| On our 50,000-acre working dude ranch, one thing we | | | | 4. Smooth gaits sure come in handy on long days. A |
| always need are good ranch horses. My definition of a | | | | hard trotting horse wears you out quickly. |
| good horse may not fit the show ring model. Out here, | | | | 5. Geldings for this ranch. We don't have time and are |
| "pretty is as pretty does." A really ugly horse looks | | | | too shorthanded to be starting colts. Plus with all the |
| darn good when he carries you safely through brush, | | | | predators, an awful lot can happen to a colt way |
| along cliffs, and up and down steep canyons. Our | | | | before he can be ridden. Since we aren't raising colts, |
| criteria in order of importance: | | | | we don't need mares and stallions. Geldings and mares |
| | | | together cause a lot more problems than either by |
| 1. Good sense. A spooky horse in this country is a | | | | themselves. |
| recipe for disaster. Plus, no one is here to help you if | | | | Things we don't worry about - color - with two |
| you should get bucked off. I ride alone 90% of the | | | | exceptions. We don't want white around our horses' |
| time. No one would miss me 'til dark and then it would | | | | eyes. It is too hard on eyesight in this sunny country. |
| be too late to hunt for me 'til daybreak. | | | | We prefer to have no or very little white with pink skin |
| 2. Surefootedness is essential. You are just as hurt if a | | | | on our horses. A gray/white horse with dark skin is |
| horse stumbles and falls as if he dumped you. We ride | | | | fine, but a pink skin horse is more susceptible to |
| rough country. No stumblers or toe draggers here. A | | | | sunburn and skin cancer. |
| horse needs to watch for holes, rocks, cactus, you | | | | Speed doesn't matter to us. A rope horse that can't |
| name it, and he needs the coordination to move | | | | run fast enough to win money may do fine here. We |
| around them. | | | | work slow and steady with the goal of getting |
| 3. Good conformation. That doesn't mean a halter | | | | everything done with no injuries. Our horses are |
| horse. It means a horse with good withers so your | | | | money in the bank to us. We take care of them and |
| saddle doesn't run up his neck going down a slope. It | | | | vice versa. |
| means strong legs with good bone to hold up to | | | | Good looks and pretty heads, flowing tails, all the show |
| pounding rocky ground. It means hooves big enough to | | | | horse beauty means nothing here. Sure, I would |
| carry him and preferably hard, black hooves. It means | | | | choose a good looking horse over a homely one - if all |
| a strong topline with strength to carry a rider 14 hours | | | | other attributes were identical. But a plain, dependable |
| if needed. We prefer medium size. A big, tall horse | | | | horse is worth a dozen fancy, untrustworthy mounts |
| can't get through timber and brush like a smaller one | | | | to me. |
| can. | | | | |