Wyoming Catholic Cowboys

Sunday, January 21, 2024

Hat Shaping

I'm more of a straw hat guy, but for six months out of a year, Wyoming cowboys are in felt hats. Felt hats take a bit more care. Because they don't have the spring of a straw hat they are more prone to get out of shape. Periodic reshaping of them is common.

The most common place for them to loose shape is on the sides, where a guy grabs them to take them on and off. Over time they start to curl in.

The good news is that steam will allow you to do whatever you want with them. I like to use my jet-boil because it puts out a lot of steam without the whistle of a kettle.

My tactic is to warm them up, allowing the moisture in the steam to penetrate the felt.

Working both sides is good if you can.

It doesn't take too much time. Then simply pull it back into the shape you desire and work it a bit until it holds.

The back brim of a hat is also a common place to loose shape. This is largely because of the head rest in a cowboy's ranch rig.

Same procedure works here too.

Anytime you can use both hands the more even the shape and the more likely it is to last.

Money.

Cowboy attire takes maintenance. If you don't want your buddy to pull you aside and tell you to shape your hat, it's best to stay on top of it. It's really not that hard. With a bit of steam and a little try, you'll be cleaned up and ready for town in no time.

Repent and Follow

Turn back to the Lord and listen to His voice.

https://youtu.be/_tIzVv6Vsz8

Friday, January 19, 2024

Chute Yeah

Having clergy meetings all week in Casper, I ducked home afterwards to check on things. Of course, I found a little ranching to do.

Just give me an excuse to get this old chute up and running.

The cows have been doing good. But ole Methuselah developed a bit of hoof-rot in her left rear foot, right below her dewclaws.

She need doctored, so it was time we put our new old chute into action.

She was almost ranch ready when we got her two years ago. But the head catch needed some attention.

The two doors are meant to work together, but were so loose that I doubt they would catch a cow.

After cutting off the bottom plate, we exposed the strap iron that they used to replace what would have been cables. It was super loose and wouldn't allow the doors to swing wide open.

The cable concept is really the way to go. But not having any cable and being short on time, we reverted to working with chains and welding a threaded end to them.

We had to drill out the original holes, after cutting off the old strap iron.

Threading in the one end of the chain, we then weld on the other.

Honestly, I’m surprised it worked. To get the doors to work together you wrap one chain around the front of left door then behind the door on the right, and vice versa with the second chain.

The concept is a bit confusing to describe, but in the end it works! We then welded on a plate so the cows don't step on the chains when they leave.

Finished cleaning it up and hauled her down to the corrals. Because all the leavers are on the right side, we just chained it up to the fence and wired on a couple panels for an alley.

Then grabbed the old girl and walked her in.

Standing about 14 1/2 hands high and having gnarly horns, she really wasn't the best test candidate. But it worked and we got her doctored up.

Back to business.

So fun. I love a good challenge, but only with the help of the Lord. This could have easily been an all day project. But with a little gumption and a lot of grace, we got the job done. God bless America!

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Listen

Speak Lord, you servant is listening.

https://youtu.be/K33jUCAR5BI

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Snow Balls

I know winter does funny things, but this one always surprises me.

In the right contentions, snow will build up under horses hooves, making them walk around on bowling balls. