ranching

Scatter Butte

15 Aug posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

In Black and white…

I mentioned the other day on Facebook, that I had taken some absolutely gorgeous, amazing and otherwise ~~picture~~ er, um book-worthy photos and that you’d have to wait until the book was released to see them, and I haven’t changed my mind about that. But, I couldn’t stand the suspense, so I decided to share a photo, that’s still good, but that isn’t MY favorite, and turn it into a black and white, so you can still see the view, but it won’t be in color.

And without further ado:

Enjoy your Monday!

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: #Agchat, photography, pictures, ranching

Yesterday Afternoon

11 Aug posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

We’ve been having some lovely weather here in South Dakota recently. Those of you in the South don’t hate, please? I got the chance to saddle Gump yesterday and move some pairs and I must say, it was a gorgeous ride! I took my iPhone and snapped a couple pictures. Someday folks, I will pack the big camera, but for now these will have to suffice.

Below you will see blue skies, grass and happy cows as well as the best way to view the world- from the back of a horse you know? There’s also pretty lighting!

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: #Agchat, life, photography, pictures, ranching

John Deere Green

28 Jul posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

This past weekend I got to sit in a big green tractor with a very handsome cowboy, and rake hay. The field had already been raked once, but because it’s South Dakota and we have wind, more often than not, the windrows were ruined due to high wind.

The coolest part of our little haying operation is that it’s John Deere Central on this here ranch. If it isn’t green we don’t use it. And even though our skidsteer isn’t green, it’s still a John Deere.

If you didn’t read my first blog on haying you should do that now. Otherwise, continue on.

We went all big guns, and instead of borrowing a cup of sugar from the neighbor, we borrowed this:

Oh yes! A forty foot V-rake. You can’t even see both sides in the picture it’s THAT big. We used this rake because it allowed us to put two of the now messy, windrows together.

The baler and Bud, came in right behind us:

And you can see in this photo the big rows of hay. Be sure you look in the rearview!

And that’s just another day in the life of this South Dakota Cowgirl!

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: #Agchat, pictures, ranching, summer

South Dakota Summer

25 Jul posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Summers here the best. Though we might have a 100 degree day here and there, it always cools off at night and even last week, I wanted a light jacket by 11pm. Don’t hate, please?

I love this time of year.

The grass is green and belly deep. It’s starting to go to seed, and as such the tops are turning brown and it just looks lovely.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon taking photos of said loveliness. I shouldn’t share all of these- I should save some for the book, but I can’t resist.

And you’ll be glad to know that all of these photos are for sale in my gallery!

Happy Trails, Happy Monday and Happy Summer!

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Filed Under: art, photography, pictures, ranching

Ponies!

18 Jul posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Last week I got a chance to go out and see my mares and their babies.

In typical *dragon form, my mare, Sonora (Nora) took herself and her colt, The Fridge, away from the rest of the herd. She doesn’t come by her nickname, The Dragon, for no reason. It’s more about how she looks when she backs her ears- think The Dragon from Shrek, and you’ve a great idea exactly who she looks like when she makes that face. Though she’s all bark, no bite and is really just anti-social when she’s got a colt on her side- she’s got a great disposition, really. But before she got too far away from us, I managed to snap a couple photos.

I also got to see Dolce and Lily Filly:

And unlike her mama, Nora, Dolce let our intern Kara rub on her. In fact, a lot of the mares did!

And yes, Kara has a cast. Let’s just don’t talk about how that happened, mkay?

And that’s your Monday morning goodie from your favorite South Dakota Cowgirl.

Have a super day!

Happy Trails!

4 Comments
Filed Under: foals, horses, pictures

A Roping Affair

4 Jul posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Saturday was a day I have looked forward to for weeks. In fact, I might go so far as to say that I’ve looked forward to a day like the one we had Saturday for my whole life, I just didn’t know it. It was by far and above one of the best days I’ve ever had, and one of the best days I’ve ever spent horseback.

