Our Family's Furry Friends April 10, 2018 21:27 1 Comment

You’ve been introduced to each of the human family members at Triple Lyoness farm through various blogs, posted pictures, tours and meetings. But you have yet to be introduced to our various furry farm friends and valued ‘employees’!

We’ll start off with the dogs that will greet you as you pull into our farm yard; Callie, Rascal and Yogi. Callie was chosen as a puppy from the litter of a family friends. She is cross of Border collie, Blue Heeler and probably English sheep dog. Her sharp bark will announce your arrival at our farm and her high pitched whining can be heard when she’s squirrel hunting.

Callie on the deck

Callie gave birth to her own litter of puppies, one of which we kept and named Rascal. Rascal was more in tune with his cattle herding heritage and we soon taught him to help us bring in the steers each winter morning for grain. He’s a great companion; cuddly, friendly and smart.

Rascal, resting in the pasture

Yogi may give you a shy ‘smile’ when you first meet him and give the impression that he’s the fierce guard dog. However, once he’s had a chance to get to know you, he is a very happy dog, wagging his curly, white flag of a tail. Yogi is part Great Pyrenees and does his part on the farm by threatening and keeping away coyotes from our chickens, turkeys and calves.

Yogi on the straw pile

Next we can give a hello to our rodent control! Sochi is a spoiled tabby cat that we’ve adopted from our grandma, so he gets to spend some time in the house. Blizzard Bug and Comet are the black coated brother and sister that are great mouse hunters and have great purring machines. Blizzard Bug loves to help with chores by riding on shoulders and keeping necks warm. Frenchie and Jigsaw are the prowling duo in tuxedos that can be seen out in the bale yards, pastures and bushes further away from the yard. They are a little less friendly, but are quick to let you know when they are getting hungry.

Five Farm Cats

 The last group of furred friends are our horses. These equines get a bit more of a break in the winter as we do not ride as much in the cold. However, we will use them to move cattle as we rotate them through pastures. They are especially helpful in the bushes where they can get through trees and over logs as nimbly as the cattle.

Star is our BIG friendly giant. He’s part draft horse which gives him the size, but also the friendliness. Star is a great horse for beginners as he does not spook easy, likes to take it slow and actually teaches green riders as strong directions are needed. He’s nearing retirement so he may have one or two more mountain trips in him, and a few more years after that of showing new riders the ropes.

Star

Jittabug is a Thoroughbred enjoying her retirement on the ranch. She was bred for racing, but a knee injury prevented her from competing. In her younger days she was a fun, high energy horse for a couple experienced riders.

Jittabug

Winter is the beauty queen of our herd. She is a Quarter Horse purchased from a local breeder. Jessica has put a considerable amount of time in training her and has taken her on multiple weekend rides in the mountains.

Winter

Sky is part Quarter Horse and part Appaloosa which is where her roan colouring comes from. She was well trained prior to our farm buying her and she has become a trusted horse to move cattle and go on rides. Last summer she started training for endurance races and finished a 13 mile race in July with Andria’s friend Shay.

Sky and Shay

Twister is a pure bred Appaloosa originating from Saskatchewan. He may not be photogenic, but he has a great heart. Twister started out as a grump and over time has mellowed into a very nice horse. He also trained and finished a 13 mile endurance race with Andria. He’s okay with the cattle, so there’s some more work to do there.

Twister

Princess is the other Appaloosa that came with Twister from Saskatchewan. She is a very inquisitive, friendly mare that enjoys leisurely rides but can also put in the work to bring in a difficult cattle herd. She’s dealing with some health issues in her joints so has been taking it easy for the past year.

Princess

Our family enjoys caring for our furry farm helpers and appreciate all the work that the do for the farm. We hope that you’ll come for a visit someday and meet this great group in person.