Posts Tagged ‘Ranching’

Teamwork Between a Kid and a Colt

March 13, 2025
Jan Swan Wood

I recently told you about some of the daring ideas that a kid will come up with when teamed up with agreen colt. Son Colin’s filly was two and he was 10. He had officially “started” Callie in August, but he’dbeen sneaking off to ride her bareback in the pasture for months before that, so […]

A Kid, a Colt and Interesting Ideas

March 6, 2025
Jan Swan Wood

Calving was starting and my son was gathering the cows at night while I fed them some good hay in agrass lot. Colin was 12, and he was riding his filly Callie who was a three year old. He had officially“started” her the summer before, but unofficially, he’d been sneaking off and riding her bareback […]

Spur Marks

February 10, 2025
Jan Swan Wood

My grandsons were playing on the floor, with the middle one, a preteen, being the bull and theyoungest being the bull rider. They got pretty wild before going their separate ways, accompanied byplenty of laughter. It made me think of a story my Dad told about his Dad as a boy, and I shared it […]

The Day Before the Storm

February 6, 2025
Anna Foulger

The day before a winter storm blows in, the cowboy (my husband), the toddler, baby and I load up into the feed pick. Feeding extra before a storm is very important for our cattle, a cow that is eating is a warm cow. After loading up, we head up to the barn to fill the […]

The Biting Cow

February 4, 2025
Jan Swan Wood

There was a veterinarian that I inevitably had to have dealings with who wasn’t at all pleasant to workaround. He was arrogant and always talked down to any woman around, so you can imagine I didn’tenjoy time with him at all. But, he was the local vet and it was a long way to another, […]

Finn the Cowdog

January 27, 2025
Anna Foulger

A brisk early morning of twelve degrees as I put on my shotguns (chaps) and gloves, getting ready to bring the heifers in to do Bang-s vaccines this afternoon. Finn, my handy little border collie, is waiting by the door ready to go out, anxious to work some cows today. Working cow dogs are a […]

Ranch Horse Agility Training

January 23, 2025
Jan Swan Wood

My Dad had a really good, home raised gelding named Reno. He was my Dad’s horse of a lifetime. Agolden buckskin, he was a smooth made combination of a Thoroughbred mare and a Jack McCue bredstud. Foaled in 1960, by the time he was five years old, there just wasn’t anything he wasn’t capable of […]

New Saddle Christening

January 10, 2025
Jan Swan Wood

My first custom saddle was a pretty exciting thing for me. Having ridden all sorts of saddles over theyears, I was finally getting one made to fit just me. I’d studied the options the maker was offering andhad, on paper, created the saddle to fit my needs perfectly. The saddlemaker was an artist at his […]

Wives of Ranches

January 8, 2025
Anna Foulger

Waking up early, I bring the baby to the living room, place him on his sheepskin and start on breakfast while the toddler sleeps in a few extra minutes. Eggs, bacon, coffee boiling, toast, as the pitter patter of toddler feet come racing down the hall, “mama, breakfast?” she asks as I serve up plates […]

The Early October Blizzard

December 19, 2024
Jan Swan Wood

It was in October and my Dad and brothers, and a brother-in-law were on an elk hunt in the Dubois, Wyoming area about 350 miles away. I had hauled my horse Kelly from wherever I was living at the time and was taking care of the livestock and keeping Mom company for the duration of […]