Western Horseman 2025 April edition by Cowboy Publishing Group

IT STARTS AT HOME

Preserving health, heritage and a sustainable future

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Penning and Working the Wild Ones

The April 1949 issue of Western Horseman explored the origin of the corral and snubbing post. Find this ﬂashback article on our website at westernhorseman.com

SOCIAL

The Ones Who Take Care of Our Athletes

Veterinarians put in hours of work, day or night, when it comes to ensuring our equine athletes and all our beloved animals are healthy and cared for properly when injured. It’s time to brag about these often-overlooked heroes. We want to hear all about your amazing veterinarians making a di erence!

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VOLUME 90/NUMBER 04 Western Horseman (ISSN 0043-3837) is published monthly by MCC Magazines, LLC, 735 Broad St., Augusta, GA 30901. Subscription rate is $24 for one year, $46 for two years. Canadian subscriptions add $20 per year (U.S. funds only). All other foreign subscriptions add $40 per year (U.S. funds only). Editorial and Advertising Main Offices: 2112 Montgomery St., Fort Worth, TX 76107. Periodicals Postage paid at Augusta, GA, and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Western Horseman, P.O. Box 37131, Boone, IA 50037-4131. Submission of freelance articles and photographs is welcomed. For complete editorial guidelines go to westernhorseman.com or email edit@westernhorseman.com. No faxed materials accepted. Articles that appear in Western Horseman do not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of Western Horseman or MCC Magazines, LLC. Western Horseman does not endorse and is not responsible for the contents of any advertisement in this publication. No material from Western Horseman can be copied, faxed, electronically transmitted, or otherwise used without express written permission. © 2025 by MCC Magazines, LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

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VESTED IN THE VERA EARL

Through progressive management and cooperative collaborations, a generational horse and cattle ranch in southeastern Arizona preserves its heritage while shaping a sustainable future.

BY JENNIFER DENISON

EQUINE RHABDOMYOLYSIS

Better known as “tying-up,” equine rhabdomyolysis is a frequent concern for horse owners and can occur for various reasons. Dr. Jane Manfredi, DVM, explains the condition, treatment and prevention in detail.

BY HOPE ELLIS-ASHBURN

COWBOYS,

CATTLE AND CONSERVATION

In northeastern Nevada, the Boies Ranch uses a holistic, consensus-based approach to restore and sustain sagebrush rangeland.

BY ANDRIA HAUTAMAKI

LIVING THE DREAM

Marin and Addison Tomlinson forge the Vera Earl Ranch into the future.

Feeding high-quality, properly stored hay is a best practice to improve horse health and decrease waste.

Arizona horsewoman Bailey Bearup is elevating her horsemanship skills.

Third-generation charro, colt starter and horse trainer Chris Tejero has reshaped his entire training program for

Jolyn Young recalls the journey from newlywed bliss to

38 RODEO

An inside look at the scoring process with PBR judge Allan Jordan. 42 3 QUESTIONS

Dr. Sam Manassas Crosby IV is a second-generation veterinarian answering questions about the evolving landscape around equine medicine. 44

WESTERN STOPS

At The Ahwahnee Dining Room, guests can experience a great meal while admiring the views of the Yosemite Valley.

WESTERN MEDIA

Western podcasts are on the rise, connecting listeners with equine professionals and others in a common space.

Kenyon Bearup of the Vera Earl Ranch. Read the full story on page 66.

Photography by Jennifer Denison

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Important Safety Information: Not for use in humans. Do not use in horses intended for human consumption. FOR ORAL USE IN HORSES 4 WEEKS OF AGE AND OLDER. Not to be used in other animal species as severe adverse reactions, including fatalities in dogs, may result. Swelling and itching reactions after treatment with ivermectin paste have occurred in horses carrying heavy infections of neck threadworm microfilaria (Onchocerca sp.). Ivermectin and ivermectin residues may adversely affect aquatic organisms; therefore, dispose of product appropriately. For complete prescribing information, contact Bimeda® at 1-888-524- 6332, or EquimaxHorse.com/PI. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Best Job I Ever Had

I have been the editor at Western Horseman for 2 ½ years now, and I have been immensely blessed by this role. Working so closely with the Western community and representing such an iconic brand has been a highlight of a lifetime. The last year brought so many unexpected curve balls for me, both professionally and personally, causing a great deal of shifted perspectives in my life.

Knowing how unpredictable and ﬂeeting time is got me to reﬂect deeply about where my time is invested. My babies are less babies and more boys with each passing day. I don’t know when my toddler turned into a little boy, and I don’t know when my baby turned into a toddler. It happened right in front of me, and yet, I somehow missed it.

My dad moved away to a di erent state for work; my kids met new milestones; my sister graduated college; my brother proposed and is starting to lay down roots for his own family; my grandparents had surgeries; my in-laws bought a home near us; I wrote a book; and many other happenings shaped my year. Reﬂecting on all of that made me realize how quickly time is moving and how little of it we really have to do what matters most to us.

Before Western Horseman, I had built a career in marketing and events. I got really good at it, and I deeply enjoyed the work. Amongst all that change in 2024, I was presented with an opportunity to return to that world, and what’s more, my work would beneﬁt a great cause that works with children in undeserved communities. It would give me more control over my schedule, and — perhaps most importantly — it would give me more time with the people I love most. After years of hustle, learning, stress and late-night work sessions after bedtime with the kids, it was hard to walk away from the chance to return to the things that bring me the most joy. Ultimately, I realized the only place I can’t be replaced is in my own home, and the only thing I will truly regret having missed is the opportunity to slow down and savor the time I am able to spend there. If there is a chance to do that more, I need to take it.

I am really excited about what the future holds for me in 2025, but I also carry a great deal of sadness, as it means my time as editor of Western Horseman is coming to an end. I often have moments of doubt where I feel like the craziest person in the world for walking away from what is certainly the most iconic and meaningful job title I will ever have, but I have to follow my heart toward what I truly believe is the right thing for my family right now. I have genuinely loved every second of my time at Western Horseman, and it is only with an immense amount of reﬂection and prayer I am able to walk away.

I am eternally grateful to John, Dani, Kailey, Laurel, Jennifer, and the rest of the team at Cowboy Publishing. All of them held my hand, taught me new things, inspired me, and worked tirelessly alongside me to usher in a revived era of Western Horseman and create an incredible magazine. Of course, I also have to take a moment to honor the wonderful freelancers who created the content that makes this magazine so great. I have loved working shoulder to shoulder with each of you to make something important.

I have the utmost conﬁdence in the new editor, who we’ll be introducing to you next month. I know the magazine is in great, if not better, hands, and I know that your experience as a reader is only going to get better from here.

Thank you, readers, for humoring me while I “took the reins” and played a very small role in the very big legacy of this publication. This is not goodbye, as I hope to see you in the pages of this book from time to time as a contributor when time allows. Thank you for your loyal readership, your thoughtful feedback and your love of horses. I have been so blessed by your constant support.

Sincerely,

AMANDA DEVAN, EDITOR

with Bailey Bearup has taken Addison

Jennifer Denison Writer and Photographer

As Western Horseman’s senior editor for 20 years, Jennifer Denison has traveled extensively throughout the West and beyond, documenting the Western culture and lifestyle. In 2002, the award-winning writer and photographer started her freelance business and continues to pursue her passion for sharing stories about the people, places and topics shaping the modern West in several publications. Denison spent most of her life in Colorado, but two years ago, she moved outside of Williams, Arizona, where she lives in a small, o -the-grid cabin on 20 acres.

Hope Ellis-Ashburn Writer

Hope Ellis-Ashburn writes and teaches about agriculture. While her writing has been featured in more than a dozen agricultural and equine publications, she is also the author of three books. Her latest release is a riding diary, “New Horse Journal.” In addition to her writing and teaching, EllisAshburn and her family operate their Tennessee Century Farm, an Angus cow-calf beef operation with resident horses, donkeys and dogs, in the Sequatchie Valley of southeast Tennessee. You can learn more about Ellis-Ashburn and her award-winning work by visiting her website, redhorseonaredhill.pubsitepro.com

Andria Hautamaki Writer and Photographer

Andria Hautamaki is a photographer and writer who divides her time between Colorado and Chile. She’s been reading Western Horseman since her middle school years when she would tuck a magazine into her three-ring binder and sneak glances at the stories during class. She holds a master’s degree in international agricultural development from the University of California, Davis. Her work has been published in National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine and The New York Times. She is a frequent contributor to Western Horseman

Riding

Tomlinson’s horsemanship skills and show savvy to new heights.

where rustic charm meets modern luxury with cozy rooms, a sparkling pool, thrilling casino action, top-notch dining, and an unforgettable aquarium.

DECEMBER REFLECTIONS

–

FRANCES ANN NEEL

“A Very Cowboy Christmas” by Jack Sorenson is an awesome selection for the December 2024 cover. Details like the Christmas gifts on the pack horse — Ariat, American Hat, Wrangler, Purina, etc. will be on every cowgirl and cowboy list!

Dear Amanda,

I had planned on NOT renewing my Western Horseman subscription this year because I felt that the content had become mostly irrelevant to my interests in riding (camping, Western trail and pleasure riding, mainly).

As I read your December issue and your letter to your readers, I feel as if my feelings were not alone. I like your themes for 2025, so I plan on renewing my subscription once again.

Thank you for staying in tune with your audience!

Sincerely,

PAULA VINCITORE

Dear Amanda,

Your December Letter From the Editor stirred a lot of feelings in me, prompting me to send you this email.

Horses were a signiﬁcant part of my adolescent life. We owned several during that time, and I showed them in halter and Western pleasure. I was also a horse wrangler one summer at a camp for children in the Arbuckle Mountains in southern Oklahoma. I learned a great deal from those experiences, and they created a deep connection in me to the Western equine world.

From the beginning of my life with horses, I subscribed to the Western Horseman magazine. I vividly remember the ﬁrst issue I ever read had on the cover a painting of a weathered cowboy checking out at the cashier of a dry goods store. He had picked out new jeans, shirts and cowboy boots. He was scratching his head while looking at his open billfold, which appeared to have only a few dollar bills in it. The image of that cover remains solid in my memory today.

Although my life took me in a direction away from horses, I have fond memories of and a deep appreciation for the positive impact those experiences had on my life. I continued my subscription to the Western Horseman from that time until the present. It is my way of saying thank you to the world of Western horses for what it has meant to me. There is an old saying that there is nothing quite as good for the inside of a person as the outside of a horse. I think we should add another saying — there is nothing quite as good for the Western horse culture as the inside of a Western Horseman magazine!

Best,

JOE COUCH

GEORGE

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY

KATE BRADLEY BYARS

Corey and Selena Bradshaw raise bucking horses outside of Fletcher, Oklahoma, bringing them up in the red dirt hills that help them become strong and sure-footed. It was so much fun to watch Selena help move their young herd of prospects astride ‘George,’ a 9-year-old gelding that failed his bucking bloodlines. Instead of using his power to buck off cowboys, George carries Selena to ranch horse shows and helps teach up-and-coming broncs their job in the pen. A gentle giant, George deﬁnitely acts like the family plow horse instead of one born to buck.

SISTERS FOREVER, RANCHING TOGETHER

Marin and Addison Tomlinson aspire to forge their fourth-generation family ranch into the future.

INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNIFER DENISON

Siblings Marin and Addison Tomlinson deeply respect their family’s ranching legacy. They grew up on the Vera Earl Ranch in Sonoita, Arizona, which their great-grandparents started in 1968. Although they grew up in the same environment, they developed diverse interests in the operation and found their passion for it at di erent times. Addison always knew she wanted to be part of the business and horse operation. On the other hand, her elder sister, Marin, left for a while before returning to ﬁnd her role.

As with many young girls, Addison became infatuated with horses when she was 5 years old, spurring her father to rebuild the ranch’s performance horse program. Since then, the 17-year-old horsewoman has ridden several horses on the ranch and in the show pen, competing primarily in 4-H

and local shows. Coached by Vera Earl horse trainers Bailey and Karter Bearup for the past few years, she has advanced to competing on ranch-raised horses in events sanctioned by the American Quarter Horse Association and National Reined Cow Horse Association. Marin, a senior at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, enjoys cowboying with the crew and being hands-on in all aspects of the beef operation.

Marin and Addison Tomlinson are driven young women with solid work ethics and the desire to carry on their family’s ranching legacy.

Recognizing the power of productive partnerships, the siblings share a vision of combining their strengths and leadership to fulﬁll their dream of operating the ranch together.

WESTERN HORSEMAN: What are your earliest memories of riding on the ranch?

ADDISON TOMLINSON: When I was 2 years old, I was out riding with my dad. We had an old roan horse he ponied me on. I jibber-jabbered constantly, and he had to teach me how to look for cattle rather than talk. I started riding on my own when I was 6, and when I was 12, he sent me out to gather cattle alone.

MARIN TOMLINSON: I took a different route. I rode horses as a kid until I came off one, and then I told my dad I never wanted to get on a horse again or have anything to do with ranching. My heart wasn’t in it. Instead, I focused on playing club and travel soccer for a couple of years. The summer I turned 15, my dad told me I could either clean stalls or ﬁnd another job, so I cleaned stalls. One day, he asked, “Hey, do you want to come brand with us instead of cleaning stalls today?” He put me on a horse named “Banjo” and sent me out with one

of our cowboys, Kent “Chango” Etchard. I didn’t ride any faster than a trot, and the cowboys gave me a lot of grace. I decided that was more fun and cool than cleaning stalls, so I rode with them for an entire summer. My senior year was during COVID-19, and Addie and I weren’t in school, so we worked for my dad nearly full time. When I graduated, he asked if I wanted to take a gap year and work for him while I ﬁgured out what I wanted to do. About three months into it, I discovered I liked working on the ranch and wanted to be part of it.

WH: Have you ever felt obligated to come back to the ranch after college?

AT: Our parents have always made a point to support us in whatever we want to do. They’ve never pushed us to be involved. Dad says he has seen kids forced into taking over their family ranches, and they don’t like it or want to do it. In time, everything falls apart because they’re not interested. We’d never want anything like that to happen to the Vera Earl.

MT: Ranching has always been an option for us. Our parents have done an amazing job of keeping the ranch open to us while we ﬁgure out what we want to do. That beneﬁted me because I returned and found my love for it as an adult.

Spending time away from ranching and pursuing other interests rekindled Marin’s interest in cattle and cowboying.

WH: What are some ideas you’d like to someday implement on the ranch?

AT: I’d like to divide the different parts of running this ranch between my sister and me based on our strengths. For example, Marin isn’t a numbers person, and I like math, so I want to do the ﬁnances, hedging and data analysis. She’s always had an appreciation for cowboying that I did not.

MT: What’s cool about Addie and I both wanting to come back to the ranch is that Addie will be able to work in the ofﬁce and communicate with me about what’s going on in our different operations while I’m outside working hands-on with the cattle, feedlot and our employees. It’ll be nice to have two people who are so differently minded bouncing ideas off each other. I’d also like to be involved in our genetics. My dad does a great job, but I think there are ways we can improve them. I enjoy that we don’t use antibiotics and hormones in our cattle and want that to stay forever. It’s an important niche market many people don’t understand.

WH: How do you describe your relationship with your father?

AT: I was always super close with my dad, and we are similar in mind. I was a daddy’s girl and stuck to his hip. I always think of him as a prickly marshmallow. I have always liked that he can put on his serious business front, which can be intimidating. But then he comes home and becomes Dad.

MT: I am my dad! When I was a kid, my dad and I butted heads a lot; we were both stubborn and opinionated. But now, he is my best friend. I enjoy coming home from college, looking at cows with him, sitting down with him and my mom and talking about business and life.

WH: How can you help bridge the gap between generations who are disconnected more than ever from agriculture?

AT: I speak with my dad about this quite a bit, and we need to ﬁnd other platforms to reach people of all ages and share what we do with our horses and cattle and how it beneﬁts the land and other species living there. I want to do a podcast and bring in the cowboys and other ranchers.

MT: In school, we talk about how the American population is growing, and we must ﬁnd ways to feed the growing population with less land and fewer resources. I worked with kids at a summer camp in Colorado, and they would tell me that beef is killing the planet, and they don’t eat it because the cattle are treated inhumanely. I tried to explain that

ranching is a livelihood, and the people doing it face the insurmountable task of raising beef, one of the most popular proteins, with less sustainable land. It was great to talk to the kids about where their food comes from. I showed them an online video about our natural beef program and how, if done right, the cattle help sustain the environment and other

Addison’s passion is competing in cutting and reined cow horse competition. Her horse dreams include winning the NRCHA World’s Greatest Youth Horseman title and a world championship on a home-raised and -trained horse.

species. Dad does outreach programs where students come to the ranch, and he talks about our ranch. Continuing to speak about ag and showing people what we do on social media is essential for our future. Implementing a social media platform like TikTok that talks about agriculture would be cool.

WH: How do you sum up your long-term dreams for the ranch?

