Rivervalley Ranch

09/16/2024

My Cup Runneth Over!
Thank you Dave Ayers and Sondra Ayers for letting me drive Quinn and Sparty to two first places and winning this Championship!
Thank you Dirk and Karen Young for this beautiful trophy box and another gorgeous ribbon and most of all, for hosting this special and amazing event!!!
It was the highlight of the last decade for me!!!!!
Cheers to Haflingers and Their Owners (friends and family) from Around The World!!!

09/05/2024

Getting tied for the first time!

08/28/2024

Ashley Ferguson Rachner and her beautiful Rivervalley Ranch gelding Nikon's Prince Of Thieves.
❤❤

08/11/2024

Cleaning up our act! This is a half sister to Rave and Radiance!!! Dave Ayers

08/11/2024

Yesterday morning we went to this harness shop, sorry, I don't remember the name of it, than came home and started digging out show harnesses and boxes and cleaning them!
After driving smarty I cleaned some more harness and clipped the bridle path on Smarty and brushed him out and put his jammies on him before turning in for a few hours!
Can't wait to drive him again!!!!
Dave Ayers is my hero and he is also a great friend! This is the best vacation ever!

08/09/2024

At the Blacksmith Shop now! It just quit raining!!!
Been to Coblitz Collar Shop! That was fun!

08/08/2024

Updated pictures just sent to me by Nichole Baxley !!! Thank you so much Nichole for checking on her and cleaning up the afterbirth and also letting my pups out for a potty break!!!
Isn't she a doll!?!?!?!!!!
I'm smitten.....

07/31/2024

How many of you ask me about the stallion found on many of your Haflinger papers named Abdul?! A lot!
Okay..well, Abdul was a Haflinger stallion that Grandpa (aka Walt Mosher) owned for years. Static, which many of you haven't heard of or seen on papers, was also a stallion but was gelded and used back at this time. Abdul, or Stormy as we all called him, was one of the fan favorites of ours as kids. Christina Ponzi and I, are the kids I'm talking about. Static was known to us as Colonel, whom Betty named as she claimed him for her own and loved him all his and hers life. We rode him too and drove them both also!
The last picture (which I'm sorry is so blurry) is Christina and I on Stormy aka Abdul.
Walt and Betty got into Haflingers in the 70's basically. They partnered with Robert McArthur to buy the original herd from Temple Smith Farm with the understanding they would keep the horses, do the work, breed, raise, train and sell them and after so many years they would split the herd.
This happened just as it is told. What isn't told, is that although Walt and Robert dissolved the partnership on paper, they remained lifelong friends and Walt managed his herd along with his own for decades to follow. So just because on paper it was dissolved, nothing really changed a whole lot. Robert did keep part of the horses and he built a beautiful facility over the years and this is where many of the yearlings would go! I remember that as a kid. They switched mares and studs and you never knew who had who sometimes. Robert also had large beautiful meadows that many mares and foals stayed on for summer pasture.
Anyway..I could go on and on but the point is...the history of the Haflinger horse in the United States that so often is misled or not mentioned. There is some amazing history in all of this that so many of you do not know.
The mare Errin GJF is from grandpa's farm. The last of her legacy. The first stallion I (myself) owned was Alto, a stallion that Robert McArthur owned. One of our mares today, Oh La La, is sired by Alto.
As kids, Christina and I rode and drove, learned and relearned skills we cannot begin to explain. We trained horses, we learned fo shoe horses, we were given the responsibility for feeding the whole herd at times, keeping up with whatever was asked, harnessing and unharnessing, teaching young stock to lead, getting horses ready to show and on out off time, well, we rode Stormy and Colonel for fun! Later years we rode Amarquis and Lark! 😆 And got in trouble for racing the stallions as soon as we were out of sight! By this time Grandpa was showing Draft Hitch Style and cantering was a forbidden gait! (Although Grandpa knew darn well what we'd do out on that old log road!)
We were each given our own Haflingers to break, train, and show prep and then we were hauled all over to shows. Some of those ribbons hang on my wall today.
Betty Mosher passed from cancer long before Walt.
Walt kept going and still bred and raised some Haflingers and still helped Robert do the same for another decade or more now.
It seems like just yesterday for Christina and I and yet it seems like a lifetime ago too.
And so when I hear how the Haflinger has changed so much and how the 'old style' was, I can assure you, it wasn't exactly how some try to portray it. There has been a push for the Haflingers to be what they are today even in the 70's, 80's, 90's and so on. And I can show you pictures of Haflingers back in the 80's and 90's that are as modern as the ones today! Yup, I rode mares and stallions in the 80's that were 14.2 Hands or more and could do everything from go to work in the woods to out jump the deer to out trot the standardbreds to out dance the dressage warmbloods and then go hitch up and out prance the big hitch horses.
I'm so sick of hearing what people 'think' those horses were and actually know what they were. Sure. Overall we've gained some height! I agree with that!
What I don't agree with is that those horses in that time frame were something less desirable than what we want today. In fact, that is not true. What people like Grandpa, McArthur, Dean Woodward, the Ayers, and so many more were trying to produce is exactly what we still try to produce in this country today! A horse that can move off all four corners with exceptional movement, a horse that we can do anything with, a horse that is healthy and sane and fun for the whole family rather you want to go for a trail ride, hitch up for a drive, take to the lake for a swim, or let the neighbors kids ride. Something that'll clean up and win if you spend some time and train them up, and something that simply won't quit on ya half way through a days work.
And here is some proof to what I'm tell you.
I'll try to find some pictures of Amarquis and some of the other horses to show you next as well as some of the pictures of my mom and dad's Haflingers over the years growing up.

