Here he is ... Shad's Cali-Boy!!

Born May 8 at 11:36pm.  He looks just like his poppa Maine V's Shadrach.  Thank to Wyatt Robertson and our wonderful neighbor Jocelyn for attending the foaling as I was out on a pack trip.  I am very happy with this young colt and look forward to watching him grow and learn!!
 

CLICK ON THE PICTURES BELOW

UPDATE

The first Rocky Mountain Horses arrived on German soil and look very content!!!

Early this year I was contacted by a gentleman from Germany by the name of Michael Kowalewski.  He had been studying the Rocky Mountain Horse for years and wanted to share them with the German people.  After various emails he and his wife made their way to Freedom Ranch on April 10th,  2011.  It looked really good because this just happened to be the week of the West Coast Rocky Mountain Horse Clubs annual campout.......  and that Sunday just happened to be the Obstacle Course Competition at my ranch.  We had an extremely difficult state-of-the-art course in the the front pasture (designed by yours truly and constructed by my wonderful partner Neil Bewley) with 50 plus Rocky Mountain Horses competing successfully on it.  I was on our amazing stallion, Maine V's Shadrach giving rides to all the kids.  SOLD!!!

The next day Michael returned to ride a Rocky.  He brought along his 'horse expert" Bonni to help him make the right decisions.  The weather was great,  the horses were stellar, and the camaraderie was magical.  Bonni then stayed for the week to "check me out".......  we rode daily and learned to communicate with smiles, points and nods.  I believe because we both understood how to communicate with horses,  communicating without a common language was natural to us.  After the week we reconvened with Michael and decided on the first two mares to go to Germany.  A seal brown mare by the name of Majic's Baybee and a red chocolate by the name of Rigg's Amazing Grace.  Both were to be bred to our stallion, Maine V's Shadrach,  in hopes of laying the foundation for a Rocky Mountain breeding program in Germany. 

Bonni stayed for the rest of the month and I have never had a better student.  He loved everything, learned quickly,  thought I was the best,  and was just pleasant and friendly everyday ... except for a few days when he was a little too friendly with the local bar patrons the night before.  (What I know about Germans is they can drink!!!)
I sent him and Purdue's Bellagio on an all day ride over the peaks of Ranchita with Gloria Northcote, and John and Carolyn Claudy and I got him over his fear of heights.  We hit the local steakhouses and Natalie and Brett Hodges threw us a pool party at Hope Ranch.  Needless to say I was bawling my eyes out when we dropped him off at the airport. 

Soon after Bonni's departure Michael purchased one more mare bred to our stallion.  Riddle's Miss Molly will also be making the trek.  The German girls we call them.  They should be departing to Germany in late September or early October and will be the first Rockies on German soil.  I am honored to have a part in putting them there.  Overall this has been such an irreplaceable experience and education for me.  I thank God for his beautiful orchestration, as I am continually blessed by the people, the horses, and life daily!!!

- Mindy

Amazing Grace		Miss Molly
Majic's Baybee		Maine's V's Shadrach

Here is some background from our email exchange ...

From: Michael Kowalewski
To: Mindy Smith
Sent: Sun, Mar 6, 2011 1:04 pm
Subject: Re: Mindy Smith Equine Services: breeding horses in Germany

Hi Mindy,

I would like to give you the whole picture behind my request.
During  a Frank Bell “horsewhisperer” clinic in Tuscon I met Nicki and Joe, who also joined the clinics.
They told me of the ranch they manage up in Montana and informed me that they will host another Frank Bell clinics one or to years later.
As I planned to make a pack trip in Wyoming anyway, I combined this trip with taking part in the clinics, means I also visited Nicki and Joe at their ranch last year. During my stay I learned to know Rocky Mountain Horses for the very first time.
Being back to Germany I thought here and there about this impresive breed, but as I am by far not a horse expert, I din´t  make any detailed plan at that time.
By accident I met  a former professional trotting horse trainer later on, who became a good friend of mine meanwhile. His name is Bonni.
Founding a horse expert , who does not only know about horses but is also connectet to the riders scene in Germany, I remembered the Rocky Mountain Horses and started to develope a plan to bring them over here . I arranged a stable, some land, a good team of people who would take care, and I had a trustfull contact in the US. So I informed Nicki, that we were ready to come to select 2 or 3 horses, coming over being pregant already. Accordingly  I booked a flight for my friend Bonni for March 18th, as he wanted to stay at the ranch for around 4 weeks, helping there, where ever he could and learning to know the horses and finding the correct ones for us. It was planned , that me and my wife (who´s not so much for riding,  but really supports my ideas) will meet them all in Montana by mid April then.

Last week  I received a disappointing” mail from Nicki, saying, that they resigned their jobs. There are more unfortunate reasons, at the end of the day  we had to understand, that our trips will be useless and that we may have to drop our plans.  After I slept it over I reconsidered, that we have a wonderful team here in Germany, that we found a breed we want to go for and that we still have contacts to the US.
So if it´s not the Mountain Magic Ranch of Nicki and Joe , it might be another one ? Nicki and Joe helped a  lot and provided me your contact eventually.
And that´s where we are.

So my idea now is to keep my flight schedule but instead of going to Montana, I would like to meet you. Instead of Bonnie flying before me , he will wait, what news I bring from my trip and will come after me for learning to know the ranch and the horses I found and will help with the selection of horses finally.

