Horse Around, Missoula

Blog by SuzAnne Miller and Danielle Lattuga

SuzAnne Miller is the owner of Dunrovin Ranch, a small guest ranch nestled against the Bitterroot River and the Sapphire Mountains, south of Missoula. She shares her home with her husband of 42 years, 2 sons, 20 equines, 2 or 3 dogs, the resident wildlife, and anyone looking for high adventure.

Danielle Lattuga is a novice horsewoman, frequently found guilty of confusing hoof beats with heartbeats. She believes that riding and writing are not so different: both part poetry, part sweat.  Follow her into Montana’s horse country, and find out if she’s right.

Read Horse Around, Missoula for SuzAnne and Danielle’s unique perspectives on all things Montana and Horse related.

Waiting Room Jitters

Waiting Room Jitters

By SUZANNE MILLER - For the last several weeks, I have been sitting in ... more

The Healing Power of Passion – and Horses

The Healing Power of Passion – and Horses

By SUZANNE MILLER - As I recover from back-to-back surgeries, the image... more

I Heart Horses

I Heart Horses

By DANIELLE LATTUGA - Horsewomen exhibit a fine balance of independence... more

New Year’s Resolutions: Horse$#%@!

New Year’s Resolutions: Horse$#%@!

By DANIELLE LATTUGA - Smokey the horse is the reason I resolved to slow down. A resolution is a very personal thing. Shouldn’t it reflect where you are at one crystal moment in your life?... more

A Kind of Winter Hush

A Kind of Winter Hush

By SUZANNE MILLER - For the horses of Dunrovin Ranch, winter is a true time of rest. They're released from the demands of pleasing people and can settle into the joy of being horses.... more

How To Thank A Horse

How To Thank A Horse

By DANIELLE LATTUGA - How do you thank a horse? It depends on the horse. That’s the first thing you should know. I thank Smoke every day we are together.... more

Horse Friends – When Friendships are Born of Horses

Horse Friends – When Friendships are Born of Horses

By SUZANNE MILLER - Friendships among horse aficionados can be very different from those centered on other endeavors. Horses intensify just about everything.... more

Real Cowgirls Wear Sports Bras
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Real Cowgirls Wear Sports Bras

By DANIELLE LATTUGA. Okay, so I am less a cow-girl and more a horse-woman but that’s not my point. Usually, I am in a rush when I’ve got to pack up all the stuff I will need or might need on a horseback ri... more

A Professionally Nice Horsewoman
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A Professionally Nice Horsewoman

By SUZANNE MILLER. Professionally nice is the term my husband uses to describe my good friend, Jean Larson. She is after all, an ordained minister and pastor. She is supposed to be nice.... more

When a Horse Likes to Move

When a Horse Likes to Move

By DANIELLE LATTUGA.In the last year with this horse, I’ve seen glimmers of connection. Little bright shining moments where we are working together perfectly in sync, or times when we stand shoulder to should... more

Driving Miss Dixie – and the Art of Towing a Trailer
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Driving Miss Dixie – and the Art of Towing a Trailer

By SUZANNE MILLER. My love affair with Miss Dixie, my Chevy Silverado 2500HD Duramax diesel pickup with an Allison towing transmission, took me completely by surprise. I am not a motor head. For most of my lif... more

Horse Trailer in Tow
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Horse Trailer in Tow

By DANIELLE LATTUGA.We don’t have a horse trailer. If we did, we wouldn’t be pulling it with a Subaru. It’s a peculiar habit that I’ve developed, but I can’t say that it will change. Of the 11 years t... more

Artistic Horse Photography: When Memories & Art Become One

Artistic Horse Photography: When Memories & Art Become One

By SUZANNE MILLER. I thought I knew all there was to know about the features of my horse, Power. Yet, the mere act of holding a camera and trying to capture his character and beauty caused me to see him anew.... more

Horse Connections – Even from Afar
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Horse Connections – Even from Afar

By DANIELLE LATTUGA. I was worried that my horse, Smoke, would forget about me the 10 days I was away. I have come to relish the incremental bits of progress that we make together — each step forward is a tre... more

