Horseback riding with my mom on our ranch

[Texas Blonde]

Well, I think the title says it all. It was a beautiful day, so we went for a short ride through the 300 acre pasture the horses live in. We wanted to check and make sure all the fence was standing, and there wasnt too much oilfield trash.

My mom trying to get her mare Grace to hold still while she mounted. I was already up on my horse Indigo.

And she's up.

My horses ears.

Not even holding the reins. My horse is more like a glacier.

Heading west.

Along the fence.

Indigos head.

Mosying.

Good mare.

Back to the pens.

Me and Indigo. (He was already asleep.)

"Please untie me so I can go eat."

"Seriously, Im really hungry and I know there is alfalfa over there."

Sweaty Grace.

Pretty gray pony.

We left this guy (Ace) in the pens, and he spent the whole time running back and forth screaming for Indigo. They are our gay couple.

Hope y'all enjoyed the pics.

 

[olablane]

Nice!1 I did notice 1 thing, Where are the trees? I live on 12000 acre ranch and never ride more than 10 minutes without trees. I guess I have trees and you have oil wells!!!! Which is most profitable I wonder? Do you have cows on your ranch?

 

[Texas Blonde]

Nice!1 I did notice 1 thing, Where are the trees? I live on 12000 acre ranch and never ride more than 10 minutes without trees. I guess I have trees and you have oil wells!!!! Which is most profitable I wonder? Do you have cows on your ranch?

We have 7,680 acres (12 sections) and 5 trees, haha. W Tx doesnt naturally have trees, all of ours have been planted since my family aquired the land in 1880. I think the oil is probably a bit more profitable.

There are currently 48 head of heiffers, and 2 bulls living on our ranch. Its seriously undergrazed. They belong to our cousin who leases the surface.

 

[davidbarber1]

Beautiful horses and beautiful women. Can't ask for more than that

David

 

[codykrr]

only thing i noticed is....you didnt look blonde.... nice horses though...wish i still had mine...miss the farm life...and llamas...well alpacas...but still....and fresh eggs....hey wanna trade!:?

 

[Texas Blonde]

only thing i noticed is....you didnt look blonde....

Yep. More of a dark strawberry blonde color now. For the longest time I bleached it blonde, but for convenience I just went back to my natural color.

 

[codykrr]

haha...thats cool....but im serious....ill let you have my place for yours!...im sick of no land run run round on!...

 

[olablane]

We have 7,680 acres (12 sections) and 5 trees, haha. W Tx doesnt naturally have trees, all of ours have been planted since my family aquired the land in 1880. I think the oil is probably a bit more profitable.

There are currently 48 head of heiffers, and 2 bulls living on our ranch. Its seriously undergrazed. They belong to our cousin who leases the surface.

This ranch has been in the family since 1882.We have 1000 acres of hay ground. The rest is grazing for 400 cow/ calf pairs. Most of that has trees of some kind. Id be lost without trees! Yes, Oil is probably more profitable, but I think my trees are prettier.
You do have a nice looking place and pretty horses! I also have 8 horses, 25 goats and 6 dogs.
I am probably the last of my family to work this place. I have 2 sons and only one of them likes this life, but hes not sure its worth all the work for no more money than is involved. Kinda sad.

 

[codykrr]

sorry oblane...maybe they will come round to loving it once they realize what life is like without it one day....i know id rather be on a tractor bailing up some hay that push mowing my yard.....my dad had 4000 acres in the boothill of missouri andmy grandpa had 12 thousand in illinois....grandpas was soy and corn....with aot of jersey cattle and some swine...andmy dad and i raised llamas, sheep, chickens, goats and horses....not to mention bred labs...for bird dogs...and i miss every secondof that kindalife...nothing like it in the whole world....good honest hard work...now....i sell propane and propane accessories...yeah i know im the real "king of the hill"...still doest measure up...

