Rural Heritage June/July 2025

Wes Lupher operates a J-Hawk with two American Brabants at his Mountain View, Wyo., ranch.

I thought if I could transfer some of that bone to my mules … that was my goal. So I ended up buying a stallion, crossbred him to my American Belgian mares, took that cross, took the fillies, sold the stud colts, took those fillies, raised them up and started crossing them with my jacks. “And that way I was putting more bone on my mule. colts. That was what I was after. And it worked out really great. I didn't get all of the stud colts sold. I ended up raising some, and I thought, well, I’ll sell them as broke horses when they got, you know, 3 or 4 years old. I fell in love with them. After I started working them, I said, we’re not selling all of them. We’re gong

to keep some of them to work. So that's how I got more involved in the ABA, because I just love their mind and love their attitude. That's where we are today.” Tecla and Mark Speed shared an interesting story about how they got started with American Brabants at their Ford, Wash., ranch. “My husband, Mark, and I got our first European Belgian cross seven to eight years ago,” she said. “She was brought down out of Canada with a foal in her belly. Her foal is now our American Brabant stallion, MT Axel van Ford. We instantly fell in love with the breed for several reasons. Their kind nature and overall easy-going demeanor make them a

June/July 2025

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