Homestead Ventures · Project Concept · Costa Rica
The breed is already in the valley. We raise it on the mountain. American Quarter Horses from a Pérez Zeledón breeder — working stock for a working homestead, not a show-ring postcard.
We take that stock, care for it, breed it, and expand the line into Canaan de Rivas / Mount Chirripó. Horses that pack, ride, and earn their keep — and manure that becomes the worm-casting venture.
The Raise
Homestead Ventures is actively raising capital to move foundation Quarter Horse stock up the mountain into Canaan de Rivas and start a breeding band there — not a preview, not a photo op. Founding partners come in now, at seed terms, before the first horse walks up the hill.
Where we start
Foundation horses purchased from a serious Pérez Zeledón Cuarto de Milla program. Real Quarter Horse genetics that already live in the southern zone. No inventing the breed — moving proven blood up into Chirripó.
Where we grow
First foal crop raised in Canaan de Rivas. Papers if AQHA-eligible. Training for ranch and trail. The horse program and the casting program share one P&L.
Who we need
A limited founding cohort. Founders come in first, at seed terms, and are named on the band. Standard partners come in as the round fills. Equity, not donation.
Interested? Reach out and we’ll walk you through the numbers, the timeline, and the specific terms for the slot you want.
Inquire About the Round →Why Quarter Horses, Why Here
Compact, cow-smart, built to work. Quarter Horses are the breed that built ranch life across two continents. Costa Rica already has serious Cuarto de Milla genetics in the Pérez Zeledón valley — we are adding a Chirripó band that earns its keep.
Horses on this land are infrastructure. They pack. They ride guests into the zone. They hold value as registered stock if papers are kept clean. And every horse is a manure plant for the casting beds. The animal pays twice.
The breed
American Quarter Horse
Cuarto de Milla. Ranch horse of the Americas. Compact, cow-smart, built to work — not built for the show ring.
Registry
AQHA / ACRICAMDE
Costa Rica has AQHA life through ACRICAMDE — ranch, roping, reining, cow horse. Papers if the animal is eligible.
Stock source
Pérez Zeledón
Donor mares, imported semen, local programs. Real genetics already in the southern zone.
The zone
Canaan de Rivas
Mount Chirripó foothills. Cool nights, real pasture, mountain water. The band lives and breeds up here.
Manure
~350 lb /week
A mature ~1,000 lb horse produces roughly 50 lb of manure a day. That is the feedstock the worm-casting beds run on.
Ranch use
Pack & ride
Horses do the daily work of the homestead — carrying loads, riding fence, taking guests into the zone.
Value
Registered stock
Kept clean on papers, Quarter Horses hold real value. Sale or lease into the southern zone is a live market.
The rule
Working, not showing.
Every horse earns its keep. If it can’t pack, ride, breed, or make castings, it doesn’t belong on this mountain.
Mountain climate and vet care are the hard parts. Honesty is the plan: Chirripó is not the valley, and we’ll say what the mountain taught us before we scale.
How the Three Ventures Lock
Horses, BSF bins, and worm beds on the same Chirripó land. Every product feeds the next.
The Costa Rica homestead is not three separate hobbies. The three ventures interlock at the material level — not marketing, not story, but flows. Horses make the manure. Worms turn it into castings. BSF eats the kitchen and stall waste, and its frass rolls into the worm beds too. Nothing stays waste.
Manure is the hinge. Every mature horse produces roughly 350 lb of manure a week. That’s the feedstock number the worm-casting page runs on. The animal pays twice — once on the trail and once in the bed.
The Math · Small Band, Real Work
Real ranch operations don’t start with a thirty-head fantasy. They start with foundation stock, on real pasture, with a working plan.
Phase 1 · foundation
2–4 horses
Working planning number from the valley breeder. Exact headcount set when the deal is real. Manure starts feeding the worm beds immediately.
Manure per horse
~350 lb/wk
Industry-average planning figure for a mature ~1,000 lb horse — roughly 50 lb/day. That is the feedstock number the casting beds size against.
Operating goal
Breeding nucleus
Mares on the mountain, foals raised in this climate, stock that can stay or sell into the southern zone. We do not promise a 30-head ranch on page one.
The Business Plan
Not a moonshot. A staged build where the breed is already in the valley and the land is already ours.
Bring the Stock Up
Purchase, board, and move foundation horses from Pérez Zeledón to Canaan de Rivas. Fencing, shelter, vet, farrier, feed plan tuned to Chirripó weather.