AT: I want to see it continue to grow and thrive. I hope future generations will look at it and be proud of our family’s legacy. MT: I want to see it grow and expand our genetics, feedlot and beef program. I want to ﬁnd more land around us, so we have [contiguous] ranches throughout the valley that run from mountain range to mountain range.

WH: What advice do you have for people your age who want to get into ranching?

AT: People in agriculture are super welcoming, even to those who didn’t grow up in it, so get out there and meet people who share your interests and listen to what they say. You have to be humble. You can’t walk in there thinking you’re the bee’s knees, or you won’t gain people’s respect.

MT: [My advice is] go to college for it and build connections. My professors have many industry connections and can help you ﬁnd internships and other resources. Do as many internships as possible to get experience and ﬁgure out exactly which direction you want to go. So many facets of the ag industry want young people, especially women. Immerse yourself fully into it.

ROUNDUP

NAME: Addison Tomlinson

AGE: 17

EDUCATION: Senior at Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Arizona; plans to attend the University of Arizona, Tucson and major in business and ﬁnance, and then get a master’s degree.

HER DREAM: After getting her education, Addison aspires to return to the ranch and handle the finance, cattle trading and business side of the operation. She also wants to continue showing ranch-raised horses in cutting and reined cow horse events and win a world championship.

FIRST STEP: In 2020, Addison and her sister, Marin, researched and helped build a business plan to create the Vera Earl Premium Beef program that sells directly to consumers or wholesales to restaurants.

NAME: Marin Tomlinson

AGE: 22

EDUCATION: Senior at Texas Tech University, majoring in animal science with a concentration in production.

HER DREAM: Marin dreams of developing her family’s cattle, feedlot and premium beef operations and cowboying on the ranch. “I think [cattle] genetics is where I’ll eventually land, but I’ll deﬁ nitely be out here on a horse,” she says.

FIRST STEP: Marin graduates from college this spring, and she and her father have discussed where she’ll start when she returns to the ranch.

“He told me that for the ﬁrst couple of years, he would stick me out on [the Vera Earl and our leased ranches] with our cowboys so I could learn all about the different ranches,” she says. “You must start at the bottom and learn everything you need to know to move up.”

Understanding proper storage guidelines for feed and hay cut down on unnecessary waste for ranchers and improve the overall health of their livestock.

A SMART STORAGE

STORY BY HOPE ELLIS-ASHBURN PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF MATTHEW DEIST

mong horse owners, hay waste is a common concern. To reduce waste, only a few methods routinely explored include using different types of hay nets and hay feeders. Yet, feeding high-quality, properly stored hay can be one of the best practices horse owners can implement to reduce waste and improve their horse’s nutrition and bottom line.

Net wrapping can help protect hay that is stored outside from the elements.

Hay should be stacked to allow for good ventilation. Among other beneﬁts, correctly stacked hay helps reduce mold formation thereby protecting the respiratory health of the horses who eat it. It also reduces the risk of ﬁre.

STORAGE OPTIONS

“There are lots of ways to go about hay storage,” says Matthew Deist, an agriculture and natural resources extension agent with the University of Tennessee Extension-Franklin County. “Some of them are more expensive while some are more convenient.”

Whether for round or square bales, haybarns remain the gold standard for storage. Data gained from extensive research shows that, while expensive, haybarns will pay for themselves over several years by reducing hay waste. While many horse owners find themselves without this option, e ective hay storage methods are still available.

For protection from the elements, round-baled hay that has been baled using a net wrap or wrapped in plastic post-baling are two methods to choose from. Another option is storing hay under a tarp, but this choice means signing up for regular inspection for damage, replacing damaged tarps and being mindful that moisture can get trapped within them. For those without a haybarn or other type of hay storage struc-

ture, Deist says that factors such as how tightly bales are wrapped, whether the hay is stored touching the ground and the tightness of the hay bale itself can determine whether hay can be successfully stored outside. Of these, the most important is storing hay o the ground.

“A lot of data shows that much of the waste comes from contact with the ground,” Deist says. “The water gets pulled up from the ground, and that is where a lot of your spoilage comes from.”

To implement the goal of elevating hay o the ground, Deist recommends materials such as railroad ties, landscape timbers, pallets or tires. Another method, storing hay on gravel, is a slight improvement to direct contact with the ground but is a less desirable option because the hay can still collect moisture.

An important caveat to successful outside hay storage is to keep the hay in an open area. Deist says that many hay producers mistakenly think that hay stored outside

HEALTH

Reducing the prevalence of mold, as seen in this picture, is a key component of hay storage. Mold leads to hay waste and feeding moldy hay to horses can cause a wide range of medical issues from mild to severe.

TIPS FOR STORING FEED AND SUPPLEMENTS

When maintaining our horse’s health, correctly storing feed and supplements is equally important as proper hay storage. Stacy Anderson, a nutrition consultant and customer care manager with Triple Crown Feed, shares the following strategies.

“Proper feed storage is crucial for maintaining the nutritional quality and safety of your horse feed and supplements,” Anderson says. To ensure optimal freshness and prevent contamination, she offers the following best practices:

• LIMIT STORAGE DURATION. It is recommended to store feeds and supplements no longer than three months. This helps preserve their nutritional integrity and reduces the risk of spoilage.

should be stored in a tree line to be better protected from rain. Diest says this isn’t a recommended practice as the hay, once wet from precipitation, never gets a chance to be dried by the sun. Rather, it stays damp and molds.

PRACTICAL ADVICE

While some may seem like common sense, Deist says there are other practical hay storage tips he recommends. The ﬁrst is not purchasing more hay than you have room to store. Being mindful of this could help eliminate the need to keep hay outside. Furthermore, before committing to an entire load of hay to reduce waste, he advises horse owners to purchase a few sample bales to see if their horses like it.

Next is stacking hay to provide for good ventilation. This is a concern if the bales have not dried down to the 15%-18% moisture range. While also beneﬁcial to your horse’s respiratory health, correctly stacking hay can reduce your risk of ﬁre.

• USE ORIGINAL PACKAGING. To maintain product integrity, TCF recommends storing feeds and supplements in their original bag or container. For added protection, place bagged products inside a sealed, protective container such as a trashcan or tote to keep out moisture and pests.

• PROTECT FROM SUNLIGHT AND MOISTURE. Store feeds in a cool, dry location away from direct sunlight and moisture. To further protect feed, consider elevating containers on a pallet to avoid direct contact with the ground, which can prevent condensation buildup and improve airﬂow.

• KEEP STORAGE AREAS CLEAN. Regularly sweep and clean feed storage areas to prevent the accumulation of debris and contaminants. Clean containers thoroughly between batches, and avoid mixing new feed with old feed to ensure freshness and quality.

• IMPLEMENT PEST PREVENTION. Effective pest control is essential in feed storage areas. Regularly inspect for signs of rodent or insect activity and take proactive steps to minimize pest access, such as sealing gaps and using appropriate pest deterrents.

“By following these guidelines, you can help maintain the quality and safety of feed, ensuring your horses receive the best possible nutrition while minimizing the risk of contamination or spoilage,” Anderson says.

FIRE SAFETY

No article on hay storage would be complete without at least a mention of fire safety. For the safety of your animals in the event of a barn ﬁre, the current recommendations, Deist says, are to store hay away from your horses. If hay must be stored in the same barn where your horses live, it should be placed at the end of the barn, furthest away from them. Unless it is your only option, Diest recommends never storing hay in the loft of your barn.

To help prevent fires, Deist recommends checking the moisture content of any hay you plan to store in a barn. He says you can feel safe with hay with a moisture content of 15%-18%, but your ﬁre risk increases with anything above this. Hay moisture probes and thermometers can help you achieve exact readings on your hay’s moisture content and temperature, reducing your risk.

Horse owners, he says, may also ﬁnd it useful to install a smoke detector. While they can become clogged up or even triggered by dust, they may provide additional peace of mind.

A WORD ABOUT MOLD

Feeding moldy hay to horses can cause, in addition to waste, a host of mild to severe medical issues, making its prevention an important part of hay storage. While preventing all mold is impossible, Deist says that when it comes to hay storage, mold prevention begins with inspecting your storage facility for leaks that allow rain to get in. Then, before feeding the hay, open up the bale and physically inspect and smell it before o ering it to your horses. For some hay types, the presence of dust can also be a red ﬂag. Lastly, any hay that your horses are suddenly rejecting should also be inspected for mold.

Deist reminds horse owners that hay rained on during the production process is not necessarily more susceptible to mold as this depends on which part of the process the rain occurred and how well the hay is dried and stored. Your local extension agent can help advise you on this. Finally, remember that high-quality hay is less susceptible to mold.

A FINAL WORD

Properly stored hay can last an extended period.

“If the hay is correctly stored inside, there is data that shows it makes no difference in the quality if it’s stored for two months or two years,” Deist says.

This illustrates the importance of following appropriate hay storage strategies for our horses’ health and reducing wasted hay, which offers sought-after relief to our wallets.

BAILEY BEARUP

With unwavering faith and dedication, this Arizona horsewoman is elevating her horsemanship skills and unlocking the potential of the young horses she and her husband train.

INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNIFER DENISON

Rarely is Bailey Bearup not doing something related to horses. She and her husband, Karter, are in their third year of managing the promising performance horse program at the Vera Earl Ranch in Sonoita, Arizona. The couple rides between 10 and 14 horses most days, coaches riders, coordinates veterinarian and farrier appointments and handles other responsibilities involved in building a horse program. The days are long and unpredictable, but hard work has never deterred Bearup from chasing her goals as a horse trainer. Growing up on the CV Ranch in Paulden, Arizona, Bearup was horseback with her father, Beano Kimball, at age 3, and she entered the cutting pen at age 9. In 2016, she won the girls’ cutting at the Arizona High School Rodeo Association ﬁnals. She also won the senior youth division of the Arizona Cutting Horse Association. After graduating high school in 2018, she rode horses for roping and cutting horse trainer Clay Cerny in Texas. Then she returned to Arizona and day-worked before delving deeper into her desire to train cutting and reined cow horses as the assistant trainer at Jade Keller Performance Horses in Scottsdale, Arizona. There, she met Karter, a cowboy from New Mexico with similar dreams.

My younger brother and I were homeschooled until I was in fourth grade. My mother had enough of my attempts to sneak off and help my dad on the ranch or ride my horse instead of doing my schoolwork, so she sent us to public school.

My dad managed a ranch, rode outside horses, and trained cutting, cow horses and all-around horses. He worked for Jim Paul Sr. and the late Jimmy Paul, and I learned most of my horsemanship from him. I was always drawn to training performance horses, especially for cattle events, because you can take a horse in many different directions.

As kids, Ben and I ran wild around the ranch. When we were teenagers, my dad told us we needed to step up because if he got hurt, it was on us to do the work. He showed us how to manage things on the ranch and work as a team to get our jobs done.

My dad once traded a bull, squeeze chute and a bunch of fence stays for a 3-year-old Smooth As A Cat son. That was the ﬁrst horse I helped ﬁnish in the cutting pen.

The biggest things my mom instilled in me were self-conﬁdence and a good relationship with God. I don’t think my brother or I would be the people we are today if she hadn’t made us say our prayers and put God ﬁrst.

Horses are intelligent and can tell you more about yourself than you’ll ever ﬁgure out alone. We ask these horses to trust us, and if you lose control over your emotions, so do the horses, which makes it hard for trust to grow. Sometimes, you must slow down and rethink your approach. Having horses’ trust is key to everything we do with them.

When I ﬁrst met Karter, he had come to work for Jade Keller, who

I was also working for. He was put to work riding the tougher horses. I was bound and determined to outwork him. After a while, he seemed to earn his keep, and we hit it off as friends for about six months. That turned into three years as a couple.

I was nervous about coming to the Vera Earl Ranch. We didn’t know anyone, and it was far from our families and friends. But it was good for us to step out of our comfort zones and trust God through the opportunity. Living in Sonoita, many ranch employees and the owners have become like family. The Tomlinsons graciously let us have our wedding on the ranch in August 2023.

This isn’t about us; it’s about working together as a team to improve the Vera Earl horses. We like to meet with the ranch cowboys and rope to ﬁnd out how their horses are doing and help them with any

issues. We’re excited about the future of the horse program.

Although we do not own the horses we train, we love them and take pride in them as if we did. We respect these horses; each one is unique and special to us.

I’m excited about a 4-year-old I’m riding, VE Autumn Empire (“Maui”). He’s a son of High Brow Shiner and out of One Autumn Breeze, who is by a One Time Pepto daughter. We have used him on the ranch, and he’s smart and has a good nose on him. I think I’ll be able to show him in the hackamore, and he’ll help me step up into the two-rein and bridle someday.

Every horse here is so different, and they’ve all helped me in speciﬁc ways. As horse trainers, we get the mindset that we can do the same thing on every horse. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. When I placed third in the limited open hackamore at the 2024 [National Reined Cow Horse Association] Kimes Ranch Western Derby last year on VE Double Down Time, it felt like everything I’d been working on came together, and we were a team.

There are days I feel we should be further ahead of where we are with the horses and as trainers. But then I must remember that it’s all in God’s timing, and we must trust it.

Chris Tejero’s experience with bucking horses completely transformed his training program.

STORY BY KATIE NAVARRA

B RESHAPING A TRAINING PROGRAM

ucking horses are bred to do just that — buck. Despite genetics, sometimes, they just won’t. Still, it takes a unique approach to rewire their brains to transform them into riding horses.

Most working ranch and Western performance horses are genetically coded to be gentler and ready to ride. However, third-generation charro, or Mexican horseman, colt starter and horse trainer Chris Tejero, says that working with bucking horse dropouts has led him to reshape his entire training program for horses of all disciplines.

While working with his first bronc, Tejero learned about the Evidence-Based Horsemanship training approach developed by Martin Black and Dr. Steve Peters, a neuroscientist specializing in equine brain research. He took the horse to a four-day colt starting clinic at Shinanatu Farm in Brunswick, Maine.

“I had been working with this bucking horse for a client of mine and got to the point where I wasn’t sure what to do anymore,” Tejero says. “I showed up with the horse and watched [Black] ride him, studying what he did. I learned about giving the horse a new avenue to respond to what I’m asking him to do.”

Tejero’s genuine interest in reshaping

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIM STONE

his training program has since earned him invitations to participate as a colt starter in subsequent EBH annual events.

“Learning about how the horse’s brain works helped solidify and understand how to put a horse in a learning frame of mind,” Tejero says. “Combining science and horsemanship is a life-changing experience. I’ve completely changed my colt starting by watching [Black] and understanding how the brain functions.”

LAYING THE FOUNDATION

Tejero says he’s always known that a good foundation is critical. He was born in Cancun, Mexico, and raised as a charro, where good horsemanship was part of daily life.

“My mom’s side of the family were some of the pioneers of the charro culture in the state of Quintana Roo,” he explains. “I was fortunate to be around it through my grandfathers and uncles.”

His great-grandfather owned Rancho Grande, about 100 acres spread across two small towns on the Yucatán Peninsula. His grandfather owned Santa Cruz Lienzo and

ABOVE , FAR RIGHT, RIGHT : Tejero was born in Cancun, Mexico and raised as a charro. Horsemanship was a part of his daily life, and his family helped pioneer charro culture in Quintana Roo, Mexico. He is a third-generation horseman; his greatgrandfather owned a 100-acre ranch, and his father helped introduce tourists to the charro way of life.

HORSEMANSHIP

hosted tourists from the hotel zone to experience the charro way of life.

“Cancun is divided between the ocean and a lagoon that opened up into a savannah. My grandfather had a strip of land where we could see the whole hotel strip and the ocean,” Tejero explains.

Today, the colt starter, now based in Pennsylvania, combines the horsemanship skills he learned from his charro heritage with the EBH approach when training client horses and participating in colt starting events nationwide. He also makes multiple trips to Black’s ranch each year to train young horses alongside the wellknown horseman.

“The foundation is what is going to allow the horse to learn and capture what you taught it,” Tejero says. “I’ve focused my whole program on teaching the right foundation.”

A signiﬁcant part of Tejero’s program is allowing horses time to learn and process what is being asked by giving them time to soak up and solidify the lesson. By doing so, he’s found that horses with 10 days or less of training can be turned out for several months, and if the foundation is solid, they’ll pick their training up right where they left o .

“When I went to Martin’s ranch in August last year, I was riding green colts that had three or four rides on them,” Tejero says. “We rode them for a few days, and then they got turned out on the range. When I went back in November and got back on them, they were spot-on and riding well in hackamores.”

BRINGING RODEO ROOTS INTO HORSE TRAINING

Before training horses full time, Tejero rode bulls and saddle broncs up and down the East Coast, regularly entering the Cowtown Rodeo in Pilesgrove Township, New Jersey. He moved to New Jersey at age 14 to work alongside his uncle, Juan Jose Marufo, a renowned horseman who performed classical dressage moves on his Andalusian, competed at American Professional Rodeo ﬁnals, and worked as Bruce Springsteen’s barn manager, including running rodeos at Springsteen’s ranch.

