T-Bone & Rex
T Bone was the first rescued pasture animal on the farm. He graced The Good Earth Farm’s ground in late may of 2011. Previously, he lived with a lady named Jane on a hobby farm in Iowa alongside many other mini cows, but there just wasn’t enough space for sweet T Bone. Nancy’s cousin Bob called the farm and asked if Nancy and Jeff would be interested in giving this miniature cow a home, and was met with a resounding yes! T Bone was oh so little, and oh so ornery, especially since he was a somewhat solitary four legged inhabitant of the farm. The neighbors had a herd of calf/cow pairs in their pasture, and T Bone started escaping to seek his tribe. Sadly, those snooty cows and calves didn’t take to T Bone, and so Nancy and Jeff trained their best dog Buck to bring him home-- “Buck, go get your cow!” Buck would tear across the fields and cut T Bone out of the snooty herd, to bring him back to the wild sanctuary of The Good Earth Farm. For a time, T Bone was an ornery and lonely creature, longing for connection with his kin.
Soon after this lonely season of T Bone’s, the same lady named Jane asked Nancy if she’d be willing to home a pony and was met with an excited YES! Thus, the friendship of a lifetime began between T Bone and his new best friend Rex. Rex is a beautiful pony-- lush blond hair, bangs, short legs yet stout and strong, and he carries a feisty attitude toward authority. It is said that he used to be more friendly and sweet before his castration- evidently, this is something for which he has never forgiven Nancy and Jeff.
Anyway, T Bone and Rex have gotten into trouble together time and time again-- from their adventures sneaking out of their pasture to eat delicious melons in the field (returning to the pasture before dawn to hide their midnight transgressions) to their escape routines keeping Nancy, Jeff, interns, and friends scouting for their bright eyes in the veggie gardens late into the night, these two are living the life, and doing it together. They spend their days in the pasture, and they run at the temptation to be fed some carrots from passing admirers visiting the sanctuary.
The Pasture Crew basking in a lovely South Dakota day on the prairie