January 2009 Member Spotlight - RedBuck89

Name: Ethan E.

Location: Ross, Ohio

What’s your typical day like?
Well, life here on the farm really never has a 'typical' day. There is always something different going on. We have representatives of pretty much every farm critter you can think of: Duke (my horse), a bunch of meat goats, Hershey (our one year old steer), Dolly the sow, a few pheasants, and more chickens than I'd like. I've been raising chickens my entire life and really never got to like them ... unless it was on the dinner table! A normal day around here usually consists of waking up, brewin' some coffee, taking care of the critters, and then a little free time 'till the evening feed which I usually fill up with hunting, reading and writing, and maybe a little leatherwork. During the winter I usually hunt deer, squirrels, rabbits and such in the woods surrounding our 283 acre farm. This winter I've also been tryin' to get Duke back into shape for this summer, when I'll have more time to ride him.

How did you first find horses … or did they find you?
I reckon I've always loved horses, though until I was about sixteen I never really had a chance to be around them a lot. After we moved to our bigger farm here in Ross I got a couple of jobs working at a boarding stable and a private stable. That's when I really found out that I enjoy being around horses and working with them. I never owned a horse until this past fall when I got Duke so I never really had too many opportunities to ride but I have learned to ride thanks to a couple friends who have horses and taught me. I will admit I'm not the best rider but I can make them go where I need to and control them properly. I love horses and everything about them but they've mostly been just a way for me to make some money. That's why I chose to be a Farrier, I love working with my hands and with horses.

Favorite horse story?
I can remember a couple years ago when they held a rodeo at one of the private stables I was working at. They had roping, barrel racing, and other events going on. I helped work the chutes for the roping teams, pushing the calves through with the help of the prod. Then they called up the teams for the scoop shovel races. After watching a couple of riders pull their partners around the ring I decided I just had to do it. If anybody has never had the opportunity to see a scoop shovel race in action I reckon I should explain. A regular scoop shovel is tied with a rope to the saddle horn and the rider than pulls this as fast as his horse will go while the partner sits on the shovel and hangs on for dear life. A time is taken and the fastest around the ring is the winner. After watching a couple rounds I volunteered myself for a ride. It wasn't without a little nervousness that I sat down upon the shovel and readied myself for the ride. A pistol was shot and off we went! Well, at least the rider and the rope. I still sat on the metal shovel while I watched the handle bust off and go flyin'. I flung my hands in the air as the crowd laughed and cheered for a re-do. After we got a new shovel the pistol went off again and all hell broke loose! After the first jerk of the fast start I was no longer sitting on the shovel but dragging behind it belly down and both hands barely gripping the shovel. I could barely keep my eyes open through the grit and dust. As we went around the turn one of my gloved hands slipped off the shovel and my legs flailed around like a tire swing. I finished the race with one arm on the shovel and a mouthful of dirt, gravel, and manure. Well, we placed third, and I was proud.

If you could change one thing within the horse industry, what would that be?
If I could change something about the industry now it would be to re-open the horse slaughterhouses in the States. There are numberless horses in this country that are being turned loose, mistreated, and starved because now no one has a place to send unusable or old horses, or can't afford to keep them. Many of these horses are now being shipped to facilities in Canada or Mexico and have to endure a long trip packed into trailers or railcars like sardines in a can. Upon arrival they are being mistreated and cruelly dispatched. If we could open new plants in the States that used the most humane means of slaughter than many horses would be put to better use than they are now. <

Other than horses, what else do you enjoy doing for fun?
I really love to read and write. I guess it shows a little through my blog. I enjoy hunting, fishing, and being outside whenever I can. When I can't be outside I also like to work with leather. I make bags, pouches and other accouterments for living history re-enactments; another of my interests. I really love Native American culture and history so leatherwork is a way I honor that.

Is there a special significance to your avatar?
Well RedBuck89 is kind of a melding of a couple different things. Buck was the nickname of my great-granddad. He was 7/8th's Cherokee Indian and it’s in his remembrance. He died when I was about five and I never really got to know him too well but he was a member of the Etowah Cherokee Nation in Tennessee. He studied our people's culture, language, and I have many of his journals and genealogical research which passed down to me. The color red was a very important part of Cherokee culture. 89 is just my birth year.

Anything else we should know about you?
Believe it or not I love to work! The past few months I haven't had a job because it was my first quarter at college but I've been going crazy in my apartment because I didn't have a job. The town where my school is at is very small and it’s hard to find a job but I am trying. That's pretty much the only thing I don't like about school. Every summer I've always had a job, whether it be working at home in our big gardens (we sell our produce at a roadside stand during the season), working with farmers moving hay, working the barns or stables, and this past summer I had a full-time job as a roofer. A lot of people my age today don't know what a good day's work is. I'd like to see them sweat it out during one of my normal weeks -- especially this past summer. After working all day roofing I would head out to the hayfields and make hay, work in our gardens hoeing out weeds, or work at the stable barn. So after such a busy summer it’s easy to see why I tend to go nuts over all my free time at school!

Comments  

 

# Chase 2009-01-05 00:03

That's a great, if hard life you have chosen for yourself. It's always good to see somebody enjoy following their dreams. Keep at it.

And the writing... Well if you ever need a proofreader/editor, you just let me know. I still have a few author friends that send me projects to go over.

 

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