Permanent Residents

Horses

Sem

Sem (Semental)  aka “Boog”, came to us in 2011. Born in 2002, he’d been purchased by a local family that determined he was not a good match for their daughter, but had kept him as a pasture pet for several years due to his impish charm. He’s full mustang, although he was bred in captivity, and is descended from the Sulphur Springs BLM herd.

After several years of training he’s become Megan’s beloved and trusty trail horse, although is still only suitable for experienced riders. He’s definitely got a herd-boss mentality and mustang sensitivity, and like most of our other horses will climb in your pocket for a treat if you let him. The only accurate way to describe him is “dun-roan”, as his coloring changes several times through out the year from buttermilk to light chestnut, with striped markings revealing themselves on his black legs from time to time.

Ellie Mae

Ellie Mae is our permanent resident foster. She is believed to be a 2003 model Appendix, with a gorgeous read roan coat that can almost appear purple at certain times of year. Ruby Ranch Horse Rescue received her when they closed the slaughterhouse she was at awaiting her end. At the time she had a foal on the way, and they soon discovered another of her foals was in the herd at the lot as well. These two horses now reside at another local farm and are thriving. She went through a couple other foster situations before landing here with us, brought home to be a companion for Sem. Ellie has a bad front leg and is permanently retired. She can be somewhat herd dominant in the absence of other strong leadership, and has good ground manners, but is only truly friendly to people she has established a relationship with.

Bella

Bella, aka Miss Piggy or Piglet, is the poster-child of Palomino kid’s horses, born sometime around the Millennium. She’s about as cute as the day is long, will let you do about anything to her, and is afraid of nothing in the world except her yak next-door neighbors. She came to Fawnwood in 2014 with her late pasture-mate Hondo. Information about her past, age and breed are sketchy, but we’re just glad to have her here with us! Bella’s EMS mandates that she spend the better part of the year in the barn, but she takes it in stride and maintains a sweet disposition for novice riders and kids no matter what the season.

Raylan

Raylan, aka Bebeh Horse or Ray-Ray—In early 2020 we volunteered (or we were volunteered? Hard to remember now!) to foster Trinity, a mare that had been surrendered to CHRN emaciated and pregnant. The plan was that, once the foal was born and they were ready to wean, they’d each go on to their own new forever homes…. But the best laid plans… Raylan was born March 18, a gorgeous, blue-eyed, cremello thing (we had been misinformed about the father apparently!) Curious and rambunctious, he somehow managed to tear open his cornea before he’d even been on the planet for 2 months. After several trips to CSU vet hospital and Bill spending nights in the barn giving him his meds every 2 hours for what seemed like forever (but was probably about three or four weeks), it was pretty obvious that this little guy was going to become a permanent member of our Fawnwood Family. All that hard work paid off, too! The eye has healed almost completely, with just a small cloudy scar that continues to diminish. Like a lot of the critters around here he thinks Bill is extra special, and since being weaned in August 2020 he’s already begun ground work with Bill and a trainer. We only have one picture of his dad and it’s a face shot, so we’ll all be eager to see how this adorable boy grows up!

“House” Pets 

Loni

Loni (full name Avalon), aka “Tall Dog” came to us in December of 2017, after her owner (who had adopted her from DDFL) determined she was unable to properly care for her. A DNA test showed she is a mutt in the truest sense of the word– German Shepard, Staffordshire Terrier, Sheltie, Rat Terrier and “some other stuff, we don’t know”. Born April 4, 2017 she’s adjusting nicely to Ranch life and is great with people, horses, and other dogs. Melvin and the yaks are still a little unsure about her, though. She’s extremely bright, and can usually be found either following Megan around or  lounging around the house. It appears that slippers and dirty socks really like her, too, as they are usually found snuggled up next to her.

Merle

Merle/Merley Dog/Smerlin’ Merle– After a few dogless months that followed Bender’s passing, Bill woke up one summer morning in 2018 and said “I wanna go to the Humane Society today!” Within a few hours we were driving home in a cloud of merle dog fur—she hadn’t even been in the shelter long enough to get groomed before Bill decided she was “The One”! We worked real hard on the name and came up with “Merle.” She fit in almost immediately as if she’d been here all her life! Merle has some genetic challenges—we don’t think she sees or smells real well, which is part of the cost of her unique, pretty eyes and her cute pink nose. As a result she can be a little uncertain around new dogs or people, but she’s super sweet and, like all the critters at Fawnwood, thinks Bill hangs the moon.

The Farm Side of Things

Chickens

We have a flock of we raise for both eggs. Some we hatch ourselves, and some come in from other places. For a few years we let them free range because they were great at keeping flies down around the barn, but we ended up with the healthiest pack of coyotes you’ve ever seen and far fewer chickens than we wanted, so we were forced to fence them in in 2016. We’re trying to breed birds that do well at altitude, in cold weather, and around predators so many of our chickens are mixed breeds.