Lost Creek Ranger Shuksan
ILR # 215977
gelding b. 10-22-1999
Ranger Dusty x Snake River Dallys
click on the photo to see more pictures of Shuksan on flickr®
Shuksan stands 45.5" and weighs around 320 lbs. Shuksan likes both Jim and Gwen, but Shuksan kind of prefers working with guys — meaning Jim is the lucky one this time.
We gelded Shuksan only because his mother Dallys had a propensity for significantly early births; because Shuksan is not female, we couldn’t directly evaluate him for presence or absence of that trait. In all other respects (remembering that intact disposition is different and can’t be evaluated with certainty in a castrate), Shuksan might have made “stud quality”; he is indeed an exceptional fellow. However, at maturity, Shuksan has developed a minor case of a skin condition suspiciously like his granddam Morgan has. For that reason, we feel it's a VERY good thing he is not contributing to the gene pool.
Shuksan thinks he would like to go a lot of places and do interesting stuff with us. Jim is retaining Shuksan as a future packing partner. Shuksan likes his chow (too much, actually) and especially enjoys meeting all kinds of humans. He is a stable, sensible presence in the pasture with the younger males and geldings.
“Shuksan” is a native word (either Nooksack, Lummi, or Skagit, depending on your source) meaning “place of the storm wind” or “rocky and precipitous.” Mount Shuksan is a frequently-photographed (and photogenic), rocky and precipitous peak in northern Washington state. Our Shuksan certainly had a bit of a stormy start, and he’s also become rather popular with our farm visitors.