Posts Tagged With: #ranchliving

After an exhausting, but productive, weekend, we now have to get ready for a full week.

Posted on March 8, 2023 by horseshoeangusranch

Monday we flew back from Fort Worth at o dark 30. The flight home was very uneventful, very unlike the trip down. We even arrived at Pasco 10 min early. In time to get home, get unpacked, the wash started and then go out and check mares to see if anyone foaled while we were gone. All horses were healthy and happy to see us, but no foals. The kids all got home from school and we gave everyone a big hug and passed out the gifts, since they did not get on the plane we went all out.

Tuesday was back to work for everyone. We woke up to snow Tuesday morning, but besides in the shade it was basically melted by midafternoon. The kids all had judging practice after school (except Jaxsen since he is in elementary school). The kids got home and did chores, it is nice that it is still light out when the kids get home after afterschool activities. No new foals Tuesday, or any day this week. We are happy that they were not born while we were gone. Toni got the Judge in and started working on him. So he is in with Summer. The Judge was more interested in being a pasture pet, but does like the extra attention.

Wednesday was brisk but no snow. Toni and dad took Cappy to Jordan Pace Horsemanship for more riding. Jordan did a great job with King and Tank and we were happy to get him in. Toni and dad headed home and Jordan decided to jump on Cappy and Cappy did great. The Judge decided that being caught on Tuesday was enough, so Toni had to get serious with him on Wednesday. He is a really great colt, just big. The Judge is out of our good friend John’s Judge Dat Cash stud and our Apache Blue Boy daughter. So this is a big, strong, smart colt. Toni’s Sheridan Buckle and Saddle Co saddle also came on Wed. She ordered it in November for a bday present to herself. It is a partial custom, so 3 ½ months isn’t bad for a partial custom. And the saddle was very cost effective, you know, the kind Toni likes. Toni waited for me to get home to check mares. However, it got too dark before we found all of the mares, so she told me should could not wait until after fall back. The mowing of the Russian Olive Trees looks really good.

Thursday Toni went out to check the mares in the morning and the cows. She saw cow poop like they were out, but did not see any. No new foals. It is that time of year to repeat that a lot. Toni put a blanket on the Judge to get him to shed out faster. We are really getting ready to start promoting the Judge. He is a bit different than our other foals, so we need to make sure and expose him to the right market. Toni also bought a headstall with her saddle, so we decided which bit to put on it, so basically which horse gets that bridle. It is going to Gracie. So I get the new bridle too.

Friday was the start of the big work weekend. Toni, Ben, Anna and Kaine got the cows in, sorted them 15 different ways to put the bulls out and so we can AI. Then they put CIDRs in, sorted the cows that haven’t calved yet, sorted the cows that aren’t going to calve, sorted the breeds, sorted the heifers, sorted, sorted, sorted. Kade and Jaxsen went to school and I went to work. Toni texted me calf numbers all day of the ones she likes. A few of the calves had gone under the hot fence and someone had to crawl under and get them back. Friday turned into a really long day. The CIDRs were left in the Yukon, that should have been back from Chipman and Taylor, however, they had to order parts and it is still not back. So Toni ran to Moses Lake to get replacement CIDRs. Marlo, Jaxsen and Kade were done with chores by the time they got done. Marlo and I went out to check the mares and give them some hay. The CIDR cows were finally done around 6.

Saturday we finished the hot fence around the Old Valley corn field. Sold an Angus cow and calf, she was a late calver and had a new calf at her side. The 5 heifers we had sold were picked up and our meat buyers came out and got meat. Kaine and Anna caught their steers and Anna caught her heifers. We got the heifers in off of circles 6 and 7 and brought them home, sorted the steers off, put them with the rest of the cows. We moved the Hereford cows up to the New Valley, Kaine and I went and picked up the Hereford bull from BB Cattle and dropped Jaxsen off so he could go to Savannah’s birthday party. Kade had a shoot somewhere and with the cold and the wind, did ok. While we were gone he did an AWESOME job, a 39, his personal best. Toni started chores at Mom’s and was very unhappy with how many strings she had to pick up that the boys just drive over and hay that she felt should have been thrown over the fence and instead is left. So chores took extra long and she had to have a talk with the boys when they got there. I think they would rather have not talked to her.

