Girlhood

 

One of the reasons we wanted to get a {mini} horse is for our eldest daughter – who is 12 years old and growing up quickly but slowly all at the same time… she has had a love affair with horses since she was very little … we did not want miss this little window of girlhood … it is also a great learning/training experience for all involved – all six girls (over time). They can share the responsibility and the joys of owning a mini horse.

 

 

 

We certainly did not want to “spoil” the girls – but we have been waiting to see how they do with their outside barn chores, taking care of animals – (the goats, the chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits … the list goes on here …. always something new!). Between the inside chores and outside chores, they work hard, turning into fine workers. They make mistakes and sometimes still need reminding for certain chores :), they are great helpers around the home. I would never have this many animals if I did not have these girls helping me out! Our life is centered a bit around being home, working at home, getting projects done at home. We  do not give the girls electronics that cost a lot of money (iphone, ipads, anything of that nature – I could do a whole post on that topic!) or sign up for a lot of events/team/sports, summer camps, etc.  We rarely go away (beside camping an hour from here, we have not left for four years) so having the animals care for properly is rarely an issue.

 

 

The previous owner {Applebrook Minis} just left as she came over for a little talk to the girls on hoof care, grooming, etc. They have been so kind and generous with their time to help answer questions and hold our horse until we were ready (we were waiting for school to finish!).

 

 

Abby is in the process of building a second shelter for the horse and chickens (or goats … or whoever decides to home themselves there) as we have already outgrown the first goat barn he built last year. It will be nice to tear down our old *ugly* chicken coop and have everyone re-homed in a much nicer looking shelter. So proud of this man’s willingness to learn new skills – when we move here 2.5 years ago, framing a barn was a complete mystery.