We breed our mares to top quality stallions each year and look forward to the foals in the spring. It is exciting to see what the mares produce and fun to watch the babies grow and play. We sell the foals along the trail to help support our expedition, plus this introduces passing backpackers to horses.

The foals start out on the trail at an average of 4 to 5 months old. They tag along the trail on their own, loose, unless we are in a busy or dangerous area when they are roped (with a breakaway knot) to the adult pack horses. The expression on a backpacker’s face is worth a million when the foals walk up sniffing for gorp or trail mix. The nervousness gives way to curiosity and a bonding between man and horse begins. We feel that this may help some people get over their negativity towards horses.

Our Peruvian Paso mare was bred Valentine’s Day and we will be expecting a foal next spring. Since we are going into more populated and regulated wildernesses, we decided that two foals next year would be pushing it. We sold the Peruvian mare’s yearling and weanling fillies last summer to a Coos Bay couple we met along the trail who had dreamed of someday owning their own Peruvian Paso. We didn’t breed last year and this trip will miss having foals to tag along and entertain us while we ride.

We had decided to keep our yearling “Belknap” (pronounced Bell Nap). This little filly proved to us that she is going to be “one in a million!” She will be packing about 35 pounds on a burro-size sawbuck packsaddle. Being half American Quarter Horse and half Peruvian Paso, she shows the best of both worlds. She is extremely smart, well-mannered, and very trail-worthy. Her conformation is ideal: great legs, strong hooves, and a beautiful head. Her eye-catching color is bright chestnut with a white mane and flaxen tail. This striking combination draws attention everywhere we go.

Belknap is friendly and affectionate. She is becoming a real lady with no rude habits of playing rough or nipping. She calmly stands by for a little scratching. She stands quietly tied for hours on end, leads, trailers and is used to hobbling and the picket line. You can lift her legs with one finger and she waits while her hooves are trimmed. This filly has a nice little broken trot and should be a very smooth, strong ride. She packed about 450 miles last year and started the trip at 4 months old. She has crossed raging white-water rivers, large snow fields, walked along busy highways with 18-wheelers and motorcycles roaring past well above the speed limit, and has learned to swim, jump over logs and cross bridges! She has seen more than many adult horses.

Because of the hefty expense of buying a new Peruvian mule and a new Peruvian Paso gelding, we have decided to put Baby Belknap up for sale. This was a very difficult decision, having grown so close to her the thought of loosing a great horse is disturbing. We figure the price on this precious and unique filly will increase by $1000 per year for the next couple years of her training and when rideable, she will replace our bomb proof Quarter Horse mare. So if she sells, great. If not, we have a superb trail horse that is serving us well now and will be invaluable in the years ahead.