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Roping and Riding Activities
Cattle work and Cowboy stuff, all the things dreams are made of...
Cattle work is the core of a rancher’s life. During our cowboy adventure weeks you will ride the range helping with any cattle work that is going on at the time of your visit. Since we only accept a few guests at a time you can have lots of time in the saddle and are able to actively participate in everything you desire from saddling and grooming to sorting cattle. We provide excellent horses, well trained and suited to your ability of riding. All instruction necessary to complete the daily tasks successfully is provided in a fun and enjoyable way. If you also participate in our Cowboy School, you will learn from real stockmen how to read cattle, work cattle and improve your riding and horsemanship skills. If you prefer to take it easy, you can work cattle in the morning and skip riding in the afternoon and take a swim or relax. Most guests mix the cattle work with some relaxation time and Cowboy School.
The cattle establish the daily routine on the ranch.
Spring (May and June):
Calving and branding as well as gathering, sorting and moving the pairs to summer pastures. Fences must be checked for broken or damaged areas. Short - one day cattle drives are weekly events until all cattle are settled for the summer. Spring activities can be hard to schedule; weather, sickness, calving and feeding all play a part in the daily work.
Summer (July, August and early September):
Moving cattle, gathering bulls, checking water, salt and fences, looking for strays and fence jumpers and driving them back where they belong.
Fall (late September and October):
Gathering and sorting, vaccinating and weaning the calves, short half or one day cattle drives occur several times a week as we ship cattle to winter feedyards, drain the water tanks and lay in feed for the winter.
Typical daily riding schedule:
Before breakfast: we catch, feed, groom and saddle horses. You can do as much or as little as you wish. We get started around daybreak, at 6:00 in the morning, you can join us for the entire time or show up whenever you want.
Breakfast:
Served between 8:00 and 8:30 unless we are doing a big gather or cattle drive when it will be much earlier and on the run.
After breakfast:
The guests and cowboys go out to work cattle. We have cattle work out on the range every morning for guests who want to participate in the real thing. The Cattle Work ride leaves the corral as soon as we can get mounted after breakfast and returns around 1:00 unless the work takes us too far from the ranch to return for lunch.
Lunch:
Served at the homestead unless we are out on the trail driving cattle or helping a neighbor when it is sandwiches, chips, fruit and dessert on the trail. Lunch is served between 1:00 and 2:00.
After Lunch:
Cowboy School meets out by the hitching racks or by the roping dummies after lunch and ends around 6:00. We include roping lessons, team penning, cattle handling, cutting instruction, horsemanship and gymkhana events. Some days the morning cattle work continues into the afternoon, in fact some days the "Cowboy Crew" doesn"t even arrive back at the ranch until dinner time, so be warned that if you choose to do cattle work, reality sometimes dictates a long day! On these days, Cowboy School may not occur, but there is always the option of a scenic ride during the afternoon for those who don’t go out for the long all day cattle drives.
Happy hour starts after the horses are fed and settled for the night at 6:00 in the saloon or on the patio and dinner is served shortly afterward. We have a liquor license and a stocked saloon, so if a cold beer or mixed drink sounds good after a long days ride, belly up to the bar and enjoy!
The cattle work schedule will be discussed each day so you can choose what you want to participate in! Horses will be assigned according to your ability and what activity you are participating in. You may ride several different horses during your stay.
