Woodhaven Farm in Ozark, Mo., truly is a haven for horses. The long, uphill drive is bordered by pastures full of peaceful grazing broodmares and their foals. At the end of the drive, you’ll find David and Marti Wood and their two children, Kyah and Trey Schumaker, owners and operators of Woodhaven Farm, an equine business venture that has been a work in progress since March of 2011.
David Wood, a retired military man with 29 years of active and reserved service and three combat deployments under his belt, has always had a lifelong interest in horses. “I grew up with them,” he recalled fondly. After retiring from the military, David wanted to own horses again and revisit his interest in equines. He purchased a couple of mares to have around and in March of 2011, he and his wife, Marti, began to envision turning their hobby into a business. “We decided to see if we could take it and make it a money making enterprise,” said David. Today, Woodhaven owns 13 horses, including the stallion Obvious Showtime, and they specialize in breeding, leasing and sales.
David and Marti like to work with the Impressive bloodline – they strive to produce good quality horseflesh with a family friendly temperament, and horses from this line fit their needs. No outside studs are used in Woodhaven’s breeding program – the Woods’ use only Obvious Showtime to cover their mares. Outside mares, however, can be bred to this handsome stallion. Leasing horses is another service Woodhaven offers – a service that David feels, in this area, is “under-utilized and underserved.” Leasing horses is a fantastic option for people who may not have the space or the resources to own a horse, but still want to ride. Woodhaven provides superior horses for equine enthusiasts to lease.
Woodhaven’s equine feeding program follows the “forage first” mantra. Pasture is the primary feed source for the herd. The Woods’ use the rotational grazing practice, moving the horses every week to one of their five pastures. Rotational grazing makes for a more sustainable use of the land and keeps soil and forage in good shape. Obvious Showtime is fed a ration of Strategy, and pregnant and lactating mares are also fed grain and vitamin supplements to keep them in good condition. Salt and mineral blocks are provided to the horses to round out the feeding program. Horses at Woodhaven are vaccinated yearly for five-way and West Nile Virus, and they are dewormed quarterly.
It is essential to David and Marti that their horses be gentle and friendly – especially to younger children. Foals are imprint trained from the day they are born and all the horses are desensitized and trained using natural horsemanship methods. Each horse is evaluated on their personality; “There are things about each horse you can appreciate,” David said. One of the favorite horses at Woodhaven is a black colt with four white stockings named Ima Cool Voodoo. “I’ve never been around a baby like that from day one,” said Marti. “He’s amazing. My kids can hang on his neck.”
When it comes to equine breeding, David said the best thing you can do is to, “look at what works.” Whatever trait or discipline you are breeding for, you need to, “buy accordingly and stick to what works.” Woodhaven plans to stick to the Impressive bloodline, and to keep building up their equine operation. A barn expansion, an indoor arena and some new babies are all in the works for this ‘impressive’ equine haven.