Early in his 20s, Tejero hit the rodeo circuit, aspiring to be a professional bull rider while riding horses for a Thoroughbred horse trainer and running a horse training business of his own. He found success, qualifying for the International Finals Rodeo and taking home reserve championship titles at Cowtown. But in 2019, a bull stomped on his chest, and it inﬂuenced his decision to train horses full time.

Tejero is also widely known for his trick roping skills, a token from childhood as a charro. Though he never struck out to make a living solely by trick roping, he performs at rodeos. He is widely recognized because of his former registered buck-

ing bull Ike, who Tejero saddles and rides during his performances. Ike, whose sire bucked in Professional Bull Riders events multiple times, goes back to Houdini and D&H Company stock.

“When we started saddling him, he wanted no part of it and started bucking, but I was determined to ride him,” Tejero says. “After a year of work, he became really docile, and he’s a big pet and part of my act.”

Today, Tejero says he has the best seat in the arena as a pick-up rider and has also honed his skills in observing and anticipating bronc and bull behaviors.

“When it comes to training horses, you’re reading that animal at its worst, and it’s your job to control that emotion and shut it down,” Tejero says. “This has helped me tremendously to read horses and see what will happen before it does.”

ABOVE : Tejero emphasizes getting a horse to a learning frame of mind before teaching new skills. LEFT : Horses get time off to process the skills they've learned.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Remembering where our marriage started.

BY JOLYN YOUNG ILLUSTRATION BY TYLER CROW

Sometimes, when I look around at his dirty socks on the floor, my hair clips on the kitchen counter and heaps of children’s Wranglers on the laundry room floor, I feel confused — and not just because I still can’t find a hair clip when I need one.

I wonder how we even got here. Did my husband and I really stay up all night at Stockmen’s once upon a time, only to catch a horse and go to work at daybreak? Did he seriously spend his whole paycheck on beer and bridles? Did I once actually ﬁt into a pair of size 0 jeans?

I decided to interview my husband, Jim, about how this all happened. Because in an alternate universe, I’m a police interrogator. But I’m a remote ranch wife in real life, so I work with what I have. Plus, Jim has served time in jail and refers to me as “the warden,” so it’s close enough.

I asked Jim about our initial meeting back in 2011, when we both worked for ranches in northern Nevada. His co-worker had been urging Jim to call and ask me out for a month before we met.

“Like that would go over real good,” he said. “I didn’t want to be the creepy guy who asked out a girl I’d never met.”

“I can appreciate that.”

We eventually met through a setup by a mutual friend. I asked Jim if he was nervous.

“No,” he said. “We’d been processing calves and drinking beer all day” — liquid courage: starting ﬁstﬁghts and families for thousands of years.

“I thought you were a giant,” I confessed. “I thought you were much older, honestly. It was the mustache. But your beat-up hat and boots showed you were a real cowboy.”

“I was wearing tennis shoes the ﬁrst time I met you.”

“I don’t remember. But I do remember thinking you were fun to talk to and had good stories. And you were funny.”

“I WAS TRYING TO BE SUCH A GENTLEMAN ALL DAY, OPENING THE PICKUP DOOR FOR YOU AND LETTING YOU HAVE THE FIRST HEEL LOOP.”

— JIM YOUNG

I don’t recall our wedding vows, but I know for sure that sarcasm and short jokes have held our union together over the years. Jim is 10 inches taller than me, and we both ﬁnd endless enjoyment in his teasing me about being vertically challenged. He also misplaces his wallet, Social Security card and cell phone, then accuses me of losing them. He insists that I conduct a thorough search of the house, yard, and surrounding outbuildings and pickup trucks. After I look for hours, he

discovers the missing item on top of a cabinet or shelf so high up that I can’t even see its surface. I ﬁnd that less enjoyable.

Soon after our ﬁrst meeting, I spent the day cowboying with Jim and a couple of friends.

“I was trying to be such a gentleman all day, opening the pickup door for you and letting you have the ﬁrst heel loop,” Jim said.

That changed once we were married. A couple of years later, I was heeling a calf that needed doctoring, and my newly minted husband shouted, “You better hurry up because we ain’t scared to cut o a pregnant lady!”

But he was still a gentleman 14 years ago when he called and asked me out to dinner for the ﬁrst time.

“And you turned me down,” Jim said.

“How did that make you feel?” I asked.

“A little nervous.”

“I think that’s good for you.”

“No, no, it’s not. It’s bulls---” Jim said.

“It was just bad timing. I went out with you the next weekend. I think I had ﬁlet mignon,” I said.

“Most expensive thing on the menu.”

The man can’t remember where he left his phone or what size shirt he wears, but he can recall to the penny the price of the entrée he bought me on June 12, 2011.

“And you had prime rib,” I said.

“No, rib eye,” Jim said.

“I knew it had a ‘rib’ in it.”

“You don’t know me at all,” he accused.

“I know I blushed when you came to pick me up for our ﬁrst date because you’d shaved off your mustache and looked your age, which was not old after all. And you were early.”

“Tell you the truth, I sat down by the haystack for ﬁve minutes because I didn’t want to be too early.”

“I thought it was just about right.”

“Can I draw a mustache on you?” Jim asked.

“No, honey,” I said. “But thank you for asking.”

JOLYN YOUNG lives way out West with her husband and three kids. Visit www.jolynyoung.com to learn more, including where to ﬁnd her debut book.

BEHIND THE SCORE

An inside look at the PBR scoring process.

STORY BY MATT CROSSMAN

The crowd rose in anticipation, cheering louder with each buck, spin and kick. When the eight-second buzzer sounded and John Crimber dismounted from Whiskey Trip, he landed in the soft dirt—and cemented himself as the No. 1 bull rider in the world. His big-time ride in a big-time moment helped give him his second win of the young PBR season, and everybody in the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, screamed in delight. Well, almost everybody.

Not Allan Jordan.

He had work to do.

A longtime PBR judge, he admired the ride as much as anybody, maybe more so given his decades of experience exulting in bull riding’s exquisite details. He turned quickly to his tablet, tapped on a number and scribbled on a piece of paper.

Outstanding performances by the bull and the rider combined to create high theater.

“It’s beautiful,” Jordan says. “That kid is riding so good.”

And the score — 91.25 — reﬂected that.

That’s a simple number, but the method to create it and report it to the masses is complex.

Judging in PBR combines artiﬁcial intelligence technology, cowboy ingenuity and lightning-quick decision making that takes years to master. Man plus beast plus high-speed cameras plus human subjectivity — there is nothing quite like it in the sports world. With so many moving pieces, how is the score determined?

The event o ered numerous judging challenges, from a call for a re-ride after a lackluster performance by a bull to a replay challenge about whether a rider touched a bull with his o arm to a rider disputing whether he had been thrown o before the

eight-second buzzer to the never-ending debate about what score a qualiﬁed ride deserves and why it deserves it.

After Crimber’s ride and every other one that day, the eight-second horn had hardly stopped echoing across the Enterprise Center before Jordan turned his number in.

The ability of Jordan to watch performances by a bull and a rider, analyze them and assign them a number immediately is only possible because he has seen thousands of bull rides in his two decades as a rider and even longer than that as a judge.

Five other judges, for a total of six, sat around the arena and did the same thing as Jordan.

Each judge scored both rider and bull, and the two numbers were then added together for qualiﬁed rides; only the bull gets a score on a buck o .

All six judges submitted their scores

after each ride. The lowest two were dropped; the ﬁnal score was the average of the remaining four. Scoring runs on a 100-point scale. The threshold at which a good ride becomes great is 90.

A bull is graded on bucks, kicks, spins, intensity and power. A rider is scored on how he counters the bull — how centered he is and how fluid his movement is. A rider will lose points for being “behind” the bull, meaning he reacts late to movements. A rider gets bonus points for style, such as spurring.

All of this is, of course, subjective. Throughout the day, Jordan told me his scores. They varied between being lower, higher, or dead on with the aggregate.

One key factor was location. For example, the closer a judge is to a ride, Jordan says, the more likely he is to score it high. A bull ride looks more gnarly when it’s right in your face.

John Crimber rides Whiskey Trip to a 91.25 at the St. Louis, Missouri, stop on the PBR Unleash the Beast tour.

Even so, six judges could sit in the exact same spot, watch the exact same ride and give it six di erent scores. That’s unavoidable, and part of the fun of for fans is arguing about the scores. Though, you’ll never hear PBR riders complain publicly about their scores.

“We don’t allow poor sportsmanship,” Jordan says. “If you’re going to throw a ﬁt, you do it after and away. Never on TV.”

While there is room for di erences of opinion among judges, riders, fans and media, there is no room for mistakes.

Jordan is building accountability into the process, which he says has been lacking across Western sports. After each event, he reviews each judge’s scores, including his own. Jordan keeps track of “misses,” and a judge who accumulates too many gets demoted to lower-level events to reﬁne their work. Only judges with the best records get invited to PBR’s top-level events, which draw from a pool of roughly two dozen judges. For lower-level events, that number is about 130. Jordan holds himself to the same high standards, if not higher.

“Everybody’s going to screw up,” Jordan says. “If you start making excuses, it doesn’t work for you. You take it on the chin and say, ‘That’s how I get better.’”

Jordan and his fellow judges see each ride only once, live as it happens. If they happen to glance at a replay on the big screen and see they messed up — scored too high or too low or missed a foul — there’s nothing they can do about it.

But PBR, like other sports leagues, has taken steps to correct o ciating errors when possible with the help of technology. The NFL has had instant replay for decades. In baseball, some leagues use cameras to determine balls and strikes. In NASCAR, the winners of close finishes are determined using a high-speed camera with a laser beam that takes up to 20,000 pictures per second. PBR has turned to technology to start the clock on a ride and to settle disputes when a rider thinks he made a qualiﬁed ride but judges say he didn’t.

In the championship round in St. Louis, Daniel Keeping sat in the chute atop a bull named Baldy. Keeping nodded,

ABOVE: Allan Jordan spent decades riding bulls and even longer judging bull rides. BELOW: Within seconds of a qualiﬁed ride, the judge has to submit scores for both bull and rider.

the chute opened and Baldy exploded out. An AI-powered system called SkySmart watched from above and started the clock when Baldy’s shoulders cleared the chute.

After seconds of jumps and spins, Baldy’s late change of direction sent Keeping tumbling. A human judge stopped the clock at 7.72 seconds — or 0.28 away from a qualiﬁed ride. For scale, the blink of an eye is only 0.1 to 0.4 seconds.

Keeping hit the challenge button mounted on the chute.

If he was wrong, it would cost him $500, but if he was right, it could be worth up to $30,000 with a qualiﬁed ride and a chance to win the event.

For a challenge, PBR turned to multiple cameras and a replay o cial named Shawn Ramirez. He sat in a TV booth in the Enterprise Center and watched and rewatched to determine exactly when Keeping’s ride ended.

Ramirez’s analysis added 0.04 seconds to Keeping’s ride, leaving it still short at 7.76. Ramirez looked at the camera and gave a thumbs down — an old-school way of showing a decidedly new-school decision.

To his spot just off the dirt, Jordan brought with him an unusual combination of tools:

a headset, tablet, clipboard with a scoresheet, a re-ride ﬂag, which he threw after a poor performance by the very ﬁrst bull, and a handheld buzzer with a red button on top, which he used once when it appeared a rider’s hand touched the bull. That stopped the clock at 6.09 as the ride continued through the eight-second mark. Rider Lucas Divino challenged the ruling, and the instant replay showed no contact.

A bull ride is almost always portrayed as a competition between rider and bull, and it is. The bull is trying to throw the

rider o , and he’s trying to stay on. However, descriptions of rides with the best scores make them sound like a dance, with the rider reacting to his partner’s moves. That’s why Crimber’s score was so high. The two were powerful together.

The bull often outpowers, outmaneuvers and outwits his opponent — and that’s when he draws big numbers. Mike’s Magic bucked o Thiago Salgado, pulling a laugh out of Jordan.

“Isn’t he a little jerk?” Jordan says, nodding toward Mike’s Magic. The sly grin on his face revealed he meant this as a high compliment. “As soon as he gets Salgado loose, he turns back. It’s a setup. He’s so smart.”

And that bovine brilliance was rewarded with a bull score of 45.75, one of the highest of the weekend.

While the strength of that performance was undeniable, plenty of rides fell into a gray area. For example, the six

May 7

scores for Brady Fielder’s ride stretched from 83 to 88 — the di erence between mediocre and good. Jordan counted himself on the low end of that spectrum. Jordan planned to use a PBR app to circulate a video of that ride among judges for further discussion, a tact he uses often. After Crimber’s monster 91.25-point ride, Jordan compared that ride to one the day before, for which Crimber was scored 89.25. The di erence should have been even more, he says, and he’ll use that video, too.

“Today’s was much better, bull and rider,” he says. “We get to compare them because of our system.”

For the full story, scan the QR code or visit whmag.co/behind-the-score!

August 24

“My 24-year-old Thoroughbred, Dylan, broke his leg (Olecranon fracture) in May. My vets were amazed at the quick progress after we started Dylan on OCD Pellets. They said the improvement was remarkable and were impressed that he was still alive! Thank you, Doc’s and OCD Pellets. YOU SAVED MY HORSE DYLAN’S LIFE.”

– Carolyn Hauck

DR. SAM CROSBY IV

INTERVIEW BY LINDSAY HUMPHREY • ILLUSTRATION BY RON BONGE

Named for an ancestor who died fighting in the Battle of Manassas during the Civil War, Dr. Sam Manassas Crosby IV is a second-generation veterinarian. Following in his father’s footsteps almost exactly, the first Dr. Crosby dabbled in several di erent areas before finding himself at the racetrack working on performance horses. That wayward spirit was ingrained in the younger Dr. Crosby’s DNA as he worked in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii before finishing out his undergraduate degree at Oklahoma State University and beginning vet school, also in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He eventually found his way

to the racetrack, but not before spending time in a mixed animal practice. Today, he operates out of Arcadia, Oklahoma, solving the mysteries that leave performance horses lame or underperforming. Even though he’s an accomplished veterinarian in his field, his mentoring has made Crosby a pillar in the industry.

A few years ago, it became apparent to Crosby and his peers that a shortage of equine veterinarians was looming. That ultimately led to the creation of Veterinarians Encouraging and Teaching in 2018. The program is geared towards introducing veterinary students to horses ﬁrst and foremost and is rooted in providing opportunities for hands-on learning expe-

riences that make it clear a career working on horses is not only possible but also lucrative and enjoyable. Partnering with equine practices and large-scale operations, V.E.T. regularly hosts wet labs, where students get their hands dirty performing standard veterinary procedures on horses of all ages and performance calibers. It’s the ultimate “try before you buy” experience for students who might not otherwise consider a career as an equine veterinarian. What began as an Oklahoma State University program has now spread throughout the Midwest. Looking back at his 30plus year career as a veterinarian, it’s his time with these V.E.T. students that Crosby’s found to be the most gratifying.

When did you know you wanted to become a veterinarian?

I think I always knew, but I lost focus for a while. I quit school for three years, and that’s when I started traveling. I ended up working in Australia for six months on a 250,000-acre cattle station. We gathered cattle on horses, but they also used helicopters to get some of those wild ones. I met a guy on a plane at some point, which is how I found myself working in New Zealand for six months on a few different sheep outﬁts. I also worked in Hawaii for a bit, where I ended up helping the National Parks Service in Maui. I did a lot of work extracting invasive species of plants and animals to protect the island. I needed to grow up a bit, and I guess that’s how I needed to do it so I could come back home and be ready for the work it took to become a veterinarian. I learned a lot in those three years away from school.

How have things changed during your tenure as a veterinarian?

Everything has changed, from the way we diagnose lameness to the way these horses are bred and how much people are willing to invest in them. The digital age revolutionized equine medicine. Our X-rays used to be taken on ﬁlm and then had to be developed, usually a great distance away from the place they were taken. If we messed up the X-ray, we had to go back and take more. We also didn’t have the ability to do bloodwork or CBCs to aid our diagnosis. Now, we’re able to diagnose things that we could only guess at in the past.

3

How have you kept up with the technology since graduating from vet school in the early ’90s?

Continuing education is imperative in this business. If you get out and don’t learn more than what you already knew, you’re in trouble. We also take courses on things like ultrasound, MRI and X-rays every year to keep up with things. Of course, we go to meetings and conferences to listen to the research other vets are doing and ﬁgure out how that can help us do our day-to-day jobs better. Even though we have all this advanced technology at our disposal, I still think there’s nothing better than putting my hands on a horse to do a traditional physical exam.

IN AWE OF THE AHWAHNEE

Explore how Cowboy Design shows up in Yosemite’s ‘Parkitecture.’

STORY BY CANDACE ECHOLS • PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF ARAMARK DESTINATIONS

“Idistinctly remember the moment I stood in awe of the natural world,” Robert Redford says. “I was 11 years old. My mother had taken me on a road trip as a reward for being treated for a mild case of polio. We drove from our home in LA to Yosemite, and as we came through a forest of trees and a mile-long tunnel, we stopped by the side of the road to admire the view. I felt so small while, at the same time, realizing that the world was so big. I still recall distinctly what I thought — ‘I don’t want to look at this, I want to be in this.’”

