Jason Robinson of J&H Farms thinks he was surely born around 100 years too late. He could definitely live without all of today’s modern conveniences. In his opinion, life is better seen from the back of a horse.
Jason said, “I was born in the wrong century. To go back and get rid of these trucks, to drive a wagon to town, get rid of all the cell phone and modern communications – how much simpler would the world be?”
Jason and his wife, Heather, bought their current property about three years ago and began building their dream. Heather, who calls herself a “city slicker,” moved to the Berryville area from Little Rock and that’s how she met Jason. She knew nothing about horses, cattle and the ranching life.
Heather said, “Jason said to me, ‘Let’s go get on the four-wheelers and check out the cows.’ And I was like, aren’t cows in a zoo? Seriously, that’s what I thought. I was wearing flip-flops, a blue jean dress, had no clue. But it’s very peaceful here… my kids have actually learned to play outside and use their imagination. They’re learning to be responsible.”
Obviously, Heather and her sons, Kaleb and Jacob, have adjusted well. The boys are now showing cattle and winning awards.
The Robinsons breed Quarter Horses and Paints, mostly for performance. The Quarter Horses go back to the Hancock and Drift bloodlines.
Jason said, “In our Paint bloodline we’ve got Cold String Cutter. We’ve actually got foundation in our Paints that have working stock in them. We don’t have any show horses. The closest thing to a show horse we have is our stallion.”
Currently, the Robinsons have 15 horses on their 40 acres and they’re looking to buy another 45 acres in the area. In addition to their horses, Jason and Heather also run feeder calves through the winter. The calves are allowed to run with the horses, which helps the horses get used to different kinds of animals.
Jason is a staunch believer of “imprinting” a foal as soon as it is born. Following the method of Dr. Robert Miller, Jason begins training a foal to a halter immediately.
Jason said, “Everybody says you can’t tie a young horse, but it’s all in the training. I’ll give you an example. When we went to Farmfest, we tied up a colt in the trailer and we didn’t have any trouble with it being tied up all the way there. That’s unheard of for a colt (that young.)”
Although the Robinsons would like to spend all their time on the ranch, they both have other jobs. Heather is a preschool teacher and Jason installs satellite systems and home theatres. The downturn in the economy and the absence of slaughter markets has taken the bottom out of the horse market, so horse farms are taking a tumble. But Jason says they have a plan.
“If we don’t sell them as weanlings and yearlings, fine, as a 2-year-old they’ll go into training, our prices will go up in conjunction with the market and the training. We’ll be here for however long God lets us stay here. It’s one reason why we have outside jobs. We have culled our brood mares that don’t give us exactly what we want. We’re cutting back to our finest, trying to cull the rest, lower our monthly fees for feed and hay, vet bills and try to tighten our belts. As far as breeding and producing a quality horse, we won’t quit,” said Jason.
The Robinsons also have a boarding stable, they sell hay and wheat straw and have a hauling service. Whatever it takes to make the ranch work, that’s what they’ll do.
Jason said, “If we can breed a horse for some kid out there that can convince their mom and dad to buy them one… and they take responsibility for that horse, how much better is that kid’s life gonna be?”
Well said – from the lips of an incurable horse lover.
