Wild Rag’s

 

A COWBOY’S BANDANA WAS A WHOLE

      LOT MORE THAN JUST A RAG.

                           IT WAS….

             A breathing mask on a dusty trail

            A hat tie-down in windy weather

     A washcloth, towel, bandage, tourniquet,

       napkin, water filter, pot holder & flag

     A temporary repair for saddle or bridle

          A cover for spooked horse’s eyes

                       Hobbles for horses

 Wild Rags …as they are now called come in pure silk, and patterns I am sure that “Good Ole Cowboys” would just scratch their heads in amazement, wonder’n why a fella would wear such a funny color.

We are now offering Wild Rags for sale in our General Store and who better to model them but our good friend and fellow horseman…Gearhard.

gearhard-wild-rag-model                                                                                                                                                           

 

Double Dip’s First Saddle

No fences to mend.. No horses to shoe..
Dalton got to do today what he loves to do…
Start the babies…..

The Tennessee Walker Babies especially!!

double-dip

Double Dip, a Tennesse Walking Horse is only 2 years old ,but it is time for her to be introduced to a saddle. No one will ride her until she is 4 years old.  With her owner, Monica holding her, Dalton introduced her  to the saddle blanket. No Big Deal .

dd-blanket-intro

Then she was introduced to the saddle. 

dd-saddle-intro-1

Now the introduction to the cinch around the belly…..this is where it can get very interesting…..

dd-saddle-cinch1

No Buck..No Jump..No Spins..No Kicks….This girl is a pro.

dd-sadlle-walk

A little parade around the corral and the lesson was over.

Joey & Charlie-2 Shoes Big Adventure

Joey and Charlie’s first day at Trail Camp was a trip down the River Trail.

Now mind you, either of them has been ridden for over 2 years. Just getting them to leave the OK Corral  and head down the trail was a small circus act.

 Between the spinning circles, running reverse and Joey’s butt-bucking we could have sold tickets to our very own Wild West Show.

 Joey’s new nickname is now AKA Crow-Hop.

ok-corral

 

Once the boys got into the woods and headed down the trails, they seem to forget all about misbehaving and started to enjoy having a job again.

joey-charlie-on-the-trail

 

They even enjoyed a little time at the beach!

ani-on-beach

Zolla & Bailey thought the beach was great fun!

Zolla & Bailey thought the beach was great fun!

Summer Haircut Rodeo

Armed with the Lister Shearing Wahl Star deluxe clippers the challenge was on!
Expecting anything to happen, since this was the first haircut of the season, I planned for every escape imaginable, only to have Bailey lay her head down on my lap and quietly get her summer cut.

bailey-gets-her-hair-cut1

baileys-finished-look2

Comet the Mule on the other hand wasn’t sure about that big buzzing thing. The vibration felt good, so it must be okay. Her mane clipped off with out a hitch, until we got to between her ears. She let us do everything but one last strand.
Since you always want to end on a good note with mules and horses…. Heck you should end on a good note with people too, we just left it for
another day.
She looks just like “Alfalfa” from the Little Rascals. We just may have to rename her!!

alfalfa-look1

comets-mane-cut

comet-love-pat

The” Malibu Kid”

Last week the “oldest son” Matt, came to visit from Malibu, California.
It didn’t take long: half-a- day- and the laptops-cell phones- I-phones- internet- text messaging all went by the wayside.

First he was recruited to go on a White Water Rafting trip with Outdoor Adventure Center in Index. Our Paddle & Saddle Adventure.

matts-whitewater-adventure
Then he was recruited to be a “Wrangler In Training”.

dalton-malibu-matt
First job at hand was to move the horses to their pasture. (They get to hang out on lots of green grass when they aren’t working).
Of course you can’t be a Wrangler if you don’t look the part! After checking out Matt’s attire, we affectionately named him “The Malibu Kid”.

malibu-cowboy
Add a little island exploring in front of the house……some good food….plenty of sunshine….and he tells us that he is coming back in August for a whole month,

matt-titanmatt-zolla-island-exploringrope-swing
It’s Just Too Much Fun Here…..

O.K. CORRAL

On two of the hottest days we have had this year, (close to 90 degrees) Dalton, Larry and Miles decided to take a pile of lumber and turn it into a 50’ x 50’ corral to hold the horses overnight.
The point of this exercise was to save shuttling the horses back and forth to the pasture between rides.

Armed with the trusty John Deere tractor and posthole digger, the 3 took on the challenge.
With Comet “The Mule” and Joey keeping a watchful eye on the process,
that pile of lumber turned into a work- of- art.

From this pile of lumber- Great things will Come!

From this pile of lumber- Great things will Come!

The post are Set!!

The post are Set!!

Joey gives his advice

Joey gives his advice

A Job Well Done

A Job Well Done

Comet looks on with her "Watchful Eye"

Comet looks on with her "Watchful Eye"

The new "Diggs" meets their approval.

The new "Diggs" meets their approval.

All most finished.

All most finished.

Ready To Ride Cowgirls

trail-boss-dalton2 It was a warm and sunshine filled morning when the cars pulled into the driveway and 8 “Ready To Ride” would-be Cowgirls jumped out.
After stowing their gear they all circled up on the lawn with “Trail Boss Dalton” to hear the plan for the day.

There would be Trail rides along the” River Loop Trail”, Cook-out for lunch, Pony grooming and rides and creating their own Medicine Bags from leather & beads.
Throw in a couple trips to the river, s’mores and ice cream cones…. it was all fixin’s for a good time.
With Ranch Hands “Miss Ani” and “Mr. Larry” taking turns riding “drag” (the person who rides at the end of the line to insure that no one gets left behind.) the Trail Rides went off with out a hitch.
There were the occasional Yee-Hah’s and the waving hand circle mixed in with “This is the BEST day of my life”.

horse-grooming2Ranch hand “Miss Susie” showed the girls how to groom saddle and lead the ponies.
With a little braiding, some ribbon and a few sprinkles of glitter ( Ok, a lot of glitter) the ponies looked rather spectacular when the girls were finished.

The toughest part for all of us Ranch Hands was watching the girls leave at the end of the day.

little-dalton-gang5

Howdy Partners!

Welcome to the Stillwater Blog. We are in the midst of revamping the website and getting the blog started. But dont let that stop you from going to the reservations form and booking your next great horseback riding adventure with us. We are rearing to go and look forward to seeing you on the trails.


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