07/31/2024

Errin GJF!
The oldest mare with the youngest c**t!
Bred and Born in Northville, NY, Errin is the last of the Ghesta Joy Farm Haflingers, my grandfather's herd and what was for many decades, The Largest Herd Of Haflingers In North America and from where many folks got started with the breed over the last fifty plus years.
Errin needs no introduction. Look her up on Facebook if you like. From winning her first National Title at age four to winning her final National Classes at age 25 and in foal, this mare is the very reason I still have Haflingers! She received her Silver Classification in her teens, she has won everything from three day events to extreme trail obstacle classes to western reining onto dressage and keep on going because we haven't even begun to talk about all this mare has accomplished! She has won against the toughest of competitions in Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, Key Hole and more. She has won major driving competitions from timed sports to draft style hitch classes to pleasure driving and even driven dressage! And wr haven't talked about the fact that she used to be able to out jump most jumpers. Yes...all in the same little 14.2 Hand package!
The same mare that saved my life in a blizzard, and she's the same mare that's raised two foals at the same time after our Immersheinen mare passed unexpectedly, and this is the same mare that has packed calves out of gulches and over mountains through snow and ice and rock slides. She's the same mare I put my Mom on to ride and the same mare I trust with any kid, no matter how much they don't know. She has had 15 foals over the years (we have only lost one of those, the rest are alive and doing great) and her progeny spread from coast to coast.
She is sired by Wisecracker NTF (the highest priced stallion to ever be purchased sight unseen at the time) and he was out of the very famous Wall Street NTF!
Errin's dam was a life long member of my grandfather's herd and was a beautiful mare that he had spent years producing. Her name was Elayne GJF. She was sired by Amarquis GJF who I rode and drove as a kid both in and out of the show ring! Her dam was Elon and she was sired by Adbul ( who was sired by Adam Amerika) and goes back to a daughter of Starwonder.
Errin has become an icon here at Rivervalley Ranch and although I couldn't be happier with Errin and her offspring over the years as she's had offspring who topped classifications and won National Titles and done everything imaginable, there is currently no direct offspring out of this mare that are available at this time.
Look for the opportunity to breed to a direct son of Errin in the futher!
Thank you for taking the time to recognize our most influential mare to date and I hope you realize what an incredible treasure Haflingers are!

