Updated 5/14/2024
Meet Our Other Animals!
We own 20 miniature donkeys... but our other 18 animals include: 6 horses, a miniature horse, 3 goats, 4 dogs, and 4 cats! Scroll down to meet our 4-legged family members!
The Horses
Pocos Blue Breeze MA
a.k.a. "Keaira"
DOB: 3/28/2018
At 5 years old, Keaira is our youngest horse! She is a registered, true blue roan Quarter Horse, and an own great granddaughter of Mr. Roan Hancock and Leo Hancock Hayes. When Savannah came close to graduation, our family asked what she wanted. She said "I want to buy a young horse and train it on my own." For as long as we all can remember, this has been Savannah's dream. She worked hard, to save up money, and flew out to Texas... in June of 2019. While visiting MA Quarter Horses, Savannah absolutely fell in live with this 16 month old filly. She just won 5th for Walk/Trot Trail and 2nd for Walk/Trot Ranch Riding Pattern, at her first show! She will forever be a part of our family!
May Day Way
a.k.a. "Hershey"
DOB: 5/01/2001
Hershey has been a part of our family, since around 2007. He is a registered Quarter Horse... and an own grandson of well-known Smart Little Lena. Hershey is a mess... with arthritis in his front legs, being over at the knee, pigeon toed, etc... but he is one of the coolest horses that we will probably ever own. Hershey was originally mom's horse but, after several bucking episodes, we were going to sell him. Dad decided that Savannah should try him... and it was a match made in Heaven. It turned out that 7 year old Savannah's weight was much easier for him, since he's has arthritis before we ever purchased him. Over the year's, Savannah has been able to continue to ride him, and we have been able to manage his arthtitis better than ever before!
Smokin' Destiny
a.k.a. "Destiny"
DOB: 5/24/1998
Destiny is our oldest horse, at 25 years young! Everyone, including our vets, cannot believe that she is her age. She is mom's horse and probably one of the most reliable horses that we'll ever own. Destiny a registered quarter horse.. and an own Granddaughter of Mr. Gun Smoke. She is also our smallest horse, standing at 14hh, technically making her a quarter pony... but she has the biggest heart! Savannah would race her, in pole bending, just for fun. At her last race, at the age of 24, she ran a 23.? second run! They knocked a pole but would have won money... if they kept it up! Destiny is now living a "semi retired" life, giving our friends "pony rides" when they visit!
Claudine
DOB: 2000
Claudine is our very first family horse. She is our only horse that is not a quarter horse. She is a draft cross and it has always been fun to guess what she is... maybe we'll one day do a DNA test on her! Claudine was a PMU baby. At 6 months old, she was rescued by Pegasus, from being slaughtered. So many foals were being born, that the PMU program didn't know what to do with them... so they were being sent to slaughter. We are extremely thankful that she was not one of those foals! We have had Claudine, since she was 6 years old. Wherever her head goes, her body follows... she would rather eat all day than be ridden... and really prefers to be on her own.. but we just absolutely adore her. She is our "gentle giant."
Universal Deal
a.k.a. "Stitch"
DOB: 3/17/2008
Stitch is our only race-bred quarter horse... with him being a Great Grandson of First Down Dash (an own son of Dash For Cash). Almost all of Stitch's family was in the Quarter Horse Racing Industry. We tried to barrel race Stitch but he did not take to it like we thought he would. He is happy to just be a trail horse! Stitch is also our only horse from Tennessee. He is a giant love bug. We just absolutely adore him and are so happy that he is a part of the family.
Buckley's Boomer
a.k.a. "Boomer"
DOB: 1/03/2005
Boomer is our only Halter Bred Quarter Horse, with him being an own son of CL Buckley... a 2-time Grand Champion and 4-time Reserve Champion Halter Horse. We originally knew Boomer, in California. Our neighbors, who owned him, moved to Tennessee, just a couple months before we did. Fast forward 2.5 years later... due to personal reasons, Boomer's previous owners asked if we would welcome him into our family. We absolutely adored Boomer but we said no. Well, two weeks later, Boomer joined our family. We just could not resist. He is a gentle giant and a horse that anyone can ride. For a little over a year, Boomer has been with us. Everyone loves him and we are grateful that we were trusted to care for him.
Rocket
DOB: 2008
Rocket might be our smallest horse... big he has the biggest ego! A close family friend ran the rescue behind our house. One day, she called saying that there was an adorable mini horse that had just arrived. She sent us a photo and we didn't think he was cute... well, we saw him in person, and the photo didn't do him any justice! He looked like a shrunken down horse! Rocket was a little stud and full of himself! We absolutely loved him. Lisa had us call Dad and we tried convincing him to let us have him. He was NOT having it. We came home and, about 20mins later, he starts talking about where we could put him! Everything about Rocket is perfect. However, if you've visited our farm, you will notice that he has locking stifles. Exercise helps keep this under control. We gelded Rocket, brought him home, and opted out of the stifle surgery. Lisa, our friend who ran the rescue, had Ovarian Cancer. Rocket was her last rescue, before she passed away, so he holds a very special place in our hearts. Rocket is a companion to many of our donkeys. He believes that he is one himself and absolutely loves the foals.
