Historic Ybarra Brand for Livestock. Still used on Cattle to this day.
Luis Ybarra was born in 1830, in what is now Texas. His father, a notible bull fighter and horse breeder, had come from Spain to Mexico with 2 stallions and a dozen mares. When he arrived, he purchased a 100 cattle and with in a few years he was one of the most notable breeders of livestock in the area. In 1836 when Luis was only 6, his fathers live stock was depleated to supply toops during the battle at the Alamo. His parents and four siblings survived, and eventually they were able to bring up their livestock numbers once again.
But tensions between Mexico and the US continued to rise. Texas was still a wild place, with certian laws not being enforced. In 1845 Texas was annexed from Mexico, but Ybarra senior decided they were going to stay, this land had been home to them for the last 20 years.
Then in 1846 the Mexican-American war broke out. Luis was 16 years old, old enough to join the Army, but as the youngest male of the family, he stayed behind to help at the ranch while his two older brothers went to war. Tensions were high in Mexican-Texas territory and Ybarra Senior was was unsure what to do. Things were changing at home, with white migration came slavery, and the life of a rancher started to change. When Ybarra Seniors two oldest sons were killed, one in war, and one to complications from an injury. He decided to move his family and cattle opperation out of Texas and futher into the Mid-West.
Onward to Montana
Big Sky Ranch Brand for Horses
By 1850, the Ybarra family had settled in Montana with their small time cattle opperation. Ybarra Senior noticed how differently ranchers opperated in the midwest, with all the open range, and he decided he did not want that for his business. The carefully laid out plans of Ybarra Senior would insure the survival of the Ybarra Ranch even after his death. Concerned about protecting his prized cattle and resources, Ybarra was the first Montana Rancher to fence in his property. Knowing that winters were colder in Montana, he set aside a large area of land to grow fodder to help his livestock adjust during those freezing months.
The descendants of the Ybarra family joke to this day that their Great Grandpa Ybarra must have met a Gypsy fortune teller while he lived in Spain, because in 1886 there was a drought followed by a harsh winter which killed off nearly half of the cattle population in Montana.
The Ybarra Ranch was able to expand their property even more with changes to the Homestead acts, which also allowed Luis and his sisters to claim more land. His oldest sister married a Railroad Baron while his younger sister married a Sheep Rancher from the area. Ybarra Senior had passed away in 1965, and at the age of 35 Luis Ybarra took over the family ranch and his fathers legacy.
The Ybarra (Ibari) Ranch Horse
Ybarra Horses in Mexico-Texas, 1837
s Luis and his family crossed into Montana, they noticed how different the Cow Horses were from their own stock. Where the orginal Ybarra horses came from, have been lost in history. It is known that some came over from Spain with Ybarra Senior, while others were purchased from Mexican breeders before moveing into the Texas area. There his father established a breeding program which produced amazingly athletic horses with strong cow sense. There was no registry for these horses, and the life of a rancher was still very much an oral tradition.
When Ybarra Senior passed away, it was up to Luis, then age 35 to decide where he wanted to go with the breeding program. From the fatigue some of the horses indured on the trail to Montana, it was clear they needed better endurance. The winters were also colder here. In 1966 Luis arranged for a local stud to spend the season out to pasture with his fathers mares. Deciding this would be a good cross, he sold or gelded the other stallions, keeping only the best one for future breedings.
This was the first outside blood to have been crossed into the Ybarra Ranch Horses, and the family believes the stallion shared similar ancestory to the modern Quarter Horse. He was a chestnut, well musceled with a shorter back. He was known for being an excelent Cow Pony, his owner almost didn't want to give him up for the season, but eventually Luis and him stuck a deal.
The next spring the pasture was full of big foals. They were born with large shoulders and running up the hills in the field allowed them to develope their hind ends. By 1870, Luis was worried he had made the wrong choice in outsourcing. The offspring, while more agile and enduring, lacked what Luis called "sense and character." They weren't cowey enough for the ranch, and had lost some of his fathers orginal Iberian traits he once prided.
During that year Luis fell inlove with a Blackfoot woman named Sinopa Choate. Granny Sinopa as the family calls her today, compleatly changed how Luis saw the horse. The Blackfoot people were strong horsemen, whom bred their mounts for specific qualities. One quality that Granny Sinopa helped Luis breed into his horses was the speed and ability to run across the plains and follow the buffalo for long periods of time. As a wedding present, Luis was gifted 5 horses, a stallion and 4 mares. The horses which the Blackfoot Confederacy bred would go on to be called the Blackfoot Buffalo horse.
These horses were direct descendants from Spanish horses, and many still retained those characteristics. That year Luis bred the Blackfoot stallion to the Ybarra mares, and the mature fillies that were crossed with the Chestnut ranch stallion. The resulting offspring were colorful, strong, and enduring. They would grow up to be some of the greatest Cow Poines Luis had ever raised. Like the Nokota, Nez Perce, Choctaw and many other Native American tribes, the Blackfoot horses were built on Spanish Mustang stock. This infusion into the Ybarra horses not only allowed them to keep their Iberian look, but also contributed that endurnace and hardiness Luis wanted.