Our Horses
Another year rolls around and the excitement of seeing what foals we get in the spring is another reminder of why we are thankful the Good Lord has put us to tending some of the most beautiful creatures in His Creation. The horses He has blessed us with are definitely beautiful, colorful, classy, cowy, and athletic. We are proud to be an AQHA Ranching Heritage breeder and a selected breeder in the AQHA breeder referral program and have been breeding registered Quarter Horses since 1965. The Quarter Horses were preceded by model Quarter Horses, bucking horses, and homestead ranch horses all the way back to 1912 when our ranch was homesteaded.
Our goal is to produce the kind of horses we need; built correctly to last and give a smooth ride; smart & quick learners; great dispositions making them our friends & partners; fast and cowy to make working cattle fun and effective; and pretty! If a horse has these attributes, he can pretty much do anything anywhere.
We sell all of our horses private treaty year-round. We strive to have a good variety of young prospects available who are a ‘clean’ slate for horsemen to make into their best horse ever!
Our Mares:
It seems like with every mare we say she’s one of our best. They really are fantastic girls and each of them is one of the best. We hate to see the older ones go. That’s why they stay with us until we really can’t care for them any longer. We have some awesome old mares for sale if you want to feed them and get an incredible foal next spring. Most of our mares have at least had a few rides. Some were used until they suffered injury or were replaced by younger horses in our using string. They run in the hills year round and do not get hoof trimmings or extra feed. Their feet wear evenly because they are conformationally correct. Every one has feet and bone for longevity and usage. The girls are tough and durable and smart enough to live with predators and survive the harsh climate of eastern Montana which soars above 100 degrees in the summer and can easily drop below -40 degrees in the winter. They have endurance and speed and cow sense to be and produce the ideal ranch horse.
Our Stallions:
We currently have 2 stallions who are top notch and 2 young stallions coming up into our program. Our stallions all are able to be saddled in the pasture and ridden away from their mare bunch to go to work or to run in their mare band. They all are used for hand breeding as well as pasture breeding. They are ridden alongside each other and alongside mares to do ranch work and to ride in parades and everything in between. If the stallion can’t be safe and respectful and pleasant to be around, they are not welcome on our ranch.
Sanrose Blue Colonel, 2007 blue roan, is our premier senior stallion. Colonel is my favorite horse ever and an easy go-to horse for ranch work. Colonel spent the summer of 2010 in the Utah Reined Cowhorse. He showed exceptional cow for a two year old and handled well as a three year old. We are not into spending lots of money on showing and competing and chose to bring Colonel home to use on our ranch and make money for us from here. His foals have been fantastic. He is a great blessing to our ranch and program! We really aren’t finding anything to fault in his foals because they have the minds of professionals and are so good to work with!!! People absolutely love them and come back for more. Colonel is a great horse to use on the ranch with every aspect we expect in a great horse. We are loving his useful, smart, talented offspring who we use. He truly is the best horse ever! His daughters are definitely proving themselves in our program.
We are very excited about our 2018 model stallions. Can Man Fling is a 2018 red roan who is Tienna’s package of dreams. What a pair they are. “Camo’ will do anything for her and they can do a lot! Besides being a gold pedigreed horse with all the big names of barrel racing right on his papers, Camo has size and style and correctness. Best of all for this ranch family….he loves to work a cow! While we have a small group of very nice, well-bred barrel mares in his mare band, we also have some of our select ranch mares with him to make incredible roping prospects. Camo’s first foals were born in 2022. They were an outstanding start to what we know will be a successful and very popular offering from our program.
Reference sire Sugar Irish Oak was a deep cinching, solidly built bay roan, smaller than most of the horses on our place, but he had grit and try to work with the best of them. He had a unique personality, pretty little head, and big doe eyes. He was a quiet riding horse. We really like the foals we are getting from him. It’s an exciting cross with our Colonel daughters….lots of amazing blue roans! His first foal crop was in 2021 and they have been fantastic to start riding under saddle. We unexpectedly lost Irish September of 2023. His last foal crop for us was born in 2024.
Reference sire MRI Snips Spirit was the loving member of the family. He went to a new home and ministry in 2023. He is not only gorgeous, he’s a sweetheart and a character. Spirit is a standout buckskin roan grandson of Provocative Cowboy and son of Weavers Doc Ima Poco . You could “sip a glass of wine” while riding him. He throws color and his offspring are gritty and cowy and really work to get a job done. They are stylish and heavier bodied than our other horses. Spirit daughters crossed with Colonel have been some of our most popular horses. Spirit is truly missed on our ranch. He moved south and will serve in a ministry – what a perfect horse to share Jesus’s love with hurting souls! His last foal crop for us was born in 2024.
LHR Dun Vintage Smoke and MRI Blue Ladys Man are 2022 model stallions who will be started under saddle in 2024 and bred to a few mares each. We are excited about the future these two incredible horses promise.
Reference sire, Redeemed Lynx, is a 1998 black stallion who we stood for many years and sold to a warmer climate in the fall of 2016 where he could have it a bit easier in his old age. He was smart, sensitive, cowy, and very pretty. He also traveled very smoothly with good feet and legs and he had the ideal Quarter Horse head. His offspring are beauties and super to ride. His last foal crop for us was born in 2017.
Reference sire: We lost Provocative Cowboy in November, 2011, but you will notice that many of our mares are his daughters. They are amazing mares with ideal conformation & kind dispositions and their offspring make even better horses! Cowboy gave us a cross of speed and reining with the roan color. His daughters crossed with the cow horses that our current stallions are really make the perfect recipe for a fantastic ranch horse.
Another reference sire is the gorgeous 2006 palomino stallion, Tri the Pepsmoke, better known to us as Gunner. We leased Gunner for 2 summers. Gunner is a beautiful horse with a sweet disposition. His foals have good minds and good color. We retained 1 daughter for our program and she is truly a favorite of many!
How we run our horses:
Many people want to hear how we run our horses. Our mares are range mares and run at pasture year-round. They foal unassisted which means we do lose some to predators and spring storms that come up suddenly. The foals learn to travel over country and deal with rattlesnakes, rough country, and rough weather and drought. Generally, the foals are brought in about the first week of September for halter training and branding. The foals are fed in the corrals through the winter. The spring of their yearling year, we geld them and trim feet if needed and put them out to pasture. They stay at pasture until sold or brought in as 2 or 3 year olds for training. We realize our buyers like to make their own horses so we give them a great foundation of halter training and then try to handle them as little as possible. While they are not usually pets, they generally become very gentle and quiet soon after their training begins.
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We welcome you to come visit us at the ranch to see the horses. It is always best if you can ‘shake a horse’s hoof’ so-to-speak and see how you respond to each other. If you are unable to come to eastern Montana, then please call to let us know how we can help you. We will honestly tell you the good and not-so-good of each individual and help you find the horse that best fits your needs. We can also give you a list of our recommended haulers. We want you and our horses to be happy.
We have your next best friend ready to load in the trailer!
Repeat buyers have built our business. References are available upon request.
Guarantee:
Our horses are guaranteed for conformation and disposition when sold. These are animals…so we cannot guarantee each horse’s reaction to what you do with them or how you treat them.
Buyer assumes all responsibility at time of sale. We recommend you obtain insurance for your purchase
Mahlstedt Ranch, Inc. Registered Quarter Horses – Circle, Montana 406-939-1890 (Tana’s cell)