Fletcher Farms Amarillo

Episode 22 Relaxation with Chickens. Some days you need to just slow down and watch the chickens peck the grass.... Sit back and relax while watching our farm chickens enjoy life.

This is how we are starting Saturday...

Episode 21 Jack the donkey was adopted in January 2022. We knew he needed a pasture pal so we rescued a mom and baby from a livestock yard here in Texas as they were about to be sent to slaughter. Six months have passed since the adoption/rescue and it was time to get them integrated together so they could be a herd. These were some of the challenges we faced during the process. Thank you for watching! We really appreciate your support! As mentioned in the video, if you want to learn more about the donkey's stories the videos are linked below. Jack's adoption video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qj6V_2byAw&t=9s Ellie and Mabels rescue story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvEQW3HL8fQ&t=36s Jack's Update after adoption https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPHzhv52RBA Ellie and Mabels update after rescue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBphE86Nw54&t=41s

When breakfast is so good that you get it all over your face!

Everyone said I was crazy for rescuing these horses and starting this farm. Deep inside my soul, I knew this is what I was meant to do! I am so glad Cory and I can give these animals the life they deserve. These horses have changed our lives and we definitely regret nothing! Always do what makes you happy. We are so glad we can share their story with all of you!

My new rescued draft horse figured out how to scratch the back of her legs but standing in her manger box.

The little sparrow hawks left the nest the other day and have been hanging out around the barn. Mom brings them mice, lizards and grasshoppers. I keep finding left over uneaten parts around the barn.

Charlie is the one horse that gets away with everything! Check out his rescue story and his update video on our channel.

Freya was being groomed and was telling us in her own way where the good spots were!

Episode 20 We had a very exciting weekend here at Fletcher Farms Amarillo. We got Freya integrated with the other horses (future video to come) and got Charlie out in the paddock for some much needed exercise since his choke. A few months ago we found out that Charlie has an abnormal esophagus causing him to choke when he eats hay. We released him in the dry paddock that we use for the donkeys this weekend and he did some funny things that I wanted to share with everyone.

Episode 19 What is horse teeth floating and why is it so important? Horses' teeth grow and change constantly! They continually file their own teeth down by chewing. However, if they don't chew evenly, their teeth can grow sharp edges. Razor-like edges can form and as a horse develops those points on the teeth, the points can poke into the gums, cut the inside of the mouth or cause gum irritation making it painful for the horse to eat. The process of removing potentially harmful sharp points and edges from the cheek teeth is called rasping or 'floating'. This process is performed on a regular basis depending on the age of the horse and the health of the mouth. Before rasping the teeth a thorough examination of the mouth is performed. This can only be done properly by using a device called a speculum to safely keep the mouth open. This allows the practitioner to look and feel inside the horse's mouth to check not only for sharp points but also for other problems such as broken or missing teeth. There are many different types of dental rasps. The practitioner will have a range of instruments to allow work to be performed on teeth in various parts of the mouth. Horse owners should understand the impact a horse’s dental health has on the horse’s well-being. The following are a few signs that a horse is ready for teeth floating. • Dropping hay or gain from the mouth while chewing • Major drooling while eating • Weight loss due to reduced appetite • Resistant or uncomfortable with the bit • Cribbing, especially with a horse that hasn’t had a history of cribbing • Quidding (packing forage between the teeth and cheek). • Sharp points on horse teeth. When we rescued these horses back in February, we had a vet check all the horses overall health while they were still at the livestock yard. Her observation was they all needed their teeth floated. When they arrived here on the farm most of the horses were showing signs that they needed floating such as dropping food from their mouth, drooling while eating and quidding. This video is about all the rescued horses dental exam/floating with Sarah Long IAED Certified Equine Practitioner at Long Equine Dentistry here in Amarillo. https://www.facebook.com/sarah.mitchell.1004

Episode 18 Here is the release of surprise #2 that I have been talking about the last few videos. We are super excited to share this story with everyone and for everyone to meet our newest rescue!

Unwind after a long day with calming music, horses grazing in the pasture, birds chirping and gentle wind blowing. Sit back, relax and enjoy some quiet time!

Episode 17 This is another quick update on Charlie. I was getting a lot of questions on how he was doing and I wanted to keep everyone updated on how he was doing after his choke back in April. Along with this update, I included outtakes from his original update video. Filming him is quite challenging and comical at the same time. Some of the outtake videos at the end were filmed before his choke.

