Blog
Blog.
Are You Ready to Become a Horse-Owner?
Hello,
We are currently searching for first time horse-owners who want their children to fully understand all that is required on the journey to horse ownership. When your son or daughter says, “I want a horse,” we want them to have a complete comprehension of what it’s like to actually own one. Because of this, we at WCR have decided to give away horses to select, worthy future horse-owners. More details to come in mid-March 2016.
Mid-February Update [Story]
Good day and hello from once again snowy West Crescent ranch in Nokesville, VA with our mid-month February story.
Well no sooner having dug out from the January 2016 snow storm are we getting a dusting today. Old man winter just won’t let go, but he will soon! We are celebrating three things that did not happen at the ranch during the January snow storm. First, we never lost power – Yea – which meant I did not have to start up the generators for the ranch. Second, the all-powerful F250 we have relied on for so many years came through again and helped us move some snow, but the bulk of the snow was moved by our good neighbors Doug and Barbara and their John Deere tractor. Thirdly, no horses were injured from the snowy romping we highlighted in the January post.
Our thanks go out to my good friend Eddie from High Performance Motors in Nokesville, VA, 703-594-3900 and his team members, Joe and Charlie, who keep the 1988 F250 running. As you can see she has a few dents and dings, all of which I am responsible for, but she can still pull her weight and much more tasks on the ranch. Here is a short grip and grin with Eddie and his team after a little work on the “Red and White Beast”.
ATTENTION PARENTS OF BEGINNERS AND YOUNG ADULTS
Parents looking for opportunities to improve their children’s lives through many means. Involvement in scouting programs, after school activities, weekend events, volunteering at hospitals and retirement communities are just some events to shape young adult’s paradigm on life. These activities help young adults become better citizens and prepare them for many non-academic challenges in the lives.
In the course of my life I have been involved in many of these programs, Cub and Boy Scouts as a young adult, Big Brother programs as a Marine Officer, and volunteering at a horse rescue ranch in Arizona. Looking back on my involvement in these programs each contributed to my growth as a young man and as an adult.
In time, I realized my experiences should be shared with young adults and future leaders of America to complement their growth as a young adult. I looked at many ways in which I can support parents rearing their children and Karen and I decided to hold horsemanship clinics at our ranch. But not just horse riding clinics!
The clinics were designed to support our young adults learning and understanding of horsemanship, Christianity, US history, and patriotism. There is no other equine and people training facility in VA that integrates these valuable concepts into a week-long clinic.
The foundation of the clinics is to teach basic horsemanship and how the caring and training of a horse is related to God’s guidance to us on the care for all animals and to live the principles of Christianity. Too many public schools are focused on a government driven curriculum, Common Core, and much of that curriculum does not help students learn about Christianity, accurate US history and, patriotism, all are the life-blood of what has made this country great!
We are hosting an open house on April 23rd for you to visit our equine and people training facility and get to know us. Our 2016 Christian based horsemanship week-long clinic dates are 6-10 June, 4-8 July and 8-12 August. For details on the open house and the curriculum for the clinics see our website, www.westcrescentranch.com.
Next edition, at the end of February, will feature our 2014 NBHA Virginia Barrel Racing champion, Sheza Dashin’ Bug, affectionately, Bugs!
Our open house is April 23rd, and the Christian based horsemanship week-long clinics are 6-10 June, 4-8 July and 8-12 August.
Finally I want to thank Ryan Jaques, (757) 660-3000, ryan_jaques@yahoo.com for his expertise in filming and producing the videos for us and the men of Kappa Phi Chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, George Mason University, who work here on the weekends to help us create a better equestrian training facility.
As always, come by and visit us at one of our events and God bless you and America!
Peter
January Happenings [Story]
Good day and hello from snowy West Crescent ranch in Nokesville, VA with our January story.
We are just about done digging out from the 2016 snow storm that brought us about 24” of snow on January 23rd and 24th. I was able to keep the road to the horses and barn plowed for the first 12”, from 6PM Friday until about midnight, but Mother Nature overcame the power of the F250 and I headed inside for some hot chocolate!
By the time Mother Nature’s fury ran its course, the road I had plowed several times, was not even visible, the drifts were up to my knees and the barn doors were half covered with snow drifts! Ouch!
But here is the rest of the snowy story.
We were well prepared for the snow as the heated waterers were working overtime, thanks to a great product from Nelson Waterers. The additional precautions we put in place, including wind breaks on the two-stall and the overhang on the barn proved to be of great value in keeping the horses warm.
We have seven wonderful horses here, and you can see each one at www.westcrescentranch.com and they were all toasty during the storm.
