We are the Scheldt Family (Peter, Nick, and Donna) transplanted from Washington State in January 2007. We have a Hobby Horse Ranch on the outskirts of McEwen, TN. with American Quarter Horses. Our first foal Sophie, born on 2.26.08 is now a yearling.
Peter is a retired Boeing ("the airplane company") Executive, and I am an RN. Nick our ten year old has many interests. He loves horses and helps out on the farm quite a bit. Nick states that his favorite "posession" is Sophie, the yearling.
We would like to become natural horsemen. We believe in a natural, gentle, but consistent and firm approach with our horses. We don't believe in "breaking horses"! As Craig Cameron says "to break a horse is to break it's spirit."
Some time has passed since we first posted this. We are progressing on the journey with our horses. Sophie is now a yearling! Hard to believe one year has passed since she was born here on our little horse ranch. Sophie is becoming very well mannered. She has many of the wonderful personlity qualities of her mother Bee Bee who we just recently sold. We continue to work daily with Sophie on all ground work. She loads, bathes, clips, walks, trots, backs, and is desensitized as well as sensitized as the grown horses we have are.
This winter has brought many challenges to our daily working of our horses. So many freezes has limited our round pen work, but we do work them all in the round pen when the ground is not frozen... More to come later about changes here on our ranch and lives.....
Summer 2009 has arrived! In March we rescued a nine month old black Lab Abby. She is best friends with our little beagle, Cleo. Its great for them and for Nick, too. Later, we found a little kitten in the water when we opened our pool one day. We rescued her and a sister that showed up in the barn. We now have two fairly domesticated barn cats in training.
We have been working on our fields to eliminate broadleaf weeds and overseeding. We now have good, green pastures for the two horses Belle and Sophie to graze on. Earlier this summer we had to put our gelding Benny down. He was thirty years old and had started to exhibit some bizarre behaviors, so we and our vet decided it was time.
Peter is a retired Boeing ("the airplane company") Executive, and I am an RN. Nick our ten year old has many interests. He loves horses and helps out on the farm quite a bit. Nick states that his favorite "posession" is Sophie, the yearling.
We would like to become natural horsemen. We believe in a natural, gentle, but consistent and firm approach with our horses. We don't believe in "breaking horses"! As Craig Cameron says "to break a horse is to break it's spirit."
Some time has passed since we first posted this. We are progressing on the journey with our horses. Sophie is now a yearling! Hard to believe one year has passed since she was born here on our little horse ranch. Sophie is becoming very well mannered. She has many of the wonderful personlity qualities of her mother Bee Bee who we just recently sold. We continue to work daily with Sophie on all ground work. She loads, bathes, clips, walks, trots, backs, and is desensitized as well as sensitized as the grown horses we have are.
This winter has brought many challenges to our daily working of our horses. So many freezes has limited our round pen work, but we do work them all in the round pen when the ground is not frozen... More to come later about changes here on our ranch and lives.....
Summer 2009 has arrived! In March we rescued a nine month old black Lab Abby. She is best friends with our little beagle, Cleo. Its great for them and for Nick, too. Later, we found a little kitten in the water when we opened our pool one day. We rescued her and a sister that showed up in the barn. We now have two fairly domesticated barn cats in training.
We have been working on our fields to eliminate broadleaf weeds and overseeding. We now have good, green pastures for the two horses Belle and Sophie to graze on. Earlier this summer we had to put our gelding Benny down. He was thirty years old and had started to exhibit some bizarre behaviors, so we and our vet decided it was time.