I’ve always loved horses. From the time I was a little girl and up through high school, I dreamed of owning my own horse. My mother gave me a book when I was about four that I absolutely fell in love with. She had read it to me so many times, that I could “read” the book on my own, from rote memorization. Little did I know that one day this would become the inspiration for the identity of my business.

I grew up on a farm, but horses were not a part of our traditional livestock. Both of my parents grew up with horses being a very important part of their everyday lives, from being driven to country school in an open wagon, to row-crop farming with teams of draft horses. Neither of them were willing to give in to my never-ending begging, so it was customary to see me riding my bike on gravel roads 1-1/2 miles to my uncle’s farm to ride his horses. There was a little cob-sized horse, named “Cookie,” that became our favorite because she was broke to drive. I’m sure when she saw that bike coming down the road she pretty much dreaded the rest of the afternoon.

As with most farm kids, when graduation hit, life took a turn for an urban lifestyle. Going to college, getting a job, eventually getting married, and having children became the primary focus of my life. Becoming a single parent posed new challenges, but also offered me new opportunities that rekindled the spark of having a life filled with horses. In 1999, I was able to purchase 12 acres of rural property that is contiguous with my city property. The 12 acres were rough, having been abandoned many years ago, and were overgrown with noxious weeds (iron weeds over 12-feet high!) and a tangled mess of broken and dying box elder trees. Both the City and local high school had used the property as a “dumping site,” ranging from discarded football uniforms to outdated appliances and huge mounds of broken concrete. The only fence was a scraggly disarray of barb wire that was falling off the hand-hewed fence posts which were probably still the original uprights.

Work began that year, a bite at a time. The first major obstacle was to obtain permission to put in drive-over culverts so we could get over to the bulk of the acres across the Minnehaha Creek which split the property. We knew there was a creek, but couldn’t see where it was. Weeds were cleared with a DR® walk-behind mower, a quarter of an acre a day, until we had about two acres cleared. Surprisingly, the land was beautiful and due to the deep topsoil from years of flooding deposits, quickly grew beautiful and lush pastures when over seeded and fertilized.

I started with four paint weanlings in 1999 and then added four more weanlings the following year. I finished my “herd” with two additional paints in 2002. Three-sided portable (40’x40′) stables served as my barns for many years, and even though they provided shelter from the elements, blizzards and horrendous rain storms managed to make life difficult. I had just set up paneled horse fencing when a devastating (unheard of at the time) rain event drenched our area with 8 inches of rain in an hour. My property was under water for the first of many times during the past 17 years. It took several weeks of cleanup, but work continued to reclaim what the flood had destroyed, while at the same time looking to the future to improve the property.

I really knew nothing of taking care of and managing horses, so having ten yearlings and weanlings really was a challenge. I read everything I could get my hands on, watched clinicians (both on TV and in real life), attended clinics, sought out knowledgeable and reliable horse owners, and kept my ears open and mouth shut. I quickly learned who to trust and who to avoid. The most important piece of advice I can give to new and prospective horse owners is to not believe everything that “you’re told,” but rather, listen and then carefully and thoroughly research the “advice” you were given. Make sure you deal with a reputable and honest breeder and/or seller. Like any hobby, there are many good people who are involved in the horse industry, but there are also those that are willing to prey on the unsuspecting. Don’t go blindly into any transaction. If you’re not sure which way to go, call your local equine veterinarian and ask them who they recommend to give you good advice and/or possibly become a mentor.

The first winter (1999) was rough. We had been able to bore an underground water line, but it was over 300 feet from the barn. We also bored an underground power line at the same time (late in the fall) to provide one electric outlet at the barn. Since I had no running water nearby, I used a sled and three five-gallon lidded pails to transport water from the only hydrant about 300 feet away. I would pour the buckets into a heated water tank and then go back for more. Snowstorms were even worse because the shelters didn’t keep the snow out, but instead acted as a wind tunnel and drew the snow in. I didn’t have any equipment to move snow from the dry lots, so spring became a nightmare of knee-deep mud, along with flooding in the stalls. All the mucking of stalls was done with a wheelbarrow, which had to be pushed/drug to the pile which was 300 feet in the opposite direction. To this day I don’t know how I did it… only that I so desperately wanted to pursue the dream I had for so long.

Each following year would bring more changes and improvements. Temporary dry lots became permanent lots with horse panels chained to wooden uprights. Large road rock was hauled in to create a base, which was then covered with limestone gravel and then finally topped with sand to create an indestructible, but forgiving footing. Large equipment was brought in to bulldoze the mess of dead and decaying trees which were piled into a huge mound and burned. Weeds were cleared out and the concrete which was abandoned so many years ago became reinforcement for my eroding creek banks. Paddocks were laid out and carefully designed to provide the maximum usage of acres while trying to negotiate the meandering creek. Electrobraid® fencing was installed. My “road” which had consisted of a grass-covered dirt path became a permanent road, with a parking/turning-around area, complete with white road rock. Two additional three sided stables were brought in to house the horses, but something needed to be done about the flooding issue. To combat that problem, fill was brought in from an excavating contractor to raise the “pads” on which the units sat so they were four feet above ground level. This brought each unit high enough so that flood waters were no longer an issue. Auxiliary buildings were also raised to about four feet above the ground, sitting on“stilts” that allowed the water and debris to flow underneath without causing any harm to the contents inside. Over seeding and careful grooming expanded the available unused space to allow for small hay fields.

