How to connect a rope to a halter.

For leading and riding.

Another lesson in understanding your horse.

See also the Pygmalion effect.

You can fit 20 bales of hay into your truck if it has an eight foot bed.  Start with four bales in V-formation.

Next, lay six bales in the valley, all with the same orientation.

Repeat the process in the rear half of the bed.

 

The finished stack will resemble a cube.

It doesn’t obstruct your side-view mirrors and if you’re not going too far, ropes and straps won’t be needed.  The feed store offers a price break at 20 bales so this is really great!

If your ranch has trees, you’ll probably want to keep a chainsaw around, along with fuel, cutting oil and a spare chain.  Some day a tree will come down, due to age, weather or disease, and it won’t be the one at the far end of the pasture where nobody goes.

That’s your driveway and gate under there.

A case like this should be handled by professionals.  It’s too much work and for an individual and too dangerous.  You’d need a boom truck, bucket truck, chipper and variety of saws.

Don’t worry though, there will be cases where you can do the work:

• A smaller tree comes down on the access road to your barn.  Use your chainsaw to cut off large branches and drag them out of the way with your tractor.  Same for the trunk.  When time permits, burn or dispose as needed.
• Low-hanging branches on one of your riding trails.  Trim them back as needed.
• Chaparral is taking over your pasture.  Cut it back with your saw and remove the stumps with your backhoe.  Or just plain dig the whole thing out in one piece.

Incidents like the one above can cost over $5000 in cleanup and repairs, and you can’t put them off due to their location.  Another reason why you want to have some cash in a savings account.

If you have the right equipment however, expenses like that can be minimized.

Originally installed as a tie point for grooming and hoof cleaning, this post is now used for scratching and rubbing.  It’s a 4 x 6 treated timber 8 foot long, cemented about 30 inches into the ground.

The metal loop at the top is known as a ‘shoulder nut ring bolt.’  The eye (above the ring) has been polished by these guys.

Tie points should be high enough and lead ropes short enough so the horse can’t step on the rope or get his leg over it.  If you’ll be around while he’s tied, then maybe you can give him a little more slack.  See if you can get him to stand quietly without tieing while you clean his feet.

If circumstances are such that you want to be able to untie him quickly, try the bank robber’s knot:

If water gets to your horses by way of PVC pipe, you’ll want to keep some tools and parts on hand for leak repairs, such as

• Valves
• Fittings
• Adapters
• Primer and glue
• Sticks of pipe
• Measuring tape
• Pencil or marker
• Hacksaw
• Sandpaper or knife

Get parts for the various line sizes at your ranch (3/4″, 1″, etc).  Keep these items in a dry place and away from sunlight.

Before you glue anything, make sure the parts are clean and dry.  Remove rough edges from where the pipe was cut.

If the leak is underground in a straight run of pipe, you won’t be able to replace the faulty section directly.  Instead, reroute the line with some elbows, to create a flexible loop that reconnects to the old pipe at the points where you first cut into it.

You can also install a tee and riser to provide a branch connection for future use.

If your system uses copper tubing, you’ll want to keep the same assortment of fittings and valves, along with a cutter, propane torch, solder, and flux.  Copper tends to be more durable than PVC so you probably won’t be making many repairs.  But pipe fitting and soldering take a little more skill compared to PVC.

Don’t forget to order a spare bulb for your UV unit.  It should be replaced annually.

If you have galvanized pipe panels with butterfly clamps, make sure the bolt head faces the area where your horses are.  If that’s not feasible, cut off the threaded end and grind smooth so your horses won’t get hurt.

You can get them at Barn Light Electric Company.

Prices have come down and lead times have shortened.

Use them to accent your barn, illuminate a hose station, or light the way to your tack room.

Don’t.

It’s a great way to corrupt your relationship, leads to bribery.

Do you have to bring cookies to catch him in pasture?  To put on a halter?  Might as well place a sticker on your forehead that says KICK ME I’M LOWER.

Watch the video on the Oatman burros, especially the action from 2:22 to 2:38 where the burro is a bit too aggressive.  Do you identify with that woman?  Who’s moving whose feet?

You want your horse to see you as his leader not a walking talking vending machine.

You want him to come to you respectfully and pay attention, not frisk you with his nose.

Don’t set an expectation of food when it’s time to work.

If you want to give him carrots, cookies and apples, put them in his grain bucket.