Flying H
Ranch, home of Bucks and Spurs Guest Ranch, is a 700 acres
cattle and horse ranch in the verdant Ozark Mountains of Missouri.
Owners C. and Sonny Huff offer horseback riding and cowboy
vacations with options for every guest -- from relaxation to high
adventure. Guests stay in a secluded 3-bedroom lodge or 2-bedroom
cabin.
Bucks and
Spurs is one of our featured farms of the month, and their guest testimonials
agree that it's a pretty special place. We were fortunate enough to
interview C. and Sonny, and get the inside scoop on their ranch and
natural horsemanship program. Here's the interview.
1. Could you tell us a bit about your ranch? What's it like
there?
C. & Sonny: We hope you will read the blogs on our web
site as they have a lot of descriptions from guests. The ranch is a
working facility with Angus cattle and horses. It borders the Big
Beaver Creek that offers great fishing and floating options. The
terrain is rocky with bluffs, cannons, and meadow and open
fields.
2. What kinds of experiences do you offer your guests?
C. & Sonny: We offer a lot of riding -- relaxing trail
rides and adventurous wilderness rides. We ride through the cattle
herd for health checks and move them to fresh pasture. We book
stays for the novice rider right up to those very experienced horse
trainers. We also offer our own Flying H Natural Horsemanship
Program for those that express interest.
3. You pride yourselves in your Natural Horsemanship Program.
What's natural horsemanship?
C. & Sonny: Our own Flying H Natural Horsemanship
Program teaches communication skills andoffers the horse a chance
to respond to the slightest signal.
4. What do participants learn and do?
C. & Sonny: Participants from the beginner to advanced horse
handler learn to be light-handed using reins and bit last and both
have a chance to earn friendship and respect.
5. How did you develop the Natural Horsemanship Program? How
did you learn to be a 'Horse Whisperer'?
C. & Sonny:C. grow up in a horse-loving family and just
always had a very natural way with horses. We began studying Monty
Roberts and realized that what C. was doing with his own horses was
called Natural Horsemanship. Then we included in our research and
study some John Lyons, Pat Parelli, Clinton Anderson Larry Trocha
and others while developing our own Flying H Natural Horsemanship
Program that has been approved by some colleges for Equine
Internship Credits.
6. What's special and different about Missouri Fox Trotter
horses?
C. & Sonny: Stamina and the Fox Trotting Gait offers a
smooth ride and they are so versatile, we use them as our ranch
horses for cattle drives, cutting, roping, sorting and penning.
7. Could you tell us about the Angus cattle you raise?
C. & Sonny: They are the BEST. We have improved our
herd with embryo transfers and an AI program. We sold our first
Embryos this year. Our goal is to have bulls and females in the top
5% of the Black Angus breed for the major traits related to
performance, maternal and carcass EPDs. We are excited about our
adventure into the Angus business. We feel that this exciting
opportunity will further our commitment toward producing the right
kind of cattle that meet with our customers demands. We
hand-selected every female in our Angus program from the breed's
most proven and progressive Angus operations. We feel fortunate
that many of the Angus breed's most popular and high-dollar
generating females are now home at Flying H Ranch, home of DHT
Angus and Bucks and Spurs Guest Ranch.
8. You've been in ranching for many years ...
what's changed about cattle and horse ranching, and what's stayed
the same?
C. & Sonny: C. grow up farming and ranching near our
present ranch. Sonny was new to the business ... 40 years ago.
Technological advancements have allowed us an astonishing ability
to track herd quality. The long hours and hard work required to run
livestock hasn't changed and neither has Mother Nature!
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For more information on Bucks and Spurs Guest Ranch, check out
their Farm
Stay U.S. listing and their website http://www.bucksandspurs.com/