MARCH 1995 BACK ISSUE

Part of Horse Previews Magazine website. Posted on 3/1/95; 10:00:00 AM.

Facility Spotlight: Elkhorn Ranch

This month, Horse Previews is featuring Elkhorn Ranch, the Quarter Horse and Paint breeding ranch owned by Budd & Joanne Brittain. Elkhorn Ranch is located north of Elk, Washington, about 25 miles from Spokane, off Highway 2 on Old State Road. During my visit, Budd often stressed quality over quantity. He also values good relations with his friends, neighbors and customers over making money.

Both Budd and Joanne work full time besides running their horse ranch. "We stay very busy, but we stay out of trouble," he said. Budd is a certified PRAC announcer and judge who picked up much of his knowledge on the rodeo circuit. Joanne was raised around horses in Lewiston, Idaho. She bred horses for 8 years on a 600 acre ranch in Australia before she met Budd.

Marketing and knowledge are an important part of their operation in addition to breeding. People from all over the Western United States call Budd looking for information about riding horses and breeding. Many times Budd has matched the right horse with the right owner. "I try to put people together with the horse they need," Budd said, "which isn't necessarily always the horse they want. I've sold horses from $25 to $25,000," he said, "I've sold some for less than I paid for them." He told the story of a paraplegic rider who needed a horse to get around. He sold her a horse for far less than he paid for it. "If you do a good deed like that, it comes back to you sooner or later."

When selecting a breeder, Budd said "It's important to know who you're dealing with. Check the background and knowledge of the person. You pay a little more at a breeding ranch because of higher overhead, but they generally have better knowledge of horses and breeding, and a better understanding of the market and who is buying their horses." He said, raising horses is like anything else, "It's not what you do, but how you go about it."

The foals born at Elkhorn start bonding with humans at birth. "Horses have their own body language. You have to treat horses like children," Budd said. "Treat them gentle and teach them good manners, but don't baby 'em. We imprint all our foals to ensure they're well mannered and start the bonding process." He is very proud of how calm his stallions are and often demonstrates this by bringing his horses in the house and out on the deck. "A good mind is the most important thing for any horse, regardless of breed."

Elkhorn Ranch is eight acres and the Brittains lease another 100 acres for pasture and training. They are building a new barn this Spring with about six stalls. They've been breeding horses here for about 5 years. "It'll all be paid for soon and the horses have paid for this place." he said. The Brittains breed 70-80 outside mares per year and 10-20 of their own mares.

"The Paint horse market will be strong for at least the next 20 years." Budd said. "Color is a popular trend in many breeds." Portland State University Spotted Horse Research Group has contributed much to the understanding of the Tobiano Spotted Horses. Budd has studied Paint horse genetics and he is a noted authority on the subject. He gets calls from all over the country from people looking for information on Paint genetics. They also hold free Paint clinics open to anyone who is interested.

For 1995, Elkhorn Ranch is standing 3 stallions: Prescription Medic, Moon-Hawke and Billys Black Shoes. Their stallion, Prescription Medic, is a descendent of the famous champion Doc Bar. Billys Black Shoes is a homozygous gened Tobiano and a 100% color producer. His double Tobiano gene ensures that he will always pass on the dominant color gene to all his foals, producing a Tobiano foal, no matter if the mare he breeds with has color or not. Proven homozygous foals are very valuable. By breeding Billy, their homo- zygous stallion, with their homozygous mares, they will produce 100% homozygous foals, most of whom are already reserved for this year.

For more information on Elkhorn Ranch, Paint breeding or Quarter Horses for sale, call (509)292-8747 or write Budd Brittain, 872 Old State Road, Elk, WA 99009. Visitors are welcome; "The coffee's always hot."

-Scott Larson, Exchange Publishing