Making a ranch horse

[mcseal2]

This isn't about making a back country hunting horse or pack horse, although a lot of the same ideas would apply. This is just a journal I kept and put up on another forum 4 years ago that I thought some of you might enjoy reading. It's not a full account, just a few days I documented before spring got to busy and I didn't get it kept up on.

The horse I am talking about in the posts below is now 8. I rode him today moving some pairs to fall grazing. He still has a little bit of buddy sourness I never could completely cure. He had got to where he will really turn on a cow for a big horse, but I had some soundness issues with him due to it as he was still growing. He pulled a tendon in August as a 6 year old when we were trying to hold some yearling steers in the wing of a pen that were really boiling around and he was really cutting on them. I turned him out until the following spring and he was good until a bull really tried him in a gravel road and he was cutting on the good traction ground and hurt a different leg. I turned him out again until this spring and he has stayed sound over a lot of country since this April. Part of this was my fault. I would use him really hard through late May and then turn him out on grass to rest. He is an easy keeper and would gain a lot of weight during his rest, then hurt himself trying to make the big moves on a cow while out of shape. I have kept him in shape this year and he has been making better moves and staying sound.

He missed a ton of miles and work due to those injuries so he is later getting there, but he is really becoming the horse I knew he could be. He has big shoes to fill. The Rawhide horse mentioned in the post is 15 now and he is the best all around ranch horse we have ever owned, so it's not an easy act to follow. Rawide is extremely smart and got that way early, he puts himself in position to not have to make flashy moves as often. Rawhide has also almost never had a day he wasn't ready to work in the 12 years I owned him. He matured really fast and has stayed sound.

Dually is making me forget I'm not on Rawhide a lot of days now as he matures and gets smarter. He rides really similar and is probably just a little more athletic than Rawhide and definitely not quite as careful not to hurt himself. That combo makes for some really impressive moves that Rawhide might have kept himself from having to make. Both of them have a natural desire to have space between them and a cow that makes them hard to beat. That little bit of cushion separates a good one from a decent one, the good one will back up if they have to and create space rather than getting beat. That rate is hard to teach but also hard to do without after riding one that does it. Anyway I'll expand in this later if there is interest. Here are the stories I had saved.

 

[mcseal2]

A little background info. I work with my Dad and Granddad on a commercial cow/calf operation. We were up to about 700 cows before the drought, but are back to 530 now. We will build back up when the ponds get full, some of our rented grass hasn't had good water. Our herd is currently Angus (all commercial) but we started buying some half blood Simmental/Angus bulls this year to try. We have been missing out on the hybrid vigor, but using Angus bulls with a lot of growth (1400lb+ yearling weight EPD's) and low birthweight has worked well for us up to this point. We own some of our grass but lease the majority. It's hard work, but a great life and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to make a career out of it.

My favorite part of my job is riding a good horse and we keep a few around that are decent at least. I need to get back on our 4yr old I've had turned out since November in the next few days, get him ready for spring work. I had him rode down pretty good last fall so I kicked him out for the winter to have some time off. I like to ride one of the older ones when riding on the ice anyway, the colt has all summer to further his education. We have a nice chiseled corn field I plan to ride him in the first couple times, soft landings for me if things don't go as planned. He got lots of miles last year for a 3yr old, so I'm not expecting trouble but this is the wrong time of year to be hurt so it's best to be cautious. I'm not a good bronc rider, to short legged and top heavy. It's hard to crawl on the colt sometimes with the good finished horse standing in the pen, but the young ones don't get better without miles and the good ones get old to quick.

Got about 250 calves worked the last couple days roping and dragging them all. We had a great crew of neighbors that helped and everything went smoothly. Also ran all the cows through the alley and vaccinated them, so we are ready to start sorting pairs into smaller bunches for grass on May 1. We still have a couple bunches of calves to work, but are about half done.


I led the 4yr old while gathering the first bunch yesterday, about 2 miles at a good trot. It was a calm, sunny, warm day. Just right I figured for his first ride since November. It went great, he went back to work. I like the horse to have a job like that on his first ride in a long time, keep his mind off being upset I'm on his back. I used him sorting cows from calves, then dry from wet cows, and finally running the cows through the alley. I roped calves on my older horse, didn't figure I should do it on his first ride in that long. Today I didn't drag calves on him either but rode him gathering both bunches and running them back out. I roped a young calf on him that couldn't keep up on the drive back and he took it in stride. Next week we will start sorting pairs and I'll use him every day until he needs a break, get him lots of miles.

