Ranch

I am applying for a job at a horse stable and was wondering if any previous experience is needed? Would I just muck out stalls and brush down the horses or could I do more. Would they let me hack if I hadn’t ever had riding lessons but can ride well?

First you mention stable, then you mention ‘ranch’. The definition is vastly different.

If you’re talking about a working ranch, you’d better be prepared for HARD work. Long hours in the saddle each day, herding cattle & horses to new grazing pasture, Roping, doctoring and branding young stock (and by stock I mean COWS). Helping with births, by getting on your knees and pulling stuck cows.. You’ll have to care for your horse and tack, sleep outside in a camp most nights and eat by a campfire. Sounds like fun, but if you have to do it for months on end, year after year, for very little pay, it *might* get old.

However, if your’e talking about a stable, where people have horses in confined areas and ride recreationally, it’s a different ball of wax. Horses will need to be turned out/ in daily, groomed & tacked up. Feed will need to be made up and given out. Blanket changes, stall mucking, bucket cleaning and doctoring of legs (cold hosing, poulticing, wrapping, etc.) will all be expected. If your’e not hired to ride to exercise horses, don’t expect to be allowed to, unless you’ve made that expectation during your initial interview. Bosses get annoyed when the ‘help’ that’s there to work suddenly wants to ride all the time… Unless it’s part of your job description, don’t count on it.

My mom has decided that we are taking a family trip to a dude ranch, and while I’m excited, I would like to go somewhere with kids my age. Does anyone know a good dude ranch that generally has a lot of kids/teens? Thanks!

Gosh, there are a lot of them. A good place to start is the Dude Ranchers’ Association – http://www.duderanch.org A couple that I know are focused on teens are Lost Valley Ranch and Rainbow Trout Ranch. Also, you can always ask the ranch when you book if other teens will be there. They can let you know what week looks best to match your kid’s ages

My friend and i want to start a horse ranch and we want a state with fair weather but we don’t know which to choose so can you please help us.

btw we want one with flat lands and we want to give lessons and we want it to be like a rehibillitation center also
thanks to every one who is helping! it means alot to us!!

I live in California and there are some pretty nice places in the Temecula/Murrieta/Hemet area. Somewhat expensive, but great weather all year and close to shows like HITS. The nicest equine facilities I have ever been to was in Malibu, but that would be ridiculously expensive and not a ton of land. Northern California would also be cheaper.

To the first person who said Missouri – fair weather, my butt. I was there this past year for college and it was about a two degree average from mid fall til spring. And then it was wet and muddy and tornado-y. Some bigger shows nearby (Kansas) like the Royal. Very green and pretty when it’s not freezing, though.

Texas is alright, more expensive the closer to the coast you get. Not a load of showing opportunity.

Florida would be good. Midpriced, but a really nice show community. Nice weather if you don’t mind mugginess. Not sure if it is normal to be able to buy large parcels of land there, though.

Kentucky also would have yucky winters, but they have some really good shows.

I’ve heard that the East Coast is actually really great for riding schools. I know Virginia was super pretty driving through, although I don’t think that would be considered part of the east coast..

If you have horses then do you call it a horse ranch or a farm?

Horse ranch! A farm is somewhere produce is.. well.. produced. Unless you are breeding horses to eat,.,… it is a ranch. and it sounds way cooler anyway, cowboy

My fiance and I are getting married next year at a family-friend’s ranch. So the location we don’t have to pay for. We have the DJ situation worked out-we also don’t have to pay for that. We are only having about 60-80 guests. How much do you think our wedding will cost? Just on average if you don’t mind. We also plan on finding less expense clothing for the bridal party. (Excluding my dress- no budget on that. We’ll go all out on that lol)

A wedding costs as much . . . or as little . . . as bride and groom want it to cost.

That said . . . I suggest you check out the budget calculator at the Knot. Plug an amount you can comfortably afford into the budget calculator. It will tell you what percentage of your budget should be spent on each item. Then you look for vendors that fit your budget.

http://www.theknot.com/
The budget calculator is on the left, under "planning tools."

You write: How much do you think this wedding would cost?
How can strangers tell you that? We don’t know if you want a Monique Lhuillier gown . . . or one from the David’s $99 sale. We don’t know if you are looking for catering at $25 a plate . . . or catering at $100 a plate. Only the bride and groom involved can make those budget decisions.

Call local vendors and ask for estimates. They will be happy to provide you with estimates . . . as they hope to gain your business!

For the average cost of a wedding in your area, plug in a zip code here:
http://www.costofwedding.com/

I am starting to plan my wedding for June 2011 and am looking for unique, but affordable places to have the reception. I would really like to find a low-key privately owned ranch (as opposed the extremely expensive ‘touristy’ guest ranches around here). I came across a past wedding blog that mentioned the Fesch Ranch, it is definately something I want to check into, but is one that is never listed on any sort of steamboat wedding advertising…. so i figure there must be other options like it out there too!

Also, I have considered Thunderhead, but have heard its very expensive.. any thoughts on that would be appreciated too!

