It has been years since I posted to the porch. When I first began into draft horses, I had excellent mentors that made all of the difference in the world. My biggest influences were Brabant Owner in SC, ToddW, and Farmer Brown in NY.
I took off in a sprint and absorbed the lifestyle like a sponge. I ended up with a great team of Percheron mares that taught me as much as I taught them.
As time went on, the farm expanded and I entered into the cattle and later beef business. I sold the team and all of my equipment to fund my initial start. Now fast forward five years and I have a large herd of cattle, farm over 250 acres, multiple tractors and equipment. We supply restaurants and direct to the public all of the state of Georgia and further out into the Southeast. A few years into the operation a close friend helped me obtain a Brabant filly of his own breeding. It was the best horse anyone could ever ask for. Unfortunately we lost her to colic. It was devastating and really completely broke my spirit. The same gentleman offered to allow me another chance with a full sister to my original filly. The offer unfortunately came at a time where we were struggling financially and stretched to the limit with our time resources so there was simply no realistic way to make it happen no matter how badly I wanted it to.
Our beef operation continues to grow and it has almost become a wheel so large that it turns us. Last night i was watching a YouTube video of RH where Joe was interviewing a dairy farmer that pretty much summed up my entire journey. He grew and grew, added and added, yet it seemed like it was simply feeding an unquenchable fire that began to suck the love out of agriculture. This has been my experience. I love what I do but it comes to a point where it is unmanageable and you ask "How did I get here?".
I'm not sure when or how, but I plan to get this back on track to the roots of what made me happy in the first place. Not sure that I am ready to take on a team again until I can get things under control, but that is my goad and I wait for the day when I can say "stp up" once again!