Those are some BIG HORSES!

Since I was a little girl, I have been in love with horses. When I was real little, I pretended I WAS a horse, then I played with every kind of horse toy I could get my hands on, then I moved on to collecting horse figurines. No, this does not mean I was an accomplished horsewoman, just the opposite, really. The folks did finally get me a little paint pony and I rode her every chance I got. I fell off regularly, got some wicked saddle sores, but I treasure the memories. I continued to ride her when I was probably too big to do so (my daughters delight in making fun of pictures showing long legged me on a short little brown and white pony). Apparently, there was not too much damage done, because Honey lived to be over 30 years old.

Okay, so the reason for that little walk down memory lane is this - Express Ranch. This ranch is right outside Yukon and is amazing. It is completely fenced in white with Angus cattle grazing in the pasture, a beautiful mansion on the hill top, all sorts of nice outbuildings, and this amazing barn housing an award winning team of Clydesdale horses. This facility is open to the public. The cost is my favorite, free, and I have secretly been dying to visit. Sunday afternoon, I had my chance. Three of my grandsons were with me and I convinced them that life would not be complete without a trip to see these huge horses. They agreed, so my parents, three little fellas, and I all climbed into the car and headed for the ranch. Now, it doesn't take very long to see this attraction, but it was worth it to me...

This is the barn that is home to the Clydesdale horses. I will say that these animals do live in the lap of luxury.
Before we entered the barn, the boys had to examine this "horse" made out of used horseshoes. It was pretty cool, and the closest Sam would get to one of these animals with a smile on his face.

This big fella was getting his feet cleaned, but I think you can get an idea of the size of him. He could probably be a little intimidating if he wanted to, but he just stood there lifting up his feet before the little gal even asked him to, like he was royalty or something. :)


This is Jake. This is also where the trip went sour for Sam. Jake was just calmly looking at all of his visitors, snorting and stomping. He probably wanted to come out to visit, but Sam thought he was trying to break out of the stall to attack! Sam was done with the horses right then.

I did manage to get him to join his brothers in a little walk behind the big barn. They had this cute little stage coach sitting right next to a pen with these tiny little ponies. I think a couple of them weren't even as tall as my leg, and I have short legs. Sam decided he could handle a horse if he was about the size of a dog, maybe.

Ben discovered this little statue on our way back to the car and insisted on having his picture taken on it. All in all, a nice little adventure if you have a half hour or so to spare.