Oh, the horses!

As soon as we stepped into the big clean barn, we smelled horses.  Cora and I agreed that's one of the best odors in the world to someone who loves horses.

Our group finally all got together and the tour began.  The first thing the tour guide did was offer everyone a bottle of Budweiser, and a surprising number took her up on that.  At nine o'clock in the morning, I couldn't help thinking of words in Kristofferson's song, "Sunday Morning Comin' Down"... the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad, so I had one more for dessert.  However, nobody was offered a second one.

The three of us settled for a bottle of water instead.  We watched a brief video to put us in the mood, and we were on our way.

Our very knowledgeable tour guide, showing us how tall a Clydesdale horse can be at the withers... 18 hands.

Our first stop was the room where babies are made.  They breed the mare while her baby is still young; the colt comes in with Mom and is put in a pen near her so neither mother or baby will be stressed by thinking they've been forever separated.  Stallions aren't kept on the farm; they are only brought in when they're needed.  

At this point, our guide talked about the size of the farm, and why that particular place was chosen for the ranch.  

Next we got to see one of the two stallions currently visiting.  

There are three different Budweiser teams traveling the nation, and one team was off duty for a while; I guess it's a needed break for the seven people who travel with that group and work up to 20 hours a day.  So we got to see some of the geldings who were in the stalls.  They are let out of the stalls to run in the pasture at various times.  Only geldings are used for the performing horses.  When they retire, they will live on this ranch until they die.

Each team carries two extra horses with them in case anything happens to the regulars.  They also take a spare Dalmation with them, just in case.

The babies stay with their mothers until they are five months old, then weaned

Lastly, we learned a little about how horses (and Dalmations) go on the road.  

There's so much to know about this operation.  For the whole one-hour tour, that guide was talking (almost too fast), and she could answer any question we asked.  One person wondered if there are any women traveling among the road crews.  Turns out this lady herself will be starting on the road in a couple of weeks.  She came from California to Missouri for that very reason.  She's been around horses all her life and signed up to lead the tours in order to get that job of working with the horses on the road.

At the end of the tour, everyone gets a chance to pet a very famous retired horse and have their picture taken with him.  I say famous because he is in some of the Budweiser commercials:  one where he's touching noses with a puppy and one where he kicks the football.  

You'll know him by the big old spots on his nose.

You won't be sorry you went to Warm Springs Ranch.

Here are some links:  

 A guide to Warm Springs Ranch

Becoming a Budweiser Clydesdale

Clydesdale Heaven

Born to Perform

One last picture of Cora and me