A Sterling Horse Husband
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A Sterling Horse Husband

By SUZANNE MILLER. Being smitten with horses is akin to being plagued with a disease–-a disease of obsession. Like most married horsewomen, this disease called horses has further complicated an already compli... more

Gaited, Not Gated
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Gaited, Not Gated

By DANIELLE LATTUGA. “I don’t do gates, I gait.” I imagine this is just one of the things Smoke would like to tell me while we’re out on the trail. Ideally, he would tell me this in the context of a co... more

Summer Sounds

Summer Sounds

By SUZANNE MILLER. This year, our vigil for Ozzie and Harriet (The Osprey) was particularly full of anticipation and tension as we had Northwestern Energy install a web camera at Dunrovin Ranch.... more

This Montana Place, Part II

This Montana Place, Part II

By DANIELLE LATTUGA. My own creativity exists at the interface of the internal and external landscape. My craft is informed by my connection to the natural world, and animal nature. This is an integral part of ... more

This Montana Place
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This Montana Place

By SUZANNE MILLER. I live in Montana. Vast prairie vistas nurture my senses and my soul. Crisp mountain air fills my heart, as well as my lungs. These mountains with their wide valleys and abundant rivers; thes... more

Off the Ground

Off the Ground

By DANIELLE LATTUGA. Perched on Smoke’s back, I realized that all the little steps we took to get there—all the hours spent on the ground—were well worth the effort.... more

A Star is Born
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A Star is Born

By SUZANNE MILLER. Early last fall, I answered the phone to find an articulate and creative young man, Alex Pollini, on the other end. He earnestly implored me to provide a horse for him to use in a film he was... more

Hard Ground

Hard Ground

By DANIELLE LATTUGA. Smoke and I are often less than poetry on six feet. We’re more like a blob of bubble gum stuck to someone’s shoe. Sometimes the poetry comes later, when my body is not beat down, and t... more

Power – My “Mane” Man
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Power – My “Mane” Man

By SUZANNE MILLER. Power came into my life during a period of sadness, confusion, and stress. I had no business buying a horse. My love for Power was based on a relationship that I can have with few others.... more

Delusions and the Dream
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Delusions and the Dream

By DANIELLE LATTUGA. I can have these dreams of what I want to accomplish, with Smoke. I can recognize that some of them may come true and some may not. But, I know that none of it will happen, if I don’t c... more

A Seasoned Horsewoman
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A Seasoned Horsewoman

By SUZANNE MILLER. I'm delighted to be considered a “seasoned horsewoman.” I was well into my forties before I began down the path to becoming a horsewoman – not exactly a kid with wet ears.... more

Focus
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Focus

By DANIELLE LATTUGA. We are standing in the open-air arena—temperamental spring sky above us, a shower of gropple still clinging to mane and hair. There is no snow between sole and earth.... more

The Lovely Lady Lonza
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The Lovely Lady Lonza

By SUZANNE MILLER. It was never my intent to breed Tennessee Walking Horses, but then Annie became permanently lame. She was in a large pasture with four other horses when a freak hail storm passed through the... more

The Right Horse
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The Right Horse

By DANIELLE LATTUGA. Words don’t hold much salt with horses. Get in the saddle, and they learn more by how you root your bones. Your legs become your voice and the rest of your body must follow consistently... more

Coming Home to Montana – Part Two
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Coming Home to Montana – Part Two

By SUZANNE MILLER. Soon after settling into our little slice of paradise along the Bitterroot River, my husband brought home a wooden sign that read, “Dunrovin Ranch.” He knew that I found my place and tha... more

When Ponies Become Horses
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When Ponies Become Horses

By DANIELLE LATTUGA. Fourteen years ago, I moved to Montana. For a long time, I was content just knowing that horses were around me. Like wilderness, it brought me some level of comfort, as I navigated the cha... more

Coming Home to Montana – Part One
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Coming Home to Montana – Part One

By SUZANNE MILLER. Dad’s ritual of making the entire family get out of the car and kiss the ground every time we re-entered Montana after a trip seemed fun and daring when I was about six. ... more