07/31/2024

Let's talk about mares. Meet Rave Review!
Arno van het Nieshof is the Supreme Sire with AHR and is the sire to our exquisite mare Rave Review (pictured below). Arno needs no introduction here in the states as he has dominated the Haflinger world the last two and a half decades with not only himself, but better yet, his progeny. Rave is another influential daughter of Arno and she is absolutely a fan favorite for her big friendly disposition and easy to be around temperament and she isn't too hard on the eyes either! She stands over 15 Hands and and has a huge heart coupled with amazing ability which her dam was famous for. Her dam was non other than Radiant Rose NTF (Afghan III x Ramblin Rose NTF), another very famous mare line here in the states that came out of John and Judy Miller's New Trend Farm.
Rave Review exemplifies what every top Haflinger mare should be. She is very flat and clean b***d, has a good solid hoof, has plenty of length in her leg, a beautiful chiseled head that sets cleanly on her gorgeous long neck and ties into a prominent wither. She has a strong back and loin and a huge hip that correctly sets her hind leg. She is very correct, moves very correctly and clean and furthermore, she produces some fabulous Haflingers for us here at Rivervalley Ranch!
We also have her full sister Radiance who is the dam to our ever growing in popularity, Nikon's Prince! He is becoming one of our premier breeding stallions! Each foal born so far this year has some influence from one or the other of these exquisite mares! Some of you may notice the stamp on all five of these c**ts this year and you can rest assured they have the stamp of Arno's approval!
We thank you for taking the time to read more about our infamous mare Rave Review and her full sister, Radiance.

07/28/2024

07/17/2024

A HORSE HAS THREE TYPES OF ‘TRY’

Previously I have said that the easiest horses to train are the ones with ‘try’. By the word ‘try’ I mean they possess a readiness to search for ways to escape or evade pressure. So when we ask something of a horse by applying a little pressure the horse feels it is important enough and they are motivated enough to search through all the available options of responses to eliminate the discomfort that pressure has created. That’s what I mean by the term try and that’s what makes those horses more trainable.

I think there are 3 categories of try in the horse world and within those, there are sub-levels, which I will try to explain as I go along.

There are horses with a lot of natural try.

These are often pretty sensitive horses and the thing they are sensitive to is pressure. It usually doesn’t take a lot of asking for them to try something. One of the issues that people have with this type of horse is often an overreaction to pressure or anticipation ahead of the pressure. This is where the term “hot horse” comes from. Often their response to being asked something is disproportional to the amount of pressure used because of their worry about pressure. That’s the downside.

However, the upside is it usually doesn’t require a lot of pressure for them to search for a new idea and a way of responding to our requests. They try one answer and if that doesn’t result in peace and tranquility in their life, they try another. Then another and another, until they find comfort.

Horses like this are quick learners if handled correctly. Nevertheless, if our timing and feel are poor then we confuse them and stress them even more than before. They can quickly turn from sensitive to crazy and pass from person to person until either finding the right owner or going for slaughter. Unfortunately, this is too often the fate of retired racehorses and other victims of human error.

Sensitive horses have the potential to be the best horses, but they are not suited for inexperienced people for the reasons I have already stated. Where it goes wrong is people’s inability to recognize a try in a horse and either miss it altogether or they are inconsistent with their releases and confuse the poor beast until they have a meltdown. A lack of clarity is a huge stress in a horse’s life and sensitive horses with a lot of try suffer the most for this human failing. But given an owner with empathy, patience, and a good feel and timing, they can be amazing.

The second category is with horses that have very little try in them.

These horses are not inspired to search very hard for answers to questions that pressure presents to them. I believe two types of horses exhibit this behaviour.

The first is the stoic horse. These are horses that came out of their mother with not a lot of “care factor.” They absorb pressure and trouble and store it up inside until their cup of worry is ready to overflow, then they erupt – and erupt big. But in the lead-up to the eruption, they appear to be calm and quiet and not care. A rider can add layer upon layer of pressure and they shrug their shoulders as if to ask if we were talking to them.

A lot of people who have had bad experiences with sensitive horses eventually become attracted to the stoic horse. They feel safer because these horses don’t have a hair trigger when we get our feel or timing wrong or we present too much pressure. These make the perfect kids' pony or babysitter for a novice rider.

The downside is that every time we want to teach them something new or change their thoughts or established patterns, it’s a lot of work.

The second type of horse that often shows very little try is the shutdown horse.

These horses often start as sensitive with a lot of try but become shut down with very little try because of poor training. Through insensitive training, they have learned the futility of having or expressing an opinion. Unlike the horse born with a small care factor, these horses have a lot of care factors, but it is drilled out of them until they mentally disengage from us and what we ask of them.

