Up and In, Stoneys big big day.

Highway Nine runs right past the front office of my shop, the door open I could throw a donut out and hit the street. Yesterday , Friday, they started pulling into town, funky little livestock trailers, cobbled up home made jobs, 35 year old horse trailers, paint faded if they had any paint left to fade.

Exotic animal auction at our fairgrounds two blocks south of me. Friday nite and Saturday till noon. Had to get hay last night, by the time I got there the goats were all sold, lots of birds selling though, chickens, ducks, every kind of pheasant, guinea hens, peacocks. the variety and color of the birds were only matched by the variety of people attending. They don't call them Hill Billy auctions for nothing. In my straw hat though I guess I am the pot calling the kettle black.

I was drawn to the miniature donkeys, they had about twelve or so , one had just dropped her baby earlier in the day, Mom was rather nondescript, what a flashy little jack she put on the ground though, white face, white rump, white rear leg, some other nice white splotches. There is just nothing cuter on Gods green earth then a baby donkey.

Only a couple horses, one was 12 hands, underfed and untrained, not enough time in my life, sorry, surly it will go cheap if it goes at all, horses are worth little unless trained. It is a shame, people just should not breed a horse unless they have a good use for them.

The other horse is a little sorrel miniture mare. I go take a look, I already have three minitures and enjoy them . Stands about 36-37 inchs high at the shoulders. I like this one, friendly, not head shy, nice proportions, not fat, hoofs look good, she lets me pickup her feet.

Saturday morning I take another quick look around, watch them auction off some birds, get a bidding number. Then I turn my back and start to get serious about work, have to get my trailer load of hay backed out of the shop and across the highway, feed my animals, run down Will and see if we can get the hay put up in the barn, no bad work, but work, a busy day.

I am headed to Wills when I get thinking about the little sorrel, they don't eat much, or poop much, I know it would like my farm, feel confident it would fit in. I swing the truck back into the fairgrounds, they have just started on hoofed animials, the longhorns are first up, then the donkeys followed by my little sorrel.


I call Will and he says to go up to 350.00 on the Jenny and her newborn Jack, it goes for 360.00. By now my daughter Audrey has shown up, she knows her horses pretty well, I had requested she take a peak. We both kick ourselves for not throwing another twenty in on the Jenny and Jack, would have been worth it for Will to have it, surly we all would have enjoyed it's antics.

Audrey liked the sorrel, shortly before it came up we met the couple that was selling it, they too had a hobby farm, found out shes was 5, no papers, name is Peanut, had kids on her but not broke to ride, nice couple, I figured at least if she got no saled it would go back to a good home.

The hammer dropped at sixty bucks. I put a lead rope on and led her the two blocks home, not without some excitment. She doesn't lead as well as she could, took twenty minutes to get her through the gate. We put her in a pen by herself at first, sure had all the rest of my animals worked up.


Later I came back and put her into the barn pen where she would have more room, briefly she was with the other horses and they beat on her pretty good, just the way horses are. Kayla my 9 year granddaughter though was pretty upset. Almost as a after thought I put Stoney our little Buckskin gelding in with her so she would have some company. Stoney shows great interest from the get go, lots of sniffing and some tender biting, well for Pete's sake, I think that mare is in heat.

Couple hours later we meet Audrey at the farm so we can go get her hay, we are all watching with bemusement as Stoney does his best to get the job done on his little sorrel, Peanut was certainly cooperating by standing nice for him.

Could of knocked us all down with a feather when he got it up and in.

Back on all fours Stoney gave a soft nicker, it was not easy to pick it up but it was clear to me what he was saying, " Thanks Boss,I needed that"


Sunday, April 27th update.


Looks like today is going to be Pistol the gelded Donkeys
big big day. A cold rain started last night and is
continuing this morning, felt sorry for the rest of my
animals by now dripping wet so opened the gate to the barn
pen letting them all back together. Everyone was out went
in, Stoney stayed in, looks exhausted. Pistol is following
Peanut the new mare around the yard in the rain, holding his
head sideways, curling his lips into a big grin giving
everything a good sniff.

I feel like I dropped a hooker off at a Boy Scouts Jamboree.