I helped work about 150 calves for a nearby ranch today, had a blast. It's so much fun to go help someone when you can just relax and work, not have to ramrod the whole deal. I gathered and sorted with my 4yr old colt, but stuck with my old one to drag for today. There was a boy about 6 or so who was wild as a march hare and in the middle of everything. Dragging calves on a colt may not have turned out great for at least one of us with him running and screaming underfoot. I've rode the colt every day since Friday so he is starting to remember what work is.

The colt isn't barn sour or trailer sour, but is acting buddy sour. We had a little disagreement today when he humped up and I grabbed the nightlatch and gave him some spur. I don't think his feet ever cleared the ground by 6", he didn't do much. I don't want him to get started though, that is better stopped early. He sorted great today and acted like a 12yr old broke horse until his buddies left and I held some pairs for 30 minutes or so while the other guys gathered another bunch. We fought over being alone and not winnying for most of that time. I just unsaddled him, so he should be a little tired tomorrow. Tomorrow everytime we head toward his buddies I will make it be uphill, and if he wants to hurry I will encourage him. Make the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard.

Put some more miles on the colt today, he had a good attitude after yesterday. We moved 125 pairs we had worked in the first round to new grass today. Then we moved bulls from across the fence from where we took them to a new "isolation" area so we don't start calving early. The colt worked like a champ today, really doing a lot on his own and watching without me having to help him a whole lot. Also had to rope a calf that tried to go back to the pasture we started in, and he took that in stride. The calf went through my loop and I caught him by both heels, but not by much. I took my tail of my rope with me in case the colt tried to leave the country, so I could turn it loose and the dally would come off, but didn't take time to wrap a rein around the rope so he couldn't turn his head away from the calf. The colt waited on me and I got the calf tied and caught up with the bunch so we could come get him later and haul him back to his mother,
I call the colt Dually, because he is out of a Dual Pep son. The mare is a Zans Rawide daughter from a proven program in our state. I like the cross of the cutting blood on the big boned, good minded mares they have. His future is looking pretty bright right now. Everytime we headed back to his buddies I made sure it was by a steep route, and everytime he whinnied we made circles until he wanted to stand quiet and then started out again. It was nice to have a slow day so I could work on him instead of just the job at hand.

We have a lot of jagged rock and gravel roads in our area. Horses that get used hard around here are all shod. We have an excellent farrier who does our horses cheaper than many, because he knows he will get to shoe 4 horses that will stand quiet for him in one place. From November through March he puts borium on the bottom of the shoes for traction on ice or packed snow also and doesn't charge extra.

We worked another 100 pair yesterday, everything went smooth. I drug 10 on the 4yr old, he couldn't have worked better. I like to quit on a young horse while things are going good so it is a positive experience, builds his confidence. If things aren't going good we keep practicing longer, eventually they learn the easiest way to do things is right the first time. The calves are really growing, we need to get the last bunch worked soon before they get much bigger!

The buddy sour and whinnying issue is improving already on the colt. He was doing silent whinnys when we saw another horse come over the hill yesterday, I could feel the rumble of him doing it but he made no noise. He is getting tired of making a circle each time. That tactic has to be used with caution, I've had them hold in a whinny as long as they think they can, then go into a spin and let one loose which can catch a person off guard. Switching direction of the circle each time, or doing something other than a circle, backing up, anything that makes them work without going the direction they want to isn't a bad idea.

I like to get 30 days put on a colt at 2yrs old then trail cows home from grass on some easy rides with him that fall, turn him out for the winter. The next spring I get them back to my buddy who rides them for another 30-45 days, then I use them through the summer and fall on easier days. Their 4yr old year I start treating them like a horse, not a colt, and ask for more. At 5 I will introduce them to the roping arena after they have done quite a bit of outside roping. Some can be brought on much faster than I do, but I've never screwed one up by going to slow. I've been around lots screwed up by being pushed to fast and then you have to slow WAY down and start over. I grew up thinking wet saddle blankets were the only thing that made a horse, but since have figured out mixing some breaks in their keeps their mind more willing and doesn't diminish their try so much or so fast.

I figure if I can buy a well bred colt, use him for years, and sell him at 14-15yrs old to a roper or family for enough profit to buy another well bred colt and get him started right I figure I'm ok. I like to find a couple I like and see how good I can make them. I don't look at the horses as a source of profit on our operation, more as working partners and a source of enjoyment. Not much beats riding a good horse.

