Ebersole Cattle Company

Last night Honey came home & talked about a family he met at the co-op.  They were a couple in their 50's-60's with their 20 something son. 
They were traveling in a covered wagon. 
From Arkansas to Nebraska. 
They left home in November.
They stopped in to buy some corn & hay for their 3 horses.
They did stop for a while in Illinois this winter & work.
The horses were in good shape (not skinny).
The people were clean, nice & happy.

Of course after they left there was quite a bit of "shop talk".
WHY would you do that? 
Just BUY a truck.
CRAZY?

I was really impressed that Honey had quite a few questions in return for the guys.
Why NOT?
What if they just WANTED to?
It would be neat to REALLY see the country like that?
What IF they couldn't afford a Truck?
The wagon WAS really nice.  It had a completely enclosed (clear plastic) front that they had some Amish make for them.
Don't you think it would be really nice to just live that simply?  No bills & debts?

Hmmm, wow, we have come a LONG way in the past 2 years in our way of thinking!  Today, we ran the truck to get some new tires before Honey had to go to work.  We traveled only 10 miles west, and we saw them setting out for the day (8 or 9 miles west of where they were at noon yesterday).    Indeed 2 big paint horses pulling a covered wagon & leading a third paint horse.

I know that we get LOTS of questions about why we have chosen our way of life & finishing cattle.  I am constantly defending my choice to harvest our calves younger & at 1000# instead of the 1300# (FAT) cattle.
It is wonderful that Grass-Fed & Pastured Beef is becoming more widely known!  (Even our Banker yesterday knew about grass-fed beef!)

If I had to make choices again about downsizing & completely changing our operation 2 years ago ...... Would I do it the same?  YES!!!  I might change some details, but the BIG picture would stay the same.  We'd still be in debt, but, we'd still be cattle ranchers.
We'd still have to have off farm jobs.
We'd still be moving towards more grass & less corn.
We'd still be working towards raising ALL of our own feeds (but we'd still buy our outside feeds from our neighbors)
We'd still have our wonderful Maine-Anjou cows!

And yes, Freedom would still get loose on a regular basis, no matter how many new knots we tie on her *locked* gate.  (She was in the front yard again this morning)


I'm off to work on our website & get some prices up, so drop me a note ebersolecattleco(at)yahoo(dot)com if you're interested in learning more about our fall GRASS-FED beef & setting up a payment plan to reserve your beef!

I hope you have a great day!  The sun is shining & we're off to go play in the barn.

~Shanen - Mamma to the Momma Cows @ the EbersoleCattle Co

Fall calves are being weaned.  Its nice when you wean fall calves this time of year, they've mostly weaned themselves.  Not much bawling, or crying, because they've naturally weaned themselves.  They've been on grass & hay all winter with their cows, so they are great foragers.  We like to keep them on the cow through the winter to help them learn to forage & keep drinking from thier mamas.  The extra protien from the milk keeps them gaining a little weight & be healthier calves.

I LOVE our fall-calves.  They don't take much work when they're born & are quite easy to wean.  Another reason that they get along great after weaning is because they will stay on grass.  We try to keep all of our Fall Calves for 100% Grass-Fed Beef.

We don't have a big group of Fall-Calvers, but they're a nice little group.  This year we have 12 extra Fall calves.  So..... I'm having a special on our Grass-Fed Beef.  If you reserve your Grass-Fed Beef now, you will recieve a 5% discount.  These calves will finish in Late November. 

I encourage you to keep checking back.  Each calf that is reserved will be updated with their growth & progress on this blog.  By reserving your beef now, you'll get to watch your calf grow & see the beautiful pastures where they reside.

I look forward to talking with you!!

Sorry for the bad picture, it was taken this morning at dawn.  Beautiful soggy morning, but bad light.

~Shanen Momma to the Mama cows @ the Ebersole Cattle Co

If you Facebook check out our page!

If you Twitter, you can follow me as GreenRanchMom

Kelsey, (the red, horned cow pictured) is 17 years old this year.  That may not seem old to you.  But the average age of a cow is 6 years old.  Most cows are culled at or before age 8.  A 10 year old producing cow is amazing!

