Bobbi and Terry Morley operate Westwind Farm Canada Ltd just outside Strathroy, ON. They have been leasing the Mac Cuddy Farm property for 16 years now.
Bobbi has never known a life without horses in it, having grown up in Alberta ranch country while competing at rodeos and horse shows.
Her husband Terry is a native of Delaware, ON who also rode horses from a young age and and supported his university education through blacksmithing. Terry is a veterinarian and is widely known for his expertise in equine reproduction.

Can you describe your standardbred breeding farm for us and how it operates?

We breed and foal out mares– about 30 foals per year. As well as our own mares, we have year round boarders and some short term mares. We also raise yearlings for others.

We stand four permanent stallions, Deweycheatumnhowe, Striking Sahbra, and Windsong Espoir for Walnut Hall Ltd., and Southfork for Al Libfeld. As well, we have stallions of various breeds coming in to be collected and processed, including a Friesian– the only one certified currently standing in Ontario.

Masterfeeds sets up our feeding program very year after testing our hay and reviewing individual horses’ needs.

Stalls are cleaned daily; we use a wood pellet product which is low in dust, easy to use, economical and environmentally friendly.

Mares and foals go to pasture in the spring, then into loafing sheds attached to large paddocks in August. Weaning is done once they become comfortable by removing only a couple of mares at a time.

Even when they’re yearlings, we usually leave at least one adult with each group; often a retired broodmare or two with the fillies, and a gelding and a mule with the colts. This gives them a bit of discipline as well as a “comfort horse”.

Mares are left on grass as long as possible in the fall, then brought into the barn and put under lights about November 1.

Who do you think you have learned the most from in the breeding business?

My husband Terry, first and foremost. There have been many people who have contributed over the years, but like most people in the business, I have often called on “Uncle Jack” McNiven. Mac Cuddy too, was always a great resource, giving a kick in the rear when necessary, or a pat on the back as required.

What do you look for in a breeding farm employee?

A passion for horses; a willingness to learn, and the ability to get along with others in a sometimes high stress environment. The person should also should be a self starter and show initiative.

Most of our staff have been with us for a number of years, but we also take co-op students from the local high school, and recently hosted a student from the REACH program. As well, we often have vet students come to observe.

How many yearlings are you selling this year and where?

Some of our staff have launched the “Icy Stable” and will have three Westwind horses in their consignment to the Canadian Open. We have two of our own going to Forest City, but still haven’t decided if they will go with an agent or if we’ll have a consignment.

What do you consider the toughest part about being a breeder? From a personal standpoint, knowing that you will probably not get back what you put into raising a horse. The breeders awards have certainly taken the pain out of that!

From a stallion manager standpoint, it’s getting breeders and their vets to tighten up on their mare management, particularly for a busy stallion, and in the later part of the year.

In certain areas where we seem to get one request per cycle on mares, and they’ll usually catch off one breeding. Then there are other areas where we regularly get requests for two or three times in a cycle, and they still don’t get the mare in foal.

We really appreciate those who put in the extra effort to stay on top of things and who understand that multiple breedings are a waste of time, semen and money.

We send a minimum of 800 million progressively motile sperm in each dose, and do not split an ejaculate to accommodate the number of requests. Instead, we figure out how many mares we can service that day.

I don’t think some people realize that sending for 20 mares when your stud is only good for eight really hampers the conception rate.

What is your favourite horse that you have raised?

I have two, the first was Kellycrombie, who sold for next to nothing. We were told she was too small, would never get her air, etc. But man, could she pace! She went out and won a good deal of Grassroots money and beat some really nice fillies in spite of it. She wasn’t much bigger the day she was retired than she was the day she sold.

My other favourite was an orphan we raised for Jack Campbell that I ended up with part of. We never paid a single training bill, as he earned his keep right from the first race. He made us all some money, then was sold for a good dollar to the States when he ran out of races in London.

Can you tell us one thing that most people don’t know about you?

I really miss the cattle and would love to have half a dozen top end Angus cows.

What has been your most harrowing experience in the business?

Watching the sold horses being loaded at the sale is probably the worst part of the year for me.

Our staff always puts a lot of work into teaching our own horses to load quickly and quietly well before ship-in day. One year, I told the trucker Rick Bodi that we could probably load a yearling like a saddle horse — throw the lead over its neck and send it up the ramp. And we did it.

But at the sale that year, I was physically ill watching several men whaling on a colt to get him in a trailer. Some people just assume that you have to stick a chain over the nose, get out the blindfold, butt rope and a broom and then push the horse into the trailer.

Our philosophy is,” Hurry up and wait”. You can spend 10 minutes quietly giving the horse time, or 20 minutes beating on the same horse. You will get him loaded either way.

How do you unwind away from the business?

A holiday without horses of some sort is boring. So we do a lot of trail riding, usually with a three week trip to Alberta and parts of the U.S.A.

How do you monitor mares about to foal?

We have a camera in the barn along with a night foaling person who does some chores up until 11:00 p.m. Then lights are turned down and things are kept as quiet as possible until morning.

The foaling staff does a frequent walk-through to monitor the mares. We did try using a Foal Alert, but it is probably more effective for those with one or two mares. Once a mare starts foaling, Terry and I are notified and we go in to assist.

What are you most looking forward to in 2011?

We kept a homebred Yankee Cruiser which we sold pieces of to a trail riding buddy, Dr. Andy Thompson, and to Ross Hardy, who’s training her. We are all getting wired about watching her race.