We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Abraham a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel , thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

A quote that often weaves its way into my mind is “One hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name”. No idea who first said it or wrote it, but I know I think about it. A lot. First off, I believe it. And maybe that’s because I love the guts and glory of life. The epic highs and lows. My life is a tapestry of incredible experiences shadowed by deep heartbreaks. While I have been many things, the one thing that has changed me the most is wildland firefighting. So much so that it is now burned into my identity. Seared onto my soul. But also literally due to a blazing hot chainsaw but that’s another story. One thing I didn’t realize I desired until fighting fire was the glory. After pushing myself to the limits physically and mentally, and then having people praise me for it, it’s a high. An incredible high. And honestly, it fed my growing hero complex. And while fighting fire was a true highlight in my life and shaped me in many ways, it was not my foundation. For who am I beneath the shining armor? A lowly shepherdess. From the time I was 6 years old, shepherding goats was my life. Raising them, caring for them, showing them, etc. For the past 20 years, no matter the weather, I’ve been out there in the barn. Sweat, blood, and tears have soaked through the dirt floor, and true character building has grown out of it. Not the intense, powerful actions of fighting fire, but the solid, stable, constant actions. Always watching. Always listening. Noticing the slightest limp and hearing the faintest raspy breath. Rejoicing with a doe that just gave birth to her kids and grieving with one who just lost her’s. I’ve saved lives on both fronts, but what is my legacy? What do I want represented in that dash between my dates on the headstone? I could list adjectives, but I want actions. I want to touch people’s minds and hearts around the world. I want to create memories and experiences with loved ones and strangers. I want to be a raging wildfire and a steadfast leader. What I want most is when people see something, or hear a certain song, for it to spark a memory of me. And I want them to think fondly of our time together. For a smile to quirk their face or laughter to bubble up from within. For that to me is glorious.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Rachel Abraham, and I have a full 26 years underneath my belt. Although year 27 is fast approaching and the popular dialogue from Pride and Prejudice (2005) keeps going through my head at an unhumorous rate. To be totally honest, I am a very incredible person and I mean that in the most modest way. If you are hesitant to agree, let me give you some quick fun facts to back it up. I grew up on my family’s goat ranch, where I am in charge of over 80+ Angora goats that we raise for their mohair. I am in charge (and have been since childhood) of the overall upkeep, shearing, genetics, midwivery, etc. I was a childhood book model. I purchased, with my own money when I was 13 years old, a yearling mustang that I trained myself. I was a wild horse tracker in my teens. I have a BA degree in Wildlife Resources from the University of Idaho with a double minor in French and Rangeland Ecology. I speak French. I studied abroad in England and France and spent 3 months at the Taylor Wilderness Research Station in the middle of the Frank Church Wilderness of No Return. I worked four seasons as a wildland firefighter and have spent many a night on a mountain after getting flown in by helicopter. I am also a classically trained pianist. And that’s about all the time we have for that, so moving on. While I still hold a current red card, my main profession is managing the ranch. Like I said previously, my family and I raise a herd of colored Angora goats. For the past 15+ years, we have strived to be one of the top names in the country. And we have succeeded. Red Falcon Ranch is now not only known across the nation but around the world. I am out in the barn day in and day out, rain or shine, fall shearing season, breeding season, spring shearing season, kidding season, and then fall shearing season again; I’m there. All of our goats are named, and I can tell each one a part. And I have up to 5 generations memorized on many of them. I agree, it’s a flex. Now, Angora goats are most commonly confused with sheep; however, I promise you, they are not. They grow a fiber called mohair. They are an ancient breed of goat from Turkey and weren’t allowed out of the country until a couple of hundred years ago. So Angoras are still relatively new here in the States. Mohair grows in curly locks and is shorn twice a year. Mohair is more comparable to silk than wool, as it is very lustrous and strong. Each goat produces about 8-10 pounds of mohair per shearing season. So what do we do with all that mohair? I thought you’d never ask. My mom, and this is another epic story, created her own knitwear company called Caprine. We use all of our mohair and send it off to small family mills on the East Coast, where it is turned into mohair socks and naturally-colored mohair throws (the only ones on the market, I might add). My younger sister helps my mom run the company and is putting her business degree from the UI to good use. Since we like to keep everything in-house, I am the current model for Caprine as well. Thus, from Red Falcon Ranch to Caprine, it is truly a woman-run, family-owned business. All homegrown and made in the USA. Also, in the past year, I have become the social media manager for Red Falcon Ranch and have garnered a sizeable following on Instagram and Facebook. There, I share behind-the-scenes of ranch life, educational videos, and heartwarming stories. Many of my reels have reached millions of views, so I’m quite proud of the impact the ranch has had.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I took over the social media page for the Ranch, I had no idea where to start. My mom had started a page for Red Falcon Ranch about 3 years ago, and we had about 300 followers on Instagram when I took over about a year and a half ago. It was difficult for me because how do you begin to share something you’ve been doing your whole life? What was so special about cleaning out the barn or trimming goat hooves? So I just began sharing daily life on RFR’s stories, and as reels became more popular, I got into that. I then began to develop my own style of videos, and I figured out what people really enjoyed watching. Turns out it wasn’t the interesting educational videos nor the aesthetic ones of goats with music. It was the cats. The thrown-away rescue cats that we have slowly collected on the ranch. Turns out they are magic when it comes to getting views. And then sometimes, you post a reel at the perfect time with the perfect music, and for no other reason I can see other than pure luck, it goes viral. And most often, it is a reel I didn’t put any time into. The ones I really work hard on and edit for hours rarely get the attention I think they deserve. But my advice would be to stay consistent. Keep putting yourself out there. And on that note, give whatever you are posting a face. Make it real, personal. I have found that putting myself in the videos helps a lot. Develop stories so that your audience feels that they are on a journey with you. We have had several goats that have gotten injured, and there is a whole support system that rallies around them on their healing journey. The audience loves to feel included, so let them rejoice with you, let them grieve with you. Give them something to live vicariously through. Many people have messaged me saying that my social media is a part of their daily routine! They look forward to waking up in the morning and sitting down with their cup of coffee, and seeing what’s new on the ranch. Even though it may be normal life for me, for somebody else it is a dream. So let them live it.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

