All the Pretty Horses
If this doesn’t say I’m serious about horses then I don’t know what will
Table of Contents
Horse Leasing
Cattle Ranch
Loping through meadows
Cattle Drive
Meeting the Foals
Trap Shooting
Full-Day in the Backcountry
Wagon Ride
Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Horse Leasing
It’s official, I’m leasing my first horse!! I talked to my trainer about leasing and asked how I should prepare, since it was something I’d been interested in. To my surprise, she told me I was ready now and mentioned that Coach would be available for lease starting in August. I immediately said yes, and after a game of telephone, I met with Coach’s owners and signed the papers.
There are different types of leases, each with its own responsibilities, but they’re all a great way to test whether horse ownership is right for you and to learn what it takes without the full financial commitment. My agreement is simple: I get Coach one day a week <3
The thing about Coach is that she’s a talented reining horse. She knows all the tricks: spins, sliding stops, leg cues, you name it. My trainer even takes her to shows sometimes. Her favorite move is spinning, and she knows she’s good at what she does. The only catch is… she’s lazy. If Coach could design her perfect life, it would probably involve grazing in a pasture forever and never working another day. It takes a lot of effort to get her going, but once she’s moving, she’s excellent at what she does. And for a horse who doesn’t like to work, she is incredibly muscular!
Every week I take her out for a trail ride in the park, and I’ve been trying to sneak in some birdwatching. She doesn’t seem completely on board with this idea. I figured maybe the birds wouldn’t be as skittish seeing a horse pass by (pretend the human on top doesn’t exist), but nope, they still zip away from a distance. And honestly, it’s hard to concentrate with all the people and dogs around too.
I also tried turning her out in the pen like I’ve seen with other horses, who usually run, roll, stretch, and greet passing horses. I thought Coach would love the freedom. Instead, she just stood by the gate, staring at me with a look that said, “Please return me to my stall so I can continue eating.”
What I really need to work on with her is loping. Trotting is fine, but Coach has learned that if someone asks her to lope, she can throw in a buck or two and scare the rider into stopping. The first couple of times she pulled this on me, it worked. I was terrified. Imagine sitting calmly one second and suddenly being launched forward with nothing to catch you. I managed to catch it on video and I realized just how serious her bucks were. I thought they were lazy, half-hearted hops, but no, her legs were way up in the air. Honestly, I’m shocked I didn’t get launched. Do I qualify to enter in a rodeo now?
Naturally, I asked my trainer if this meant something was wrong physically, but she reassured me that she has assessed Coach and she is healthy. This is purely behavioral. Coach has figured out that bucking gets her out of work, and she also expects riders to lope in a certain way. If you don’t, she gets frustrated and throws attitude. My trainer told me that when she bucks, I just need to hold on and push through so she knows it won’t work anymore. Easier said than done, especially while I’m still learning. It’s a balancing act, figuring out when she’s just being stubborn versus when something is genuinely wrong.
We’ve had a few lessons dedicated to this, and while it’s been scary (especially the time she took off full-speed zigzagging across the arena when she realized I wasn’t giving in), I’ve started to see progress. I can now get her to lope short, controlled bursts without bucking, and even guide her where I want her to go. I’m really trying, Coach! And of course, she always gets her cookies and carrots after every ride for the effort <3
Cattle Ranch
"They rode out along the fenceline and across the open pastureland. The leather creaked in the morning cold. They pushed the horses into a lope. The lights fell away behind them. They rode out on the high prairie where they slowed the horses to a walk and the stars swarmed around them out of the blackness." -All the Pretty Horses
Loping through Meadows
The first ride at the ranch was loping through the meadows, divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced groups depending on how much instruction you wanted. Beginners were given detailed explanations of how to lope, intermediates got small tips but were able to do longer lopes, and advanced riders received no instruction and just went for longer stretches. I was ready to jump straight into the advanced group until they mentioned that first-timers should probably start with intermediate since they’d never gone through the meadows before and hadn’t jumped over the small ditches. The mention of “jumping” scared me a little, so I obediently joined the intermediate group, while one guy got a private advanced session with the wrangler since he’d been to the ranch multiple times.
