The South Dakota Cowgirl

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Unexpected Loss, Part 2

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Many of you who’ve been around for the past decade or so, will recall when little Dolce (Ibaflitnbird) was born. She was the first foal I ever raised and I was fortunate enough to be able to be there for her birth. 

On September 8th, 2018, at 10 years old, she died. She apparently contracted West Nile and we found her too late to do much more than bring her home and get her comfortable for her passing. It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever experienced and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.  I had gone out that day to collect manure samples from the cows, but stopped to see the horse herd on my way. All but Dolce were accounted for. Belle was there, but her mom was not. I found her wandering the fence line about 45 minutes later — a sliver of the horse she’d been just that Wednesday when she’d last been seen. 

That mare was pretty cool.   When she turned two, which by the way, for anyone who has ever raised a foal seems like an eternity, I went to the pasture with the trailer, caught her, loaded her up, took her home and started her. She was my fourth of July project.  She never offered to buck or snort or be silly in any way, shape or form. Solid from the get go – like her mom. With 10 rides, we were roping live cattle. 

I had hoped to make her one of my barrel horses, but with 45 rides we knew what she was going to be, so I decided to use her as a broodmare instead. Not that she wouldn’t have made me a bang up barrel horse, but there was an issue of keeping mares around since all the studs on this outfit are kid horses, and are used, when they’re not breeding mares, as riding horses. Logistically it makes things more difficult. 

Always one of the first to greet you in the pasture, she was friendly and didn’t get pushed around much.  You could call her to you, and she always had to see if you had oats.  In the event that you didn’t, she’d still hang out and enjoyed being scratched on her chest. 

She blessed me with two gorgeous red dun babies — Generalissimo, and Belle. 

Issy is all grown up now! 
  • Belle is only a few hours old!
  • Taken just a couple weeks prior to her passing. 

Baby Belle is now an orphan, and Dolce was sure doing a dang fine job raising this baby.  She’s strong and stout and hasn’t ever met a stranger.  I had planned to sell her older brother, but now, I’m not sure I can bring myself to do it.  The money would be nice in helping to replace their mom, but maybe it’s just too new, too raw, too painful yet to think about parting with either of them. I have high hopes for Belle — she’s got big shoes to fill, and I can’t wait to see where she goes in life. I’m grateful she gave me a filly before we lost her.

Make a point to hug your horses today, friends. You never know when it will be the last time you get to do that very thing. 

About ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Jenn Zeller is the creative mind and boss lady behind The South Dakota Cowgirl. She is an aspiring horsewoman, photographer, brilliant social media strategist and lover of all things western.

After a brief career in the investment world to support her horse habit (and satisfy her mother, who told her she had to have a “real” job after graduating college), she finally took the leap and stepped away from a regular income; trading the business suit once and for all for cowgirl boots, a hat, and jeans. She has not looked back.

When Jenn first moved to The DX Ranch on the South Dakota plains, she never imagined she’d find herself behind a camera lens capturing an authentic perspective of ranching, and sharing it with others. Jenn has always been called to artistry, and uses music, writing, images, home improvement, and her first true love of horses to express her ranching passion.

Horses are the constant thread and much of her work centers around using her unique style of writing to share her horsemanship journey with others in publications such as CavvySavvy, the AQHA Ranching Blog, the West River Eagle, the family ranch website, and her own website.

Using photography to illustrate her stories has created other opportunities -- Jenn’s brand “The South Dakota Cowgirl” has grown to the level of social media “Influencer”. This notoriety has led to work with Duluth Trading Company, Budweiser, Wyoming Tourism, Vice, Circle Z Ranch and Art of the Cowgirl, to name a few. She also serves as a brand ambassador for Woodchuck USA, Arenus Equine Health, Triple Crown Feed and Just Strong fitness apparel. Her photography has been featured by Instagram, Apple, TIME Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Oprah Magazine. Jenn’s work has been published internationally, has been seen in several books and has graced the covers of several magazines.

Jenn became a social media influencer by accident when she started to explore Instagram as a way to share her life on the ranch with folks that don’t get to experience it. It’s grown into an incredible platform that she uses to empower women, create an environment for self improvement and share life on the ranch.

When she’s not working, she loves to drink coffee, play with her naughty border collie named Copper, start ranch colts, and run about the country chasing cans. Her mother still thinks she doesn’t have a “real” job.

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