Turn Around Ranch

Belle Amie finally had her foal on Saturday morning! A little colt. My other mare, Mataya, tried to take over mothering this guy, even though she has a little guy of her own! So we had to separate them until Belle Amie and her baby have bonded. This is going well now. Phew! Here's a video on Wendy Tredger's page of him walking like a drunken sailor at an hour old.

Calling the horses in to go for a ride. I love how connected they are to bring the whole herd in by voice - no oats or feed involved. Just love.

Mataya had a little colt born last night, so we woke up to a new male grullo foal to add to our collection. Of course she picked a horrible wet, cold night to give birth! So they got brought inside and are staying warm in the stables until things dry up a bit. It amazes me that my stallion, Driftn Silverado, throws grullo foals EVERY TIME!!! He is dominant gene for his grullo color and, normally, this is a very challenging color to breed. I have had 7 foals from him and 100% grullo! He is a $500 stud fee (plus pasture fees for the mare) if anyone wants one of their very own.

Update on our missing goats! Sunday, April 26: woke up to all 6 goats gone! Thurs, April 30: The 3 month old "Tinker" buckling shows up at the stables, all by himself!!!! He is quite upset and very lonely. Huge search again for the rest, but nothing. We now suspect a predator issue. Sat, May 2: I got an incredible phone call from a Ted Lockheart who was out cutting firewood with family and friends and came across a white goat in the middle of nowhere! He was west of the Far...rier Gas Plant, along the north boundary of Crimson Lake Provincial Lake Provincial Park at km 27. That is many, many miles from home!!! It's one of the momma Angora x Cashmere goats named "Aurora." She left home in a psychedelic orange spandex goat coat (to keep her mohair clean.) She ditched the goat fashion coat somewhere along her journey. She acquired a scar over her left eye and one on her left side. There may be a predator out there with a nasty mouthful of orange spandex! She is a super friendly goat and glommed onto Ted and his family, following them everywhere. They thought it quite peculiar to find a sheared white goat in the wilderness. They are from Sylvan Lake and knew only one local, so called Rick Artzen - who just happened to know that I was missing some goats!!! Can you imagine my shock and delight to get that phone call!!! They had a horse trailer with them for firewood, so gave the little white hitchhiker a ride back to the Turn Around Ranch! We are still missing FOUR goats: 3 white and one dark one. If you are in the Crimson Lake area, please keep on the lookout for them. If you see anything, please call Wendy at 403 895-6995.

We woke up this morning and our SIX Angora goats are gone!?!?!! We have searched all day for them and suspect foul play. There are no goat tracks in the mud and plenty of mud here! We had just finished shearing our Angora goats this week. One is wearing a Spandex bright orange coat and one in a bright blue coat. Four of them are white and the other two are black /brown/ grey (one of these is a few months old and is very friendly.) They all have horns. Angora goats are quite rare in Alberta and I have them for spinning their mohair. If anyone hears anything, please let me know. We have reported this to the RCMP. They are very precious to me! (403) 895-6995 Wendy

This is Ashanti and her new adopted Maddy mom burning laps around the arena!!!! We brought the both to the Turn Around Ranch, as we have dry indoor facilities and lots of help to keep them both well. My heartfelt thanks to Jenna Lee Falseta, Dustin and Shyrene Fisher (Maddy's owner) for sharing their super-mom mare with Ashanti and I. What a blessing!

On Saturday morning (April 11) we woke to find that our Kita mare had prolapsed and died in the night, leaving our new born Ashanti an orphan foal. Arnulf had remembered seeing a FB post about a nursing mare who had just lost her foal. I called Jenna and that mare had just lost her foal the day before too. And it turned out she lived just outside Rocky Mountain House!!!! So we quickly loaded Ashanti in the back seat of my car, with Arnulf baby sitting her while I drove. ...I did not want to waste time digging the truck out of the snow bank! Honestly, it is the only time I have EVER loaded a horse in my car!!! Jenna and Dustin had put a foal blanket on the newborn and had not washed it after it died. So we put this blanket on my foal and introduced her to her potential new mom, "Maddy." The mare was a bit confused at first and wavered between nickering and nuzzling Ashunti and ears a bit pinned and back leg stomping and kicking. But the mare was tracking with her and generally acting like a protective mom. Her udder was quite tender and when Ashanti tried to nurse, she was a bit cranky. So we haltered Maddy the first few times to allow Ashanti to nurse. Then she was fine with her nursing on her own and the bonding was solid. Tears of gratitude that this worked out so beautifully for both of them! They are clearly mother and daughter in every way now, except genetics. She is a wonderful mom and I am ever so grateful that there is a happier ending for both of them!!!

