Iron Horse Guest Ranch - Meet Our Staff

Horse Tales

Gus, the Ranch Horse

Howdy! My name is Gus. You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone on the ranch that knows more about cows and ranching than I do. The “Been there, done that” saying is not even adequate to describe my resume. I came from a working cow ranch in Blanco, TX, near Austin. The stories they tell about me, they are all true. I have really pulled a massive bull from the back pasture, penned and sorted hundreds of cows, and had all sorts of ranch adventures. While I love the adventure the lifestyle brings, I met a few too many impatient cowboys over the years, and I have developed a bit of a callous attitude towards men that remind me of spur-wearing, rope-toting, horse-kicking cow pushers. If you’re gentle with me, I will give you my all, but show me your spurs and I’ll give you a ride to remember. I joined up with the Hensons after the big hurricane of ’05, the one that hit Louisiana so hard. We made a stop at a vet before making the trip to Cypress. I was about 10 or 11 that year and although I loved being a working horse, I was really glad to be moving to the heart of a woman who would love me so deeply. The first year started amazing with pampering and long rides along the creek bed and through the forest, but ended with the discovery of my hoof having white line disease. I spent the better part of the second year in treatment. Once better, we had a ball… we rode at this crazy arena through obstacles, smoke clouds, and firecrackers, passing a mounted patrol test only to discover I was too short for patrol work. Niki chose not to force me to wear platform shoes, thank goodness. So we became a mounted airport ranger team at Houston Intercontinental Airport. Once we caught a really cool snapshot with a jet taking off behind us. As the years passed, we had many adventures until Niki had a series of medical problems. I felt alone, not spending much time with her for a few years. She eventually, through tears, loaned me to a young cowboy for eight months to give me some love and allow him to enjoy a horse for a little while. Upon my return, things began to change quickly. Two new horses arrived. The first newbies I’d seen since my ranching days, a beautiful young paint, whom I instantly took a liking to, and a bay lady who spoke with a funny accent. It wasn’t long after that we loaded up and took a trip. I assumed it was just another ride or event, and wow, the place was amazing! The pasture was huge, beautiful, a pond just for us, our own hayfield, and some cows for my entertainment, and man, what a star-filled sky! The first few nights I couldn’t sleep, didn’t want to miss a moment. Till days turned to weeks and I realized we were home…our new home…and Niki hadn’t even sold us. This time instead of going to live with someone new, she had moved with us to a place I call heaven. You should visit. I might even take you on a guided tour or even an adventure. I get to play the ranch horse role again, chasing cows and rounding up wayward bulls, jumping trees, and turning barrels, and of course, eating as much as I can. Do watch out for the fish when you drink out of the pond, they tickle a bit especially if your whiskers need trimming! Since we arrived here our numbers have increased. Our herd is now seven horses and seven cows. I will let them introduce themselves to you. I did love seeing the new calf born and boy, is he fun to spook! My ankle has been a bit a sore the last week and so I am enjoying the time off, but I can’t wait until Niki saddles me up again and together we can introduce you to our little piece of heaven, called

Iron Horse Guest Ranch.

Come be our guest.