October 17, 2023

From City Lights to Muddy Boots: Claudia Diaz’s Countryside Adventure

Meet Claudia and her mini horse Buttercup

In a lively dance between bustling streets and rustic trails, Claudia Diaz’s life story twirls with a delightful twist. Imagine a city slicker turned country girl whose narrative unfolds like a captivating yarn of newfound love, rural adventures, and a charming cast of animal companions.

This week, we sit down with Claudia to dive into her journey, where the bright lights of the city have been replaced by muddy boots, and an ever-growing family of furry and feathered furrends has taken center stage.

Hi Claudia, what’s your story?

My story is about a typical country mouse meets a city mouse. I grew up in the city, and by means of what I like to call destiny, I met my now husband, and things would never be the same. We tried living in the city for a few years while my husband commuted to the country for work. He is a third-generation farmer and had big dreams to one day have his own farm to continue his grandfather’s legacy.

A few years and two daughters later, we decided we should make that happen and moved to the country! It was a very scary move for me as I was not used to country life at all. I slowly started adapting to the serene sounds nature would bring. Never in a million years did I ever think this would be my life. The people who know me wouldn’t have either. Dirty boots, messy hair, and dirt under my fingernails were never part of who I was. More often than not, I found myself missing the fast-paced life the city had given me since birth. Still, I was determined to make the country my home. This is where our family had to be now. This is where our future was. It all started when my father-in-law gifted our eldest daughter a colt named Popcorn, and now we have so many different animals that have become part of our family.

Country life has given me more than city life ever could. Here I have learned to slow down, to breathe, to live, to protect my peace, and to prioritize my family above all.

Our girls are thriving and learning selflessness by taking care of our beautiful animals. It brings me so much joy to see them running around enjoying our farms without a care in the world. They get to experience growth on fertile soil and births of fertile wombs. Witnessing the birth of our beloved Buttercup has been an incredible experience. My heart has never been so full. I would never go back to the city! This is home.

How did you start creating content on social media for Buttercup?

I started documenting Scout’s (Buttercup’s mom) pregnancy. Scout belongs to my five-year-old daughter. They do gymkhanas together and have built a very strong bond.

We love Scout dearly and waited for the birth of her baby for what seemed like FOREVER. I spent a lot of hours in the barn with her in anticipation of the birth. I was taking videos all the time just on the off chance that she would have her baby when I was there. I was constantly posting updates on my personal social media pages. I feared my friends were probably getting very bored of seeing my horse posts, so I did what any loving pet parent would do… I gave her a social media page! Initially, it was all about Scout, then she had her foal, and it became just about her baby Buttercup. I mean, how could I not focus on that beautiful foal? The more I uploaded videos, the more I enjoyed doing it, and I felt that maybe other people out there would enjoy watching him too. I started playing with audio and sounds and got more creative with every video.

My creation process is very simple… I just took a video of my miniature foal! I have learned a ton about horses since moving here. We now own other miniature horses and Quarter horses! Through this knowledge, I knew that foals needed to be desensitized. This means getting them used to objects and how they feel on their face and body. Foals and horses, in general, spook very easily, and they flee. This could create a very dangerous situation for the horse itself or the rider it is carrying on its’ back.

I have been handling Buttercup since the minute he was born. I have been working with him on picking up his feet, feeling different materials on his body, playing with a ball, walking on plastic and paper bags, how to lead, among other things. I’ve been doing all of this while recording videos, so I have tons and tons of content. I will scroll to watch different videos, and I usually get inspired by an audio. I choose the audio then I curate my videos. At this moment, I don’t know the direction my content will go. I am very new to it all, and I am exploring to see where it takes me.

Tell us about the puppy?

Ah, my puppy! Her name is Snowflake for obvious reasons, hehe! Snowflake’s story is bitter-sweet. You see, I mentioned we live in the country, and well, the country has predators. One day, a pack of coyotes came into our yard and took our two little dogs. It was Chuy (Pomeranian mix) and Anna (Terrier mix), both rescue dogs. We were devastated and heartbroken. Chuy belonged to my oldest daughter, and Anna belonged to my youngest. They cried so much and were so sad that we decided to go to our local animal shelter. We walked the dark, sad hall to the very full kennels in hopes that a dog would choose us. Then, we saw this little white ball of fire come to the fence and “talk” to us with the cutest little bark. We knew she had chosen us.

We called the attendant to ask about her or any history she might have of her. She shared with us that Snowflake had been “dumped” the night before in the overnight drop-off box. We were in disbelief. How could someone drop off a fragile little puppy in the drop-off box at a shelter? We knew she had to come home with us, so we adopted her, and she’s living her best life at our farm! She is much loved and has embraced country life and all the other animals that live in it.

How would you describe your experience with Furrend?

My experience with Furrend has been very pleasant! I love that Furrend is geared towards animals and that it caters to animal lovers. I obviously go on other social media platforms, but I always find myself scrolling over the videos that don’t include animals. I am an animal lover, so I naturally look for other animal videos. Furrend provides that for me. I don’t have to scroll over any videos because every video is of an animal! Furrend builds community by bringing pet lovers together. Here we can share and love each other’s Furrends.

” You make friends when you have something in common; Furrend is our common.

Anything else you wish we asked you about?

I would like to share that we have other animals on our farm. Over thirty animals, actually! These include show steers. We are getting ready to participate in our county fair, so wish us luck! I will be featuring all of Buttercup’s Furrends in the near future.

We thank Claudia for sharing your story with us. You can follow her and all the furrends on Instagram and TikTok.

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