We moved ZZ from the herd of four to the barn for the snow storm and that left Ace Bobby (affectionately referred to as Que Ball because of her all white coat, which BTW is super thick in the winter) Crash and Clover in the large two-stall. In between plowing the road I kept checking on the horses to ensure they were warm, dry and safe. We of course had taken the precaution of blanketing all the horses except Goldie, for the storm. Although Crash and Clover, the gelding and filly respectively at about 3.5 years old, horse common sense prevailed, as they were in the large run-in stalls, Que Ball had lost her way on common sense trail and was standing in the snow and wind. I was able to lead Que Ball into the large run-in and once in there I closed the gates to keep them out of the storm. The three of them were a little rambunctious for the first few minutes, but settled in for a “long winter’s nap” if you will, as the storm raged on. Que Ball’s chinny chin chin ice cycles eventually melted and all three were happy to be out of the storm!
We had Goldie and Kiss’ in one side of the barn and ZZ and our Barrel Racing Champion horse, Sheza Dashin’ Bug aka Bugs, on the other side. Kiss’ dominates Goldie and we had to separate them for the storm, as they normally have the run of the 40×24 foot indoor area to themselves. Unfortunately Kiss’ chases Goldie out of the indoor area from time-to-time, so we separated them using coral panels, and closed off the east side of the barn as the storm raged. They were at a loss as to what to do, as Goldie stood facing the stall door, expecting it to open so she could come and go as she normally does, but there was no “open says-a-me” in her horse language. Kiss was less concerned with the stall door and more interested in ensuring there was food. Kiss’ is a great horse, albeit part thoroughbred and part quarter, and Goldie is a horse we rescued from a place in Nokesville.
ZZ and Bugs had separate stalls, that did not adjoin each other, and initially we thought they would get along when we moved ZZ to the pasture with Buggs as they are both mild mannered horses. But that initial love fest ended quickly when ZZ became the boss. In the end we had to feed and care for them in the stalls. ZZ was sneaky, as when we were not looking she would try to push open the doors and get over to Bug’s hay, but I often caught her with her hooves approaching the “cookie jar” and shooed her away.
The greatest part of the storm was caring for our horses to ensure they were warm and well fed; but the greatest surprise came when they were released from the “jail stalls” and the galloping, snorting, bucking and running like wild mustangs ensued. We did not anticipate the horse show when we let Crash, Clover and Que Ball out for the first time in two days, but it was spectacular. They loved the snow, dove into the drifts like children experiencing their first snow and put on a spectacular show that is now stored in my mental treasure chest. You can enjoy the videos on our web site, www.westcrescentranch.com.
The videos capture the beauty of horses at their unbridled best and it is a pleasure to watch horses partake of “fun” and create mental treasures for us in our endeavors to create a great home for horses.
So long from West Crescent Ranch in Nokesville and until the February story on how we helped ZZ fully recover from Lyme disease, do well and live the American dream with horses.
Peter and Karen
Sheza Dashin’ Bug 2D Run
New video posted for Sheza Dashin’ Bug! Check it out!
West Crescent Ranch Seminar
New Video Uploaded! Take a look at what our new week-long seminar is all about. You’ll be glad you did.
Bugs in Training
Look at her go!
Sheza Dashin’ Bug
Short video showing off Bugs.
Virginia State Champion
Sheza Dashin’ Bug wins NBHA Virginia State Championship in 2014!
Past Entries
RECENT BLOG ENTRIES
RSS-
Are You Ready to Become a Horse-Owner?
February 29th, 2016 -
Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/n7voj642df2n/public_html/wp-content/themes/WestCrescentRanch/includes/functions/comments.php on line 37
0 Comment -
Mid-February Update [Story]
February 15th, 2016 -
Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/n7voj642df2n/public_html/wp-content/themes/WestCrescentRanch/includes/functions/comments.php on line 37
0 Comment -
January Happenings [Story]
February 2nd, 2016 -
Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/n7voj642df2n/public_html/wp-content/themes/WestCrescentRanch/includes/functions/comments.php on line 37
0 Comment -
Sheza Dashin’ Bug 2D Run
October 5th, 2015 -
Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/n7voj642df2n/public_html/wp-content/themes/WestCrescentRanch/includes/functions/comments.php on line 37
1 Comment -
West Crescent Ranch Seminar
July 23rd, 2015 -
Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/n7voj642df2n/public_html/wp-content/themes/WestCrescentRanch/includes/functions/comments.php on line 37
1 Comment -
Bugs in Training
July 19th, 2015 -
Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/n7voj642df2n/public_html/wp-content/themes/WestCrescentRanch/includes/functions/comments.php on line 37
1 Comment -
Sheza Dashin’ Bug
June 21st, 2015 -
Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/n7voj642df2n/public_html/wp-content/themes/WestCrescentRanch/includes/functions/comments.php on line 37
0 Comment -
Virginia State Champion
June 20th, 2015 -
Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/n7voj642df2n/public_html/wp-content/themes/WestCrescentRanch/includes/functions/comments.php on line 37
0 Comment -
How to Install a Nelson Waterer
March 10th, 2012 -
Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/n7voj642df2n/public_html/wp-content/themes/WestCrescentRanch/includes/functions/comments.php on line 37
0 Comment -
12 Hour Foal Physical
March 10th, 2012 -
Strict Standards: Only variables should be assigned by reference in /home/n7voj642df2n/public_html/wp-content/themes/WestCrescentRanch/includes/functions/comments.php on line 37
0 Comment