Aldrich Farm

 Howdy, My name is Joy,  I am 46 yrs. old,  4' 10" tall, 95 lbs., have been Happily Married to my Best Friend Mark for over 12 yrs.  We have 2 Grown Sons, 1 Married, 1 Engaged.  We have 4 Granddaughters, and 2 Grandsons who we Adore !!!  

  We own a 10 acre Ranch in Fallon, Nevada where we Breed, Raise, Train, but mostly LOVE.... Quality  Miniature Horses, Arabians, Pintabians, Half Arabians and Llamas !!! The Llamas are new to Our "Critter Family", but have been a WONDERFUL ADDITION !!!

  I  have been severely "Physically Challenged" from Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis since I was 2 yrs. old, but I have NEVER let it stop me from doing what I Love most in Life !!!  I  have been Blessed to be Raised in a Family who is "Equine Crazy" so I got my first Pony at age 3 yrs. old !!!  Growing up we also had Cattle, Pigs, Chickens, Dogs, Cats and many other types of Animals, including Exotic ones !!!

 At a Very Young age (about 7 yrs.)  I discovered that My Grandparents Border Collies were Very Smart, and I started Training them to Help me around the Farm, and then with other Daily things that were hard for me to do without Help.  Back in the Early 60's  "Guide Dogs" were being used to Guide the Blind, but "Service Dogs" were not yet talked about (at least in our area of the Country) so I  didn't do much with it at that time.  But when I turned 9, I  joined a Local 4-H Club and started my new Hobby of Training & Showing Dogs !!!

Over the Years I  started Training My Own "Service Dogs", and have done it for over 30 yrs now.  I  have even Helped Other "Challenged" People & Children Train their own !!! 

For the past Year, I  have been working with one of my Miniature Fillies who seems to have a Strong Interest in picking things up for me to see how well a Mini Horse would Work as a "Service Animal".  "Feather" is doing FANTASTIC at it so far !!!  She Loves to pick things up for me, pull my Scooter out of the sand if I get a Tire stuck, she carries a small backpack with my ID, my medicines, and drinks for us both too.  We have been taking her to Town in the Car, and I am also working on "House Breaking" her too !!!

 my hand is getting very tired, so I will finish this real soon, Thank You,....Joy