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Paul D’SouzaRevenue · Legacy · Land
Unlisted · Private sale · Vanderwagen, New Mexico

327 acres of high desert, two homes, two wells — and the horses come with it.

For years this ranch has been a sanctuary for wild mustangs rescued from the Navajo Nation. Now it is ready for its next keeper: someone who has always wanted a place where horses — or donkeys — can be safe, be gentled and be free. It is sold lock, stock and barrel, and it is shown only to serious buyers.

Arrange a private viewingSee how the price adds up

  • Land

    327 acres · half a section

  • Elevation

    7,000 ft

  • Water

    Two wells at 80 ft

  • Asking

    $907,000, everything included

The sun setting into a band of orange cloud behind a line of juniper, with rabbitbrush and grass in the foreground pasture
Sundown from the pasture
Not on the open market yet

You will not find this ranch on a listing site. It is offered privately, by appointment, to people who are ready to buy and ready to look after the animals that come with it. If that is you, read on — and then come and stand on it. We are working with George Anast, our Realtor, to facilitate the sale.

Contact Realtor
Five horses feeding inside the timber-framed barn under work lights, steel corral panels lining the sand floor
Evening feed in the barn
What it has been

A sanctuary first, a ranch second

We bought this land to give wild mustangs from the Navajo Nation somewhere to land. Horses that had never felt a hand came off the trailer here, wintered in the barn, learned the arena and went out onto the range with a halter they trusted.

The work is already set up. The barn, the arena and the panels are in place and proven. Whoever takes this on does not start from bare dirt — they start from a herd that knows its routine and a place that already knows how to hold one.

Altitude & water

Cool summers and water that costs nothing

At 7,000 feet the high desert never really gets hot. Summer afternoons stay comfortable for horses and people alike, monsoon clouds build over the juniper ridge, and the nights are cool enough for a blanket.

Out here, water is the thing that decides whether land is worth anything. This ranch has two wells, each reaching water at just 80 feet. The water is grandfathered in, so it is free. Most of the high desert would trade a great deal for that.

7,000 ft
Elevation
2 wells
One per home
80 ft
Depth to water
$0
Water bill
A fenced dirt riding arena with white pipe rails and two barrels, a juniper ridge and tall summer cumulus behind it
The arena in August
On the property

Everything a horse operation needs, already built

30 miles south of Gallup in Vanderwagen, New Mexico.

Homes
Two, each 1,600 sq ft, 2 bed / 2 bath
Water
Two wells, water at 80 ft, grandfathered
Barn
Timber-framed, panelled stalls inside
Arena
Fenced pipe-rail riding arena
Panels
Corral panels already set for intake and round-pen work
Studio / bunkhouse
Almost completely renovated
Outbuildings
A couple of sheds and a tool shed
A small log cabin with a stone chimney in fresh snow, low winter sun flaring over the juniper ridge behind it
Winter morning, after snowfall
Two large grey shepherd dogs asleep on a red patterned rug in a pine-cabinet kitchen beside a gas range and dishwasher
The kitchen, as we live in it
A white horse and a black horse standing side by side on the sand floor of the barn in warm lamplight, green corral gates either side
Two of the herd, barn aisle
The album

Random photos of the Ranch

78 photographs from the first snow to high summer — the herd, the dogs, the cabin, the house and the light at either end of the day. Swipe, or use the arrows.

