Camp Rusk Horse Retirement and Cattle

The Life of a Natural Horse at Camp Rusk

Land and animals go together. They mutually need each other. Animals provide fertility and plants convert that to food for the animals.

LARGE AREAS - The land at Camp Rusk provides large areas for horses to move about and be with each other. Small hills, woods, meadows, and lakes.

EXPLORATION - The horses are moved to fresh areas as appropriate to break the worm cycle, provide new areas for them to explore, and for land improvement.You support the horses, the horses support the land.

DAILY CARE - Each horse is seen to each day.

VET REVIEW - A vet visits quarterly to look over the entire operation and write a report regarding the operations.

UPDATES - Email updates are sent out regularly and each quarter one is done for every horse with pictures. In between, horses and reports are done at request and a guest house is available upon invitation for your visits.

GROOMING - At shedding time, horses are helped with shedding as needed. Throughout the year horses tend to keep themselves clean and and in good shape. At farrier visits and inbetween when needed, manes and tails are checked for seeds and burrs as needed.

HANDLING - Gentle handling techniques are used. Our objective is to be the lead horse and followed voluntarily.

HOOF CARE - Hoof care is provided and each horse is seen to individually. To date we have been able to provide a shoe free natural life for all horses.

FEED - Feed is provided as they need and we have special programs for horses that have lost their teeth or other conditions as they age.

TEETH - Typically a horse has no need for a vet other than a teeth float once per year.

PROFESSIONAL CARE - No standing fees are added. Any additional professional costs (such as vet and farrier) are passed along at cost.

WEATHER - We are at the 33.47 latitude which means a generally mild climate. Warmer in the summer and short winter moments.

BEING A HORSE - Above all, the horses are allowed to run and socialize as they wish with good eyes and hands watching over them.

Camp Rusk - Retired Horses Providing for Cattle

A Near Organic Operation

41 Camp Rusk / 412 267 7875 Jon@CampRusk.Com

Horses and cattle have always been a match. each serving each other.

Historically horses have prepared the land, herded the cows, and provided the method for moving supplies. Horses have been equal to the rancher in how a ranch is provided for.

How Retired Horses Continue to Serve

A hidden benefit has been the horse’s ability to restore the land. Much of our agricultural lands have been depleted due to farming. Ranching properly restores the fertility. Your horse at Camp Rusk gives us a long term method for restoring the land which provides for the many families that get their agricultural lively hood from Camp Rusk. It also restores a natural system that is good for all of us on this planet and the native animals and plants that share the land.

Cost is kept at a minimum

$175 per 31 day month provides for each horse, typical feed, and care of the land. No charge is made for use of the ranch. The horses provide fertility which offsets much of the cost. We do not use chemical fertilizers to stay as close to organic as possible. Without you, it would be quite costly to restore the land and it would most likely be lost to development.

Hooves and Teeth are kept at local cost with no standing fees. Feed cost is governed by rules set in Washington DC primarily. Changes in feed needs are passed on at cost.

History and the Families of Camp Rusk

The area known as Camp Rusk is a land restoration project of a historical note. Civil War soldiers were trained here and slaves were notified of their freedom on the same land.

The site is about 444 aces in total and is about 2 miles end to end. The land was historically used for cotton crops. Year after year of cropping depleted the land until it supported only widely spaced pasture plants with significant amounts of exposed soil.

Restoring soil to productivity is an expensive multi-year task. Over 100 families have joined us in restoring this historical property.

The many families that earn their living from the land appreciate your participation and enjoy seeing to the care of your horses.

Jon@CampRusk.Com Or call 41 Camp Rusk / 412 267 7875

We supply a natural environment for horses and help them transition to it.

The horses then provide soil enrichment so that the cattle can graze naturally. This removes the need for artificial fertilizers and chemical inputs.