Horse Blog – Horse Training Blog – Cowgirl Blog

Old Soldiers, Home At Last

November 2, 2015

Last week we had a special visit from my parents. They drove all the way from Idaho to Iowa pulling a gooseneck trailer with six horses in it, dropping off two at our place, staying overnight and spending the next day with us, then continuing on their way to two other siblings’ homes to deliver the rest of the horses. After 50 + years of ranching, my parents are finally retiring, selling their ranch and cattle, giving away most of their twenty-some horses and mules, and buying a house in town and a travel trailer to enjoy some southern winters and visits to grandkids.

Riding Cletus

September 30, 2015

Riding Our Buckskin Gelding for the First Time

We have reached another milestone in our horse life: we rode Cletus, our four year old buckskin gelding! If you remember, we bought him as a baby alongside his mother, Penny, in the fall of 2011. Last November, we sent him to the Rosebud Indian Reservation for a crash course in behaving under saddle….the trainer raved about him and said he was the best horse he’s ever trained. So then we brought him home and (due to me being pregnant and my husband being very busy) he stood around in our corral for almost another year. The good news is that we have been riding him this summer!

A Cowgirl’s Hat

September 20, 2015

I grew up riding horses. Raised on a ranch, working cattle, living to be horseback, loving the country life…I was a cowgirl if ever there was one. But I’ve often said that I never really looked like the stereotypical cowgirl–no fringed leather, no turquoise-and-silver jewelry, no wild rag around my neck, and no hat. For me, it was more about the horse than what I was wearing, and I’ve never felt that the horses minded if I looked the part or not. But I finally got a hat!

Bye Bye Bluebird

August 12, 2015

I love that old song my grandma used to sing, “Pack up all my care and woe, here I go, singin’ low…. Bye, Bye, Blackbird.” Well, in this case, it’s Bluebird we said goodbye to. If you recall, she’s the blue roan Hancock-bred mare that my sister gave me that we had shipped here from Idaho two Aprils ago. I finally decided to list her for sale this summer, and within a week I had several inquiries and one serious buyer.

Pass Creek Drive 2015

June 23, 2015

At the end of May, as we try to do each year, our family went west to visit my parents in Idaho. We spent several days with them, enjoying ranch life, mountain-style farming, beautiful scenery and their many horses. The highlight of the trip was the all-day cattle drive up into the mountains, through the Pass Creek notch, over the Summit, and on to Big Creek where the cattle stay for a few months during the summer.

Our New Baby

May 27, 2015

Spring is always a beautiful time of year. While the dandelions are still yellow, the tulips are blooming, and every tree’s leaf is that brand-new green color–that’s the prettiest time, when things are brand new. We’ve got a brand new baby in our family, and it’s made this spring very exciting and very busy! Jonathan, our fourth child, was born April 18th, a month early and unexpectedly and not without a scare (there were complications)….but we made it to May and he’s home and healthy and we’re both doing great now.

“The Runaway Horse” Book Giveaway

March 24, 2015

We are doing another fun giveaway here on CowgirlDiary.com! Up for grabs is a paperback copy of the first book in the Plaid Family Adventures Series, titled “The Runaway Horse”. These are delightfully fun books for young readers with stories about life on a Wisconsin farm. I was given a copy of “The Runaway Horse” by the author, to review and feature as a giveaway to one of my blog readers.

Tips For Staying Safe With Horses

February 16, 2015

If you grew up around horses and were taught by a parent or riding instructor, the common sense advice in this article might seem a little unnecessary or redundant to you. But even as a kid growing up with horses, there were a few things I learned the hard way! It’s so much better to learn from other’s mistakes, read about it, and make a mental note to never let that actually happen to you or your horse. So I’m sharing some practical tips to avoid accidents and keep you and your horse safe.

Rodeo Envy Jewelry Giveaway

February 5, 2015

The other day I received an email from Darcy at RodeoEnvy.com asking if I would like to review one of her western jewelry sets and offer a second set to one of my readers in a free giveaway. I said, “YES!” Darcy’s western boutique offers many cowgirl accessories such as concho rings, rodeo jeweled leather cuff bracelets, chunky necklaces, and colorful rock earrings. All RodeoEnvy products are made in Montana, and Darcy makes custom orders at no extra charge.

How To Wear Cowgirl Boots

January 30, 2015

I have looked through Pinterest layouts and fashion blogs, and while some of the pictures I’ve found of outfits you can wear with cowboy boots don’t appeal to me, boots are pretty versatile and can be worn with everything from dressy outfits to everyday clothes. I spent this afternoon drawing some sketches to show my take on How To Wear Cowgirl Boots.

