• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

January 2012

Help Support Ranchers.net:

Soapweed

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
16,264
Reaction score
61
Location
northern Nebraska Sandhills
Catthatlookslikeacookiejar600x800.jpg

Cat that looks like a cookie jar
Sparkyonthephone800x600.jpg

Looks like Sparky is trapped and using his phone to call for help. Fortunately he was just talking to a customer.
ColtonBurpo800x600.jpg

Colton Burpo singing Amazing Grace. He is the boy who inspired the book HEAVEN IS FOR REAL.
PeachandClavinova800x600.jpg

Peach and Clavinova
Coldweathercowgirl800x600.jpg

Cold weather cowgirl
Vaccinatingcrewinaction800x600.jpg

Vaccinating crew in action
Sunflowerchieforganizer600x800.jpg

Sunflower, chief organizer
Hereisoursystem600x800.jpg

This is the system we have used for many years.
RightearRitch800x600.jpg

Right ear has an engraved jumbo Ritchey tag.
LeftearY-Texbutton800x600.jpg

Left ear has a corresponding color and number, using a Y-Tex button tag. Usually, even if the big tag gets lost, the button tag stays in.
If the big tag is lost, we use a Dremel tool to engrave a new tag with another correctly colored Ritchey tag. This is done at preg checking time
each fall. If both tags happen to get lost, we still have a year brand to know how old the cow is, and can at least give her an appropriate tag
so we know her status. We leave the original calf tag in the left ear also, so that a bit more of the cow's history is evident.
Youngdraftgelding800x600.jpg

Young draft gelding
WonderfulAmishbarn800x600.jpg

Wonderful Amish barn in southeast Nebraska
Hookingtheteam800x600.jpg

Hooking the team
Rollingdowntheroad800x600.jpg

Rolling down the road
Ouroutfit800x600.jpg

Silhouette of our pickup pulling a 16' bumper trailer, loaded with two draft horses and one saddle mule
Anotherloadofhay800x600.jpg

Meeting the upteenth load of hay being hauled down the highway
Sparkyandassociates600x800.jpg

Sparky and associates
Cousins800x600.jpg

Cousins
Wideeyedandamazed600x800.jpg

Wide-eyed and amazed
Bringingcattlehome800x600.jpg

Bringing cattle home from the neighbor's ranch, where they have been enjoying life since last June
Itseasiertopullachain800x600.jpg

It's easier to pull a chain
Thantopushit800x600.jpg

Than to push it
Moseyingalong800x600.jpg

Moseying along
Sparkysnewgadget800x600.jpg

Sparky's new gadget
A1953LoneStarAdmiralmotorboat800x600.jpg

A 1953 model Lone Star brand Admiral motor boat
Delilah800x600.jpg

Delilah learned quite a bit at her mule college class.
Sandhillssundown3800x600.jpg

Sandhills sundown
 
I barely made it to the sunset picture and finally just passed out, Soapweed. :D
Powerful set of pictures! Thanks for sharing!
 
Sure looks like things haven't slowed down for you this winter..I keep thinking January should be a slow month..but no such luck..I love the picture of the cattle trailing on and on..very cool shot! Also the sunset is classic Nebraska..so what are you going to do with the draft horses?
 
Love the photos, and really cute grand-kids. What are you doing, torturing those poor cows with just a sniff of feed.
 
How long before you are ready to trade your Drafties? This time I want in on that trade!! Great pictures.
 
Looks like a real nice team of drafts....did the amish gentleman raise primarily roan drafts or all sorts. Mostly Percherons or Belgians? Curious! I didn't know there were many Amish in Nebraska. Looks like they will be a lot of fun for you to use! How old are they? Are they broke to ride too? We love our smaller drafts and half drafts for climbing the mountains around here too :)
 
Thanks for the comments. The draft horses are 3/4 Belgian and 1/4 saddle horse of some kind. They were purchased as colts from Canada, and the gentleman who I bought them from wasn't the original buyer, though he has owned them since they were yearlings. The gelding is called Duke, and the mare is Daisy, and they will be five years old this spring. I bought a pair of mules in 1967, when I was a freshman in high school, and have owned at least one team of some descriptiion ever since. Having sold my old team a couple months ago, it is nice to again have something to hook to a wagon. The mule, Delilah, was broke to drive single while in the care of this man, so I could even have a "unicorn" hitch now. :wink: :)
 
Good lookin team, looks like they may need a farrier, that one hind right sure looks loose..................good luck
 
Hey Soap, the boss was just lookin at the team, and wants to know why their necks are shaved. I think I looked at the pictures 20 times, and she only glanced at them over my shoulder. Now who is the observant one? :oops: :oops:
 
HAY MAKER said:
Good lookin team, looks like they may need a farrier, that one hind right sure looks loose..................good luck

Looks like they have toe clips to me, haymaker.

Thanks for sharing your pictures, Soap. Those babies are gonna resemble
each other. I'm curious as to why the necks are shaved as well. And no,
I didn't notice either, had to go back and look what Mrs. WP was
seeing.
 
Faster horses said:
HAY MAKER said:
Good lookin team, looks like they may need a farrier, that one hind right sure looks loose..................good luck

Looks like they have toe clips to me, haymaker.

Thanks for sharing your pictures, Soap. Those babies are gonna resemble
each other. I'm curious as to why the necks are shaved as well. And no,
I didn't notice either, had to go back and look what Mrs. WP was
seeing.

I dont see any toe clips, but I do see a loose shoe, maybe I need glasses ?
might be a little to much shoe showing to be a clip ?
WonderfulAmishbarn800x600.jpg

good luck
 
The hair trimming job is something the Amish gentleman evidently did at the time he knew I might be coming to look at his team. It seems to be a bridle path done with lavish and extreme measures. :wink: He wanted quite a bit for his horses. Since we live in the Sandhills, shoes are more a nuisance than a necessity. I made an offer, which included him throwing in the harness and him taking off the shoes of both horses and my mule. He accepted, after getting me to throw in an extra hundred dollars apiece for the collars. Anyhow, the horses and mule all came home bare-footed. A good horse deal seems to be the elixir of life. :)
 
We dont shoe horses in our sand country either, Im glad you bought that team soap now we get to see all the pictures of you using em :D
good luck
 
So how many sets of harnesses do you have by now? Is that usually part of a draft trade? If you can't tell, I know nothing about draft critters.
 

Latest posts

Top