Story by Aubrey Simpson; Photography by Patrick Coyne and Jessica Shouse

With horses whinnying in the background, Jerry King took time out of his busy day to talk with EquuSSource. Jerry has signed on with Farm Plan™ for all his feed and agricultural financing needs. Farm Plan is a financing and accounting tool offered through Southern States by John Deere Credit. Farm Plan is designed to help save money, improve cash flow and provide resources for more efficient and profitable operations. Laughing good humouredly, Jerry admits, “I’ve always fed Southern States, they have been real good about taking care of me and my animals. I have to say though; it took some urging to get me to commit to Farm Plan. But, I’m really glad I did.”

Anyone who works on a farm knows how helpful having less accounting work and more time can be. And, it’s certainly true at Jerry King’s Cutting Horses (www.jerrykingscuttinghorses.com). Don’t be fooled by the farm’s name, while Jerry only shows cutting horses, he trains all breeds. Jerry and his team specialize in green breaking horses for first time riding as well as problem horses. They take in horses of all kinds to make the transition to under saddle as smooth as possible, but also work with horses that may refuse to load into a trailer or stand for the farrier. Jerry excels at peacefully solving these kinds of challenges. Along with his horse training business, he also breeds and trains working dogs and bucking bulls for the rodeo. With so many interests, we asked Jerry where and when it all started.

“I’ve been in the barn my whole life,” he laughs. “I started riding when I was a little bitty kid. By the time I was a teenager I was already training horses.” Jerry spent most of his life in Duplin, North Carolina until 1997 when he and his wife, Liz, moved the farm to Parkton, North Carolina. “We found this place with 50 acres, and built 25 stalls with a covered area. The location near Raleigh, between New York and Florida is ideal for training horses.”

Green Broke

“I guess my specialty is what some people call the green breaking of colt training – working with horses that have never been ridden. I like to start when they’re around 2-years old. The starting age differs depending on the breed. I don’t train in a round pen. I start them off with a pony horse. You get more out of them that way than in a round pen, and it doesn’t strain their legs. I have an 11-year old pony horse named Slim. I tie the colts to him. He’s big enough to handle them, and he’s good tempered and strong. He teaches the young, green horses manners and respect. I’ve trained a lot of horses that others couldn’t train to ride – rejects from other trainers – and we get them going for their owners and ready to be sent off to specialty trainers. To be successful you have to get in the horses mind. It’s not a physical thing, it’s understanding how the horse thinks, figuring out its past, why it’s afraid or angry. Most of the time the problem stems from the owner spoiling the horse, a horse needs to know who is in charge. They respect that boundary.” Jerry’s ability to get into the mind and understand an animal’s nature isn’t limited to horses. He also has great success breeding and training working dogs.

Smart Dogs

“We use dogs to gather up the cattle and get them into the pen. We breed and train Border Collies for the job. I train other dog breeds, but Border Collies are the best. You literally just open the gate and tell the dogs what to do. Other dogs you have to stay and help them, but my dogs, Gus and JD, I can tell them one word and I don’t have to help them, they can do it all by themselves. Other dog breeds assist but Border Collies do the job. This is what they’ve been bred to do and they do it really well.” Jerry and his wife Liz take pride in their working dogs. They sell pups and mature working dogs to other trainers who need an extra hand around the farm.

Bull Market

In the last three years, Jerry and Liz have partnered with friends Ed and Parker Minchin (also Southern States customers) breeding bucking bulls for the professional rodeo circuit. “We’re just getting into it, but we are all ready having some success.” Asked if he rides bucking bulls, Jerry laughs, “No. I’m much smarter than that, besides I get enough of a workout with bucking horses.”

With a farm full of horses, cows, bulls and dogs it’s easy to see why Farm Plan works so well for Jerry King. “One of the advantages is that I can get all the different feeds and supplies I need with one account, one statement and one annual purchase summary. I feed my horses Reliance® Pleasure, I love it – it has good balance. I train horses that have been eating all kinds of feed. Every horse that I have switched over to Reliance has liked it; we’ve had no issues with colic or other dietary problems. How many feeds can you say that about? I use it for all my horses, from the show horses to the young ones I’m training.”

The Lumberton Service store is proud to feed all of the horses on Jerry King’s farm.