Our horses
Back to nature
At the Sun Dance Ranch, the horses are kept as naturally as possible. They are never kept separately in a small stable, but all live in a herd. That works really well together! It is wonderful to see how the natural hierarchy among the horses plays out and how they educate each other.
The horses live in the herd day and night and are outside all year round. Of course, they have shelters and roofs. At night, they have entrance to a large paddock, walk in stable and shelter with always access to hay, water and minerals/salt blocks. They can choose whether they want to be inside or outside, but they all prefer to be outside, summer and winter and in all weather conditions! They can always go around through the many large pastures and forest areas with rivers, ponds and hills to be HORSE in the most natural way possible and also learn to deal with the rugged terrain well! The ranch horses have such peace in their bodies, partly due to their natural way of life. They feel good about themselves and you will notice that! They want to work for you! You will be amazed at what they can do, dare to do and how they handle the terrain.
Bitless
Because they are so nice and calm and feel happy here, all horses are ridden with a side-pull instead of an iron bit. Of course, that is only possible if they are well-behaved and respond nicely to “neck reining” and leg pressure. We are also proud that all our horses can be ridden bitless, also by guests! Of course, it is also wonderful for the horses themselves!
Barefoot
And what is also admirable is that none of the horses have iron horseshoes. Not even with the many gravel roads and rocks on the trails. They are all ‘naturally trimmed’ and that works fine for ALL the ranch horses; within half a year to a year all hooves were TOP. With only 2 or 3 horses it took a bit longer because they had some crumbling hooves, but they are also doing fine now. It is amazing how strong hooves actually are and how a horse maintains the hoof itself!
A number of horses are given hoof boots during the rides in the high season. This is a kind of gym shoe for horses. This is to prevent excessive wear and oversensitivity.
Natural Horsemanship
If you try to understand the horse a little better and speak his ‘language’ a little more, you will notice that everything goes so much easier, your horse understands you better and wants to do much more for you. Because he understands you, trusts you and there is mutual respect. You can learn the principles of Horsemanship here and of course apply them immediately. It is very interesting to realize what you can say with your body language and posture (consciously or unconsciously).
Probleempaarden
The Sun Dance Ranch is regularly offered horses that need a new home, often because they are ‘problem horses’ or because people simply don’t have time for them anymore and want to take them to the slaughterhouse without batting an eyelid. If there is a feeling that such a horse would fit in with the ranch or that we think we can find a new owner for it, we start the ‘project’.
Now it is usually the case that the problem is generally not with the horse but often with the (old) owner and the handling and communication towards the horse. The new horse is first slowly introduced to the herd and eventually a major problem is often solved because the horse can be a HORSE again and lives in the herd. They educate each other! Horsemanship, straightness training, well-fitting harness and honest correct handling and development is often the recipe for good functioning again (generally within a few months).
Once the horse has gone through all the steps with the instructors and trainees, he will also slowly be used for guests. And often these horses turn out to be really SUPER horses and happy with their ‘last chance’.
Of course the ranch can’t keep all the horses indefinitely. So every now and then a horse is for sale, but only if we think it will end up with a good loving owner who clicks with the horse.