Well, my first full day on the ranch is done! And boy did it go by fast. First thing we did was all eat breakfast together around 7:30am. After that, Jenn and I went down to feed the bottle calves. Then I got to meet Burt, a very friendly ranch hand. He took me out with him to take a calf back to it's mother after he had been found the day before not doing too well in the bad weather. We then continued to check out all the cattle to make sure they were all healthy and to tag any new calves that were born since the day before. We only found one newborn so it got it's respectable tag number and color.
Once that was all finished, we headed to Granny's for lunch. Zach's brother, Bud, had made us all hamburger soup and it was delicious. Granny had also made frybread, which was also wonderful. We fed the calves again right after and then headed down to the barn.
There, Jenn showed me how to water down the arena and work it (sift the dirt around so it is nice a fluffy and not hard-packed). This took quite a few long hours, but we got the job done. Then she took me out to see all the saddle horses. It will definitely be fun getting to know them all.
After that, Jenn tought me a saddle lesson. Here at the DX Ranch, they have a very specific way of putting their saddles on their horses and so they wanted me to know the way they do it. I practiced it many times, but still need some more work on it. It consists of gently lowering the saddle onto the horses back in one swift motion rather than plopping it down.
We had left-overs for dinner, which were still wonderful of course. After a (rather large) bowl of ice cream, we headed out to take some bookshelves down to the new house.
Once back at the house, I was able to unpack everything and get settled into my room for the summer. It's going to be one amazing experience out here. So farewell for now my friends.
"TTFN - tata for now!" ~Tigger
Once that was all finished, we headed to Granny's for lunch. Zach's brother, Bud, had made us all hamburger soup and it was delicious. Granny had also made frybread, which was also wonderful. We fed the calves again right after and then headed down to the barn.
There, Jenn showed me how to water down the arena and work it (sift the dirt around so it is nice a fluffy and not hard-packed). This took quite a few long hours, but we got the job done. Then she took me out to see all the saddle horses. It will definitely be fun getting to know them all.
After that, Jenn tought me a saddle lesson. Here at the DX Ranch, they have a very specific way of putting their saddles on their horses and so they wanted me to know the way they do it. I practiced it many times, but still need some more work on it. It consists of gently lowering the saddle onto the horses back in one swift motion rather than plopping it down.
We had left-overs for dinner, which were still wonderful of course. After a (rather large) bowl of ice cream, we headed out to take some bookshelves down to the new house.
Once back at the house, I was able to unpack everything and get settled into my room for the summer. It's going to be one amazing experience out here. So farewell for now my friends.
"TTFN - tata for now!" ~Tigger