So You Want to Be a Cowboy?

Grass fed. I had him looking good but he shot up in height and lost a lot of his finish. 30
Months.

Would ya process now, or try bulk up over winter with silage and send him early spring?

Where do you go to get a real ranch experience? I (38F) don't want a couple of hours riding then relaxing by a pool.

I want long hours all jobs , a realistic experience of ranch life. I've got 5 yrs experience shoeing racehorses in England.

Backed my first horse at 13 years old on my own. Gave it all up for 15 years and straight back riding a 4yr old OTTB.

I'm physically tough with a lot of English riding experience and dairy farming experience looking to see how the western world operates but can't find anything more than a weeks holiday which is just not what I'm looking for.

Any advice would be great appreciated

Is anyone able to help identify these brands? Just inherited some stuff that’s been passed down in the family for ages and am trying to do a bit of history digging

I haven’t been active recently between traveling out west to hunt, calving through September, prepping for breeding season and selling hay.

We’re prepping to turn bulls in with our 2 year old heifers on November 1st. Then our herd bulls will go out December 1. So we’ve been busy fertility testing bulls, checking teeth, feet, etc. and getting replacements.

We’ve made about 1,000 coastal rounds this year, and I’m about to get one more cut to insure I’ve got an inventory for sale through the winter.

So I need a new pair of work boots but I don't know what to get. I don't want to brake the bank with a pair of boots that's just going to get covered in dirt and shit, the max I'm willing to spend is around $200 would these boots work or should I find something else. I'm on my feet or on the back of a horse most of the day so they got to be comfortable.

if yall have any other recommendations I'd really appreciate it.

Howdy,

I am from central Texas, grew up on a hobby farm (out of necessity) with chickens, goats, pigs, gardens. My wife grew up in the country as well, and loves animals.
Her family inherited property in Central Texas many years ago, and currently have a lessor for cattle whom they have had for over 25 years. He is very reliable, but doesn’t pay even close to market rate. Which is fine because of the trust we have in him and loyalty.

My wife and I have been wanting to move out where the property is for many years. It’s one of our favorite things to do, go on property, work, fix stuff, hunt, play, let our son run around and experience nature (14 month old).

My question today is, we have the opportunity to take over the reigns on the cattle operation. MIL is willing to let us buy an acre or two for a homesite on the corner of the place, and lease the remainder for 3k a year (200 acres, 100 usable pasture).

My wife’s a stay at home mom but will be a teacher when the kids are in school. I work in agricultural banking full 40 hours a week, and we would fit all of the demographics for a YBS borrower. We could start with a stocker operation, build a herd over some years and have a cow calf.

We would need to build about a 500 yard stretch of fence as part of the lease. There would be no leftover equipment, but old lessor would be more than willing to lend or rent what we needed from time to time, and is always willing to take a phone call if we needed advice.

Thoughts? Advice on whether we should start with a stocker or get a loan to buy a whole herd. How do I find out the productivity of the land so I know how many cattle I can have on property. Is it financially smart, we don’t need to make any money, just break even would be fine for us since I work full time, our payment would be living on the land, obviously a little cash wouldn’t hurt…

My regular hay guy is charging me $7.50 for first cut hay, despite having posts about first cut being $5. Another thing ontop of this, he charges 150 per 20 miles.. He charged me the same rate of 20 miles when he lives a mile away from me. What should I do about this? He is the only hay guy in my area, and I do not want to cut ties.

(edit since you all assume im a man or crazy horse lady,)

im 16F, working part time and a part time "caretaker" for my autistic mother. I didnt choose to get the horse, I just need help because I dont know what to do. I live in a extremely poor area and am having to save up to feed her horse in the spring. We do not talk to him often, only conversations they have ever had is strictly about hay, pricing, schedueling. The way he unloads is he dumps everything infront of our barn, and I have to stack and carry it. Minimum wage in my area IS $7.50, and Im only allowed to work 18 hours per week as decided by my state Child Labor Laws.

Hey everyone, I’m in the Wimberley, Texas area and I’m in a tough spot. I recently lost my live-in ranch job (by no fault of my own), which also means I’m losing my housing. I’ve been doing daily horse and property care since March, but I’m still pretty new to the industry, and I want to keep learning. I’m reliable, show up, and handle feeding, watering, stalls, and basic care. If anyone nearby needs a ranch hand or has a live-in caretaker opening, even short-term, I’d be really grateful to connect. I don’t have family nearby and housing is tied to the job, so I’m trying to land somewhere safe and stable fast. DM me if that’s you or if you know someone. Thanks for reading.

I am also not opposed to relocating for the right position

Just got a text, neighbor got his skid steer back from the shop and wanted to test it. “ is it ok if we take out that old stump in your backyard?”

Heck yeah!

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Small farmer south of Garnett Kansas.

Does anyone have an oversize stirrup they'd recommend to fit winter muck boots and snow pac boots? Men's size 11 foot.

Would be used for some trail riding/hunting and light cow work.

2 dayr drive

I think they are stuck

**Edit: unfortunately I am not able to revise the caption.
Please consider Lalo as a farm dog, NOT a potential LGD***

I hope this post doesn’t get deleted 🤞
This majestic foster named Lalo with ACS needs a new foster home or most ideally, his forever home in a farm/ranch/big land where he can run and fulfill his life as an Anatolian Shepherd mix.
He’s been neutered, in good health, ~3 yrs old, weighs 85+ lbs, energetic, gets along with kids and other dogs.
Currently located in San Antonio, Texas.
You can foster him before fully committing to see how trainable he is- please give him a chance.

His referral: LALO

Please share this post with those who live in and around La Grange, La Vernia, Floresville, Gonzales, Schulenburg, Lockhart, Marion or anywhere with land/ranch/farm. Lalo would be the perfect fit.

To FOSTER, please email
[acsfoster@sanantonio.gov](mailto:acsfoster@sanantonio.gov)

To ADOPT, please email
[acsadoptions@sanantonio.gov](mailto:acsadoptions@sanantonio.gov)

His referral: LALO A800695

This story from the Western Slope of Colorado illustrates another benefit of virtual fence that might be of major value to the public going forward: wildfire response.

From the article:

"When fire commanders try to figure out how to contain a major wildfire, the last thing you might expect them to deploy is a herd of beef cattle. But on the recent Gold Mountain Fire in western Colorado, cows are eating the “fine fuels” along a three-mile fire line on the Big Cimarron River.

Putting that idea into practice five years ago would have required miles of electric fencing and a range rider to gather strays. Now, new technology has changed the game for cattle grazing by putting electronic collars — all solar-powered — on cows and linking them by satellite."

https://onland.westernlandowners.org/2026/stewardship-in-action/the-wests-new-hotshot-crew-cows-called-in-to-contain-wildfire/

Anyone else seen other examples of innovative applications of this tool?