| My 4 Legged Family |
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| Majic |
| Our farm is called Enchanted Ridge Ranch and we've mostly tried to keep within a "Magical" theme when naming the animals. We've stayed with that for the most part with a few notable exceptions. |
The other man in my life. The name Majic is spelled like it is because it's short for "Majestic
in Motion". That's what I named him when I first got him because, even though he was plain
looking in the pasture, he was so gorgeous when under saddle being ridden. Also, he's been
like magic for me, so the shortened name just fit.
I've had Majic for a little over 13 years now. He's about 20 years old or so.
He's a Tennessee Walker gelding. He seems to be full blooded, but he's not registered with
the Tennessee Walking Horse Association. Instead, because he's an excellent trail horse,
he's registered with The American Trail Horse Association.
I think he was abused before I got him. He still, even after 10 years with me, can be jumpy
when touched. He once broke through his stall door because I was waving at a gnat that
kept buzzing around my face. He's quite standoffish and not in the least bit friendly. That's
not to say that he doesn't have good ground manners though. He is a perfect gentleman at
all times when you are doing something with him. He just isn't interested in coming up to
greet anyone. Oh, and he has one other little quirk. He won't let anyone else but me ride
him. With only a few exceptions, every time anyone else besides me tries to get on him, he
either runs away with them or tries to rear up and fall over backwards on them.
I guess it's a matter of trust because I don't consider myself to be an exceptional rider or
anything. He will, however, not only allow me to ride him, but he will pretty much do
anything I ask of him. It's almost like we can read each other's minds. He's had my life in
his hooves a couple of times and always takes good care of me. He is, without a doubt, that
once in a lifetime horse that all people hope they are lucky enough to find.
in Motion". That's what I named him when I first got him because, even though he was plain
looking in the pasture, he was so gorgeous when under saddle being ridden. Also, he's been
like magic for me, so the shortened name just fit.
I've had Majic for a little over 13 years now. He's about 20 years old or so.
He's a Tennessee Walker gelding. He seems to be full blooded, but he's not registered with
the Tennessee Walking Horse Association. Instead, because he's an excellent trail horse,
he's registered with The American Trail Horse Association.
I think he was abused before I got him. He still, even after 10 years with me, can be jumpy
when touched. He once broke through his stall door because I was waving at a gnat that
kept buzzing around my face. He's quite standoffish and not in the least bit friendly. That's
not to say that he doesn't have good ground manners though. He is a perfect gentleman at
all times when you are doing something with him. He just isn't interested in coming up to
greet anyone. Oh, and he has one other little quirk. He won't let anyone else but me ride
him. With only a few exceptions, every time anyone else besides me tries to get on him, he
either runs away with them or tries to rear up and fall over backwards on them.
I guess it's a matter of trust because I don't consider myself to be an exceptional rider or
anything. He will, however, not only allow me to ride him, but he will pretty much do
anything I ask of him. It's almost like we can read each other's minds. He's had my life in
his hooves a couple of times and always takes good care of me. He is, without a doubt, that
once in a lifetime horse that all people hope they are lucky enough to find.
| Casper |
Casper is Hank's horse and she's a flea bitten gray mare about 16 or 17 years old, of the
quarter horse type breed. We have her registered with the ATHA and will be putting her
through the Stamps of Excellence Program too.
She's one of those horses that you can put a child on and she'll take good care of them. On
the trail, she's a follower, preferring to stay behind Majic and letting him lead the way, but in
the pasture, she's boss.
Although she does well with adults, she really loves kids. She's very patient, putting up with
all the novices, but when she's had enough of the kids, she's had enough, and she'll plant her
feet and refuse to move. With Hank, she'll keep going, even if she doesn't want to, but she
slows down slower than a slug in protest.
The only strange quirk we've found her to have is that she refuses to canter or gallop when
someone is in the saddle. She'll tear around the pasture, seeming to be quite athletic in her
ability to stop, turn and spin, but under saddle, we've never been able to get her faster than a
trot, even with good experience riders on her.
quarter horse type breed. We have her registered with the ATHA and will be putting her
through the Stamps of Excellence Program too.
