New Dates
21th and 22th of August 10: Horseman Course with Honza Bláha at the Ranch Wolf
You will be able to find more information at the respective news site - February news - on our homepage.
Curly Horses on Curly Horse Ranch Wolf
The Erlenhof: a dream on the Bergstrasse at the coast of the Odenwald in Hessen is the residence of hypoallergenic horses, the Curly horses. In this paradise for humans and animals we breed with total love and understanding the one of a kind horserace, the Curly horses. Come and visit us to experience the harmonic world of the Curly horses.
At first our dream of having our own horse ranch seemed untouchably distant.
My husband, who is in spirit an Indian, grew up with horses. Over time he started to have allergic reactions to the horses. A few years ago we experienced a very dramatic incident in New Zealand; it was a matter of life and death. On a hot summer day we went for a horseback ride. Only the dreamlike nature and us, it was a treat. The joy took a rapid end. Tom, my husband, suddenly had an extreme allergic attack. He could not breathe anymore, and there was no one to help us as far as the eye could see. Directly beside us was a river. With the last of his strength he threw himself into the cold water. Right away I thought that he would not come up again but through the shock of the cold water his lungs started to work again. Pale and trembling I pulled him out of the water. Totally exhausted we arrived back in the village two hours later. Two years later a similar incident in Thailand with ambulance, hospital and then the ex from our allergist: “Further contact with horses is life threatening”. With sadness we had to sell our horses and tried to reorient ourselves.
But then suddenly hope came back into our lives.
Karolina, our niece, shared with us near the end of 2004 that she discovered a hypo- allergenic horse race. After that everything circled around Curly horses, the name of these one of a kind animals.
The first way leads us toward Hückeswagen to Daniela Söhnchen. All worries and fears of an allergic reaction evaporated into thin air. No sneezing, no rash, only watery eyes that were filled with joy. Full of enthusiasm and the dream of having a horse ranch locked in our hearts we went to Gaby Kärcher – Crow Curly Germany – and bought our very first Curly, CCG Chocolate Chip. In the summer of 2005 we took our journey to the country of origin of the Curly horses; USA and Canada; where with knowledge- able mentors we bought our breeding and riding horses.
Meanwhile 25 Curly horses live on our horse ranch. Some of these one of a kind animals are offered for sale. For more information on that topic please see the web link Horses and Sale.
On Ranch Wolf you also have the opportunity to take riding holidays. The nature kissed landscape offers many horseback riding opportunities with a breathtaking view onto the Bergstrasse with its Castles and Chateaus, an area that has been compared to the Toscana by Goethe. Our holiday residence is one of great love for detail created by architect Tom Wolf. It is a renovated brick barn which offers enough room for six people, with niches, character and a cozy wood stove. To add to that there is also a party room and a common room that can be used for seminars.
Our focus is directed toward a natural upbringing and training of our Curly horses. In our eyes these all-round horses on which backs we ride should be fun for all especially for allergists without fear of allergic attacks.
Race Criteria of Curly Horses
The overriding commonness of the Curly horse race that relates to their being Hypo- allergenic comes from their skin and fur structure. The fur of a Curly horse is very talc which can be especially realized after the petting of the horses since your hands will be black. We believe, thank the thick coat of talc that the allergen cannot make its way to the top of the skin. Curly horses have a different smell; some breeders even say that they smell like sheep or wool. Since we also have lambs and sheep we can conclude that the smell is not the same at all. The next difference between Curly horses and normal horses is that Curly horses dry a lot faster.
Curly horses have curly fur in the winter differencing between thick rough micro curls to big and soft curls. In the summer they lose most of their curls and have a straight haired coat. There is a sort of straight haired curly whose fur remains straight all year though. These horses are also hypoallergenic. One characteristic of almost all Curlys is the curled hair in their ears, curly mane and tail, curled eyelashes and Rasta manes. The hooves of Curly horses are hard as rock which enables all of our Curlys to walk barefoot without any problems.
There is not a typical type of Curly horse. The sizes vary extremely; based on the type approximately 1,35m. Curly horses can be characterized into various groups: Sport horses, Western horses, Gaited horses, Leisure horses and Pony type. Thank their various body builds they can be used as all-propose horses for riding disciplines.
From nature they are fertile, nerve strong, reliable, calm, robust, human oriented, children accepting, teachable, arduous, and intelligent. Curly horses come in all sorts of colors from the very popular sorrel, chestnut, palomino, grey, black, pinto, to the rare leopard dots like our stallion Teoc’s Painted Levi, curlloosa to the typical wild horses design - Zebra Dun - such as our Talisman.
