Musings From The Farm Comfortable living in your own skin

We have often referred to Miss Number One’s therapy pony as Saint Caddy, because he is so kind and patient with the little kids who love him and the goat who looks to him for protection.Caddy ( his full name is Cadillac Man) came to us through a program called “Personal Ponies“. This group started by lending these calm, quiet ponies to families with a child who has disabilities, for as long as they want them and take good care of them.

Caddy is a U.K. Shetland pony, which are descendants of ponies used in the U.K. to haul wagons of coal out of mines. These ponies were used for their small size and good temperament. We got Caddy when he was 17, the girl who had him was going to college and said it was time for him to go work his magic for another family. We have had Caddy for 9 years,  since Miss Number One was two years old. All the grand kids love him but Miss Number One has always had a special bond with him.

We have always thought Caddy was a sort of guardian for all the other critters in our care. But the other day when a neighbor’s German Shepard snuck into the barnyard we got to witness him fending off the intruder first hand. I had forgotten to plug in our electric fence the night before after Dean had herded the guineas into the coop. So the dog just barged right through the 5 strand fence that keeps Caddy and Midnight in and other animals out. My son happened to see the dog go through the fence and called me to come out. When the dog started to chase Midnight, Caddy jumped into action, literally! Caddy looked so mean, charging, kicking and bitting at the dog. I feared our sweet pony was going to hurt the dog. I quickly got Caddy into the barn, with Midnight close behind. My son grabbed the dog and got him out. I put a lead on him and checked him for injuries, fortunately Caddy didn’t make much contact with the dog and he seemed ok. The neighbor came soon after to apologize and take the dog home. I had always thought the pony and the goat were bonded especially since, Midnight’s mom died a few years ago. Midnight is never too far from Caddy. That day Caddy was courageous, and proved his care for his goat buddy.

Guinea hens are very private birds when it comes to their reproduction. You don’t see them procreating and they don’t want you to see their nest either. I would love to let them go ahead and sit on their eggs for 28 days to hatch their babies, except that predators also love the idea too. We have lost 2 of our guinea hens. They didn’t come home and I couldn’t find where they were sitting on their nest and make them come back to the safety of the coop.

Fortunately, the last time a hen didn’t come home for the night, SDK was here to help. That is our grand kids business, “Spy Detective Kids”, yes really they made a business card and everything. It was really fun to follow the SDKs because they were so excited.

First Miss Number Four exclaimed she found a feather, Mr. Number Three responded with “Is it a guinea hens?”. With each feather they found their were cheers and building excitement. They searched for the next feather and the next and found a small path through the underbrush. Then Miss Number Two who was the last in line yelled, “There’s the Guinea hen!”. They had finally found the hen on her nest. You would have thought it was Christmas morning!

Not thinking we would actually find the hen and her eggs, I had forgotten to bring a bucket to pick up the eggs. If you don’t pick up the eggs, it is impossible to get them to go back to the coop. So I recruited the SDK team to carefully carry the eggs back in their shirts, while I herded the guinea hen back to the safety of the coop for the night. I am happy to report that we all made it back, the guinea to the coop and all 32 eggs to the house. I gave some to our new neighbors to see if they can hatch out another batch of keets and to another gal who wanted to hatch some too. I always try to find someone to hatch them to help fight ticks every where they roam. Thanks to the Secret Detective Kids, for helping me to find  them.