 

[equuskat]

Indigo is very cute. Your mom's horse looks like a really sweet critter, too. It's been a while since I've really ridden out in the open and I miss it. Would love to have a good gallop with no fences. It's been ages.

I think that your mom's English-y half-chaps and sneakers are a hoot with that western saddle.

 

[Texas Blonde]

My family has been ranching in W Tx for over 150 years, someone actually wrote a book about us. Clicky

I love ranching, and Im going to school to study Range Management. But Ill probably never be able to do anything with our place. Too many other family members involved, and no one gets along. Its really sad. Right now the problem is one of my aunts, she thinks she is an environmentalist, but really she is just an idiot. She just gets in the way of us fixing the place up. And the other aunt is a control freak. My mom and I have some great ideas for the place. We want to fix up all the waterings, digging out the ponds so they will hold more water, and plant more trees around them. Mesquite grubbing is also something we would like to do, to open the land up for more and better grass. None of that will probably every happen though. Its really heartbraking to see a place you love go to waste like that, and be destroyed by the oil companies because the owners cant get their acts together.

Olablane, if you ever come to Tx, Ill take you for a ride on our place. T hunting too!

 

[Texas Blonde]

I think that your mom's English-y half-chaps and sneakers are a hoot with that western saddle.

Did you notice the English bridle? My mom and I both grew up riding English. She got the Western saddles when she got the Quarter Horses. Both of us are still more comfortable in English saddles. I was riding in my stepdads saddle, and its like an 18". I normally ride in a 13.5, haha.

At least I had my ugly old Nocona cowboy boots on.

 

[equuskat]

Did you notice the English bridle? My mom and I both grew up riding English. She got the Western saddles when she got the Quarter Horses. Both of us are still more comfortable in English saddles. I was riding in my stepdads saddle, and its like an 18". I normally ride in a 13.5, haha.

At least I had my ugly old Nocona cowboy boots on.

Yeah, I sure did notice the fat rubber Dee and the English bridle. haha That's not so odd to me, though, because I used to work as a riding instructor and all the kids rode in snaffles, regardless of what seat they sat in.

I started out riding English, too, and went on to ride dressage...which is what finally got me comfortable in a western saddle. Dressage got me out of the habit of hiking up my stirrups and riding more hunter-forward. I don't ride much anymore, but when I do, it's bareback or western. Severe burn-out...I even donated my Crosby jumping saddle to Lake Erie College.

 

[olablane]

Olablane, if you ever come to Tx, Ill take you for a ride on our place. T hunting too![/QUOTE]

I may take you up on that offer!! If youre in Idaho look me up.

 

[Galapoheros]

Part of the fence is falling down! It looks real relaxing there. I was fortunate enough to be able to go bug hunting on a ranch when I was a kid. I know what you mean when there are too many owners. My mother and her sister inherited the land. My dad wanted to split it in two to avoid the problems it causes, my uncle didn't want to so they sued each other which seemed to last 2 or 3 years. I was never told what the lawyers made but it was in the 6 figures. A realtor told me that it's always best to split it up and that he's seen 20 or 30 people own one lot and nobody can agree on what to do with it. My opinion after all that is that it's best to not inherit land with anybody else, can't do anything about it sometimes though. I think it should be split or sold at the time it's inherited so that each can have control over their land. Some sell it when they are old and buy each one of their children a diff piece of land somewhere else, a lot of people aren't motivated enough to do that.

 

[Texas Blonde]

Yeah, the fence is probably 80 years old. That pasture used to be a hospital pasture for sheep, so its got some sheep fencing along the bottom. Javalina have come in and torn up the sheep fencing, and its causing the rest of the fence to collapse.

The problem with splitting up the land is different areas are worth different amounts. And they dont just own the land together, they own the minerals. Thats an even bigger pain in the ass!

Hey, Galapoheros, check out the link in my sig for the T.I.T.T.I.E.S. Yahoo Group. We are planning our 2009 trip and the details can be found there.

