The Indoor Animals

Along with having my three horses at home, I also work at a job where I am around horses all day, with 6 of them being in my "care." Meaning that I keep them behaving, and have them saddled and ready to go when a client comes to ride them. I love my job for so many reasons, I get to be around wonderful people, wonderful kids, and great horses. I couldn't ask for anything better.
I love my job, but working outside in the cold all day can be kind of taxing. Even the indoor arena is not that much warmer, although it does block the frigid wind.
Because of the cold I haven't been able to work my own horses very often, I don't have an arena at home, and it is quite muddy right now! But I do try to keep myself busy when I get home from work, so that I am not just sitting around all day. My current thing has been teaching my indoor animals tricks.
We currently have four cats at home. None of them were planned, all four were dumped by someone at one point.
Nomad is my buddy. He is now 6 years old. He was dumped when he was very young, under 6 weeks, and I almost didn't pick him up. I was riding my bike down the dirt roads and there he was in the ditch. He chased my bike and I couldn't leave him, so he came home with me. He is so unique. He loves to ride with you on a bike, follows me around when I am outside with my horses, and LOVES to be held. He loves my dog, she pretty much raised him when we brought him home. Slept with him, licked him, and played with him. They are still best friends. Its a good thing too, because he doesn't get along with any other animal, including our other cats. He isn't that great with tricks, because he tends to spend his time glaring at the other cats trying to get a treat as well. :)

Rue is a four year old kitty that showed up when he was at least a year old. He was skin and bones, which is exactly the opposite of what he is now! He is quite.... fluffy at the moment. When he first showed up he was extremely skittish, but we finally got him calmed down enough to pet. And then he was off to the vet to be fixed. He was extremely mean the first couple of months. He would attack without warning and would NOT stop. He would jump at your face and was not easy to get away from. It was bad enough that we were thinking about having him put to sleep because we were afraid he would hurt someone. =[ But he turned a corner and is now so neat. I call him my trick cat, he loves doing tricks! His current list include, sit, speak, spin, high five, sit up, stand up, jump, through the hoop, on(pedestal), down, come, go get it, and he is working on roll over and heel. He also knows Hide and Seek, he will find you (by crouching and "stalking",) and then he will hide (badly, pretty much just sticks his head under something.) He is truly one of a kind.

Tux is our old guy at around 14. He didn't up until he was guessed to be about 10 by the vet. He had definitely not had the easiest life, he is missing many teeth, and his ears are chewed up, and he is terrified of men. But he is very comfortable around my sister and I. He does have some... neurological problems that are sort of hard to explain, such as excessively eating wet hair. He is just learning some tricks, he can speak, sit, stand and give a high five. 

Pixel is the newest cat member of the family. She showed up in November of last year. She is much different than the other cats, not near as cuddly, but equally affectionate. She loves to be touched, but not picked up. And everything is on her own terms. :) She has quickly figured out that if she sits, speaks, and stands on command she gets something good to eat. And that is the best thing ever in her opinion. 

And Paden is my 12 year old border collie, lab mix. She has been the best dog to grow up around. She loves to be outside with me, and loves to come along when I ride. I will always remember her waiting by the bus stop when I was in public school. She will always be special to me! Sadly she can't do as much as she used to be able to, as she does have hip dysplasia, but she still enjoys feeding the horses and hanging out with us. 

All of my animals are super special to me, from the ducks, to the horses. They all have one of a kind personalities and are so much fun to be around. I couldn't ask for anything more.