Horse Blog – Horse Training Blog – Cowgirl Blog

Gentling a Spooky Horse

January 29, 2011

I had a reader contact me through my blog awhile back. She said that she and her family had acquired two yearling horses, and were having a little trouble getting them gentled down. These are just a few ideas to help you work through the first steps of gentling and training your horse.

White World

January 24, 2011

I stepped outside this morning At nearly half past eight. The sun had not yet awakened, Though the morning hours were late. I stood upon the doorstep And wondered at the sight Of the million, trillion snowflakes That had fallen in the night. I shuffled to the horse barn, Snow almost blocked the trail. The […]

The Legend of Blacky Lawless, Part II

January 22, 2011

If you haven’t read the first part of this cowgirl story that I wrote last spring, you might want to, in order to gain a full appreciation of the story I am about to tell you. It involves Blacky Lawless, our black angus bull, who holds no respect for human, horse, or handgun. He is […]

Herd Dynamics

January 21, 2011

Horses are funny animals. If I had a chance to sit out there in the corral all day and watch them, I would. I have five horses right now, and they are each so different, it is so interesting to see how they act and respond to each other. I believe in animal behaviouralist’s technical terms, this would be called herd dynamics.

Horse-Selling Strategies

January 18, 2011

Selling a horse in a tough economy can be a difficult thing to accomplish. And selling a horse in the middle of a harsh winter in snow country can be downright impossible. I’ve been helping my folks advertise a few of their Quarter Horses for sale in Idaho, and have found some tips and ideas to help their chances of finding a buyer. I’ll share them here, so if you’re trying to sell a horse as well, you might find these tips helpful as well.

Neither Should She Eat

January 17, 2011

These colder winter days make everything harder. My barn chores take twice as long; I have to dress up in heavy warm clothes that I hate, scarf, hat, gloves, and snow boots; the hay is harder to unwrap from the bale, the wind whips all the particles back into your face as you pitch it, the ice and snow make it difficult to carry grain to each paddock; and the water needs checked often to make sure it’s not frozen, etc….

I Know……I’m Crazy, But I Want Another Horse

January 11, 2011

Certifiably crazy, that’s me. It’s the dead of winter, a foot of snow on the ground, I’ve got tank heaters running up an electric bill, just two round bales left before we have to buy more, and five horses out there eating. And I want to buy another horse.

Wild Mustangs

January 5, 2011

My parents live in a valley in southeastern Idaho framed by two mountain ranges. The view out of the front window of their house is usually breathtaking, with snowcapped mountains even in the late spring and summer months. They raise alfalfa hay, beef cattle, mules, and Quarter Horses, and it’s always a real treat to get to spend some time on their ranch.

Can’t Slow Down!

December 15, 2010

These days leading up to Christmas are crazy. I feel like a kid on a merry go round that’s going too fast for comfort…or maybe like the frantic engineer on a train that is on unfamiliar track downhill and the brakes have failed…or more exactly, what I really feel is that all-too-familiar adrenaline that kept me in the saddle all those times my horse Rudy ran away with me.

Winter Care for Horses

December 2, 2010

I read a lot of horse magazines, and they’re always full of good ideas for my horses. Growing up on a horse ranch, you would think a girl would know pretty much everything about horse care simply from association. But if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that things are constantly changing and there’s always something new to learn. So I thought I’d pass along a few of the winter horse care tips I’ve been reading about.

Peppy

November 30, 2010

When I was a kid, we had a paint horse we called Peppy. He was a half brother to both Kokomo and Apache, but he had inherited much more of the Shetland attitude than the other two. He was a naughty pony.

Honeycomb

November 25, 2010

The prettiest horse on my parent’s ranch in Idaho is a 2 year old buckskin AQHA filly named Docs Honeycomb. She is the 2008 baby out of their big bay mare, Steel Hickory, by their buckskin stallion Docs Cold Cash.

Taming Tasha

November 24, 2010

I was visiting with my dad the other day about horse stories from my childhood. I don’t remember some of the earliest things of course, so my dad was filling me in on some history of horses I remembered but didn’t know a lot about. It is so interesting to hear another viewpoint on things that I only remember from a child’s point of view, and I love thinking back on those old days.

Sad Reality

November 22, 2010

I went to the cattle auction last Saturday. This isn’t a quality auction, it’s a ramshackle type of barn in our podunk county where the local farmers hang out on the weekend to watch stuff sell. You’ll see everything go through the ring—chickens, eggs, piglets, goats, sheep, and occasionally a horse, before the cattle start to sell. I only went because my husband had heard the sale report the day before and they’d listed a kid broke pony as well as eight other horses.

Hickory’s Surprise

November 22, 2010

My folks have a really nice Quarter Horse mare named Steel Hickory, whom they bought as a three year old and have gotten some of their best foals from. But for some reason, she hasn’t had a foal the last two years, and she has spent the whole time living fat and happy on their irrigated pastures.

A Homemade Mecate

November 16, 2010

I made myself a mecate the other night. No, it’s not some sort of South American recipe—it’s the rein and lead combination you see a lot of buckaroos and vaqueros use with a bosal or a regular bridle. The mecate dates back to the time of the Conquistadors, and is pronounced “may-kah’-tay”. They are commonly made from twisted or braided horsehair and cost a pretty penny.

Headin’ West

November 11, 2010

We recently took a trip to Idaho to visit my folks. We got to ride horses, go on a cattle drive, take a lot of horse pictures, and enjoy the Idaho scenery while there. They were having beautiful fall weather and we really enjoyed our stay.

Riding English

November 1, 2010

When I was sixteen, I wanted to learn to ride English. Growing up on a cattle ranch in the midwest was not condusive to getting a refined education in horseback riding. I learned the hard way—my sisters threw me up in the saddle and I did my best to stay on. But I did a lot of reading as a kid, and lived in a world of complete horse craziness, and in my Western-only world I felt there was a void.

Gold in Our Buckets

October 18, 2010

It’s an exciting time for us horse people. One reason I love harvest time is that it opens up more miles for me to ride. Crops reign over all the land here, and every square inch that is tillable is used for farming, leaving only roads and waterways left un-plowed. So most of the year I stick to the dirt roads for my horseback riding.

Watching Horses Graze

October 15, 2010

There’s something to be said for watching horses graze. I’ve never been one to keep a pasture ornament in my backyard merely for the satisfaction of having one, because I love riding horses and working with them. But there is so much enjoyment to be gained from simply being around a horse.

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