Wilder Blue Ranch opens with ribbon cutting ceremony, inviting opportunities for education on Clydesdale repopulation efforts

At Wilder Blue Ranch, greener pastures are more than a picturesque backdrop. They are the heart of a mission to help preserve the dwindling Clydesdale population and introduce the gentle giants to a new generation.

The ranch recently celebrated its official opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, welcoming the public for tours and events while highlighting its Clydesdale breeding program.

Caroline Collins, who leads the ranch’s operations, opened the ceremony by explaining what inspired her to create Wilder Blue and how she discovered her passion for equine breeding and preservation.

“A question that I get asked a lot is ‘where did the name Wilder Blue come from?’ Wilder Blue is basically another term for greener pastures. If you’re looking for greener pastures, or wilder blue, you’re looking for something more in life,” Collins stated.

“My family took a trip to Montana, and that’s when I realized I wanted to work with horses,” Collins explained. “Up there is where I found my Wilder Blue, and I decided that one day, whenever I owned my own ranch, it would be called Wilder Blue Ranch.”

Wilder Blue is home to Louisiana’s first recognized and registered Clydesdale breeding program. The ranch has already celebrated the birth of its first Clydesdale, Royal Relic of Wilder Blue.

Relic was born to Fancy, formally known as Roy-A-Lea Classic Fancy, from Roy-A-Lea Clydesdales in Ontario, Canada. Weighing approximately 200 pounds at birth, Relic quickly became the ranch’s spoiled little sister.

While leading ceremony attendees on a tour, Collins explained that rebuilding the Clydesdale population can be a difficult and extensive process.

“One thing that really contributes to their declining numbers is that they’re really hard to breed and maintain that pregnancy throughout the entire time,” Collins noted. “So the odds of all four of our mares carrying to full term is very, very slim… but all you can really do is try to help the population grow.”

Collins and her husband, Seth, spent more than two weeks sleeping in a tent outside Fancy’s stall as they waited for her to go into labor. Collins woke every 30 minutes throughout the night to check on the expectant mother.

It was not until Collins slept 10 minutes past her alarm one night that she entered the stall to find Fancy sitting calmly with the newborn Relic at her side.

The challenges did not end with Relic’s birth. A few days later, the foal began leaking fluid from her umbilicus and developed an infection that required emergency surgery at LSU.

“But she came out of it really great and now she’s gorgeous… absolutely perfect,” Collins added.

Collins hopes Gerty and Relic, the ranch’s two Clydesdale sisters, will one day pull its show wagon together “because it would just be a gorgeous pairing, the two sisters… and they really resemble each other a lot.”

Collins was also proud to announce that Gunner, the ranch’s mature male black Clydesdale, has already produced several noteworthy foals. One of his daughters competed in the Clydesdale World Show last year and placed second in her class.

Wilder Blue Ranch is home to more than horses.

Wendell, a pig who wandered onto the property seemingly out of nowhere as a small piglet, has become a fixture at Wilder Blue. Over the following months, he made the ranch his home base, enjoying its wide-open pastures and the oats he finds near the horse stalls.

Praline, the ranch’s other potbellied pig, several turkeys, and Huckleberry, a shorter equine companion for the Clydesdales, have also found homes among Wilder Blue’s greener pastures.

The ranch offers birthday parties, tours, and private events. Collins also plans to host events on the property “to give back to the community.”

During birthday parties, children often make new friends among the gentle giants before being invited to paint their own Clydesdales. Collins said the activity is intended “to teach kids more about their color variations” and patterns since “they come in a wide variety of colors and people don’t realize that.”

“I like seeing how… some people will connect with the horses that are very social, and then you’ll see certain people that will go off and make it like their mission to connect with Pretty… taking their time to get Pretty to trust them,” Collins recalled as she petted the shy horse.

Collins concluded the ceremony by inviting attendees to a vendor market at the ranch on Sunday, Sept. 6. The event will feature more than 20 vendors, live music, and a large waterslide.