Sunday the kids all caught their steers and Anna caught her heifers. Anna actually ties up her heifers and two of her steers every day, but she caught all her steers. Ben, Anna, Kaine, Kade and I put up some posts in the corral and then went down and met the rest of the Meachams to cut down Russian Olive trees. So we spent the day having a Russian Olive tree party, like a fencing party, but cutting down trees instead of fencing. And getting more cut up and beat up than fencing. Russian Olive trees take no prisoners. When we decided to quit fighting with trees, Toni and I went back to Mom’s and got the coming 2 year olds in, sorted the old mares out of them and mainstreamed them. They went out to the big pasture. Keep in mind that the pasture that they are in is about 5 acres, so they aren’t cooped up. They still ran around like crazies. We also got all of the heavy mares in from the big pasture and moved them in with the old mares. It was a production because we have an old rangemare that has one working eye that we had to get in. Luckily she is smart, so once she figured out what we wanted she went in. We put 6 heavy mares in the heavy pen. Toni wanted to saddle up something with her saddle but it was trying to rain and she didn’t want it rained on the first time she used it. We headed out to the desert to check the rest of the mares and hand feed a heifer that is banged up and in the cattails. We have the mares trained at this point to come to the pickup to get fed, so checking has really become decently easy.

After an exhausting, but productive, weekend, we now have to get ready for a full week. We think foaling should start very soon. Just a quick reminder- we require a 1/3 deposit to hold foals and have a foal contract on the website for review. We still have a few 2022 foals left that are sensational. Lots of exciting horses to look at for anyone that wants to come over and take a look.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: #AQHA, #AQHA in WA, #AQHAforsale, #AQHAforsaleinWA, #AQHAProud, #QHColor, #Quarter horses for sale in WA, #Quarterhorseforsale, #QuarterhorsesinWA, #ranagereadystallion, #ranch life, #Ranching, #ranchingfall, #RanchingHeritageBreeder, #ranchinwinter, #ranchlife, #ranchliving, #ranchraised, #WABeefLove, #WAJrAngus, AQHA

#Mare Monday

Posted on March 6, 2023 by horseshoeangusranch

KT Copper Shimmer is one of our ranch horses, she is by Zinks Major Kid and out of Copper Star Bar. This is a mare that really can work a cow and is really good on her feet. Standing just shy of 15 hands, and very solid, everyone looks good riding this horse. She is out of Copper Star Bar, one of our original mares, and Zink. Shimmer’s 1/2 brother Leo, was shown on the cutting circuit and did well. We’ve shown this mare, used her at some cutting practices, and she is a great Working Ranch horse. Toni rides her 90% of the time, however, Ben and Kellie have also ridden her.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: #AQHAProud, #Quarter horses for sale in WA, #Quarterhorseforsale, #QuarterhorsesinWA, #Ranching, #RanchingHeritageBreeder, #ranchlife, #ranchliving, #ranchraised, #WABeefLove, #WALoveBeef, #washingtoncattlemen

Crazy week last week. I know, they are all crazy.

Posted on March 1, 2023 by horseshoeangusranch

Monday was Presidents’ Day, happy Presidents’ Day. We did normal ranch work and got ready for the upcoming week of going to Fort Worth for the AQHA Convection. We checked mares to see if anyone would foal while we were gone. Got heavy cows in, put out hay. Because this was a bonus day off for me and the kids, we really tried to get a bunch done. Kade rode his horse Stormy again, the kids caught their steers, I took lots of calf pictures. It was cousin Jay’s birthday so we had to harass him a little about getting old. He is one of the younger cousins.