Not all years saw improvements to the land. One of my major expenditures in the early years was a sub-compact utility tractor and loader. A few years later, a John Deere six-wheel Gator was added to alleviate the need to rely on a wheelbarrow as the sole means of mucking stalls. The Gator was traded several years later for a Kawasaki Mule which was a smaller, and more maneuverable utility vehicle, but the carbureted engine didn’t work very well in our cold Iowa winters. After a couple of years struggling trying to keep it running throughout the winter months, the decision was

made to trade it for a Polaris Ranger 700 XP four-wheel drive utility vehicle, which is what I still use today. I ordered it with a cab, complete with windshield wipers and heater. It has a mechanical lift system so that I can transport manure and used bedding to a compost pile in the winter. During the rest of the year, when the danger of freezing is gone, I use a 2014 stainless steel Milcreek SS Super Spreader that I would highly recommend; pricey, but worth every dollar. It’s a one-time investment that is built to last; it even comes with a Lifetime Warranty against floor and body rust-through! My grooming mower is a John Deere 997 Z-Turn with six-foot deck that can devour acres in a short period of time. We’ve affectionately named it “The Beast.” For snow removal both in and out of the dry lots, I use an all-wheel drive John Deere 744 Tractor with four-foot blower and Cozy Cab. Works like a dream and the heated cab makes a welcome difference in sub-zero temperatures.

Then, in 2012, my ultimate dream came true. My son-in-law developed a way to convert my three-sided shelters into fully enclosed barns. No more chores out in the open! Through his hard work, careful planning, vast array of skills (including plumbing, electrical (wiring), trenching and boring, carpentry, big equipment operator, and welding!), and common-sense approach, I now have beautiful masterpieces that house my animals. The garage doors open with a push of a button and each barn’s vestibule can fully house a vehicle, or my daily chore utility vehicle.

In 2013, after another flood, I was unable to mow the pastures and they grew up into luscious fields of grass. If God gives you grass; make hay! And so we did. There is nothing quite like the overwhelming pride of accomplishment and satisfaction of raising your own feed. I can control the quality myself and never have to second-guess what I’m feeding to my animals. I purchased two older John Deere Utility Tractors that can easily power the John Deere 24-T Baler and pull the hay rack (my son-in-law also built the rack). They also have huge loader buckets so we can load the bales from the ground and drive them directly into the barn for stacking and safekeeping. I purchased a Kuhn seven-foot disc mower for cutting the thick grass, and a compact side rake, which is mounted to my sub-compact John Deere 2520 Tractor completes the final stage of preparation before baling. There is a skill and a knack that needs to be developed when making your own hay, so be sure to ask plenty of questions and seek out the expertise of others who are proficient in this area. Another wise investment is to purchase a probe moisture tester. This will give you an instant digital readout as to the moisture content of each bale, so while you’re still in the learning phase, this can be an invaluable tool to assist in making costly mistakes.
This past year, in 2015, the final long-term project came to be… an outdoor riding arena. The “pad” on which the arena sits, was created five years ago when over 300 loads of clay and dirt was brought in to fill a massive gaping hole that had been dug out years ago. Apparently, there had been a naturally occurring sand deposit which was dug completely out, leaving nothing behind but stagnant water, massive over growths of mosquitoes, snapping turtles, and foul-smelling, rotting organic material. This pad was also built up four feet above ground level so that any potential flooding should leave it high and dry. The arena was carefully designed so that it angles out, away from the rider’s stirrups, to help alleviate the potential of getting “hung up” on the rail if a horse gets too close. Heavy oil drilling pipes and sucker rods were used for the structure, each upright being positioned at a specific angle, with the sucker rods welded into place supported with specially designed “clips.” Tile was trenched in to allow for proper drainage, and ironically, sand was brought in as the arena footing.

The original ten horses are no longer in my possession. I currently own two Quarter Horse geldings, Gunz (Ruger) and Roca; and Trigger, who is a grade, Amish-bred and trained, cobsized gelding. I enjoy mounted shooting, which I will go into greater detail on the pages that refer to the “big boys.” My miniature herd (The Rockettes) was established in 2011. I purchased all my stock from George and Mary Ronek of GMR Acres, who are located in eastern Iowa. They have a long history in the horse industry and are great people with which to work. Their breeding program is superb, and I’m proud to be associated with them. Their website is: www.gmrminiatures.com. Feel free to check them out as well.

Horses are an extremely important part of my life and I hope I can enjoy these magnificent animals for many years to come. The hours are long, the work is sometimes hard, but the rewards are worth it. I am extremely physically fit for my age, and horses have taught me a new and different way of looking at life. Patience is key, as well as having an elevated-plane of understanding. These are highly social, keenly attuned, and spiritual animals that we have been blessed with through the years. Horses have Biblical beginnings, evolutionary adaptations, and have been used extensively throughout history, both in war and peace. They are truly remarkable animals.