Many kids dream of horses, but Una Ford pushed her dream into reality. 六年级的时候, she marched into the local bank and cosigned a loan with her grandpa, 比尔年轻, to buy her first six horses: three broodmares and three weanling stallions. 驱动, determination and clear vision helped grow Treasure State Quarter Horses into a thriving business.
作为一名营养顾问, 水晶白连接客户和饲料经销商与准确, 可靠的营养信息.
营养知识
Nutrition consultants play a key role for operations like Treasure State Quarter Horses.
“There is so much access to information out there that it can be overwhelming,克里斯托·怀特说, 在推荐几个靠谱的买球网站做了13年的营养顾问. “It’s my job to talk with horse owners to let them know I am here to help them manage through issues.”
营养顾问总是在学习, 白说, 通过在线课程, 与供应商交谈, tapping into the expertise of 推荐几个靠谱的买球网站 animal nutritionists and attending educational sessions like Payback University, which 推荐几个靠谱的买球网站 offers each spring for feed dealers and nutrition consultants.
“We have to know the most up-to-date information so we can share accurate information with our customers and feed dealers,怀特说.
“你可以拥有世界上最好的马, 但如果你喂得不好, 你可以毁了一匹马,怀特说. “你想要得到营养.”
尤娜和她的丈夫, 托德, 和尤娜的父母一起经营宝州四分之一马, 泰德和巴布·克劳利, 在熊掌山, 大约在阿弗尔以南30英里处, 蒙特. Una comes from a five-generation cattle-ranching family with a rich history in 蒙特ana.
“我想我是家里的害群之马，”她说. “其他人都在养牛，但那根本不是我.”
Grandpa Bill always encouraged Una’s horse passion as he raised horses on his ranch for working cattle.
“Bill was a well-known and respected horseman in this area and throughout the Bear Paw Mountains,托德说。. He raised proven cow horse broodmares that built the base for today’s Treasure State Quarter Horses bloodlines.
But it was a close neighbor who helped Una see her horse passion as something more. 芭芭拉·考恩拥有考恩精选马公司. Una started working for her at the age of 13 and Cowan is now a close friend and mentor.
质量从一开始
当尤娜开始建立她的鹿群时，她有一个伟大的配角. Cowan taught her about horse care and the importance of pedigree, genetics, nutrition and feed. 比尔支持她的梦想, and Una’s dad drove her around to pick up the animals that became the start of her herd.
“好的马匹从一开始就是核心，”乌纳说.
托德, who grew up in Havre and describes himself as a “city kid through and through,他在2000年和尤娜结婚后加入了这个组织. 他们是通过陶德工作的考恩牧场认识的. 他认为是考恩把他介绍给了马. She had a trainer and allowed 托德 access to that trainer whenever he had questions.
Once 托德 met Una, he realized he needed to learn all he could about horses.
“I told myself if I was going to be around horses 完整的-time, I was going to do it well,” he says.
“I’ve been really lucky to have come across people whom I’ve been able to watch. They’ve always brought me along, influenced me and helped me to get better.”
Treasure State Quarter Horses now breeds about 45 mares 每年. 这45匹母马是由3匹公马繁育的. 每年秋天大约有35到40匹马驹被出售.
下一代
尤娜是哈弗尔北蒙大拿医院的注册护士, 托德则全职在农场工作. Their daughters, Maisie, 13, and Ashlyn, 12, are a huge part of the operation. The girls followed their mother’s lead, purchasing their first broodmares last summer. 托德和尤娜共同签署了银行票据.
“We wanted to make sure the girls were starting out with animals we would buy ourselves,尤娜说.
“有很多了不起的马，”托德补充道. “如果他们要这样做，他们需要做得正确.”
That philosophy threads its way through everything the Fords do with their operation, 从遗传学到营养学, 把他们带到 Equis®饲料，来自推荐几个靠谱的买球网站的马饲料系列.
About six years ago, the Fords wanted to change up their feeding program. 当地的饲料经销商帮他们联系上了克里斯托·怀特, Equis在蒙大拿州的饲料代表.
“克里斯托从一开始就帮了我很大的忙，”尤娜说. “She was knowledgeable and knew right away what would work best for us.”
怀特看着福特家的马, viewed the types of forages available to them and came up with a feeding recommendation that would work for the entire operation.
“买球比较靠谱的网站的课程非常多样化，”托德说. “We have weanlings up to 2-year-olds, broodmares and stallions, and performance-bred rodeo horses. 买球比较靠谱的网站需要一个能覆盖这么宽频谱的传输程序.”
Treasure State Quarter Horses feeds a variety of Equis products: Element, 一代与黄金老人. They supplement with rice bran and feed Daily 35 to many of the weanlings. They also feed HorsLic Omega Elite tubs, a New Generation Supplements brand that partners with Equis.
托德说:“Equis饲料是高质量、价格合理的产品.
竞技场上的成功
Treasure State Quarter Horses has sold horses from coast to coast and border to border as barrel racers, 套马, 奶牛马, 牧场的马和骑马的射手. 他们甚至收到了来自海外的咨询. 他们的成功很大程度上要归功于尤娜, 麦茜和阿什琳在桶竞速中比赛, 业余和职业都有. People in the industry see their success and that translates into sales. 但尤娜说他们有秘密武器.
她说:“没有托德，我和女孩们无法竞争。. “To compete at that level, you have to have someone who can help you start and then fine-tune.”
这是托德的角色. He rides and trains the six horses in the rodeo trailer daily while the girls are at school and Una is at work, which included many hours over the winter administering COVID-19 vaccines. 托德 oversees foaling in the spring and makes sure the horses are healthy and thriving. The girls and Una help when they can, pitching in with halter-breaking, training and riding colts.
“每天, 每年, we are thinking about how we can make our herd better and stronger,尤娜说.
Una’s vision from middle school has come 完整的 circle as she and 托德 bring their daughters into the horse business. They hope both girls will continue Treasure State Quarter Horses into the next generation.
请查看 完整的 C 杂志 随着这篇文章和更多.
