Horses & Such

We recently spent a few days at The Ranch entertaining some out of town guests from Mexico.

They were in for a real treat because we have a three day old baby colt.

He's the sweetest little guy and our first colt ever to have blue eyes.  Chances are his eyes won't stay that color, but for now it is such a cool feature.

He was still dirty from being born.  So, being the mom I am I couldn't resist giving him his first bath.  He didn't enjoy it so much, "but at least you're clean" I told him.  Honestly, I don't think he cares if he's clean or not.  

We also have a colt who is a couple months old.  The hot weather really tuckers him out!

And of course the sky at the ranch was not disappointing.  And of course I had to snap a photo.  And of course I had to share it with you.

Finally, I have to brag on my oldest girls, who happen to be twins.  They competed in their second horse show ever and did a great job.

At age seven they were the youngest riders at the show and most of their competitors were teenagers.  

Nonetheless, the twins came home with ribbons and the satisfaction of competing well.

A big shout out to their Grandpa Buck, who also happens to be their coach.  He's really helped them to become amazing little horse women.  

Great job girls!

And a good job to their horses Best 

and Itchy.

Spring, Welcome to the Rockies

I think I can officially say that Spring is here!

We have actually had warm weather & sunny days.  And NO snow... finally!

Flowers are blooming, a sure sign of Spring.

Trees are finally blossoming & getting leaves.

Deer are scampering all over the place nibbling on green grass.  This particular deer seems to be yelling at someone, he's probably sick of me taking pictures of him.  But the best sign that it's Spring is babies!

Not from me (don't even think it), but from our horses.  This little guy was born yesterday.

Baby colts are one of my most favorite things in the world.

This one is especially sweet.  I got to be the first person to handle him, I love that.  This is the only time in a horses life that you can stick your fingers in their mouths without getting your digits chomped off.  Just like a human baby a horse baby will suck on your fingers.  Don't ask me why, but I love doing this.  (sidenote: these are not my hands, they're my father's)

I love colt tails, they are so stinkin' cute!  The first few days of a colt's life we spend as much time petting them, picking up their feet, & sticking our fingers in their mouth as we can.  

This is called imprinting, & it makes a horse very easy to train & break out if you do this starting the first day of their lives.  When we go to breakout (ride for the first time) our horses they rarely even buck because we imprint them from day one.  Plus who doesn't want to pet a baby horse.  After all this he gets a little tuckered out.

And lays down for a snooze... so sweet... now his mama gets a break.  I'm so happy Spring is here!

Romantic Western

Often times The West, cowboys, and ranch life are overly romanticized.  People watch Legends of the Fall and suddenly they want to move out west and live in seclusion and be a cowboy (P.S. I've never seen Brad Pitt or anyone close to him working on a ranch).

Or they read The Pioneer Woman's blog & think that ranch life would really be the way to go.  P.S. most ranch houses don't look as nice as her's- especially the kitchen.  For example this is my kitchen, most ranches/farms I've been to have kitchens more like this.  And most ranchers aren't pulling in the kind of revenue she is- just something to think about.  That family has worked for generations to get an established ranch, & her website I think brings in some good coin.  P.S.S I personally love reading her blog :)

 Today I want to bring you to the harsh reality of living on a ranch.  During this keep in mind I live on a very small ranch, so you can only imagine how much more a large scale ranch would require.  One major aspect to running a ranch is tending to livestock.  This must be done every day routinely, despite the weather or how you feel.  And this need increases in the winter time, just when you don't want to be outside.

Yesterday JoJo & I had to feed the horses & tend to the chickens.  This must be done in the morning so we waited until 9:30am until it warmed up a little.  When we walked out the door is was a warming five degrees!

First we feed the "little guys" which includes our year-lings, two year olds & one mare.  They get one and a half bales.

JoJo was freezing (so was I), and was not happy after feeding the little guys.  So I put him in the car to warm up a bit.

Don't worry, his demeanor changed after a few minutes of heat.  Then we were off to the "big guys" (our grown-up geldings & mares).

The big guys require two bales of hay.  "I'm hungry, is somebody going to feed me... like today!"

Let me explain something to you about hay bales.  While a brutish man could probably grab a quarter of a bale at a time, I can only do a couple of flicks at a time.  See each of those little sections, those are flicks.

I can throw two or three at once, but that's it.  So it takes me a while to get two bales of hay strewn about the corral.

Hello Ike!  Ike is our oldest & my most favorite horse on the ranch.  He's the last of the Tennessee Walkers that we have; and though he's huge he is the most gentle & faithful horse ever.  He also always has a rainbow strewn about his neck.  But he eats a lot of hay which means more work for me today.

Now everyone is fed & happy.  On to the chickens.

First give the hens some fresh straw for their nests and give them water & feed.

And then this guy tries to attack my camera... or maybe he just couldn't see where he's going.

And we collect the eggs.  I know what your thinking, mmmm... farm fresh eggs.  But what people fail to think about is someone has to wash those farm fresh eggs.  Trust me, they don't come out all clean and shiny.

Finally you get home & slip off your boots & they look like this inside.  This is also how your jeans, coat, gloves, and hair look- coated with hay; hope there's some left in the corral for the livestock!

So, those were my chores for the morning.  It took me 45 minutes, slightly long because I have to drag little ones along.  And guess what, I get to do it all over again today!

I would like to mention that living on a ranch is also very wonderful and fulfilling.  But it comes with a lot of hard work.  So if your thinking that you want to live in the country on a ranch, or if your little one wants to grow up to be a cowboy, come on out for a visit.  I'll show you the true ups and down of ranch living; we always welcome free labor around here.  I might be able to make you think twice... unless Brad Pitt comes riding up on a horse.