Dr. Jim and Penny Gute of West Lawn Farm in Faribault, Minn., have created a truly unique and progressive approach to breeding Arabian horses. In 1999, the couple purchased a new farm and set up a full-service equine reproductive center. The facility is located on 20 acres and includes a heated 17-stall barn, an arena and a state-of-the-art reproduction lab. West Lawn Farm is unique not just for its facility, but also its caretakers. At West Lawn Farm, mares and foals receive expert care from experienced, hands-on professionals — Dr. Jim Gute, a practicing veterinarian and Penny Gute, a certified veterinarian technician. West Lawn Farm handles all aspects of equine reproduction, including stallion management, collecting and transporting cooled and frozen semen, embryo transfer and managing broodmares through foaling and re-breeding. “This year a lot of people brought their mares to us to be bred because they didn’t have a veterinarian in their area that is experienced in equine reproduction,” says Penny Gute. “There aren’t a lot of facilities where you have an in-house vet (he is literally in the house) that can deal with shipped cooled and frozen semen and can perform an ultrasound anytime of the day or night. With the mares right here, we can check on them and breed them when the need is there.” Aside from breeding client mares, the Gutes also make time for their own breeding program. The couple has been breeding Arabian horses for more than 15 years and has consistently produced high quality, marketable breeding stock that excels in the halter arena. All of the West Lawn bred horses are Breeders Sweepstakes Nominated and MAHB Futurity Nominated, which increases their marketability and worth throughout their career. “We believe that in order to maintain a successful breeding program, we must be willing to market our highest quality foals in a price range that allows clients to make their own profit in the future, in other words we offer great value,” says Gute. Just a few horses raised and sold by West Lawn include: Sylviah WLF, 2004 Region XI Champion Sweepstakes Yearling Filly, Lexxon WLF, 2003 Champion 2-year-old stallion, 2002 Unanimous Region VI Champion Colt; Magneeto WLF, a Scottsdale Top Ten Yearling Colt, U.S. National Top Ten Futurity Colt and unanimous Region XV Champion Stallion; Eternal Secret WLF, a Minnesota Fall Festival Auction Unanimous Champion and Scottsdale Top Ten 2-Year-Old Filly; Reno WLF, a Region XI Reserve Champion Sweepstakes Colt; and Keno WLF, a Scottsdale Top Ten Colt. West Lawn’s 2001 Region VIII Champion Yearling Colt Alerro (Magnum Psyche x Tuscany Bey), is now in western pleasure training with Sarah Paripovich, was just named 2004 Region X top Five in the Western Junior horse division. Alerro will continue to be campaigned by Sarah in western pleasure through the next several years. With their breeding program firmly in place and the reproductive center complete and operational, West Lawn Farm and the Gutes welcome your calls and visits.