Redford is not alone in his response to the arresting grandeur of California’s Yosemite National Park. Throughout human history, the granite cli s, giant sequoias and endless waterfalls of Yosemite Valley have struck many visitors as incomparable in the uniqueness of the landscape. Some have found it utterly

irresistible, risking their very lives to scale El Capitan, the famous 3,000-foot granite monolith, over several days and even sometimes without ropes or equipment. Yosemite does not belong solely to the hikers and climbers, though. For those of us who would rather kick up a little dirt, 800 miles of horse-friendly trails run through this national park, and they’re ﬁt for novice riders and up. Also, both the the Clovis Rodeo (last weekend of April) and the Coarsegold Rodeo (ﬁ rst week-

The Ahwahnee Hotel was intended to match the natural setting in which it is placed and is thought of as a masterpiece in the world of “Parkitecture,” or National Park Service rustic architecture.

end of May) are located within 60 miles of the park border. So, for cowboys and cowgirls who ﬁnd themselves in the Sierra Nevadas, Yosemite is most certainly ﬁt for a trip.

However, in the early 1920s, that was not necessarily the case. The National Park System was struggling, and the ﬁrst director, Stephen T. Mather, needed to generate funding, so he worked with architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood of Union Paciﬁc Railroad fame to draw up plans for year-round, high-end lodging on the floor of Yosemite Valley. Out of that endeavor came The Ahwahnee hotel.

PLACE OF THE GAPING MOUTH

The Miwok Native Americans dubbed Yosemite Valley “Ahwahnee” because it means “place of the gaping mouth.” With an aesthetic that seamlessly braids the raw landscape with Western and Native American inﬂuences, the high-end, rustic architecture, or “Parkitecture,” of The Ahwahnee invites a sense of mouth-gaping awe all its own. Current General Manager Jonathan Carow has noticed this dance between the hotel and its surroundings.

“It is clear The Ahwahnee was sited and built with the intention to maximize

TOP LEFT: The original interior design was completed by Arthur Upham Pope and Phyllis Ackerman. The style they incorporated was a mix of art deco, Native American, Middle Eastern, and arts and crafts. BOTTOM LEFT: The Great Lounge of The Ahwahnee Hotel features two enormous cut sandstone ﬁreplaces large enough for a seat inside. Either side of the Lounge is lined with ﬂoor-to-ceiling plate glass windows, offering excellent views of the meadow, mountains and sky.

the views of the Yosemite Valley,” Carow says. “The rooms are oriented to either face Half Dome, Glacier Point or the Yosemite Falls. Throughout the years and in certain spots, trees grew to block these historic views. It was, therefore, an incredible sight when, a few years ago, many of these views were restored by the NPS.”

Soaring ceilings in the expansive lounge measure 34 feet tall, with windows stretching from bottom to top. Wingback chairs built at a 45-degree angle offer guests the chance to lie back and take in the grandeur of both the hotel and the great outdoors surrounding it without straining their necks. Textiles from The Ahwahnee’s earliest days are on display as an homage to a past era of park visitors pursuing the same rustic beauty visitors seek today. The fireplace at the far end of the lounge is so large that it was built complete with two seats welcoming guests to sit inside at the end of a cold day. Thanks to the walk-in nature of the fireplace and its vastness, it has been ranked among the top five fireplaces in the American West.

PLACE OF THE GREAT MEN AND WOMEN

On the far end of the lounge, guests can visit the Solarium, Writing Room, Mural Room, and Yosemite Winter Club Room, all o ering almost enough diversions to keep an otherwise well-intended buckaroo indoors. The Sweet Shop and The Ahwahnee Bar are set adjacent to the historic front desk. Carow has a particular love for this area of the hotel.

“I may be biased, having grown up in the hospitality industry working at the front desk of various hotels,” Carow says. “The front desk at the Ahwahnee is special in that it is original to the hotel. So, when I think about the history of

the Ahwahnee, I am drawn to consider the many interesting guests who have stood there over the past 96 years. I ask myself, ‘Why were they staying? What did they do while they visited? How did they enjoy their stay?’”

And that is not crazy because, over the years, a great many well-known folks have rested their heads on the ﬂu y pillows of The Ahwahnee hotel. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Herbert Hoover were all guests. (Incidentally, legend has it that President Hoover returned to the hotel after a good

day of ﬁshing in such a muddy state that the doorkeeper did not recognize him. At that time, only guests were allowed inside the hotel. In his conscientiousness, the committed employee denied the filthy president entry into the hotel.) Additionally, Queen Elizabeth II, Charlton Heston, Eleanor Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Lucille Ball, Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson, Joan Baez, Judy Garland and Steve Jobs all spent time at The Ahwahnee hotel.

Ruby’s Grand Adventure Ride

4 day trail ride adventure

2025 Ride Dates are Currently Sold Out

2026 Dates

APRIL 26 - MAY 1, 2026

MAY 10 -15, 2026

MAY 17- 22, 2026

AUG. 23 - 28, 2026

SEPT. 27- OCT. 2, 2026

OCT. 4 - 9, 2026

2027 Dates also available

Rides are in areas surrounding Bryce Canyon National Park. Day Trips and Wagon Rides Also Available.

PLACE OF THE GOOD MORNING BREAKFAST (AND GOOD EVENING DINNER!)

For ride details and information 1- 866 - 782 - 0002 www.horserides.net

Located at Ruby’s Inn Lobby

For cowboys who know how to clean up nice, the Ahwahnee Dining Room is an experience like no other anywhere in the country. On the breakfast menu, a guest may well ﬁnd Sunnyvalley applewood smoked bacon, smoked salmon and eggs Benedict, along with many other options. For dinner, prime rib is the star of the show, with a carving station and homemade mac ‘n’ cheese coming in at a close second. Chandeliers, pine trestles, granite pillars and enormous windows all frame the dining room views that only Yosemite Valley can o er. Feasting in this room is so much more than a meal, and the rustic ranch design is the perfect backdrop.

Before tucking in for the evening, a walk outside under the stars is the perfect way to wind down. For some guests, a private terrace will be part of their stay.

“I am mesmerized by the terrace of rooms 444 and 450,” Carow says, “It is a large terrace with a stunning view of Yosemite Falls and a great view of the valley. While this is a guest space, when the rooms are vacant, I often go there and lose myself for a moment in the grandeur of the park.”

The Ahwahnee delivers its guests right back where it picked them up: in the heart of the natural world they love. Whether horseback on a sunny, warm day or nestled in the stone of a ﬁreplace seat in winter, the guests of this special place are invited to do far more than just look at God’s green earth. Rather, they are invited to be in it — mouth all agape, heart full of awe and kicking up dirt.

FAST FACTS

FUN FACT

The construction of The Ahwahnee began in 1926 and was completed in 11 months. It took 5,000 tons of rough-cut granite, 1,000 tons of steel and 30,000 feet of timber, all brought through Yosemite Valley on trucks. Today, the hotel is 150,000 square feet and has 99 rooms.

OF NOTE

There are 24 guest cottages scattered around The Ahwahnee hotel property and available as part of The Ahwahnee experience for those who would prefer to be even a little closer to the elements.

DON’T MISS

Family-owned and -operated, Yosemite Trails Horseback Adventures offers one-, two- and five-hour trail rides among the giant sequoias, across rivers and up and down some stunning trails. yosemitetrails.com.

BEST VISITING HOURS

It’s the best-kept secret of Yosemite National Park that early October is a fantastic time to head that way and book a stay at The Ahwahnee, as the crowds are very light and the weather is perfect. That being said, the snow melt has ﬁnished for the year, meaning some of the water features are dry.

The Grand Dining Room was built at 130 feet long with a 34-foot ceiling. At one time, the room would have accommodated 1,000 guests, but these days, the chef and staff top out at service for 350.

THE POWER OF THE PODCAST

In rural and Western communities, entertainment and education o en come in podcast form, where listeners can connect with horse trainers, business owners, celebrities and others in a common space.

STORY BY KATE BRADLEY BYARS

There is power in the spoken word , and never is that more evident than the abundance of Western-, equine- and agriculture-focused podcasts available to consume. Today, a team roper can listen to 10-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualiﬁer Charly Crawford and get tips, hear reined cow horse legends and trainers talk on “Cowhorse Full Contact,” listen to a multiple-time National Reining Horse Association Open Futurity Champion Andrea Fappani talk to other champions, or receive general horsemanship tips on any number of podcasts hosted by English and Western riders.

Most are free for listeners and available on the Apple Podcasts app, Spotify or as a download. It takes dedicated time, a few audio recording items and commitment to getting listeners information to produce a podcast, then host it online. The results make educating yourself or entertaining a car full of horsemen and women a snap.

“I listen to podcasts for several reasons: ﬁrst, for the entertainment value they provide,” South Dakota rancher and cow horse competitor Ty Fowler says. “You can turn on a podcast to listen for information about speciﬁc topics or events. I have used the information I gathered to help me progress in the cow horse and better myself personally.”

Fowler may not have the opportunity to be in the same proximity as the “Cowhorse Full Contact” hosts, Chris Dawson and Russell Dilday, but he can listen to them and their guests over and over via podcast. It’s similar for those who want to talk reining, listening to “Tom McCutcheon’s THE SHOW” or Andrea Fappani’s “Along for the Ride.” There are podcasts that focus on every niche of the industry, from cutting to roping to barrel racing, and others that are wide-open on guests and topics.

Listeners like Clay McKesson, whose 4M Quarter Horses is located in remote Guthrie, Texas, have one ask: be genuine.

“I’ll listen to anything pertaining to horses or ranching,” McKesson says. “I prefer to listen to someone who’s made a lifelong career out of their topic through the good and bad times. I want to feel that they have been there and done that, no matter what the topic or subject is.”

No matter if there are millions of downloads or hundreds for an episode, there is power in the information being given over the airwaves. Podcasts are another way to continue to educate horsemen and women across the world and, at the same time, entertain. What inspires a successful trainer to launch a podcast? How does someone book a famous guest? What makes an entertaining episode? Four podcast hosts who created

di erent shows that span the realm of the Western lifestyle have the answers, and here we dive into why they started and how they connect with today’s listeners.

BASICALLY FAMOUS

TYLERKSCHUSTER.COM/PODCAST

Tyler K. Schuster, 26, never felt like writing was the creative outlet she needed, but when she and her sister began “Basically Famous,” the Texas rancher and marker knew she was where she belonged. Now, Schuster hosts the podcast highlighting Western women doing extraordinary things in their daily lives and has produced 103 episodes in six seasons. Though she juggles a full-time position at Texas Tech University alongside ranching and serving as a speaker and consultant, Schuster’s passion is in her podcast.

WESTERN HORSEMAN: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START YOUR PODCAST?

TYLER K. SCHUSTER: I’ve always loved to chitchat; talking is so much easier than writing for me. I love the idea of interviewing people who are basically famous to me, though they are not always well-known. They are everyday people, our friends in real life or people I follow on social media. I wanted to showcase women doing extraordinary things. People who have careers you might not know existed in the ag realm is something I wanted to let the world hear about.

I’d much rather have a guest than a solo record. It’s given me the opportunity to visit with people I wouldn’t normally do. It brings me a ton of joy; it’s a great connector for me. I love it when people let me know when an episode impacted them.

WH: WHY DO PEOPLE IN THE RURAL AND WESTERN LIFESTYLE GRAVITATE TOWARD PODCASTS?

TS: I have 15 hours of driving this weekend, and I know that is time to catch up on my podcasts. There are shows I like to listen to weekly that I

can’t always get to, so I love to catch up. For people in the rural and Western lifestyle, we spend a lot of time alone on the ranch, feeding cows, riding or driving. A podcast is an easy way to have fun while doing those tasks. Podcasts can be educational or fun. I like to take what I listen to and apply it to my life. My mom always has AirPods in on the ranch and is listening to an audiobook. It is like the radio. Podcasts are free education. I listened to a podcast on “How to start a podcast,” and there are a lot of people out there bringing you education, tools and wisdom while you’re driving, doing laundry, cleaning your house or feeding cows. That is why I think they’ve become so popular. They are short form, entertaining or educational, and there is something for everyone on the platforms.

WH: WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL WITH THE PODCAST AND EACH EPISODE?

TS: I wear a lot of hats, ﬁguratively and literally. I would love to wear the podcast and speaking hat as a full-time gig. If it didn’t get to that, I would be OK because it started as a passion, and I never want to lose the joy in it. It is so much

fun for me. I never want the podcast not to be fun. I want to see it continue to grow and impact lives. Every listener is one person who is impacted by that episode. It might be 65 people and not 1,000 an episode, but that is 65 people who chose to listen.

Andrea Fappani may be a dual threat in the arena, showing and winning in both cow horse and reining, but his interests span more than the horse industry. That pushed the Arizona-based horseman to want to create a podcast, “Along for the Ride,” and Fappani’s longtime friend,

Tyler K. Schuster hosts “Basically Famous,” a podcast highlighting Western women accomplishing great things.

Jim “Too Tall” Essick, hopped on board as producer. The pair has produced 51 episodes, and the show has drawn a dedicated crowd that knows it will hear legends in the horse industry and equine enthusiasts, like football player Ben Roethlisberger.

WESTERN HORSEMAN: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START THE PODCAST AND WHAT WAS YOUR GOAL?

ANDREA FAPPANI: I felt, through clinics over the years, you try to help people in a short two or three days, but they don’t have much to look back to, so I wanted to create something that let people better their horsemanship and be able to go back and relisten to it. Also, I wanted to shine a light on some people who are amazingly talented, but we only see people in a show situation, and it is hard to approach them, like myself, so people see the true person behind the competitor. I wanted to bring that information to the general public if they couldn’t access it. Our main focus [in the beginning] was not to talk about one discipline but how you connect horsemanship and what you want to do with your horse and make your idea their idea.

WH: WHY DO YOU THINK PODCASTS RESONATE WITH THE WESTERN LIFESTYLE?

AF: I think it is not just our lifestyle, but that podcasts can work for anyone. I can be loping a horse or driving and listening to a podcast on religion, business, sports or life. A lot of people in our industry are from remote areas and drive long hours, so they love podcasts. A lot of people who listen to my podcast do it when they drive to a horse show. I do think they serve a purpose there. People are so busy now; we do 12, 14, and 16 hours of work, and we are so busy we don’t have time to turn on the TV for hours at night. I don’t even really watch TV anymore; I get my information from podcasts or the internet. It’s easier to stick a podcast in my ear and not take time away from my day to go get information. Plus, I can listen over and over again, which is why I think they are so popular.

WH : TELL US ABOUT YOUR GUESTS. WHAT EPISODES ARE POPULAR, AND WHO LEFT AN IMPRESSION ON YOU?

AF: To be honest, I was surprised at how many people said yes; I was always afraid of rejection. I was amazed how many people decided to open up and talk about their beliefs or con-

troversial subjects. I’ve had great friends, like Clinton Anderson and Bob Avila, who I’ve brought on and learned more about in our conversation than I had in years of knowing them. I think podcasts are so great because of that — there are no distractions. It is them and me talking. They really open up! Anderson has been the most popular, and he has a big fol-

lowing. The Todd Bergen [episode] and Nick Dowers were popular. [Dowers] has a way of presenting things in a way anyone ﬁnds easy to understand, even if they do a different discipline. Every time people listen to him and [Anderson], they ﬁnd something to work on. They both have a way of presenting that connects with people.

Ben Roethlisberger — I didn’t even know he had a passion for horses, but he has love for the animal. In a competition like football, he found horses to be a release. He’s a horse enthusiast. That’s how we all started; horses were a release and a way to belong. I didn’t feel comfortable around a soccer team in Italy, but I felt a connection with horses. Horses take away everyday problems and make you feel at ease. I am always surprised by some of the conversations we have.

had been thinking about a podcast for about a year, but the inner dialogue of self-doubt, who am I to do this, and all the negative chatter won out for a long time. I knew I needed a niche. It started with horse trainers, and it has evolved over the years. People drive down the road listening to artists, and I have had singer-songwriters on and authors of books. My guests are somewhat selﬁsh because the Converse Cowboy podcast has allowed me to talk to people I ﬁnd interesting.

THE CONVERSE COWBOY

Wearing his signature black Converse sneakers, Mike Roberts has seemingly talked to anyone and everyone who is “cool” in the Western world. From cutting trainer Jesse Lennox to singer-songwriter Colter Wall to Kimes Ranch power couple Matt and Amanda Kimes, they have all opened up to the real estate investor by day and podcaster by passion. What began as a way to ﬂex his creative muscles has led to some of Roberts’ best friendships. Since 2020, he’s produced 108 episodes. The multi-faceted entrepreneur plans to continue seeing out those who want to share and discuss their habits for success on “The Converse Cowboy.”

WESTERN HORSEMAN: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START THE PODCAST?

MIKE ROBERTS: I started it, then about three months in, COVID-19 shut the world down. I

Every podcast is different, but I’m trying to uncover the habits and routines that make people successful, and it happens that most of those people are in the Western industry. For my podcast, listeners are tuning in to learn and hopefully laugh a lot. Podcasts are consumable, bite-sized pieces of content. It’s easy to put an earbud in and listen to a podcast while doing a job that needs to be done.

