Week 4 - Day 5 At the Ranch

Well sports fans the end has come. The end of Bob King's Cowboy School means that there is a new beginning for another adventure which will have something to do with horses and cows if I have anything to say about it. If you are reading this and would like to learn cowboy skills in roping, cattle and horses, then I can't recommend Bob's School highly enough. Both Bob and his wife Betty are wonderful people with their feet on the ground. Bob is a real cowboy with lots of real-life experience which means he knows his stuff, can get it across to people and has the patience of Jobe.

My last day was spent roping in the early morning and watching a DVD called the Californios which shows the highlights of the past 7 years of a Ranch Roping contest held in California. It is truly amazing what these cowboys can do with a loop.

 

This afternoon we were back on horseback where we got to do lots of trotting. This really helps one balance in the saddle and gain confidence. After this we let the "fat cows" loose for a couple of games... at least the humans thought it was fun. Really, the horses and cattle are treated with the utmost safety, respect, and care. The first exercise was similar to the one described in Day 4's blog.

The second exercise involved each of us taking a steer and placing it in a specific position. Each steer had to stay where they were placed and then each of us had to exchange one steer with another without disturbing the rest. Moving cattle requires one to think ahead, move very slowly while being aware of the steers flight zone and being patient. Lots of fun.

 

One other thing... I was inundated with e-mails (at least 1) with answers to the question in my Day 3 blog... name those cattle! While the one person who submitted a response had some excellent guesses they were not quite right. These cattle are Watusi cattle which were originally imported from Africa. One of their most unique features are the massive horns.

Well cowboy fans Wrangler Dave is going to hit the road in a couple of days so Wrangler Dave's blog will not have many notes added... at least that is what I think at the moment. Thanks to all who read my blog as I follow my dreams.

Temperature = 76 and very windy... lots of dust in the air.

Week 4 - Day 4 At the Ranch

The end is in site which really saddens me as I have had a blast and learned a ton about horses, cattle and roping.

Well we started the day with roping and even got a lesson on knot tying as the end of one of Bob's ropes broke off. There is a special knot that keeps the honda (the ring through which the rope slips - just in case you are a tenderfoot) from slipping off and creating your loop. As you can see we are all enthralled with the knot. Bob had a name for this knot but I'll be a winged pig if I can remember what it is.

Blackie was back in town for an return engagement. He is one troubled horse. He just wants to stay very, very close to you and he has no energy... that is until you get a rope on one of his hind legs and then look out. After working both hind legs and doing some other ground work, he loosened up enough that he could be ridden (carefully that is). Once he got in this state, he really moved nicely.

Next we got to play with the "fat" cows...

First we had to "cut" one out of the herd, drive them down the arena between 2 barrels, over a log, down a long chute and finally through 2 barrels placed so close together the steers had to lift their head to get their horns through. As you con see in the first picture, this steer almost got away but he finally did his thing. The next time 2 people took 2 steers through the same course which requires lots of team-work.

Temperature = 75 (very nice!)

Week 4 - Day 3 At the Ranch

Wow... today was hump day which means we are on the back-side of the week. Hard to believe I have been here almost 4 weeks and it will soon come to an end . I have learned a lot and had a super time. Bob is a great teacher and all of the people I have met at his school were great.

If you guessed that we started the day by roping, you were right. First the skinny cow from the ground. Then onto the big guys... these were not part of the "class" thank goodness.

Does anyone know what kind of cattle these are? I'll give you a hint... they are not from North America.

Well as you can see, Cop was our victim this afternoon when we started roping the fat cows. He is called Cop because he is black and white...

As you can see, he gets to lay down on the job. Bob demonstrated how 1 person with a good horse and rope could handle an animal so it could be doctored if need be. He has used this same technique on bulls that weigh over 2000 pounds... glad it was him and not me!

Next we had a little contest to see which team (3 on each side) could rope the most cattle in 10 minutes. Well the "turkeys" (the other team naturally) won the first round 8 to 7 but I think they shorted our time. On the next round the good guys beat the turkeys 9 to 8. Stay tuned for the championship round tomorrow...

Temperature = 74 (another beautiful day that was really hard to take after reading the weather forecast in GR ).

Week 4 - Day 2 At the Ranch

I am sure that anyone who has read this journal knows that one of the main themes of Bob King's teaching is roping. This is such an important tool for a cowboy it warrants all the attention it is given... I just wish it was a little easier to get the shots correct!

Well as you can see from the picture, the skinny cow is back only this time I am trying to rope it from horse-back. All of a sudden all the angles change (angles are the secret to roping and catching) when you are on horse-back. At least skinny cow does not move like the real ones.

