By Sarah Hill
Photos courtesy Froelich Ranch
Froelich Ranch, Selfridge, N.D., emphasizes genetic information to breed Quarter Horses and cattle that are high performing and easy to work with.
When you think of where to find excellent Quarter Horses, North Dakota doesn’t immediately come to mind. But the Froelich Ranch is indeed an outstanding source of Quarter Horses that are the cream of the crop.
The Froelich Ranch was settled in 1910 by Mathias and Katherine Froelich, who started with beef and dairy cows and small grains. Mathias’ son, John, took over in the 1940s, breeding Remounts for the U.S. calvary. John wanted to work with horses that were quicker and smaller, so in 1948, he bought a palomino stallion, WR’s Comanche Boy, a grandson of Old Man by Old Sorrel.
“Our family has raised registered Quarter Horses ever since,” John’s grandson, JW, said. “My dad, Kelly, was the youngest of John and Barbara’s seven kids, and joined the operation in the late 1980s after graduating from North Dakota State University. John passed in 1993; Barbara in 2011.”
Highly Trainable Quarter Horses
Over the years, John used sires such as Slash J. Bill, WR’s CM Jon, Blackburn 90, and Homer Tufcola to build a herd of Quarter Horses with disposition, color, and conformation. In 1983, the Froelichs bought McKeag, a blue roan colt who is in the pedigrees of many current broodmares on the ranch. The family purchased Rio Blue Badger in 2001. Golden Poco Storm, Reserve World Champion, Open Reining, 2007 IBHA World Show and Circuit Champion, 2007 Gateway to the World, Open Reining, still influences their broodmares.
JW and his wife, Alisha, along with JW’s dad, Kelly, and uncle, Terry, have emphasized genetic information in their decision-making with the Quarter Horse herd, including six panel testing and coat color panels. The Froelichs take pride in horse disposition. It’s also important to the family to be able to jump on the horses in the spring and go, even after a long winter.
“We want to be able to cross the right mares with the right studs,” JW said. “We also have brought new horsemanship and training methods to how we work with our horses.”
Horse Herd
The herd currently includes 70 registered Quarter Horse mares, all pasture-bred with Froelich’s own studs. Three of their main studs are FQHR McLovin, sire of a six-time world champion roping horse; FQHR Conagher; and LHR Smart Sugar Boon. The ranch has the first set of colts out of Boon this year, who was purchased in 2022. Boon was purchased to introduce modern ranch performance bloodlines into their foundation-bred Quarter Horse herd. Trained by a NRHA trainer, Boon quickly showed a passion for cutting. Boon has proven his ability to stand alongside their other ranch stallions. Mares begin foaling at the end of April or beginning of May.
“McLovin’s name is really growing, and his offspring are highly sought after because of their trainability and retainability,” JW said. “We start them and when we go back to work with them, they remember everything and are very friendly. You can walk up to them in the pasture. They’re really good-minded horses, but also have performance in them.”
The horses are primarily fed alfalfa/grass hay and graze pasture year-round. They also receive five pounds of cracked corn per day during the winter, foaling season, and after breeding.
Annual Sale and Awards
The Froelichs are holding their 54th annual sale in September, and over the years, have used various advertising outlets such as AQHA Journal, The Stockman, local radio ads, and social media to market both horses and cattle. However, word of mouth continues to be a successful advertising tactic.
“We have customers who have been coming to our sale my entire life,” JW said. “We’ve also sold horses from California to Florida and everywhere in between, and countries including Canada, Hungary, and Mexico. We’ve even had bidders from Australia, Germany, and New Zealand.”
Froelich Ranch has received many awards for their outstanding horses. In 2009, they received the AQHA Legacy Award for 50 consecutive years of adding to the heritage of the American Quarter Horse. AQHA recognized Froelich Ranch as the first Ranching Heritage Breeder in North Dakota in 2010. John Froelich was inducted to the North Dakota American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame in 2023. Just this year, Froelich Ranch was inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame.
SimAngus Crosses: A Complete Package
Froelich Ranch is home to 550 momma cows. The Froelichs utilize artificial insemination to improve genetics and make Simmental/Angus (SimAngus) replacement heifers with good dispositions. The Froelichs keep and develop all heifers and AI them, selling 220 bred heifers annually. Bull calves out of the top females are retained.
“Disposition is really important to us, because when I’m out tagging calves during calving, I don’t want to have to worry about the cows coming after me,” JW shared. “I make videos for TikTok using a GoPro camera, and in those videos, the cow just stands there and looks at me. We want cattle that are easy to deal with, not high-headed.”
The Froelichs look for qualities in their 20 to 25 cleanup bulls that will transmit on to their replacement heifers, such as EPDs for milk, stayability, docility, and raising big steer calves. JW noted that in October, when they wean calves born in March or April, calves weigh about 650 to 700 pounds.
“We like using Simmental genetics because they add more pounds and frame size, but we like the Angus look for pretty heads and deep bodies,” JW explained. “We’ve done a good job of balancing between the two breeds, so the cattle aren’t too big or small.”
Heifers are bred around June 1, with other females being bred at the end of June. In the past few years, the Froelichs have been using a lot of SAV Resource, Koupal Advance 28, and CCR Cowboy Cut. Lassle Ranch Simmentals in Montana provides many of their Simmental bulls.
“We buy a lot of heifer bulls from Ellingson Angus, Lindsov-Theil, and the Koupals,” JW said. “We use straight Angus bulls for cleanup bulls for our heifers because of their calving ease. We use Simmental bulls on cows.”
Herd Nutrition
The family has also focused on improving animal nutrition by feeding a balanced ration. They work with nutritionist Dustin Puhrmann from Cooperative Farmers Elevator in Iowa.
JW and his wife, Alisha, studied animal science at the University of Minnesota-Crookston; JW purchased his first 25 head of cattle in 2016 when he returned home from college. Since then, he’s worked to grow his herd with all cattle running together, regardless of owner.
The operation raises 1,500 acres each of corn and hay, with most of the alfalfa/grass hay being fed to the horses. The cattle’s TMR includes corn silage, hay barley, oat hay, millet hay, cracked corn, modified distillers, and liquid feed with Rumensin, vitamins, and minerals.
JW’s uncle, Rod, and his two sons, Chase and Lance, have their own ranch where they raise cattle and horses, but the families work together to work cattle and share farming equipment.
Froelich Feedlot
In 2020, Froelich Ranch built a feedlot to house just shy of 1,000 head, where they feed replacement heifers, background their own steers, and custom feed.
“The feedlot gives us the option to keep calves or sell them right off the cow,” JW said. “It gives us more flexibility. Last year, we also developed some of our neighbor’s heifer calves and inseminated them.”
Large pens of steers are usually sold through private treaty, with the help of Ellingson Angus, Bryce Lindskov, Brent Theil, and Scott Ulmer. Depending on the year and cattle prices, the family has also sold calves through the local sale barn. Bred heifers and bull calves are privately marketed based on returning customers and word of mouth.
“We like to support the local sale barns, so we’ll take cull cows and other cattle to sell there,” JW shared.
The Next Generation
As time goes on, the ranch will continue transitioning to JW and Alisha, as Kelly and his wife, Renee, phase out. JW and Alisha have a one-year-old son, Colt, who already loves seeing the horses. JW would love for him to be the fifth generation to operate the ranch. JW’s sister, Brooke, is also an important part of the operation, helping with the horse sale catalog remotely.
54th Annual Production Sale:
Saturday, September 21, 2024
1:00 pm CST - At the ranch
learn more at www.froelichranch.com
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