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A number of year ago we discovered the Rocky Mountain horse and did a lot of investigating and research about the breed. What we read and heard from folks sounded almost too good to be true so we had to explore further. It was about this time that we stumbled onto some fellow trail riders, who were riding Rocky Mountain horses at the local state park where we ride a lot. There just weren’t any Rockies that we knew about in east central Illinois, so we spent plenty of time visiting with the owners as well as the horses, and we were hooked. Shortly after this, we were at Jamestown, TN at Big South Fork riding the beautiful trails there, and happen to find a couple of breeders in the area and investigated the breed further. We decided these wonderful horses were everything that you could want in a great trail or companion horse.
Our mares, as well as the other horses and foals on our farm are all up to date on all vaccinations and worming. All our horses routinely have their feet trimmed, and teeth floated as needed. We feed supplements to insure healthy horses and strong feet. All our horses run in paddocks or pastures so they can be in natural settings as much as possible.
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Hesterberg's Rockies Armin & Charlene Hesterberg |
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The attitude, calmness, willingness to please, and love of attention, not to mention the sweet smooth ride, are all what you long for in a special horse. So after much looking, our first Rocky was purchased as a weanling, but that just wouldn’t be enough. As any Rocky owner will tell you, they are addictive and one is just not enough. Having been involved with horses for quite a few years, and having been involved with genetics and raising breeding stock in the cattle business, the desire to raise a few Rockies was getting stronger all the time. So after visiting several breeders, and looking at lots of good horses, we came home with 2 brood mares that we think are just the right blend of all the important things we want in the Rocky breed.
But attention and love is not enough to produce great horses. We pay close attention to nutrition, immunizations, worming schedules and teeth. Consequently, our foals grow quite well and are very healthy.
Our babies are imprinted at birth and handled almost daily in some fashion so they get used to human contact. They are taught all the things good foals should know, such as haltering, bathing, handling the feet, clipping, etc.