introducing horses to cattle

Today I am going to tell you how I started to introduce Keeno and Vegas to cattle. I will tell you why you might want to do this, how I did this, and the next step I will take with my horses. Let’s start this cattle drive.

            Why would I want my horse familiar with cows? Eventually, I want to do some cattle work with my horses. I might rope or team pen with them. Another reason to introduce horses to cows is that cows are popular farm animals. If there is a cow by the trail where I am riding, I want my horse to be fine walking by it. Those are two reasons to get your horse comfortable around cows.

            I was on Vegas and ponying Keeno on a little trail ride when I went past my friend Eva’s two cows. Keeno saw the cows and wanted to go see them. So I walked my horses up to the fence. Keeno loved the cows—he sniffed them. But Vegas was a little more cautious. Then Celeste (the cow) started to lick Keeno, who just stood there while Celeste licked and licked. I didn’t get my phone out in time to get a picture. Keeno was totally fine with the cows and Vegas settled down, too.

           I don’t know exactly how I am going to progress with cows. I don’t have cattle to chase so I would like to find a place that does team penning. Then, on a practice night, I will just go and get Vegas used to the cattle. I will have to wait till Keeno is old enough to ride, and listens to me well, before he can start to chase cows. I can’t wait!!!

    

           I am so exited to get in to some cattle work with my horses. Now you know a little about introducing your horse to cattle. If you know of any places that are good for a beginner cattle worker, please let me know in the comments.

           

Ground Tying

Ground tying is an important skill for any horse to have. Ground tying is a simple but challenging skill to teach your horse. You guessed it—today I will talk abut ground tying. I will go over what ground tying is, how to teach it, and of course how to use it. Let get started.

What is ground tying? Ground tying is a horse standing completely still without being tied or held. Ground tying can be hard or very easy to teach, depending on the horse’s personality. If the horse is a quiet calm horse, it will most likely be easier. On the other hand, if the horse is spooky or excitable, it will probably be harder to teach. Patience is required for all horses and trainers.

To teach ground tying, you need an enclosed space such as an arena or paddock. Take your horse’s lead rope by the end so it is hanging almost to the ground. Then say “stand” or a command you have chosen for your horse to stand still. Stand next to your horse approximately 3 seconds and then give your horse a treat. Reward him!!!! Each time he succeeds increase the time that the horses stands before he gets a treat. After he is standing still for about 30 seconds with you right next to him, drop the lead rope completely. Tell him to stand and walk around him. If he doesn’t move, give him a treat. The next step is to walk 5 to 10 yards away from him before turning back. When he stays put, reward him. Make sure to only reward him when he stands perfectly still. If he moves, grab the lead rope and back him to where he was. Say stand and try again. My weanling Keeno picked this up in about 10 minutes.

When do you use ground tying? I use it a lot. I use it if I need to get a gate, set up a barrel or pole for somebody, or even grab something out of the barn. I also find that the horse knows the word ‘stand’ means to stand completely still. When mounting and dismounting, I tell my horse to stand. If he is moving around when I am grooming or tacking him, I say stand and he will usually stop fidgeting. Sometimes ground tying is one of the obstacles in trail class. Ground tying is a great way to teach your horse patience, too.

Now you know a little bit about ground tying. You know what ground tying is all about, how to teach ground tying and when to use it. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Keeno being a goof ball

White Stallion Ranch

This year my family decided to go on a trip to a dude ranch. After a lot of research we decided to go to the White Stallion Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. This is my review of the White Stallion Ranch; it is my opinion. I will talk about the terrain, fun activities and of course, the horses. Let’s pack up and take off!!!

This was my first time being in Arizona and it was not what I expected. I thought it would be hot with cowboy looking cabins. Instead, it was sand, rock or cacti EVERY WHERE. Every natural thing I touched hurt, because every thing was so spiky. It was in the Catalina Mountains. When I was there, it was 32 degrees in the morning and 60’s in the afternoon. I got to sleep in a pueblo-like building right next to the horse corral. I learned to stay away from plants.

There was a lot to do. The game room had Ping-Pong, pool, foosball and so much more. There was a heated pool and hot tub, too. I loved when the guitar players sang all the great country songs. The food was excellent. My personal favorite was roping the roping dummies. I was never bored. There was always something to do on a horse.

Their dude horses were amazingly trained and physically built. The horses would stay right in line during the trail rides. You have to take a fast ride test if you want to team pen or go on a fast ride. The fast ride test is loping behind a wrangler down the arena. Keeping your horse 1 horse length away from the guide’s horse and stopping when he raises his hand is the test. My horse did all of this by himself. On the trail rides, all you had to do is keep your horse from eating sagebrush and they would do the rest. The horses were built like armored tanks. Their legs were super thick. Their hooves were so hard and all of them wore shoes.  Most of the 160 dude horses living there were geldings and older than 9 years of age.

At first, I felt a little restricted when it came to riding horse.  Everybody needs to go on a slow ride before taking the fast ride test. The wranglers do all of the horse handling: grooming, tacking, leading, and assisting with mounting and dismounting. After the slow ride, I went on some fast rides, a mountain ride, a canyon ride, and a breakfast ride. My favorite was the breakfast ride, because I got to eat in the middle of nowhere with my horse. Team penning was quite the adventure—my team was my brother Nate, sister Leah, and my dad, who rode one of the dude ranches biggest Belgian horses. By the end, I realized that a lot of non-horsey people were acting like they knew it all. The restrictions were for their and my safety.

If you are looking for a dude ranch, this is a great one.

one of the many roping dummies 

after team penning