So, Kelsey being 17 is un heard of!  I will admit that this year Kelsey is open (not pregnant).  She has produced 13 calves.  Wow.   She has definately earned her keep.  Here at the Ebersole Cattle Co that means that she has earned her keep for the rest of her life.  She will get to live out her days "Happy as a Cow" on the pastures of our ranch.  She is in a special pen this year, so that she can get extra feed & be extra comfortable.  Her only job is to "train" the younger heifers to come to me when I call them, or shake a bucket.

Kelsey is also our "Lead Steer Cow" when we drive the cows to and from pasture.  She has been around so long that she knows where we are going.  She knows that when we get there, we will have fresh pasture or treats!  Kelsey will also hop in the trailer if you leave the trailer gate open.  She knows that a trailer ride means new feed, or a new bull, or going home for the winter.  It might also have a little grain in it.

Needless to say, Kelsey isn't our only old cow.  We have about 15 cows that are older than 10.  They all get a little extra hay in the winter, but they are all pretty fertile.  We only had one other old cow come up open.  She is also 17, but pretty Camera Shy.

If you want to know how well a cattlemen is doing, take a look at their cows, they will tell you!

Shanen - Momma to the Mama cows at the EbersoleCattleCo

ps, our new website is up and running (well walking, I'm adding new stuff each day!)

Wow! What a day! Yesterday, we pregnancy checked our cows.  What this means is that we worked them through the chute and our veterinarian checked if they were pregnant, and thier estimated due date.

WELL, the news was great!  We checked 65 of our spring calving cows and only had 4 open cows!  That is pretty good!  Especially considering that 2 of the open cows were 14 and 12 years old.

This means that Lenny, IS a great bull, he bred all of the cows possible, and made them pregnant!!  We did try to Artifically Inseminate about 45 of these cows, but the rate of conception with AI is usally about 70-80% so Lenny had the opportunity to breed lots of cows this summer.

This also means that our cows were healthy and happy, so they were ready to breed, while nursing large calves.

So, I'm glad to say that we won't have too much extra hamburger, and we will have ots of beef calves growing for next year.

If you think you might be interested in beef next summer and fall, drop me a line, and we'll save a calf to finish just for you!

You can get pictures or stories about your calf.

Hope you have a day as happy as mine is!  (I don't have to sell too many cows because they're open!!)  I'm still trying to find a little pasture to keep our old cows, and let them live out their life because they've been so productive and helpful for the Ebersole Cattle Co and our family!

Shanen - Momma to the Mama cows at the Ebersole Cattle Co

Our new website is almost done, so if you'd like take a look, but remember, I'm still working on it!!

www.ebersolecattleco.com

Life on the ranch is good if you're an Ebersole Bull.  Lenny is our top herdsire (Bull).  He is 6 years old this year.

Lenny was born here on the Ranch.  Lenny was actually a bottle calf.  He was the first calf for a very good looking heifer.  He was delivered without any problems, but sadly, the heifer hemmoraged & died.  So, we had a little bottle calf.  Lenny was a great little calf & drank from a bottle right away.  He thrived & would follow us anywhere.  When the time came to sell him, I couldn't.  I was too attached!  My husband tried and tried to convince me that keeping this calf for a bull would not be good, because he was a pet & could be too aggressive as a full grown bull.  But, he was my calf & he was a GOOD calf.  He grew amazingly well for being a bottle calf & he was bred great too!

Since we didn't sell him, and another sire died, he was turned out into the pasture with some girls (cows).  He was out back up bull until 2 years ago and our oldest sire died.  WOW!! We missed the boat with Lenny.  Our first calf crop out of just him were amazing!!  So far we have had 2 State Fair Champions AND  2 American Royal Champions!  In addition, the rest of his calves have grown great and increased our weaning and yearling weights.