Some guys that day work for ranches, salebarns, and feedlots around here have taught me most of what I know and they ride outside horses. They do it every day and are way beyond me in horsemanship ability. They are horseback nearly every day, while I might ride one day and then be haying, fixing fence, other jobs for several before saddling up again. I keep trying to improve my horsemanship though, it's a passion of mine. The guy who started this colt I'm riding now is the best hand I've seen and we have spent a lot of time working together. He is really patient with a colt, but doesn't let them get away with anything. He has worked ranches and feedlots in South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and now here so he has had lots of people to learn from over the years. He was dragging calves and sorting on a 6yr old mare yesterday that only had 30 rides, and she is already impressive. She is a little cutting bred mare (why she is getting started at 6) but has a big motor. Not a horse for big country, but she will work good for him in the feedlot.

I don't look for a real big horse for our country, although I would to make the big circles where you live. I view an athletic 15-15.2h horse that will weigh around 1250lbs as ideal for here. That is enough horse to rope a cow or bull on, but also built to be pretty quick for cow work. I like a real athletic horse that has a good mind and some cutting blood. I don't want to much cutting blood, I like a big black foot and heavy boned horse also. I kinda like bloodlines on one side that trace back to Zans Par Bar, Driftwood, or Blue Valentine for 1/2 to 2/3 of the pedigree and cutting blood for the rest. The last colt I bought (yearling now) is out of a Blue Valentine/Driftwood/Zans Rawhide stud and the mare has Peppy Sans, Docs Quixote, and Doc's Jack's Sprat all on her papers. He is growing out nice and stout, seems to have a good disposition. Time will tell what he turns out to be. I've never rode anything but bay or sorrel horses, I like the pretty ones but I'd rather be complimented on how my horse works than how pretty he is. Where I'm not selling them young I can buy the same quality horse in those colors cheaper. Usually by the time one of mine hits 10yrs old I have a waiting list of people wanting to buy him at 15 or so. Lots of weekend ropers or people with kids in JR rodeo that want a finished ranch and heading horse are at the little ropings and ranch rodeos I go to. They might be out of luck for a while, I have nieces and nephews that will likely end up with the ones I ride now.

Had the colt out again today but he wasn't as much fun to ride this time. The temp dropped 20 degrees, air was damp, and wind was howling. Every ditch and tree had monsters in it according to the colt. We got through it, and when we were on cattle in the open he worked alright. His buddy issues were much worse today "with all the monsters out" so we did lots of circles. He even did a few on his own after he whinnied without being cued, so we went to backing up when he whinnies now. It wasn't anything bad or unexpected, riding colts on days like this is seldom much fun. They need to see it though, part of the learning process. This colt reminds me of my 10yr old gelding when he was young. He doesn't shy often but you can't force him past something he is scared of. If you approach it slowly, never let him back up, but don't push him to much to move forward, he will eventually ease up to it and check it out. Then he is done worrying about it and it doesn't bother him a bit. Push to hard or spank him and it seems to reinforce his thinking that whatever he is scared of will hurt him. It builds trust to do it slow and easy, works out better in the long run. It was a little frustrating when I had to dig a cow out of a patch of thorny locust trees because we couldn't hurry past the landlord's trac hoe fast enough to keep her from getting in it, but I couldn't blame him to much. That thing does kinda look like a monster. I had to have Dad sneak up on the colt with a sorting stick to get him out of the trailer also today. I train my horses to walk to the back of the trailer and be led out, not back out like many people. I've seen shoes pulled off when horses back out of some of the beat-up old trailers in our country, and I never haul mine in anything they need to back out of anyway. Our trailers are often real messy from hauling cows and I don't want to walk in and get a horse, so having them meet me at the back seems to be most convenient for me. Anyway I stood at the back of the trailer and called the colt a couple times while he stood up front and ignored me. While doing that I had Dad get the sorting stick off the flatbed and sneak up behind the colt. I called him again, and Dad poked him in the ribs with the stick while hiding. The colt thought I did that and came right to me. I then scratched his head a little and let him out. He knew better from last year, just had to try me. Right thing easy, wrong thing hard theory at work again.

I almost got myself in trouble today also, I roped a sick calf that I'd doctored a couple times already. He was watching me pretty close so I had Dad circle around and get his attention while I snuck up on him using the cow for cover. He spotted me and took off, so I really threw a lot of rope but my lead was right and I got the head and a front leg when the rope came tight. I wasn't tied on, so I spurred the colt to go forward so I could get my dally, and he JUMPED forward with a big leap. He was braced to take the jerk I think and it surprised him when I asked him to follow the calf. I caught him by surprise, and he caught me by surprise, but I stayed on and got to the horn. I was very thankful for my high backed ranch saddle when he took the jump with me and my hands were full. Usually I'm on an older horse and tie on when sneaking up on calves to doctor them because its so hard to get my dally when I'm stopped and the calf bolts as the rope hits it. This time I didn't feel safe doing it on a colt on a day like this. In hind sight it would have probably been smarter.