At about 5:00 on Good Friday, my beautiful registered blue roan "Kita" mare gave birth to a big healthy grulla filly named Ashanti. She was born in a blizzard, in snow, manure and mud. . .so she got loaded into the wheelbarrow and transported into a warm, clean double stall in the stables. I was honored to be there as she came into the Turn Around Ranch world! Nursed lots from her mom and both healthy and well.

This is Tinker sucking my thumb. . .the thumb of my left glove, that is. His mom, Tivia is more highly suspicious. . .you can never tell when a glove might attack! Most amusing!

Tivia and Tinker are the newest members of the Turn Around Ranch family! I will be spinning a yarn or two!

Arnulf is back to his Canadian roots, after spending the last 11 years in Germany and Austria. We are honored to have him here at the Turn Around Ranch. Arnulf Koegler (a Canadian Citizen) lived in Canada for more than 30 years (1978 - 2009) before returning to Europe in 2009. He learned the basics about Western Horses and Horsemanship from Larry Hill, Roger Brazeau and Randy Cutbirth. For Arnulf the well-being of the horse is first and foremost. He considers every horse as ...an individual. As a result, for Arnulf there is no universal concept to work with horses. One of his most important messages to us, as riders, is that you have to feel where the horse is at based on its training level, psychological and physiological state. This may vary from day to day - same as it is for us humans - we have good days and better days. To achieve this, Arnulf's work with the horse and the rider is based on a strong foundation of ‘Natural Horsemanship.’ Arnulf’s message is guided by examples of the past and present. Amongst those who influenced his thinking and work are: Tom and Bill Dorrance, Ray Hunt, Jeff Sanders, Les Vogt and Buck Brannaman. However, do not make the mistake and think that he is a ‘want to be clone’ of this or that trainer or horseman. He has his own clear message to share. During his clinics Arnulf likes to emphasize that a horse is a horse, regardless of the breed. One of his primary messages is that a horse learns from every contact with us humans, both positive and negative. It doesn't know when it's being trained. All training exercises, both on the ground and under the saddle, strive for one goal: to create a harmony between the horse and human. This may be achieved by the well-known and much aspired to principle of ‘timing’, ‘balance’ and ‘feel’. Arnulf highly values a solid basic training foundation for the horse and that the horse itself willingly and readily accepts the rider’s aids. His training and horse philosophy have attracted a broad spectrum of riders and horse enthusiasts to seek out his advice and coaching. He has not only successfully worked with Western Show riders and Western recreational riders, but also Hunter-Jumpers and Dressage riders. This past summer (2019) he worked with a qualified FN Trainer (Level A) and active FN judge and her Warmblood horse. Arnulf would describe himself as an unusual mixture of the traditional Horse Show World, Natural Horsemanship and the old California Vaquero style of riding and training a horse. He considers himself as a lifelong student of the horse and human and the relationship between the two.

The sunset last night was magnificent. The one with the lamp on the deck looks out on the "Maternity Ward." We have THREE mares due to foal: Kita (blue roan)at the end of this month, Belle Amie (grulla) at the end of April and Mataya (black)at the end of May!!! All registered mares out of our magnificent grulla stallion, Drift n Silverado.

Trail ride on the day after the concert at 11 degrees above zero!!! Wonderful day for a trail ride in the Turn Around Ranch's winter wonderland! Sierra on Jag, Chris on Goldfinger, Brian on Tara, Leslie on Kylee, Jim on Viente & Wendy on Iliada.

Sierra Noble and Chris visiting with the ever loving Turn Around Ranch horses when they arrived on February 26, 2020

SIERRA NOBLE CONCERT: FEB 26, 2020 Sierra and Chris are utterly awesome musicians from Winnipeg and St John's Newfoundland. We all enjoyed their music immensely and their was even some dancing to the fine Metis fiddle tunes! We took our musicians for a horseback ride the next day, along with our guests who did our package: concert + bed/breakfast + riding the next day!!!

Check out this natural wonder that is not far from us!

Smoke is showing off his new wig hair door!!!

The last album of wedding photos from Lexi Cuthill Photography, featuring Christie with both our Friesian mares: Kylee and Tara

No I didn't get married! These are more photos from the Lexi Cuthill Photography photo shoot at the Turn Around Ranch. Theses photos are with my good friend Keely, my Friesian horse Kylee and Amos Moses, the Wonder Dog.

No, I didn't get married and this was not my wedding!!! Lexi Cuthill has a business (Lexi Cuthill Photography) as a professional photographer and wanted to show off her abilities with wedding photography. She did a photo shoot at the Turn Around Ranch with three of her friends and their wedding dresses. These are the photos of Julenna the bride, Jag the champagne roan quarter horse, Tara the black Friesian mare and Amos the border collie wonder dog at the ranch.

The Ray Cooper living room concert on January 28, 2009 was awesome! And we had a great visit with the horses the next day. For future concerts, check our website: turnaroundranch.net under Accommodation and Events