Tuesday I drove to Reno with John from work to go to the Family Farm Alliance conference. I had a great time while we were there. We went to a lot of great conferences. The roads were good on the way. We went to a Western Store a few miles from the Silver Legacy Casino, D Barn M on 4^th st. They sold me some shirts on the cheap to wear to the AQHA Convention, including one for Dad. They were great at that store so if you are in that area, you should check it out.

Back at home the kids went to school. Jaxsen wasn’t too happy. The other kids probably weren’t either but they are less vocal about it. Toni was back to checking the cows. She had some client meetings so had to go warp speed through checking. Everyone came home after school and normal chores got done. We have tried to really pair down chores as 2 people will be house sitting and doing the chores that 6 people do normally. So all foals that could be turned out are turned out. Water troughs are as full as they can get. Anything we could get done ahead of time was done.

Wednesday the stress of all of us leaving for the first time in approximately 18 years was getting high, but everyone was doing ok. Mom was still worried about her dog, but she knew Marlo would take good care of him. Everything was normal for a Wed. No new calves. We have really slowed down on calving and are at the tail end. All of the calves are getting big and look really good. Due to the constant weather fluctuations, we are still on watch for any pneumonia. Oreo, my belted Galloway cross still hasn’t calved and has been in the heavy pen for awhile. I was hoping if I was gone to Reno she would calve immediately after I left, but she didn’t. She is still just fat and happy in the heavy pen.

Thursday everyone started doing their last-minute packing. Re-check of all livestock. There were a couple of heavy mares, but nothing that was imminent. Hay got put out for the cows to last them a couple of days, with other bales loaded on the trailer for feeding if they started pushing the fence. All horses were checked again. Everyone and everything was in good shape for the trip

Friday everyone tried to fly to Forth Worth for the AQHA Convention, and we had Marlo and McCall house sitting and doing chores. It is a real production to get everything arranged for travel for everyone. I flew from Reno to Fort Worth and was supposed to meet everyone down there. However, things did not go as planned. It was snowing in Reno, but I flew out and got down there on time. There was NO SNOW in Pasco, but they DID NOT leave and were at the airport all day. 10 people traveling in one big group- so Toni, Kicker, Kade, Jaxsen, Ben, Anna, Kaine, Camas, Mom and Dad. Everything was looking great then they announce that a battery is dead in the plane, so we had to wait for a new battery. Then they announced they were driving it up from Portland. After a couple of departure time changes, scrambling to get hotels in Minneapolis for an all-night layover, it was announced after 12 hours in the airport that the flight was canceled. More scrambling to get hotels canceled and go over options. There were only 4 seats available on Saturday from Salt Lake to Ft. Worth that would get 4 people in to Ft. Worth at 11 pm. We had no way to get all 10 people to Ft. Worth. It just wasn’t possible without way too many connections and hours in airports. It was very frustrating. I was feeling pretty down, we all were. And I walked into the hotel in Fort Worth and our good Friends Cameron and LeAnnne were sitting at the bar. So I went to dinner with them.

Saturday, with only the 4 tickets available, Toni, Ben and Kicker came down. LeAnne and I went to the Stockyards and hung out. We had a great time. We went to a social at the AQHA Convention, then out to dinner with Ward from AQHA and Ethan Lane, the lobbyist for NCBA. After all of that we went to Pete’s Dualling Piano Bar a few blocks from our hotel, it was awesome. The three got down there around 11 pm and rallied and met us there. We shut the bar down and had a great time. It was great to have Cameron and LeAnne there, they really made my part of the trip great.

Sunday all 6 of us went to the Stockyard. We watched a cattle drive, gun fight, and bought LOTS of stuff for everyone that did not make it so they had a piece of Fort Worth. We went back to get ready for the breeder awards banquet. We all had a great time, Toni gave an outstanding speech and we missed mom, dad and the kids terribly since they did not make it.

