Hard Jobs for Animals at Conner Prairie

Richard Kroyer - Horse Specialist and Animal Experience Facilitator

Every animal at Conner Prairie has a job to do. Some of those jobs are more difficult than they look. What about that mama cow with her calf? She may look like she’s got it easy, but as any parent knows, watching over a little one is no easy task. Everything has to come from mama—food, protection and education—and she always knows exactly where her baby is at all times.

All those horses have tough jobs to do also. Pulling that plow or wagon can’t be an easy thing. How about standing quietly for people to learn how to groom a horse, while all it wants to do is run and play?

The donkey doesn’t look like he’s doing anything except eating, but he’s actually busy keeping predators away from the sheep, who are busy making the wool that we shear and then spin into yarn.

All the cute babies at Animal Encounters have really hard jobs also. Being picked up and set down a thousand times a day would be a difficult thing for anyone to endure.

Another hard job that our animals take part in is the breeding program. Conner Prairie has plenty of rare breeds that need to be maintained in a very particular way. This might not sound like a tough job for an animal, but just think if future generations relied on you to carry something incredibly important for your whole life!

As we get into spring, it’s time for the mamas to have their babies. I’m expecting some lambs from one of our favorite Dorset sheep around April 1st. Her name is Dot. And it won’t be too long after that a little Holly will show up. Holly is a very friendly Nubian goat that you’ve probably seen wandering around the Animal Encounters barn. She’ll have her kid (or kids) about April 5th.

Of course, I can’t just snap my fingers when I want a foal (that’s a baby horse in horse speak). I have to plan it out a year before…maybe even more. First I need a good mare (that’s a female horse) and then I need a good stallion (that’s a male horse). The gestation time (that’s the time mama carries a baby) for a horse is about 11 months.

I’ll let you know as soon as Conner Prairie is expecting it’s next foal, but for now Conner Prairie has lots of nice horses and many other animals to share with you. They work hard, but they like to play hard too!

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Posted: 3/30/2010 8:46:21 AM by Richard Kroyer | with 0 comments

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Hard Jobs for Animals at Conner Prairie

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