Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a two-part series on caring for older horses during winter, focused on feeding them. The second installment will run on Jan. 1, focused on keeping them comfortable.

Editor’s note: This is the second installment of a two-part series on caring for older horses during winter, focused on keeping them comfortable. The first installment ran on Dec. 18.

Cattle have a large digestive tract. Body weight varies, depending on whether the tract is full or empty. Gut fill depends on how much the animal has eaten or exercised, or how far it has been hauled. Morning weights, when cattle are relatively empty because they’ve been resting instead of e…

Over the past 50-odd years our kitchen has occasionally been an intensive care unit for baby calves. Some needed warming in cold weather or emergency treatment after a traumatic birth or during acute illness. Premature babies that were too fragile to be outdoors spent days or weeks in the house.

Editor’s note: This is the second installment of a two-part series on a very special saddle. The first installment ran on Nov. 6.

Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a two-part series on a very special saddle. The second installment on passing the saddle through several generations will run on Nov. 20.

Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a two-part series on handling spooked horses. The second installment will run on Oct. 23.

Editor’s note: This is the second installment of a two-part series on cattle handling. The first installment ran on Sept. 11.

Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a two-part series on cattle handling. The second installment will run on Sept. 25, offering tips on sorting cattle.

Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part series on building and maintaining fences. Part II will run on Aug. 14.

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a two-part series on building and maintaining fences. Part I ran on July 31.

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a two-part series on an exceptional ranch horse named Surrocco. Part I ran on June 5.

Rattlesnakes are plentiful on most western rangelands and pastures during summer, and sometimes people, pets, horses or livestock get bitten. A few years ago my son was bitten on the leg when pushing through thick brush to get some cattle out of the creek bottom where they were not supposed …

Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part series on an exceptional ranch horse named Surrocco. Part II will run on June 19.

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a two-part series on Patton, a heeler cow dog that lost his legs and continues to work cattle on wheels. Part I covered his accident and ran on May 8.

Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part series on Patton, a heeler cow dog that lost his legs and continues to work cattle on wheels. Part I covers his accident. Part II will run on May 22.

For centuries, horsemen have been using teeth as a means to help determine a horse’s age. The baby teeth come in at certain times, are shed and replaced by permanent teeth at certain times, and then the permanent teeth show aspects of wear that can help you determine how old the horse is.

There’s not much more frustrating than discovering that your four-wheeler or ATV won’t start when you are fixing fence in the far pasture and it’s a 2-mile hike home, or you drove out to check on the calving cows and it quits on you. Being able to do basic repairs on the job, on the ranch — …

Alan and Leslie Alexander, owners of Hang’n A Cattle Company near Pasco, Washington, lost six registered Charolais cattle this summer during a lightning storm. The cattle were on rented pasture about 15 miles away from their ranch.

Editor’s note: This is the final installment of a four-part series on Shiner Ranch in Idaho’s Lemhi Valley. It focuses on using horses to deliver hay to livestock.

Many ranchers have raised calves on bottles. It might be a twin, or a heifer’s calf that isn’t accepted by its mother, or a calf whose mother died. The important thing, if it’s a newborn calf, is to make sure it had colostrum within the first hours of life (from its own mother or from anothe…

Editor’s note: This is the third part of a four-part series on Shiner Ranch in Idaho’s Lemhi Valley. It focuses on the ranch’s draft horses.

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a four-part series on Shiner Ranch in Idaho’s Lemhi Valley. It focuses on the Yearian family.

Editor’s note: This is the first part of a four-part series on Shiner Ranch in Idaho’s Lemhi Valley. This installment focuses on the family’s history.

Editor’s note: This is the third part of a three-part series on a Wyoming rancher who still uses draft horses in his operation. This installment focuses on horse breeding.

Cattle health is influenced by many factors including nutrition, environment, stress, exposure to pathogens, etc. Going into winter, cattle should be in good body condition and have adequate forage.

Many horses get a vacation during winter, yet these months can be a fun time to ride, if you and your horse are prepared. Deep snow, slippery mud, ice or frozen ground can be treacherous. Bare feet have better traction than most shoes; the sharp edges of the bare foot can cut into the snow o…

Editor's note: This is the first part of a three-part series on a Wyoming rancher who still uses draft horses in his operation. This installment focuses on haying with horses and feeding with teams. Future installments will run Dec. 27 and Jan. 10. 

There are basically only two kinds of bits — the snaffle (with no shanks) and the curb (with shanks). Plus, there’s the Pelham, which combines a snaffle and curb, but there are hundreds of different variations on these two basic types. A so-called double bridle, used by some English riders, …

A few months ago, I saw a photo of an old barbed-wire fence with each wire held in place by duct tape. I’ve never resorted to duct tape, but I’ve used other unusual methods to patch a fence.

Iain Aitken is passionate about Luing (pronounced ‘Ling’) cattle and their traits that make cattle-raising easy. He and his wife Rowena have 200 head of this Scottish breed on their farm in Manitoba.

Fluid and electrolyte loss may lead to fatigue, muscle spasms and cramps, thumps (spasm of the diaphragm muscle, triggered by a decrease in calcium and potassium), dehydration, or heat stroke in horses that work hard in hot weather. Dehydration from sweating can interfere with the body’s abi…

High summer temperatures can present problems for working horses. Temperatures above 80 degrees increase the risk for heat stress or heat stroke if relative humidity gets above 50%, with no breeze. Under these conditions, a horse has difficulty cooling himself, since sweat does not evaporate…

There can be advantages to using several species (cattle, sheep, goats) to utilize certain pastures. In the past 30 years, there has been a lot of research on the use of sheep and goats to control noxious weeds and brush without chemicals. Bret Olson, department of range, Montana State Unive…

Horse blankets are most often used in winter, but sometimes lightweight “fly sheets” are used during the summer to protect horses from biting flies. Show horses are sometimes blanketed for turnout to keep them cleaner if their pen gets muddy. A sick horse may need to be blanketed during incl…

There are times you might need to haul a mare and foal, or multiple broodmares with foals.

“Lupine calves” are an example of what can happen when certain plant toxins are ingested by a pregnant cow during pregnancy.

A child’s first horse should be safe, trustworthy, patient and dependable.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two parts on rabies in horses and cattle.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of two parts on rabies in horses and cattle.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two parts on stereotypies in cattle.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of two parts on stereotypies in cattle.

A crossbreeding experiment that became a “breed” is the bison-cattle composite called the Beefalo.

Innovative breeders in the western U.S. and Canada have been experimenting with bison-cattle crosses for a long time.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two parts on frostbite in cattle.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of two parts on frostbite in cattle.

Gerald and Pat Vandervalk of Clareshom, Alberta, Canada, solved the challenges of winter water for their cattle by utilizing numerous springs on their ranch.

An “eye in the sky” can be a big help when you need to locate missing cattle or check fences or water sources in a pasture.

Ranch families have great faith — in God, and each other — and a great sense of responsibility to the animals they take care of.

There are many options today when selecting syringes for vaccinating or medicating livestock — many more than were available 50 years ago. The dose guns, disposable syringes and pistol-grip, multidose syringes are standard tools we take for granted, but they are relatively new inventions.

There are many options today when selecting syringes for vaccinating or medicating livestock — many more than were available 50 years ago. The dose guns, disposable syringes and pistol-grip, multidose syringes are standard tools we take for granted, but they are relatively new inventions.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last of three parts on the importance of windmills.