the motorhome to the farm I originally purchased in Thorhild county, a small, poor county north of Edmonton about an hour. The first Fat Ewe Farm was boreal forest, simply beautiful, with 60 acres of native prairie pasture and 100 acres of pristine, untouched forest. Water and power was installed and my plan was to somehow make it through the winter in the motorhome. I wanted the farmer to place the large hay bales from my land as a makeshift garage for the motorhome, but he refused. This was based on never having done such a thing before, therefore not knowing if it would be successful and therefor unwilling to take the chance. So, when it got to be 20 below outside, the interior temperature of the motorhome was only 4 degrees. A temperature drop outside would mean frozen pipes and no water.
The brother of the lady that I bought the farm from owned a very large shop in Two Hills, about 3 hours from Thorhild and offered it to me for the winter. I accepted, and paid to have fencing put up and bought a livestock shelter and heated water trough for the horses. Within six weeks, we received an eviction notice from the county, saying livestock was not permitted on the acreages. We were forced to vacate. I tried to sell the horses, but winter is not a good time to sell. They were boarded for the cost of $700 per month for 10 months. I went home to White Rock in December and stayed there pondering the next step. My home in White Rock sold at the end of January and I had 28 days to move. I worked day and night packing and selling things. In the meantime, I found a farm in northeastern Alberta, flew out to see it, loved it and bought it and here we are. The other farm eventually sold. The reason is another tale.
The mares were sold, but Ty, the stallion bred the filly and Zeb was the baby she bore. The horses moved to Devon for a few months, since the new farm was not set up for horses. Zeb was born there and the border loved him dearly. They handled him well and taught him to halter and lead. At six months, Willa and Zeb came home, but Ty was fatally struck by lightening and never returned.
Zeb is a delight. I find, though, that I am not a horse person. I do love him, but my interest lies with the other animals and dogs comes first. Zeb would be best served in a new home where he can be trained and loved by a horse person. As much as I would hate to see him go, he deserves to be loved as only a horsey person can. My wish for him is that he has a home where he is center of attention and receives endless love. In the meantime, I am teaching him small things. He is learning to back up and can do it quite well. The next thing will be to harness him and hopefully teach him to drive. Then the saddle will come along, but I would need another person who is adept at breaking horses to ride. Somewhere along the way, maybe Zeb will find a new home. He is truly a beautiful horse.
The brother of the lady that I bought the farm from owned a very large shop in Two Hills, about 3 hours from Thorhild and offered it to me for the winter. I accepted, and paid to have fencing put up and bought a livestock shelter and heated water trough for the horses. Within six weeks, we received an eviction notice from the county, saying livestock was not permitted on the acreages. We were forced to vacate. I tried to sell the horses, but winter is not a good time to sell. They were boarded for the cost of $700 per month for 10 months. I went home to White Rock in December and stayed there pondering the next step. My home in White Rock sold at the end of January and I had 28 days to move. I worked day and night packing and selling things. In the meantime, I found a farm in northeastern Alberta, flew out to see it, loved it and bought it and here we are. The other farm eventually sold. The reason is another tale.
The mares were sold, but Ty, the stallion bred the filly and Zeb was the baby she bore. The horses moved to Devon for a few months, since the new farm was not set up for horses. Zeb was born there and the border loved him dearly. They handled him well and taught him to halter and lead. At six months, Willa and Zeb came home, but Ty was fatally struck by lightening and never returned.
Zeb is a delight. I find, though, that I am not a horse person. I do love him, but my interest lies with the other animals and dogs comes first. Zeb would be best served in a new home where he can be trained and loved by a horse person. As much as I would hate to see him go, he deserves to be loved as only a horsey person can. My wish for him is that he has a home where he is center of attention and receives endless love. In the meantime, I am teaching him small things. He is learning to back up and can do it quite well. The next thing will be to harness him and hopefully teach him to drive. Then the saddle will come along, but I would need another person who is adept at breaking horses to ride. Somewhere along the way, maybe Zeb will find a new home. He is truly a beautiful horse.
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