Week 2 - Day 5 At the Ranch

The end of another week. Wrangler Dave is tired but happy. He learned a lot and was able to put it into practice this week as I was the only student... the horses taught me a lot!

Today started with the usual - roping the skinny cow. Trying to learn another "loop" but keep getting confused although it is getting better.

Then onto the round pen which went really well today. I did not lose control of the horse even once today - another first! This took all morning as Bob showed us how to do the same work from the saddle. Of course he makes it look so smooth and easy. He has the patience of Job to work with me.

Next we worked at separating cattle. We could only move one cow/steer at a time from the pasture to the arena. We even had to put each one in a separate corner. After we had 4 calves in the arena, we shut the gate so we could start roping. I used the new loop I have been working on the past several days and would say I caught 1 calf for every 5 throws. It is getting better.

Now it is the weekend and time for Wrangler Dave to rest his tired shoulders so he whirl and twirl again next week. All in all it was an super week! See you on Monday.

Temperature = 82

Week 2 - Day 4 At the Ranch

As usual we started off roping the "skinny cow" as Arda calls it. All this work with the skinny cow really pays off when roping the "fat cows" (they are not so fat but they are real and have horns!). I did not miss too many today. I watched Bob rope the 2 hind-legs of a 750 pound calf and lay it down. If the calf needed doctoring or something else done to it, one person could do it without getting hurt (nor the calf).

Next we moved on to the round pen where we wore out three horses (Dandy the mare and Dancer and Uno who are geldings) trying to teach Wrangler Dave to do ground work. It is coming but slower than I would like... imagine that!

In the afternoon we got on our horses and did the same exercises with our horses as we did in the AM only this time it was from the saddle. It never ceases to amaze me to see the changes in the horses.

Lots more work to be done on Wrangler Dave but it is a blast!

Temperature = 78

Week 2 - Day 3 At the Ranch

Yup, you got it. More roping but guess what? All that roping paid off today as we started roping real live cattle... can't say no more dummies (careful who you start thinking is the dummy ) as one will always need to practice. I caught my first 2 cattle but missed several more before catching a few more.

Then we worked the horses some more. Working on flexibility, turns on their front legs and back legs, backing up in circles, loping, trotting, etc. The more a horse is worked the better the horse will be in the long run.

The flu is running rampant down here as just about everyone but Arda and I have had it. The other person who was supposed to be in school with me has been off since last Friday afternoon with it...

Temperature = 74

Week 2 - Day 2 At the Ranch

Another day that started out roping. Sorry folks, no one submitted the correct answer (in fact no one submitted any answer) to yesterday's question so I don't have to give out the grand prize!

Next we caught one of the mustangs by the hind leg so we could start handling him so the ferrier could shoe him. I've got lots of bruises on my legs to show how hard he whipped the rope. It did not take too long, although it seemed like an eternity for a couple of minutes, for him to settle down and become soft to the rope. It is amazing to see the changes in an animal without getting him all riled up.

Lots of riding... walking, trotting and loping over logs and around the arena. We also spent time draging a 200 pound log around so the horse could get used to it and I could learn how to do it without getting myself or the horse in trouble.

Temperatures = 71

Week 2 - Day 1 At the Ranch

Well folks I'll bet you can't guess what we started with today. Three guesses the first 2 don't count and for the first person to tell me, you will win a huge prize to be determined later.

I got to use my roping skills (if you can call them that) to rope a wild mustang that has not been handled previously and likes to bite and kick. I had to rope each of his hind legs so we could start getting him to "give" so that that his legs could be handled... he needs to have his feet fixed by the farrier but that won't happen for a while yet.

After this I got to "work" him in the round pen so that he would roll his hind quarters. This helps control the horse from the ground or in the saddle and makes it very difficult for him to buck you off... which this one would definitely do given the chance.

Another nice day in Cochise (74 degrees) but a little windy... west at 15 - 20 mph.

Weekend in Arizona

Well we got up at 4:00 AM Saturday to take Petra to the airport in Tucson which is about 1 1/2 hour drive from Pearce. We got there in plenty time for Petra to catch her flight to Chicago (it was a 1/2 hour late) and then onto NY on time. It was a great week with her here as we had not seen her since Christmas.

After dropping Petra off we went to Camping World for a few things for the trailer... one can spend a ton of money on gadgets and equipment if you want.

We then went to our friends from Toronto, Laurene and Roy Swanson whom we have not seen for many years. We were well fed and they were very gracious hosts showing us around the area. Roy and I went to the Titan Missile Site where we toured the actual launch site complete with controls and missile silo. There is still a missile in the silo but of course it is not armed. While we were doing this Arda and Laurene went off to the casino to win their fortune...

Well back home to the trailer where we saw a beautiful sunset...

Day 5 - At the Ranch - End of Week 1

More roping! Just when I think I have it, Bob shows us another shot or swing which has a whole new application.

Today we worked with our horses to get them to "hook on" to us. This means we drive the horse around a round pen (no rope or halter on the horse). We start backing up until he stops, turns toward you and then he comes to you. Once he comes to you, he is "hooked" on you and will follow you when you walk away. It took about 20 minutes for one of the horses to hook up and about 2 hours for the second horse to hook up. It is amazing what one can learn about oneself during this process.

