OUR HISTORY
4th Generation Family-Owned Business
In 1911, a man named John Herbst immigrated from a small village in Austria to the even smaller railroad town of Shoshoni, WY, USA. He filed a claim on a homestead on the bank of the Wind River, and "proved up" in the 1920's.
In 1948, properties along the river were condemned to make way for Boysen Reservoir. At that time, John was forced to move his family (and several buildings) from their original homestead, to the site where they now stand, 1 mile west of Shoshoni. Six decades later, John Sr's second homestead has now been passed down through four generations.
Herbst Homestead has grown over the years to include a farm in Torrington, WY (owned and operated by Tom and Michele Herbst) as well as summer pasture on Copper Mountain near Birdseye Peak, close to Shoshoni. The homestead property is now occupied and maintained by John Sr's great-grandson, Garrett, his wife, Kyla, and their two young children.
Breeding for the "Full Package"
74 Ranch Quarter Horses and Black Angus Cattle
As ranchers in Wyoming for close to 100 years now, it was John Herbst Jr that instilled in our portion of the family a love for Quarter Horses. Then his son Tom (raised in Shoshoni Wyoming) made many long journeys after cattle in the mountains, trailing cattle up to 60 miles from the home ranch, started on a venture to Build a versatile all round cow horse. He is a 'horse whisperer' (In our opinion) and should have gone to school to be a vet (he's very good at it!). That life style also meant looking for and breeding cattle that could maintain weight, breed back, and endure the rocky dry climate of our area. Our Registered Angus and Angus/cross cattle have done just that! Marrying, Michele (raised in central Michigan) who also loves horses, and dogs. They got together in 1984, had son Garrett, who has continued working on the ranch, in 1987. Garrett also has a strong love for cattle and especially the horses. In 2009 Garrett married Kyla (raised in Vail Valley Colorado). Their family grew with son Emmett, in 2017 and daughter Zoey in 2020. We raise Quarter Horses and Black Angus Cattle (in Torrington and on the mountains near Shoshoni), Michele started breeding Mini Aussies in 2005. We want the "Full Package" in everything we raise - we want the best of the best horses, cattle and dogs. We finally feel like we have that in all 3. You are welcome to come visit or call to find out more info!