“No worries.” Rob could watch this all day. He felt a pang in his chest and rubbed it. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed being around horses.
Tyler worked for another ten minutes and then gestured for Rob to follow them into the barn. Rob ducked between the fence rails and caught up to them in the barn’s alleyway where Tyler had cross-tied the young horse.
“Want to help?” Tyler asked.
“Sure.”
Tyler threw a brush in Rob’s direction. He caught it one-handed, and began brushing the left side of the young horse, while Tyler brushed the other.
“How old is she?” Rob asked.
“Eleven months. I bred my parents’ Quarter horse mare to a stallion named Thunder Oaks. She’s registered as Thunder Oaks’ Acorn, but her barn name is Sprout.”
Rob recognized the name of the famous stallion. He whistled, and the filly startled. “Oops. Sorry, Sprout.” He gentled the horse and resumed brushing. “That must have cost a mint.”
“Yeah, but I think it was worth it. Look at her.”
Rob ran his hands over the horse’s side and stroked the caramel-colored mane. “She’s beautiful, and based on what I saw out there, I suspect you have the makings of a championship horse. What will you do with her?”
“Her mother is a roping horse, but her father is a jumper. As we go along, I’ll see what she’s best at.”
Rob nodded. It was too early to tell, but with those bloodlines, the sorrel horse might excel at either or both.
Tyler filled him in about his plans for the ranch, and when they were finished with Sprout, Tyler led her into a nearby stall.
“She’s such a bright filly. Picks things up fast,” Tyler explained as they stood and watched her munch on hay. “Let me show you around.” He introduced Rob to the other horses in the barn and led him to a fenced pasture on the other end where ten horses grazed.
“How many do you have?” Rob asked as he eyed the beautiful animals.
“Sixteen. My plan is to breed Quarter horses, but my parents rescued horses from kill pens, and I’m afraid I’ve followed in their footsteps. I hate to see horses sold for slaughter. I’ve ended up rescuing five.” He pointed across the pasture. “See that chestnut? She’s a Saddlebred, a real sweetheart, and naturally gaited.” Rob knew he meant that the mare had a separate racking gait, a gait much smoother than a trot. Gaited horses gave you a smoother ride, since one foot was always in contact with the ground.
“When I bought her, she was skin and bones.” Tyler laughed. “She’s recovered a bit too well. I have to use a grazing muzzle to keep her from overeating in the summer when the grass is lush.”
Rob took a deep breath and inhaled the smell of autumn. “Do you grow your own hay, too?”
“Yeah. I’ve got forty-two acres, and on some of them I get three cuttings of mixed hay.”
“Let me know if you ever need help with it.” Cutting, sweeping, baling, and putting hay up in the barn wasn’t an easy job, but he wouldn’t mind helping.
“Thanks. I’ll definitely take you up on it. I sometimes hire high school kids to help, but keeping them off their phones long enough to do the job isn’t easy.”
Rob barked out a laugh. “I know what you mean. What’s your goal with the ranch?”
“That’s what I’d like to run past you. You grew up on a ranch in Colorado, didn’t you? So you may be one person who understands what it takes to make money with livestock and crops.”
“I’m happy to talk with you about it, although I don’t know exactly what the challenges would be around here.”
“That’s okay. I know them only too well. Weather is number one.”
Rob nodded. That was universal among farmers and ranchers. Weather affected everything, including the cost of feed for livestock.
“My plan is to raise and train horses. I’ll do some breeding to build my stock and to sell. I’ll have to enter and win horse shows to build my reputation as a trainer and breeder. My dad taught me how to work with horses and train them using natural horsemanship methods, but I don’t know whether I need to hire another trainer. I may not know enough.”
“Given what I saw out there with Sprout, I’d say you’ve got that mastered. Practice will probably help, but the way you move and teach the horses to respond is already there, I think.”
“Thanks. I appreciate you saying that. I hope you’re right.”
“Are you planning to board or give lessons? Or open your land for trail riding, or hunt club eventing?”
“I haven’t decided that part yet. I have to manage my time and spend it where it will pay off best. I’ve got some disability pay from the service, but it isn’t much.”
“I know about that,” Rob seconded. “Would there be a market for doing trail rides and boarding?”
“I think so, given where we’re located. We’re close enough to Ridgeview, Green Oak, and even Knoxville to attract boarders.”
“Do you have anybody who helps you?”
“No. I wish I did, but I can’t afford to pay much.”
“I get it. Have you thought about getting a backer or a partner?”
“Not really. I don’t think many people would be interested. Besides, I don’t want to put the ranch at risk.”
“I don’t blame you. This is a great place. You have the basics, and you’re in a great part of Ridgeview County.”
“Yeah, there are a bunch of trails up into the foothills of the Smokies that are on my property, and we’re next to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”
“No kidding. It doesn’t get much better than that. Do you have a water source on your