She's one of those horses that you can put a child on and she'll take good care of them. On
the trail, she's a follower, preferring to stay behind Majic and letting him lead the way, but in
the pasture, she's boss.
Although she does well with adults, she really loves kids. She's very patient, putting up with
all the novices, but when she's had enough of the kids, she's had enough, and she'll plant her
feet and refuse to move. With Hank, she'll keep going, even if she doesn't want to, but she
slows down slower than a slug in protest.
The only strange quirk we've found her to have is that she refuses to canter or gallop when
someone is in the saddle. She'll tear around the pasture, seeming to be quite athletic in her
ability to stop, turn and spin, but under saddle, we've never been able to get her faster than a
trot, even with good experience riders on her.
These are two of our 7 cats. They think they're special because they're our inside family cats.
They all have very distinct personalities and think their only purpose in life is to sleep, eat, and
keep our bed warm. In that order. I think their only purpose is to provide us with
amusement.
Both are fixed and declawed, so luckily they cause little damage to the house aside from a
knocked over item or two.
My cat Pyewacket, is the Orange and white male. He is a big scaredy cat. Whenever
anyone new comes into the house he takes off running to hide and you don't see him again
until the visitors leave. He thinks because I'm his person that he has first cat dibs on our bed
and is frequently found sleeping there (on his back with his paws in the air or covered up and
looking human). He sleeps with Hank and I most nights. He is a smart cat, even training
himself (and us) to let him in and out of the bedroom when he meows so he can use the litter
pan or get something to eat or drink. One early morning, when I just couldn't get myself
awake to let him out of the room (even though I could hear him meowing), he just wouldn't
give up. I finally came awake to a cat meowing just inches from my ear and kneading my
back....... He's got a loud motor, having the loudest purr-er I've ever heard.
Smokey is the trouble maker. He's our oldest son Daniel's cat, and if any trouble is gotten
into, he's the one in the middle of it. He's the bravest. He's the official greeter of the house,
always jumping up on or near newcomers to introduce himself. And if you don't like cats, he
goes out of his way to introduce himself. He even shakes hands...... The neatest thing about
him is that he adores and has a special bond with our son, who's autistic. That cat follows
Daniel around like a shadow and will let Daniel pick him up and do just about anything with
him. There's a total bond of trust between the two that is really remarkable to watch.
Sadly, Socks died this summer. She was a good cat and will be missed.
They all have very distinct personalities and think their only purpose in life is to sleep, eat, and
keep our bed warm. In that order. I think their only purpose is to provide us with
amusement.
Both are fixed and declawed, so luckily they cause little damage to the house aside from a
knocked over item or two.
My cat Pyewacket, is the Orange and white male. He is a big scaredy cat. Whenever
anyone new comes into the house he takes off running to hide and you don't see him again
until the visitors leave. He thinks because I'm his person that he has first cat dibs on our bed
and is frequently found sleeping there (on his back with his paws in the air or covered up and
looking human). He sleeps with Hank and I most nights. He is a smart cat, even training
himself (and us) to let him in and out of the bedroom when he meows so he can use the litter
pan or get something to eat or drink. One early morning, when I just couldn't get myself
awake to let him out of the room (even though I could hear him meowing), he just wouldn't
give up. I finally came awake to a cat meowing just inches from my ear and kneading my
back....... He's got a loud motor, having the loudest purr-er I've ever heard.
Smokey is the trouble maker. He's our oldest son Daniel's cat, and if any trouble is gotten
into, he's the one in the middle of it. He's the bravest. He's the official greeter of the house,
always jumping up on or near newcomers to introduce himself. And if you don't like cats, he
goes out of his way to introduce himself. He even shakes hands...... The neatest thing about
him is that he adores and has a special bond with our son, who's autistic. That cat follows
Daniel around like a shadow and will let Daniel pick him up and do just about anything with
him. There's a total bond of trust between the two that is really remarkable to watch.