Lenny is still a pet.  One of our favorite Lenny stories is the day we were 20 acres from the house & saw that Lenny had a sore eye.  We had taken a the truck out to fix fence and check cows that day.  Of course when we checked the truck we didn't have a halter OR a rope. UH OH!  Wait....we do have an electrical cord!  Think it will work??  Welllll, it IS Lenny.  Lets try it.  Walked back to the bull.  Beau rigged u the cord like a rope and took two swings & caught him with a hoolihan (backwards swing)!  WOW!  The cord held when he tried to walk away too!  So we walked up to him & looped it around to make a halter.  Then the fun part.  Did I mention that at this time he was 4 years old & hadn't had a halter since he was weaned at 6 months??  And that we were down in a big gully?  Well, Lenny did great!  We led him out of the ditch and up the big hill and over the next 20 acres I walked him while Beau went the 4 miles to the house and grabbed the trailer.

Needless to say, Lenny is MY favorite bull!

Right now, Lenny is 20 feet from my window in the pasture, and has been pretty close all day.  Poor guy is bored.  All the spring calving cows have been bred for a while.  He was turned out with a group of Fall calving cows 2 months ago.  Now, he's ready to go the barn.  His hanging around the house is telling me that all the cows are bred.  I bet he's right. 

So, tomorrow morning, I will open the gate & Lenny will follow me (and my bucket) to the barn.  There he'll stay this winter with a nice warm shelter & as much hay as he wants. 

Yes, it is nice to be Lenny the Bull at the Ebersole Ranch!

If you are interested in some great beef, we are now taking reservations for summer harvested beef.  Send me a note to ebersolecattleco@yahoo.com

THANKS!! And I hope you enjoyed my Lenny story!

Shanen, Momma to the Mama cows at the Ebersole Cattle Co

Well, we live in the middle of nowhere.  When I drive out to go check cows, this is my view for about 2 miles.

I enjoy living out in the country, but it is hard to find good help.  But, having a family farm, means that I DO have some help.

My help is little right now, but they're learning!  My Cowgirl is great.  She can open gates, and with the help of a good dog, she can move cows pretty good!

These are the happy beef out in our pasture!  These cows and calves live the good life!! They get to graze and walk and move to new pasture each week.

Now is the time of year when we are harvesting GROUND BEEF!  So, I have put some of our Ground Beef Bundles on SPECIAL!!  I have added some new bundles of 50#.  If you live in Iowa or within 50 miles of any Iowa Border, I will ship your beef for free (you have to call me).

If you do call my cell, I might even throw in a discount for a reservation of a Refrigerator Sized Bundle of ALL Steaks this week.  Call me and reserve your Winter BEEF Quarter this week.  I'll make it worth your time!

Enjoy the view!  I get to see it first hand, as I go check cows.

Shanen-Mama to the Momma-Cows at the Ebersole Ranch

WOW!! This summer has flown by!!  State Fair is over, and I'm ready for an Indian Summer (or a continuation of our cool summer).

Fair went well.  My little cowgirl showed her first calf at State Fair & did a great job!  She had Reserve Champion Winter Calf with her heifer.  Freedom (the heifer) did great and ate well the entire week.  I'm a nervous Mama and always worry excessively about my animals when we take them off the farm.  The Winter Bull we took (ULTIMATE 879U) was Champion Winter Bull.

So, it was a pretty good week!  We had fun at the fair too!

The kids & I rounded up our escape artist of a Red Beef Calf this morning and took him to the locker.  All went well, and he followed me right into the trailer without any stress. 

This is SO EXCITING!!!! Why, you may ask???

Well, this means that "I DID IT!"  I sold all of our SpringBorn Beef Calves!! And I have all of our Fall Born Calves pre-ordered!

This is AMAZING to me!!!  I knew that if I took care of our calves well, treated them with respect and love, that other people would know this and also want to enjoy our beef.  In the past we have only raised a couple of select beef calves for us and our family.

So, we are now planning next years beef herd.  We have been carefully selecting our beef calves and replacement heifers that we will keep for next year.  These animals are of the highest quality with the best mama cows.

If you want to reserve your beef for next year, now would be a great time!  You could even come to round up day, and enjoy a beautiful day out in the pasture moving the pairs to the hilltop and bringing them home to wean.

This is also a wonderful time of year because our fall cows are starting to calve.  We have to drive very carefully out in the pasture, so that we don't accidentally find a new calf in the tall grass.  It is so cute to see a little head peeking thru the tall grass while mama grazes nearby.

