Horses, goats and trailer tires! Oh my!

We took a break from construction this weekend to trek to San Angelo and La Vernia to pick up our horses and my son’s goats.  We bought a 2-horse, straight load, bumper pull trailer several months ago for a great price on Craigslist.  We checked it over pretty well and were confident it would make the trip.  (In retrospect, a good tire inspection would have been wise.)  

The day my daughter has been anticipating for the past 7 or 8 years had finally arrived!  We made it to San Angelo safely, stayed the night in the Holiday Inn Express (my favorite road trip brand), visited with our dear friend from whom we were getting the horses, loaded up said horses (after a little sedation for my daughter’s paint) and were on our way to La Vernia to get the goats my son bought.  

Just on the south side of San Angelo on our way out of town we heard a noise.  I looked out the passenger side mirror and realized that one of the trailer tires had just shredded.  Great.

We pulled over and had to decide a course of action.  My daughter’s paint horse, Paisley, is not an easy loader, so taking her out while we changed the tire was not an option.  We would just have to jack it up with Paisley and Dr. Pepper in it.  My husband got the spare on only to discover that it was flat.  

He's a good man!

About that time, a sweet older gentleman pulled up and offered to go get a compressor to air it up, and our friend from San Angelo came to meet us and help us figure out what to do next.  With the tire aired up, we decided to limp to the nearest Discount Tire and get a new tire (or 4).  (Our friend had called to see if they would be willing to change the tires with the horses still loaded and, horse town that San Angelo is, they said they do it all the time.  They even got us in line via that phone call so we wouldn’t have to wait so long once we got there.  We also offered our compressor toting rescuer some cash for his help, but sweet Texas gentleman that he was, he refused.)

We arrived safely at Discount Tire and waited our turn.  (My husband, our friend and the kids went across the street to Mr. Gatti’s to eat while I waited with the horses.)  In no time, they backed up the trailer, jacked up both sides, replaced all four tires, and with very little fuss, we were on our way again—only delayed by about 2 hours.  

With two slight detours to retrieve two adorable baby goats, we were nearing home by dark.  Our progress was once again impeded, however, by runners participating in the Texas Independence Relay which happened to be following the exact same route as us.  Our final few miles home were spent driving about 20 miles an hour alongside several determined men and women who would be running for the next 20 or so hours.

Safe and sound at home around 10:00 that evening, horses were unloaded, goats were introduced to their new home and four exhausted travelers (my youngest stayed behind with Grandpa and Nana for this trip) took showers and crashed. 

Our animal count is now up to 9: 3 horses, 2 dogs, 2 goats and 2 cats.

My son meeting his blue-eyed goat, Pablo for the first time.

Pablo and his little buddy Paco the morning after arriving at their new home.

Paco still takes a bottle in the morning.

Dr. Pepper in front enjoying green grass for the first time. 

Paisley and Dr. Pepper have spent their entire lives in West Texas.  They are in awe of this delicious green stuff that covers the ground in our part of the country.

Angel (who really needs a bath in this picture) is definitely the mama of this pasture.  She is so happy to have her new friends, Pepper and Paisley, join her each day.  When horses go to their stalls for the night, they call to each other for several minutes just to make sure everyone is still here.