Juniper Hill Stables

11/03/2023

My hands will eventually tell the story of how I lived
Soft with wear
Calloused from work
Scarred, yet healed
Scratched, with broken nails and cracks
Imperfect

My face will surely tell of my age
Wrinkles and lines, fissures and cracks
Framed by gray hairs and probably sun spots

My body already tells the truth
Of a lack of self control
A little too much of me, on the hips and at my waist
Too many carbs, too much of a sweet tooth
Too many cold beers on hot summer days.

Sometimes I get frustrated that my features are a little too sharp, that my hair is a little too straight, and that my shoulders are a little too broad. I wish my nails were a little more manicured, and that I knew how to contour my makeup.

But the other day, I saw a photo of an elderly ranch woman's hands- hands with skin that was as translucent as tissue paper, with big knuckles and misshapen fingers and in my mind, I pictured this beautiful woman who had lived an incredibly full life. She likely reached a point long ago where she didn't worry about wrinkles or gray hairs, and it dawned on me-this is how I hope my grandchildren see me when I am old.

I hope that they see a woman who worked hard, cooking meals and breaking colts and tending to cattle and babies, while mending fences, driving tractors, and riding a desk chair. That they see a woman who knew good times and bad times, and through it all, managed to persevere.

I hope that they see a woman with a little extra fluff to hug at her middle, with wisdom lines around her eyes and hands that are perfectly imperfect. After all, true beauty really has nothing to do with how we look, but how we live.

❤️Richelle

07/03/2023

Giddy Up!

Forever Cowgirl♥️

27/01/2023

How did the country town of Bandera, in the lone star state, earn the moniker of Cowboy Capitol of The World?

11/12/2022

Check out this real estate flyer designed by Juniper Hill Stables, LLC..

11/12/2022

Check this out ...coming up in February 2023 ! Take some time for yourself....treat. xxoo

Check out this real estate flyer designed by Juniper Hill Stables, LLC..

23/11/2022

this...

17/10/2022

There's a few tell-tale signs that you're approaching the older side or your cowboy (or cowgirl) life.

21/09/2022

likeyodaddy's short video with ♬ original sound

18/09/2022

29/08/2022

28/08/2022

I am so proud of my newest horse “Sugar”. Saturday was her first trip riding along the Medina River and then riding through Bandera to Kickback for lunch and beer👏🏻

04/08/2022

fyi:

23/07/2022

We’re often critical of the BLM, but we want to give a shout out when the agency does something positive! So big thanks to the Bureau of Land Management - Utah for working on proactive solutions to ensure water access for wild horses this summer in the Cedar Mountain HMA. We appreciate the collaborative spirit in working toward humane management of the incredible wild horses in this area.

Photo by

23/07/2022

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐲!

A huge thank you to cowboys everywhere, past and present—our hats are off to you.

Today we celebrate cowboys for living by a code of morality, hard work, patriotism, and integrity.

We celebrate cowboys for being stewards of the land and its creatures, for living off the land and working to protect and enhance the environment.

We celebrate cowboys and ranchers who contribute to the economy and dinner plates of every state.

We celebrate cowboys who do what they love, regardless of the paycheck, weather conditions, or recognition.

We celebrate cowboys for preserving and furthering the history, culture, and legacy of the American West—for making sure the West lives on and the way of the cowboy never dies.

Long live the American Cowboy!

📷: AC editor G.R. Schiavino

23/07/2022

It’s lookin’ like a real option out here!

During the great Texas drought of 1947-1956, ranchers faced the challenge of providing their livestock with both a source of water and something to eat.

One thing that was abundant, and still is, is the prickly pear cactus. This cactus contains both water and protein, but the challenge was to make it edible for livestock.

The Blackwell Burner Co. of San Antonio, Texas made a device called a Pear Burner which burned the needles off the prickly pear cactus so that livestock could eat the plant without injury. This simple piece of equipment helped save a lot of livestock during long, hot summers.
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Learn more about the goods, gear, people, and stories of the American West at ranchingheritage.org!

16/07/2022

"Spooking At Nothing"

Due to the placement of the eyes on the horse's head, it commands a view of about 320 degrees in front of it and on both sides.

