October 12, 2021
Jan Swan Wood
There were six of us kids, strung out over 14 years, and I was the youngest. Dad had his own homegrown crew every time there was any job to be done. My oldest brother was gone to college by this time, but I think everyone else was still home. I was quite a bit younger, […]
October 10, 2021
Jolyn Young
I had to buy cowboy boots the other day, because it’s been a year or eight since I purchased a new pair. I wish I was kidding. A combination of more motherhood=less saddle time, owning a few pairs that I rotated through so none were too worn, and just not really stopping to consider the […]
October 8, 2021
Jan Swan Wood
It had been a wet fall and the country was saturated. We were day working and staying very busy in spite of the mud. One outfit we did all the riding for had postponed getting their yearling heifers out of a remote pasture several times due to the gravel road nearest to it being impassable. […]
October 6, 2021
Jolyn Young
I’m a full time mom, part time writer, and very occasional day worker. My oldest two kids go to school every day while my three-year-old son Levi tags along with me wherever I go. Last week, me and Levi helped a local rancher process cattle for the fall works. The processing chute and corrals are […]
October 4, 2021
Jan Swan Wood
When my son was not quite four years old, we bought a place in the country that was right along a county road. I worried about the traffic as everyone drove it like the Indy 500. Consequently, I had lectured him repeatedly about the dangers of that road and to never, ever get out by […]
September 30, 2021
Jan Swan Wood
It’s early fall right now, with people shipping livestock and doing the fall works on cattle. I rode on pasture cattle for years, so this time of year always makes me think of those days. By this time, my string of horses would be weary along with me. Troublesome bunches of yearlings were gladly seen […]
September 28, 2021
Jolyn Young
The cowboy world has produced many colorful phrases that folks might use and not realize their Western ties. “Ride for the brand,” “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” and “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” are common phrases used by country and city people alike. Here […]
September 15, 2021
Jan Swan Wood
When I was a little runt of a kid, probably around five years old, I rode a pony that I loved in spite of his tendency to run off with me. His name was Skipper. I spent hours every day just hanging out with him and riding him around in the corrals with no bridle […]
September 10, 2021
Ruth Nicolaus
There’s a hole a special horse used to fill, at the Gunderson ranch in western North Dakota. H46 Spider, a bucking horse in the Bailey Pro Rodeo string, has passed on to greener pastures. He was originally owned by Montanan Jack Hinland, who sold him to Shane Vaira. The 26-year-old gelding died of colic on […]
September 5, 2021
Jolyn Young
Most horses thrive on a fairly standard diet of hay and water. Grass, alfalfa, oat, or a combination of those types usually provides adequate nutrition and keeps the average horse at a healthy weight. But senior horses can benefit from adding beet pulp to their diet in addition to providing plenty of high quality hay. […]