We Love: This Barb Wire Western Shirt!

This western shirt is made by Wrangler you can find it for sale here, as well as other places! I got mine as a b-day present :)

(Via)

Me and my newest horse Crawford showing off this
awesome Barb wire print shirt!

Me and Crawford again, this shirt goes great with Cowgirl Tuff jeans :)

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words: Beautiful Pride...

It's Good to be a horse :) pic by me.

This was a stud of mine. I sold him to a member of the Posse so that we could by our Dodge Truck.
His name is Navahos Lucky Chief....can't you just hear the distant Native American chants as you look at this photo? The expression on his face has a relaxing appeal to it. I can hear the raspy call of a red tailed hawk, as it circles over head...bringing a good omen to this peaceful summer day. In actuality this photo was taken in the pasture two summers ago...but the vague background, or maybe I should say lack of one helps for the imagination to run wild, like the spirit of this young stallion in the photo.

Life on the S17 Ranch: An update :)

Well to update yesterdays first post....I sold my colt, his new owner is a soon to be three year old cowgirl :) I know he will make her a great friend! 

Also, The hauler will be here Tuesday to drop off my new barrel prospect! 

Crawford, at his home in South Dakota

He is a three year old, greenbroke gelding. (greenbroke means he has been trained some, but still may lack some basic skills and usually lacks all advanced skills, that are taught with more time and training.) 

His name is FK Perfect Sunfrost, but they call him Crawford for short. 

He was born in Iowa, this is a pic of him at his owners in South Dakota, soon he will be here at our 

ranch in Oregon! :) This boy has done some traveling already...We had him vet checked and he is sound 

and ready to go. His Coggins (a series of shots, which all horses need in order

 to be allowed to travel across state lines) have been administered.

For anyone who knows barrel horses, this boy is out of  Flying Hearts Tuffy a stallion by Sun Frost, which also makes Crawford here a Nefew to the famous barrel stallion Frenchmans Guy. 

STAY TUNED, I will follow up when he gets here, and how he is doing as his training comes along :)

Picture Worth A Thousand Words: Fall time Beauty

Hey Crazy morning.... Have someone coming to look at a horse, had to make arrangements with the hauler that is bringing my barrel prospect to the ranch (tell you more about it later) now off to finish ALL the chores and get ready for the potential buyers to come. Here is a couple pics of pretty scenery around the area, I will post something later when things around here have settled down :) See ya down the trail! ~BrandedByFaith~

Photo by me

Photo by me

Double rainbow over the fields (I am still in search for those pots of gold! they must be here somewhere :)
Photo by me

We Love: Cross Boots!....For Horses!!

Skid, showing off her cross boots, which are
looking a little dirty...
(we use them ALL the time!)

Black Bell Boots

Black Splint boots.
(you can get these in a 4 pack, two for
the front and two for the back!

Red Bell Boots, you can get the splint boots in red too!

The bottom three pictures I took off the TWO PECANS TACK LLC site which is one of the many places you can buy these boots at. I bought mine from the farm and ranch store BIG R.

Besides looking good these boots are very important for horses to wear when they are asked to do strenuous exercises. The bells boots in the front help the horse front "Over reaching" (stepping their hind hoof too far forward, and clipping, or stepping on their front heal) Over reaching can cause serious lameness problems, so boots are a great precaution! Plus they help from injuring the tendons of the lower leg. You can read more about protective boots by clicking here. You can also watch this video of how to correctly put on splint boots by clicking here.

REMEBER! Take account for your horses safety, if you are counting on them to be in top competitive condition, you need to take every precaution to keep them, fit, healthy and sound! Happy Trails!

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words: Meet Skid!

Sorry for the delay today, I was having problems with my internet connection! Guess that's what you get for living out in the boonies :) lol...now on to today's post!

Meet Skid. She is my American Quarter Horse Assoc. (AQHA) registered mare. She has come a long way in the 11 months I have owned her. Skid was my barrel prospect until she went lame....we are still trying to figure out the issue with her. It may be a simple abscess. (an infection in the hoof, kinda like a really, really bad case of athletes foot) But only time, and professionals opinions will tell for sure...

Life on the S17 Ranch: What would we do without horses.

In the pictures below is a APHA I named Chief. He was a stud up until a few months before these pics were taken. We desperately needed a truck, so I sold Chief to a member of the Posse for enough to buy our Dodge diesel. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices. But Chief did not go without first touching my heart. Read below.

  One of the things I love the most is training horses. I love a challenge and the more people talk about how unbreakable a horse is, the more I am desperate to try and gentle them.

   I do not take credit for being a "Horse Whisperer" But I do try to work with them and their natural instincts. I like to think of training a horse as if it were building a house. Without a good foundation you are headed for failure down the road. There are no quick fixes that last. You have to dedicate time, meet them half way, have patience and understanding. You need to communicate with one another and understand what each other is asking. Even when you are frustrated, try to be calm, cool and collected. If you get firm, do it without getting mean or mad, and always, ALWAYS end the session on a good note... hmmm... maybe we should put these same principles towards ALL the relationships in our lives...relationships with our family, spouses, children, etc.

Horses have been my best teachers. Although I used to think I was training them, I finally realized that is was them training me. To be a kinder person, to be more patient and understanding, to be clearer with my communication.

I thank the Lord every day that he has given me such great teachers. They have always been there, listened when I needed. They rode me away from troubled times when I needed space. They have took me on many, interesting (lol), and exciting adventures. They have worked so hard to help us with the ranch chores. and given their hearts when we ask them to compete.

Without them, I would not be the Cowgirl I am.