A Land Filled With Horses

This true horse-rescue story reveals the good in human nature when people step in to help the less fortunate overcome adversity. When the partnership for a well-respected sporthorse breeding program ended, one partner took his share of the horses and reestablished his successful breeding business in a new location. The other partner turned out the remaining horses on the 800-acre Yanci Ranch in Northern California and let them free-breed. Top-quality Appaloosas, Percherons and sporthorses immediately began producing offspring in a Wild West setting, resulting in hundreds of horses of all different sizes and colors, running free in the Coast Range foothills. The horses were semi-feral and lived off the land. Eventually there was a drought on the secluded ranch which resulted in a lack of pasture grass to support all the horses. The desperately hungry animals broke through the fences to find food. At that point, the plight of the hidden herd became evident, and some kind-hearted people stepped in to help. This compelling story reveals what happened behind the scenes at the remote property. The reader will get an inside look at an animal-rescue operation, and gain a deeper understanding about what it takes to help those in need.

This true horse-rescue story reveals the good in human nature when people step in to help the less fortunate overcome adversity. When the partnership for a well-respected sporthorse breeding program ended, one partner took his share of the horses and reestablished his successful breeding business in a new location. The other partner turned out the remaining horses on the 800-acre Yanci Ranch in Northern California and let them free-breed. Top-quality Appaloosas, Percherons and sporthorses immediately began producing offspring in a Wild West setting. Gradually other breeds of horses were introduced into the herd, resulting in hundreds of horses of all different sizes and colors, running free in the Coast Range foothills. The horses were semi-feral and lived off the land, and over the years, the landowners would send some of them to auctions. Eventually there was a drought on the secluded ranch which resulted in a lack of pasture grass to support all the horses. The desperately hungry animals broke through the fences to find food. At that point, the plight of the hidden herd became evident, and some kind-hearted people stepped in to help. This compelling story reveals what happened behind the scenes at the remote property. The reader will get an inside look at an animal-rescue operation, and gain a deeper understanding about what it takes to help those in need.

Robyn Rominger is an author and agricultural journalist based in Northern California. She has spent more than three decades writing about all aspects of agriculture for publications across the United States. Robyn has written extensively about livestock production issues in the American West. The expertise she gained, coupled with her passion for local history and horses, made the author a prominent local historian.