001 / 078

  • A wrought-iron patio table and chairs on a frost-white yard at sunrise, bare trees framing the pasture and a mobility scooter parked at left
    001Frost on the patio, sunrise
  • Pink sunset clouds above white pipe-rail fencing and a tan outbuilding, two dogs lying in the dirt yard
    002Dusk over the yard
  • A log cabin with a stovepipe chimney under streaks of orange and pink cloud
    003The cabin at sundown
  • A blazing orange sunset over sagebrush flats, a dog in the foreground and horses grazing far off
    004Fire in the sky
  • A wider view of the paddock, a palomino and a dark horse grazing, a juniper at the left edge
    005Two of the herd grazing
  • An orange sunset seen through bare branches and dark juniper above the corrals
    006Sundown through the branches
  • An antique iron farm implement beside a flagstone path, sheds and juniper behind at dusk
    007Old iron by the path
  • Low sun breaking through heavy cumulus over sagebrush flats
    008Afternoon light on the flats
  • A palomino and a dark horse at a round hay bale, the sun directly behind them
    009Hay out in the pasture
  • Two horses eating from a round hay bale under a cloud-streaked sky
    010Feeding off the bale
  • Low sun behind a bare tree above a snowy driveway, a pickup parked beside the juniper
    011The driveway after snowfall
  • Fresh snow across the yard, bare trees and a line of footprints under a deep blue sky
    012Footprints in fresh snow
  • A palomino horse looking in through the barred door of the log cabin, snow on the ground outside
    013A visitor at the cabin door
  • A lone horse in a snowy paddock, low sun throwing long fence-post shadows
    014Long shadows on the snow
  • Horses and a dog at the far end of a dirt pasture as the sun sets
    015Sundown in the pasture
  • Horses and dogs gathered beside the log cabin and a utility vehicle at sunset, patches of snow on the ground
    016The herd by the cabin
  • A white pipe-rail fence line running toward bare trees under a high winter sun
    017The fence line
  • The sun setting behind a juniper beyond the pipe-rail corrals
    018Sundown over the corrals
  • A dark horse looking over a pipe-rail gate at sunset
    019Over the gate
  • Two palomino horses looking straight at the camera over a wire fence, a cottonwood lit gold behind them
    020Two palominos at the fence
  • Pink and orange streaks over a dark sagebrush ridge, a dirt track in the foreground
    021Afterglow on the ridge
  • A cream-coloured horse standing alone in a dirt corral at dusk
    022In the corral at dusk
  • A palomino grazing beside the log cabin as woodsmoke rises from its chimney, snow on the ridge behind
    023Smoke from the cabin chimney
  • A white horse walking out toward three dark horses on an open pasture
    024The herd on open ground
  • A straight two-lane highway running through juniper under a bright winter sun
    025The road out
  • The log cabin at dusk with a lit window, afterglow along the ridge
    026The cabin at dusk
  • Two palominos nosing at the door of the log cabin
    027Palominos at the cabin door
  • Two palominos and two black horses outside the log cabin under a blue sky
    028Four of the herd at the cabin
  • A lone pale horse in the pasture, the log cabin small in the distance under a vivid pink sunset
    029Pink sky over the cabin
  • A snow-covered paddock with juniper and pipe-rail fencing under a white sky
    030Snow in the paddock
  • Snow heaped on a wooden bench against the log cabin wall
    031Snow on the cabin bench
  • Two dark horses and a chestnut at the corral fence, snow on the ground and dusted juniper behind
    032The corral in snow
  • Dogs and horses around the corral panels in snow under a big cumulus sky
    033Snow in the corrals
  • Snow over the pasture beside the corrals, sun behind cloud and a bare cottonwood at left
    034Winter afternoon
  • The stucco main house in snow beneath storm clouds
    035The main house in snow
  • The log cabin at dusk with a utility vehicle parked beside it and pink cloud overhead
    036The cabin and the UTV
  • Horses kicking up dust in the corrals at sunset, the log cabin behind
    037Dust at sundown
  • A dark horse trotting through golden dust with a dog at sunset
    038Evening turnout
  • The sun setting over the pasture, a dog walking toward the fence line
    039Sundown over the fence
  • Two dogs on the dirt drive beneath a row of bare cottonwoods, pink sky on the horizon
    040The drive at dusk
  • Two dogs in the yard at dusk beneath a bare tree and pink clouds
    041Dogs in the yard at dusk
  • A fire burning in a stone outdoor fireplace at dusk, a pair of boots propped up in front
    042The outdoor fireplace
  • A cream horse and a dark horse at the open front of the timber barn
    043At the barn
  • A cream horse standing on the sand in front of the barn
    044In front of the barn
  • A white horse and a black horse inside the lit barn between green corral gates
    045The barn, lights on
  • The timber barn at dusk with its lights on, a cream horse and a black horse standing in front
    046The barn at dusk
  • A grey horse looking in through a cabin window, a framed Om symbol on the log wall beside it
    047A face at the window
  • The patio table and chairs beneath a cottonwood with the sun low behind the trees
    048The patio, late afternoon
  • Two pale horses and a black horse meeting in the sagebrush at dusk
    049The herd at dusk
  • An elk standing on a juniper hillside above the sagebrush
    050An elk on the hillside
  • A twisted juniper and a row of trees against a pink and orange sunset, outbuildings beyond
    051Pink sky through the juniper
  • Light snow over the log cabin and a pickup beneath a grey sky
    052First snow on the cabin
  • The sun setting under a cottonwood beyond the garage, seen through a window screen
    053Sundown from the window
  • A near-empty interstate through flat desert under a pale sky
    054Open highway
  • A wider view of the cottonwood, the SUV and the tan garage at sunset
    055Sundown by the garage
  • The view between a black horse's ears, riding toward the setting sun
    056Between the ears
  • A black horse's mane and ears in the foreground, the sun low over the sagebrush
    057Riding into sundown
  • Riding a black horse down a sandy two-track toward the sunset
    058The two-track home
  • A dark horse crossing the paved county road ahead, more horses grazing by the fence
    059Horses on the county road
  • A band of horses, palominos, a roan and bays, moving along the fence line through sage
    060The band on the move
  • Two black horses and a palomino at a blue pipe gate set in wire fencing
    061At the blue gate
  • A dirt road through juniper at dusk seen through a windshield, the moon already up
    062The road in at dusk
  • A shed with its porch light on at dusk, juniper and a pipe gate around it
    063Porch light on
  • Two dogs sitting on the drive at dusk beneath the trees
    064Dogs on watch
  • Paul D'Souza on a black horse above the valley, palominos grazing beyond
    065Riding the high ground
  • A wide view across the valley under a long bank of storm cloud
    066Weather over the valley
  • The stucco main house seen from the rise, juniper and cottonwoods around it
    067The main house from the rise
  • The main house shaded by a large cottonwood, dogs in the yard
    068The main house and the yard
  • Orange sunset clouds over the sagebrush and juniper
    069Evening over the sage
  • The sun setting into the far horizon over sagebrush
    070Sun on the horizon
  • Sunset through the trees, the house at right and a pickup in the yard
    071The yard at sundown
  • A bull elk in velvet standing in the sagebrush
    072A bull elk in velvet
  • Two dogs lying on the dirt drive at sunset
    073End of the day
  • The stucco house with a gravel parking area under a blue sky
    074The house and parking area
  • The side of the stucco house, a ladder against the wall and juniper beside the gravel
    075The house, side view
  • The house with a wooden deck and lattice skirting in bright sun
    076The deck
  • A bare tree silhouetted at sunset, seen through a window screen
    077Sunset through the screen
  • Sun rays breaking through cloud over the valley
    078Light through the cloud
What it could become

