TRUE ALL-AROUND HORSES —
Horses that can work a cow, catch a fast one in open pasture or an arena, ride smooth on a trail ride, go to a ranch or stock horse show, be competitive in 5 or 6 events, and be really pretty doing it. They have to have good bone and feet and are able to stay sound well into their twenties. We train and use our horses here on the ranch. We keep a small but select group of broodmares. Many of them were top roping or ranch horses or used as trail and lesson horses before we bred them. All of them are well bred and close to the best ‘FOUNDATION’ and ‘COWHORSE’ lines. They are heavy, stout, solid mares with good bone, big hips, good heads, excellent withers and backs, and bred-in ‘COW’. We have really worked to find top cow-bred mares with exceptional SIZE, BONE, FEET, & SUBSTANCE. Many are 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation ‘home-breds’. Not all cutting-breds are 13.3 hand ponies – we have the bigger stouter ones! ALL are only kept for breeding if they have excellent ‘user friendly’ dispositions.
About the recent tornado
WELL, about the time you think you have the journey figured out, the Lord shows you a different path. On May 9, 2016 an EF4 tornado wiped out most of our ranch. It was 3/4 of a mile wide and hit us dead center. It demolished our home, our son’s home and every barn, fence, outbuilding and almost every tree. We lost several horses and had horses up at OSU Veterinary Hospital all Spring and summer. Two were there until late July. Call Him The Flash was badly injured but is going to live. [He is pictured on OSU’s website.] We also lost every truck and 5 trailers.
Most important, we are all OK. Pete and I along with our son, daughter-in-law and 3 grandchildren are all safe. We were in a newly installed underground cellar. We came out safe, but came out to a new world. One of the most important things we found out was how many friends we have. People started pouring in right after the tornado. They helped us catch horses, they brought trailers and took horses home with them (since we had no pens or fences left). We had had nail ridden debris everywhere. Russel and Tanna Dilday graciously took trailer load after trailer load of horses to OSU for Veterinary care and to their ranch to pasture and foal out. [And “Yes”, we lost several horses, have several with permanent injuries and had 3 orphans.] Several horses were at OSU until late August. We just do not know how we could have made it without all of our friends, OSU or the Chickasaw Nation. [Pete is Native American and the Chickasaws take very good care of their elders.] We lost an entire breeding season, but did get most mares back home to breed in 2017. We are finally getting fences replaced and life is going on.
Now, back to regular programming………
So, now we are back to raising and selling user-friendly horses that RIDE. They are trainable, like to work and have as little 'resistance' and 'push back' as you can breed into a horse. Yes, they have ability, but, most of them are probably not going to be your next World Champion. They are probably not going to be the fastest horse in the world, but they will get you to any cow and might well become the best horse you've ever owned. At least half of our horses are sold to repeat buyers, many 'sight unseen'. We have sold more than 30 horses to Europe and the UK. Check out some of our newest additions -- big, strong mild-mannered Percheron / Quarter Horse crosses.
