Associates & Resources

Charles and Tanii Carr with Miata

Charles and Tanii Carr

The Carrs are the owners of Melody Oaks Ranch. Tanii is the Ranch Manager and is very hands-on, maintaining close communication with boarders and horses.

After many years of researching how to improve the quality of life of her own herd, Tanii decided to share what she had learned with fellow horse people through the Melody Oaks Protocols practiced at the Ranch.

When not working with horses, Charles and Tanii are involved with their other businesses: fine art portrait photography and software/web development. The Carrs have three children, three grandchildren, four horses, a dog, and lots of friends!

Paco Vela Portrait

Natural Horsemanship—Paco Vela

Melody Oaks Ranch is not discipline-specific. The training offered here is fundamental to all disciplines whether hunter-jumper, dressage, Western pleasure, racing, endurance, etc. It is about establishing communication, mutual respect, understanding, and a relationship from which other disciplines can evolve.

We couldn’t be happier with our choice of instructor, Paco Vela, who has the heart, experience and skills needed to build such a fundamental horse-human relationship. Paco is available for private and group lessons, clinics and demonstrations, evaluations and individual programs. The horsemanship methods he practices are the same that we practice when dealing with our boarders’ horses.

Paco Vela Horsemanship Logo
Samantha Perry with Horse

Natural Hoof Care—Samantha Perry

Tanii has been studying the various aspects of barefoot hoof care for many years. She has attended clinics and dissected cadaver hooves and talked with hoof care specialists of different methods. All of her horses are barefoot, including her 30-year-old Paso Fino gelding who is sound over any type of ground, including gravel and rocks.

Not all barefoot philosophies and methods are the same, and going barefoot is more involved than pulling the shoes and letting nature do its thing, because in nature a horse would be walking 15-20 miles a day foraging and in search of water and naturally wearing down its hooves.

Samantha Perry is the Ranch’s preferred hoof care professional. She is at the Ranch at least once a month and is available for evaluations and trims. Contact Samantha at barefootandbitless@roadrunner.com, at (818) 994-1056 or (818) 371-5654.

Equine Wellness

Over the years, we have used the services of many fine and caring professionals.

Holistic Vet, Dr. Megan Bamford—Megan is a licensed veterinarian who practices holistic veterinary care for large and small animals. She is a horsewoman and mule owner whom we've used for many years, for all our animals. We highly recommend her.

Acupuncturist, Nancy Evans—One of the first in the United States to study acupuncture for animals, Nancy is highly skilled and insightful as one can only be from years of experience. She works in tandem with Dr. Bamford, working with both traditional needles as well as various laser technologies.

Equine Dentist, Brian Borg—While veterinarians are trained to float a horse’s teeth, doing so is not generally among their favorite things (per comments from them). As the importance of equine dental work has emerged, so has the demand for the services of people specifically trained in this field. Properly done, equine dentistry may be able to contribute to improvements in a horse’s behavior, conformation, and way of going when those issues are related to a bad bite and other dental problems. Brian works with a licensed veterinarian in performing these services.

Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Charlene Worthley—As with complementary modalities for humans, much benefit can be derived from such methods when used with horses as part of an overall veterinary program. Charlene has studied these techniques and has been a participant in our clinics. cbworth@yahoo.com or www.iahp.com/charleneworthley.

Veterinarian, Dr. Bob Bradley—We've known and used Bob for many years. In addition to his rich background in conventional veterinary medicine, he has studied complementary vet care. He has the distinction of having been the first to suggest to Pat Parelli that he take his expertise and talents on the road so that others could learn from him. For horse people all over the world are gratefull he did. For more information contact Bob at Los Angeles Equine Hospital Inc., 10040 La Tuna Canyon Rd, Sun Valley, CA 91352-2239, (818) 768-2784.

Other Links

Valencia Sports Saddlery—Our local tack supplier! Great items—terrific people.

EasyCare Hoof Boots—What a great product for those of us who have barefoot horses, especially when transitioning a horse from shod to barefoot.

Ansur Saddles—Our horses just LOVE these saddles, and so do we! They are made by a team of women saddlemakers to the very highest standards. And they are beautiful to look at!

Parelli Natural Horsemanship—There are many excellent trainers and horse men and women out there. But after seeing Pat Parelli work, I decided that he topped my list of knowledgeable people who could also convey, easily, how to become "savvy" with horses, too!

The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan—Tanii and her Border Collie Milo were featured on an episode of The Dog Whisper. We (mostly me) learned a lot and have come to appreciate the work that Cesar does.

Calamity Cate's True Cowboy Magazine—Our friend Calamity is the publisher of True Cowboy Magaine. She is passionate about horses and especially passionate about protecting and saving America's heritage, the wild horses and mustangs.

The New Buffalo Soldiers—Melody Oaks Ranch has had the pleasure of hosting the horses of the New Buffalo Soldiers during the Cowboy Festival held at Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio in the Spring. What a great bunch of people, dedicated to bringing to life the soldiers of this incredible group founded during the Civil War.

The Horse's Hoof—Whenever I get my copy of this newsletter, I read it from cover to cover and everything in between. It is the best source I know of for information not only about the barefoot movement, but also related subjects such as saddle fit, nutrition, natural horsemanship training, etc. Just a great publication!

Placerita Canyon Nature Center—This is a great place to take your kids to learn about our natural environment. It is also the starting point for many hiking trails into our local mountains, including one waterfall!

Paso Fino Horse Association—We've been involved in the Paso Fino breed for over 20 years. We love their beauty, their intelligence, sensativity, tractability, and disposition. And then there's that comfortable gait! Here are links to both the national and California groups. Paso Fino Horse Association: www.cpfha.org California Paso Fino Horse Association: www.pfha.org

Dignified Dead Animal Disposal—Tanii has used the services of this group and appreciates their care and concern during a time of loss. Contact them at 9001 Roseland Ave, Moorpark, CA 93021 (805) 523-1241.

For Love of the Horse—When I was helping a horse recover, I used the specially-formulated herbal remedies from these wonderful people. They were so kind and attentive to my needs and really helped me help my horse. They are a great adjunct to standard veterinary medicine.

Website Art, Design and Production

Peter Green Design Logo

Logo Design

Our logo was designed by Peter Green Design of Burbank, California. Besides being a  friend for many years, Peter is a reknown illustrator and designer working in the advertising, television and movie industries. Charles worked for Peter as a photographer and special-effects technician in the mid 1980s. We LOVE his work!

Please visit his web site and see the amazing things he and his talented staff have created!

Benchmark Software, Inc. Logo

Website Design and Programming

Benchmark Software, Inc. provides software applications, Internet sites and other business services for a diverse array of clients including Boeing, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, and Melody Oaks Ranch!

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