I hope you are all enjoying the summertime weather!

Shanen : )

Mama to the MamaCows at EbersoleCattleCompany

Buy Great Beef at http://www.localharvest.org/store/M24259

It's summer Show Time! We always have a couple of really great heifers to show at some shows through the summer.

Here is my oldest little Cowgirl with her heifer "Freedom".  This picture was taken at her very first show a couple of weeks ago.  They were named Grand Champion New Calf Crop.

This year we will also have a Fall born bull at the Iowa State Fair.

We'll have tons of fun showing our animals and helping our kids learn.  Right now, my Cowgirl gets up at 5am and goes outside with her Dad to wash her heifer and feed her every day.

I think that this kind of dedication to our animals and hard work will serve her well in her future.

If any of you are coming to the Iowa State Fair, drop us a note so that you can come pet a calf or meet us and reserve your Winter Beef now.

We have 3 beefs that have not been spoken for yet, and we will reserve now for Winter Delivery (you can pick a date from November thru February).

I hope y'all are enjoying your summer and having fun in the sun!!

Well, it is that time of year.  HARVEST TIME.  We have been busy AI'ing cows, and making sure that all of the calves are healthy on pasture.

And feeding the beef.  The beef have been growing great and we have 2 calves that are finishing size.  All of the beef that has been sold is currently "aging" at the locker.  These steers will be aged for 21 days to get the best flavor and tenderness.

I do have 1 more steer that is finished and just needs to find a home in a couple of people's freezers.

So, if you want great beef, with GREAT flavor and tenderness, drop me an e-mail and I will get you a very great price!

Hope the spring rains have treated you well!!

Shanen : )

Well, calving season is REALLY here!  We are almost half way through the season.  We now have our first group sorted so we can start breeding them.

Last week we were able to turn the GRASS FED BEEF calves out to pasture.  They are still supplemented with hay, but the grass is starting to grow.  Such a beautiful sight!  Calves grazing and foraging is a wonderful sight after such a long winter.

Here's a cute picture of a little one who was born on a cold rainy night, and was escorted into the house to warm up.  In the morning, I awoke to him trying to open the door to come IN my kitchen.  He didn't want to stay in the laundry room.  We took him back out to mama, and he drank like a pro!  It's always my worry that I have touched them too much, and then its a ton of work to get the cow to readily accept them again.  Not this mama, she wanted him the second we pulled him (on the sled) into the barn.  YEAH!!

You can see, by the calf in my house (one of many) that we REALLY care for our cattle.  We give them the BEST care possible!

All of our Spring BEEF has been sold, but we do have some fall beef still available!  Stop here and take a look.  We would love to customize your order of a full share of beef.  We can make sure you get the specific cuts and sized packages that YOUR family will enjoy!  We deliver to Omaha, Kansas City and the Quad Cities.  So, odds are, if you are within 300 miles of us, we can make a stop in YOUR area to deliver some fantastic beef.

As always, if you are in the area, just drop me a note and you can stop by the Ranch and see the calves and cows.  We even have a bottle calf you might get to feed, and the chickens ar making plenty of extra eggs if you need any. 

Happy Easter!

Well, spring has sprung on the ranch.  That means cows mooing in the pasture to new calves, babies everywhere, and new grass. 

We have had some grass start to grow, and are looking forward to new entirely green pastures in about 2 weeks.  The AI season has begun and we are planning to breed several hundred head of cows for other cattlemen in the next couple of weeks.

I am enjoying my time away from 20 buckets of feed for the calves.  All of the Corn-fed calves are now on self feeders, and thus we only have to fill them about once a week.  The replacement heifers will be on grass soon and we won't have to feed them as much either.

We have sold all of the calves except those we will make into beef, so speak up soon if you would like to try some of our great beef!

If you would like to stop by the Ranch and see the baby calves, call and I will set up a time.

First of all, sorry for all of the time away from blogging.  Hope all y'all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We have 3 new puppies!!!  There are only three, because Rosie wasn't supposed to get bred this time, but Chilli, (our blue heeler working dog) couldn't help but take his girl for a 2 hour run one day.  Theese dogs will be great workers and family members.  If you are interested, just drop us a line.