 

Here are some of the real victims... they don't look so tough do they - HA! Today we got to play a couple of games with them. One game involved separating one of them from the herd, driving it over a log in the middle of the arena, driving it down a long shute into another arena where 2 barrels were placed about 3 feet about. We had to drive the steer through the barrels from the back-side and then back into the main arena where we had to put the steer in a specific corner where it had to stay for 30 seconds. It is not as difficult as it seems if one is aware of how much pressure the steer needs and when to apply it.

Temperature = 72 (very pleasant)

Week 4 - Day 1 At the Ranch

The last week at Bob's has begun. Back in the saddle again... be glad I did not sing this for you. Today we had 3 newbies so now we have 2 people by the name of Dave and 2 by the name of Chris. I don't know how Bob keeps it all straight but it works.

We started with roping again today. More loops and more shots to learn and practice. It is fun but it is challenging. Bob started working with Jimbo again today (the horse). Jimbo is moves out real well and is quick to pick up on new items so it is easy to teach the "trainers". He doesn't look so tough does he?

After lunch we saddled up and did our ground-work with our horses. I have a new horse called Uno. He is very responsive but has not had a lot training. He does pick new items up quickly and is a very smooth mover. I guess I will get to work with him or is it that he will train me all week (?).

Temperature = 71

Weekend Sight-seeing 3/8 & 3/9/2008

Well it was an extremely relaxing weekend. I thought I would sleep in both mornings but I was awake at the crack of dawn.

Saturday was clean-up day... dishes and washing . Once these wonderful chores were completed, it was time to head to Benson for some shopping at Wally-Mart. Just as I was coming into Benson I spotted a horse auction. Fortunately they we still selling blankets, halters, ropes, etc. before getting to the horses so I went and did my shopping and had lunch. The horses were supposed to start at 1:00 PM but didn't start until 3:00. I stayed until around 5:00 PM when I got a frantic call from Arda who was sitting out side some library trying to send the info for her blog. I started for home as I knew this would not be casual but Arda did great and got her e-mail sent.

On Sunday I met up with Tom Hone from Minnesota who is a good friend of Bob King's. Tom getting driving directions from Big Red before we left the RV park where he stays in his trailer.

We played tourist visiting Douglas and Bisbee. Bisbee (the old section) was really interesting as this was a copper mining town. This is a picture of the hole left from the open copper mine. The last time copper was removed from here was around 1975. We also went through the mining museum which was really interesting.

Temperature = 68

Week 3 - Day 5 At the Ranch

Well another week has come to an end... it is going all too fast. Most of today was spent roping... on the ground and from a horse.

Bob's friend, Bob Hone from Minnesota, took some great pictures today... of course they were of me! Actually he did include Tony and Bob in a couple of them.

We spent some time "bringing down calves" so they could be worked on. It is incredible to see a 700 pound calf laid down like a baby when the hind and front legs on the same sides are roped.

Here is a calf that has been laid down... that is Tony (from Lethbridge) sitting on the calf preparing to tie the calf's legs together.

How would you like to rope one of these dudes? Thank goodness they are on another ranch down the road. I am not sure what breed they are but it is a good job they are down road...

Temperature = 68

Week 3 - Day 4 At the Ranch

Another busy day working with horses and cattle... isn't that why I am here?

Started out with roping on the ground and then onto the horses. We started with a 6 year-old gelding (Jimbo) that was "started" over a year ago and has not been touched since. Bob started by roping him and getting him to turn his hind-quarters. Next Tony worked Jimbo in a halter getting more bends and turns from him. Then comes Wrangler Dave... rope the right hind leg - HA! I won't tell you how many times I missed but I did catch Jimbo by the hind leg... now the battle started. I had to hold him until he "softened" and gave the leg to me. It did not take too long but there were some anxious moments on my part and I suspect Jimbo's too. That took us up to lunch.

After lunch it was time to saddle up and rope the real cattle... no more skinny cows today. We roped heads and feet. By roping the front and hind leg on the same side of a calf we were able to lay a 700 pound calf down so gently it was unbelievable . We were also able to "hog-tie" (shouldn't that be calf-tie? ) the calf so it could be doctored if needed. One of the most dangerous times is after you are finished with the calf and the cowboy has to get back on his horse without being in a wreck. Well, Bob showed us another trick that I would not have believed had I not seen it myself... he rocked that calf on it's back until it went to sleep. It took about a minute and a half for it to fall asleep. Bob took the ropes off the calf's legs, mounted his horse and about 5 minutes later the calf got up as if nothing happened - unbelievable!

Temperature = 53 (tonight it is going down to 20)

Week 3 - Day 3 At the Ranch

The black horse is back! We spent about an hour this morning working on our roping but then Annie (from the Grapevine Canyon Ranch) brought 2 horses that required lots of work.

