Hands-down the friendliest horse in our string, and possibly on all of Red Mountain, is Axel. 

Axel came to us with a checkered but brief past — he was part of a breeding herd in Montana that the owner dumped in the wilderness.  The broodmares all carried their foals (including Axel) through borderline starvation before authorities seized the herd.  Shortly after settling in to a “foster” home, the mares foaled. 

Feed me!

 We brought Axel home as a fuzzy, muddy, tiny, scared weanling.  We started riding him as a three-year-old and he acted like he’d been wearing a saddle all of his life.  A mischievous prankster in the field with the other horses, Axel is happiest spending his time with his chin resting on your shoulder while you scratch him. 

Our favorite thing about Axel is his friendliness toward people – he’s pretty much a one-horse welcoming committee at the hitching rails. 

Be sure to visit him at the hitching rails as he learns the ropes of being a lead horse. 

I first met Yukon in the fall of 2012.  My primary horse (Wrigley) had a cold and I needed to borrow a horse to gather and sort cattle.  (Yup, horses get colds — complete with coughing and a runny nose.)

My friend loaned me his horse, Yukon.  Yukon and I spent the day rounding up cattle — flushing them from the sage, turning back the more stubborn-minded ones, and dashing across the fields to get the job done.  Yukon was rock-solid the whole time.  I could tell he took his job seriously.  Later, when my friend offered Yukon as an addition to our string, I jumped at the chance!

Yukon likes to have a job. Whether he’s chasing cattle through the sagebrush or taking a rider for her first horse ride, he has a quiet, practical sensibility about him.  He is semi-retired from ranch work now, and is enjoying life as a trail horse on Red Mountain.