ABOUT BIG VIEW FARM

We have owned Big View Walking Horses Farm for 35 years; however, it did not evolve into a horse farm until 2002 when I bought 2 Tennessee Walking horses for my grandchildren. 

At that time there was no fencing, no barn, old pastures that was just bush-hogged to keep pretty.  So I purchased some horse panels that served as both round pen and pasture, what a deal.  Little did I know at that time what was ahead. The grandchildren loved the horses, but what I discovered was a love of mine that had been set aside or hidden for about 50 years.  As a very young child I remember a neighbor leading me around the yard on a big, beautiful gaited horse.  I fell in love that day and did not know it until 50 years later.  Besides the enjoyment of the ride, what I remember most about that childhood experience was ‘the wonderful smell’ of the horse.  Not only the smell, but also how the horse made me feel inside.

Fifty years later, late one afternoon while brushing one of the grandchildren’s horses, I put my face on its neck and smelled that ‘wonderful smell’ and the memories and love came rushing back from deep within me that had been long forgotten.

I very seldom rode the horses, but their therapy for me was just being with them, watching them, conversing with them.  I was 55 years old at the time and had begun planning my exit strategy from my computer technology company of 18 years.  My plan was to be able to retire at 62 and continue my volunteer work as Pastor of a small Congregational Methodist church in our community.  Now my plan began to expand to include the horses.


 

Photo by Scruggs Photography

So from 2002 until the end of 2006 I built fences (5 ft tall 2x2 non-climbing horse net wire with treated 1x6 lumber at top, middle, and bottom of fence), cleared 15 acres of new pasture, planted 30 acres with Sumrall 007 Bermuda grass, and built a 30,000 square ft barn. 

Shortly after purchasing the first two Tennessee Walking mares I decided it would be fun to raise some babies.  I knew the look of the stallion that I wanted but did not know much about the bloodlines at that time.  The look (conformation and gait) that I enjoyed was that of Midnight Sun, Ebony Masterpiece, Ebony’s Senator, Pride of Midnight HF, and Sun’s Delight D to name just a few.  So I went searching for a few more mares and a stallion to meet these criteria.  I did a search on farms in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama; hooked to my horse trailer and off I went looking for the stallion I had pictured in my mind.  Long story short….. After a week of visiting other farms (which was extremely fun) I came back home and was discussing my venture with a horse friend of mine and he said, “have you ever seen Cindy’s stallion?  He seems to be exactly what you are describing.”  I made a visit to Cindy’s farm and saw the stallion I had imagined.  Of course she would not sell him…. at the time…. however, a few months later she decided to sell him and I was anxious to buy, so Glen Hope Gold Rush came to my barn.



Glen Hope Gold Rush
Photo by Scruggs Photography


In the meantime I found 9 more mares to go with the first two and while I was building fences and pastures, Glen Hope Gold Rush was making beautiful babies. 

I never entered the ‘horse business’ for financial gain.  I entered into the horse world because of something deep within me rising up.  The rising up of that ‘special’ Love of a Being to a Being opened my eyes to see everything in a different light.  The horses have a calming, ‘un-load’ the stress effect on humans.

So I turned around one day and discovered that I had 45 of the most beautiful Tennessee Walking horses that could be imagined.  Somehow this bothered  everyone within a three county range.  “What in the world is that Preacher going to do with all those horses”?  Even the people in the church were always asking the same question.  One Sunday morning I discovered the answer and revealed it to them.  I told them that a few years ago we only had 50 members in the church so I just needed two horses to keep my spirit calm in dealing with them; a few years later when our membership grew to 200 plus I discovered it took 45 horses to keep me calm.  Even though I expressed it as a joke, the irony is that it was closer to the truth than a joke.

Photo by Scruggs Photography

I have great horses trained extensively in psychotherapy and guaranteed to help a person find themselves.  That is, find out what is important in life and what is not.  I am in the process of putting all the horses under saddle and taking them through trail ride training.  I wish there was a market for selling horses to people and them using the horses the way some people use psychologist to get rid of their problems.  While spending time with my horses I discovered that there is no such thing as a problem; there are only life situations that I either can do something about Now (and if I can then there is no problem) or I have learned to surrender to the Present Moment as it is; until it changes or I can do something about it.  It is a most peaceful state of mind.

 

I'm Sure In Command

Photo by Scruggs Photography

The current plan is to advertise the horses on the internet through my website, www.bigviewwalkinghorses.com, in hopes that I can find a wonderful home for some of them to share Life.

God bless!

    Big View Tennessee Walking Horses - click here to return to front page.    
       
  Laurel, Mississippi
PHONE: 601-319-6177 (Cell)
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Last Updated: January 02, 2012