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A Visit to Flach Farms Home for Gail Flach and all her equines is a beautiful hill country ranch on the Guadalupe river. Rolling hills, green oat fields, summer sudan, cat fish holes, pecan trees, coastal fields on the river and a deep limestone base soil made this homestead with its leafy oaks and trailing vines a haven for Coffee Hollow breeding stock, these include mares, jennys, jacks, and fancy mules. The ranch has been in the Flach family for over a hundred years and has housed many other animals in its colorful past. Gail has a second love and it can readily be seen as you enter the ranch. The wonderful antique iron gates once adorned another ranch in Blanco and were rebuilt and initialed to grace the front gate behind A-Male as you enter this website. Coming down the road toward the main house we pass the rebuilt barns. These house Jacks in indoor stalls fitted with water fans and cedar shavings. These give old Jackstock breeders a feeling of being at home. The dark barns are still the best way to keep the Jacks comfortable in the summer when the insects would bother the fine pink skin and the thin long ears of a fine sorrel jack that more often than not sports a long white tail and short close clipped white mane. On the left is the old Flach home. It is over one hundred years old and has been recently given a new face and some additional rock rooms to provide more room to entertain the constant stream of Jackstock lovers that come from everywhere to see and discuss and pet and exclaim over what some consider the most beautiful matched herd of sorrel MAMMOTH JACKSTOCK anywhere. The old house speaks of lemonade and gold fish ponds, of shade trees and rock patios, or curly wrought iron chairs and tables, and a Texas welcome that extends to all who are truly interested in making things better for equines in general and Gail's lovely foals for sale in particular. The interior is furnished with antiques from both Gail's and Mr. Ernest Flach's family and we are met by an ancient Akita male dog that appears to be both interested and dangerous. The attractive office sports a fire place and a raft of modern office equipment complete with computers, scanners, digital cameras, and fax machine along with beaded fringed lamps the most wonderful parlor furniture done up in new Italian floral and an old leather rocker from before 1900. In passing I notice an original Winberg over the mantel and wonder how long it has hung there. I am amazed to note a huge wire cage that tells me I am correct the old dog is sometimes a bit difficult. The old wood floors tell their own story, aged by many feet and multiple distresses they still serve kindly and give the house just the right tone for the mixture of American antiques and Victorian fantasy that serve as a backdrop for the constant Bed and Breakfast that goes on for those who buy and visit. I understand that if there is no room at the inn, the little town of Comfort has many quaint Bed and Breakfasts, multiple small eateries and numerous antique and old shops full of ancient and interesting things. I am here in the spring and the yard weeps with the old trees and shade, crawls with rock patios and walks and gives me the feeling of stepping back in time to a cool and restful place that was before my need to fill every minute with things that are considered practical and urgent. On down the road we find more barns that have been renovated for young foals and a JENNY HOUSE that will house all the breeding herd in summer with fans and in winter with big hay bales As we pass on down we see the limestone pits that help support Flach Farms and eventually reach the Guadalupe River and the best catfish around. I look down and marvel at the deep water here in what I had thought to be a shallow stream wandering through the hills and realize it's all in one's perception. Jesse is feeding the jennet herd on the coastal field. As I am leaving I spy The Doc Bar Mares and some of the mule offspring and remember Gail saying that she wanted her Jacks to have pretty mares so that it made them more willing to make these animals called mules. She laughed and said it must of worked because we have a lot of them and they grow like Topsy. Please see "Stock for Sale" and "Our Champion Jackstock", and our new "Training" section . |
