Western Trail Rider

07/29/2025

Diesel, who just turned 2 years old, is now under training. Two weeks ago, we started in the round pen with some longeing and learning how to pay attention when the boss gives a command. Then we moved to getting used to having things placed on his. back. From there we went to a riding saddle, then a pack saddle.

Last week we put empty hard panniers on him and went for a long trail ride through the mountains, bumping and banging into trees. He learned a little about hobbles. He's a fast learner and it's likely he will never, ever, bump his rider's knees into trees or rocks, plus he got used to noisy packs on his back.

Then, last Friday, I stepped up into the saddle for the first time. His reaction was mostly curiosity, no spooking, no bucking, just a calm, but curious demeanor. Just what I like to see. I let him wander around the round pen for awhile, then started teaching him the basic commands, go, stop, turn left, turn right, back up. I am looking forward to giving this youngster his basic training.

We'll go pretty easy, maybe a couple miles a week for another year, then a little more mileage for another year. By the time he's four years old, I will no longer be taking it easy on him and he'll take his place with his crew.

Diesel is half Rocky Mountain and half Kentucky Mountain. He has a nice gait, but his real quality shows in his character. He's full of fun, curious, loves a good scratch, and he loves people.

He's going to be a special one.

07/09/2025

Well, after a long layoff, I'm back in the saddle...so to speak.

I spent a couple hours today with the two new foals at the Barlow farm. One was born May 2 and the other May 22. Sadly, I was able to handle Lady's foal on its first morning just a little bit, but Lex's foal hadn't been touched at all until today.

I was able to get a halter on both fillies and get them started on their halter and lead training. It was a successful training session and I am very pleased.

I am hoping to get two more session in with them this week and get them to the point where the Barlow kids can halter and handle them.

05/22/2025

Lex finally dropped her foal early this morning. It's a beautiful chocolate filly. Both mom and foal are healthy. The foal is large and strong from the get-go. She's going to be a beauty. With a forehead star to boot. She will likely be registered as a Kentucky Mountain Horse, like her mom. The sire is a Rocky Mountain, Rock's Holy Moses.

05/06/2025

In case anyone has been wondering where I have been lately, I have been working in Alaska on the North Slope as a Armed Security Guard in the oil field near Prudhoe Bay. That's just about as far north as you can go on land. It was a fun experience and earned me a little fun money. Can't beat it as a retirement job. I'm home for awhile, but I'll be spending some time in Arizona in the coming months, helping my parents. I hope to get some quaility horseback time in this summer.

05/06/2025

Finally! Lady dropped her foal! A month late, but we have a beautiful little filly. This was a worrisome one, as Lady lost a foal two years ago, died at birth. This one is healthy and happy.

Now we're waiting for Lex to foal. She's due any day.

This photo was supposed to load as a video, but it didn't. I uploaded the video as a reel, so look for it there.

02/07/2025

I was just perusing my latest posts and realized I forgot to post photos of Derek's pommel bag after I finished it. Here you go.

02/03/2025

Here's where you can see just the video of the ride Derek Habel and I took in February 2024 in the Blue Range Primitive Area in eastern Arizona, one of my favorite places to ride in all the world.

This is a video of a ride a buddy of mine and I took in February 2024 in the Blue Range Primitive Area, eastern Arizona. The Blue, as it is locally called, i...

02/03/2025

I finally got around to publishing a blog post about a ride Derek Habel and I took last February in the Blue Range Primitive Area of eastern Arizona. It's my favorite part of the whole world.

Enjoy.

During February, 2024, my good friend, Derek Habel, and I made a trip into Arizona for a ride in the Blue Range Primitive Area, in southeastern Arizona. "The Blue" as the area is known locally, is one of my favorite places in all the world. It is essentially a low mountain range split by the

10/30/2024

I made this pair of chinks for a client. I was quite pleased with the performance of my new Tipmann Boss stitcher. There is a little bit of a learning curve, but it sure saves on the hands and saves a lot of time.

These are heavy-duty chinks, made of 5/6oz chrome tanned leather. I added pockets at the client's request (I also have them on mine), along with tooled belt shields and appointments and brass/silver conchos. I'm quite pleased with them.

09/29/2024

I took my daughter, Amy, on her first deer hunt last week. I have a muzzleloader buck deer tag for the West Wasatch area. We decided to try the Diamond Fork area, as it is pretty close to home.

We were disappointed. The deer population density in the area was so low that we wouldn't have been able to fill the proverbial "thimble" with the deer sign we saw in two days of hard riding and hunting. We tried both sides of Wanrhodes Creek and Monk Hollow and saw a grand total of 5 doe (in one group) at the end of the second day as we headed back to the trailer.

However, we both counted it a very successful hunt, particularly the part where we cooked "Tarzan steaks" on the coals and spent a wonderful evening just talking around the camp fire. The change of colors was in full swing and the weather was clear (although very hot). The night sky was beautiful, as well.

Now, had I been drawn for the muzzleloader bull elk hunt, we could have scored three times! Oh well.

09/15/2024

I love my horse!

This is a short video of my MFT gelding, Chief, helping me start a skittish mare on packs. This 7 year old MFT mare, in her first encounter with a pack horse, caused a wreck that resulted in a serious injury to the owner. He brought her to me for training, so she will safely lead a pack horse and carry packs herself.

I started by putting her under saddle for a couple days, just to get to know her. Then I put my hard panniers on Chief with about 20 pounds of old horse shoes in each side, to make noise, and put him and the mare together loose in the round pen for a few minutes. Chief knew exactly what I wanted him to do.

Chief has been my invaluable training assistant with this mare. His calm nature has reassured her and helped her to work through her fears as we progress through her training.

I should finish up with this mare this week, turning her into a safe and competent lead horse as well as a good pack horse. I'll post a short blog post about this mare's pack training on my website. I'll link it here.

08/16/2024

Finally got back to doing a little leather work. I am just about finished with a pair of pommel bags for my good friend Derek Habel. My new mechanical stitcher saved me a lot of time and effort. Although I enjoy hand stitching, it’s tedious and time consuming.