Horse for the Holidays

Hard to believe 2023 is almost over. Happily, our mild early winter weeks have helped buoy spirits here at Ranch 61, as everyone has had to take on more work than they should while the barn owner recovers from two joint replacements in three months. (Kind of inconsiderate, wouldn’t you say?)

An owner away from the barn for weeks at a time has meant more hours and many double shifts for endlessly patient barn manager Ellen. It has also meant weeks of very early mornings for Michael, who has had to feed, turnout and clean before dawn and after work, despite not having exactly signed up for all this two years ago, when he and his pre-joint-replacement partner first looked out across the then-verdant fields of Ranch 61 before there were any horses on them, and said, “Sure, I could live here—just as long as the Internet’s fast.” (Oops again—Maybe fiber, or even just Spectrum, will make it out here next year?)

Fast-forward two years. Those verdant pastures are now almost entirely mud, and they’re dotted with half-ton animals that require hours of care morning and night, 365 days a year. Happily, Michael has become a master horse handler (And also manure shoveler, arena dragger, fence fixer, horse wormer, etc., etc.). He’s also weirdly skilled at getting difficult horses onto trailers. (“I don’t know enough to know to be worried about it,” he said the last time he easily loaded a problem horse before his owner even had a chance to escalate tensions with preemptive nervousness.)

Thanks also to our five wonderful horse moms who have all pitched in by cleaning stalls, moving horses, checking for barn cats and closing things down for the night without even being asked. These committed horse moms have also done an awesome job of keeping the barn owner up on barn events and horse antics—some even involving non-off-track thoroughbreds!

Like a few of the girls here at Ranch 61, Blondie, who can come and go from her stall while on turnout, likes to save her business for inside the stall. Why not, when it means more bonding time with the barn manager?!

Which is not to say we don’t adore Ranch 61’s two resident thoroughbreds, Scout and William, who, despite their tendency to keep the excitement levels high here at Ranch 61, are also among the biggest sweethearts in the barn.

Despite his OTTB status, sweet William, Ranch 61’s most eligible bachelor, can be a real gentleman.
(Video by his mom Ellen.)

Regardless of breed, there’s never a dull moment when you’re working with horses. But horse people know that whatever crap they leave you to clean up, horses more than make up for it in pure personality and, in some cases, sheer terror.

Although we horse folks may curse the excitement in the moment, we all know it’s the exciting times that build our skills and confidence, making us better riders and people. (And also prematurely wearing out the hip and knee joints of those of us who’ve taken a few too many falls!) Whether horse-related or not, keep safety your top priority this festive season.

Happy holidays from the Ranch 61 family! Here’s to a healthy 2024 with less down time, more good weather—and (for Michael) maybe even fiber Internet.

—SK

Ranch Merch on the March

Farmer’s market season is over. But you can still buy fresh finds online!

Buy curious? Check out Ranch 61 Mercantile, the new Ranch 61 shop, which soft launched recently. Though we’re still hard at work adding inventory, you can shop—and buy—right now!

Silver horseshoe charm earrings at
Ranch 61 Mercantile.

(Desktop visitors, just click on “Ranch 61 Mercantile” in the upper right corner of the Ranch 61 homepage. On mobile devices, scroll to “Ranch 61 Mercantile” from the menu link in the upper right corner of your screen.)

Ranch 61 Mercantile is a continuation of our work at the Sunbury Farmer’s Market over the summer. (Ranch 61 will have a hand in farmer’s market planning next year, so stay tuned!)

From May through September, we enjoyed meeting and making new Ranch 61 fans through our handmade jewelry enterprise, Smallest Planet, where we’ve been selling on Etsy for almost a decade. (Check out the Etsy shop too!) Next year, you’ll find far more under the Ranch 61 banner, from fresh produce and eggs to farm goods and ranch-inspired crafts—all of it handmade by the Ranch 61 team.

Hope you like what you see, and come back often to explore the latest offerings. The farmer’s market may be closed, but the farm is always open!

—SK

Cold Comfort

It’s the end of another cycle, the end of the easy seasons. Next up: winter.

The first frost is upon us here at Ranch 61, and it fills me with both dread and melancholy.

During my first couple years here in Central Ohio, in almost every season, in response to almost any kind of weather phenomenon, I heard a similar refrain:

“Welcome to miserable Ohio winters.”

“Get ready for Ohio in March—nothing but mud!”

“Oh these horrible humid summer days in Ohio. Can’t wait ’till winter!”

No matter the time of year, the natives always made it sound agonizing.

Far as I’m concerned, no one has a right to complain about the weather unless they actually work in it. Daily. Work in a barn in February anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon line, and you know what I mean.

It’s one thing to suffer cold toes on your morning walk from the commuter lot to the train. But it’s quite another to dump, rinse and refill a dozen 40-pound ice-bound water buckets and to wrestle endless frozen-shut gate latches with fingers so cold you can’t feel them, only to later make the morning’s pasture rounds like a lunatic with a hammer, trying to crack the top few inches of ice off all the stock tanks so the animals can drink.

Fall is fine. There are those gorgeous crisp fall days.

An early winter snowstorm can be magical. And of course, the first winter freeze kills the flies.

Most barn folk say they don’t mind skipping winter. But if we somehow successfully did, you know there’d always be some smartass with another one of those familiar local refrains. Something like: “I like the change of seasons.”

… At least until they change again.

—SK

Meet the Barn Manager

Though the animals think they’re in charge, Ellen McCumber keeps Ranch 61 running.

Horses are beautiful, majestic animals. There’s nothing quite like watching them run. And buck. And scare themselves silly. “I’ve seen horses do some of the funniest things,” Ellen says. “From being scared by their own farts and running away, to getting stuck in a giant hay feeder, to licking my dogs.”

Holding onto Summer: Winter is the worst part of barn work, says Ellen (savoring the season with Summer the Welsummer chicken).

A Cleveland native, Ellen has been around horses since childhood, when her older sisters started lessons. She started lessons herself at 6 and eventually captained her Roanoke College IHSA equestrian team. She has worked and trained at both hunter jumper and dressage barns. She even worked with an Olympic dressage rider’s horses.

Ellen’s current horse William holds special status around Ranch 61 as the sole gelding among a half-dozen mares—all of whom are in love with him. William, who charms human barn visitors with his lolling tongue and fondness for iced coffee drinks, has something strange in common with Ellen’s first horse Ben: only one eye. (We don’t suspect foul play—although we do suspect some fowl play: See photo above.)

Ellen rescued William, a 21-year-old off-track thoroughbred, a few years back. William is one of four equine rescues now living the good life at Ranch 61.

Asked the worst thing about managing a barn in Ohio, Ellen says, “Winter. Trying to keep hoses from freezing, making sure horses are comfortable, and making sure no one (me included) wipes out on ice. This list goes on.”

Happily, the good part of barn management outweighs the bad. “I get to be around horses—and my horse—a lot,” she says. “I love being involved in routine vet care, farrier visits and the overall wellness of horses.”

Though we don’t do horse shows here at Ranch 61 (yet!), there’s always something fun to see at the barn. “It’s a never ending comedy show with horses,” Ellen says. “That’s why I love them so much.”

— SK