| ISSUE 6 | January 2025 |
THE REINDEER EXPRESS
THE RUT
We have officially made it through our first rut with the reindeer! For those of you just tuning in, the rut is the reindeer’s breeding season. We were definitely on the nervous side going into this fall, but we did our best to prepare ourselves for the unknown that lay ahead. We talked to many friends in the reindeer business about what we should expect, how we should set things up for feeding, what we would do if a reindeer got hurt or fell ill, how the bulls act during the rut. Basically it came down to, prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
We started off by separating the cows and bulls into their breeding groups. Once they were all situated, we used horse panels to section off a small area of the pen for our “safe zone” utilizing one of the gates. This allowed us to go into the pen to feed, keeping us on one side of the panels and the reindeer on the other. Our setup worked great, but we will make the safe zone bigger in the future. But all in all, it served its purpose well and kept us out of harms way.
For the most part things were fairly calm. We decided that during the rut we were going to let them do their thing and stay away from the pens other than to feed and check waters twice a day. It was obvious pretty quick that the bulls didn’t want us around their cows and when we were around they would get worked up. They would charge the fence and the gates trying to get us away and anytime a cow would try to come close they would run up and push them off. They were very protective over the ladies!
Pepper was all business, spending all his time chasing girls around the pen, not caring much about what we were up to. The only time he would come around was when he was trying to push the girls away from us if we got to close. He would calmly stand between us and the girls, but never charge, or try to get us through the fence. He actually became more confident in himself throughout the rut, letting us pet the side of his face. We thought this would probably end after the rut and he would go back to being his shy self, but I’m happy to report that he enjoys his full body rub downs every chance he gets!
Buckee was another story… he was constantly charging the fences when we walked too close. He also had a thing against the feeders in his pen, flipping them any chance he got. We went out one morning and both feeders were in the middle of the pen. After devising a plan, a couple of attempts, and two foot races later they were retrieved and tied to the horse panel for the rest of the rut. During dinner time one evening he tried to get Eric through the panel, essentially getting his antlers stuck in the panel. Eric had to help him get them unstuck and when they popped loose he lost control and did his best to remove the panels. It was an amazing show of force, but luckily the t-post and wire held and everyone walked away unscathed.
The second week of November we separated the bulls from the cows, utilizing 3 pens. The bulls are now in a pen by themselves resting up and putting on weight after a hard couple of months. We are anxiously awaiting the day their antlers fall off and we can start loving on them again. Once both of them loose their antlers we will reintroduce them into the same pen so they can hang out together until we get closer to this years rut. The girls are happy spending time relaxing together in their own pen.
Lessons were learned and notes were taken on things to change this year for the rut, but we were happy with the way things worked. We feel much more prepared for this years rut!
2024 EVENTS
This past December we concluded our first year of on the road events. What an incredible experience it was! In our eyes, it couldn’t have gone better. It was a busy few weeks, but there were no mishaps to speak of and everything went very well.
Leading up to Thanksgiving we started putting in a lot of time with our girls on training. After the rut and not handling or being around them for a couple of months, this proved a challenging task. All of them seemed to have forgotten their manners. Regardless they all got a shot at being the stars of the show for the 2024 event season. Haltering, lead training, display pen work, loading in a trailer, and comfort of all these situations were watched closely. In the end Nina and Twinkle were picked to wow the crowds, with the others just not quiet ready to be on the road.
Our first event was a two day event in Pocatello the day after Thanksgiving. We did a parade on Friday night and a display on Saturday. The parade was 22 blocks long and over 10,000 people were in attendance. The girls did and amazing job amidst all the chaos! We think we were way more stressed out than the girls, Nina fell asleep a few times even though there were a ton of kids screaming. Thank you pocatello sanitation department for all of your incredible help with the float trailer. Saturdays event was a success as well. The girls enjoyed all the people coming by the park to see and learn about them. At one point a lady approached us and shared a story about how she spent time with the Sami people rounding up their Reindeer and got a first hand experience with the authentic reindeer herder culture. Her stories were fascinating! She left after sometime, only to return later in the day. With her was a pair of authentic reindeer hide boots, a silver Sami spoon, a reindeer herder knife set, and a reindeer antler ring. It was amazing to see these incredible pieces and hear the stores that went along with them. She then told us that she had kept them because she felt someone was supposed have them and she had kept them for all these years for that reason. She said that someone was us. Mind blown we tried to not except them, but she insisted and said they needed to be shared, not locked away in a closet. We will forever be grateful for these items and plan on sharing them with as many people as possible. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
After Pocatello we did our local Christmas tree lighting here in Carey, Idaho. This is an event we do for free every year to help give back to our community. Its always so much fun to catch up the locals and spend an evening sharing some Christmas cheer.
