Our small ranch in northern Wisconsin claimed our hearts years ago when it was only wooded land and a dream. We had a vision and through the years it has become a labor of love creating what we consider heaven on earth. We have built this little ranch ourselves with the help of family and friends, and through research and time have filled it with beautiful Morgans, Friesians & Moriesians (Morgan x Friesian) for the breeding program we have today. We enjoy trail riding, working with our horses and developing trusting relationships with our horses, and and we love raising foals. Our goal is to produce Morgans and Moriesians that have all the qualities we enjoy and share them with people around the world.
How our ranch name came to be . . .
Where did the name, Rafter Bar D, come from? Years ago, before we had Morgans, Derrick was planning an elk hunting trip out west. At that time, we were informed that several hunters had their horses and mules stolen, so any stock he took out for hunting should be branded. Derrick registered for and designed a brand, and he decided on Rafter Bar D. D is for Derrick, and the rafter bar symbolizing our ranch. He had a freeze brand made and branded his gelding, and two mules that he would be taking for the hunting trip. When it was made, it was not intended to be our ranch name. It was made to keep people honest.
Years later, after purchasing a Morgan mare in foal, and deciding to begin a breeding program, we needed a ranch name. To find a name that was unique with meaning, and not already used, was difficult. The name was right here hanging on a hook in our home, it just needed to be discovered, and it was. Rafter Bar D was born and RBD would be the prefix for our foals born here at our little ranch. We purchased the prefix from the American Morgan Horse Association in 2007. It wasn't too long before the headgate to our farm was graced with a Rafter Bar D brand too. Today, we do not brand our Morgans with it, the brand is just a conversation piece, the symbol for our ranch and to me, in honor of the man behind living a dream.
Today I am proud to say the brand, Rafter Bar D, is our ranch name. For me it's a symbol of a wonderful man, who has helped me to believe in following my passion for horses and a dream of raising Morgans. I am blessed to have him be my partner through this adventurous life. His support, patience and love has kept me moving forward when I wasn't sure. He is my inspiration to persevere and believe in my vision. Special thanks to him for encouraging me to dream as if we will live forever, and live as if this is the last day . . .
I had always admired the Friesian horse and it was a dream to bring our first Friesian home back in 2015. After researching I could see bringing the War Horse of Europe and the War Horse of America together would result in an amazing creature known as the Moriesian Horse. The breed characteristics combined with good minded horses and blending in color to boot results in a versatile, athletic fairytale horse. So we not only raise quality Morgans, we also raise outstanding Moriesian horses.
There is a registry for the Moriesian Horse and we are proud to share that we obtained our prefix back in 2016 and register all our Moriesian foals with the RBD prefix through the Moriesian Registry. So our Morgans and Moriesian both proudly sport the RBD prefix and we look forward to growing and continuing to contribute to both breeds.
RBD Callista Dea Dun is a retained Moriesian filly pictured above as a new foal and below as a yearling. Her color is grulla and she is the first known grulla Morieisn in the breed.
Raising foals is a dream realized for me and although a lot of work and effort goes into our breeding program, it's so rewarding. We enjoy planning crosses for foals, waiting for their arrival, schooling them and handling them from birth, to seeing the happiness they bring to their new family. The foals we raise are like our children. It is hard to say goodbye after having our little kindergarten lessons and playing and loving them all summer. We truly enjoy spending time with our foals and do our best to give them a good start in life for our buyers. Thank you for stopping by and we hope to meet you one day.
Happy Trails, Derrick & Sue
