By Chris Gould / CWHBA
Photography: Private collections

Canada is a very large country, and Canadian Warmblood horse breeders are spread across the land, each with a unique geographical situation in which to pursue their ambition to produce top quality Warmbloods.

This month's breeder profile features George and Dianne Million and their operation Hard Valley Warmbloods located near Meadow Lake, well off the beaten path in northwest central Saskatchewan. A long time member of the national board, here is Dianne’s description of their operation.
“Our farm name ‘Hard Valley’ is actually the original name of the local school district where we reside. When purebred Hereford cattle became the focus of the ranch we wanted a farm name and it seemed natural for it to be Hard Valley. George has been involved with raising animals of some sort all his life, be it cattle, horses, exotic birds, or sheep. He had spoken about his admiration of the Warmblood horse many times.
“Then in 2000 we were given the opportunity to travel to Germany to search for a young stallion. Thus our Warmblood adventure began with the purchase of the Oldenburg stallion Pik Kaiser (Placido x Silvio I), who we bred to our non-typical Arabian mares. That explains why a small percentage of the mares we are breeding with now will have some Arabian horse bloodlines show up on their registration papers.
“Presently we have 10 breeding age mares. We use frozen semen breeding AI and are forever grateful we have access to a vet who takes getting our mares in foal as seriously as we do. Countless hours of researching stallions goes into the planning of each breeding .Technology has made searching a little easier. We try to match mares with the stallions we feel will enhance the qualities we want to see in the foal: athletic ability, level headed, kind, and trainable. We produce three to five foals a year and they are available for sale at weaning. Our mares are out in the pasture year-round with access to good grass and hay, salt, and minerals. Although our horses are not barned, the horses we have sold have all adapted well to their new environments...

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