The most common way I have seen of killing a try in these horses is through drilling the work over and over and by flooding it with pressure. Flooding is where pressure is presented to a horse and not removed until the horse submits. An example might be to throw a rope over a horse’s back and keep throwing it until he stands quietly before you stop throwing the rope. A horse can learn to eliminate the pressure of the rope by not moving, yet the rope may still worry him. He is learning the futility of resistance and the futility of searching. It builds a mental and emotional wall around itself to keep people out. It is really difficult to have a good relationship with a shutdown horse because it will not fully mentally engage with humans.

There are other ways of turning a sensitive horse into a shutdown horse (such as continued poor feel and timing, impatience, use of ever-increasing driving pressure, etc), but the important point is that while these horses may appear just like those with a small care factor, they actually have a large care factor and can be very sensitive. It is the combination of their sensitivity and our poor training techniques that cause a horse to shut down. This potentially makes them very dangerous when they erupt.

The final category of a horse’s try or ability to search through its options is the one where their established behaviour or set of responses to pressure are tightly linked to their perception of life and death. This is beyond being sensitive because instead of searching through the options to safety and comfort, as a sensitive horse is prone to doing, these horses will repeat the same responses and behaviours over and over in fear that a change will get them killed. They are so convinced that what they do is the reason they have lived so far, that all other options are off the table. Unlike the horse the stoic horse or the horse born with a low care factor, these horses choose to not try through their certainty of what it takes to survive. It is their survival instinct that suppresses their trainability.

This category of horse is hard to work with and in my experience is best handled with incredible patience and by going back to the absolute basics. Nothing is overlooked. Each micron of change is covered step-by-step and consolidated before going further. It is important that these horses feel confident that each little change is the best path to safety and comfort. If you leave a step only half done and only half certain that it was the right step, the horse will revert and fall apart at some point.

I have sometimes said that the thing we most like about a horse is also the thing we most dislike. A sensitive horse with a lot of tries can be taught to work off a thought, which is fantastic. But equally, they can have a hair trigger to a meltdown and that can be a problem. On the other hand, a stoic horse with very little try can be solid and can absorb a lot of trouble before overreacting, which makes some people feel safe. However, good luck trying to get them to be soft and responsive in the way a sensitive horse can be.

Of course, most horses are a mix of categories and don’t fall strictly into one or the other. In an ideal world, I’d be looking for a horse that had a lot of try and a little bit of stoicism. But until then I’m happy to take responsibility for the amount of try my training puts into any of my horses.

Photo: An example of two individuals, each ‘trying’. Mary Dawes-Rudine riding Errin GJF!

07/15/2024

07/08/2024

Tonight's brushing...this dork...N'Keepin Time aka Catfish...being silly as usual. Look for Catfish to be advertised later in the year as he is back in work and getting ready for his new home!

07/07/2024

Nikon's Bandito Gold aka Cruise, a yearling registered Haflinger stallion prospect! He tested N/N (double negative) for SCC, he is athletic going to be tall and absolutely handsome! This c**t should mature 14.3 - 15 Hands, has a deep golden coat with dark pigment and a pure white mane and tail! He's sharp and can he ever move! Looking for one to put in the dressage ring? Here he is! Out of a Silver Classified mare whose granddam is also silver classified as is many of his siblings! For a serious show home or breeding prospect this c**t is available. He has already procured his first National Title at the age of 6 weeks and is a super star to work around and handle. Been hauled, shown, and had a lot of attention in his first year and was plaved firstwith three out of three judges he went in front of. Ready to find his forever home. Priced in the fours, starting with a 7,5●● obo.
PM me for more details.
Price includes registration transfer, recent coggins and health inspection and legal brand inspection.
Video's will be uploaded shortly.

07/03/2024

Rivervalley Ranch; Thie Way Life Should Be!

