November 15, 2022
Jan Swan Wood
He was an average sized, plain bay gelding and when I hired on to the New Mexico ranch, was in another guy’s string of horses. I soon discovered that there were three kinds of cowboys on that ranch: Real Ones, Wanna Bes, and Never Be. This bay horse Charlie was in a Never Be’s string. […]
November 7, 2022
Jan Swan Wood
We had spent early morning gathering the cows and their big, soggy calves. Handling them quietly to reduce shrink, we had them in the corrals in preparation for hauling the calves to the sale barn that day. It was my Dad, brother Bob, and me doing the cow work that day. Keeping the calves quiet […]
October 27, 2022
Jan Swan Wood
I was working that fall and winter for a ranch about 25 miles from where I lived. My horses were kept at the ranch, but there was no accomodations for me, so I had a little house in town. Not ideal, but it worked. My dear friend Uncle Paul, who wasn’t my uncle but I’d […]
October 26, 2022
Jan Swan Wood
It was time to wean two of our colts. They were both well able to carry on fine without their mamas, so one morning Colin and I caught the two mares, left their colts in the corral with an old babysitter mare, saddled the fine ladies and loaded up to go to my folks place […]
October 11, 2022
Jan Swan Wood
He actually belonged to my sister who got him after she was going to college. Lark was an appendix registered gelding that looked more Thoroughbred than Quarter Horse. He’d run AA on the track before he got so hard to ride that no jockeys or exercise boys would get on him, thus ending his race […]
October 5, 2022
Jan Swan Wood
It was a dry winter on the ranch I was working for in New Mexico. What grass there was didn’t have much kick left to it. The chunk of country another cowboy and I took care of, mostly just the two of us, had everything from calving cows, yearling steers, and most of the bulls […]
September 24, 2022
Jan Swan Wood
Having owned and doctored lots of horses over the years, I’ve developed a pretty fair file of practical vet experiences. A lady I knew some years ago had good horses, knew how to ride them well, and she made a good living starting young horses and riding for a feedlot. Due to lots of irons […]
September 22, 2022
Jan Swan Wood
In my writings, I’ve mentioned the buckskin mare, Penny, who helped raise me. She and I were foaled on the same year, her in June, me in November, so we literally grew up together. She was orphaned before she was old enough to wean, so was raised around the corrals and was an absolute pet. […]
September 16, 2022
Jan Swan Wood
Penny and I were foaled/born on the same year. She was a June foal, me a November. When she was four and I was a coming four, my oldest brother put us together and she took good care of me. She was the kindest, sweetest, gentlest horse ever and she spent her years hauling me […]
September 7, 2022
Jan Swan Wood
The cavvy on the New Mexico ranch I was on numbered around 85 head of geldings with some studs thrown in. Catching a horse out of the milling mass every morning could be a challenge if the horse didn’t want caught. I’d gotten my string to where they’d stop and turn toward me without much […]