To be the 2022 Heritage Breeder of the Year for AQHA and be part of such an outstanding group of breeders is an honor that cannot be replicated. It makes all of the ups and downs of livestock ownership feel validated. To be recognized for our program and the emphasis we put into raising AQHA horses in our ranching operation was really a pinnacle that will be hard to top. We also got to meet Cassy Anderson from the AQHA and have her at our table for the dinner. Cassy has been our lifeline at AQHA for about 15 years now, getting us through all of the questions, concerns, and frustrations with AQHA through the years. This is the first time we have met her face-to-face. We also got to meet Lisa Gardner our AQHA director from WA and have her be part of the dinner. We got to meet so many truly great people and have the experience of a lifetime. Now we get to fight over who gets to wear the buckle that we received.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: #AQHA Color, #AQHA in WA, #AQHAColor, #AQHAcoltforsale, #AQHAcoltforsaleinWA, #AQHAfilly, #AQHAforsale, #AQHAforsaleinWA, #AQHAinWA, #AQHAProud, #QHColor, #Quarter horses for sale in WA, #Quarterhorseforsale, #QuarterhorsesinWA, #ranch life, #Ranching, #RanchingHeritageBreeder, #ranchinwinter, #ranchlife, #ranchliving, #ranchraised, #WABeefLove, #WAJrAngus, #WALoveBeef, #washingtoncattlemen, AQHA

Last Week in Pictures

Posted on February 28, 2023 by horseshoeangusranch

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: #AQHA in WA, #AQHAColor, #AQHAcoltforsale, #AQHAcoltforsaleinWA, #AQHAforsale, #AQHAforsaleinWA, #AQHAinWA, #AQHAProud, #QHColor, #Quarter horses for sale in WA, #Quarterhorseforsale, #QuarterhorsesinWA, #ranch life, #Ranching, #RanchingHeritageBreeder, #ranchlife, #ranchliving, #ranchraised, #WABeefLove, #WAJrAngus, #WALoveBeef, #washingtoncattlemen, AQHA

#Mare Monday

Posted on February 27, 2023 by horseshoeangusranch

I need to do a shot out to my old Cadburry Creme. She is a 1997 mare, who I just retired last year when I added her age to the website and realized how old she was. So she is just trotting around out in the circle now at mom and dads. I bought her when I was in high school.

Cadburry is a daughter of point earner Continental Cad. Her dam had a sensational pedigree. She is a great cow horse, show horse, and rope horse. She has produced some really nice, big built foals. She is only about 14.3 hands, but is heavy built. Kaine rode her for a few years when he was in-between horses. He got Big Kev so I took her back before her retirement.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: #AQHAColor, #AQHAcoltforsale, #AQHAforsale, #AQHAforsaleinWA, #AQHAProud, #maremonday, #QHColor, #Quarter horses for sale in WA, #Quarterhorseforsale, #QuarterhorsesinWA, #ranch life, #Ranching, #RanchingHeritageBreeder, #ranchlife, #ranchliving, #ranchraised, #WABeefLove, #WALoveBeef, #washingtoncattlemen, AQHA

Fun new words we learn from the kids- Fire.

Posted on February 22, 2023 by horseshoeangusranch

Fun new words we learn from the kids- Fire. Now it is the substitute for awesome. So when Kaine said that is fire and we all looked around for a fire, we were told that if someone yells Fire, that could mean there is a fire, Or that could mean whatever is going on was awesome or hot. So to use in the proper context, we had a fire week. Or maybe, our week was fire?