Meanwhile back at the ranch...We have been busy!!!  We realised in early in December, that the Tax Man was gonna get us this year if we didn't act fast.  You see, he doesn't like it when you sell a large ranch and downsize.  Even if you use all the cash to pay off debt and purchase the new farm.  So, after a couple of meetings with our CPA, we decided to increase our cowherd!   YEAH!!  We don't have to run as many outside cows (cows other people own).  So a shoppin we went.

We bought 15 new cows at two Maine-Anjou dispersal sales.  And, we also purchased 18 new Angus cattle from Werner's in Diagonal.  With some heifers, we bought at some local sales, we have increased our herd by 40 head.  I can't tell you how excited I am for my new girls to calve!!

Our barn finishing touches are coming along, and we will soon have lights and our waterer pads poured.

We have a couple of beef that will be harvested on Tuesday.  We will have about  800 total pounds of LEAN ground beef.  YEAH!!  I have a hundred pounds that isn't yet spoken for, so if you would like to try our beef before you join our CSA, just drop me a note, and I'll arange shipping.

More stories and pictures to arrive soon  : ))

Shanen

First, I have to give credit where credit is due.  This post is inspired by The Beginning Farmer.  Her blog post inspired me to ask y'all the same question. "What is the main thing you would like people to know about your agricultural word?"

I have run itno the same problems as she has.  You would be (or maybe not) amazed by the amount of people that think that Ranchers and Farmers are hurting our environment and the earth.

I am amazed that people say that it is wrong to raise cattle for beef.  So, if you aren't supposed to make that steer into beef, what are you supposed to do with it??  Beef cattle were put on this earth for exactly that reason.  I might even argue that dairy cattle are supposed to become our food once their useful life has run out. 

I believe that we aren't doing Gods work if we don't utilize all of the beef that was put on this earth.  I also believe that most Ranchers and Farmers improve their environment.  We do this for many reasons, most of them profitable, and some for our future generations.

I would like the general public to really understand all of the precautions we go thru to care for our land. 

1 - Personally, we make sure that we leave timber areas tall grass areas.  We leave these areas so that our cows will have sheltered areas to lay in, and calve in, during the winter. 

2 - We don't tear up the land and we don't overfertilize the ground creating run-off to the streams and rivers.  We need those streams for our cows to drink, so why would we pollute them?  We need that topsoil to grow great grass and feed for our cows, so why would we damage it?  We go to great lengths to preserve the earth and improve the dirt so we can improve the grass and grow more beef.

3 - If beef is grown and harvested carefully, it doesn't hurt the animal in ANY way.  That may sound wierd, but its true.  If you raise your beef cattle in a clean and dry environment, they are comfortable and eat, and grow very healty.  If you move them to the harvesting location slowly and smoothly, and you then restrain them properly, they won't feel the pain.  It will (and should be) done smoothly and instantly, to prevent suffering.  In addition, a facility that is so careful with the live animal will (and should) take those same precautions to handle the meat carefully and cleanly, thus preventing harm to the people that eat it.

I know that this may seem a little off, from my usual stories, but I was inspired.  I hope y'all will chime in and tell us what you want people outside of agriculture to know about what you do.  I look forward to hearing from everyone!

Remember, high quality beef is GOOD for you!  And its good for the cattle and our earth.

We still have 2 shares of Grass-Fed beef and 2 shares of Corn-Fed beef.  Send me a note to reserve your shares today and set up your pay-as-it-grows plan.            Shanen : )

A detailed description of "what is a share of our beef?" and how we determine prices for our beef shares.   This post is very long and detailed.  I will have more Cow Stories later this week.

The cows are out on pasture.  First, sorry I took a little time-out from blogging.  The business aspect of moving the Ranch has gotten to me, and stolen all of my time.

