Fort Benton horse breeder believes in functionality of Quarter horses

By ANGELA WOOLETT, For The Prairie Star
Saturday, February 2, 2008 3:08 PM MST

A filly from the Brandt's beloved Beau stud. Photo courtesy of the Brandt family.

FORT BENTON, Mont. - Wendy Brandt has known that she wanted to raise horsessince she was 4 years old, when she received her first horse, that she named Fireball XL5. Even at such a young age, she knew the majestic beauty would always be a part of her life.

And, they are.

Wendy and her husband, Dean, own Rocking Diamond B Quarter horses in Ft. Benton, Mont and have been breeding horses for more than 20 years.

“We've always loved horses,” said Wendy. “The Quarter horse is the most versatile of all horses - you can do so much with a Quarter horse.”

Although as a breed, the American Quarter horses have evolved into a more specialized horse. The Brandts got into the business because the breed is the all-around horse breed. The one thing they as breeders have changed with that evolution is adding more speed. Wendy said she got tired of going to different competitions and watching the cows outrun the horses.

Now, they raise American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) registered horses based on speed, athletic ability and disposition. They are not only pretty, but functional.

The Brandts always knew they wanted horses, but did not realize they wanted to be breeders until the first time they took their mare to be bred. “She was my baby,” said Wendy. “And, I didn't think she was babied enough.”

They decided it would be simpler to breed their own rather than hauling mares all over and worrying about them. Thus, they bought their first stallion. He lived to be 24 years old and sired eight foals his last year.

In the meantime, they had also gotten a replacement stud.

“He was a young whippersnapper,” said Wendy of her beloved Beau.

Wendy had Beau's breeder send pedigrees to her and she picked him out on paper at 1 month old. Then at 2 months she chose him in person. She has been a part of his life almost since the beginning.

Before even riding him, Wendy signed up to show Beau in AQHA Ranch Versatility. Alas, she “chickened out” and had her daughter, Heidi, ride him. Although Heidi had never ridden him in halter, trail, ranch pleasure, cutting cattle and working cowhorse events, Beau, who had never been around cattle, took fourth in open AQHA out of 12.

“Everyone else in that class was a professional trainer,” said Wendy. “That just shows how great he is.”

They sent him to reining training and in less than a year he showed eight times AQHA and won six of those. He also was reserve champion open horse novice MRHA.

In addition, Heidi competed on him in rodeo events for three months. Beau placed third at the district competition in goat tying. She also took him in a small open barrel race and he won that.

Wendy has shown Beau twice. He took second at a Quarterhorse show and won open Western Pleasure. “Beau's foals have so much natural cow and they have so much natural personality,” said Wendy.

The Brandts now stand two stallions. Beau Bar Prestige is a dun reining stallion and proven producer while Go Kaweah Go is a AAA grandson of Dash for Cash. They were selected for pedigree, disposition, athleticism and the ability to produce the same.

Go Kaweah Go was added because the Brandt daughters really like the speed events of barrels and roping. This stud produces versatile offspring that have nearly all been placed with barrel horse owners, who are planning to barrel race these babies.

The Brandts have crossed him on two of Beau's fillies and just love the cross. “The purpose of that is to create a good all-around arena horse,” said Wendy.

Fort Benton is primarily farmland so finding a place to raise horses was a challenge. But, eventually the Brandts were able to find land for their horse business. They now have just under 50 acres of land on which to breed and raise horses.

The Brandts used to put up their own hay, but now they graze the alfalfa. Their equine veterinarian Jack Newman of Great Falls, Mont., suggested they graze the alfalfa and buy hay like the Washington thoroughbred breeders do. “The ideal scenario for grazing alfalfa is a bred mare that has a foal at side,” explained Wendy.

One really has to watch for complications when grazing alfalfa, so Wendy checks the horses daily, pulls them off and puts them on hay if necessary. “You don't want a fat horse out eating alfalfa,” she said.

The Brandts horse business is a family business, and daughters Heather and Heidi continue to stay involved even though they have moved on to Bozeman, Mont., and have began careers of their own.

“If it happens that I end up with a 2-year-old that hasn't been sold, I'll send it down to them,” said Wendy. The girls will then work with the horse until it sells. But most sell as weanlings or yearlings, she explained.

Husband, Dean, is the “jack of all trades.” He is in charge of teaching the foals to load into trailers and uses the John Lyons meth-od. The horses might not leave the Brandts' place for a very long time, but when they do they load easily because of this method.

Dean also hauls in all the hay, does all the fencing, and has made the round pen, the arena, and the mare “motel.”

“He's got the most patience in the world,” said Wendy. “He is the official trailer loader.”

The Brandts' broodmares have been chosen to complement the stallions and give well-rounded horses.

Most are daughters or granddaughters of AQHA champions or are proven racehorses.

Mares that are brought in are penned individually in the “mare motel” and hand bred for safety. All of the foals are kept in a pen during the breeding process. The Brandts want a mare in foal to be safe and ready to return home quickly.

Most years they breed between 20 and 30 outside mares, and this year they are expecting seven foals of their own. They plan to scale down the number of outside mares they bring in this year because they want to more time for other activities.

In addition to raising registered Quarter horses, the Brandts are kept busy with their Montana Metal Fabrications business.

Also, Wendy wants more opportunities to ride her own horses, finish training the ones that are green broke and hopefully show some of them to gain more experience.

“I'm just looking to raise some quality babies,” she said. “Our goal is that each generation is better than the generation behind it. If it's not, you're doing something wrong.”

Throughout their time in horse breeding, the Brandts have continued to upgrade their broodmares. In the beginning they bought animals they liked for riding and their bloodlines. Today, they try to have mares that are the daughter of a super proven horse or have produced proven offspring.

“We would like to have six really good broodmares,” said Wendy, explaining they would like to cut back from their usual 12 to 16 broodmares. We have never been about quantity. We are about quality.”

Last year, they bought a 17-year-old mare who, although not proven herself, produces proven offspring. What Wendy wants is a demand for her foals because they are full brothers or sisters to a proven horse.

In the current soft horse market, Wendy is selling her foals at her stud fee or one and half times her stud fee when usually the price for foals is double her stud fee.

Wendy continues to believe in the functionality of her animals. “You can have the best pedigree in the world, the best conformation, the best looking horse around, but if you do not have the mind on that animal you have nothing still,” she said. “As we all know the disposition and heart of the horse will get the job done.” 

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