The Homesteading Survivalist Blog

Processing our first Goats

10/23/2013

We decided to sell our two bucks from last year; since we got Mark and Mongo we no longer needed these two as herdsires. After advertising them for several weeks online as herdsires and wethers, with no response, we decided to have them processed. It was sad to have to come to terms with having my first two babies processed, especially the brown one as he was so beautiful. BUT we gave them a great life, they were happy and now they are providing us with lots of delicious meat to sustain our own lives. They were 8 months old and weighed about 80 pounds. They gave us 37 and 40 pounds of cuts, respectively. I love goats, they are such a versatile animal.

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My First Endurance Race

10/5/2013

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The last six months of my hard work, research, training, and perseverance all lead up to this moment. Oct 5th 7:00 am. My first endurance race starts. It's 25 miles long.

I'm on the fiesty little mare I have been training for the last six months, her name is Bella and she's rarin' to go! It's a "controlled" start meaning they time you as you leave, it's not 40 horses taking off from the line all at once. The first mile was all walking. I had planned on riding with friends, but I knew Bella was capable of more and she was having a 100% day. Mile two started speeding up, the front-runners started working their way out front, while the middle packers held their horses back so the others could pass. By mile three we were in the top ten. It was a little crazy trying to get around and pass people on such narrow twisty trails, but Bella was already familiar with the area the race was held, and so sure footed that I just let her do her thing. By the end of the third mile we were in first place. It was insanely fast. They say "ride your race how you ride your training rides" and I did, I didn't push her any faster than we were accustomed to and I just let her do what she wanted. Still it felt like a blur. We averaged 9 mph for the first 13 miles. We came into the vet check way ahead of schedule in first place. Bella was doing great, happy and excited, but still eating and drinking great. I figured she used up all her energy in the first half of the race and had mentally planned on having lots of people pass us during the second half of the race. We left from the vet check just a couple minutes late as we were having tack issues with her not wanting the bit back in. We left in third place, but caught up to the front runners just a few hundred yards ahead as they had stopped not knowing which way to go. We went up and around the loop averaging just a bit slower than we had the first 13 miles. She still seemed fresh and had no signs of tiring yet. By about mile 15 we were alone in front with two other riders, and that's how we would remain until the end. There was a flat fire road in the back where the three of us were averaging 5 minute miles. I let Bella do her thing and she just stayed right out in front of the other two horses. She wouldn't let them out of her sight but also wouldn't let them pass her. Mile 19, Bella was getting tired I could tell, but she didn't slow and continued to want to be out in front. Mile 21 there was a water break and a short 5 minute hold where one of the other ladies that was behind me (riding in our group) tried to take off so she could come in first. The other girl and I looked at each other and were like "no way!" so we took off at a good trot to try and catch her. We did catch up at about mile 23 and then the three of us had a good long 2 mile canter into the finish line pushed by the other lady who was trying to get first. Bella wouldn't let them leave her, she just stayed right with them! The three of us got into the finish line all at the same time so they took our numbers and we dismounted to let the horses cool off and get some water so they could pulse down and our "end time" recorded. A 25 mile race doesn't end when you cross the finish line, but rather when your horse's pulse reaches a predetermined number. In our case Bella pulsed down the fastest so we scored first place in the race as well as first place in our weight class. 25 miles in 3 hours and 25 minutes. I love this horse, yay Bella!

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Processing our first Goats

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My First Endurance Race

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