So back in 2021, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. As fate would have it, she was diagnosed around the same time she was awarded a prestigious USDA grant for creating and starting a knitwear company using our mohair. It was a tumultuous time for us, to say the least. And while nobody can compare to my mom’s resilience during her battle, often those closest are forgotten. But they experience it too. I was in my junior year of university and decided to come home for the spring semester. Many classes were still hybrid due to COVID, and once I explained my situation, most of my professors were very understanding and let me attend fully online. I remember coming home and seeing a shadow of my mom on the couch. So weak from chemo treatments. Her beautiful blond hair gone. Her sparkle completely dimmed. She was due to have surgery the following week, and I knew it was going to be hard on my dad, having to try to work his full-time job, take care of my mom, and take care of all the animals. So I came home. But I had no idea it was going to be so hard. You never really think about what it is to experience one of your parents slowly dying in front of you. They always seem so strong growing up. Like they will always be that way. Always there to take care of you. But now the roles were reversed, and honestly, I was scared. The surgery was over Valentine’s Day. My mom came home with drain tubes hanging out and off of her that had to be emptied periodically. She looked more like a science experiment than my mom. I remember one night when she wanted to quit. She was so tired. So done with all of it. What do you do? What do you say? That it will all get better? It was excruciating to watch. Those couple of months were some of the darkest of my life. It was winter, and taking care of over a hundred animals by yourself is difficult enough, but having your mom battling for her life and a full load of college credits was almost impossible. It was so hard. I remember so often I would just sit outside and let the tears roll down my face. I felt so helpless. But I knew I had to be strong. Strong for her, strong for my dad, and strong for the ranch. That season of life, I think of as my Atlas season. For I felt like I was holding up the world. Looking back, I can see my resilience being built brick by brick. I never gave up. My dad never gave up. And most importantly, my mom never gave up. She is still here today and continuing to regain all the strength she lost. And while we lost a lot, much was gained. Grit, determination, and resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.redfalconranch.com
• Instagram: @redfalconranch
• Facebook: Red Falcon Ranch
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelabraham1/
• Other: shopcaprine.com
  @shopcaprine

Image Credits

Sarah Abraham for all the non-fire images.