Monday we were at the BB Cattle Co bull sale. We all had a great time, it is a family holiday so the kids get to miss school. Old Mill brings down some really good donuts from Ellensburg, that is all Julian eats all day, he did tell me he had an orange. We bid on some really good Hereford bulls, we did not get one because we are way too cheap. Toni and Leslie had visited with our friends at Old Mill back in November and saw this really cool roping dummy that is in a little chute. It gets hooked up to air, you hit a button and the dummy rolls out for roping fun. Toni had told Old Mill that she wanted to buy it for Kade in Nov, but it had about a $2200 price tag. We all know she did not buy it. Old Mill, being smart, brought that one and about 5 other roping dummies to the sale. After the sale Old Mill got it hooked up and had luckily brought some ropes so about 30 of us stood around watching the kids rope. Jay gave us his demonstration of roping which means you run up right next to the dummy and put the rope on it. Cameron Mulrony actually can rope, so he took a turn. Mostly it was the kids and they LOVED it. Vanna and Reese took turns pushing the button. They now know that the head nod is all they get to get that calf out of the chute. I think the kids would have stood around roping that thing for more hours than we let them. The kids had a great time with it and Kelly Cordill bought it. I told them I cannot wait to see it at the shows. We got home, did chores, and were too cold to work on the foals, since we thought the weather was supposed to be nicer than it was and did not have our heavy coats. Jax was very thankful to have the day off of “work.” He said he really needed a day off from school. School is hard work. He is supposed to work at the sale helping watch the younger kids, which he is very good at, so that wasn’t work. He was super excited when he realized that he had no school on the 13^th due to sale, no school on the 20^th for President’s Day, I think February might be one of his favorite months.

Happy Valentine’s Day. Tuesday morning was brisk, however it was a nice sunny day. Anna had an eye dr appt, shockingly (that is sarcastic for anyone that can not hear my tone) she needs glasses. So Toni took the kids to school. Ben and Anna checked the cows before they went down to the tri-cities. Toni also had a dentist appointment and somehow they all drove into the parking lot at the Ranch and Home UNPLANNED at the exact same time. Everyone got home from the Tri-cities in good time. Anna picked the boys up from school because Toni had a meeting. Toni is also really working to get Jackpot and King sold. And she wanted to talk about the horses in the Moses Lake Horse Sale catalog. There is a Mobster daughter in the catalog she really wants. Toni brought Chinese food home for her kids for Valentines and Ben got me Checos. Dad had gone to Reardon to get us a tote of feed and brought Mom back a flowering plant. We all have a great Valentines Day. We finished off the chocolate and lemon pies mom made, they were excellent had a great day.

Wednesday morning was another brisk and sunny day. When Ben went out to check first thing Orange Slice was calving and look like she needed help. So he found a string and helped her out. It was a pretty hard pull out in the pen. Orange Slice is a clubby heifer of Anna’s. Kade had FFA parli pro practice in Asotin on Wednesday, it sounded like it went pretty well. He had to be to the school by 6 am. Toni is still working on The Joker and Summer after work. I am counting down the days until fall back so it is light when I get home. I am really happy it is decently light on my drive home. That is always refreshing after a hard day at work. When Ben got home from work Wednesday one of the Hereford cows was calving. Toni found a mare she wants at the Billings sale now too. I guess we don’t have enough horses.

Thursday morning Ben and Anna loaded the cows to go to Topp up after morning chores. Dad and Steve took a handful down. Toni checked cows and petted the two calves that were pulled. Dad and Steve sold some beef to a random truck driver at a gas station. Way to go guys. Anna had FFA practice after school, so dad picked the boys up from school to do chores. Jewels (the Mastiff) helped Ben feed grain, she was really excited to get to go. She is too big to fit in the front so rides in the back if someone will back up to the rock garden so she can maneuver her way in. She is not a jumper. The horses love the new grain, Toni said The Joker almost aggressively loves it. Also, we found out Thursday afternoon that Anna was awarded her Bronze award through the Angus Association. Good job Anna. Anna has really been knocking it out of the park getting her work done and going the extra mile.

Friday Ivy and Honey (the future milk cows) escaped in the AM and Anna could not get them back in before she went to school. She asked Toni if it was convenient if she could get them in when she checked. The little devils were not easy to get in at all and continued to run around. They think they are cute. Anna, Kade and friend Keegan went to donkey basketball with the FFA after school, so Kaine and Jaxsen got to do all the chores since they did not go. I do not feel like it was an option for Jaxsen or he would have been gone. But we did have Marlo for chores. Marlo walked Summer and worked on her while Toni work on the Joker. Summer, who is just as good as good can be, really wanted that new grain so actually tried to trot back to the pen and lead Marlo. Marlo is tiny but made of tough stuff so Summer didn’t get away with it. The Joker is just doing excellent. He really picked up isolating his shoulder, hip, and rib and Toni really wants to show him in the next Virtual In-Hand. Summer will be gone and she thinks she can beat me with my own colt. The Joker also ground ties really well because he is lazy. He is a super smart colt that has tons of potential, but the work ethic might not be great. Sometimes he reminds me of Jaxsen. When he thinks he is done working and you ask him to do one more thing, he does it, but he drags his feet and gives you the eye, just like Jaxsen. If he could talk I am sure his words would be like Jaxsen too. Anna, Kade, and Keegan got home a little after 10. Keegan got to spend the weekend with the kids because his parents had his brother at a bb tournament. Keegan is like another nephew to us so it was really fun.