WH: DID ANY GUEST IMPRESS YOU OR LEAVE YOU WITH A LIFE LESSON?

MR: Colter Wall was one, and that was early, year one. We did the interview over Zoom. He beats to his own drum, I gathered from my interview with him. He is doing what he truly loves to do, and his success and fame is a byproduct of that. He’s a talented singer-songwriter, but if he decides not to do something, that makes his fans like him more. He also opened the door. Any singer after that, no one said no. He gave me street cred. I often fear sitting down with the people I look up to. You want them to be everything you think of them in your mind. He far exceeded my hopes.

Dale Brisby would be another one. There were nuggets and soundbites in the interview, but seeing him work with his people in real time, [I saw that] he’s a genuine human being who treats his people as such. It was cool and valuable for me to see as a business owner.

WH: WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS FOR THE PODCAST?

MR: I have two sides to my brain, I tell people. This entrepreneur side has been trained for a long time; on the creative side, the muscles

are very weak. “Converse Cowboy” is still in its infancy, and I have a tough time with the creative side. The podcast is an opportunity for me to explore my own creativity. I always say there is ROI and ROE — the return on my investments and the return on my experiences with “Converse Cowboy.” I want to continue to show up with focus and intent to provide value to listeners. I enjoy visiting with guests, but I’ve started doing solo podcasts where I expound on a thought or belief, and it is like putting all of my innermost thoughts out for the public, which is scary, and we worry about the judgment of others. My goal is to continue doing the podcast, stay consistent and see what happens.

LEADERS OF THE WEST

OFTHEWEST.CO/PODCAST

As though Idaho mom, rancher, Of The West hiring platform and social media inﬂuencer were not enough hats for Jessie Jarvis to wear, she started “Leaders of the West.” The podcast focuses on creating conversations with, as the tagline says, “innovators and changemakers in ag and Western.” Jarvis felt called to share stories by hosting guests because it allows for accessibility, no matter if someone is able to sit and listen or needs to listen while working, yet people can still surround themselves with positive propaganda about the Western and ag lifestyle. Since 2023, she has curated and produced 88 episodes.

WESTERN HORSEMAN: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO DO THE PODCAST, AND HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?

JESSIE JARVIS: In the back of my mind, I had always considered doing a podcast, but I also knew they were a lot of work. As someone who has plenty of other irons in the ﬁre, my hesitation was always wondering if I could do it in excellence and long term. I didn’t want to get a year in and not continue it. Where we were in life and business, with Of The West, it felt like all the

things presented themselves to me at the right time. I’ve shared online, through social media, for a long time, but not in long form, through Instagram and TikTok. Now, all the content [on social media] needs to be faster and faster. You could create conversation in a story in two minutes, but now it needs to be 10-15 seconds. I was looking for other avenues to provide me an opportunity to do long form content that provides value to people and creates the opportunity for conversation.

I have always loved storytelling. When I was a little girl, I would be the person to [collect] all the magazines. In my career, writing and publications, I loved storytelling. Western ag industries have really cool stories to tell. Through Of The West, there are a lot of cool people in this industry who have cool stories to tell but their heads are down and they are doing the work, versus often those who are bragging about themselves are not putting in the work. That led to a perfect storm of a podcast being the avenue to create that long-term way to share information and spotlight people in our industries so we can continue to grow ag and Western as a whole.

ployers, job seekers, farming, ranching and the livestock industry as a whole, Western sports, the equine industry, and now, through The Directory, freelancers and contractors and those who are Western or ag curious. We have a big audience. What do they say? When you try to be something for everybody, you wind up being nothing for nobody. So, we strive to always bring in guests representing a wide-ranging audience member, whether that is an employer talking about leadership or a freelancer owning their own business. It’s people who I think deserve recognition and their story to be told.

One of the things that makes “Leaders of the West” unique is we do a couple of guest episodes, and then I do an episode where I share something that I’ve been thinking about. We want to do business with people we trust, so when someone can hear me talk about trends in hiring or something I have learned as a mom this week, it lets me build trust with people we work with and for. I did an episode where I talked about how I set goals, personally and for Of The West, and that episode has the highest number of downloads.

launch it and then have to continue to feed, water and grow. There is never a true harvest season or winter where it is dormant. You have to think about it as a marathon or a sprint. I want to continue to bring forward really cool guests and shine a spotlight on them. If we continue to grow our download numbers, that is a really cool thing because that means we are getting to share those listeners and also making a wider impact for good in our industry.

LOOKING TO LISTEN?

If you’re in search of a podcast focused the Western lifestyle, here are some to check out:

HORSEMANSHIP PODCASTS

Be Your Best Horsemanship

Cowhorse Full Contact

Uncut & Real Raw

The Journey On Podcast with Warwick Schiller

Tom McCutcheon’s THE SHOW

Train Your Own Horse

WESTERN LIFESTYLE PODCASTS

Charly Crawford Podcast

Cowboy Life

The Flatbed

The Gauge

WESTERN WOMEN PODCASTS

Breaking Western Podcast

Cowgirls With Cameras

Women in Western Podcast

RODEO PODCASTS

Companion Pass

WH: HOW HAVE YOU GONE ABOUT FINDING GUESTS TO

MEET YOUR GOAL AND INTEREST YOUR AUDIENCE?

JJ: I struggle with this; most podcasts are singularly focused. One of the things that make Of The West unique is we are focused on em-

WH: HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR PODCAST WILL EVOLVE AND GROW IN THE FUTURE?

JJ: One thing that is tough about podcasts is that often, we work on a project, launch it and then get to reﬂect on it. But with a podcast, you

Let’s Freakin’ Rodeo

Rodeo Time With Dale Brisby

The Fallon Taylor Podcast

Mike Roberts, “The Converse Cowboy,” uncovers the habits and daily routines that help make his peers successful.

UP & UP THE

SYMPTOMS OF HEALTHY, HAPPY HORSES

STORY BY AMANDA DEVAN

ITEMS COMPILED BY ABIGAIL BOATWRIGHT

Information on horse health is so important — one article can be the di erence in recognizing a life-threatening issue. That said, the information can be overwhelming and full of warnings that get an understandably concerned reader fearing the worst. For the worried reader, here are a few signs your horse is happy, healthy and thriving, according to the folks at Blue Cross, a charity organization focused on animal quality of life and welfare.

First, how is your horse behaving? Happy horses are generally lively, alert and responsive to their surroundings. The barn can be a noisy place, and we want our horses to appear vigilant and aware. Happy horses also interact with their friends! Of course, we aren’t talking about that one mare who stands in the corner, ears pinned. Horses are herd animals and are largely social. When they have space to do so, they should interact and move freely without hindrance.

Next, how do they look? Healthy horses who are getting the right daily nutrition have a shiny, smooth coat. Just like you and me, when horses are eating right, exercising and drinking enough water, it shows on the surface. You’ll see their coat growing and glowing and notice the brightness in their eyes, which should be clear and bright white on the outside.

Finally, what’s left in their feed bucket? Horses that feel well eat well. A healthy appetite is just that — healthy! We don’t want to see remnants of breakfast in the feed pan at night nor days-old hay piling up in the corner. With the right diet, horses are generally eager to eat and lick their plates clean. They need that fuel to perform their best in the arena.

Here’s to happy, healthy, social, shiny, hungry horses!

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Cashel’s Crusader Fly Masks are among the top-voted fly masks year after year and are trusted by horsemen of all backgrounds to protect their horses from flies. The Cashel Crusader Fly Mask With Ears is made from soft-coated nylon micromesh, making it a very comfortable choice for fly protection for your horse. Its patented three-hole cap and double dart construction keep the material well away from sensitive eyes, lashes and temples without damaging the forelock, providing a more natural and complete field of vision. The Crusader blocks up to 70% of the sun’s damaging UV rays, protecting horses from eye problems and sunburn. This mask is great for horses that have greater sensitivity to the sun and lighter-skinned horses. It also protects your horse’s ears from insects and other pests. Available in seven sizes. Price: $32.99. CASHELCOMPANY.COM

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EQUINE RHABDOMYOLYSIS

STORY BY HOPE ELLIS-ASHBURN • PHOTOGRAPHY BY FAITH SKINNER

EOPPOSITE PAGE: Tying up is a common concern among performance horses. ABOVE: According to Dr. Manfredi, the most common cause for tie-up is a horse being exercised beyond its ﬁtness level.

quine rhabdomyolysis, better known as “tying-up,” is a real concern and can occur for various reasons. Dr. Jane Manfredi, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVS-LA, DACVSMR (Equine), associate professor and Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine explains the condition in detail.

CAUSES

“There are a couple of di erent individual diseases that can cause a horse to tie-up,” Manfredi says. “Typical signs we see are trembling, ﬁrm and/or sore muscles, reluctance to move forward and sti ness. It depends a little bit on the breed regarding the most common reason or underlying cause of why they are tying-up after exercise.”

Manfredi says that sometimes tying-up can be a “one-o .” In these one-o situations, she says that the horse has worked extra hard, often beyond their ﬁtness level, and they tie-up.

“Then, there are some that are recurrent exertional myopathies,” Manfredi says. “They are frequently having these episodes. They are the ones we worry the most about.”

Manfredi explains that in Quarter Horses, horses tie-up for a few di erent reasons.

“The common ones we think about are Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy Types 1 and 2 and malignant hyperthermia,” Manfredi says.

“TYPICAL SIGNS WE SEE ARE TREMBLING, FIRM AND/OR SORE MUSCLES, RELUCTANCE TO MOVE FORWARD AND STIFFNESS.”

– DR. JANE MANFREDI

The classic cause that many Quarter Horse owners think about, Manfredi says, is PSSM1. PSSM1, she explains, has genetic underpinnings.

“There’s a genetic mutation in the Glycogen Synthase 1 gene that causes a problem,” Manfredi says. “The muscle can’t function correctly.”

Normally, muscles store sugar in the form of glycogen. When the gene mutation is present, the muscle stores too much glycogen, which builds up, or the muscle

can’t form the sugar it needs, and the muscle cannot work properly.

“That is when you get some of the signs we worry about,” Manfredi says.

Sometimes, Quarter Horses have a mutation in another gene that can cause malignant hyperthermia.

“If they have that, or if they have that plus PSSM1, they can have a severe episode of tying-up,” Manfredi says.

She elaborates that these horses can become feverish, have kidney damage and go down.

“Sometimes, they die as a result of it, but that is an extreme reaction,” Manfredi says.

DIAGNOSTICS AND PREVENTION

Manfredi says that the earliest and most commonly performed diagnostics involve a ﬁve-panel plus test, which can show if the horse is genetically predisposed to the condition. She explains that the test looks

to see if the horse has copies of the defective gene and whether they have one copy or two.

“If they have no copies of the gene, they are good to go,” Manfredi says. “If they have one copy, they could be a ected by tying-up. If they have two copies, they will most likely have clinical signs at some point associated with tying-up.”

Knowing beforehand is an advantage.

“We can get those horses on an appropriate dietary and exercise regime to prevent it from happening or at least minimize the frequency,” Manfredi says.

Dietary modifications for the muscle disease include a diet with fewer than 10%-12% non-structural carbohydrates and 13% dietary fat, which helps prevent the buildup of extra sugars. Adding supplemental vitamin E to the diet has also been shown to help. Exercise modifications include keeping the horse fit, working them regularly and being careful not to work them beyond their current fitness level.

OPPOSITE PAGE: A ﬁve-panel plus test is the earliest way to determine if a horse is genetically predisposed to tying up. BELOW: Predisposed horses can start a diet and exercise regimen to minimize the risk of tie-up.

Another test for PSSM1, Manfredi says, is the exercise challenge test.

“We know that even with light exercise, horses that have issues with tying-up will get muscle damage,” she says.

A blood sample is pulled by a veterinarian to detect the damage. The horse is then ridden at a trot for 15 minutes. Then, four to six hours later, a second blood sample is taken.

“We are looking for an enzyme in the blood called CK, or creatine kinase,” Manfredi says. “We are looking to see that it doesn’t have a four-fold increase between baseline and four to six hours later. If it does, that is an inappropriate amount of muscle damage, which suggests that the horse is tying-up.”

WARNING SIGNS

Sometimes, there is no reason to suspect that your horse may tie-up. In these cases, one early warning sign of an episode is a horse that is slightly stiffer than normal. Manfredi says that owners can mistakenly attribute this to osteoarthritis or think that the horse is having a bad day.

“Some of the signs are really subtle,” Manfredi says. “Muscle disease, even among veterinarians, is not everyone’s ﬁrst ‘go-to.’”

TOP: It’s recommended during an acute episode of tie-up to keep your horse hydrated and still. BOTTOM: In the long-term, keeping your horse on an appropriate diet and exercise routine is the best way to prevent tying up.

She says tying-up is often not diagnosed until the horse has a very pronounced episode. During annual exams, Manfredi routinely asks her clients who own Quarter Horses or Quarter Horse crosses if they have run or would like to run a ﬁve-panel plus genetic test. All this entails is pulling some mane or tail hairs, including their roots, and sending them to the UC Davis diagnostic laboratory. She also includes this as part of her welcome package for new clients with horses in “atrisk” breeds, which includes Paint Horses.

OTHER TYPES

Of course, the previously mentioned PSSM2 is also more commonly experienced by some Arabians and warmbloods.

“That is where you have the same signs of tying-up, but when you take a muscle biopsy, it doesn’t react the same way as horses

with PSSM1,” Manfredi says. “Sometimes, you can look at genetic testing for PSSM1. But if you are suspicious of a muscle disorder, especially if the bloodwork supports it, the next step diagnostically is to take [and submit] a muscle biopsy.”

Manfredi says horses with PSSM1 have a speciﬁc response to certain staining that di ers from those with PSSM2.

“About 28% of Quarter Horses that tie-up have PSSM2, so it’s less common than PSSM1,” Manfredi says.

While treated similarly to those with PSSM1, she says these horses will not have as many classic signs of PSSM.

“There’s a lot more to unpack with PSSM2 compared to PSSM1,” Manfredi explains. “Some of these horses may not respond to treatment as well as you would like.”

Another uncommon genetic cause of tying-up found in Quarter Horses that can

ONE HORSE OWNER’S STORY

Dr. Holly Spooner, PhD, shares her experience with tying-up at the East World Pony of the Americas Club show in Indiana.

“We had a POA mare; I think she was 4 years old at the time,” Spooner says. “We’ve owned her her whole life. She never had any previous health issues. We were lightly showing her. My daughter was doing some junior pony classes.”

During the show, the senior pony that Spooner’s daughter regularly showed developed an injury.

“We had to ask the young mare to do more,” Spooner says. “On fairly short notice, we increased her workload and asked her to do more classes.”

That evening, during an activity, there was a commotion in the stall area of the barn. The commotion turned out to be Spooner’s mare.

“She was rubbing into the stall walls and acting painful,” Spooner says.

Everyone thought it was colic.

“Luckily, a friend of mine who is a vet was there,” Spooner says. “We pulled the mare out and looked at each other because we saw muscle convulsions in her shoulders.”

Rather than colic, her mare was quickly diagnosed with tying-up. Fortunately, the veterinarian was able to aggressively treat the mare with medications, and she came around quickly.

Once the mare returned home, Spooner had genetic testing performed. She was negative for PSSM1. Spooner consulted with equine experts in the ﬁeld, and through them, elected to take a conservative approach. If a second episode occurred, she would have a muscle biopsy performed. Fortunately, that hasn’t been necessary.

“It’s really scary when it happens,” Spooner says.

Though there is no reason to suspect that this episode of tying-up was anything more than a one-off, Spooner continues to take precautions. She feeds her as if she does have PSSM, including providing her with a vitamin E supplement and making sure she stays hydrated. Spooner also carefully evaluates the mare’s workload, steps that she feels have helped to keep potential future episodes at bay.

be picked up on the ﬁve-panel genetic test is Myosin-heavy chain myopathy. This disease causes tying-up and is not associated with exercise.

TRIGGERS AND WHAT TO EXPECT

Manfredi says that horses pushed beyond their ﬁtness level are those most at risk of tying-up. Feeding a high-starch diet, such as sweet feed, without appropriate exercise can also be a trigger.

During an acute case of tying-up, your veterinarian will likely pull blood to look for the presence of elevated muscle enzymes. They will also check kidney values.

“If your horse is experiencing a severe case of tying-up, it can have muscle breakdown,” Manfredi says. “Components that go into the bloodstream are ﬁltered by the kidneys, which can result in dark red- or co ee-colored urine.”

She says this can damage the kidneys because they are not used to processing something of that size. After your horse recovers from the tying-up episode, Manfredi says that exercise, genetic and muscle biopsy tests can be performed to determine the cause.

During the acute phase, your horse will likely receive medication for pain relief. Your veterinarian will also ensure your horse stays hydrated. In severe cases, IV ﬂuids with electrolytes can help support the horse and their kidneys by ﬂushing out any components of muscle breakdown. Another recommended best practice is keeping your horse as still as possible during an acute episode. Manfredi says this prevents the muscles from heating up or having extra exertion when the horse is already sore.

