Clydesdales are the center of attention on this Southwest Missouri Farm
MARSHFIELD, MO. – As a 12 year old girl, Taylor Gerth took riding lessons, growing up in the area near Hollister, Mo., but back then she never imagined that one day she would be the owner of one of the largest and best known breeds of draft horses – Clydesdales. It was at that riding stable that she met her husband, Garrett as the barn where she took lessons was owned by his uncle. She started there, learning to ride quarter horses and today, she and Garrett own two quarter horses as well as her Clydesdales. Garrett has always been around horses, she explained and today he works in construction, primarily carpentry.
“I work as a full-time veterinary assistant at the Animal Medical Center here in Marshfield,” Taylor shared. Located in Webster County, they have had Gerth Farms which encompasses 20 acres since 2016. “My first Clydesdale was one that had never been touched or worked with. He was five years old and it took us two hours to get him into the trailer,” she added with a laugh. “I worked with him and ended up trading him for a tractor because that’s what we really needed here at the time. I knew I wanted to raise babies so Garrett bought me my first mare for Mother’s Day that year.”
She continued. “We get all of our Clydesdales from High Country Clydesdales in Colorado. They’ve taught me a lot about driving with the wagons with these big horses and I stay in touch with them. I’ve also worked with Chadeau Mountain Clydesdales out of Greenfield, Mo. and they have also helped me so much, teaching me a lot about breeding.”
Taylor shared that she and her daughters, Kinley age 8 and Elaine age 3 have found life with Clydesdales to be great fun. “At the moment, we have three Clydesdales and one cross colt, half Clydesdale and half quarter horse. We offer wagon rides here at our farm and people also come out to ride. We’ve done parades and we offer weddings, depending on the venue. We’ve done wagon rides at the Fordland Wild West Days, which is a craft festival so we are always looking for events like that.”
She continued, explaining that the care of Clydesdales presents some unique challenges, based on their size and other characteristics.
“There is the care of their hair, called feathers around their feet and they also require more hoof care in terms of the regular trimming just because their feet are so big. And that of course makes for more expense. The same is true about all of their equipment such as the harnesses. It’s bigger and therefore, more expensive. We have a wagon right now and I keep it in a covered trailer just to keep it clean and nice. In the future, I’d really like to get a chuck wagon but those are pretty high, too so I’ll have to wait a while yet on that.”
Meanwhile, the Gerth family is expecting – two of her mares are expected to foal in the spring. “We are really excited about that but then again, there are extra health concerns with this breed. They have more trouble conceiving and delivering the foal and as a result, Clydesdale numbers are declining all across the country.
“Because they are so big, it is easier for the colt’s leg to get caught or crushed during the pregnancy and delivery and the live birth rate is lower for Clydesdales. That’s what happened with my first mare. She had a hard time getting pregnant in the first place and then when she did deliver, the foal was born dead due to a lack of oxygen.”
Needless to say, Taylor and family are hopeful that this spring will see the delivery of two live and healthy foals. “My work is just a few minutes away. I come home and check on everyone each day at lunch so they know at work that I may have to leave or be away for awhile when the time comes. There are also special concerns like no fescue for the last three months of gestation. That’s a big worry here in Missouri since there is so much fescue so we will be watching them closely.”
Meanwhile, the Gerth family enjoy the holidays by sharing their horses with the community in special ways. “We did a Christmas event here at the farm with hot chocolate and cookies and of course, wagon rides. We also had a Halloween event where I dressed up as Cruella Deville and the girls were trolls. We had chili for that one and I took my black and white poodle along as my Dalmatian. We had a whole wagonload of kids dressed up in their costumes. It was really fun.”
