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Liz and I continue to raise Mangalarga Marchadors here in North Central Oklahoma. Our adventure with this breed started in 2000 while we were living in Brazil. Liz started riding these horses with other lady friends on the Mesquita Farm outside of Macae, Brazil. In the evenings when I returned from work, she would talk endlessly about these horses how great of a temperament they had and the smooth ride. Well Liz and I had never ridden a horse with a gait in our life time after riding Quarter Horses since we were young. So I wasn’t that interested when she started talking about riding horses for a past time, however she finally convinced me to try them. Well it didn’t take long to convince me how unique these horses were in temperament and their smooth ride. The smooth ride which is contributed to the breed’s natural gait that can either be an diagonal gait called Batida or an lateral gait called Picada.
It was only a matter of time that we bought horses for ourselves and was able to acquire a 500 acre Ranch “Fazenda Zouga” starting my breeding herd mostly from Tosana Farm. That had numerous champion Stallions and Mares in their herd which consisted of 1,000 mares “Equas”. We were fortunate enough to have good Brazilian friends that were also Mangalarga Marchador breeders to help in the selection of breeding stock and teaching us the Brazilian way to raise the horses letting them have a free range as they are growing up learning how to be horse in the natural world.
Years later I was finished with my work in Brazil and it was time to move back to Oklahoma. Naturally, we wanted to bring back our best horses. We encountered a challenge unimaginable when we finally understood what it took to import a horse into the United States from Brazil. Joining up with Susan Newman from Bend, Oregon another Mangalarga Marchador enthusiast, whom had purchased horses from another farm to export. We joined forces starting with eighteen horses in quarantine and a year later was able to import eight horses successfully into the States.
It was only a matter of time that we bought horses for ourselves and was able to acquire a 500 acre Ranch “Fazenda Zouga” starting my breeding herd mostly from Tosana Farm. That had numerous champion Stallions and Mares in their herd which consisted of 1,000 mares “Equas”. We were fortunate enough to have good Brazilian friends that were also Mangalarga Marchador breeders to help in the selection of breeding stock and teaching us the Brazilian way to raise the horses letting them have a free range as they are growing up learning how to be horse in the natural world.
Years later I was finished with my work in Brazil and it was time to move back to Oklahoma. Naturally, we wanted to bring back our best horses. We encountered a challenge unimaginable when we finally understood what it took to import a horse into the United States from Brazil. Joining up with Susan Newman from Bend, Oregon another Mangalarga Marchador enthusiast, whom had purchased horses from another farm to export. We joined forces starting with eighteen horses in quarantine and a year later was able to import eight horses successfully into the States.
As time has progressed, I continued to manage my breeding herd and offspring similar to my ranch in Brazil. The mares were pasture bred and mostly pastured foaled. The offspring after weaning were allowed to roam free in the large pastures and were only handled for worming, vaccinations, or necessary medical attention. This gives young horses the chance to learn to be a horse in the natural way running with other horses of different ages and learning the hierarchy that comes with an herd of horses. They learn how to ford streams on their own, evade predators when needed, not to be afraid or startled when a deer jumps in front of them, learn how to step out of a piece of loose wire without exploding, running with cattle, and numerous other things. That a horse cannot learn while raised in 10-12 acre paddock or in a boarding facility in the winter months. The horses raised this way are still accustomed to humans on a daily bases and many of them become very gentle by the time they have reached three years of age. Then they are started for training/riding as they further develop into young horses maturing usually around five years of age. We do not bond with the young horses unless there is a need due to a medical condition or other reason. Our belief is that the future horse’s owner should be the first person to bond with the horse when possible.
Over the years, we have twenty to thirty Mangalarga Marchador horses at any one time. So anyone interested in purchasing a horse from Flying Oaks Ranch, has a large selection to choose from even young foals. Our horses have traveled and sold in numerous States here in America including others that have been sold and exported into Canada and France.
Earlier this year, we were able to purchase another Stallion Lendario Das Aguas JM imported by Claudia Bellandi in 2016. Lendario will bring new bloodlines from Haras Das Aguas JM that produces Mangalarga Marchador Champions every year. Lendario’s impressive Batida gait, is the result of many years of selective breeding by JM striving for a faster Marcha along with confirmation and beauty.
We have held back young fillies from Ator that are bred to Lendario for next year foals. Lendario has three colts on the ground this year from last years breeding. One of the three is Elegante Fazenda Zouga here at Flying Oaks also. We are looking to many more years raising these great Mangalarga Marchador horses, come and visit us.