Episode 16 A few months ago I went into the feed store to get hay for the horses and came out with a new project for Cory to build! This video is surprise number 1 of 3 that happened here on Fletcher Farms Amarillo over the past few months.

Episode 15 Mom and baby donkey were rescued from slaughter back in January 2022. They were 2 days away from shipping to slaughter when I found them. They are doing really well and living their best lives here at Fletcher Farms Amarillo! This is their update video on how they are doing now six months after being rescued.

Episode 14 In addition to the Belgian Draft Horses we also have 3 donkeys. I found Jack through ad on Craigslist. He was looking for a new home by no fault of his own. We adopted him but we knew he needed a pasture pal and that's when we found momma and baby at the livestock yard. And because of momma and baby we found the horses. Insta-Farm! This is an update on Jack and his time here on the farm. He's doing really well and we are so glad that his personality is finally shining through! We are glad to be able to share his journey with everyone. Thanks for watching and following along! Stay tuned...we have some surprises coming and we can't wait to share them with you!

Episode 12 Another update on our horses...all good news! This video is on the four mares rescued from Bowie Livestock back in January 2022. I will do an update on the other gelding (Charlie) and the donkeys in a separate video. Everyone is doing well! I crated a snapshot of their retirement on the farm along with the medical care they received while still at Bowie and after arriving here from the livestock yard. We had a farrier go to the livestock yard to take care of their hoofs that were in desperate need of a trim. A vet also came out and gave them a medical evaluation while still at Bowie. We have learned a lot about the horses, how to feed them, alternative medical treatments, nutritional needs and their personalities over the last few months. It's been challenging at times but we wouldn't change it for the world and we are grateful to have them here on the farm. One of the mares had a small medical procedure documented in this video. We would like to thank Mobile Veterinary Practice and their staff for all their help and support. https://www.mvpamarillo.com Also, check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for daily pictures and reels from the farm! Thank you for watching and for all of your support on our journey!

Episode 11 I have had a bunch of question on how the horses are doing since we rescued them. This is part one and I will do some additional videos as soon as possible. Thank you to everyone for all of your support.

Episode 10 When we moved to the farm there were Brower automatic waterers installed. They had not been for a few years and were frozen when we got here. We decided with horses and donkeys that they needed to be replaced and this video documents the installation process.

Sit back and relax. Watch our five Belgian Draft Horses in their natural environment enjoying the sun and some fresh grass/clover that is just beginning to grow here on the farm.

Episode 9 While scrolling through YouTube watching horse videos, trying to figure out what we were getting into rescuing 6 Belgian Draft horses from slaughter, we found a video on manger boxes for feeding horses from Working Horses with Jim. Jim’s horses are used for logging and his channel had a lot of information that helped us on this new adventure. I reached out to Jim and he gave us the dimensions for these feeder boxes along with some advice. WE can’t thank him enough for all of his help! Link to his channel below. Everything happened really fast and all at once after we bought the farm. We didn’t have enough time to build all the feeder boxes before the horses arrived. We built 2 and were using them inside the barn. Problem was we didn’t have enough room for all 6 horse to eat inside. The barn needed more work and rearranging but the horses needed a better place to eat. We improvised and moved the boxes outside until we can figure a better configuration in the barn for feeding. This video shows how we built the manger boxes and the horses trying them out for the first time. https://www.youtube.com/c/workinghorseswithjim

Grandpa wanted to share his dinner with y'all! He is the oldest of the 6 we rescued. They beleive him to be around 22. He is the sweetest boy ever. Miley is his best friend and they go everywhere together. She is eating behind him. We are building feeder boxes for them. Stay tuned for that upcoming video.

Episode 8 We rescued 6 Belgian Draft Horses and donkey pair from Bowie Texas Livestock that we're in danger of being shipped to slaughter. We were so excited for this day to finally arrive...delivery day! But we woke up that morning to zero degrees and frozen water lines in the barn. We ended up filling containers of water from the house and brought them out to the temporary waters. We got it all done and the horses and donkeys all made it safely. HUGE thank you to HF&C Amarillo and their amazing staff! They were able to deliver hay within an hour and had all the waterer supplies we needed. WE couldn't have done this without you! https://hfandc.com