We had our first real snow here in southern Iowa this Sunday.  It was beautiful!  However, as you know, I don't like cows and claves in dry lots.  It makes for sick critters, and since we don't use antibiotics, we don't like to do it.  So, out they went.  All of 'em.  They love it!  They run and play and have fun foraging thru the snow.  They bed down at night in the deep grass, and down into a low spot with trees.  It is so pretty at night with all of the white snow reflecting the dark cattle bedded down into it.

It is also fun, because that means that I get to call the cows in to feed  and check them.  In the pasture, I shake and bang buckets together and call "come BAAAAASSSS".  Once the first cow hears me, she sticks her head in the air and bellows.  Everybody looks, and starts coming for me.  Some at a run and others slowly ambling along.  After a few days, they get smart and start to run,  because I only feed two to three buckets, and the "pigs" eat the biggest share.   Then the work begins.  Any cow that doesn't come up, gets checked.  If I have my munchkins with me, out in the truck we go, if not, maybe a horse.  Mostly the other cows are just relaxing and enjoying the pasture. No sick or hurt ones yet!

Now, for a short note on the business side of things.   One of the most heartwrenching things for me is taking calves to the sale barn.  I don't like it!  It is conventional farming at it's worst!!  The calves are penned with other calves to be sold together.  Then, after they are sold, they're pushed in semi-trucks with strangers to go who knows where, and be fed in whatever way is cheapest.  The heifers are implanted (hormone implants in their ears) to keep them from cycling, and the steers are implanted to keep them growing like bulls. (I HATE IMPLANTS!! and I rarely use that word).  Then they are shipped again and sent to a packing house and harvested and handled very disrespectfully.

So, this is what I've been trying to figure out.   How do I expand my beef production, so I can keep everyone that doesn't meet the quality to be kept as a cow or a bull?

So, ITS SALE TIME!!!  I would love for this to work!!!  I want to sell shares of 8 more calves by the time we have to take them to market in the beginning of January.  Please, if you are at all interested in the highest quality, most humanely raised beef possible e-mail me.  I will be selling ground beef for a 10% discount, and beef shares for a 15% discount.

I also lowered our base prices to reflect the current markets.  Hurry, before markets go back up, and I have to cave to my husband and increase them again.

I have also made a great "buy-as-it-grows" plan.  You would place a small down payment and recieve some ground beef at that time (to give you a great tase of what's to come) and then you would make installment payments as the beef grows.   This will allow me to make our farm payment in January and pay for feedstuffs as we need them.  I think this arrangement would work best for all of us.  And most importantly to me (and the calves), I won't have to take these calves to the sale barn!

I know that you want the highest quality beef.  So don't go to the store, come to the producer.  That way, you get the best value, and the calves will get the best care!

I hope to hear from you, and find a beef package that meets your needs and budget.   ~Shanen

Well, life on the ranch has started to settle down again.  The pairs are still locked in the pens, but there are fewer every day. 

We have begun to pair out the fall calvers to the pasture again.  You see, because of the heavy rains and floods this fall, we didn't tag the calves born this fall.  So, we have been pairing them up and moving them across the road to pasture behind the house.

The spring calves look wonderful, and are doing great!!   We have separated the grass fed calves and have them eating hay very well.  Theese calves are the biggest and oldest of the bunch, so hopefully they will still finish (be ready for harvest) by June.  They are also very healthy during this critical time of weaning.

The rest of the spring calves have started eating creep feed and will hopefully be weaned this week or next.  They are eating well, and the extra vitamins and minerals we put in the creep feed really help them stay healthy.

We have one full share of Grass Fed Beef still available.  If you would like to reserve a portion of this calf, please e-mail us ebersolecattleco@yahoo.com.  I do have some grass fed ground beef in the freezer that I will be putting on sale, so I can also ship this to your house. 

If you haven't ever tried grass fed ground beef, you should!!  I can guarantee that this beef is leaner than any you have ever browned before!  There is no grease in the pan when you brown this beef.   Ground beef is an excellent way to try grass fed beef and you get the benefits of all the extra nutrients that grass fed provides, no fat and TONS of flavor.

If you are interested in great tasting Iowa corn fed beef, email me (ebersolecattleco@yahoo.com) to reserve your share.

By the way, I love your comments, and look forward to hearing from all of you.  Keep checking to see what new antics are happening to me during my life on the ranch.