Manure starts going to the worm beds immediately. The loop is live from week one.
Breed on the Mountain
First foal crop raised in Canaan. Papers if AQHA-eligible. Training for ranch and trail. Manure volume becomes predictable.
Founding partners named on the foal list. First revenue lines from ranch use and guest rides.
The Chirripó Band
Expand only as forage, water, and labor allow. Sale of trained stock into the southern zone. Horse program and casting program share one P&L story.
The animal pays twice — on the trail and in the bed.
Claims · Say Only What Holds
We are raising Quarter Horses that work. Papers and registry go with the animal only when the paperwork is real.
Costa Rica has AQHA life through ACRICAMDE — the country’s working Quarter Horse organization. We claim AQHA / ACRICAMDE registration only when the specific animal is actually registered. Not before.
Foundation stock comes from a serious Pérez Zeledón Cuarto de Milla program. We do not name the breeder on this public page — that is between us, them, and you if you come in as a partner.
Mountain climate and vet care are the hard parts. Chirripó is not the valley. Farrier logistics, feed sourcing, and the wet season all cost more up here than down there. That is why the operating goal is a breeding nucleus, not a herd.
Founding Partners
Same frame as the Sicily ventures and the other Costa Rica pages. Early supporters are not buying a plaque. They are in before the Chirripó band exists.
Fund a foundation horse or the mountain paddock.
Your capital covers a foundation animal or the fencing, shelter, and infrastructure that lets them live up here. First-year ranch access and updates — not a name painted on a stall unless you want it that way.
Fund a breeding season.
Your name goes on a specific foal crop. Every foal born under that season, you get named on the list and an allocation or revenue share when the animal sells or leases.
Horses + castings as one operation.
Band established, castings moving. Your capital sits across the horse program and the worm-casting program as one integrated Chirripó operation — the loop where the animal pays twice.
If Founding Partner Is Not the Fit
Not everyone we talk to is positioned for a founding-partner slot — and that’s fine. If you want to see this band come to life, there’s a way in at every level.
$50
A simple way to be part of it — and to hear from Chirripó every month.
$150
The tier where you get to watch a specific foal grow up on the mountain.
$500
The full backing tier — and a saddle when the band is ready to carry you.
Every supporter, at every level, helps put a horse on the mountain. A small stake still counts as a launch.
The Costa Rica Stack
This is one of three linked ventures on the same Canaan de Rivas land. Manure feeds worms. Waste feeds BSF. Frass feeds worms too. One inquiry form. Three real products.
Venture · Waste to protein
Black Soldier Fly larvae raised on farm waste. Protein for hens and trout. Frass into the worm beds. One insect, two revenue lines.
See the Project →Venture · Garden currency
Horse-manure vermicompost turned into bagged castings for gardens, fruit trees, and neighboring farms. What the horse doesn’t keep, the worm turns into soil.
See the Project →The other island · Sicily
Fair Questions
Criollos are the classic Costa Rica ranch horse and there’s nothing wrong with them. We chose Quarter Horses because Pérez Zeledón already has serious Cuarto de Milla genetics in the southern zone — donor mares, imported semen, active programs — and because the AQHA / ACRICAMDE market for registered stock gives the animal a second life beyond ranch work.
Roughly 350 lb per week for a mature ~1,000 lb horse — about 50 lb per day. That is an industry-average planning figure. It is also the exact feedstock number the worm-casting page runs its beds against.
Only if the specific animal is actually eligible and the paperwork clears. Costa Rica works AQHA through ACRICAMDE. We do not promise papers on horses that aren’t registered — we say what’s real on the animal in front of us.
A serious local Quarter Horse program in the valley. We don’t name them on the public page. That’s between us, them, and you if you come in as a founding partner.
Mountain climate and vet care. Chirripó is not the valley. Cool nights, wet seasons, and long roads to specialist vet care are real costs. That’s why the operating goal is a breeding nucleus, not a herd — scale only when the land and the labor say yes.
They pack, they ride, they hold value as stock, and they make manure that becomes castings. Every horse earns its keep on multiple lines. This isn’t a show barn — it’s a working ranch operation on a mountain that already has work for horses.
Foundation stock from the valley. A breeding band on the mountain. The animal pays twice.
This page is a project concept and capital raise. Headcount, foal projections, manure output, and papers are working targets and planning figures, not promises. Specific animal registrations are confirmed only when they are real. Costa Rica animal-movement, horse import/registry, and equine health requirements will be handled separately before any commercial stock movement.