Then we were off to Ketchum for their Christmas tree lighting. What an incredible evening! Everyone was in awe at the display setup and the reindeer. One lady was even adamant about buying Nina and Twinkle on the spot. She got quite offended when we told her that they were not for sale. Other than that is was a widely successful event.
Twin Falls parade and tree lighting was our next stop. We had to pull double duty at this event, being on display from 4:30-5:45, then load the girls on the trailer for the parade, and then back on display from 7-8:30. It was a lot of moving parts but with the help of amazing family and friends everything went very smoothly and Nina and Twinkle did amazing. They never once faltered and you could really tell how much they enjoyed their work and attention.
City of Eagle’s Christmas tree lighting was the next stop. They had a great turn out and a lot of very interested visitors that wanted to know all the things about reindeer. The mayor of Eagle and his wife were wonderful people to talk with and were very impressed with the service they were provided. Despite the freezing rain and the 4 1/2 hour drive home, everyone returned back to the North Pole safe and sound.
After Eagle, the girls had some much deserved time off and rest. Our next event was a week later at Scheel’s in Meridian. They held a hot chocolate with Santa’s Reindeer event. The turn out was incredible! The line for the hot chocolate bar was clear around the building for about 3 hours before we finally saw the end of it. Holy Oly O’s was there with her mini donut trailer. These were hands down the most amazing mini donuts he have had! If you haven’t tried them, they are a must.
Our last on the road event of the season was Robert Scott Middle School in Twin Falls. This was more of an educational display, than a holiday display. They pushed 700 middle schoolers through us in 2 hours. It was a fast paced whirlwind, with 3 of us stacking reindeer education and facts on each group before they got to see the reindeer. We were amazed at how smooth it went, and want to thank the librarian of the school making this happen and helping us with teaching the students.
We can’t thank those that entrusted us with their events enough. Our hearts are full and we cannot wait to see you all next year! 2025 is stacking up to be an amazing year already, stay tuned!
MEET THE REINDEER: BUCKEE
Buckee is a total lover! Every morning he has to have his kisses from his momma before he will eat his breakfast. He always has to know what’s goin on. If he hears a commotion, he will be there to investigate immediately. Buckee does have one addiction, grain!
CLATTER BEFORE CHRISTMAS
We had another successful Clatter Before Christmas event again this year. It was 4 days and evenings of sharing the Christmas season with guest from all over the northwest. We met a lot of incredible people and enjoyed hearing how amazing it was from so many.
This year we added a donut truck, so that our guests could have an extra option for treats. People really enjoyed time with family around the fire pits eating donuts. There was even a big group of kids Saturday night that had a snowman building contest!
We would like to extend a huge thank you to Stormy Kromer for partnering with us! They supplied hats for all of our volunteers this year. We look forward to working with you more in the future.
Next years Clatter Before Christmas will be held on Friday December 19th and Saturday December 20th. Tickets will be available to purchase on our website throughout the year. Every year we will be adding exciting new things for your enjoyment. We can’t wait to see you all again next year!
ANNOUNCEMENT: ONLINE SHOP
We are excited to announce that our online shop is up and running! All of our gift shop items will be available through the online store, so you too can have a piece of magic from our ranch. There are only a few items available at this time, but be sure to check back regularly, as items are being added regularly. Link to the shop below, or click SHOP on our websites main menu.
https://sawtoothreindeershop.square.site
Once the snow melts and the ground thaws, we will be building the 4th and final shelter of phase 1. We have plans to expand fencing and do some work on landscaping to spruce up the place a bit. Signage is another item at the top of our list.
Exciting new services will be added this year as well. They will offer more unique opportunities for guests visiting the ranch. Keep an eye out for these exciting new additions in future issues!
In the next issue we have some very exciting news that you don’t want to miss. Some new animal additions coming to the ranch this spring!
WE ARE NOW OPEN FOR TOURS. VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND CLICK ON THE “BOOK NOW” BUTTON FOR AVAILABLE OPTIONS AND TIMES. WE ARE ALSO TAKING RESERVATIONS FOR REINDEER APPEARENCES FOR 2025. IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT REINDEER FOR EDUCATION OR YOUR EVENT WE WOULD LOVE TO TALK WITH YOU!
| http://www.sawtoothreindeer.com |
| 1-208-721-1459 |
| info@sawtoothreindeer.com |
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