Shanen : )

 Yes, this is a story from Sunday's Moving cows and yes, Beau was taught a lesson.  But it was Very Funny, (at least I can admit it now).  And of course, you can laugh!  I always do!

Thankfulness.  That word is a mouthful, but the things it brings to mind are simple.  God. Family. Farm. Cows. Horses. Nature. Natural.

I am thankful for all of theese things and each one is dependent and brought to us by the others on my thankfull list. 

God gave us our family, and gave us to our families.  We need to remember that without Him, none of theese things are possible.

Our families are a gift from God and we need to treat them as sacred gifts.  We need to make sure that we are always, ALWAYS thankful and loving towards our families.

Cows are also a special gift we are entrusted with.  We show our respect and appreciation for these cattle by lovingly raising them for their intended purposes.  Wonderful beef and great mothering (or siring) abilities.  We should all treat them with nothing but the utmost respect and care for the entire time we have them, including their harvest.  This means we should also enjoy all the beef and byproducts entirely and not waste anything.

My horses are my wonderful luxury.  I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity at a young age to enjoy the love of a horse.  That pony was (and is) my best friend through all of those rough adolescent years.  I am so thankful that he was there to listen to all of my problems, and to help me learn to love each and every animal on the planet.

I am thankful for nature.  This sounds simple and plain, and that is just the way I mean it.  I love each and every sound and thing in nature (even the annoying Asian LadyBugs).

I am thankful that we are natural.  I love that we can put a calf back in his natural environment (grass) and it will grow and mature into natural, wonderful beef.  I love natural pasture and letting nature show us what we need to do to improve. I am thankful that God made it natural for us to love him and life on the ranch.

I am also thankful to the wonderful, creative people that help take care of us and help us to provide natural grass fed beef through a website like this.  Thank you!

I hope all of you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving and stay safe!

Shanen

Just another funny story of life on the ranch and the things a wonderful smart pony can do that he's learned in his 23 years of life.

Sunday was a big day and we did accomplish alot!  After the cows were finished, we moved the Mares and weaned the colts.  Again, it may not sound like much, but it is usually a very difficult task.

We stopped at the house and the guys tightened their cinches and I haltered the stud and hopped on the 4-wheeler.  We then went looking for the mares.  Our mares are kept behind the house in a 160 acre pasture.  As expected they were at the far corner of the pasture.  Koda (our stud horse) followed the 4 wheeler great and we went back about 100 acres and finally saw the mares.  Koda was very excited!  He was still respectfull and we circled and started heading back to the house.  The mares spotted him and came at a run.

I wish someone else had been helping and could have taken pictures because it was quite a sight.  Imagine 30 Mares and Colts at a run following you.  Manes flowing behind them, some playing and bucking, and horses playing tag.  It was beautiful!! 

We crossed the creek, 5 horses wide and made it up to the tricky part, the gate....  You see, after we go out this gate, there are no fences.  We have to go thru a small paddock and cross the road to try to lead them into the corrals.  Beau and Branden were on their horses bunching the Mares together and trying to keep up.

A short tenative pause at the gate on my part, and out we went.  30 horses went out in the open.  They followed me well across the road and right into the pen!!! YEAH!!!  WE DID IT!!!

You see, usually this takes at least 8 people to block the road and help funnel the unbroke mares and colts into the right pen.  Not anymore!!

Then we slowly started sorting mares from their colts.  This is a very trying and traumatic thing for some of the mares.  The don't want to leave their colt, or any other colt alone.  Even though they are only separated by a fence, they still don't like it.  All of the sorting went well, with only one small cut on a colt.

Today (Tuesday)  the colts are still upset and not eating.  This is not good...  I put a couple of old geldings (they got out of their pasture, another long story) in with the colts to teach them to eat from the Hay bale.  This should help them to get more comfortable with eating hay.

We will sell half of our colts, so if you are interested in foundation bred Quarter Horses keep stopping by my blog and you will see pictures as I can get them.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy my stories from the Ranch!

Remember, we still have a couple of Beef Shares available and we will customize them to fit your family.

Shanen : )