Anyone Own Horses?
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Four here. Recently lost one 
2 quarter horses (a dunn and a light buckskin), 1 Spotted Sadle Horse, and one Halflinger. The boy I recently lost was a Belgian Draft - a glorious 18 hands worth.
I ride western but Mrs Sothron rides mainly English. I like trail riding in the hills, as does the Mrs. But she also does cross country and hunter/jumper.
2 quarter horses (a dunn and a light buckskin), 1 Spotted Sadle Horse, and one Halflinger. The boy I recently lost was a Belgian Draft - a glorious 18 hands worth.
I ride western but Mrs Sothron rides mainly English. I like trail riding in the hills, as does the Mrs. But she also does cross country and hunter/jumper.
Yup. I have three horses (2-AQHA and 1-Paint). My wife has Friesians (3). We both enjoy riding in the high country of the Black Hills, and we spend many weekends camping and riding the trails. I also enjoy team roping, but I'm not really good at that!
Riding through the mountains is an awesome way to enjoy a pipe. I also have a set of insulated saddle bags that will hold a case of beer.
Riding through the mountains is an awesome way to enjoy a pipe. I also have a set of insulated saddle bags that will hold a case of beer.
Jason, don't be afraid to ask questions. Right now is a great time to buy horses. Prices are way down because of the western drought. Hay prices are sky high, and people are reducing their herds to lower their cost of feed.
Not sure what it's like in your area Jason, but around here you can own/board a horse fairly cheap. Western, anyways! Another option is leasing a horse...good way to find out if it's going to work for ya. The thing that you have to be most consistent with is time.
I used to have insulated saddlebags that were great for beer. But when you leave them on the ground with food inside and dogs running around..."shredded" is a good word to descibe them now. Looking for good leather ones for next season, synthetic products don't last that long in the bush!
sdcowboy - hear the Black Hills are an awesome spot to ride. Not that familiar with the area but would sure like to make a trek down there someday (soon)!
I used to have insulated saddlebags that were great for beer. But when you leave them on the ground with food inside and dogs running around..."shredded" is a good word to descibe them now. Looking for good leather ones for next season, synthetic products don't last that long in the bush!
sdcowboy - hear the Black Hills are an awesome spot to ride. Not that familiar with the area but would sure like to make a trek down there someday (soon)!
Hunter, I've gone through a couple of sets of saddle bags. This past year my wife bought me a matching set of insulated horn and saddle bags by Trail Max in Montana. I usually pack food items and other smaller things in the horn bags. The large saddle bags will carry a lot of drinks. In addition to "adult" beverages we also freeze bottled water to keep everything cool. This works great even on the hottest of days. I like the look and feel of leather saddle bags as well. Leather can also be a good insulator especially with the frozen water bottles.
The Black Hills are indeed a great place to ride. We have hundreds of miles of trails with all kinds of experiences. We prefer a place called Hay Creek Ranch between Nemo and Deadwood in the northern Black Hills. This part of the range is quite similar to the Rockies terrain and vegetation-wise. You could ride for days exploring mountain tops, creeks, caves, and alpine meadows. It is a great place to get away from the cares of the world.
Another tradition of mine is to be an outrider in the Days of 76 rodeo parade in Deadwood each summer. As you may know, it is common to have entertainers between rodeo events. One of the "shows" at the 76 is a stagecoach robbery. One of my good friends is in charge of the stagecoach robbery. He asked me to help him with this several years ago. This was two days before the rodeo started. We worked together to break one of my horses to gunfire, and I went up to help.
After the first performance the main stagecoach robber wasn't able to perform, so I ended up being the main robber. Needless to say, I was hooked. I now regularly play the part of the robber, but this year I was the good guy. It is a blast. It combines horses and guns...two of my favorite things!
You can see video on YouTube by searching Days of 76 stagecoach robbery.
The Black Hills are indeed a great place to ride. We have hundreds of miles of trails with all kinds of experiences. We prefer a place called Hay Creek Ranch between Nemo and Deadwood in the northern Black Hills. This part of the range is quite similar to the Rockies terrain and vegetation-wise. You could ride for days exploring mountain tops, creeks, caves, and alpine meadows. It is a great place to get away from the cares of the world.
