News and Events:

April News:

While we needed much more rain this year we have green grass in abundance, and the horses can hardly keep their minds off of how yummy it is. Green grass provides vitamin E and enzymes not found in their hay ration, so a bit of grazing is beneficial. We just have to be careful during this season because too much of a good thing can become a not so good thing. Mustangs and many domestic horses can become too fat, or worse, suffer from laminitis if they get too much grass this time of year. We do have seasonal pasture, and we also just turn horses loose on the property to enjoy the green stuff. Trees are leafing out, and the birds are picking up tufts of the horses’ shedded out winter coats to line their nests. The red tailed hawks are having to rebuild their nest high up in the eucalyptus tree down by the creek, but we still hope to see some fledgling hawks this season.

Horse of the Month!

Esperanza aka Espie:

Espie might just be the best known and best loved horse here at Windhorse Ranch. This lovely silver grulla mare was adopted by Kathy in late 2007 through a live auction bidding process. Kiger mustangs are perhaps the only mustangs that are adopted this way (other common ways include a silent bidding at a satellite event, or going to the BLM corrals to pick one out). Why are these Kiger mustangs adopted via live bidding? They are highly desirable mustangs, and are so popular that they are bred in captivity to meet the great demand. Some of the Kigers end up in Europe and New Zealand, and they are also sometimes crossed with domestic breeds such as warmbloods and Quarter Horses. Horses from the Kiger and Riddle Herd Management Areas are unique in that they live in a fairly well isolated mountain habitat known as Steens Mountain in south central Oregon. Because of this isolation they have genes dating back to old Spanish stock, and have a distinct look that goes beyond the dun coloring they are known for. Espie has the black based dun coloration known as grulla, but she has a silver pearl coat most of the year, much lighter than the darker grulla color seen more frequently. Duns also come in bay and red based colors, and the bay based duns are the most common.

When Espie came back from Oregon, she was a very sensitive and flighty two year old filly, but once gentled she became a fabulous partner with a soft and gentle eye and demeanor. She was started at the age of five by Sydney Long, one of our trainer/instructors, and became a dream ride and liberty partner. Espie became a lesson horse and a lease horse and a therapy horse, excelling at everything and is still all of the above. She will also be the demonstration horse for the Equine Hanna Somatic course April 12-16 2021 with Eleanor Criswell, shown below.