We had a lot going on Saturday, I know what a shock that is. Kade left early to trap shoot in Spangle. Dad went with them so he could see some of his friends that are up there and support Kade. Kade had a personal best competitive shoot at Spangle. We are very proud of how far he has come in a short time. Chad was out to do farrier work. We allegedly only had Chad for a ½ day, but we did 13 head, most of which were under 2, and two of the coming yearlings that hadn’t been done before. We also got Basil done which was a trial. But it got done. Thankfully we have Chad who helps us work around animals like Basil that need extra care. Basil is the second donkey we got to halter break with. He isn’t as friendly as Tulip, but he is starting to come around. We had a high school age youth that was starting out her herd come and look at heifers, so we got the heifers in. Originally she planned to buy 2 and they ended up buying 5. She had the same problem we have, they are all good and it is hard to chose. We also sorted the heifers and got our heifer bulls turned out. Breeding has started! Anna, Kaine, and Keegan were giving out food at the food bank with FFA. Because we were so busy we relied upon our good friend John to look at the Mobster daughter at Moses Lake. He bid her up for us but we didn’t get her. She sold for $7500.00 which is way too high for us. John and Joe (John’s brother) said the prices at Moses Lake were really high. And there were lots and lots of people there. It would have been fun to go but no time. Lane came out to see Anna and help out. Kade got back and the boys decided to ride. The Spokane steers had gotten out so they saddled their horses, gave Keegan Pistol, and went to get them in. Toni ran out and actually gave Keegan instructions on HOW to ride. They got the steers in then went on a jaunt. It started raining while they were riding, but they didn’t come back. Somehow they all made it back in one piece. Kade had gotten kicked in the knee by a horse running by him. They say that they had a great time riding. John and Joe came by after the sale so Joe could see Tank. We showed him anything new we had gotten since he was at the ranch last. We had a great visit with them, then they headed home. So Saturday was a full day of you know, normal stuff.

Sunday we needed to make up for lost time and get everything done that we didn’t get done on Saturday. We had some people interested in King so went down and got some new pictures, new video, got him moving and being a fat happy stud. After than Toni and I headed out to check all mares to see if anything looked heavy, as in going to foal while we are gone. We had a great time petting them, loving on them, and giving them a good look. Most were really happy to see us. The weather was perfect so there was lots of bucking and kicking and carrying on, like horses do. We have about five getting heavy, but nothing eminent. So that was good because we didn’t have to get them in and move stuff around at mom and dads. The Joker was back out with the big herd so just Summer is in waiting to leave for her new home. After lunch we had to get some of the poles at the corral fixed. One was completely broken and the other just knocked down. We have e now used our last spare pole. The kids caught their steers, then the boys went fishing for a bit then went on another ride. I think Keegan wants to be a cowboy. Pistol is probably a good horse to start with. After that we did chores and Kade rode Stormy. Hugo, Keegan’s dad showed up and we had a really good visit with him. Now that we all have kids it seems like we don’t get to actually sit and visit with friends very often unless they show cattle. Both Saturday and Sunday were very productive days. Hay got put out, all the livestock were checked.

What a fire week. Lots got done and we are very excited to see what these mares give us in 2023. We continue to work on the 2022 foals and frankly, they are going to be hard to beat on overall quality. But the 2021 foals were great too. Foaling is always an adventure and one we look forward to.