I have done a trade with one of my neighbours: He gets grazing land for his cattle, and I get hay for my horses and sheep.
Even more importantly, the cows can eat a whole bunch of plants that the horses cannot – that are starting to take over the fields. Plants like cinquefoil, wild mustard, and hoary alyssum.
Mixed-species grazing, with horses, cows and sheep has shown to be ideal for creating and maintaining optimal health in both the land and the animals. So fingers crossed this new arrangement works out.
I’ve never had cows before, and I know virtually nothing about cows. But I’m about to learn some things and pretty darn quick!
Montaro and Juno were with Dexter cows before at Kesia’s place. But none of the others have shared space with cows and Audelina is downright terrified of them. So what happens when 22 of them arrive at the Singing Horse Ranch?
p.s. If you love the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) be sure and watch to the end.
Jini Patel Thompson is a natural health writer and Lazer Tapping instructor. She began riding at age 2 in Kenya, and got her first horse at age 8 in Alberta, and so continues a life-long journey and love affair with these amazing creatures.
Ah, how wonderful for the land and all the beings living there. Now you’ve awakened my longing for a couple of cows for our small land.
Up here in Sweden and Finland we have small populations of old, traditional cow breeds that are small and resilient. They can survive up in the mountains in the north… And it’s been a dream of mine to have them tend to our land that I now remembered. I met a couple of them once and was very moved by them. In Swedish they are called fjällko, fjällnära ko, Nordfinsk lantras and/or lapplandsko, if you want to look them up. Beautiful beings!
So happy to see you all doing so well on the Singing Horse Ranch. I had a dream I was walking down the path from your house facing the beautiful landscape and feeling all my energy and liveliness restored. Much love ❤️🙏🏽
Awww they’re such sweet looking cows! I would have Scottish Highlanders here if not for the hay bill. The region has had a drought for 3 years which pushes the price of hay really high. And I’ve run the numbers on doing hay production here and its even more expensive. So that’s that I guess.
I love your dream! Maybe Ginny will host a live workshop here one day and you will attend… you never know 🙂 But either way, visiting in the dreamtime is almost as good xo
We have some Scottish Highlanders in Finland as well, they are magnificent.
Yes, I know, here in the south of Finland hay, especially low sugar hay, can be very expensive and increasingly hard to come by as well. So that, and some health problems I have, is what keeps me from getting a couple of those traditional gentle small cows. But maybe one day.
The dream is a good reminder of that wonderful feeling of being fully present, energized and grounded, so I like to recall it once in a while.
I was hoping to get the pastures to the point where the horses could forage all winter long. But that doesn’t account for drought issues and plant variations. Every year we have a completely different balance/mix of plants on the land! So some years plenty for the horses to eat, then other years, lots that they can’t eat. I *think* this is part of the land healing itself and that eventually it will settle into a somewhat stable/beneficial mix of plants… but I don’t know for sure. SO MUCH to learn, witness, experience, integrate.