The place you have been meaning to build

If you have ever pictured a sanctuary of your own — for mustangs, for donkeys, for horses nobody else would take — this is that picture with the fences already up.

01

A sanctuary

This is what it has been. Wild mustangs from the Navajo Nation have come through these gates and found room to settle. The same ground will take rescued donkeys just as well.

02

A training ground

Bring in wild horses through the BLM adoption programme or from the Navajo Nation, gentle them in the panels, start them in the arena and finish them on the trail.

03

An equine therapy facility

Two homes, a bunkhouse and a studio give you somewhere for staff, clients and volunteers to stay. The horses and the quiet do the rest.

04

A regenerative farm

There is a fenced-in fruit tree orchard and garden area with four spigots — perfect for hoop houses, growing vegetables, and raising chickens, rabbits and other small animals.

Lock, stock and barrel

$907,000 — and here is the math

We priced the homes and the land separately so you can see exactly what you are paying for. Then we put everything else in for nothing.

How the $907,000 asking price is built
Home one1,600 sq ft, 2 bed, 2 bath, on 10 acres with its own well$300,000
Home two1,600 sq ft, 2 bed, 2 bath, on 10 acres with its own well$300,000
The remaining land307 acres at $1,000 an acre$307,000
Total327 acres, everything on them$907,000

Included at no extra cost

  • Four trained horses

    We started with eleven. These are the final four — handled every day, used to the barn, the arena and the trail.

  • 2 homes

    1 furnished home. The house we have been living in, left as it is for you to move into.

    1 rental unit with an active renter.

  • 2002 Ford F-350 diesel

    The ranch truck. It hauls hay, pulls the horse trailer and does not mind the road in.

  • An SUV

    For the run into Gallup and everything that does not need a diesel.

Come and see it

Photographs only get you so far

Stand at the rail at feeding time. Walk the arena. Watch the sun go down behind the juniper and listen to how quiet it gets. We encourage every serious buyer to visit and feel the magic of this place for themselves — tell us a little about yourself and we will set a date.

A black horse tacked in a western saddle and Navajo-pattern pad, tied in the juniper while a palomino grazes beside it
Rosa and Joey, tacked up for a ride

Request a private viewing

Your details go straight to Paul. Expect a personal reply, usually within one business day.

Shared with no one. Viewings are by appointment only.