One was Blackie. He was here last week for a session and was much better when he left. Unfortunately he did not get a lot work at the ranch and had digressed to the point where he would not lope... unless of course he bucked you off first which is not a good thing. Bob tried working him on the ground but this horse is so troubled, he would not do anything. Bob mounted Ring and things changed quickly. By using another horse, Bob could position Ring so Blackie had to do what was needed. This also meant Bob did not have to worry about being kicked. After about an hour (I don't wear a watch so am only guessing) Blackie allowed Annie to ride him at a lope, pick up his feet, and was generally very gentle. He still needs lots of work but it is coming.

This afternoon the winds picked up to 25 - 30 mph so roping cattle was out. We worked at walking, trotting, and loping over logs, bending the horses so they become more flexible and turning their hind-quarters so they work better... the hind-quarters is the horse's engine.

Temperature = 61

Week 3 - Day 2 At the Ranch

Today was a little different as the pace has picked up because Tony ("the new guy") is here for only 1 week and he catches on fast. Bob took his time teaching me the basics (which he needed to do) but has to move through the program so Tony can get lots of things to take home with him.

The day started out the same... roping. It never ceases to amaze me how many shots there are and what is even more amazing is the fact I am getting to learn many of them... not all at least not yet.

 

We did our round pen work this AM and them rode for an hour doing the same exercises from the saddle as we did from the ground. Next we dragged a log around the arena as it teaches a horse to pull, build up his hind-quarters and teaches the rider how to handle cattle safely by positioning the horse properly.

This PM was spent working cattle and roping them (well throwing the rope at them most of the time). It is important that horses (and me too) get to work with cattle and get used to all the turns and twists that are required to remain safe. There are lots of things going on at the same time.

Temperature = 70 & sunny.

Week 3 - Day 1 At the Ranch

Today was a little slow as we had a new person from Canada join us. Tony is from just outside Lethdridge Alberta and is a very nice person who appears to catch on fast. For me today was a day of review. An opportunity to work on my roping as I don't get many of these.

We also got in some more ground work with the horses training the people. Some things come quickly but some are very slow. For example, Bob talks about putting pressure on the reins in terms of ounces. He is always saying, "How light can you be to get the horse to turn its head?". It is amazing as I think I am very light and he tells me I am applying pounds... it is coming.

 

Arda's day of reckoning is coming closer. She is apprehensive but is also very excited. The apprehension will go away once she starts and maybe the mountains will take some of the excitement away.

Temperature = 53 and windy today.

Weekend Sight-seeing 3/2/2008

Today was another day of sight-seeing only this time we went to the Chiricahua Mountains and the National Monument. What beautiful country with such a diverse topography.

Here are a couple of unique sites that we saw. The first being Cochise's Head Mountain. There is a 100 ft fir tree that looks like his eye-brows. Unfortunately you can't see them in this picture.

Now here is view looking up through the sun-roof in the truck. This area is called the "Pipe Organ" and I suspect you can see why. These rocks just towered over the road... sure glad they didn't decide to come down at this time - HA!

Next is what I call the Cactus Patch... these were growing up the west side (the dry side) of the mountain and it looked as if someone has planted them. It was pretty unique.

Last but not least was the "balanced rock". Believe it or not this rock started out as part of the mountain but wind, rain, freezing temperatures all help erosion to take place leaving this balanced on another tall column. There are no supports so who know when it will fall. There are others that were balanced and have fallen but I did not see any as big as this one.

Well, tomorrow it is back to the ranch for me. It will also be Arda's last ride in this area as she is packing up and heading to San Diego where she will begin her trip on March 6, 2008.

Temperature = 64

Weekend Sight-seeing 3/1/2008

Well sports fans, Arda and I took the week-end to be tourists... our friend Vagabond Tom tagged along with us. Arda didn't ride and neither did I. On Saturday we went to a dude ranch (Grapevine Canyon Ranch) to visit with a friend (Annie) whom I met at Bob King's place. She was working a couple of mustangs for some people and Bob was helping her out.

Next we headed to Tombstone. Instead of taking the highway, we took the back roads... and I mean back roads. We took almost 2 hours to travel a little over 15 miles. Of course we stopped along the way to take lots of pictures and the terrain was not the best as you can see from these pictures.

Along the way Tom also did a little Geo caching...

It was a great drive...

Tombstone is a really neat city which I would recommend to everyone to visit. The main street has been refurbished to the period of the old west except there are probably (??) a lot more tourist traps. There are a number of places one can go to see the re-enactment of the shoot out at the "OK Corral". Arda has seen 2 different reenactments and both were pretty good.

There are also some pretty unique signs hanging either in the stores or on the covered walk-ways...

Lots more pictures but too many for my blog...

Temperature = 81