Wyoming Catholic Cowboys

Monday, February 3, 2025

Self Condemning

The Holy Spirit is our Advocate, not our accuser.

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Hoof Trimming

Proper horse foot care is more than making sure their hooves don’t get too long. Keeping them properly manicured for shoes or running barefoot is key to a horse’s performance.

I’ve trimmed my horses’ hooves plenty of times, but really never knew the best way to go about it. My buddy Devlin is pretty handy and volunteered to help. So he and his daughter Charlotte came out to trim the horses’ hooves.

Taking time to clean the sole and frog are important to good hoof health. One main problem is bacteria building up in these places and weakening parts of the foot.

I usually trimmed a hoof flat as if I was going to shoe it. Devlin likes to trim the quarters higher than the heal and toe. Keeping the pressure where it needs to be. There are many theories out there on the best way to trim a hoof. But this line of thinking mimics the mustangs who run many miles daily with no shoes at all.

The same goes for the hinds. This nifty little stand helps save on a guy’s back.

Chief’s are easy. Mollie’s get out of hand.

Well done.

Devlin has a good way about him. Calm and commanding usually bodes well for horse, farrier, and owner. Good work, son.

Persevere in Prayer

Patience grasshopper.

https://youtu.be/2W7ciAjS_6I

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Memorial

Re-presenting the one sacrifice of Christ.

https://youtu.be/i5ODaRebDe8

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Christian Philosophy

St. Thomas, pray for us.

https://youtu.be/o0WE9RX3Sas

Monday, January 27, 2025

Unforgivable Sin

Is choosing not to repent.

https://youtu.be/62_xoZepg98

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Pilgrims of Hope

Hope does not disappoint.

https://youtu.be/Gj4zoP0YT1U

Friday, January 24, 2025

Gate Latch

The problem with dual swinging gates is that they have a hard time staying parallel. I knew of this before we hung our new corral entrance gates, but the Wyoming wind said that it needed to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Dad said that the one good thing about the swaying gates is that they tell you which way the wind is blowing. Unacceptable.

To remedy this problem, we got ahold of some 3 1/2" tubing, which slips nicely over 2 7/8".

The plan was to cut it in half lengthways. A little trick to drawing a straight line down the middle of pipe is resting a piece of angle iron on it.

Just follow your line with a cutting torch.

Good deal.

For heavy grinding like this I bring out ole Bertha.

That'll work.

The idea was that the half pipe would cradle over the two top rails and keep the gates parallel while at rest. Then when in need, simply lift the one end up and open the gates.

So on one side we put a simple three piece hinge.

For the other, we needed a handle. So we dug around in the barn and found some of Grandpa's old Percheron horse shoes.

To work with these guys we brought out ole Betsy.

We first cradled the shoes around the pipe and welded them on. Then we heated them up to bend them level. The iron alone on these shoes takes quite a bit to heat up. And keeping both sides hot enough to bend upright is a pretty tall order.

Got it.

We put a shoe on each side. To get in, first unlock the chain that does the heavy hold of the gates. Then, simply lift up the end of the bar with the shoes and move the gates freely.

Muy bien.

Mom was not liking the look of uneven gates from our house on the hill. Problem solved. I don't see any drawbacks from this gate latch. When it's open, the end of the bar is vulnerable, but is so far off of the ground that I don't think anything will bother it. Time will tell. But a straight gate makes for a jolly rancher. Bring it.