Meet Taryn White | Barn owner “Koda Ranch”

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taryn White and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taryn, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The thought process behind starting our own business was wanting somewhere to build a community. Through this endeavor we’ve created relationships with our clients and their families to become successful. We make memories, put smiles on faces, and give people a chance to experience farm animals and farm life, which increasingly more people don’t get to have in their lifetimes. That reason alone was worth starting our business.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a family owned business. We are a boarding facility for horses and put on petting zoos. We do summer kids camp, birthday parties, dress animals up, go to schools, participate in parades, and host community movie nights in the barn.
What sets us apart from others is we have created a family community and a place where we make smiles and memories for boarders, clients, friends, and families. Everyone looks forward to being here, everyday is something different- new horses, animals coming in, or maybe even a baby (or two) born. We’ve made it to where we are today through hard work, dedication, and support from family and friends. No, it isn’t always easy; we are out in all kinds of weather including negative temperatures, there are early mornings, late or sleepless nights, and there is always a job that needs to be done. Even after we have been completely exhausted doing everything we could to keep a horse alive, sometimes we have to accept them passing over the rainbow bridge. And we have to keep going because the other animals and their people still need us. Overcoming the many challenges we’ve faced hasn’t been easy either. There are days we get kicked down, lose an animal, and things don’t go as planned, but failure isn’t an option. You learn to just keep pushing and moving forward because the animals need us, our kids can’t see their parents fail, and our boarders (clients) depend on us. The lessons we have learned running a ranch are a lot of practical life lessons also—about animals, people, weather, money, and patience. Here are some of the biggest lessons we have learned over time:

1. Expect the unexpected

Weather, animals, equipment, and markets rarely go exactly as planned.
• Storms show up suddenly
• Fences break
• Animals get sick or wander off

Flexibility is one of the most important ranch skills.

2. The animals come first.

A ranch day often revolves around livestock needs:
• Feed and water before anything else
• Checking for injuries or illness
• Safe fencing and shelter

Healthy animals usually mean a healthy ranch operation.

3. Good fences save time and money

Many ranchers say: “Good fences make good neighbors—and good livestock.”
Investing time in strong fences prevents:
• Lost animals
• Neighbor conflicts
• Long stressful roundups
• Injuries

4. Preventive care beats emergency care

Routine things make a huge difference:
• Vaccinations
• Hoof care
• Parasite control
• Quality feed and clean water

It’s cheaper and easier to prevent problems than to fix them later.

5. Community Matters

Ranching often necessitates the ability to rely on neighbors and friends:
• Helping with roundups
• Borrowing equipment
• Covering chores during emergencies

Strong rural communities keep ranch life running smoothly.

6. Equipment will break at the worst time

Tractors, trailers, water pumps, gates—something always breaks.
Lessons learned:
• Keep tools handy
• Learn basic repairs
• Always have backup plans

7. Patience is Everything

Animals don’t work on human schedules.
Rushing usually makes things worse.

Good ranchers learn to:
• Move livestock calmly
• Observe behavior
• Work with animals instead of against them

8. It’s more of a lifestyle than a job

Ranching is rarely a 9-to-5 job.
It’s:
• Early mornings
• Late nights during calving/foaling, new ranch babies (goats, sheep)
• Working weekends and holidays

But for many people, this lifestyle and connection to the land and animals makes the hard parts worth it.

9. Small problems become big ones fast

Ignoring a small issue—like a loose board, sick baby, or broken water line—can quickly turn into a big problem.

Successful ranchers fix things early.

10. The best days make the hard ones worth it

Watching:
• A healthy foal or calf born or a new baby on ranch whether it’s a goat, sheep, or hatchlings
• A sunset over the pasture
• Kids learning to ride
• Animals thriving

Those moments remind us why we ranch in the first place.

We want the world to know about our brand and story; our brand is based on the Mustang freeze brand. We adopted a Mustang a few years ago named Koda and we named the ranch after him. His brand gave us the idea to use the Mustang brand code for our ranch business. The code for our ranch means 12-12-5-7 which is my and my husbands’ birthday months and our daughters’ birthday months. We built this ranch with our blood sweat and tears to give my girls, our family, and our friends a safe place…somewhere animals run free, kids get to play in the dirt, and they can learn life lessons watching animals and people grow closer together.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would say the best place for this experience is here at our ranch. We have nights at the fire pit where we eat, drink, tell stories, put on music, and over all have a great time. We have amazing views of the mountains and always enjoy the best sunsets. We barbecue, have movie nights on the projector in the barn, ride horses, and enjoy being in the country away from the rush and hustle of the city. The stars are incredible at the ranch; they are so bright and completely fill the sky.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband Nik Rauterkus and my best friend Amy; they both have been so supportive and helpful with everything we do to run and make our business successful.
My family has helped with tractors and things we have also needed to get started, build the ranch, and become what we are today.

Website: https://recorder-bellflower-32pe.squarespace.com/FC

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093466084323&mibextid=2JQ9oc