this article
reprinted by permission of Western Livestock Reporter, Fall Horse Edition, 2000
In the blood
by Pat Hansen
In the rolling hills and pine forests of the Bear Paw Mountains in central Montana, Stan
and Nancy Weaver and their family raise outstanding registered Quarter horses and Black
Angus cattle.
The Weavers have a commercial cow/calf operation with 350 mother cows as well as 85 Quarter
Horse brood mares. The horses on the Weaver Ranch are used to work cattle in all
phases of their operation. To be able to do this in the Bear Paw's rock country, the
horses not only must have bone, stamina and conformation, but they must possess the mind
and disposition to be able to do whatever is asked of them.
"The foundation-bred American Quarter Horse lives up to our expectations," Stan
states.
The Weaver family came to Montana in 1888 and has a long history of raising horses. Their
brand was recorded in 1889, and their children are the fifth generation to ride horses with
this brand. The present family operation 30 miles southeast of Big Sandy was
established by Stan's granddad, Elmer Weaver, in 1925 and expanded by his dad and himself
to its present 15,000 deeded acres.
Stan's father, Art Weaver, raised all the horses for the ranch, always having five or six
mares and a stallion. Art purchased his first registered Quarter Horse mare in
1959 -- a granddaughter of Poco Bueno, and they have been raising Quarter Horses ever
since.
"I've always tried to raise horses that are naturally cowy and have a lot of speed,
but most of all a good mind that is trainable," Stan says. He has concentrated on
foundation-bred bloodlines of Poco Bueno, King, Leo, Peppy San Badger, Colonel Freckles,
Driftwood, and Blackburn through Pretty Buck. "I also like a little Doc Bar, as
well as color in my horses and that is evident in our stallions."
The breeding program built by Weavers earned them the distinction of being named the
Montana Quarter Horse Association Ranch of the Year in 1997. The stallions used each
offer a different bloodline, but essentially round out the program. "Versatility
is important," Stan says. "Our horses have been used for trail horse
competition, ranch work, team penning, cutting and reining."
Ima Bit Of Heaven, a red roan son of Smart Little Lena, contributes both reining and
cutting blood as Smart Little Lena is a leading sire of cutting and reining cowhorses in
the nation. His grandfather, Doc O'Lena, is considered one of the greatest cutting
horses and cutting horse sires of all time.
 Weavers use two grandsons of Poco Bueno. Poco Ima Doc, a brown stallion out of a
Doc's Prescription mare, is easy going and a great rope and cow horse. His daughters
are proving to be exceptional brood mares. Poco Doc De Oro, a buckskin Poco Bueno
grandson, is a trained cutting and calf roping horse. He has taken several youths to
the National High School Finals.
"We purchased De Oro to intensify our Poco Bueno blood," Stan
explains. "He has excellent muscle, good bone and feet, and explosive speed."
Go Beckwith Roan, a Classy Bar and Tiny Watch-bred stallion, is a son of the late Beckwith
Dun. His colts have great minds, they are easy to train, yet are very cowy and
athletic. This big, red roan stallion always produces a lot of color. Doc Ima
Leo, stands 15.2 1/2 and weighs 1,285 in breeding condition and is a classic
buckskin. He sires colts with a lot of leg and bigger frames. This Dry Doc Leo
bred stallion sired the high selling weanling in the 1999 sale, going to Arizona as a rope
horse prospect.
New this year is PC Joes Frost, an own son of Sun Frost out of a Boon Bar mare. Weavers
are really high on this prospect because of his muscling and abundant athletic
ability. In addition to their own stallions, the Weavers usually AI five or six mares
with semen from outside stallions to incorporate new blood into their herd. The
outside stallions are selected from popular bloodlines to raise fillies that will cross
well with their own stallions.
Weavers market their horses annually on the third Sunday in September at a production sale
in Great Falls, Mont. Stan had wanted to put on a production sale for five years and
finally, in 1996, Weavers held their first production sale with the offspring of 20 brood
mares. During their first four sales, colts were sold to buyers in 26 states as well
as four countries: Canada, South Africa, Mexico and Australia. "We do not sell
anything by private treaty," Stan said. "The main focus of the sale is
weanlings, a product of our breeding program, but we sell a number of ranch-trained saddle
horses that have been used one or more years. About half have been raised at the
ranch, the others are horses we've purchased." Stan is proud of the fact that
all horses offered at the sale have new homes when the auction is over.
 One month before the fall production sale, the mares and weanlings are fed whole
oats. This allows the weanlings to adjust to leaving their mothers easier after
learning to eat with them.
With the combination of horses and cattle on the ranch, Stan has to work to keep everything
fed and watered as well as develop safe and sufficient areas for his livestock. During
this past dry summer, Stan was not as worried about having water for his livestock as he
was in 1988, another drought season.
"After that year we did some cross fencing and changing things around," he
explained. "We have 15 springs that we developed with stock tanks, and that has
paid off." The cross fencing also helped in their horse breeding program,
enabling them to separate their six stallions with specific mares.
The ranch is primarily dryland grass and hay, with only a small portion
irrigated. During the winter, the cattle are fed hay, and calving begins March
1. They have a calving shed and a lot of brush for protection from spring storms.
The mares winter on a big mountain behind their house where they graze cured grasses on a
windswept hillside. Although they are not fed hay, mineral is available to them
year-round, and in the spring the mares are in good physical condition. Foaling is
done in the field beginning April 25.
In addition to his ranching operation, Stan has been a contract cattle buyer for 20 years,
purchasing calves and yearlings throughout the state for feeders in the Midwest. His
cattle buying is done in the fall and he only buys cattle in the country. From his
experience with both cows and horses, Stan is quick to point out the
differences. "Breeding horses is a lot different than breeding cows. You
can test a bull's worth in two years, but it can take almost 10 years to test a
stallion. That's why stallion and mare selection is so important," states
Stan. "To be recognized as a top breeder it takes a lifetime and a great deal of
dedication. You commit yourself to it and follow through."
Stan and Nancy are very proud of the ranch, but admit one of the reasons for their success
is the closeness of the family. Their three children, KellyAnne, David and Daniel are
very involved in running the ranch and putting on the sale. At the sale each has
their specific job and again, the family works as a team.
KellyAnne, 23, graduated from St. Olaf College in Minnesota with a degree in Sports
Medicine and English. She is most involved with the breeding program and
foaling. David, 22, graduated this past spring from Montana State University with a
degree in Ag Business. He spent some time in Texas over the summer to calf rope at
several AQHA events, but returned home by Aug. 10 to help with halter breaking
foals. Daniel, 17, is a senior at Big Sandy High School. He, too, works with
the weanlings and runs the haying in the summer.
For relaxation, the family enjoys looking at horses, and a vacation may find them at the
National Finals Rodeo. "Horses are what we do, and once they are in your blood
it's hard to get away from them, even on vacation," Stan says.
"We like to look at other people's horses as much as we like to look at
ours," Nancy confesses.
Weavers enjoy having people visit their ranch and look at the horses, and encourage anyone
interested to give them a call at 1-406-378-2600 or check out their website at
www.WeaverHorses.com.
 |