As such, horses are often placed on stall rest with no forced exercise for at least 24 hours. If the horse is anxious or upset, they are sometimes given sedatives to help them relax. After 24 hours, if the episode was severe, restrictions to movement will remain in place, but the horse can be moved to a small paddock until they move around more comfortably.

In the long term, Manfredi says that it is important to make necessary dietary changes, build up the horse’s ﬁtness level and be proactive if you are suspicious of tie-up. Genetic testing in advance is a good idea to know if you might have a problem in the future and is always beneﬁcial in our Quarter Horses and Paints.

VESTED IN THE

Vera Earl

Through progressive management and cooperative collaborations, a generational horse and cattle ranch in southeastern Arizona preserves its heritage while shaping a sustainable future.

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNIFER DENISON

Karter Bearup, head trainer on the Vera Earl Ranch, rides all the ranch horses and shows prospects outside to expose them to different things and to keep them in good physical and mental shape.

On a hill above the Vera Earl Ranch headquarters is a peaceful horse pasture with panoramic views of the Sonoita Valley and the surrounding mountains in southern Arizona. In late summer, it’s a peaceful place to watch the monsoon clouds build in the sky. The valley is rooted in ranching and is known for its rolling grasslands and temperate climate. However, rows of grapevines now extend into the creases of the landscape, cultivating the region’s growing viniculture.

Burton Beck and his wife, Bettie Ann, established the Vera Earl Ranch in this secluded valley in 1968. A World War II veteran, Burton worked for a pharmaceutical company and raised performance Quarter Horses in Indiana. Seeking a ranch in a warmer climate, the Becks found themselves at the crossroads of Arizona state highways 82 and 83 in Sonoita, a small ranching community approximately 50 miles east of Tucson.

“My grandfather [served in the U.S. Army] and was in the Battle of the Bulge. He swore he never wanted to be that cold again,” Burton's grandson, Ian Tomlinson, explains. “He and my grandmother fell in love with Sonoita and put together three ranches, forming the Vera Earl, named after my [great-grandmother and -grandfather], Vera and Earl.”

Fifty-seven years later, Ian, his wife, Kristin, and their two daughters, Marin and Addison, continue to steward the ranch and develop ways to preserve and perpetuate its legacy. The operation now includes commercial cattle, a marketplace for its premium beef products and an emerging performance horse program. The Tomlinsons and their 30 employees manage every aspect of the ranch with a shared philosophy of “leaving it better than it was found.” Their e orts are cultivating a sustainable operation for the livestock, land, ecosystems and the next generation of family ranchers.

BUILDING A DREAM

After purchasing their ranch, the Becks hauled their best horses to Arizona and stocked the high-desert pastures with resil-

ient Braford cattle. One of the ﬁrst structures they built was a horse barn that remains at the heart of the ranch. When Burton died in 1977, his wife was determined to continue ranching with the help of her family.

“I spent the ﬁrst six years of my life on the ranch with my parents until we moved to Seattle, Washington, in 1981,” Ian says, adding that regular visits to the Vera Earl during his childhood fostered his underlying interest in the operation.

When Ian graduated from high school, he attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, and graduated with a business management degree. Then, he studied law at Seattle University School of Law. In 2000, as Ian started his law career, his grandmother died, leaving the Vera Earl in the hands of his mother, Cynthia. Although the family wanted to keep the ranch, nobody could run it, and the idea of having an absentee owner didn’t feel right. After deliberating with his wife of 2 ½ years, Ian moved to southern Arizona and took the reins. The young couple knew nothing about managing a ranch, but they surrounded themselves with people who knew more about it than they did.

“I planned to become a lawyer, and I thought someday we’d come back to the ranch or retire there,” Ian says. I never thought it’d become my career path at age 25 and an ongoing business venture. I was a clean slate and absorbed di erent ideas, made my own decisions and learned from many mistakes.”

Under Ian’s management, the ranch now sprawls across 200,000 acres, including leases on the historic Empire Ranch and the Sands Ranch. In 2012, the Tomlinsons partnered with the Sands family on the nearby Sands Ranch, which has been in the same family for more than 100 years. The pastures, ranging in elevation from 5,200 to 9,500 feet, sustain more than 2,800 head of cattle that coexist harmoniously with abundant wildlife, including endangered species, such as the Chiricahua leopard frog. The old horse barn his grandfather built has been renovated and expanded over the years to accommodate breeding, foaling and training horses for the ranch and show pen.

RAISING THE BAR ON BEEF

Wildfires in the Sonoita Valley in 2017, followed by drought a few years later, forced Ian to cull his cattle herd. One significant change he made was infusing the herd with Black Angus'genetics, transitioning away from the Brafords his grandfather raised. The switch to black cattle enabled the ranch to elevate its genetics and add hybrid vigor. Once harvested, the grass-fed, grain-finished beef grades high with ample marbling, which gives it a rich, buttery flavor and increases its marketability.

“We started putting Black Angus bulls on the Braford cows, and we tried putting Herefords with Brangus cattle,” Ian explains. “We didn’t like some of the phenotype that was coming out on our females, so the past few years, we went exclusively to crossing Black Angus on Herefords to make black baldy replacements. Those replacements are then bred to either Charolais or Black Angus bulls.”

The cattle are raised on the native grasslands until they are weaned at 7 months old in the grow yard Ian built in 2009. The

facility is integral to fi nishing cattle for the premium beef program and outside cattle Ian buys. The cattle are finished on locally sourced hay and corn, free of animal by-products until they reach their optimal finishing weight. Vera Earl cattle are closely monitored and tracked throughout their lives using a button tag in their ears. The ranch follows specific standards and keeps detailed records to obtain quality certifications, such as all-natural beef, free of hormones and antibiotics. If an animal must be treated with antibiotics or hormones, it is removed from the all-natural beef program.

One of the most impactful third-party certifi cations the ranch endorses is the Where Food Comes From CARE program through IMI Global. The program sets standards for and audits participating farms and ranches in four “pillars” of agriculture: animal husbandry, environmental stewardship, people (employee working conditions, pay and growth opportunities) and community involvement. The program encourages transparency and verifies branded beef programs’ quality and export requirements, thus creating consumer confidence from farm to table.

“All of the [third-party] programs we’re involved in, including CARE, ﬁt our core values and how we want to operate on the Vera Earl,” Ian says. “We manage the cattle using low-stress [methods]. We’ve always had an eye toward collaboration and adaptive management, and we work closely with several agencies to improve the environment and ecological systems in our grazing areas. It’s come to a point where we discuss what we do with the public, not just check boxes. People want to know where the beef comes from and what we do to sustain open spaces and steward the land. Every rancher is a steward of the land, but we all go about it di erently.”

CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS

BOTTOM: Ranch

cowboy Martin Monreal has been part of the growth and development of the Vera Earl for more than 12 years.

Whether in his truck, o ce or horseback, Ian answers calls or responds to texts and emails on his phone. Each day, he communicates, negotiates and compromises with several agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Forest Service, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Together, they develop projects and strategies that beneﬁt the ranch and the diverse plant and animal species that thrive there.

“It’s where building trusting relationships comes into place,” Ian says. “The more you collaborate, the more e ective it is for everyone. You get a lot further in ranching when you’re transparent and ﬁnd commonalities with people rather

TOP: Nathanael “Nacho” Camacho oversees the cattle on the Sands Ranch. MIDDLE: Vera Earl owner Ian Tomlinson works with various agencies to manage his cattle, the grasslands and the wildlife that thrive there.

Broodmares and foals come in for a midday drink.

VERA EARL STALLIONS

than butt heads with them.”

The Empire Ranch lease is part of the 45,000-acre Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, and Ian must work with agency representatives to manage the land, riparian areas and wildlife. About 6,500 acres of Vera Earl’s deeded land are in a conservation easement that designates it as open space for perpetuity.

“My family didn’t buy or hold onto the ranch to develop it, so it felt right to put it into a conservation easement to ensure future generations maintain those thought patterns,” Ian says.

A ﬁxture in the Sonoita Valley, the Vera Earl supports its local agricultural community through philanthropy. The ranch frequently sponsors local horse shows, 4-H and FFA programs. It also contributes to the Los Charros Foundation, which o ers college or trade-school scholarships to high school students from local agricultural families. Kristin is the foundation’s executive director and coordinates the annual fundraising event held on the ranch.

REVIVING THE HORSE PROGRAM

After the death of Ian’s grandparents, the horse operation became defunct, and the barn was mothballed. In 2012, Ian and his youngest daughter, Addison, who was 5 years old, were at the barn, and she said she thought the ranch needed horses again. Her interest convinced her father to buy a few bred Quarter Horse mares to raise and ride.

“We would buy 3- and 4-year-old mares, generally reined cow horse or cutting rejects, and ride them for a few years. We put the ones we liked in the broodmare band,” Ian explains.

Today, the ranch has approximately 25 broodmares, most of which have been ridden on the ranch or shown by Addison, tracing to bloodlines such as Smart Little Lena, Peppy San Badger, Playin Stylish and Peptoboonsmal. As the pro -

BLU MASTERPIECE

2017 Bay Quarter Horse Stallion

METAL METALLIC

2013 Sorrel Quarter Horse Stallion

ARIZONA OUTLAW

2020 Sorrel Quarter Horse Stallion

Shiney Outlaw

Cats Bar Lena Shiners Nickle Mereyda

Smart Little Lena

Cats Barmaid Chick

gram developed, the Tomlinsons added three stallions: Blu Masterpiece, Full Metal Metallic and the home-raised stud VE Arizona Outlaw. They breed their mares to the stallions via artiﬁcial insemination and embryo transfer. They’ve also crossed their mares on proven performance-horse stallions, such as Hired Gun, Brother Jackson, Shiney Outlaw, Scooter Kat and The Animal.

In 2022, Ian hired Karter and Bailey Bearup to manage the horse operation. The couple met while working for performance horse trainer Jade Keller in Scottsdale, Arizona. They brought fresh ideas, colt starting and training experience, willing attitudes and a strong passion for the performance horse industry.

“What made them a good ﬁt for us is they were up-andcoming performance horse trainers, but they hadn’t been out on their own yet, and we had an up-and-coming horse program,” Ian says. “I’m much more apt to hire someone with a hunger that matches their talent. We just meshed, and it’s been a good ﬁt ever since.”

Karter is the head trainer, and Bailey assists and oversees the breeding operation. However, they work together to manage every aspect of the horse operation, plus help the cowboys as needed. The couple and Addison travel to cutting and cow horse events and show Vera Earl horses. Karter has also started roping o some of the show horses.

They’re in the saddle most days by 5 a.m. and ride about 15

horses, typically starting with the seasoned show horses, then the 3- and 2-year-olds. For the past couple of years, Karter’s twin brother, Kenyon, has helped start the colts and rides them in the grow yard, exposing them to such things as opening and closing gates, doctoring cattle and working in a fastpaced environment.

“I think our job is not as much about training the horses as it is riding them and having them tell us what they want to do,” Karter explains. “The beauty of the Vera Earl horse program is that it lends itself to raising horses that can be ridden on the ranch or in the arena.”

Foals are weaned at 6 to 8 months old, and that’s when their training begins.

“After we wean the foals, we halter break them, pick up their feet and play with them. Then, we turn them back out to pasture,” Karter says. “The ﬁrst of the year, we bring them in and worm, vaccinate and handle them again. Then we turn them out for another year to mature.”

The colts are started slowly as 2-year-olds. When they’re 3, the Bearups and Tomlinsons decide which horses go into the ranch horse strings and which become show prospects. Either way, the young horses are schooled in the arena and used for light ranch work.

“Ranch work gives them a good mental foundation, whether or not they go into the show pen,” Karter says. “Riding them

OPPOSITE PAGE: The Vera Earl brand represents more than 55 years of ranching tradition. ABOVE: When the colts are 3 years old, the Bearups and Tomlinsons decide which horses go into ranch horse strings and which become show prospects.

TOP: Karter and ranch cowboys Kent “Chango” Etchart and Nathanael “Nacho” Camacho take a break after moving cattle to a new pasture. Karter starts the colts that go into the cowboys’ strings, and he checks in with them often to see how the horses are doing. BOTTOM: Ian, Kristin and their two daughters, Addison and Marin, strive to keep their family’s ranching and horse heritage alive in the Sonoita Valley.

outside is like sculpting or molding them, and then you polish them in the arena.”

While the goal is to raise top-notch show horses and horses to sell, the priority is training reliable ranch horses for the ranch cowboys, Martin Monreal, Kent “Chango” Etchart, Nathanael “Nacho” Camacho and Krayton Dutton.

“In the fall, the cowboys choose which six to eight horses they want for their strings, and they can ride them as long as they want,” Karter says. “Every year, they can get a 3-yearold, but they have to turn in an older horse we can add to the broodmare band or sell if it’s an older gelding.”

Still in its infancy, the Vera Earl Horse program hasn’t had a stallion or world champion to put it on the map yet. However, Ian believes that when he looks back at the horse program, VE One Hired Gun will be the “breakthrough” horse. The 2018 home-raised mare by Hired Gun and out of One Autumn Breeze by One Time Pepto has won several cutting and reined cow horse awards, including third place in the limited open bridle class at the 2024 National Reined Cow Horse Association-sanctioned Teton Ridge Stallion Stakes. Addison showed the mare to reserve in the non-pro boxing at the 2023 NRCHA Western Derby. Bailey also showed the mare to the limited open hackamore class at the Western Derby and the year-end and Southwest regional championship of that class.

Other Vera Earl horses are making names in the show pen, including VE Turkey Tracks, VE Double Down Time and stallions Blu Masterpiece and VE Arizona Outlaw. At the 2024 Arizona State Cutting Championship Show, Karter and Blu Masterpiece won reserve in the open class, and Addison rode the stallion to the $15,000 Amateur class championship. Karter showed VE Arizona Outlaw and took home ﬁrst place in the

RANCH TO TABLE

Since 2020, Vera Earl has marketed its all-natural, 21-day dry-aged beef to Arizona restaurants and consumers through its website, vepremiumbeef.com, and a retail storefront on the main street of Sonoita, Arizona. Ian credits his daughters, Marin and Addison, for the idea.

“During COVID-19, they were out of school and working for me. They started doing market research on what percentage of the public has had dry-aged beef, high-choice or prime beef,” Ian recalls. “The numbers were around 3% or 4%, so we created a business plan for marketing our beef. We have a unique story to share and great beef to back it up.”

Over the past ﬁve years, Vera Earl Premium Beef sales have increased, primarily through word of mouth, exposure through local media and partnerships.

“I’m a big relationship guy, and to move our beef into restaurants, we must develop relationships and direct lines of communication with the chefs and general managers,” Ian says. “We want to share our story with them and know what they think of the beef’s ﬂavor and quality.”

ranch class at the championship event.

“It’s cool to think horses are one of the reasons my great-grandfather built this ranch, and we’re bringing that back,” Addison says. “Bailey and Karter are amazing trainers and are taking the horse program in a direction we have never known; they care a lot about the horses and the ranch.

“One of the biggest things that helps our horse operation is that all the horses have an opportunity to go somewhere,” she adds. “They can go to ropings, cutting, cow horse shows or work cows.”

In the future, the Bearups would like to show Vera Earl horses in cutting, cow horse and roping futurities, but their focus is ﬁrst on laying solid foundations on the young horses.

“We are all on the same page about futurities, and we want to have that option someday,” Karter says. “But forcing a horse into something and putting a time restriction on it is something we don’t want to do.”

Bailey adds, “We’ve had success at local and state club shows, and we’re gradually building name recognition and the Vera Earl brand on a national level.”

For the past few years, Ian has “charted the course” for the horse program, but he says he trusts the Bearups to make major decisions about the horses and where to show them.

“I want to see our operation grow and become successful, and I want the same for Bailey and Karter,” Ian says. “I want to promote them and their success and never want to hold them back. One thing we discuss all the time is how we want to focus on producing great horses. I’ve seen too many people chase money and success foremost, and it can be a fool’s errand. Making money is part of it, but when you take that out of your objective and focus on producing good horses, I think you’ll reach your objective way faster, and there will also be longevity in your horses and program.”

TAKING THE REINS

Just as Ian wants to see longevity in his horses, he also wants to hire long-term employees. Cowboy Martin Monreal oversees the cattle on the Vera Earl property and has been with the ranch for more than a dozen years.

“We want to hire people who will work for us for many years and let them learn and grow within the company and reward them as they go,” Ian explains. “We like to surround ourselves with competent people we can trust to take the reins and do di erent things.”

Looking toward the future, Ian’s daughters express interest in operating the ranch together once they ﬁnish their college educations. Marin, 22, would like to cowboy and be involved in the cattle operation, while Addison sees herself in the o ce managing the ﬁnances, hedging cattle and continuing to show horses.

