Cheshire Farm Grows

She's here!

Buttercup Luck.

Zoe's Make A Wish dream has come true.

Something she's wanted since she was about 3 years old.

Something large that poops a lot and is much more complicated to take care of than a cat, goat or human child!

Yowzers.  

Charlie and Frances, along with their nephew Sam, brought Zoe her pony.  The pony was given to Sam when he was nine years old.  He's now a freshman in high school.  Too busy for a pony.  We are lucky that Charlie and Frances live 10 minutes away from us.  They have already been over once to give us some pointers and to see how things are going.  They are great people.  Frances told us that, as of yesterday,  Charlie hadn't stopped crying.  He misses his sweet pony.  Charlie is retired and takes care of all of their horses at their ranch.  He's good people. 

Check out this awesome saddle that Zoe got.  It's the saddle that fits Buttercup Luck and has been used with her for many years.  It's so silvery and sassy and I just love it.  It's a western saddle.  Zoe's a cowgirl through and through.  None of that "proper English riding" stuff over here. 

Zoe has been getting up at the butt crack of dawn to get out to the barn. 
Butt crack.
Today it was 4am.
Really? 
She came into my room and said that there was a cricket in her closet and she was scared.  I asked if it was chirping loudly and that's why she was scared and she said no. 
She climbed into bed next to me and it was then that I noticed she was wearing jeans and a long sleeved western shirt. 
She only stayed for a minute, then went back to her bed. 
At 6am she came bounding back in to our room with her cowgirl hat on, her boots and belt on and she was ready to go. 
Wow...

Buttercup Luck has been adjusting okay.  She paws at the ground a lot and paces in her stall.  She's not used to being in a pasture all day so we have to wean her onto it.  Frances said she will literally eat herself to death if we don't do it gradually.  When she is out she can tend to scarf the grass down instead of doing the nibbling thing.  She's just excited.   

She's used to living with other horses.  It's going to take some time for her to get used to being with goats and cats.  She wants to see the goats.  She's trying to figure them out.  They are terrified of her.  They are only 5 months old.  They have never seen a horse.  They must think that she's some sort of giant mutant goat and they are boggled.   

Yesterday Tulip the goat decided she had enough of the horse.  Shortly after I took this picture I went back into the house.  I was looking out of the kitchen window and saw Tulip jump over the fence.  Only she didn't make it.  Instead she was hanging upside down by one foot and screaming.  I did my best Jackie Joyner-Kersee moves and sprinted across the yard to her.  She seems okay.  The goat vet thinks it was just sprained.  She's walking around on it more today.  My dad says a limping goat can be a good thing...takes a bit of her "jump" out of her for awhile.     

Day two seems to be going a bit more smoothly...knocking on wood.
I'll keep you updated.
I'm exhausted and need some more coffee.