Goals for 2015

January 4, 2015

I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions. Personally, I would rather be honest with myself and not make any outlandish, pie-in-the-sky claims to change immediately or “from now on”. Why set myself up to fail? But I like having an idea, mulling on it, letting it grow, see where it leads, and eventually following through with it. And like a true procrastinator, why should I be in any hurry about it? If it doesn’t ever get followed through with, then it probably wasn’t that good of an idea after all. That being said, I do have a few dreams and wishes for the new year.

My New Boots

December 15, 2014

So guess what was waiting at the front door when I came home from work yesterday? A big box marked “Circle G”….Merry Christmas to me! It was my new cowboy boots I had ordered. They had emailed me that they were on back order, and I was fine with waiting, but I never expected them to arrive before Christmas! It was a fun surprise. I am glad I didn’t have to wait until Christmas day to open them. I tore the box open and tried them on immediately.

New Things, Old Things

December 9, 2014

You know what it’s like when you get a brand new pair of tennis shoes and you aren’t quite sure what to do with the old ones? They’re scuffed, dirty, holey, and in bad shape, but you just can’t quite throw them away. Those shoes have been with you for miles. And the new ones are so much nicer, but they don’t quite fit your feet like the old ones did. Inevitably, as soon as you throw your old ones away, you’re going to have a muddy day when you wish you had them back.

Young Horses in Training

November 26, 2014

As mentioned in a previous post, we recently took our two untrained horses out to South Dakota for training. Due to me being pregnant with our fourth child, the training was going to be postponed for another nine months at least, and we really wanted to see these two colts started as soon as possible. So in October they made the trip out to Mission, SD, to spend at least a month with a horse training family.

Cowgirl Boots

November 18, 2014

I am celebrating! This is officially my 200th blog post, and in honor of the event, I am getting a new pair of cowgirl boots! You might have seen my previous post with a picture of my old riding boots that I’ve had since tenth grade. They are a size too big (men’s, I believe) and scraped and worn in spite of a recent oiling. They’re good for working and riding in. But believe it or not, that is my only pair of boots. So I am boot shopping for some cowgirl boots with style.

Leather Honey

November 15, 2014

I got a really cool gift in the mail last week! It was a free sample of Leather Honey that the manufacturer wanted me to try out and see if I liked. I was happy to oblige because I have so much leather that needs cleaned! I planned to clean my saddle, favorite belt, boots, and then start on my husband’s saddle. There are so many uses for this kind of product, and it was great to receive a complete set of Leather Honey cleaner, conditioner, and polishing cloths.

South Dakota Bound

October 23, 2014

You might be wondering what’s going on with my new mare Bluebird. I got her in April, after my sister in Idaho called and asked if I’d like to have her, and we had her shipped all the way to Iowa. She has fit in well with our other four horses, but summer was busy and she was underweight and I just didn’t find the time to work with her at all. She’s five years old, and still not broke, but I was mostly concerned with putting weight back on her. But I have been feeling bad about letting her go so long without training.

Kip Fladland Training Clinic, Part 2 — Horsemanship

September 30, 2014

Penny and I at a Kip Fladland Training Clinic

The riding part of the Kip Fladland Training Clinic that I went to a few weeks ago seemed to go so much faster than the groundwork part. Maybe it was because I’m not used to that much walking, I don’t know, but I was sure tired out! The morning’s work was good for us, as I think it gave us a really good focus for the riding part to follow.

Kip Fladland Training Clinic, Part 1—Groundwork

September 19, 2014

Last Saturday I had the privilege of attending a Groundwork/Horsemanship training clinic with Kip Fladland, of LaRiata Ranch near Griswold, Iowa. It was the first horse training clinic I have ever been to. I’ve been around natural horsemanship training my whole life, having grown up next door to Kevin Wescott (a Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt style of trainer), who helped me get started training horses when I was a kid. But that was twenty years ago, and I’m needing to expand my groundwork techniques, and am always eager to learn more things I should be doing with my horses.

Here Comes Fall

September 8, 2014

Fall is my favorite time of year to go horseback riding. I am partial to summer, since I was born in August (my mother has a theory that the season you were born in is the one you like best; for instance, I like being hot, and don’t mind sweating; I hate the cold, and winter is my least favorite season), but summer is often so busy with gardening, vacations, kids’ activities, and things that can only be done in summer. I just never have time to ride in the summer, and so when fall arrives it is such a relief.

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