If you’re not a stranger to this blog, you know that I love branding season. The smell of singed hair, the visiting with friends and neighbors you don’t see often, and the work you do that makes your horses and you better and handier- plus a good, hard day’s work, is just healthy for your soul, I think. And while you’re always tired at the end of the day, it’s not really work when you brand. It’s just plain fun!

Saturday was our second branding of the year- the first being our annual Father’s Day Branding, which is, at the very least a two-day party with well over 100 people coming and going at some point during the weekend. That one involves a lot more manual labor, which I’ve discussed here before, and will again; but today it’s all about how we headed and heeled the calves, in the corral we built in the pasture, in tall, green grass (which, in the future, will be mowed prior to the branding so our heel shots don’t all end up getting stuck in the wrong place). Roping the calves like we did is a lot more fun for the people doing the roping, and a lot more standing around for the “ground” crew. But since we only held back about 60 to rope, it didn’t really take that long, and we’d planned on spending all day, so that we could do right by our horses.

And that leads me to the next exciting part of Saturday- roping on my colt, Dino. I’ve been dragging a log and a big 50 gallon drum around on him, but that’s a far cry from a live, bawling calf. To further make things more complicated, we attempt to rope in a way that is easiest on your critter- it’s a very low-stress, ranch roping, type affair. Not an “everything goes to the left so we can get “one” heel shot sort of roping. You take a different shot based on where you and where your horse is and where the calf is, and release your rope based on the plane of your swing. There’s nearly countless shots you could throw- though me, I’m only apt at about 3 of them. It’s okay. It’s a learning experience. Kind of like life.

If you think about all of the above, and throw in a 45-60 foot rope to keep up with, along with other ropers in the corral, and the horse you’re on, it can be sensory overload. Plus this is only my 4th or 5th time to rope at a branding, and my first time to really rope like this! We didn’t have any wrecks, but rather had all kinds of fun, and I got handier at handling that rope as the day went on. I just only roped a couple calves on Dino, but he really hung in there for me and did a great job and it made my heart really, really happy and gave me some confidence since that is the first time I’ve ever roped on a colt. I have to tell you though, honestly, it’s a lot easier to get in there and rope on a saddle horse than it is a colt, but sometimes, part of growing in your horsemanship journey is stepping outside your comfort zone. It worked out great for me, and I cannot wait until next year! I absolutely must give props to the best saddle horse ever, Gump, as well. It’d be sad to leave him out. Because if he weren’t awesome, the day might not have been so superb.

So without further ado, I’d like to share with you 4 minutes video that one of our Ranch Interns, Martha took and I spent yesterday putting together. You can thank my dad for requesting said footage.

And there’s photos- lots and lots of photos. I took a few, but the majority were taken by my SIL- Cole. I’ll share those at some point, I’m sure. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my life!

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: #Agchat, cowgirls, family, horses, ranching

All The Pretty Horses

9 Jun posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

There’s been several trips to the mare pastures this spring, and I have yet to share all the lovely goodness with my readers. So I figured today is as good a day as any, right?

Scarlett, a coming 3yo filly, registered as DX Covergirl-

The Brumby- who will be staying with us for the time being:

The famous, “Annie” in a different pose, or two! And I readily admit, I photograph her more than most, because I believe her to be GORGEOUS!

A pretty coming 3yo mare:

And to wrap up, here’s a cute little bay filly:

Happy Trails! Enjoy your Thursday!

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Filed Under: horses, photography, pictures, ranching

Number 72

3 Jun posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

In case you have been in a hole this week, my pretty, gray mare, Streakin Iron, or Sonora (Nora) as she is known, had her baby! It’s a baby that was due May 23, but wasn’t born until May 31. I must say, I am beyond excited about him. He is by our stud, WDX Nukem which means he’ll be gentle, trainable and friendly. That’s a trifecta if you ask me! And for those of you wondering, he has a 50% chance of turning gray.