Pulling the log around to get a horse used to pulling on something so that later when dragging a calf there is no surprise. It also teaches Wrangler Dave how to "dally"... no that is not as in dilly-dally.

We are taking Petra to Tucson for her flight home to NY tomorrow... we have to leave around 4:30 AM - YUK! It was nice to have her here for the week... We had a great time with her.

We will spend the weekend in Tucson with friends of our from Toronto who "winter" down here.

Temperatures really fluctuated today from 33 this AM to 64 this afternoon.

More to come on Monday. Have a great weekend.

Day 4 - At the Ranch

More roping... new shots and new swings. My shoulder is getting sore from this but it is such an important part one just has to do it.

Here is the only "calf" Wrangler Dave has roped so far.

Did lots more ground work in the round pen and it is amazing how little pressure it takes to get a 1200 pound horse to do what you want (we most of the time). The horse learns things in minutes or a couple of hours and it is taking me a lot longer. Hmmmm, wonder what that says about me? Here is Dancer who has been training me all week... he is finally getting me right!

Took Arda out for her birthday dinner (gave her a break from ALL that cooking - HA!) along with Petra and our friend Tom Marlatt... guess what we had?

Well tomorrow is another day and I expect I will learn a whole lot more as I seem to every day which is a good thing!

Temperatures a chilly 59 degrees...

Day 3 - At the Ranch

Another day and more roping. I really don't understand how one can work/train horses without the use of a rope. There is so much that can be done to help the horse and keep one safe.

We also got to do some more ground work and more training techniques that we practiced in the saddle... a little sore (I am sure you don't have to use too much imagination to figure out where) but that won't stop me from riding.

Well the weather was a little cool today... only 59 and tomorrow is supposed to be about 10 degrees cooler.

Day 2 - At the Ranch

More rope work... it is amazing how many different types of throws (shots in cowboy venacular) one can make. I am told there are over a hundred shots for roping cattle and/or horses.

We did more horse work this PM - roping a horse's hind or front leg and then getting the horse to "learn" what is being asked of him/her i.e. hold the hind leg in the air so the ferrier can work on it

We also worked the horses from yesterday on the ground and from their back to get them more responsive. Once this was finished, we worked at getting the horse to work "off a calf"... neat experiences for me at least.

Oh, one other thing, the temperatures were in the mid-70's and very sunny.

Day 1 - Bob & Betty King Cowboy School

Day 1 at Bob King's Cowboy School was great! Bob is extremely knowledgeable and a good teacher to boot. It is really nice to understand the whys and wherefores of the aids we are learning.

As Bob says, he has to teach us before we can teach the horses so we started out with the basics today... roping. No I did not get tied up in knots... - HA!

This will be used when working with cattle and horses so it is a very important foundation.

We also got to work with a horse today learning many of the aids, what we are trying to accomplish and why.

 

We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Pearce, AZ

Went to a small church this AM (St. Judes). The priest had a really good message... one can go through life by using only reason but if one adds faith, you can go way beyond what you thought possible.

We also had coffee and donuts (actually there were cookies, brownies, a Mexican dessert that was very, very good and other goodies). One of the ladies handed Arda a box with some donuts and brownies in it as we were leaving ... really a nice community.

It is about 65 degrees here so Arda has gone for a ride of ~20 miles... her first out-doors in a long time so she was really happy.

Me, I am catching up on computer work that has been neglected for the past 4 days.

We are picking Petra up tonight in Tucson as she is spending her spring/winter break with her parents camping in the middle of no-where (at least this is Petra's version). We will have a blast!

Eurkea, MO to Elk City, OK

Day 2... what a day (or should I say night) it was!

We started out the night without water... we thought we had a frozen line but after calling the RV place, Wrangler Dave was told to turn the pump on - duh!

At 1:00 AM the "gas detector" started to beep - at least it gets your attention. It was not a gas leak but the battery voltage dropped too low to allow this device to operate. Since we didn't know what else to do and it was cold (15 degrees), we hooked up the car and took off... yes at 1:00 AM. This wasn't the last for the day...

Next thing was Wrangler Dave cutting the electrical cable between the Yukon and the RV... turned to sharp! We stopped in a Clairmore, OK where a local mechanic (a very nice person) did a great job splicing the wires together.

Not a fun day to drive as we had 20 mph head-winds with gusts to 32. Mileage was only 7.3 mpg for the day. Wal-mart in Elk City (566 miles today) was a welcome sight. I also ran the generator on all night as the battery "crashed" again after 3 hours but we were warm and had a great nights sleep. Home for the night...

GR to Eureka, MO

Well folks the time has finally come. I am off to the "ranch" and more importantly Arda is off to start her Bike 4 Cancer fund raising quest... be sure to check out her web site as she crosses the US (http://www.bike4cancer.com/). We left GR around 9:00 AM in a snow storm. We soon ran out of the storm and had good roads the rest of the day stopping around 4:30 PM

We drove 491 miles while getting 8.7 mpg with only one small problem... with the trailer attached there was a very annoying wind noise coming from the rear window. Just about drove us crazy but it is amazing what one can do with a little duct-tap.

Temperature tonight was 15 degrees... Wal-Mart by night!

More tomorrow...