 

[mcseal2]

The cattle were full of it also, we sorted 18 pairs out of one group and 19 out of another. Now the big bunches we sorted from are ready to drive to closer pasture, and the ones we sorted off are ready to haul to a couple smaller ones farther away. Summer grass leases start Thursday so we are getting pairs in all our little traps ready to go then.

Well, today is a day I'd have rode the old horse if I had it to do over again. But the colt did really well, just wish I hadn't had to ask what I did of him quite yet.

We drove 135pr to grass about 5 miles from where we started riding in the morning. We had worked the cows (vaccinated in alley) and drug the calves last Saturday in the pen we put them in today to sort a few culls off and tag a few late calves before finishing our drive. One pair decided to hit the brush and I had the colt going faster than I ever had before, but not quite fast enough to stop the cow before hitting a rock ledge. She was determined, pushing into his shoulder as we hit the bad rocks so I pulled up. I beat her to the corner but then her calf got stupid and crawled through the fence

Neighbor just spotted calf we lost later in this story on road, finish story later after we try to get him.

Well, partial success. We got the calf back into the pasture he started out in, off the road, but not where we he needs to end up. Apparently when you are holding a flashlight in your left hand with the coils of your rope and you are on foot, the calf can see the loop coming and dodge it. I had it over his head along the fence, but he backed out without a chance to pull my slack. We will try again tomorrow, we have 2pr with young calves across the fence we will drive in there and see if he buddies up them so we can put them all in a pen.

Anyway, back to the original story the calf crawled through the fence and the cow followed him. We will fill that pasture in the next few days, it just already has one pair and the one we drove to is one short. It can be fixed. The rest of that drive went real well, got everything where it was supposed to go. After a 2:00 lunch we started out to drive the last 175pr we have to work about 2 miles to the pasture we work them in and it was like pushing rope. The calves would not walk, kept wanting to crawl through fences and head back to where they were born. We worked darn hard but kept getting lucky and getting everything back out until the last calf I just tried to rope again. We usually have more help for this drive than we did today, and when calves try to go back to the original pasture we catch them and load them in the trailer. When you rope and load a calf, you are not helping push the rest of the herd for a good 10 minutes. Today we were short handed enough I never wanted to catch one and not be helping push the herd for that long. It caught up with me, one that I thought about catching 6 times crawled through a fence and headed back on us. The pasture he crawled into had two un-broke horses in it, so I figured if I beat him back to them and got them headed back up the fence chasing my colt they might scare him back toward the herd. It didn't work, the grey horse chased him the wrong way and through the fence. I had to beat him to a bridge we had crossed earlier through a long narrow field then to get him back, and I had to spank the colt with my rope to get that much speed from him. He had never been asked to run that hard, and I hated to ask him to, but it was our only shot at stopping this calf. He responded, it felt like my head dropped a foot as he stretched out and we beat the calf to the bridge. We hit a wet spot along the way and I thought we might do a somersault together, but he gathered himself up and we made it to the bridge ahead of the calf. The calf proceeded to jump through the fence on the opposite side of the road and we were screwed for the moment. Good news is that the colt kept his head through the whole deal and never got stupid or chargy. I think he is really going to make a horse by the end of the summer. Tommorrow when we go back to clean this deal up, and drive some others across a highway I'm riding my 10yr old gelding Rawhide though, it's time for the colt to have a day off and me to be on my best mount. No room for mistakes along the highway, and my good horse needs used too.

 

[CX5Ranch]

Enjoying this...like my buddy says...

You cant make this stuff up lol

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[mcseal2]

Nope, I got a kick out of reading it and thinking back on it all. My sister rode Dually yesterday while I was at the in-laws Thanksgiving moving some of their cows. She informed me that he is now her horse and I need to find another one. I don't think I'm going to give up quite that easy, but I do need to start looking for another horse. He is finally at the point where I feel ok giving him some more time off and starting on another one.

I am damn picky on what I want in a horse, I've tried a couple since him that haven't worked out to be quite what I wanted. Guys I knew were selling them and I tried them for a week or so and ended up not buying them. How we have done that is that I try the horse and if he gets hurt while I'm trying him I buy him. One horse was just a little to pushy, he always wanted to be close enough to bite cattle and that's to close to not get beat when one turns on you. He got tired of me asking him to back off and we had a few issues. Nice horse for a guy doctoring a lot of yearlings, very fast, smooth, and athletic, but not the right one to be penning a cow with a backward calf in her for example. I found a 3 year old I liked last year bred almost just like my Rawhide horse but he brought over $6000 with just 30 days riding and not much of a handle on him. I couldn't justify that for a horse that was so green. I'm back looking at un-started colts I can make what I want instead of trying to buy one that's most of the way there. I'm just getting older and busier, it's harder to find the time to make a horse like I used to. My favorite thing to do on the ranch is ride a good horse so I will get it figured out and find the time.