Another tradition of mine is to be an outrider in the Days of 76 rodeo parade in Deadwood each summer. As you may know, it is common to have entertainers between rodeo events. One of the "shows" at the 76 is a stagecoach robbery. One of my good friends is in charge of the stagecoach robbery. He asked me to help him with this several years ago. This was two days before the rodeo started. We worked together to break one of my horses to gunfire, and I went up to help.
After the first performance the main stagecoach robber wasn't able to perform, so I ended up being the main robber. Needless to say, I was hooked. I now regularly play the part of the robber, but this year I was the good guy. It is a blast. It combines horses and guns...two of my favorite things!
You can see video on YouTube by searching Days of 76 stagecoach robbery.
Hi sothron, sorry to hear about you losing the big guy. I wrote an article on losing a horse a couple years ago: Goodbye to a Horse
Hunter, that was a fine article. The respect you hold for animals is evident in your writing. It made me think of the horses that I've lost over time. I was especially moved by your description of the reaction of the rest of the herd on the day you assisted the vet to put down the horse with the broken leg.
They indeed become a part of you who are.
They indeed become a part of you who are.
Hey thanks. Just checked out that video too - looks like awesome fun! So do you guys flip to see who is good guy and bad guy every year? Too bad you couldn't keep the scene playing out: untack, build a fire, some good chuckwagon stew followed by a good pipe lol! Good job on getting your horse broke to guns quick. Mine are used to me shooting but my colt is fascinated and comes running over when I start blasting away...sometimes I'm quite convinced he doesn't think he's a horse! He'll be my mounted action shooting horse guaranteed.
Hunter, we don't necessarily flip a coin. We just trade off. I was limited this year because of a groin injury. I had to stay mounted, so I was one of the good guys. You know, we actually camp out at the rodeo grounds, so we grill our supper and enjoy some adult beverages. It is a great place for a pipe and good conversation.
In the spirit of Christmas, my wife and I cut our own christmas trees the old fashioned way. We are blessed to live near mountains that have wonderful spruce trees. Best of all, we ride horses into the back country to find the "perfect" tree.
Two weeks ago, we saddled up to find this year's tree. We didn't cut it that day because they tend to get dry within 3 weeks, so we marked a couple of candidates that we thought would work. This weekend we are planning to cut the tree and drag it out of the forest by horseback.
As luck would have it, we have conflicts this weekend. I will take the afternoon off work tomorrow and get the tree myself because my attorney wife has a trial tomorrow. I will take my dog and my horse up to get it done. There is something about riding through snow and pipe smoking. They really go together well. Life is good!
Two weeks ago, we saddled up to find this year's tree. We didn't cut it that day because they tend to get dry within 3 weeks, so we marked a couple of candidates that we thought would work. This weekend we are planning to cut the tree and drag it out of the forest by horseback.
As luck would have it, we have conflicts this weekend. I will take the afternoon off work tomorrow and get the tree myself because my attorney wife has a trial tomorrow. I will take my dog and my horse up to get it done. There is something about riding through snow and pipe smoking. They really go together well. Life is good!
Thanks for that, Hunter. Just read it. It was a tragic and graphic accident. I hope nobody ever has to see their horse like I saw Butters.
Brandy, Whiskey, Tasha, and Lola are 22, 15, 7, and 5. So I know there is plenty of heart and heart ache in the future. But that's all part of it. I deal with a lot of death on the farm, but it's always different with horses.
Brandy, Whiskey, Tasha, and Lola are 22, 15, 7, and 5. So I know there is plenty of heart and heart ache in the future. But that's all part of it. I deal with a lot of death on the farm, but it's always different with horses.
So sdcowboy, how did the tree-hunting go? What's your preferred 'riding through the snow' tobacco? I was invited to join some friends to drag a tree out of the bush with the horses, but already had other commitments. I'm getting itchy to head out to the mountains though. We've had a couple months of repeated snow-melt-freeze, so it's fairly icy around here this year, unfortunately.
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