IronHorse Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Greetings to you all; I just wanted to take a moment and introduce myself. My Handle is IronHorse and I hail from the state of Missouri where I live with my wife of 35 years on what we like to call our 40 acre wildlife reserve. We love animals of all types and cater to the needs of our pets which run the gambit from Emu's to American Bison, and of course we share our home with our Border Collies, or perhaps it is them that are sharing it with us, we have never really made a hard decision about that paticular topic. I recently found this site and have been keeping an eye on the various postings being made and decided to register as a member,(one can only lurk so long). I've been seeing some very useful and helpful as well as informative information being shared by knowledgeable people. I look forward to getting to know you all better and sharing thoughts,topics and general chat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carson Crazies Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Welcome IronHorse! Glad you've come out of lurkdom to join us. Bison? Emus? Can I come stay with you guys?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Welcome aboard IronHorse. Â Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronHorse Posted June 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Sure you can,just bring your own Tipi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinKate Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Wow Bison!!! How fun must that be! Such beautiful creatures! I had the opportunity to adopt an orphaned baby buffalo at one time but passed. Didn't think it was quite fair to be in FL with our heat. (even though we do have ranches with them in the state) Also was never told HOW she became an orphan. Didn't like that part! lol Almost puppy mill-ish. Wow I just went on and on! lol What I meant to say was WELCOME!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitch Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Welcome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmetteabrakai Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Welcome Iron Horse, Sounds like you have your hands full Good to see you step forward and get aquainted. I live in Mo also. There are a few folks around near my travels that have Bison, and a handfull of Ratite fanciers too. Emus have such great faces. How do you Border Collies and even other dogs deal with the birds? Andrea D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronHorse Posted June 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Oh the Border Collies would love nothing more then for me to open the gate to the Emu's.The dogs know better then to chase the Emu's along their fence however I do allow them to stay in their down position at the fence and give the birds the "eye" actually the Emu's show more aggression towards the dogs then vice versa and occasionally we still have a dispute at the fence but its more a mutual game then anything else when its feeding time for the birds. All in all they get along very well.And Thunderbolt will not allow any other animal close to what he considers "his" birds. As for the Bison well I keep them at a friends place while i am in the process of upgrading my fences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miztiki Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Welcome to the board! Just curious, do you raise your exotics as pets or food? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CollieKat Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Welcome to the group to you and your gang  ~Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronHorse Posted June 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Well over the years it seems that the standard procedure on our property has always been that I get an idea about bringing some type of new animal onto the scene with the intention of raising it for either food or a byproduct and then all of a sudden my better half has dubbed the creature with a name. Now I must admit that I am a softy and I just can't bring myself to do step # 1 in the process of turning an animal into food when instead of it just being a "chicken" it is "lil baby gurty" or instead of just being a "rabbit" it is "doc" or "bugs". I have long suspected that it is an ongoing plot by my wife to surround herself with critters and keep me constantly occupied in the art of building fences and pens as well as trips to the feed store.But Thunderbolt and I really don't mind the trip as we have our route pretty well figured out and it just happens to take us by the DQ where we can relax and do what a Border collie and a man do best, share a cone and eye the girls. Actually back in the 90s I had gotten into the ratites because of the medicinal properties associated with the oil they produce as well as the meat, unfortunatly the ratite business just did not get a good foothold here in the states(its very hard to get Americans to try a new meat)and like so many others who had gotten into raising emu's when the price of feed went high I began scaling back my flock, now we only keep 2 female Emu's as pets "Nit & Wit" they produce about 50 or 60 eggs each year which are quite tasty and very healthy and my wife takes the blown shells and paints them. The Bison are pets,although I do buy and consume Bison meat as well as Emu and Elk. And yep the BC's love Elk as much as my wife and I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miztiki Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 That's why I asked. Mine is raw fed also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronHorse Posted June 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 ?Let medicine be your food and food your medicine has been the catch cry of dedicated healers down the ages". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SQinAZ Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Welcome! I fell in love with ThunderBolt from your pictures in the gallery. What a handsome boy!!! Â It sounds like you and your wife are a match made in heaven...humoring each other's idiosyncrasies. *LOL* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eileen Stein Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 Hello IronHorse, Â Are you by any chance connected with www.awesomebordercollies.com? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 Wow...3 litters... Â ahem...that's ALOT of breeding. Looks like they make a good living off of their dogs. Â I mean - A PUPPY for $1000! Good grief! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 OK, I can't look at that site any more. It makes me SICK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronHorse Posted June 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 Yes I am connected with Awesome Border Collies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronHorse Posted June 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 I developed the website for the person it belongs to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Carter & the Borderbratz Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 I know BigD but we can't ignore the problem. Things never get fixed that way. We can educate, clean up the messes as best we can and hope for the best. Â Hopefully you don't have too many BCs in shelters or rescue on your lovely island It's a hard thing to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 Hi Annette - Â I'm involved with the Border Collie Rescue "club" here in Hawaii. (we have 2 that need homes now) There are a key group of about 4 of us that come to the "rescue" (literally) when there is a Border Collie in need. Fortunately, we don't have too many BYB's like this site on this island. However, we have to deal with the local pet store that fly's in dogs from Australia and charges $1200 for a puppy before you can even see the papers on the dog. Â It's disgusting. I'm ready to email that BYB and just go off on them...but I need to walk away and come back when I'm not red in the face and disgusted... Â Oh well... Â who was it that said "lack of education = over population" Â Denise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Carter & the Borderbratz Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 Denise, Gee & here I thought you lived in paradise- guess an island doesn't buffer you from the rest of the world today. I feel for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronHorse Posted June 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 For the record I am not a breeder,,nor do I plan on breeding. However I do have 2 Border Collies and a 3rd one on its way. I also have 4 other dogs that were all adopted by My wife and I from the local shelter. I was asked if I were connected with the site and I said that i was,that i had built the site for the person,I have built a number of sites for a varity of businesses.I do however monitor that site and Know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the dogs that have been sold have all been placed in excellent homes. It was not me who brought my business to these boards, nor would i represent myself falsely. What that person does is perfectly legal and at least in this country she does have the right to pursue it. This does not mean that I necessarily agree or disagree. I come here for my own personal reasons to better educate myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Carter & the Borderbratz Posted June 22, 2005 Report Share Posted June 22, 2005 Ok. Then we need to educate you on why purchasing Thunderbolt from her or a breeder like her (based on her site content soley) is a detrement to the BC breed as a whole. Yes what she does is legal and so is smoking cigarettes - neither is really healthy for individuals or society as a whole. But somebody is making money at others' very dear expense. Â Would you care to hear the in depth reality? Or do you prefer to go on as you are? (Feeling like Morpheous here) You respect rescuers you say? Will you listen to us then with open eyes and heart? If you are here for education, you will get the very best because we care about your dogs and not like some corny dog food ad - we really do. Â I don't want to see you get lit into because you seem really nice so I'm posting before that happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronHorse Posted June 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2005 I would very much care to hear the in depth reality. it was my involvement in the creation of the site that lead me to these very boards,not for this particular breeder but for my own personal ethics and developing philosphy towards the Border Collie Breed. I will be perfectly frank here and now. Due to the fact that I have learned a great deal about Border Collies during the process of creating that site I made a decision a month ago NOT to relinquish the domain nor the site until I personally learn more. I give up my right to ask for the payment agreed upon when I contracted to make the site in the first place.My ethics are more valuable then any monetary gains. I look forward to your opinions, I value them and believe that they could be of great help to me personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts