Tesoro Ranch

09/29/2025

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗔 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲

Over the past few days, I taught a horse I'm working with to kick a ball using 100% positive reinforcement. Every touch, every attempt, every step forward was marked and rewarded—until the behavior became his own choice.

The same is true for people. In our teams, we should 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 and wholeheartedly reward them. Progress is built by setting others up for success, recognizing their wins, and reinforcing their growth every step of the way. You will be amazed at how much faster people (and animals) learn with thoughtfully and consistently executed positive reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement isn’t just for training—it’s how we build better teams, leaders, and organizations.

03/24/2025

I am feeling like a mad scientist today. We have livers and spleens shipping to TVMDL Texas A&M University and dog semen being shipped to us (that means puppies!!!!!) this evening. Thank you FedEx for taking care of all of the samples!

09/24/2024

Hey my bison friends, especially in the Southern Plains! It is time to pay attention to and prevent the Fall parasite build-up. Please check out this article - an interview with Tim Frasier of Frasier Bison.

Controlling the Fall Build-up of Exotic Parasites in Your Herd An interview with Tim Frasier, owner of Frasier Bison LLC By Tina Valdez, Tes...

08/23/2024

We are honored and excited to be featured by Legacy Ag Credit, ACA in this video! Thank you to Tyler Sieswerda, Amy Heartfield Rayzor, and Woody Harrison Films for the beautiful story-telling! Our journey from suburban life to shepherding the majestic National Mammal has been both tough and rewarding. Enjoy the bison (and chicken) shots: swimming bison, running bison, working Tina & Charlie . . .

08/05/2024

Zana l, our 18-yr, just cooked us up grilled bison heart with Chimichurri salsa and bison bone marrow crostini. Delicious!

07/25/2024

I don’t know if I’ll be able to explain in a way that makes sense to 98% of you out there, but this is a picture of horse p**p, and it makes me happy. Why? Because the way it’s all chopped up means dung beetles have gone in and done their jobs. This is a much different picture than I would have taken 3 years ago when we moved in. This is now the norm. The fact that the dung beetle population on our place is increasing means the land is getting healthier. It’s hard to not use pesticides and herbicides because those are the norm in modern agriculture. But there is a system that was designed to work without all of the chemicals. You have to be patient and nurture it, but it will pay off in many many ways.

07/24/2024

We are excited to be featured at Tag's Hometown Bar & Grill - ML Edwards and Tag's Hometown Bar & Grill - The Depot this weekend! We will have some of our ranch members at the ML Edwards restaurant on Friday night to answer your bison questions. Come on out and try a super healthy, hyper-local bison burger or steak!

06/23/2024

Our pasture #1 trail camera caught this hawk in flight yesterday. Beautiful!

06/20/2024

We are nearly upon our young bull’s first rut. Apparently he’s taking his fashion for the event very seriously. I’m sure one of the older bulls will school him on what the ladies like??

06/13/2024

We had a beautiful Spring!

06/13/2024

The family that p**ps together . . . (you're welcome!)

06/13/2024

It's calf season! The first was born on April 24th. We have a first-calf mama in the group and some energetic youngsters.