 

[Galapoheros]

Yeah, the fence is probably 80 years old. That pasture used to be a hospital pasture for sheep, so its got some sheep fencing along the bottom. Javalina have come in and torn up the sheep fencing, and its causing the rest of the fence to collapse.

The problem with splitting up the land is different areas are worth different amounts. And they dont just own the land together, they own the minerals. Thats an even bigger pain in the ass!

Hey, Galapoheros, check out the link in my sig for the T.I.T.T.I.E.S. Yahoo Group. We are planning our 2009 trip and the details can be found there.

Cool, I'll check out the link. Man I've been real lazy with the bug hunting thing, I think I'm in a slump. You can all own the mineral rights together without owning land, as you know, so there's not much to fight about there. I know about the "worth diff amounts thing" but I think it's worth it at the time of inheriting, get an appraiser and then not worry about the others' prop going up or down in value after that because it just wouldn't matter then. I've seen a lot of junk with my mom's property and constantly mentioned "estate advisor/lawyer" to my dad. He finally made an appointment and did it. There are mineral rights too but the only prob there is negotiating with oil co.s as far as I can tell. The bad thing is that it sounds like too many people own the land you are on already(?) Yeah, that's the problem isn't it? It was just two people with my mom's property and it was hell just getting that split in two pieces. It's the fault of the original owners not worrying about it and using the excuse, "well, they all seem to get along..." it's just an excuse not to take care of it, kids, in-laws, ..it could get crazy. A control freak always pops up, what a mess man! like you said. You end up getting land you can't control, can't sell and you pay taxes on it at the same time ... Oh man, I need to stop thinking about it.

 

[Rochelle]

I truly enjoyed the "vicarious ride" through your ranch! Thanks for sharing these pics.....

I haven't been able to ride in so long, it actually hurts!
Your Indigo reminded me so much of my "Ponch" that it brought unexpected tears to my eyes. Ponch was a 'glacier' D ) of a horse, too...grey just like yours, as well. I SO loved him! He had the kindest heart imaginable. You could put a toddler on his bare back and he wouldn't let them fall. In the winter, I'd grab his tail and tell him to git - and then he'd pull me careful as can be behind him; skating on the snow, LOL! In the drier weather; I'd throw a girth over the top of his back and ride upside down underneath him, just to shock my 'townie' friends.... He never clipped me once! I can't even remember how many lazy afternoons I spent sound asleep, full length on his back, while he carefully wandered the fields; looking after me.
I miss that old guy more than alot of actual people I've known...We were very poor and didn't have a camera back then; so I don't have a single picture of him. He was a $20 horse bought at the auction; older; and rejected by the local riding stable. I earned him by working the barn and being a guide. They let me keep him there; while I rode my bike to the stable every morning.
To me, he was the most beautiful horse in the world. And my closest friend... He'd whinny along with me when I'd tell him a joke, and then laugh at it myself.... He was a wonderful soul.

Thanks again for sharing your ride with us.... That brought back great memories!

 

[dragonblade71]

Looks like you all had a great time - both the people and the horses! And great looking property too! Looks so isolated and rugged...which has a beauty all it's own.

My parents have just recently aquired a farmland property on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. No horses...yet! Though there are naturally (occuring) echidnas, goannas (monitor lizards), possums, good variety of spider, insect and bird species and lots and lots of kangaroos. Over a week ago, I saw a goanna get stuck in to a sheep carcass...that was really something!

 

[olablane]

Looks like you all had a great time - both the people and the horses! And great looking property too! Looks so isolated and rugged...which has a beauty all it's own.

My parents have just recently aquired a farmland property on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. No horses...yet! Though there are naturally (occuring) echidnas, goannas (monitor lizards), possums, good variety of spider, insect and bird species and lots and lots of kangaroos. Over a week ago, I saw a goanna get stuck in to a sheep carcass...that was really something!

You need to start a thread and show us pics of that property in Australia. That would be fun. Im thinking of starting a thread of my ranch. Just wondering if there would be any interest.