Curly Horses and Allergies
When someone has allergies the body becomes oversensitive to particular substances. The balance of the immune system unit starts to act out of control. The body’s defen- ses kick into high gear and that is when the reaction such as breathing problems (e.g. Hay fever, infection of the paranasal sinus, bronchitis, asthma) and rashes (e.g. eczema or neurodermitis) occur.
How does a horse allergic meaningfully test the reactions towards a Curly?
Most allergic have a horse hair allergy in combination with other allergy forms. This is why we, on Ranch Wolf, recommend for you to test your allergies during a colder season to ensure that all other allergic factors can be ruled out. It is also important to ensure that the reaction is tested only with one horse, outside and far away from the stables where other allergic reactions could come out due to hay, straw or dust. The test starts with much distance to the Curly horse. Step for step closer to the horse are observed to see if any allergic reactions occur. After the horse is reached the test continues by petting and touching the horse. The highlight of the test, which takes about 60 – 90 minutes, is the long horseback ride. Riding develops balance and good body posture, schools concentration and develops self-trust and respect. Just as the saying goes “on the back of a horse, lays the luck of the earth”.
Many people with horse allergies do not react to Curly horses even during the first try. Because of this these horses are known as hypoallergenic. There are of course indi- vidual cases that react strongly against Curly horses during their first contact and later the sensitivity starts to become less. We know of this type of reaction through school medicine as desensitizing. With every person the psyche plays a big roll and from our own experiences we can positively encourage that to this day on Ranch Wolf we have had no one that has reacted to our Curly horses and that makes us joyful.
Breeder Association and authorized races for mating
All Curly horses on Ranch Wolf that were imported from USA, Canada or were born here are registered by the “Bavarian Breeder Association for Small Horses and Special Races e.V.”. This breeder association is the first that registered Curly horses in Germany and because of this has the most breeders of this type of horse recorded. In this Association the following races are allowed to be mated:
Quarter Horse, Paint Horse, Appaloosa, Morgen, Mustang – Western type
Arabic Thoroughbred – Leisure Rider Type
Warm blood – Sport Rider Type
German Riding Pony – Pony Type
Missouri Fox trotter – Gaited Horse Type
A registration by the „American Bashkir Curly Registry“(ABCR), with the „International Curly Horse Organization“(ICHO) or with the „Curly Sport horse International“ (CSI) is present with our Curly horses and can be registered.
Philosophy and Training of our Curlys
Our goal for the future is to breed Curlys in various riding disciplines and train them according to requirement. This offers a selective assortment thank the various body builds. We prefer and have made it our goal to breed big Curly horses. Our want is to fulfill horse allergists and Curly lovers the opportunity to ride large horses.
As already mentioned Curly horses are not only meant for Western riding. On our Ranch you will also find Curlys that have been trained in classic riding. That being said we are currently cutting down and training some horses in Barock since it is a better Academic Riding art. Some horses which we noticed like to jump have also been given the opportunity to learn that. Many horses in our herd are gaited horses which mean they use the typical steps such as stride, trot and gallop together with tolt, pass, racing pass and Missouri foxtrot.
Curly horses posses a large amount of empathy, which predestinates them for therapeutic riding. In this we have reached a great amount of progress among children with co-ordination problems or concentration difficulties. It is great to watch how the children playfully discover the abilities of their own body and mind and how they transform that into use for their daily grind.
We pay special attention that every Curly horse maintains and keeps its robust health, born attention to detail and joy in joint learning. Right from the time the horses are still foals we consciously start to communicate with them using their own body language, which eases later groundwork and communication. Curly horses mature slowly and since their health is very important to us we give them the needed time until they have reached the physical ability to carry a rider. This means that on Ranch Wolf no horse will be broken in until they are three years old. Our trained horses should be caring family horses that are safe to ride.
We continue our journey through the horse world with open eyes. We study famous horsemanship teachers, horse whisperers, watch TV shows, participate in training courses, and watch DVDs from various horse people such as Monty Roberts, Gawani Pony Boy, Honza Blaha, Pat Parelli, Linda Tellington-Jones, Bent Branderup or read their books so we can learn more and more each day. That mixed with personal experience we are able to move closer and closer to our goal. We believe that there is no special recipe. Everyone should find their own way to their horse, because this experience is unique just like your own signature.
Your Family Wolf – enjoy the Curlys