This colt has been affectionately dubbed: Frigidaire, or The Fridge. Hence, the title of this blog. Those of you that are old enough to remember Refrigerator Perry, will recall that he was Number 72. I believe I may register him as Number 72, and just refer to him as The Fridge. Zach decided that would be a good name, because just a few hours before he was born, we had a new refrigerator delivered, and of course My Cowboy just thinks he’s funny calling him that. I give him points for creativity.

And now because everyone so patiently waited for photos, here they are, with a couple of my dirty papillon, Higgins, thrown in just for good measure!

[AFG_gallery id='1']

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Filed Under: #Agchat, foals, horses, ranching

Bulls Will Be Bulls

2 Jun posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

And as I said before they’re no different than teenage boys, full of testosterone and no way to eloquently deal with it. I guess you could also equate them to overly zealous body builders or cage fighters. Add a girl into the mix and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. We lease our bulls, and we don’t usually turn them out until after the 4th of July. For those of you that are now wondering, the gestation period of a cow is 9 months. And this year, we got our bulls almost a week ago. And because we don’t have our bull pastures fenced off yet, they’re hanging out in the corral by the barn.

Apparently the girls got too close the other day, because Tuesday, after lunch we headed back to the corral to find the following:

The corral where the bulls had been staying is down between the arena and the corral, and the arena and our saddle horse trap.
And yes, there were three escaped bulls.
And yes, they were promptly put away.

They broke a gate post, a piece of mega-plank and knocked down a lot of mega-plank boards and bent some gate hinges all to hell.
And yes, we promptly did a “temporary” fix using cattle panels. We’ll work on putting the whole thing back together later this week.

I’m tellin’ y’all, boys are trouble. And bulls, well they’re no different!

Happy Trails!

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Filed Under: #Agchat, ranching

Branding #2

31 May posted by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Branding is the most wonderful time of the year. I know I say that about Fall Shots/Shipping season too, but there’s just something that’s extra special about branding season. And you know what makes it even more fun- the fact that I got to snap some photographs at the neighbor’s place on Saturday!

I’m gonna show you a few of my favorite photos and explain to you what’s going on at each stage.

The calves get corralled together, after we sort out their mamas:

Horses not being used, get to graze in an unused holding pen:

Mamas wait and call for their babies:

The calves just “hang” out:

Little cowboys get ready to rope!

Our first intern of the year, got to do some flanking and held the calf while he was quickly doctored and branded:

Calves are roped by the heels:

Then, to save work for your ground crew, we use calf-catchers, or Nord Forks. They hold the calf at the shoulders, while the roper holds the heels.

And then to get the calf down so the ground crew can work on them, someone will grab the tail, and another the rope and leverage becomes our friend:

Once they are down, all calves get branded for identification purposes, the bull calves are banded, so they will become steers, fly tags are put in their ears and they are given shots to protect them from disease, similar to you giving your horse spring/fall shots. They are also poured with a delouser, given an anti-parasitic (de-wormer) injection, and the steers are given a tetanus shot to protect them from getting infected due to the banding.

Isn’t this a pretty picture? It’s straight out of the camera too, in case anyone is wondering!

Pour-on:

Branding:

A vaccine gun:

Fly Tagger:

Each Vaccine gets a different colored cattle chalk so that as each vaccine is given, the crew can determine what else is needed:

This is a heifer that is finished being worked on. If she’d been a steer, you’d have seen a green mark on her too- the green was for the Tetanus shot. If you’re wondering if it’s scientific what color goes with what shot, it’s not. We all just grab a chalk and when the vaccine we’re giving is injected, we mark the calf, and after about 10 calves, everyone figures out what is what.

Here’s a very handsome cowboy holding a fly tagger:

When we’re done working on each calf, they are let go, and they all get up and run off, back to mama!

Branding is very much a sort of “organized” chaos if you will. In a matter of less than 3 minutes, each calf can be branded, doctored, and ready to go for the summer:

The goal, is to keep your calves as stress-free as possible, because calves that are happy will gain weight faster than those that are stressed out. And bigger calves mean a bigger payday for a rancher at the end of the year!

At times there might be more than one calf being drug out of the pen at once: