This is the time of year when the guest ranch part of the ranch is closed and we start on projects.  Right now the lodge is getting the walls and floors refinished  and  the little old shooting shack (which it is truly a little shack) is being torn down and a new one put in it’s place.  These are the normal types of things that happen over the winter but this time around we have added a new project that we haven’t done in a long time, young unbroken horses.

Back when we first started the guest ranch and didn’t have as many horses as we did today we decided it would be “fun” to buy some young quality stock, that normally would cost quite a bit older and broke, and start them ourselves with the hopes that they would work out for our trail string around the age of  4 1/2 – 5.  Max and Slingblade are couple of those that have been here for many years.  This past year we decided since we had Cowboy Cody and Tember, who have both started colts and are very capable of training a horse, why not get a couple “projects” with the intent to either resell to pay for an older broke horse or keep him around and turn him into a trail horse for the string in the future.  So off I went to last September  Lolli Brothers Special Horse Sale in Macon, MO to pick out a couple long yearlings (these would be two in the year 2012). And I did just that, except I came home with one extra…oops.  🙂

Here are the colts I purchased at the sale, they have yet to get their nicknames:

Zebs Dunn Parr - born May 21, 2010 Registered Quarter Horse

BQH Buckshot Burney - born June 7, 2010 Registered Quarter Horse

Sheer Golden - born June 1, 2010 Registered Quarter Horse

 This guy is the “extra” horse… guess you would call him the third wheel since I was only supposed to come home with two.

Then we remembered we needed to add Thistle to the “project” list.  She was born and raised here.

 

Thistle

Thistle - born April 2010 Sire: Quarter Horse Dam: Flower (Spotted Draft)

In December Barry and I decided to go  the Tulsa Horse Sale in Tulsa Oklahoma to see if we could pick up a riding horse or two for less than we would pay in the spring.   During the sale a coming three year old bay roan gelding was led in, not broke of course.  His price was so cheap that now he has been added to our “project” list.

Belles Sixcess - born May 31, 2009 Registered Quarter Horse

Now that we have our “projects” it’s time to get started with them.  The 2010 “kids” will only need to be worked with in the round pen with saddling and bridling, very minimal stuff, until they get a bit older this summer.  The 2009 gelding is old enough to do it all.  We have only run into one problem with our plan, Cowboy Cody left us to work on a 650 head cattle ranch in Oklahoma but we still have Tember.  🙂

We are looking forward to watching these guys (and girl) grown and develop into reliable and fun trail horses.