Unlike humans and dogs, the horse does not achieve visual focus by moving or flexing the inner lens of the eye.

This lens is unadjustable.

Because of this, horses can see remarkably far away, in front and behind of them, but not very clearly.

However, they include sound and smell (and possibly vibrations from their hooves) to paint an overall picture of the threat.

Horses can hear sounds up to 2.5 miles away, and in auditory ranges much higher AND lower than a human can.

They can also smell up to half a mile away. To horses, the smell of death or predatory animals are sure signs of danger.

Their increased range of vision, lack of clarity of what they're looking at, better sense of hearing and smell than humans, accounts for what we call "spooking at nothing".

21/06/2022

This is my first attempt at publishing...stay with me for the adventure. I can't promise it will be entirely smooth and polished, but I can almost certainly promise an adventure.

13/06/2022

Stay tuned for details !!!

Countdown to Jul 8, 2022. Showing days, hours, minutes and seconds ticking down to 0

09/06/2022

🎯🎯🎯

04/06/2022

!!!

Horseback riding, hiking, staying at a dude ranch, and swimming in the Medina River are among the things to do in Bandera, the Cowboy Capita

03/04/2022

Spring is finally starting to spring🌸🌼🌺

07/03/2022

Anxious or Calm? It starts off their backs.

I have watched thousands of humans deal with horses over the last 70 years. So much of how horses behave has to to with whether or not they are anxious or calm, and so much about whether the horse is anxious or calm depends upon how it is handled---I think---

Watch the way a good horse person catches a horse in a field, how they put the halter on, how they lead the horse, how they handle the horse on cross-ties, how they groom, how they tack up, how they mount, and then, after they are on the horse, how they warm up.

I don’t think with the better horse people you will see much drama. You won’t see yanking and snatching and slapping. You won’t hear lots of yelling. You will see quiet movement, almost deliberate handling, consistency, and when the horse gets tricky, like sticks its head way up to get bridled, there won’t be a big deal, lots of patience.

You won’t see the saddle getting slammed on the horse’s back, or the girth getting cranked tight, maybe the horse being kneed in the belly to “make him let out his breath.”
There just won’t be all that hassle and drama.

And once the rider IS on, you will see calm walking, no insta-contact, no feeling of rush or hurry, or frenzy.

All of this is not about riding skills or training while riding, but it is a prelude to that, and usually how you see a human deal with horses OFF their backs will give you a pretty good clue about what you will see when you watch them ride.

30/01/2022

A strong, arctic cold front will move through Wednesday afternoon and night bringing the coldest temperatures to the region this winter thus far. This will not be a repeat in severity and impacts of the Feb 2021 winter storm, however hard freezes are expected and a potential wintry mix of precipitation is possible.

Freezing conditions are expected Wednesday night and Thursday across the Hill Country and I-35 corridor. Hard freezes in the low teens to low 20s are forecast Thursday night and Friday night across all of South Central Texas. Brisk northerly winds will produce bitterly cold wind chill values Thursday and Friday mornings.

Precipitation chances will accompany the front Wednesday as well as follow it Wednesday night into Thursday morning. There is a potential for a mix of freezing rain and sleet late Wednesday night through Thursday morning, favoring the Hill Country with a lesser chance as far south as a Del Rio to San Antonio to La Grange line. Confidence is currently low on accumulations and impacts.

28/01/2022

Something to think about…

The Texas Quote of the Day:

"It has been estimated that, between 1867 and 1890, approximately 10,000,000 cattle went up the various trails. Each year there were from 150-200 herds of about 2500 head each. A herd required 12 men, at least six saddle horses for each man, and a mess wagon and team. The cattle traveled on an average of 15 or more miles per day, or 450-500 miles per month. Each year the cattle movement up the trail required an army of 2400 cowboys and 14,000 saddle horses. From first to last, between 45,000-50,000 cowboys using almost 300,000 saddle horses took part in the drives. The cost of operating a trail unit was about $500 a month. It cost the drover between fifty and sixty cents to transport a cow from Southern Texas to the Kansas railroad stations."

------ William Curry Holden, "Alkali Trails," 1930