Thank you in advance for you advice!

the fesch ranch is pretty much like all of those types of wedding venues, but it is nice. here is their website http://feschranch.com/weddings-events

here are a few others in your area that are similar.

bella vista…a private estate. contact at http://www.steamboat1.com/colorado-weddings/

saddleback ranch…another private operational ranch. contact http://www.saddlebackranch.net/special_events.html

catamount ranch club is a ranch and country club where you can either opt for the rustic ranch wedding or a more sophisticated country club wedding. contact http://www.catamountranchclub.com/Weddings.aspx

as for inexpensive, the best place for wedding in your area for saving money is at the yampa river botanical park. you can rent the olympian hall for a larger group or the smaller mesa schoolhouse. they rent for 320 a day and 200 a day respectively. you can also rent areas in the botanical park for about 400 for 3 hours plus 100 for each additional hour. all of these allow you to bring in your own food and alcohol. for more information contact http://steamboatsprings.net/departments/parks_recreation/facilities/facility_rentals/

K so we are both 16, I have been riding for almost 10 years but she has only went on one trail ride and that was when she was 7. We are going to this ranch on Friday that’s really fun (I went there once for 3 days and 2 nights with my parents). It’s the same general price as a trail ride and it starts of the same but once he sees that you know what you are doing you can leave the trail and go as fast as you want as long as he can still see you and you don’t go ahead of him. Now I’m not exactly sure as to were we are going to be riding because we are only going to be there for two hours (I think that we will just be going to a field but im not sure).

Now sense I have been riding for so long you can probably guess that I love it (and you would be right) but sense my friend has never really actually ridden a horse I want her to have a really good first experience. How can I help make it so she does? How can I help make it so that it isn’t a scary ride but instead a really fun one? And what tips can I give her so that she will be more comfortable on the back of a moving horse?

Additional Info:
These horses are extremely calm and genital.
I don’t own any horses.
My mom will also be there and she has been riding for a very long time.
Charley (the owner of the ranch) will also be with us the whole time.

And for any one that is curious as to where I ride;
It is around 10 minutes from Holland Manitoba. In the middle of Brandon and Portage (but more south) and it is called Busted Boot Guest Ranch (there is a web site, google it if you want)

Wow this sounds like a really fun experience! I also totally get where your coming from about wanting your friend to have a fun time. I let my friends ride my horse, and im always nervous about something happening, but they always have a blast.

For you, i would suggest starting slowly. Make sure she has an ok position without sounding too much like a teacher. Just tell her to keep her hands and heels down, because it will safer for her, and more comfortable for her horse.

Then, just start out walking and tell her, when she feels ready, they can trot. Trot around and remember, try and keep yourself from critiquing her. Don’t even bother with mentioning posting or anything because she will just get confused and the ride will become less fun. Practice trotting for 30 minutes to an hour, and then suggest you try cantering. Remind her if she feels her horse get out of control to pull back on the reins and say whoa!

Basically, let her take the ride at her own pace. Don’t hit the trail and immediately suggest cantering! Maybe, if you really want to gallop, have her wait with your mom for a minute while you take a quick gallop across the field! This sounds like a lot a fun, and hope it turns out that way! Best of luck!

Me and my familly are going on vacation in the U.S. Probably during the spring. Does anyone know a place where we can horsback ride a lot? Maybe a dude ranch, but we dont want it to be too rustic or expensive. We also want to do some other things besides horseback riding, so maybe near water…..A house rental or guest ranch are both good. Anyone have any suggestions?

The Southeastern US is not really the place for dude rances although there are a few. They are mainly located in Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, etc…..

I want to do a horse abck riding trip in ontario. Like i want to go to a dude/guest ranch, where you take care of a horse and ride it for a few days. Any suggestions/?/

Look up "horse back riding in Ontario" on Google and see what you get. You might even find some lesson barns in your area.

Good luck!

Ok, I’m hoping someone can help me with the best option (but not too expensive, if possible)…
My parents live on a ranch up in the hills. My brother gave them a very nice pc, which they want to learn to use, and so they want Internet service. Comcast is not available on that hill but AT&T is, so my sister ordered DSL. It’s a very old ranch, so there’s only one jack, far from the guest room where the pc is, and the phone cord they provided is not long enough.
So… we ran around town looking for one, which turned into an unbelievably timely task to no avail! So now the whole wires and cables thing is driving us nuts because we all go out of town to visit my parents on a very regular basis, and the whole Internet idea sounds great to all of us. We just need to think of a better way to get online. Any suggestions???
Oh! And yes, we can just purchase a 25 or 50ft phone cord and take it the next time we’re up there, but I think I recall having problems with DSL service in the past… plus it’s not necessarily the cheapest way to go, and now we have to purchase that cord, too… What about those little antennas that pick up signals? Aren’t those better?
Pls help me because I don’t want this to become just a headache for my parents.
Thx everyone~

To be honest I think the best way to go is wireless. That way you don’t have to worry about the length of the line. Buy a wireless modem/router from your local electronics place (or at&t sells them as well) and set it up by your phone jack. Make sure your parent’s computer has a wireless card in it (if not a card is easily purchasable and installation is easy). It should take a grand total of 10 minutes to get everything up and running.