The Dogs
Bristol
DOB: 4/05/2016
Bristol is number 3 of 5 guide dogs that we raised for Guide Dogs of America. She was the second guide dog that Savannah took to high school. Bristol attended many basketball games, football games, pep rallies, dance camps and competitions, even home coming, and more! She would have made an outstanding guide dog but she had very minimal hip dysplasia. It is something that we will never see but it was unacceptable for a guide dog. At the time, puppy raisers were given first right of refusal, for their career changed dogs. One day, after school, Savannah was surprised with Bristol. Many tears were shed! Bristol has officially been a part of the family, since 2018. She now lives an adventurous life... swimming in waterfalls, lakes, and occasionally... the neighbors pond ;)
Maddix
DOB: 7/13/2017
Maddix is number 4 of 5 guide dogs that we raised for Guide Dogs of America. Maddix was a part of the "M" Litter. Well... everyone knew who that litter was... they were wild! Out of the 9 puppies, only 2 of Maddix's siblings made it as guide dogs. Maddix was career changed, due to extremely minimal shoulder dysplasia... but he also said, "having a job is not for me!" Maddix officially became a part of the family, in 2019. He loves to run around the farm and act like he's deaf lol! He's our big ole meat head and we just absolutely adore him. He is probably one of the goofiest dogs that we will ever own.
Duck
DOB: Summer of 2021
Duck found us, on June 24th, 2022, with a bloodhound friend. They showed up exactly one year after Betty, our rescue coonhound, found us. Betty had passed away, in April of 2022, so we could not believe that they found us on her anniversary. Duck and his friend were infested with ticks, had sores on their bodies, and were very shy. We made sure to clean them up and get them vaccinated. Initially, we did not want them. We called the Sheriff, Animal Control, posted everywhere about them, etc... and after nobody claimed them, we couldn't let them go. It turned out that they had been sleeping at multiple neighbors' properties, for several days. After a couple of weeks, we had them spayed and neutered. Long story short, the original owners popped up, saying that they had been missing for a few days. After fighting for the dogs, we worked out an agreement to be able to keep Duck. We dearly miss the bloodhound but we are extremely grateful to have been able to give this boy a soft landing.
Hugo
DOB: 2021
Hugo was given to us by a close friend. He is our Livestock Guardian Dog; however, he is usually patrolling the outside of our several pastures! Hugo is a very large boy, weighing in at 109 pounds! He is a BIG baby and sometimes tries to be a lap dog... but he knows his job and does it well! You will find Hugo helping us with morning chores, napping in the middle of the day, and then keeping watch for the rest of the night! One of his favorite activities is riding in our Kawasaki Mule. We are extremely grateful that Hugo is a part of our family.
The Cats
Lindsay
DOB: 2008
Lindsay is one of our original Barn Cats. She traveled with us from California to Tennessee. We had brought home all 5 of her siblings, back in 2008. Sadly, two of her siblings were lost at a young age... but her brothers, Shadow and Jed, made the trip with us. Shadow passed away in 2022 and Jed in 2023, due to cancer. Shadow was 14 and Jed was 15. Lindsay is the last of the 5. She is currently enjoying the "retired porch cat" life, as her younger "siblings" take on her duties. Lindsay is as sweet as can be and we grateful for every day we have with her.
Eve
DOB: October 25th, 2017
Eve, known to some as "Eve-L", was gifted to Savannah on Christmas Eve of 2017! She is not a fan of many people, and she is not afraid to let them know lol! Eve would not be the right fit for many... but she is perfect for us. She is our only indoor cat, and she likes it that way. She has a big attitude and a hilarious personality. You can't just pet her... she first has to rub her head on you... THEN you can pet her. Eve came from the same rescue as Rocket. She is a funny girl, and we love that she is a part of our family.
Jethro
DOB: April 2023
After sadly having to put down Jed, one of Lindsay's brothers... our veterinarian, who is a friend of ours, asked if we were wanting another outside cat. Within minutes of talking to him, he pulled a kitten from the back. One of his brothers found a home, earlier that day, and he was the last one left. It turned out that his litter had been dumped on a property and they were fighting off the cows while trying to eat their grain. Although it was hard saying goodbye to Jed, we had to give this boy a home. When we tell you that he is wild... he is WILD! He never stops moving. He is definitely not an indoor cat lol but he makes one heck of an outside cat! We believe that he thinks that he is a dog, as his recall is better than our dogs, he walks on a leash (which is how we safely taught him that this was his home)... and he follows us around all day long! We are so happy that he came into our life when he did.
Ellie May
DOB: April 2023
Ellie May is a "rescue" that our cousin raised. After adopting Jethro, we wanted to find him a companion. Our cousin had a few kittens and we just had to bring Ellie May home. Ellie is only a couple weeks younger than Jethro... but she is about half his size! She really is an adorable little runt. We initially kept Ellie inside. She spent many days playing with Eve until she was spayed. For a while, we were worried about how she would do outside. After half a day of being with Jethro... we discovered that she's just as wild as him! She follows us like a dog, makes a point to ride the Kawasaki mule SEVERAL times a day, climbs onto you to sit on your shoulder, etc... she has turned out to be one awesome outdoor cat. We are extremely grateful that our cousin let us welcome her into our family.
The Pygmy Goats
Jazzy, Jolene, and Jansen
From left to right...
DOB: Late Summer of 2019
Originally, we had our goats Joey and Jimmy. Overtime, we also added Jonathan (named after the LA Kings Goalie, Jonathan Quick). who was born at Underwood Farm. It quickly became a little joke to name all of our goats with a "J" name. Jimmy and Joey both passed away between the ages of 12-14 years old. We wanted to wait to get Jonathan a companion, until after moving to Tennessee... but he became very depressed. That is when we decided to add Jansen to the family (we named her after Kenley Jansen, an LA Dodgers pitcher). Shortly after, our neighbor let us know that he still had two girls, from Underwood Farm. Dad said we could take one more... but we ended up bringing both Jazzy and Jolene home! Towards the end of 2022, we sadly had to say goodbye to Jonathan. We probably will not add anymore goats to our herd, but these three sisters will forever have a home with us... just as pets! Although not all donkeys are good with goats, these three help teach our foals how to respect small livestock. To this day, Mojo (one of our future herd sires) still has a lot of respect for them!