Loping freely across a meadow without having to stay in a single-file line was exhilarating, like flying with the wind. The advanced rider later told me that on his ride, he came across an eagle perched on a fence post, and when they approached, it flew right over them, like straight out of a movie. He even showed me the photo he captured. Totally not jealous at all. When I eventually joined the advanced group, I realized the “jumps” weren’t that bad at all. The horses just stretched their strides, so it barely felt like anything. The longer lopes did push my stamina, but riding with the rhythm for longer stretches actually made it easier to settle into the saddle.
Cattle Drive
Most of the time, when we passed by the cattle on rides, they’d just stare at us curiously and not react much. But once it was time to move them from one pasture to another, they resisted a little. Some stood their ground, mooing loudly, but with a snap of the reins and a bit of pressure, they gave in and moved along. Once a few started moving, the rest quickly followed. I honestly had no idea where the gate was or if we were even pushing them in the right direction since I was riding in the back, but somehow we got them there. Watching the calves trot to keep up with their moms was adorable. The bull, though, was another story. When he stood his ground, mooed back at us, and stomped his feet, it was actually intimidating. He was massive.
The ranch also offers a week-long cattle drive experience, which I’d love to try someday. In the fall, they have to round up their cattle from the mountains, and each day the rides go deeper and deeper to find them, with earlier starts and later returns. It still ends with a warm bed and hot shower, so it’s not roughing it too much. One day, though, I think I’d like to try the version where you camp out with the herd as you go.
Meeting the Foals
We also got the chance to meet the ranch’s new foals and oh my god, they were adorable. A few were shy and tried to avoid guests, but the whole point of the experience seemed to be slowly getting them used to human touch. Win-win: the foals got desensitized, and we got to pet the babies. The draft x quarter horse foal was the opposite of shy, he adored the attention. He was also nearly twice the size of the others thanks to his draft genetics. I wanted to put him in my car and take him home.
Trap Shooting
Another unexpected activity was trap shooting! I’d never tried it before, but it turns out I love it. They drove us out to a remote part of the ranch, set up the trap machines, and let us take turns. Strangely enough, a herd of cattle passed by in the distance, completely unbothered by the gunshots. Now I need to figure out where I can try this back home.
Full-Day in the Backcountry
One morning, we packed a sack lunch in our saddlebags, trailered the horses up into the mountains, and set out for a full-day ride into the backcountry. No cell service, no internet, just nature. Since I’d love to do a trip like this on my own one day, I was paying close attention to everything and asking a bunch of questions. We passed more cattle grazing and even had to nudge a few off the trail. After a couple hours of riding, we stopped in a shaded spot by the river to rest and eat.
I thought it was the perfect moment to sketch, so I pulled out the folded sheet of paper I’d tucked into my saddlebag. Normally, I hate sketching in public because I feel judged when someone looks at a drawing before it’s finished. It’s like taste-testing a meal before the chef’s done cooking. Even if someone sneaks a glance over my shoulder, I freeze up. Some of the best sketches are captured in the moment though and I want to try more of that. For the most part everyone was very kind and just exchanged brief conversations with me about it, but there was one annoying interaction that ticked me off (but I won’t get into that). I managed about fifteen minutes, and though I’d like to add details and shading later, I’m happy with what I got. I’m glad I got to try the horseback riding and sketching combo!
Wagon Ride
The wagon ride was more fun than I expected! All I have to say is you haven’t experienced true power until you feel the pulling power of draft horses!
Overall, I’m so grateful I had the chance to experience life on a cattle ranch with such wonderful people. The ranch family went out of their way to make everyone feel welcome, with lodging, delicious meals, and various activities. Sure, it was more of a pampered version than a true working-wrangler experience, but that’s probably the best way for me to dip my toes in. The wranglers that did work on the ranch told us they were originally guests too and after years of enjoying their time at the ranch they decided to work there. I loved every minute of it and can’t wait to come back and explore more.
Cast Iron Dutch Oven
My friends gifted me a cast iron Dutch oven, and like any sane person, I decided the best way to use it was to fire up the charcoal grill in the middle of summer and cook something with it. I had just bought a beef box from the ranch that came with an assortment of cuts: high-grade steak, medium-grade steak, stew meat, roast cuts, and a few pounds of ground beef. Since you always hear about beef stew in old western campfire stories, I thought it would be the perfect first meal to try.
My family looked at me like I’d completely lost my mind as I ran back and forth for four hours tending to the fire and the pot. But the stew turned out delicious! I also baked a peach cobbler in a cast iron pan and served it with ice cream. Totally worth it in the summer heat.
