Sophie is Back!

After what seemed to be a verrrrry long year waiting and hoping to see if our sweet Sophie would ever be sound enough to ride again after her illness, we are happy to announce that she is back!

Sophie worked at her first birthday parties this weekend in many, many moons and was great. Her regular riders are excited she is ready to go again too. we wish to give a giant thank you also to our barefoot trimmer and equine osteopath, Martine Groeneveld, who helped to heal her. Martine also works on dogs and cats with great results, so email her at: martinegroeneveld@mac.com if you would like to try her services. She has helped MANY of our beloved pets!

Thank you Martine!

Trick Riding Day!

Kansas came back in town this week and gave a few lessons and classes to kids of all ages. It is always so great to have her here!!

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Mountain Lion ~ Coyote Pack ~ Bobcat !!

Here is the reason we have our horses living together in a herd. Yikes! Look at the size of this kitty. This video was taken by a neighbor just a mile and a half up the street. He or she is very beautiful…..but I can’t honestly say I would want to meet him or her walking on the road at night!

Look at this pack of coyotes he captured on video too. Amazing….!

And this bobcat jumping the fence.

Clearly this is a very busy intersection at night!

Blenheim Horse Show

WHF sends out a HUGE congratulations to our sponsor girls, Olenka and Kalyna for participating and doing very well competing in the Hunter Division in their first off campus horse show at Blenheim in San Juan Capistrano. Makoto Farms graciously allowed them to ride one of their ponies and both girls had a WONDERFUL time, helped out the other team members and learned a LOT. So thank you Liz Reilly of Makoto Farms!!! And great job girls….!!!

Sphinx ~ 3 Weeks of Training

We are very happy to post a first video of Sphinx practicing liberty training! Last month he officially turned two years old, and so we brought Sphinx into the round pen and arena and began to play with him.

He is our first pony who came to us with no training whatsoever, so he will be a great experiment to see what we can achieve. The first time out in the arena with us at liberty he bucked, reared, cow kicked and even jumped over the 4’ gate to run home because he was so scared.

Look how far he has come and his amazing progress in only three weeks! This was all done with positive reinforcement (R+) also known as “clicker training” and we are enjoying the process so much.

Swarms, Swarms and more Swarms!

Thanks to Steve Downs of Beecasso Live Bee Removal, Inc., WHF has 20 bee hives containing roughly 600,000 bees! Steve saves the bees from different areas around Los Angeles and then relocates them to environments better suited to their needs of a quiet space, flowers and water. We are honored to be a chosen spot for these bees as populations worldwide are in dire need of replenishing. It is amazing to see them swarm so often during the spring and summer months as new queens are being born and new colonies are formed. Contact Beecasso HERE if you would like the honor of hosting some bees hives as well.

Goodbye Tio Pepe

Well…..that was fast! Sweet Tio Pepe had to be moved to another forever happy home where he would not be living in a herd, but would be in his own stall with a run instead. Living with mares proved to be too difficult for him, as he was only just recently gelded, and he was hurting himself trying to be near them 24/7 as well as trying to keep the other geldings away from the mares as well. It was exhausting! So now he has gone to live with Victoria. She is an excellent horse woman and will give him a very loving (and much quieter!) home than we could provide with our pasture set up. We hope this is a new match made in Heaven!

Roping and Trick Riding - Click to Watch Video

Big brother Ian came to visit from Oklahoma and brought two kid sized lassos for the boys to practice with.

What fun!

Turns out Kansas, the trick riding instructor, is a professional trick roper too. So maybe that’s next to offer on the list of fun ranch things to do?

Baby Bunnies!

What happens when someone puts a bunny in your bunny yard and tells you it’s a girl…when really it’s a boy? Why, baby bunnies of course!

This is the unexpected surprise we got this spring from all of our female rabbits. Bunnies are super fertile and reproduce really quickly. They also grow super fast. In just one month, they turn into perfectly formed little rabbits and in two more months, can begin the breeding cycle all over again.

So wild!

Baby Turkey Time!

Spring is here and with spring comes new growth and life. Around here that often takes the form of EGGS! Our female turkey Baguette has been laying eggs for more than 14 days in a row and is now ready to sit on her clutch to incubate them. Her clutch has more than 17 eggs in it, which is a lot!

Turkey hens lay eggs only once a year in April, incubate them through May and then with a little luck they will hatch into turkey poults come June. So check back to see if we have any new babies net month!

Mini Messages ~ Farm Day Fundraiser

Today we had the great pleasure of bringing the minis to deliver some Farm Day cheer at Chaparral Elementary School in Calabasas! It is an annual fundraising event focusing on the health and wellness of the students and the planet.

There were many great booths selling natural products, farm fresh produce and teaching awareness on various subjects.

Our minis did their part by allowing kids to be up and close with a real farm animal (and snacking on the extra carrot tops!).

