Posts Tagged ‘ranch life’

Cowboy Life In Black And White

July 29, 2017
Jolyn Young

Today’s cowboy may use cell phones and transport livestock via stock trailers rather than undertaking multi-state cattle drives, but many aspects of their lifestyle haven’t changed over the centuries. Then as now, cowboys wear felt hats, ride leather saddles and rope bovines every day. If it’s raining, they get wet. If it’s snowing, they get […]

Cowboy Skills: Reading Tracks

July 16, 2017
Jolyn Young

Reading tracks is an important skill for a working cowboy, right up there with doctoring calves and learning how to avoid driving a tractor. When a cowboy is checking his cattle and finds an open gate, he needs to be able to tell if any cattle passed through it. Chances are, he won’t see any […]

Wildfire Season: Are You Prepared?

July 6, 2017
Jolyn Young

If a wildfire strikes near your home, what will you do? If your answer is “I have no idea,” then it’s high time you started getting an idea. July is here, and it’s a hot month that typically brings thunder storms – and subsequently lightning strikes – to many parts of America. Despite Smokey Bear’s […]

Cowpuncher Skill: Trailing The Cut

June 29, 2017
Jolyn Young

At the O RO Ranch in northern Arizona, the cow herd that resides on the west side is never moved. I mean, like, NEVER. The cows winter and calve outside, and natural boundaries are the primary method used to keep the cattle where they’re supposed to be. There are some fences, but the cattle aren’t […]

Horsewoman, Know Thyself

June 25, 2017
Jolyn Young

“Who do you think you are, Clint Eastwood?” I stopped walking across the round pen toward the stud colt I was starting and looked up at Ben. “What?” “You’re walking like you’re all big and tough,” the horse trainer replied. I hadn’t realized that I had drawn myself up to my full height (5’5″ with […]

Launch Pad To Oprah: Horse Names

June 21, 2017
Jolyn Young

Horse owners come up with some creative names for their horses, and cowboys may take the prize for the zaniest monikers for their equine companions. Here are some of the most unusual and least politically correct horse names in the Western United States.* Launch Pad: Preparing to step on this horse must’ve been a tad […]

No Trailer? No Problem!

June 10, 2017
Jolyn Young

At the O RO Ranch in northern Arizona, the cowboys rarely use a horse trailer. In country so steep, rocky and rough that it can take an hour to drive an unhooked pickup 10 miles, it’s more practical and efficient to just ride from Point A to Wherever The Cows Are. During most of the […]

Cowboy Gear

June 1, 2017
Jolyn Young

Cowboys from across the regions of the Western United States all sit in saddles and ride horses to work. But aside from those general similarities, the gear they pack with them all day can vary widely. After we moved to northern Arizona from northern Nevada, my husband discovered that cowpunchers carry a LOT more supplies […]

20 Things To Do While Waiting

May 22, 2017
Jolyn Young

When a person is out cowboying, he or she sometimes must wait. Sometimes you’re waiting to meet up with the rest of the crew to throw together everyone’s cattle from the day’s circle. Sometimes you’re waiting for a signal from another cowboy to move down the ridge. Sometimes you’re waiting for someone to come pick […]

Weird Wagon Questions

May 19, 2017
Jolyn Young

It’s springtime, and you know what that means: green grass, bouncy calves and branding on the wagon. Well, this last part is true for the handful of big ranches that still use a wagon to brand calves each spring. And most of these ranches use a pickup, not an actual wagon. Confused yet? Here are […]