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Last week we had a special visit from my parents.  They drove all the way from Idaho to Iowa pulling a gooseneck trailer with six horses in it, dropping off two at our place, staying overnight and spending the next day with us, then continuing on their way to two other siblings' homes to deliver…

We have reached another milestone in our horse life:  we rode Cletus, our four year old buckskin gelding!  If you remember, we bought him as a baby alongside his mother, Penny, in the fall of 2011.  Last November, we sent him to the Rosebud Indian Reservation for a crash course in behaving under saddle....the trainer…

I grew up riding horses.  Raised on a ranch, working cattle, living to be horseback, loving the country life...I was a cowgirl if ever there was one.  But I've often said that I never really looked like the stereotypical cowgirl---no fringed leather, no turquoise-and-silver jewelry, no wild rag around my neck, and no hat.  For…

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…

At the end of May, as we try to do each year, our family went west to visit my parents in Idaho.  We spent several days with them, enjoying ranch life, mountain-style farming, beautiful scenery and their many horses.  The highlight of the trip was the all-day cattle drive up into the mountains, through the…

Spring is always a beautiful time of year.  While the dandelions are still yellow, the tulips are blooming, and every tree's leaf is that brand-new green color--that's the prettiest time, when things are brand new.  We've got a brand new baby in our family, and it's made this spring very exciting and very busy!  Jonathan, our…

We are doing another fun giveaway here on CowgirlDiary.com!  Up for grabs is a paperback copy of the first book in the Plaid Family Adventures Series, titled "The Runaway Horse".  These are delightfully fun books for young readers with stories about life on a Wisconsin farm.  I was given a copy of "The Runaway Horse" by the author, to…

If you grew up around horses and were taught by a parent or riding instructor, the common sense advice in this article might seem a little unnecessary or redundant to you.  But even as a kid growing up with horses, there were a few things I learned the hard way!  It's so much better to…

The other day I received an email from Darcy at RodeoEnvy.com asking if I would like to review one of her western jewelry sets and offer a second set to one of my readers in a free giveaway.  I said, "YES!"  Darcy's western boutique offers many cowgirl accessories such as concho rings, rodeo jeweled leather cuff bracelets,…

I've been planning different ways to wear my new Corral boots that I got before Christmas.  I know that sounds crazy, because a person can usually just decide to wear something, and not a lot of planning goes into it.  But the thing is, I'm almost six months' pregnant, and there is nothing in my…

I'm not big on New Year's Resolutions.  Personally, I would rather be honest with myself and not make any outlandish, pie-in-the-sky claims to change immediately or "from now on".  Why set myself up to fail?  But I like having an idea, mulling on it, letting it grow, see where it leads, and eventually following through…

So guess what was waiting at the front door when I came home from work one day last week?  A big box marked "Circle G"....Merry Christmas to me!  It was my new cowboy boots I had ordered.  They had emailed me that they were on back order, and I was fine with waiting, but I…

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…

As mentioned in a previous post, we recently took our two untrained horses out to South Dakota for training.  Due to me being pregnant with our fourth child, the training was going to be postponed for another nine months at least, and we really wanted to see these two colts started as soon as possible. …

I am celebrating!  This is officially my 200th blog post, and in honor of the event, I am getting a new pair of cowgirl boots!  You might have seen my previous post with a picture of my old riding boots that I've had since tenth grade.  They are a size too big (men's, I believe) and…

I got a really cool gift in the mail last week!  It was a free sample of Leather Honey that the manufacturer wanted me to try out and see if I liked.  I was happy to oblige because I have so much leather that needs cleaned!  I planned to clean my saddle, favorite belt, boots,…

You might be wondering what's going on with my new mare Bluebird. I got her in April, after my sister in Idaho called and asked if I'd like to have her, and we had her shipped all the way to Iowa. She has fit in well with our other four horses, but summer was busy…

The riding part of the Kip Fladland Training Clinic that I went to a few weeks ago seemed to go so much faster than the groundwork part.  Maybe it was because I'm not used to that much walking, I don't know, but I was sure tired out!  The morning's work was good for us, as…

Last Saturday I had the privilege of attending a Groundwork/Horsemanship training clinic with Kip Fladland, of LaRiata Ranch near Griswold, Iowa.  It was the first horse training clinic I have ever been to.  I've been around natural horsemanship training my whole life, having grown up next door to Kevin Wescott (a Tom Dorrance and Ray…

Fall is my favorite time of year to go horseback riding.  I am partial to summer, since I was born in August (my mother has a theory that the season you were born in is the one you like best; for instance, I like being hot, and don't mind sweating; I hate the cold, and…