It was a lovely time for all!

Trick Riding with Kansas Carradine

Hanging on the side of a horse or standing on it's back while it walks, trots and even canters? You bet! This is some of the fun we had this week with professional trick rider and Cavalia performer Kansas Carradine.

The class consisted of girls ages 10 - 13, but Kansas can teach all ages (including adults!) and we would love to find a few boy participants as well! So please let us know if you would like to be put on an email list to let you know when she will be in town.

Kansas currently resides in Canada, but makes trips back to LA on a regular basis.

Welcome Tio Pepe!

He’s here…..our last and final horse. Phew! Too Pepe spent most of his life as an Andalusian stallion performing for Cavalia. He was loved and well cared for, but then had to be retired due to an injury. Instead of wasting away in a field in Kentucky, we decided to adopt him and give him a second lease on life. It will take a bit more adjusting than normal due to the fact that he was only recently gelded and just loves the scent of our mares, but hopefully with time everything will smooth out and he will be a happy member of the herd too.

Welcome Sphinx!

This weekend we were sooooo excited to welcome Sphinx into our herd! He is a 1 3/4 year old German Riding Pony from Solomon Farms in South Dakota and is Spirit’s half brother. Now Kalyna and Olenka each have their own pony to care for and train to one day carry them over their favorite jumps. Sphinx is sweet and a little spicy, just the perfect combination for Kalyna. Look like a match made in Heaven to us!

Words to Live By!

Darla Wakes Up for Spring

Darla has been hibernating for months on end, only poking her head up on the occasional warmer day. But now that spring is here she is back in the swing of things again! It’s amazing how tortoises have the ability to hibernate for so long without eating or drinking and then emerge as if it’s been not but a five minute slumber.

Caliboardia Does it Again!

Our favorite Caliboardia boys, Lys and Levko continue to climb the ranks in the world of Junior Snowboarding and we couldn’t be more proud! Both boys pulled off impressive finishes at this years Burton Snowboarding Junior Open in Colorado and then fared even better in US Snowboarding Nationals also held in Colorado this February, taking 1st place and 4th place in the NATION overall in their age division.

We screamed! We cried! We jumped up and down and hugged each other while we watched them perform! And now, life resumes, but we remain just so incredibly proud of these boys and how hard they are working towards their goals. The experience of competing at this level alone is beyond invaluable.

Next stop Mammoth Elite Camp and then by invitation only to the US Snowboarding Project Gold Camp taught by Olympic Snowboarding Coaches. Woohoo!!

Willie ~ The Mustang

Yesterday, we drove out to Arizona and had the great good fortune to adopt Willie, a mustang that Mustang Maddy (one of my favorite horse teacher heroes!) has lovingly and painstakingly rehabilitated over the past year. I watched her train him in videos (including the final one attached to this blog) over many months, but never in a MILLION years thought that we would be the lucky ones to bring him home and give him another chance at life! But now, quite unbelievably he is here and we are all looking forward to seeing what this great horse will teach us….:) Below is Maddy’s touching Facebook entry saying goodbye to Willie. We are so grateful for her sharing her time and wisdom with us and will always remember this weekend as an absolute gift. Maddy is of course welcome here ANYTIME to visit Willie and clearly we will keep her updated on his life.

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Bittersweet day. My heart is so full of gratitude that Willie went to his new home today in California ❤️ He will be loved and cared for by his new family, who is dedicated to continuing his training and above all, making sure he is happy and healthy. I spent the past two days teaching his new owner Willie’s cues and making sure it was a good fit🙏 I could not have asked for a better match.

I do not foresee him needing it, but nonetheless if anything were to change he will always be welcomed back here with me 💕 He is forever safe. A true happy ever after for Willie! Although my heart is bursting with happiness, I feel sadness at the same time, knowing my journey with Willie has come to an end. I am so grateful for all he has taught me. He has been my teacher for the past year, and for that I am forever grateful. Best wishes to you my friend 🐴💕 You deserve only the best in this lifetime and I am blessed to have known you 🙏.

I would like to say a huge congratulations to Tamara, his new owner. Thank you for believing in Willie, thank you for believing in me ❤️. Thank you to all our Mustanger members who made Willie’s journey and rehabilitation possible

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Girls Jumping

After every birthday party, Olenka and Kalyna like to ride around for a few minutes to let off a little steam…..and have fun!

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Go Caliboardia!

Well…..it’s that time again to marvel at Lys and Levko’s progress in the snowboarding world. They are now training with the Mammoth team and are two of only 16 kids who have been invited to compete in the Half Pipe competition in Vail, Colorado from February 25-27 at this year’s Burton US Open Junior Jam.

Can you say……WOW!!!!!!

We are so proud of their hard work, dedication and effort. That right there is worth its weight in GOLD. Positive life lessons and challenges go a long way towards breeding success in the game of life.

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