Plane View Farm

October 2007

Atlantis is an "extra special" guy who is getting a 2nd (or 3rd) chance.  Atlantis is a unique case who actually shipped from the slaughter pens to the slaughter house in Mexico.... The truckload of horses was rejected at the port and sent back to Colorado to the slaughter pen because the paperwork was not in order for a couple of the horses that were on the truck.  The day after he re-arrived at the pens... we visited.  As we drove by the side of the pens, this big gray horse with a proud look towered over the rest. I walked through hundreds of horses that day before I got to his pen.  I kept looking over at him and he was watching me the entire time.  It was as if he knew that I was his last chance.  I finally made it to his pen and he met me at the gate (and I mean with his face in mine!).  He then proceeded to follow me through his entire pen, which had about 50 other horses in it.  He would not leave my side.  His eye was very soft and kind... with a wise look to it.  He had a substantial build, and stood at a little over 16 hands (large for a QH type).  Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a very logical, realistic, left-brain thinker... but I did something at that point that was illogical (and maybe downright stupid).  I got on him bareback in the pen with no halter... no bridle... no rope around his neck... no nothing.  Something about this horse just told me it was o.k..  I proceeded to ride him around the pen using just leg pressure.  He listened to every command, weaving in and out of the other horses as I asked, and stopping nicely with just a little shift of weight back and seat pressure.  That's when I decided we better take him home and try him in the program!  

Atlantis is an exception from what we usually bring home, because he is trained, in his mid-teens, and will need some management through his farrier-work to keep him sound (shock pads and a square toe). Atlantis has gone to his new home... and it's perfect... a farrier with kids!

September 2007


Charlie Brown was rejected from a dude string, and deemed as unruly and un-rideable.  When we initially purchased him, he would throw himself down at the hitching rail while tied, buck when first mounted, throw his head profusely to avoid the bit, and bolt under saddle to evade the rider.  Other than that, he was a stout, sound, nice-looking paint gelding who was easy to catch and very sweet (when you weren't asking anything of him). We figured him to be about 8 years old.

Charlie took about 60 days of training to fully come around into being a wonderful, willing, obedient, sensitive guy.  From what we could tell, he had likely been started in reining training, which teaches a horse to be sensitive... he quickly picked up on such cues as a quiet balanced stop, nice haunch turns (that could flatten out into a semi-spin), soft roll-backs, and a nice soft lope and jog trot.  He wouldn't have picked up on those as quickly without having previous training.  As near as we can figure...  when he went to a dude string (however he ended up there), his training and sensitivity was a curse.

Charlie Brown went to a fantastic ranch family who appreciates his sensitive and sweet nature.  

September 2007

Gray Boy had mysteriously shown up in a huge herd of dude string horses as a young 2-yr-old gelding.  Nobody knew where he came from and nobody ended up working with him.  He was halter-broke but very un-trusting and wanted nothing to do with humans when we bought him as a 4-yr-old.  After about 3 months of training, he became a very loyal, respectful, brave, hard-working, easy-to-catch young gelding.  He would go anywhere in the mountains or on any trail, didn't have a spook in him, was very level-headed, and just turned into a sheer pleasure to have around.  Grey Boy is now in his new home in southern Colorado.

October 2007

Sally is a lovely 7 yr-old Molly Mule who was very green when we purchased her.  She has blossomed into a very nice mountain mule who has the sweetest disposition!  You can ride her anywhere, and she is gun broke!  Sally went to her new home at the end of October.  She is so sweet that she is also being introduced into a petting zoo!