07/02/2024

There's an interesting post floating around where someone asks how much hay cost are to feed a horse per month. Interestingly enough, most answers range from 150-200 dollars per month. I would say that is fairly accurate for the average horse. Now, those of you that think weanlings, yearlings and 2&3 yo's somehow eat less, you are quit wrong. They actually need more. As do broodmares, breeding stallions and of course, most horses in serious training. That doesn't include the fact that here, at our elevation, it cost a third to half again that much to keep one looking decent. Not fat. Just decent.
So, I want you to do the math. If I keep one and raise it, feed it's sire and dam for one year each also, I have 36 months plus 24 months of feed I to this one filly or c**t. That would be 60 months right?. 60 x $150 -200 equals $9,000 - $12,000 in just hay or roughage costs. I spend annually 1k a year in grain and supplements per horse. Not including my dewormer, vaccines, farrier, dentals, or any other medical treatments or health related issues (meaning everything from fly spray to vet costs for one that gets hurt or simply one that the flies are pestering or even masks for our nasty bright sun). I'm simply talking feed. So by the time I raise one until 3, have them registered (a whole nother cost factor) and put them on the market I easily have how much into them? Let's just say $10,500 plus 5k in supplements and leave out all the rest. That's $15,500 to feed one until he or she is three and of course, this assumes they never need hoof care, vaccines, or anything else.
Now, when you come here and tell you can't afford 7k for a 3 year old or maybe even a five or six year old, now maybe you understand why I simply am getting to the point that I don't care. If I offer one for 7500 that I have over 15k in just feed, and you turn around and tell me he or she is only worth 3500, well, go home with an empty trailer.
Yes, breeders loose money everyday because they love the breed of horse they represent. But that does not give you the right to not appreciate or respect that breeder because they simply won't give one away.
So the next time you see a ten year old gelding broke to ride and drive go through a sale ring, I hope you remember this. Someone put a lot of time and money in that horse and someone has lost a lot of time and money for you to be able to buy them.
I'm sick to death of hearing how breeders and sellers are making bank. No, they most certainly are not.
So if you don't think you can't afford one at a purchase price of 7k then I can assure you, you probably can't afford to even feed that horse.
Better off to go buy a stuffed animal. But quit trying to make breeders feel horrid for asking less than half of what they have into their horses to get back. And yes, you must seriously think we're all stupid and have no idea that you can afford a new vehicle, a fancy home, to go on vacations, to buy this and that for your horse, but yet you refuse to spend any money to buy a well bred one that someone has raised and kept sound and alive. Well I can assure you, we're not fools. We may help you once, but the thought we'll do it twice is far from the truth.
Just know this, breeders (no matter what they breed, raise, and sell) deserve more respect then simply telling us our horses are not worth anything. This is why breeders quit. And then the prices go up even more. And more whining and crying from the buyers. It's a vicious cycle.
Now don't be alarmed when you call me someday and ask me what your horse is worth and I remember the day you stood here and told me how worthless that horse was when you bought it and I give you an answer you don't like.
I hope this serves as a reminder to you all of what it costs to keep a horse. And I also hope you learn to appreciate those folks that helped you get your best friend and you never take for granted again that just because someone is a breeder, it is somehow free of costs for them. It most certainly is not.
~
DR

06/28/2024

Marvelous Majic Moose. My Man.

06/27/2024

Oh my..what ugly headed horses I have...lol
(Just kidding...obviously)
Say Hi to Catfish!

06/25/2024

A quick photo shoot of Errin's Heart Of Fire. This mare is out of Errin and sired by our Nikon's Prince stallion. She grows in beauty everyday and I can't wait for you all to see her in action in the future! She is such like her dam it is crazy! Has the same stances, the same nicker, the same strip, the same kindness and outgoing attitude!!! I'm absolutely elated with how this young mare is progressing! Keep your eyes open next year to see this mare making history!

06/25/2024

Some quick pictures of the 3 boys spending their summer with Nichole Baxley . She sent me these pictures a couple evenings ago. Money is 29 and looking good! Cruise aka Nikon's Bandito Gold, is a yearling and growing by leaps and bounds! And the 4 year old c**t is out of Errin x Nikon's Prince who we now call "Notamare" Registered name of "No More Foolin Around" (he's been in hiding for most of his life but will be coming out for his debut soon)! Thank you Nichole for taking good care of my boys!!!

06/23/2024

Today's photo shoot! The 2 & 3 YO fillies out to pasture!

07/31/2015

Rivervalley Ranch's cover photo