Each winter, Susan and Arthur Echols provide others with an invaluable gift of witnessing real live reindeer representing the joy of Santa, the spirit of the holidays and more than a little magic.
As the only reindeer farm owners in Tennessee, the Echols appreciate being part of living Christmas traditions because seeing an actual reindeer up-close and in-person is an extraordinary opportunity. They will be busy spreading happiness via back-to-back reindeer visits throughout November and December.
"We get one question every time at events: Do reindeer really fly?" reveals Susan, a retired elementary school teacher. "I tell them: 'Only on Christmas Eve when working with Santa.'"
Additionally, Arthur says somebody, including adults, will speak up to state they never thought reindeer were really real. "Then we get to see little children become mesmerized by the reindeer, and to watch their parents for a few seconds reliving their childhood memories of the season, looking through eyes of wonder again. We enjoy helping people have memories that they'll hold onto for the rest of their lives."
Scheduling TNreindeer begins each January and fills up by April. Susan says they attend an equal amount of private and public events, with two reindeer typically at each session. They rotate the reindeer so none of them spends too much time on the road, and they have a handful of ones trained for the events in case they handle simultaneous sessions.
For the Echols, their enthusiasm for reindeer started after purchasing a 94-acre farm in Wartrace during Thanksgivng 2011 and deciding to grow Christmas trees. Susan says they planted several hundred trees for a couple years, however, whitetail deer ate or ruined most of them.
"While discussing with Arthur what else we could do with the property, I proposed that we raise reindeer," recalls Susan.
Arthur says his response to that plan was a blissful: "Yeah, sure," before going about his business. Little did he know how serious Susan was about the new initiative. Before he knew it, she had booked them into attending a conference with the Reindeer Owners and Breeders Association in Kansas City, Missouri. They purchased their original three reindeer from a breeder in Indiana during spring 2018. Then they bought a reindeer herd from a man in Knoxville when his health prompted him to step away from the business during 2023. They currently have 14 total reindeer, with 7-month-old Chip, who was born to the farm during April.
Each reindeer has its own personality and shares a special bond with family members. The Echols secured a custom food recipe from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks to feed their herd. "Their diets need to be very well controlled, and people are surprised to discover they don't have teeth on the top," Susan reveals.
Reindeer need regular monitoring and daily, yearlong healthcare, to make sure their antlers don’t get caught on fencing, tree limbs or each other. Reindeer antlers grow in an upward span so they can use them to dig up plants buried in the snow. Even the female reindeer grow antlers. In the wild, the animals also often use them to ward off predators. When reindeer antlers grow, they're soft and flexible, nourished by a vascular covering referred to as velvet, which is a mass of blood and marrow. Antlers are tender and vulnerable during velvet growth time, and a broken antler tip is a huge health threat to them at that point, because an opening can attract flies, which can lead to deadly infections.
"Antlers are the reindeer's means for defense, so it's essential that no one, including adults, at our events try to grab the antlers or put their hands into their corral. And guests should not try to pet the reindeer," explains Susan. "We do display a table with pairs of shed antlers to touch, as well as a pelt to feel."
"People aren't quite aware of the uintended consequences that can come from a large rack of antlers swiveling around or just raising up quickly," she adds.
These local reindeer can be viewed during the holidays at seasonal exhibits such as Santa at the Ryman, tree lightings in Shelbyville, Winchester or Fayetteville, Reindeer on the Riverfront in Chattanooga and sometimes neighbors within subdivision pool their funds to have a special, on-site reindeer visit.
"We're scheduled to be at Pidegon Forge for the first time this year," says Susan.
Editor's Note: To keep up with these reindeer visits, monitor TNreindeer's social media.
To personally see TNreindeer in Murfreesboro, head to 311 Butler Drive on Nov. 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., as hosted by Shawn Wright of Century 21 Real Estate.