Sandy Arledge finds it difficult to pinpoint her most rewarding moment
as a horse rancher.
"This business has been so good to me I can't relate one moment as
the most rewarding," she says. "Every time a new foal takes its first breath,
finds its legs, nurses for the first time; every time a child learns something
new that makes them excited; each time a young horse 'clicks' and
makes that move you've been working on -- there are so many special moments."
Utah rancher Stephen Parsons says his reward is "riding a wild mustang
without a saddle or a bridle and having complete trust with each other."
Horse ranch operators have lots of advice for anyone thinking of breaking
into the field.
"I urge those interested to work for trainers or breeding farms for any
wage -- or nothing, if necessary -- and learn all they can from the owners.
Soak up all the knowledge that's available. There is something to learn
from everyone, even if it's how not to do something," says Arledge. Riding
lessons in exchange for stall cleaning is one way to start.
"Try very hard, and meet as many people in the industry as you can, listening
to what everyone has to say, even if you disagree," says Parsons.
Money is a big issue for horse ranchers. "I've always said it's
a lousy living, but is by far the best life," says Parsons, who has had to
do some juggling to meet his expenses.
"In the summer months, I use horses to teach the Boy Scouts how to ride.
In the fall, I take people on horseback hunting trips. And in the spring,
I train the new horses. That's the combination I came up with to pay
the bills."
Rancher Cary Warren says overhead for someone who owns a ranch is very
high. The cost of veterinary care, insurance and land are a big drain.
In spite of the financial challenges, horse ranchers seem to have a passion
that drives them to continue. "It's been said that if a horseman has
to explain their devotion to the business to someone, that person won't
understand. It's in your heart, your soul, and is indivisible and indescribable,"
says Arledge.
Kris Carroll runs the Horse-country.com website. "A working partnership
with a horse is unique and equal to no other," says Carroll. That can make
it especially tough to lose a friend. Carroll says the hardest part of the
job is losing a horse to accident or illness.
But Parsons says that he's had lots of funny experiences working as
a horse rancher, too. "I was showing off my two-year-old stallion -- that
I could ride him bareback. We were going around the arena, and right
in the middle, in front of everyone, he decides to lay down and roll around.
I was pretty embarrassed!"
Not surprisingly, Parsons says the most important quality a horse rancher
needs is "patience, patience, patience."
Thinking about a career working with horses? Here are Arledge's final
words:
"The horse business is hard. It's hard physically, it's hard
on relationships, it's just plain hard. It requires energetic and dedicated
people who don't watch the clock. It is a seven-day, 24-hour job.
"The best people are driven by their passion for the industry. There's
no way to describe the benefits of this business, and there are so many positive
aspects -- the most important of which is the horse."