Range rovers

An unknown author once wrote of horses that if God made anything more beautiful, he kept it for himself.

It’s morning when the family arrives at the Duff Place, the old Duff homestead near Drummond, on Oct. 13. The light is soft and the air is crisp and cool. Ed and Valerie Radtke, their daughter Sally Anderson and her son Angus have made the trek from Bigfork to the family ranch to round up the horses that have spent their summer running free.

The family comes up the long drive into the ranch, passing a small pocket of cattle along the way. Pulling in near the barn they disembark from their trucks and walk up toward the hills knowing that soon their Morgans will break the crest and make their way down to the corral. Bradley Radtke is already up there somewhere in his cowboy hat and jeans, riding a four-wheeler and pitting his will against that of the herd.

Brad Radtke says he enjoys the roundup more when he’s on horseback, but with only one person bringing the horses in, the ATV makes the process considerably less difficult.

“There’s an excitement that goes along with the roundup,” he says. “When you look at their speed, their endurance, just seeing them is enough to get that adrenaline rush.”

For the group standing near the barn, the morning’s quiet is broken as the herd of horses first comes into view. Everyone watches as the horses make their way to the edge of the hill.

They don’t want to leave the pasture, so push back and forth fighting the descent. Eventually Brad is able to head them off and they begin to thunder down.

“These horses are majestic,” says Valerie Radtke. “They have a freedom — you so seldom get to see that in this world any more. We still get to see that side of them as they come up over the top of that hill.”

Beautiful as they are just to observe, there is work to be done. Ed and Sally go to open the gates. Brad keeps steering the horses, jutting off as needed, constantly moving them forward. Valerie keeps a close eye on Angus, because a curious 5-year-old is no match for a herd of horses.

There are 11 horses that will be taken north; three mares, one filly, one colt, four yearlings and three 2-year-olds. There are 12 in the herd, but one has already been sold.

Once they’re in Bigfork they’ll spend their winter in training before most of them are returned to the ranch the following June. The horses spend between four and a half to five months out on the ranch, but a lot happens in those months.

“On the ranch they learn to be horses, they learn how to function in a herd the way horses do in the wild. They grow up,” Valerie Radtke says. “When they’re with us, we handle them daily. The summer in the pasture gives them the opportunity to develop the way that horses were meant to. It’s a healthier environment in general, and for the horses it’s more of what nature intended for them.”

The benefits of this summer of freedom for the horses are manifold.

“The horses stay in shape out here,” says Sally Anderson. “They are exercising daily. This environment is good for their growth, it creates good hoof strength, dense bones, and increases their stamina. Additionally these horses will become excellent trail horses. They will have learned to cross creeks and navigate the hillsides. They will be accustomed to rough terrain.”

Why Morgans? The family’s connection to Morgan horses goes back to 1961. Ed’s father, Marvin Radtke, was looking to add horses to the ranch. He purchased Leota, a Morgan mare, bred her to Luzan and began the registration prefix MoAna. Ed got Kootenai Madi’s Girl and with her began the EMR horses. Three years ago in 2007 Sally picked up the MoAna prefix, carrying on her grandfather’s tradition.

“It’s a love. That’s why we do this,” Valerie says. “We love what we do. And we love the Morgans because of their minds. They have good, strong minds. They are trainable. They have endurance. They are sure-footed and they have hard feet for mountain riding. They have very few negative attributes, few hereditary problems.

“I know there will be someone reading this who loves quarter horses and thinks the same is true of that breed, but for us it’s Morgans. We like the intelligence and the personalities of these horses.”

The horses gather in the corral and decisions are made about which horses will ride in which trailer. Three will go with Sally, the other eight will ride with Ed and Valerie. Ed and Brad begin separating the horses, preparing for the three-hour trek home.

Summer is officially over and soon the work will begin. The horses will train through the winter. Foaling usually takes place in April or May, breeding in May or early June. And when summer comes along again it will be time to pack up the herd again and return them to the ranch for another idyllic season.

“I don’t like paddock horses,” says Ed Radtke. “Our horses always summer out in the mountains. We want to get them out to where they can be what they were meant to be. If you have a horse who only lives in a little pen, or a stall, they never learn how to be free.”

“Out in the hills they learn freedom; they learn to run, to play and to interact with each other. This is where they are meant to be — out here — free.”