Ramona has a large subdivision of a recent influx of city folk in the San Diego Estates, enticed by the wonderful views, the quiet bedroom community, the ability to have a horse in your backyard, the riding trails, and that small town feeling of comfort which has added approximately 15,000 people to the town of 20,000 animal enthusiasts, many of whom still make their living in Ramona in the same animal industries as were originally settled here. There are currently about 20,000 horses in Ramona, with most breeds represented by breeders and owners. Horse shows are held regularly in Ramona, with several world class equestrian facilities. Golden Eagle Farms, the estate of the late thoroughbred racing magnate still operates just down the road from Spots 'N Stripes Ranch, as well as several other thoroughbred racing farms. A camel ranch is just down the road as well.

The Spots 'N Stripes Ranch is located just 2 miles from Main Street, tucked off the road and, with a 1900 ft. elevation there is a great 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains and valleys.

The mature landscaping on the ranch holds over 70 organic fruit trees, with 17 different kinds of fruit and several types of each kind, with at least one to four varieties ripening every single month of the year.

The main purpose of the Spots 'N Stripes Ranch is to do a continuous compilation of research on zebras, not just from the standpoint of observing them in the wild, understanding their kinship groups, social bonds, prey/predator behaviors, breeding behaviors, foaling behaviors, etc., but also to get into the mind of the zebra, learning how it learns, what its vocalizations mean, and learn how to interpret the behaviors between two or more zebras based on 'action and reaction' or 'cause and effect' principals and how to adapt and utilize those in training the zebra. We have also studied the nutritional values of the zebra, and learned how to mimic nature when we take our babies away from from their mothers early to train them, so that they are always as healthy as they can be, are fed just as they would be if left with their dams, with the quality and quantity of milk and additional feeds that they need to mature to healthy, strong adults. We have learned so much about these wonderful creatures, such as how long it takes the mother and foal to achieve their strongest bond, what the dam will do when her foal is threatened, what the day to day relationships and behaviors are between stallion and mares, and many more great facts about zebras. Just before the turn of the century in Africa the government started a training program for zebras, and in just a short time it was found that with proper understanding of the zebras' way of thinking, they could be trained to pull wagons, carry packs, and ride. However, the program ended abruptly when in 1903 motorized vehicles were introduced into Africa. However, that program tested many training techniques that would be considered similar to how wild mustangs were handled many years ago, before an understanding of the equine mind became more available to handlers. As a result, many zebras, like the mustangs, were lost in the process, either through physical injury or psychological injury. Today, at the Spots 'N Stripes Ranch we first raise our zebras to be trainable, then we train them using zebra language, just like the natural horsemen and horsewomen train horses now using horse language. The zebra is the 'ultimate equine', with a more extensive 'vocabulary' of both vocalizations and communication behaviors, as well as being 5 times stronger than a horse its size, and with their flight/fight mechanisms always at the surface, so both typical and natural horsemanship training techniques are generally unsuccessful in zebra training since even more skills in equineship are necessary to train the zebra. Our 3 day training clinics at the Spots 'N Stripes Ranch teach the humans that one must 'become a zebra to train a zebra'. What the students who attend these clinics discover is that they can take the training knowledge they learn at the clinic, go back home and train ANY horse, donkey or mule, zorse or zonkey, proving that the zebra is the 'ultimate' equine. Everyone goes home with a much more developed understanding of the equine mine, and are able to initiate incredible new relationships with their equines.

Another important aim of the ranch is to educate the public and other zebra enthusiasts as to the pitfalls of inbreeding, a huge problem in this country and others, and encourage all responsible breeders to register their breeding stock as foundation blood in the IZZZA, the International Zebra-Zorse-Zonkey Association, so that all zebras, of all species, can be photo identified and pedigreed. This way future inbreeding can be eliminated within just a few generations. Heart defects and other internal defects, long backs, ewe necks, over and underbites, uneven top lines, cow hocks and sickle hocks need to be addressed, and animals having or passing on these conformation, mouth, and organ deficiencies and faults should be eliminated from the breeding stock of responsible breeders.

We also spend much time educating zebra fanciers about the dangers of bottle feeding and/or hand feeding babies. This creates very dangerous animals that WILL cause injury to humans, and alienates the zebras from other equines. Any breeder who offers bottle fed zebra babies is programming that animal to become severely aggressive to its unsuspecting new owners as it matures, and it is the breeders' responsibility to learn and understand what they are doing to those animals and to the future owners, and stop bottle feeding and hand feeding. That is an extremely false sense of friendship and bonding with the animal and is absolutely no replacement for proper training and understanding of the animal. We get calls regularly from people who have purchased bottle fed animals, expecting that the breeders know what they are doing when they are putting bottle feds out there. These animals attack their owners when they mature, causing severe injuries involving hospitization. They believe their owners are zebras, or that they are human, since it was people who 'nursed' them, and they need to move up the pecking order as they mature. That is built in to every animal. When they reach that phase, they turn on the humans, biting and kicking, to prove they deserve to move up and dominate the human. We advise all prospective owners to stay clear of bottle fed babies, and breeders who bottle feed them. We feel that responsible breeders should learn how to train their babies since they are raising them and offering themselves as experts, and not do the 'quick-fix' to sell them by making them look friendly and bonded to people by bottle feeding.

We only recommend that prospective purchasers purchase IZZZA registered stock, and purchase from breeders who are truly knowledgeable about zebras, who can offer sound advice to their clients, and who are capable of working with their clients when asked for help throughout the life of the zebra, so that its best interests will always be placed first by the owners. This is what the best breeders of all the horse breeds do for their equines and their clients, and so should zebra breeders who have chosen to breed and sell these animals. Zebras are not for the majority, as commitment, knowledge, and time are essential to training a zebra; much, much more-so than in training a horse.

At the ranch we breed the best conformed, best minded Grant's zebras, train them, show them, and debunk the many myths such as that zebras 'in general' cannot be trained, (it is true that most horse trainers cannot train zebras, but it is not true that zebras cannot be trained) that they are crazy, (bottle fed animals are definitely mentally deranged by the humans that determine bottle feeding is a viable excuse for training) that they have weak backs, (only true of inbred, long backed zebras, the same as it is true of long backed horses) that you have to tranquilize them to trim their feet, (we don't even tranq the wild ones to do their feet!) etc. What myths have you heard about zebras?

Another dream is to cross the a Grant’s zebra to a champion miniature mare to create the world’s first miniature zorse, as a point of research. With the purchase of a full reproductive laboratory and just the right champion miniature horses, and just the right recipient mares, that dream is also in the making. We have established a special criteria for the miniature mares to be used and now have the protocol for this project with the help of Dr. Jim Kubiak, and Dr. Richard Tramp, reproductive specialists. Pioneering research with the miniature horses and with the zebras over the past 4 years have enabled us to set this protocol in motion.

Of course, miniature horses in their own right are also a priority at the ranch, and paint horses have also been on the agenda, with almost a complete dispersal of paints going on in 2005. Miniature horse herd sires include an own son of world famous foundation miniature horse Paul Bunyan , many times champion Senor Tequila, Holly's Gold, many times champion, a many champion and National Top 10 producer, Stocklin's Eagles Leopard Mustang, a beautiful 31.5 leopard appy, champion producer, and introducing this year, Six Gems Top This, our champion 27.5 grulla stallion. Our great son of Sierra Dawn Uno De Mayo, Sierra Dawn Uno's Winter Storm, also National Top Ten horse, was added to our line up in 2004. Almost all of the ranch's miniature horse mares are champions, get of champions, or proven champion producers.