“I don’t think there’s any bigger compliment in the world than having your kids come back and want to take over what you’ve built,” Ian says. “I don’t want to push them into it or make them feel obligated, but I hope they someday want to take the reins.”

the

Young buckaroos are often given

chance to help gather cattle on the Boies Ranch. Billy DeWitt, center, rides with his three oldest children, Ty (8), Clancy, (7) and Destry (10). Sam Lossing, right, rides with his son, Dennis (10).

COWBOYS, CATTLE AND CONSERVATION

In northeastern Nevada, the Boies Ranch uses a holistic, consensusbased approach to restore and sustain sagebrush rangeland.

ABOVE: The ranch raises Black Angus cattle and uses the 7V Bar brand on the left rib.OPPOSITE PAGE: Buckaroo style gear predominates in this region, but each cowboy brings with them the traditions and equipment they prefer.

Drive south from the one-stoplight town of Jackpot, Nevada, and you’ll see the twinkling lights of Cactus Petes Resort Casino and the Horseshu Hotel and Casino in your rearview mirror. At the edge of town, a yellow road sign with a high-tailed bull warns, “Open Range. Livestock on Highway.” Continue southward, and the two-lane U.S. Highway 93 will peak after a slight rise before descending into a silvery-green, sagebrush valley with a wide open horizon.

Here, in the northeastern corner of Elko County, you’ll ﬁnd the Boies Ranch. Located between the small towns of Jackpot and Wells, Nevada, the Little Salmon River runs through the property. The Boies Ranch was once part of the larger Sparks-Harrell cattle empire owned by John Sparks and Jasper Harrell. In the late 1800s, cattle were brought into northeastern Nevada; the beef was used to feed Virginia City miners. The Boies family has resided at the ranch, which comprises the Vineyard and Hubbard units, since 1950.

“What do you think most people see out their window as they speed by on Highway 93?” I ask rancher and cattleman Steve Boies while visiting with him and his wife, Robin.

“They see a brown blur,” Steve says. “Just a place to get through.”

But for the Boies family, this corner of the Silver State is anything but a brown blur. It is a canvas of land covered with Great Basin wild rye and white sage, Indian ricegrass and Idaho fescue. It is the challenge of confronting invasive cheatgrass

after a range ﬁre and the excitement of seeing native browse plants return and ﬂourish. It is gathering cattle on horseback and branding calves with friends and neighbors. It is slick horns and long ropes. It is home.

Robin and Steve Boies met at the University of Nevada, Reno, in the 1970s. After they married, Robin joined Steve and his family in the northeastern part of the state. Over their 48 years of partnership, they raised three children, Nathan, Teema and Sam, and have dedicated themselves to asking — and answering — tough questions about how to graze well in these arid lands.

In 2020, the ranch was honored as a regional recipient of an Environmental Stewardship Award from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. However, the path to sustainability has not been a straight one. In the early 1990s, ranch operations were rocky. The ranch was searching for additional feed sources for the cattle; the political climate was abrasive to public land grazing, and year after year, they found themselves borrowing from the bank. Something had to change.

IT’S NOT WORKING

“What we were doing wasn’t working,” Steve says, reﬂecting on the condition of the ranch in the early 1990s. “It was a culmination of a lot of things. We were having to ﬁnd [additional] pasture o the ranch. And the climate was also changing.”

The Boies family stewards approximately 120,000 acres, 87% of which is public land. The Bureau of Land Management man-

“EDGE EFFECT: The phenomenon of increased diversity where two or more habitats join — where the forest meets the meadow. I like to think of solution-centered, collaborative groups as falling under the definition of edge effect. The leading edge on a wing of change — searching for solutions to hard questions here in the West.

Ranching, in general, is a risky business; just ask an insurance agent about covering a ranch operation. Unpredictable weather, animals and economics, regulations, and changing social and cultural values regarding land use make ranching a volatile, ever-changing way of life.

It is risky to step outside the traditions of a culture and choose a different path for decision making, management and interpersonal relations, but that is what we did. We chose another path amid the din of the 1990s rhetoric coming from polarized factions trying to shape Western land use policy. We stepped aside. We took a road less traveled.”

– ROBIN BOIES IN “CONFESSIONS OF A COLLABORATOR,” A WESTERN FOLKLIFE CENTER RANCH VIDEO

The Boies Reservoir is used to irrigate the ranch’s hayﬁelds and is an important wetland habitat. Upstream of the reservoir, beaver dams restored the riparian areas. In the 1980s, the water that ﬂowed into the reservoir gushed through a 20-foot deep channel. Now, the water enters via a slow-moving stream, and the ground has healed. Fences control when cattle are brought in to graze the reservoir area.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Since the early 1900s, thousands of acres of Nevada rangelands have been seeded with crested wheatgrass, a bunch grass native to Russia. This grass serves as forage for livestock, erosion control and helps prevent the spread of weeds and invasives. | Spiny hopsage is a valuable spring and early summer forage for livestock and wildlife. It also provides cover for birds and other small animals. | The ranch management plan takes into consideration the needs of the greater sage-grouse. | White sage is high in protein and important feed for cattle and wildlife, especially in winter.

ages the ranch’s 112,000-acre Hubbard/ Vineyard allotment.

Under their former BLM yearly grazing plan, the Boieses would simply turn their cattle out in April. With very few fences, the cattle would gravitate to their preferred grazing areas all summer. Then, when temperatures dropped and snow began to blow in the high country, the cattle would naturally drift home towards the lower elevation pastures before their BLM turn-o date. After that, the Boieses — who spent the summer putting up hay — would feed the cattle all winter long.

At the same time, Robin and Steve witnessed other ranchers who were facing increased litigation from certain environmental groups. They also felt the pressure of anti-grazing sentiments through campaigns, such as “Cattle-free by ’93,” which sought to end grazing on public rangelands.

The Boieses believed they could run a ﬁnancially sound operation where the cattle could be managed in such a way as to help restore the rangeland. They just didn’t have the tools yet. That was until a new approach to ranching and decision-making entered their lives.

In 1992, Robin attended the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada, hosted by the Western Folklife Center. That year, Allan Savory, best known for his holistic management grazing system, gave a keynote address. While sitting in the audience, Robin thought about their ranch, the challenges they faced and their belief that they could ranch di erently. Allan’s keynote address sparked ideas that would transform the Boieses’ approach to raising cattle and provide a fresh pathway for solutions.

A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH

“We got involved in the concept of holistic resource management through the Western Folklife Center. [After] Allan Savory gave that keynote address in ’92, a local rancher brought in facilitators, and we went through a series of holistic resource management classes,” Robin says. Holistic resource management is a decision-making process that aims to balance environmental sustainability with economic viability while preserving the social and cultural values of local people.

“[Allan’s] deﬁ nition of overgrazing is, ‘a plant getting bit more than once without recovery,’” Robin says. “We don’t have that much control of the animals [to control exactly which individual plant is grazed]. But if you’ve got land that for 120 years has been grazed the same season and in the same places, if you incorporate a year of spring rest, [the plants are] able to make seed and germinate.”

As Robin and Steve identiﬁed changes they wanted to make, they were also learning from the Cottonwood Ranch. This neighboring operation was navigating conﬂicts over riparian areas and restrictive grazing limitations. The Cottonwood Ranch’s solution? Establish a collaborative team, identify common goals and shared values, and implement changes to allow the ranch to maintain its economic stability as a family business.

In the mid-1990s, the Boieses voluntarily began to make management shifts on the ranch’s public and private land. At about the same time, their own BLM permit was undergoing an allotment evaluation.

To incorporate some of Allan’s principles, such as changing the season a pasture is grazed, they started with infrastructure improvements: fences and water.

Working with the BLM, they prioritized a fence between the higher mountain pastures and the lower part of the ranch. They also established two mid-elevation pastures and divided a pasture seeded with crested wheatgrass to restore the grass’ vigor. By increasing the number of pastures from nine to 14 pastures, and with additional water sources in place, the ranch gained more control and ﬂexibility regarding where — and during what season — the cattle grazed.

“We all live to rope,” Steve says with a chuckle. To keep things fair, he likes to have the ground crew and ropers switch every 30 to 40 head so everyone gets a chance in the saddle. A couple of young buckaroos on gentle horses are also often in the corral.

In 2000, the Boies Ranch started its own collaborative team. In 2002, the Boies and Cottonwood ranches combined their teams to form the Shoesole Resource Management Team. In 2013, the Home Ranch, owned by the Uhart family, joined the group. The Shoesole Team meets three times a year, and the ranches support each other as they make decisions, share what’s working and consider the BLM’s multi-use management goals for their public land grazing allotments.

The Shoesole Team prioritizes ﬁnding collaboration solutions invites local and federal stakeholders to their meetings. In addition to the BLM, partners they have worked with include the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Trout Unlimited, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Nevada Department of Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Forest Service and the interested public.

The Boieses also made shifts in their production cycle. Previously, they held over all their calves and sold them as yearlings. Not anymore. They switched to selling calves and only retained their replacement heifers. The ranch also changed its calving date from March 1 to April 15.

“Setting our calving date back 1 1/2 months made all the difference in the world,” Steve says. “We used to think we had to calve inside the meadows, but calving outside took care of a lot of health issues, like scours. What it did was allow us to get these cows out on the range. The cows have come through the winter; they’re already fattening up on green grass when they calve. And it saves us a whole bunch of hay. It was one of the best moves.”

Calving later does require the ranch to brand larger calves. Thanks to capable buckaroos and handy horses, this isn’t a problem. The ranch goes to where the cattle are grazing. They set up a portable corral, gather a herd, and friends from neighboring ranches often haul in for branding days to help.

During the Shoesole’s annual summer ﬁeld tour, the meeting begins with all participants standing in a circle. Each participant has an equal chance to introduce themselves and their expectations for the day, whether they are the property owner or the ranch irrigator. In 2012, the holistic Shoesole model became the foundation for the Stewardship Alliance of Northeast Elko, which was formed by eight ranches, including the Boies Ranch, in response to the potential listing of the greater sage-grouse for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Robin and Steve are quick to acknowledge the many gifted facilitators, from Tommie Martin and Steve Rich, the ﬁrst holistic resource management instructors they worked with, to sta from the National Riparian Service Team to Chuck Petersen at NRCS, as well as Je Moore, their rangeland management specialist from the Elko District BLM, for the collaborative successes they’ve achieved.

“For me, the decision to work collaboratively is a [question of], ‘How do you want to spend your life?’ You either decide to spend your life working for peaceful resolutions, or you don’t,” Robin says.

NUTS AND BOLTS

On a bright June morning, I meet Steve at the ranch cookhouse adjacent to verdant hayﬁelds. The 120-year-old building with a friendly yellow exterior no longer houses a cook who serves

Robin and Steve are dedicated to ranching in a holistic, collaborative manner. In 2020, the Boies Ranch was recognized with a regional Environmental Stewardship Award from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association for their work improving land and riparian areas through sustainable range practices.

up three square meals a day; however, it’s a central location that remains an important meeting point for Steve to connect with the three hired hands.

After a morning check-in with the buckaroos, Steve and I jump into his Chevrolet pickup truck. To fully know every corner of the ranch, one would need three years to complete the grazing rotation with the livestock. Over two days, Steve will show me a highlight reel of projects that collectively transformed their grazing system.

We leave the headquarters located at the Vineyard unit and head south towards the Hubbard unit, ﬁve miles away, down an old railroad bed. Just a few minutes into our drive, a sage-grouse hen steps out of the grass. Six chicks totter behind. Steve stops the truck, allowing the family to cross the road. I manage to take a few pictures of the speckled brown and gray birds before they disappear. The ranch is located in a greater sage-grouse habitat, and consideration of the birds’ needs is one of the many factors taken into account within the ranch’s management.

Back in the white truck, Steve guides us westward. After approximately 15 minutes on a county road, we reach our ﬁrst stop: the Boies Reservoir. Built in 1965 by Steve’s late father, Eyer Boies, the reservoir is an essential water source to irrigate the Hubbard unit. Originally, the water traveled 3.5 miles from the dam to the ﬁeld via an ine cient open ditch.

“We were losing half our water between the dam and the ﬁeld,” Steve recalls. “About 15 years ago, we put a pipeline in.”

To build the pipeline, the Boieses partnered with the NRCS. Thanks to a cost-share program, they could receive ﬁnancial and technical support. The pipeline was designed so that the water pressure alone from the gravity-fed system turns on the sprin-

TOP: Steve, center, often starts his morning in the ranch cookhouse to plan and organize the day, whether that means ﬁxing a fence or moving a set of cows. Here, he meets with hired hands Sam, left, and Billy, right. BOTTOM: Sam trots across the hayﬁelds at the Vineyard unit.

kler pivot without the need for electricity or diesel to pressurize the system — a signiﬁcant win for both water conservation and their pocketbook.

As we return to the county road and continue climbing towards the three mountain pastures, the truck bumps along the gravel, and Steve points out strategically built fences. If a pasture is grazed in spring, the following year, it will be grazed in the fall. Under their old permit, the mountain pastures — just like most of the ranch — were grazed every year. When the ranch renewed its permit and adopted an allotment management plan, it transitioned to grazing the mountain pastures to only one year of use every three years. These changes were not easy. However, the Boieses negotiated a year-round BLM grazing permit that would allow the ranch to harness the beneﬁts of dormant season grazing.

Dormant season grazing is when livestock graze in the late fall and winter when the plants aren’t actively growing. When dormant season grazing can be utilized, whether on private land or with permission from the BLM, the cost savings by reducing winter feed can be substantial. The ranch still feeds hay for part of the winter season, and Steve is quick to point out that once out on the range, they provide the cows with a custom-formulated protein supplement to ensure that nutritional needs are met.

With winter grazing, sourcing fresh, ice-free water can limit where cattle can be turned out. Solar water pumps have been a game-changing water source for the ranch. By upgrading to solar-powered pumps, the ranch could also water the cattle without having to haul fuel to generators, which could easily take half a day for each refueling. As soon as the sun comes out and the solar pump starts working, any ice formed overnight begins to melt away.

As we continue winding up the mountain, Steve pulls over to show me the valley below. While the valley sides are predominately covered with sagebrush, the valley bottom is ﬁlled with lush grass and dotted with beaver ponds.

“There is some really good stream restoration here,” Steve says, pointing towards the gentle green of the valley ﬂoor. “[Many ranchers] used to think that the beavers were keeping the water from running down to the ranches and irrigating. So, they trapped them and blew up bea-

Solar-powered water pumps save the ranch time and money. These waterers, called “drinkers,” are designed in such a way to prevent water from freezing or icing over in winter. The black plastic also helps absorb the sun’s warm rays.

ver dams. [The beavers] were the enemy; now they’re our friends.”

As a beaver dam slows down a stream, the water table is pulled up. As the water table rises, sagebrush near the stream is eliminated, and the surrounding riparian areas and native meadows heal up naturally. As I take a moment to look around before we return to the ranch headquarters, the view from the mountain pastures is stunning. White patches of snow are still melting away and the ground glows with that special bright green hue seen only in the ﬁrst blades of tender spring grass.

“One cannot be pessimistic about the West. This is the native home of hope. When it fully learns that cooperation, not rugged individualism, is the quality that most characterizes and preserves it, then it will have achieved itself and outlived its origins.”

— WALLACE STEGNER, AUTHOR

OF “ANGLE OF REPOSE”

BELOW: The Boies family runs cattle in northeastern Nevada. The ranch headquarters, located at the Vineyard unit about 45 miles north of Wells, is at 5,400 feet in elevation. Some of the ranch’s mountain pastures are more than 8,000 feet high. OPPOSITE PAGE: Buckaroos ride out from the ranch headquarters to gather a set of bulls.

WINGS OF CHANGE

Back down in one of the lower elevation pastures, Steve stops the truck, and we step out to look at a hillside glinting silvery-gray with tufts of white sagebrush.

“This white sage might not look impressive, but it’s important,” Steve says. “It’s such good feed and really important for wildlife, like those antelope we just saw. This winter, [the antelope] will be here, and this will be their only source of protein.”

The return of these protein-rich browse plants, such as white sage — and hopsage, with its tiny rose-colored ﬂowers — is an exciting transformation. At ﬁrst, Steve didn’t recognize these shrubs, as they’d nearly disappeared from the area. But Robin, familiar with central Nevada browse shrubs, was delighted to see their return.

“It was very sparse in the beginning, but it’s this restoration that’s happening. You can almost start seeing what it must have looked like before tens of thousands of cattle and hundreds of thousands of sheep came through the country,” Robin says.

Enacting restorative changes on a landscape level requires years, and sometimes even generations, to witness the results. The positive changes Robin and Steve have steadily worked to infuse into the lands they steward is a long-term project, as are the collaborative relationships they have built and nurtured. Since this region of Nevada is classiﬁed as a cold desert, years can go by before a wet spring will present itself and, in doing so, reveal the fruits of their e orts and labor.

While the Boies family does work closely with state and federal partners, they’ve also streamlined many improvements on their privately owned land. They’ve added fencing water gaps to prevent stream erosion from thirsty cattle and created “ex-

closures” to protect sage-grouse brooding habitat by fencing out horses and cattle.

