by Cowgirl on August 12, 2015
I love that old song my grandma used to sing, “Pack up all my care and woe, here I go, singin’ low…. Bye, Bye, Blackbird.” Well, in this case, it’s Bluebird we said goodbye to. If you recall, she’s the blue roan Hancock-bred mare that my sister gave me that we had shipped here from Idaho two Aprils ago. I finally decided to list her for sale this summer, and within a week I had several inquiries and one serious buyer.
by Cowgirl on December 9, 2014
You know what it’s like when you get a brand new pair of tennis shoes and you aren’t quite sure what to do with the old ones? They’re scuffed, dirty, holey, and in bad shape, but you just can’t quite throw them away. Those shoes have been with you for miles. And the new ones are so much nicer, but they don’t quite fit your feet like the old ones did. Inevitably, as soon as you throw your old ones away, you’re going to have a muddy day when you wish you had them back.
by Cowgirl on September 13, 2013
Our horse herd has changed. Over the summer, I decided to put up a few of our horses for sale because it is always a financial strain for us to feed five horses through the winter and I hate having skinny horses fighting over the hay. (Last winter was hard–we ran low on hay and hay quadrupled in cost around here, and the hay we could barely afford to buy was not good quality–it was a nightmare!) So I listed three of them on craigslist, thinking if we sold one then our horse herd would be of a more reasonable number. Me being a horse lover, you can never have too many horses, but until I win the lottery there has to be a limit. We really don’t have the space for five horses, so somebody needed to go.
by Cowgirl on November 24, 2012
This season has come along so suddenly, I am struck with the startling realization that fall is almost over and those harvest-colored sunshine days that I used to love to go riding on are almost past. Winter is coming. The pessimistic side of me is dreading the frozen water tanks, fierce winds, sub-zero temperatures, and the aching fingers I get from handling a cold pitchfork. I don’t like the effects of daylight savings time, with it’s short days and cold nights. But winter brings more than that. There will be sledding excursions for the kids, bright sparkling mornings where the snow has given everything a fresh coat of white glitter, the desire for a cup of hot chocolate and a longer cuddle than you’d want in the summertime…..there are some really great things about winter.
by Cowgirl on April 19, 2012
I’ve been going to a lot of cattle sales lately, at the local auction barn. Inevitably, there are two or three horses there every week, and I’m always curious at what they bring. I wonder why they were brought there, and where they are going after that final winning bid. It always makes me wish I had multiple pastures and unlimited funds so that I could take them home with me.
One of the things every horse owner should consider is the fact that horses don’t live forever, nor do they stay rideable forever. It might seem overly simple to state it in that fashion, but we really don’t like to think about horses getting old, getting hurt, or dying. Our imaginations enable us to envision the Black Stallion living in endless glory…and even though we understand the old gray mare “ain’t what she used to be”, we like to pretend that she is still quite comfortable and able. The truth is far uglier at times, and a responsible horse owner will understand and plan ahead of time. What should you do when your horse is too old to be useful? What are the options for owners of aged equines?
by Cowgirl on September 22, 2011
When we went to pick up the new horses last week, we took my mare Daisy along. Not as a travelling buddy, but because there was a horse sale going on in a town along the same route, and we decided to consign Daisy in it and just see what might happen. We have talked about selling her several times, and buying two more seemed a tad bit excessive, and the trailer was going that way anyhow, so we took her to the sale with a reserve price firmly established in our minds.
Selling a horse in a tough economy can be a difficult thing to accomplish. And selling a horse in the middle of a harsh winter in snow country can be downright impossible. I’ve been helping my folks advertise a few of their Quarter Horses for sale in Idaho, and have found some tips and ideas to help their chances of finding a buyer. I’ll share them here, so if you’re trying to sell a horse as well, you might find these tips helpful as well.
by Cowgirl on November 22, 2010
I went to the cattle auction last Saturday. This isn’t a quality auction, it’s a ramshackle type of barn in our podunk county where the local farmers hang out on the weekend to watch stuff sell. You’ll see everything go through the ring—chickens, eggs, piglets, goats, sheep, and occasionally a horse, before the cattle start to sell. I only went because my husband had heard the sale report the day before and they’d listed a kid broke pony as well as eight other horses.
by Cowgirl on June 29, 2010
It’s a known fact that we horse people are a crazy bunch. But some of the stories I hear make me wonder if all of our common sense has been dropped in pursuit of gaining more horse sense, and the result is a bunch of daft idiots.
by Cowgirl on June 24, 2010
They say that it is easier for a woman to find the perfect husband than it is to find the perfect swimsuit. And I would say that’s about how hard it is to find the perfect horse. When you’re thinking of getting a horse, you need to know how important a “good fit” really is. So I’m sharing a few tips here to help a less experienced person find a horse that will be perfect for them.
If you’ve been involved with horses for any length of time, you will find that the horse industry is much like the used car industry. There are a lot of scoundrels out to get your money and will do anything to make a buck. The term “horse dealer” does not carry a good connotation, since so many well-meaning buyers have been duped into buying a horse that didn’t work out for them.