I find it difficult to explain all the story as english not my native language, but to start something like this, I would like to rely on the people I deal with,  that´s why I mentioned Nicki and Joe so many times in my mail. I met them , we learned each other to know and last but not least I developed my “breeding plan” because  I trust them 100%.
If they recommend you now,  I feel confident as well.
Long story,  isn´t  it?

I would also give you some information about me.
I am 47 years old, married, 2 grown up kids. My job is managing director in a mid scale trading company.
My hobbies are horse back riding (I am not too good at that, but I love it and have a real good relation to my 10 years old quarter), US cars and country music.. In fact I moved 12 years ago from the City of Hamburg, where I had been born, to country side (360 people village) and never regreted that step. Meanwhile I breed cattles with afriend ( we´ve got our first three calfs during the last two weeks, exciting !) and as said I am keen to start  the Rocky Mountain Horse breeding here.

As it seems to be difficult to buy frozen sperm, I prefer to ship 2 or 3 pregnant mares.
If that it what may can offer to us I would like to keep my schedule and would like to come over in April. Our arrival date is April 6th to Denver.  As I like to travel your country anyway, we would like to come over by car from Denver.  We´ll stay 2 weeks in the US in total.
If that would fit to your schedule and if my request could be of any interest for you, I would be more than happy to meet you in April.

Thank you and best regards
Michael

From: Bonni Jevenstedt
To: Mindy Smith
Sent: Fri, Apr 1, 2011 7:36 am
Subject: Trip to Freedom Farm

Hallo Mindy,
many greetings from Berlin. My name is Tilman Gromnica, but everyone calls me Bonni.
I am looking forward to our meeting in April. I´m proud of working with you on your ranch.
Here are some personal informations to better let you know:
I am 49 years old and a father from four children (2 girls aged 24 and 19, 2 boys aged 22 and 10) and also a grandpa from a boy aged 5 and a girl aged 4.
With horses I have been dealt since I was ten years old. After training to a farmer, I made my former hobby to my profession. I worked as a stuntman, as an equestrian (English Style, Jump and dressage) and later I became a trotting racer, trainer and coach. Parallel to this, I made a master certification in equestrian management.
Unfortunately since 2008, I am no longer active working with horses, only occasionally as a trainer and a consultant. Mainly I am operating with my wife in our familian business, which includes a bakery with a café and a hotel with a cocktailbar and a hairdresser.
But now, I am very interested in your work, your practice and your tips for me, because I didn´t rode a lot of western horses in my life. I regard it as a new challenge and I enjoy coming to you.
I will try to improve my poor English to be able to understand you and to explain myself.
See you in April.

With kind regards and best greetings from Germany, Bonni
 
 

The Ranchita Rocky

The Next Level In Rocky Mountain Genetics

Raising a foal can be the most rewarding experience. Mindy Smith Equine Services has two signature stallions to enhance any breeding program. With mandatory gene testing and an educated staff we can help match your mare with the perfect mate and make the experience as safe and efficient as possible. Both artificial insemination and live cover available, as well as a safe, clean, foaling facility when that special time comes!!

Our Vision:

To cultivate and promote the world’s premiere Rocky Mountain bloodlines through disciplined genetic diversity and an absolute dedication to total equine wellness. We will preserve the Rocky’s endearing genetic traits while working to eliminate any undesirable heritable abnormalities.

To read more about our stallions, click here:

Maine V's Shadrach          Purdue's Bellagio   

Not an easy task as it continues to evolve and transform as the horses ask me to. I want to teach people to ride so that their horse's ears are always up and their hearts are open. My biggest reward is when I finally witness a rider relax their spine, disengage their hips, and exhale- becoming one with the rhythmic motion of the being beneath them. I prefer an arena with no rails. I ride with no boundaries. I use naturally occurring tools, like a steep bank as opposed to an arena rail to balance and straighten a horse out. I use each obstacle on the trail to demonstrate to my horse how as a team we can overcome each challenge. Patiently allowing them to make the right choices. Setting them up for success every time, timing my rewards and encouragements so they too are proud of their accomplishments. I promote harmonious group rides by understanding herd dynamics. Trail etiquette and conscience ride management will assure safety and contentment for each horse and rider combo. Using resistance free riding to teach a horse to keep adequate distances not holding them back.

I consistently do stretching and mounted body work before I start out on any venture. Thinking of the horse from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. I try to engage and manipulate every muscle and find it's full athletic potential. Increasing the range of motion of each joint. I ride through intentions. Using my mind, body and legs before I even pick up my reins.

When riding the gaited horse I adopted a dressage mindset. Collecting the horse gently in my hands and driving them into the pressure with my legs. It is a very fine line between harnessing the head, neck, and shoulders of the horse, while keeping the rib cage bending and flexing, and driving the hind end or motor.

Just like humans, horses become right or left handed or hooved. Due to the lateral nature of their gait, the gaited horse's dominant side is more apparent. If not vertically and laterally flexed this imbalance will create a hollow backed, high headed horse, that will drag its hind end. This horse will probably begin to pace and have unnecessary concussion on his joints and limbs. Horses take the path of least resistance, "the easy way." So if we allow them to get "strung out" they will chose the pace or trot. If we collect and control the frame or placement of their body we can set them up for the gait every time.

-Mindy