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Meet our Animals
The Horses
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| Belle
Belle is the "Grand Dam" of Briar Gate Farm. She is a 27 year old, black Quarter Horse and the only mare on our farm. Her smooth ride and gentle nature makes her a favorite of beginner riders. She is definitely what we call a "been there, done that" kind of horse!
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Chummie
A big Dutch Warmblood, Chummie is our "gentle giant". He stands at 17 hands tall but his sweet, loveable nature makes him a favorite of even the smallest kids. As a retired dressage show horse, he still seems to love an audience. He also adores being groomed and gets so relaxed when he's being brushed, he sometimes falls asleep!
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Amigo
One of our favorites on the farm is a 14 year old Quarter Horse called Amigo. He has been used for Little Britches Rodeo in the past and taught his previous owner's grandchildren to ride. He is a gentle soul with a big heart and a nice smooth ride. He also happens to be a distant cousin of our mare, Belle!
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Wind Spirit
Named after the Native American term for ghost when he was born almost entirely white, our nickname for Spirit is "Mr Congeniality". He is always at the fence when someone new arrives and is curious about everything. He is just the right size for the littlest kids to groom and braid his mane. Spirit was formerly a carousel pony and in a petting zoo, so he's no stranger to activities with children!
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Ringo
Ringo is a sweet, gentle 10 year old Paint who comes to us with a background full of kid-friendly activities. He's been a lesson horse, has done summer camps and has been to a few horse shows. He loves to have his forehead scratched and his favorite riding game is Boots-in-a-Bucket!
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Each spring we get several new baby chicks and raise them to be shown at the Boulder County Fair. We keep a few each year to add to our flock of laying hens. This year we hope to hatch a few of our own chicks now that we have a big, fancy rooster!
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| Some of our fancy hens |
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| Our "Best of Class" Rooster, Boots |
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| Noodles, the Japanese Bantam Rooster and his girls, Basil and Columbine |
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In January 2009, we brought two friendly goats to the farm all the way from Ignacio, Colorado: Skittles and Springer. Since then, we have gone from the original two goats to eight, and have become very active with 4-H and showing through the Colorado Dairy Goat Association. Skittles has had two sets of kids now, and she's due to kid again this spring in mid-April. We also plan to breed Milky Way and Lily this year so look for lots of bleating babies in 2011!
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| Skittles: Megan's Nubian Doe and mother to Snickers, Milky Way, Hershey and Starburst |
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| Springer: Molly's Nigerian Dwarf wether |
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| Skittles and her 2009 kids just moments after they were born |
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| Snickers |
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| Milky Way |
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| Lily: Molly's sweet Nigerian Dwarf Doe |
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| Loki: An adorable Nigerian Dwarf "boarder" |
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| Skittles with her 2010 babies |
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| Herhsey loves his bottle! |
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| Starburst loves to climb! |
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| Mama Skittles and her 2011 kids! |
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| Almond Joy and Twix |
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| Snuggly babies |
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| The new kids meet the big kids |
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Meet Seger the llama! Seger is a 6 year old llama we brought to the farm to "guard" the goats and other animals against coyotes and other predators (yes, llamas make great guards and will not only sound an alarm at the sight of a threat, but will also go after predators and stomp them if needed to protect the animals they're bonded to). He has lived with goats before but his family moved out of state and couldn't take him with them. Not only is he handsome and useful, he is a real sweetheart and loves to be admired.
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Lucy came to us from a very nice woman in Aurora, CO who found she just didn't have the time or lifestyle to accomodate a big, people-oriented dog. Together we decided Lucy would be happier living on our farm with plenty of exercise (she's lost 25 pounds since her arrival in 2007) and lots of companionship. Often the first to greet you at the front gate, she's always happy to play a little fetch, help you with your snacks or just hang around and enjoy all the activity.
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| Lucy, our fabulous Golden Retriever |
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The Kitties
Our barn cats, Dusty and Rusty, joined the farm in May of 2009. When they first came, they were tiny, adorable kittens who got so much lovin' from campers that first summer that they are now just about the friendliest kitties you'll ever meet! And they are both exceptional hunters, keeping our mouse population in the barn under control.
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| Dusty and Rusty check out the hay bales |
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| Megan with an armful of kittens! |
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| All grown up (but still sweet and snuggly) |
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