 

[kickemall]

Nice write up. Do you mind mentioning what state your in? Just curious. I help friends with their cows fairly often and am always impressed with their horses. They go places and through brush I never dreamed horses would go and do anything you ask of them. Rope, shoot, pack, pen and corral work, gather, drag bulls, whatever, they do it. Good horses and good dogs are a pleasure to use.

 

[TexasOutfitter]

Brings back memories as I spent most of my life on a ranch running cow/calf operation. Nice Write Up!

 

[Jbloadsjets]

Not a horse person, wasn’t raised with them, but I’ve always been amazed at how some people are so attuned to them. Well written, thanks for sharing that.


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[noexcuses]

great stories, enjoyed the read

 

[mcseal2]

Glad you guys enjoyed it, I should take time to write up a journal more often.

I live in the Flint Hills of Kansas. It has actual hills that are to rocky to be farmed like most of the state, lots of ranch country here. I have been on the ranch most of my life and rode since I was a kid. I've rode with some guys a lot better on a horse than me and learned all I can from them. I grew up riding with my Dad and Grandpa. Grandpa has passed on but Dad still rides. I learned a lot of what I know from a horse Dad broke and Grandpa rode for years. That horse was 23 and I was 8 or so when I started riding him. When I didn't know what to do I'd stick my hand forward and he'd go do it for me, that horse was an awesome teacher. His name was Benge (not sure how you spell it, that's one thing he didn't teach me).

A good story on that horse that I probably wouldn't believe if I wasn't riding him at the time. We were pulling bulls off cows and I was riding him helping Dad. We fought this bull through several brushy draws and finally got him a few hundred yards from the pen. The bull decided he wasn't having that and took Dad's horse. Dad's horse dodged him and I went to head him off. The bull lined out on my old horse and that horse just casually loped away. I thought we were going to get killed and closed my eyes and held on tight as the bull closed in. CRACK! It sounded like a 22 went off. The horse turned around and drove the bull to the pen as he was blinking and shaking his head. That horse let that bull get close and kicked him as he came in with both back feet right in the head. He had done enough work he figured and wanted the bull in the trailer so he could go home. I'd love to have another horse like that. That horse had seen and done things that most horses don't get to do anymore. His formative years were before the days before dart guns, ATV's, and gooseneck trailers. He had seen a lot of miles.

 

[Kylep0801]

Mcseal2 them fine horses like that are few and far between. I have a Hancock i started as a 4to stud then cut. All the talk about them hancocks this horse just thinks they were riding what are these big black things in the way. Lol you can type anything on him but he just doesn't case about a cow. I will say he is great in the mountains leads the string and knows how to travel.

 

[mcseal2]

I have a 5 year old I'm going to sell for the same reason. He is bred Blue Valentine/Driftwood/Zans Rawhide on the top side, just darn near like the Rawhide horse I ride. Same stud and a similar dam. The mare side has Peppy Sans Badger, Docs Jack Sprat, and I think Doc Quixote all on her papers. The horse is big, stout, and athletic. He does not care about cattle. He rides nice and will do what a rider asks, but you do it all he offers nothing on his own. Sometimes the best blood just doesn't click. I have a buddy that is going to start him team roping next summer and I'll sell him after. He might make a heck of a head horse he just isn't a cow horse.

 

[Kylep0801]

Wow I really need to proof read my auto correct on the Kindle is not that great. But that's how Sergio is kinda gotta pedle him along most of the time but I like that in a mountain horse he's good with his feet. I think when you first start em if it's all outside they end up better travelers and step out. I've seen horses that people just ride inside and do arena stuff and man they won't cross a creek or an log but I suppose to each their own.

 

[mcseal2]

I had a couple of Dad's buddies helping yesterday on their good heading horses. Great arena horses but they wouldn't cross a seep in a hill with a little water running. They just don't ever have to do it.

We let our horses run in a quarter section behind Dad's house when we don't need them available to saddle before daylight in the morning. It has a big rocky hill that they run down every morning to get feed. They can learn a lot about rocks, ditches, turkey attacks, lots of stuff out there without any effort on our part. They drink from seeps or a pond and learn not to get to deep and mired down. Open country is a good teacher.