“Think outside the box — the family box,” Steve adds. “Believe me, I was right there, looking for reasons why we couldn’t do something. Instead, look for reasons on how you can. I don’t care if you’ve got 5 acres or 500. You can still cross fence, use an electric fence; you can still rotate. There’s even virtual fence now. We’ve got more tools in the toolbox than we used to. Just because you don’t have a lot of acres doesn’t mean that you can’t [incorporate] some kind of system with rest.”

The Boies Ranch is now in its ﬁfth generation. Many things have changed over its 70-year history. Gone are the days of breeding cavalry remount horses by letting a Thoroughbred stallion loose on the range to cover a band of ranch mares. Teams of workhorses are no longer hitched up to mowing machines. And the cattle no longer roam undirected but now graze in a strategic, carefully planned cycle. What has not changed is the need for skilled cowboys and steadfast horses — the on-the-ground tools for managing cattle on these expansive lands.

“One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Wallace Stegner: ‘One cannot be pessimistic about the West,’” Robin says. “I remember when we started with [holistic resource management]. There was this moment where I realized we might never see the outcomes in our lifetime because it’s just a di erent time frame you’re working with. When you think about it, that’s very humbling.”

In ranching, the challenges never go away, but the questions — and answers — may change. Robin and Steve’s decisions on how to spend their time, energy and ﬁnancial resources remain grounded on their holistic management goals that strive to balance ecological sustainability, economic resilience, and social and cultural values of Western life.

Remembering Robert M. Miller, DVM

Honoring the legacy of the vet who helped make the world a better place for horses.

STORY BY LAUREL MILLER

I grew up with Western Horseman , thanks to my dad. In many ways, he and the magazine came of age together. Dad began cartooning for Western Horseman in the mid-1950s when he was a vet student at Colorado A&M (now Colorado State University), under publisher Dick Spencer. Spencer became a mentor, and after he passed, Dad and Mom were among a group of friends and colleagues who packed his ashes into the mountains and scattered them.

While Dad had no formal training as an artist or writer, thanks to Western Horseman, he quickly developed a reputation for his veterinary and cowboy cartoons under the moniker “RMM.” After he started his practice in Thousand Oaks, California, in 1957, Dad began publishing interesting cases in various veterinary journals, eventually leading to his serving on the editorial staff of Veterinary Medicine and becoming its long-running “Mind Over Miller” columnist.

Yet, it was Western Horseman that opened the door for Dad to become a writer, which led to his publishing articles for other equine publications like EQUUS and Horse & Rider and eventually becoming an author. While he was the product of an era in which humane horse handling methods were essentially nonexistent, Dad’s years spent working as a farmhand, wrangler, packer, rodeo hand and competitor, and veterinarian motivated him to ﬁnd a kinder, gentler way of interacting with and training horses. Relationship-based horsemanship founders Bill and Tom Dorrance largely inspired him, as did their Australian equivalent Maurice Wright.

Pat Close, Western Horseman’s editor-in-chief under Spencer, also became a close family friend, and she was the ﬁrst to encourage Dad to write about imprint training. While he didn’t invent the concept, Dad revolutionized the technique regarding horses and other precocial species and helped implement the practice into stables, breeding programs, zoos, wildlife sanctuaries and game preserves worldwide.

• PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF THE MILLER FAMILY

Robert Miller, DVM, created veterinary cartoons for Western Horseman in the ‘50s while he was still in vet school.

the house, so I, too, became an avid Western Horseman reader. One of my favorite departments was dedicated to entreaties from horse-loving youth who sought pen pals. At the age of 8 or 9, I began corresponding with a fellow Pony of the Americas owner from Fort Collins, Colorado, and we exchanged photos and wrote for many years. It was a relationship I cherished.

In 2012, then-Western Horseman publisher Darrell Dodds presented Dad with the prestigious Western Horseman Award for his decades of contributions to the magazine and the horse industry. The accolade included a stunning bronze piece by acclaimed Western sculptor Charlene Morgan, which still has a place of pride in my parents’ living room.

I like to think of Dad’s achievements regarding Western Horseman as a symbiotic relationship. Thanks to mentors like Spencer and Close, he had a platform that enabled him to fulﬁ ll what eventually became his greatest passion and ultimate goal: to make the world a better place for equids in return for faithfully serving mankind for thousands of years. Western Horseman has educated and entertained millions of readers and riders since its inception in 1936. In a world where print is increasingly an endangered species, this is no small feat.

By the 1980s, Dad was also a respected clinician and lecturer. Following his retirement from veterinary practice in 1987, he dedicated his life to teaching the principles of imprint training and relationship-based horsemanship, work he continued well into his 90s.

Over the decades, Dad contributed countless articles to Western Horseman under its various publishers and editorsin-chief, writing about everything from imprint training and lameness to behavioral issues. My mom, Debby, was his frequent collaborator, taking photos for his articles and books. She and Dad met at Colorado A&M, where she was a champion barrel racer on the school’s team.

Dad also authored 23 books on equine health and behavior. His ﬁrst, “Health Problems of the Horse,” was published by Western Horseman in 1967. Because of his relationship with the magazine, copies could always be found lying around

The week before Dad died last November, we gave him a pair of braided split reins that had belonged to his favorite mule, Scooter. They soothed him, and over the next eight days, he held those reins tight, never once letting them go. We watched in amazement as Dad, despite being unconscious, went through the motions of backing and turning Scooter, even roping from her. He died, a rein in hand, and we ensured it was cremated with him; the other rein and bridle hang from my bedroom wall.

Even at nearly 98 years of age, we knew that Dad wasn’t ready to go; I’ve never met anyone who loved life as much as he did or possessed his level of intellectual curiosity. Yet, he believed his work on behalf of horses, donkeys and his beloved mules wasn’t done. Thanks to Western Horseman and other outlets, as well as the two academic scholarships we’ve established in his name, his legacy will continue.

Please consider donating to the Dr. Robert M Miller, DVM Academic Memorial Scholarship for the Natural Horsemanship program at the University of Montana Western, or a gift in his memory for a veterinary student specializing in Equine Science can be made to the CSU Foundation, P.O. Box 1870, Fort Collins, Colorado 80522. A formal scholarship at CSU will be established in late 2025.

ABOVE: Dr. Miller won the Western Horseman Award in 2012 for his decades of contributions to the magazine. BELOW: Dr. Miller lived to be 98, and his legacy will live through his contributions to equine medicine and an academic schoolarship in his name.

Training Tips With Kelli Neubert

Experienced horsemen and horsewomen answer questions from Western Horseman readers. Submit your questions to edit@westernhorseman.com with the subject “Training Tips.”

Question:

I HAVE STARTED MY HORSES IN A HALTER, BOSAL AND QUICKLY JUMP INTO A JIM WARNER MECHANICAL HACK. THEY SEEM TO DO EVERYTHING I ASK. I ROPE IN A SLIESTER LEATHER MECHANICAL HACKAMORE, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO GET MY HORSES INTO A BIT. THEY CONSTANTLY CHOMP ON THE RING SNAFFLE AND, IN A CORRECTION OR THREEPIECE BRIDLE, THEY KEEP THEIR MOUTH OPEN AND DON’T RESPOND AS EASILY AS IN A MECHANICAL HACKAMORE. SHOULD I STICK WITH WHAT’S WORKING, OR DO I NEED TO TRANSITION INTO A BIT? I LIKE THE WAY A BIT LOOKS ON A HORSE.

– CHRISTOPHER

Training Tips :

I think it’s great that you have a proven system that’s worked for you and your horses so well. My ﬁrst thought reading this is, if it’s working for you, why make a change?

But that’s not horsemanship, is it? I think it’s equally as important to take a situation and see how you can challenge yourself and your horses and make improvements. Making a shift from hackamore to bit is a great way to do this. The ﬁrst thing to address with any horse’s mouth is the potential presence of a dental issue, and a veterinarian or equine dentist is a great place to start.

Once any dental problems have been addressed and cleared, when we have something that isn’t comfortable packing a bridle in its mouth, we rig up a “dummy snaffle,” and I’m going to suggest you do the same. It’s basically any sort of ring snaffle, hung by a piece of leather or string that goes over the ears like a bosal hanger. It’s extremely important to use something like the hanger that breaks easily should the horse get snagged on something while wearing it. Let your horse pack it for a few hours a day until it is natural for him to carry the snaffle in his mouth. If you leave it on a horse for too long, he will get sore, so small increments are best. This helps a horse go from awkward to comfortable with a bit, and it will translate under saddle as well.

It could be more than just hackamore versus bridle. A horse often gaps his mouth or works the bit nervously because of some sort of resistance — generally, the cues we give with our hands could be better tied to our horse’s feet. Further advancing your horsemanship and learning how to effectively communicate through your reins is always a great answer and might help your horses transition to a bridle more smoothly. Halter, hackamore, bridle or snafﬂe, there are certainly pros and cons to each, and as horsemen, I think it’s important for us all to be ﬂexible, open-minded and willing to try different things at different stages.

SHOPPERS CORRAL

”From the Reader” shines a light on submissions we receive from our passionate readership through the post, email and social media. Thank you to the readers, photographers and artists who take the time to send in submissions. We read them and are thrilled to have a space to highlight them.

ELECTRICITY AND BARN FIRES

STORY BY JAMES WADES

Hardly a year goes by during which one hears about a tragic barn ﬁre on the evening news. While several common causes of barn ﬁres exist, electrical problems rank near the top. It is important for horse owners to know a little bit about electricity.

Electricity is a wonderful servant, but it must be respected. While quiet, reliable and e cient, its dangers lurk in the shadows for those who fail to show it proper respect. Amateur electrical repairs, the improper use of extension cords, power strips and so forth can all lead to tragedy.

Over the years, I have witnessed a variety of potentially dangerous electrical practices in barns. While perhaps not statistically signiﬁcant, the two most common problems seen are associated with do-it-yourself repairs and modiﬁcations to electrical systems and overloaded circuits, particularly during the winter months when tank heaters and similar devices are in service.

It’s been said that “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.”

This certainly applies to electrical systems. For example, a barn owner complained that a horse owner’s husband had replaced a defective outlet, but it didn’t work. A quick look revealed that his amateur repair placed voltage on the ground terminal, exposing users to a lethal electrical shock under the wrong conditions.

In another case, a similar self-styled “expert” had installed several sets of outdoor lights on a barn with metal siding. He simply drilled a hole through the siding and ran the exposed wires through the hole, with no protection from cha ng against the sharp edges of the siding. Over time, with changes in temperature, vibration and other factors, the wire insulation could eventually fail, resulting in a potential short circuit and ﬁre.

Perhaps the most common cause of electrical ﬁres in barns is circuit overload. One occasionally witnesses melted outlets and extension cord components because these items are not rated for the “load,” the amount of current being drawn by the appliance. So, let’s dig into this concept a bit to help horse owners understand the safety requirements.

As far as the consumer is concerned, the current is the most important characteristic to consider. Current is expressed in amps and might be envisioned as electrons being pushed through a pipe or wire. Some appliances, such as tank heaters, will draw considerable current, whereas a radio left playing to quiet a barn full of horses will draw very little current. A common appliance, such as a table lamp, may draw 1 amp or less, whereas a co ee maker or toaster may draw 5 to 8 amps.

Circuit breakers protect electrical circuits from excessive current ﬂow (in older buildings, one may ﬁnd fuses). These protec-

tive devices will automatically cut o the ﬂow of electricity if a safe level is exceeded. In most cases, one encounters circuits designed for 15 or 20 amps. A competent electrical contractor will ensure the circuit breaker (protective device) and the size of the wiring in the wall are rated for the same maximum current level. For example, if a circuit breaker is designed to “trip” at 20 amps, but the wiring is rated for 15 amps, the wire may overheat under a heavy load because the circuit breaker is rated to disconnect at a level that exceeds the capacity of the wiring. Enough heat can result in a ﬁre.

Extension cords can be particularly problematic. Even when an electrician has designed an electrical system properly, consumers don’t always know how to choose a proper extension cord. Most extension cords are rated by wire size, expressed in “gauge.” As a basic rule, a 14-gauge extension cord is suitable for no more than 15 amps, and a 12-gauge extension cord is ideal for no more than 20 amps. However, one should always allow for a “safety factor” when using these devices. Never use them at maximum capacity, even if the extension cord is rated properly and the permanent electrical system allows it. One can never be certain the unseen materials are up to the task.

Let’s explore a real-life scenario. A 15-amp outlet was installed on a 20-amp branch circuit in a barn, which is allowed under the National Electric Code. However, two tank heaters were drawing current through this outlet, resulting in overheating and cracking of the plastic shell. While the circuit breaker and wiring were rated for 20 amps, the outlet was not. Such overheating in a dusty, dirty barn environment is a recipe for a very dangerous situation.

As a rule, one should use a good quality extension cord for each tank heater and also consider utilizing di erent circuits (served by separate circuit breakers) — one for each tank heater — if possible. Otherwise, make sure the components in the electrical circuit match the “load” required. If in doubt, hire a qualiﬁed electrical contractor.

On a related note, avoid the use of inexpensive household extension cords, power strips, “cube taps” and similar devices that convert a single outlet into three or more outlets. Many such devices are manufactured using questionable quality control standards and inferior materials. A good quality power strip should never be used for high-current demand devices, such as a heating device.

Finally, if you have doubts about electrical issues at your barn, “bite the bullet” and pay a competent, trained electrician to inspect your system. Their cost is far less than the price of a new barn or the loss of prized horses or other livestock.

CLASSIFIED ADS KETCH PEN

SPURS ARROWHEAD FORGE, Hand forged spurs for working ranchers. Maker of early patterns to modern. 3628 474th Avenue, Wilmot, SD 57279. Call for a catalog. 605-467-6109

1 Important daily routine for a horse

6 Horse doctors

9 Time before an event

10 Desire to eat

14 Ranch that always has horses

15 Appearance

16 Nanosecond, abbreviated

18 Picking up

20 Zero

21 Mother, for short

22 It’s used to control tapeworms and bots in horses

24 Nurse, for short

26 Had some hay, say

28 Tapeworms and threadworms, for example

30 Medical professional, abbreviated

32 Substance or solution that cures a problem at hand

34 Horse’s shelter

35 Horse’s ID

37 Stop from happening

38 Provide nourishment

Horses should have them yearly

Cost

Wound that requires attention

Ready

Calm, in temperament 7 Another name for a horse (and its family members)

8 Sign of an injury or infection

11 Fruit dessert

12 Coast Guard ofﬁcer, abbreviated

13 Hostel

17 Provides protection from the hot sun

19 Alimentary canal that can be infected with enterocolitis

21 Tiny parasite which can cause mange in horses

23 Feline creatures

25 Maintenance

27 Good to eat

29 Bring up

31 Look after

33 Galloped

34 Compass point, abbreviated

36 Mountain, abbreviated

Porcupines & Heatstroke

When I first migrated to Texas, I hired on for spring and fall works at quite a few outfits. Texas is its own country, and getting to see some di erent ranches sure fit my sketchbook.

Through the daytrasher telegraph, I was invited to work at a ranch outside of Ozona, Texas. For those who have never seen this lush country, let me paint you a picture. Everything has claws, lots of rocks, everything is dry — and I mean dry — with thorns and creosote bush and more rocks. That about sums it up.

We trailer into headquarters after dark. I kick my string into a trap, throw my bedroll in the trailer and dream of the fun cow-catching days ahead in this new and wonderful country I’d yet to explore.

My fun cow-catching days begin by pulling porcupine quills out of all four of my horses’ faces in the dark around 5 a.m. One would think that after the ﬁrst, second or third horse got nailed, maybe the fourth Cayuse might learn from the others’ misfortunes. Not so.

Most of the day after that was crushing rock and watching the mercury rise. The ranch ran goats for a bit of its lifespan and all the cattle pens, or goat pens, had low overheads on the gates. This ranch was not built for folks on horseback; you either lay down in the saddle or get o to get from pen to pen.

An older full-time hand took care of the ranch. He was a character in his own right, with pants that implied he was waiting for high water and one bright and shiny tooth in the front — no others.

Outfits are all di erent, and they work their cattle how they see fit. This outfit pushes skinny cattle through goat pens while

the old hand yells at the head gate each time he accidentally lets out one, two or ﬁve. In a perfect crescendo of events, we watched the old hand beat the ever-loving tar out of the squeeze chute with a pipe wrench. When that wasn’t satisfying enough, he kicked at the chute, misses, ﬂew into the air and landed on his back, white legs exposed out the bottom of his too-short denim. The chute wins.

It is hot — all of it. I hadn’t had heatstroke in years, but after ﬂanking and sucking dust for a few days, I was just about cooked. We ﬁ nish the works and head back to North Texas. The moral of the story: if you go to Ozona, bring water and fencing pliers for your journey.

TEAL BLAKE is a cowboy artist from Montana. He always liked to show what makes the traditional West: cowboys not always clean-shaven, shirts not always creased and his horse’s mane not always long. Blake’s medium of choice is watercolor. He is a member of Cowboy Artists of America, and his work has been featured across the Western industry.

COWBOY ARTIST

TEAL BLAKE BASED IN MONTANA