Best Ranch Horses

Guests of this grassfed beef ranch in the Southwest get a real taste of ranch living—and some prickly-pear syrup, too! “[Water is in short supply, and] everything else waits on that.

My horses donned their Santa hats — a pre-Christmas tradition I first imposed on them several years ago. They share their space with some ancient farm equipment and have very swayed backs, which belies their age.

I'd have a ranch up in the mountains, surrounded by pine trees. I missed this monumental moment because I was at work when it happened, but I nearly jumped out of my chair with excitement when I got her message.

Someone lives there.The formal gardens are immediately adjacent to the east and south of the main house. Once a year, the citrus grove is open for fruit picking. These were used to fire the limekiln used to make lime for plaster for.

Dave's Garden is home to many people with a wide range of interests and there is a very active equine community here also. The Lipizzaners are on tour this year celebrating their liberation in World War II.

The uneven surface and suction action of mud can injure horses and pull their shoes, too. This could be because of the closer interaction that people have with their horses. If horses are in your blood and a horse farm is on your mind, educate yourself...

But the other day, when Lisa threw the ball for Olivia, it hit one of the bars on the horse stalls and bounced into Rio's stall. It seems that my roommate Lisa was outside with the horses the other day, playing ball with her Rat Terrier , Olivia .

Fortunately for me, Milagro came into my life. It takes a special horse to deal with all this stimuli. In fact, the official city moniker is Horsetown, USA. And as I ride Milagro around town with Rio following alongside, my young horse is learning that...

A trio of encephalitis-causing viruses are also spread to horses via mosquitoes. A great incentive for mosquito control arrived in the U.S. in 1999 in the form of West Nile Virus. If animals are housed in the barn, fans are a great way to increase air...

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, a band of wild horses was accidentally enclosed within the fenced boundaries of the newly formed Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.

The Crusaders also perpetuated the Arabian horse's influence in Europe by importing them in large numbers and taking the horse around the globe as they spread Christianity worldwide.

Since then, another breed registry, the American Miniature Horse Association, also came into being, in 1978. In the U.S., the Miniature Horse became a recognized breed in 1971 by the American Miniature Horse Registry.

They have a fairly long, level croup with a large, round hip. In the 1880s, nearly 8,000 draft horses were imported from France to the United States. Use: Percherons in America still do heavy draft work on farms, especially those owned by the Amish.

The Caspian horse breed is listed as Critical on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy's Conservation Priority List. Over the next five years, she exported 26 Caspian horses to Europe, thus providing foundation stock to fuel the rebirth of this ancient...

Today, the Jockey Club maintains the pedigrees of all Thoroughbreds in the United States. Selective breeding began to create the fastest horse on earth. Use: Thoroughbred Horses are bred primarily for racing.

Today, the Suffolk Horse is still rare, but is slowly recovering. By the 1980s, the breed's numbers had increased. The breed nearly died out. In the 1960s, the few breeders of Suffolk Horses who still existed reformed the American Suffolk Horse Association,...

History: In the 1500s, Spanish conquistadors came to South and Central America, bringing horses with them. The Pueblo Indians, who had lived here for centuries, learned to ride and became excellent horsemen.

Because the breed contains Thoroughbred blood, some horses are leaner in type, while others are stockier. Races of ¼ mile on dirt roads were popular, and the small crossbred horse eventually became a popular choice for this sport because of its sprinting...

Man O'War was a descendent of Messenger. Today harness racing is well established as a sport. Only horses that could do this could be registered. The breed was given the name “Standardbred” in 1879 because the horses had to complete a one-mile race...

In 1879, Americans in the Midwest who were using the breed to work their farms and to haul heavy loads joined together to form the American Clydesdale Association. Today, the Clydesdale is virtually the only draft horse seen in Scotland.

Among the equines brought to the New World were horses with spotted patterns. Conformation: The conformation type of the Appaloosa horse varies, depending on the individual horse's breeding.

History: The first wild horses in North America were descendants of the horses brought to this continent by the Spaniards. Currently, thousands of wild horses are rounded up by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agents each year, using trucks, helicopters...

America discovered the Shire in the late 1880s and began importing many of these horses to work on farms and pull carriages in the cities. Crossed with Friesians, Shires became known for a while as Leicestershire Cart Horses and were famous for their...

While the American Belgian is a direct descendant of the European draft horse, there are substantial differences in the two. In 1887, a group of horsemen formed the American Association of Importers and Breeders of Belgian Draft Horses, and the Belgian...

Alternatives to giving a horse for the holidays are many. If you've had a horse, you know the appeal of such a gift; likewise, if you've had a horse, you know the expenses, care and responsibility that go into keeping that horse.

Materials Needed For Building A Horse Fence Steven Martin/Flickr The exact materials that you will need to build a farm horse fence will vary depending on the type that you choose.

Oracle Farmers Market: Every Saturday morning, the Triangle L hosts the Oracle Farmers' Market outside their barn-turned-gallery space. You may also find eggs, tomatoes, organic honey and squash.