Sadly, Socks died this summer. She was a good cat and will be missed.
| Socks, Smokey & Pyewacket |
| Shadow & Casper |
These two are our outside cats, Shadow and Casper. Not to be confused with Daniel's cat
and the horse. LOL These two are our outside cats.
Shadow used to be an inside cat. She was my cat before Hank and I got married. She
ended up being an outside cat after her jealousy of me went too far. She didn't like Hank at
all when we first got together. She would always jump up on the headboard of our bed and
knock the decorative baskets down on Hank's head at night. She was a great aim..... She
never hit me. Anyway, one night, after the baskets weren't working to get rid of Hank, she
thought she'd try a new tactic and threw the boom box, the rather large boom box we had,
down on his head. To say that Hank loves me is an understatement because he didn't kill
her. LOL He didn't even throw her outside after that. Her outside life started several
weeks after that when she just wouldn't use the litter box like she was supposed to. She
kept going to the bathroom on one of our chairs and wouldn't quit no matter what
we tried. Between that and the boom box incident, she ended up an outside cat and the
chair was gotten rid of.
Casper was my husband's cat before we got married. He was always an outside cat. He's
used up most of his 9 lives when he had an accident where he got himself caught and pinched
between two boards. Hank found him and got him out, but thought he was going to die
because he couldn't use his back half. Hank refused to give up on him though and opted not
to have him put to sleep. At first he drug his back legs, then he used them some, gaining
strength in first one hind leg, then the other. Today, you'd never know he had ever been
partially paralyzed. His favorite activity besides catching mice is stalking and aggravating
Shadow. She wants nothing what-so-ever to do with him, and he never gives up, always
following her around with a "Come on baby, I just want to be friends" attitude.
Shadow just growls, hisses, spits and smacks at him for his trouble.......
and the horse. LOL These two are our outside cats.
Shadow used to be an inside cat. She was my cat before Hank and I got married. She
ended up being an outside cat after her jealousy of me went too far. She didn't like Hank at
all when we first got together. She would always jump up on the headboard of our bed and
knock the decorative baskets down on Hank's head at night. She was a great aim..... She
never hit me. Anyway, one night, after the baskets weren't working to get rid of Hank, she
thought she'd try a new tactic and threw the boom box, the rather large boom box we had,
down on his head. To say that Hank loves me is an understatement because he didn't kill
her. LOL He didn't even throw her outside after that. Her outside life started several
weeks after that when she just wouldn't use the litter box like she was supposed to. She
kept going to the bathroom on one of our chairs and wouldn't quit no matter what
we tried. Between that and the boom box incident, she ended up an outside cat and the
chair was gotten rid of.
Casper was my husband's cat before we got married. He was always an outside cat. He's
used up most of his 9 lives when he had an accident where he got himself caught and pinched
between two boards. Hank found him and got him out, but thought he was going to die
because he couldn't use his back half. Hank refused to give up on him though and opted not
to have him put to sleep. At first he drug his back legs, then he used them some, gaining
strength in first one hind leg, then the other. Today, you'd never know he had ever been
partially paralyzed. His favorite activity besides catching mice is stalking and aggravating
Shadow. She wants nothing what-so-ever to do with him, and he never gives up, always
following her around with a "Come on baby, I just want to be friends" attitude.
Shadow just growls, hisses, spits and smacks at him for his trouble.......
| Pictures of our three newest cats. No, we didn't set out to have 7 cats. We don't normally collect them like this. However, we have a real problem with people dumping cats off close to our place. When we can, we just keep them, have them fixed, and take care of them. The most frustrating case of illegal cat dumping was our cat Salem. He and his litter mates were dropped off in a large ditch on Mother's day of this year. They had to barely be 2 weeks old because it looked like their eyes hadn't been open very long and they didn't know how to eat by themselves. We found homes for the 5 other kittens and kept Salem, who is now an exceptionally loving cat due to having been hand fed and raised in our bedroom for the first couple of months. We had to make him an outside cat though due to jealousy problems between him and Pyewacket. |
| Coming Soon! |