Willowdale Ranch at The Highland Lakes Center

05/10/2026

It was a great weekend here at the ranch supporting the Barony of Tain Bo, Kingdom of An Tir event from the SCA! Beautiful weather, pageantry, great classes, competituons and events were enjoyed by everyone. Here are some SCA picks with more to come..

04/26/2026

Ranger being frisky!

04/26/2026

Sunday Lessons From Horses:

1. It's not over, until it's over..
A friend of mine called me on Monday. She told me that my seventeen hand 20+ yr old Arabian was laying in the field. I told her he always does that.But I will go out and check on him. I went check on him and he was not in good shape. Both his front legs we're swollen to twice their size. He was not responsive and was breathing heavy. So I called the vet. The vet showed up and immediately recommended I put him down. His heart beat and breathing was very shallow. That was a hard no from me. So he gave me some anti inflammatory shots to administer and left. That night, I set my alarm to go out and check on him every couple of hours. He would not stand up or walk.
The next morning he was still alive, and over the next three days of sitting with him, praying over him, even through two cold and rainy nights. He stayed strong. On Wednesday, I thought for sure he was going to die because it started snowing. I got a canopy and set it over him and sat with him for a while. The next morning he looked better. Then, progressively over the next three days he stood up and started eating and now his swelling has gone down and he is back hanging out with the rest of the herd. Ryder is a fighter! We think he got bit by a timber rattler and the poison just needed to work through his system. So Amen.

2. When you get knocked off a horse, the best thing to do is get right back on. I got bashed in the head two weeks a go while breaking a horse. I had surgery and am recovering. Today I got back on. I never really was scared but it's still a good lesson.

3. You can't work with horses until you know how to ride horses. Emily, our therapist, and her husband Kevin got their first weekly lesson today. And did excellent.

04/25/2026

Hosting Rogue DU Veterans Sportsmans Dinner tonight. Getting back to what we do. Serving veterans. We have smothered elk backstrap, stuffed dove breast wrapped in bacon, smoked cottontail, and roasted canadian goose with all the trimmings. Heading to the coast tomorrow for a great Dove Hunt!!

04/08/2026

We are getting closer to an amazing night of local music! Don't miss out on The John Dough Boys, Nathan Stone, and the Robbie Dacosta Band. Come join us for Highland Lakes Night Of Music Fundraiser at The Rocky Tonk Saloon. Purchase tickets now and save!

03/29/2026

Our new EAL facilitator Emily Farrel, a licensed mental health therapist from Options in Ashland, was out today helping as we groomed away winter coats. We are gearing up for our Equine Assisted Learning summer program.

03/26/2026

Great time visiting with Bill Meyer on KMED Radio this morning. Getting the word out about & Willowdaleranch.org. Speaking about our mission to the Southern Oregon Veterans community as well as our commitment to supporting other nonprofits that can use Willowdale in their own mission.

Willowdale Ranch PLEASE DONATE JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST Our Services Equine Assisted Learning EAL uses horses to facilitate personal and interpersonal growth. It involves groundwork activities where participants interact with horses to develop skills like communication, trust, and self-awareness. Conserv...

03/25/2026

Tune into KMED Radio with Bill Meyer tomorrow at 8:10am to hear all about Highland Lakes Center!

Bill Meyer Bill Meyer, Podcasts on BillMeyerShow.com Bill Meyer’s page: www.Facebook.com/BillMeyerShow _________ MONDAY 3-13-23 PODCASTS 6AM – 7AM – 8AM TUESDAY 3-14-23 PODCASTS 6AM – 7AM – 8AM WEDNESDAY 3-15-23 PODCASTS 6AM – 7AM – 8AM THURSDAY 3-16-23 PODCASTS 6AM – 7AM .....