Surprises at the Farm

The blog Introducing the Farm talks about how and why we bought a farm. We have a Demo Day blog, as well, to talk about the beginnings of our renovations with lots more of that to come. But, one of our most exciting and important days needs to be told! The surprises we have had have been, and continue to be, an ongoing adventure for our family with learning and exploring our new farm lifestyle.  

Trying to keep this surprise from the boys was really hard! We had three birthdays coming up for the summer time and we thought it would be fun to wait until the day before Christian’s birthday to reveal the big secret. We have three summer boys so it only seemed right to make this their wonderful summer surprise after working so hard on the farm.

We blindfolded all four boys with red bandanas and lead them from the long driveway all the way around the garage to the back of the house. The anticipation was killing them.

They had no idea what to expect. At one point while blindfolded Jayden stuck his hand out, right into the nostril of one of the surprises. It startled him but he still didn’t know what it was.

Rhett and I counted to three and the boys took off their blindfolds to unveil you probably guessed it – HORSES!! As we got up close, the three horses were just as curious as the boys were as they slowly made their way towards us.

I can’t put into the words the excitement that the boys displayed. At first, their eyes were wide and their mouths dropped open, a bit like a cartoon really. And then, as they were able to comprehend that they had horses, they each started saying incomprehensible things like “waa fo reaaalll” and other exclamations! They were so happy and excited that they immediately started to pet these beautiful creatures. The previous owner was so kind and introduced the boys to the animals he had owned since they were young. He let them in the pen and one by one the boys got to get on the horses and take them for a short ride.  The horses immediately warmed up to the boys, and it probably helped to have their favorite treat, a bucket of oats.

Introducing Sky, Aspen and Duke!!

Sky and Aspen are our two new American Quarter Horses, for our three older boys to learn to ride on, and Duke is our Welsh Pony for our youngest, Kaleb, the perfect size for a little beginner. It was quite a day and the boys had to keep pinching themselves because it was just too good to be true.

This was a really big surprise for me too, my husband said, “we can’t have a farm without horses!” Rhett and I had never talked about horses and I had no idea that he has always wanted them.  Apparently, he had been looking for some time. And then, one day he stumbled on an ad in the classifieds. Immediately he called asking about the beautiful horse advertised.  It just so happened that the gentleman selling the horse had three and preferred keeping them all together.  He made Rhett an offer that he couldn’t refuse: this included a horse trailer, saddles, blankets, brushes and anything else we needed. This was so wonderful and yet another blessing for both families!

Along with the three horses that have been introduced here, Rhett had also purchased a horse we named Shannon. He was beautiful and large in stature but he was wild and had not been broken.  His beauty and wild spirit is what attracted my husband, but after months of training in the end, the trainer recommended that we give him up because even the best of trainers couldn’t predict what this wild horse would do. We agreed that safety is the most important aspect of teaching our boys, and ourselves, about our new horsey family members.

We are so excited about this new adventure.  Our horses are so beautiful, so sweet, and friendly.  There are days that I could just sit and watch them run around the pasture, I am in awe every time I see them.  

There are more surprises to come – wait until you see what comes next!!