Greetings my faithful readers, and welcome to another edition of the Gimli Gazette, where I give followers of this blog an inside look at the operation of Mercy Spring Ranch.
The ranch is all a buzz about new additions to our family of non-humans. It began with the addition of Noel, a Dorper lamb who was in need of a loving home. She is such a cutie! (It takes one to know one). The children (and adults!) will fall in love with her in no time.
While all of the horses will do our best to make Noel feel welcome, she will probably want a friend her own size to play with. Miss Mo has always wanted to add a goat to the ranch to help with the weed problem (more on this alleged “problem” later).
Since funds at the ranch have been tight, we are starting up a GO(at) FUND ME campaign, to help pay for goat food and medical care (as well as for the goat itself). Many of you have already contributed to this fund, for which you have our sincere thanks. Look on the MSR Facebook page for details on how to contribute.
Some of you have asked if I will be threatened by the arrival of these cute new residents, since they might steal people away from my fan base. I don’t think that there will be a Noel Newsletter or any other blog that will take attention away from my writings. As for a rival music band forming on the ranch, I doubt that the vocal stylings of a lamb or a goat will be able to compete with my melodic neighing and feeder percussion.
As for the weed situation that I mentioned earlier, I don’t feel that it is a bad as the Blacks think that it is. Some of those weeds can be quite tasty, and I offered my services to remove them. I saw a patch of scrumptious weeds growing on the other side of the arena fence. They were almost within my reach when Mr. John stepped in and killed them. He did not toss them over the fence for me to devour, choosing instead to remove them completely from the area. Alas, what should have been a horse’s snack needlessly became a human’s “problem” that needed fixing. Horses can make life so much simpler for humans if you just let them!
With sessions on break and the children not on the ranch, I am not being ridden as much as usual. That is why I was delighted this past week to have one of the volunteers take me for a spin around the arena. I admit that I was a little nervous when she struggled by putting the saddle pad on upside down. But once all of the tack was in order, we had a fun time.
I am not a jealous horse, but I was surprised to see this same rider then administer neck scratches to Connor after our intense bonding time in the arena. I am not against folks showing affection to the other horses, but my withers are not going to scratch themselves. I expressed my displeasure with a well-timed snort, and she promptly shifted her attention back on me, where it belonged.
Well that’s all for this week. I will keep you posted on the lamb and goat situation as it develops. The children will be thrilled with these new additions when sessions begin again!
Happy Trails,
Gimli February 6, 2023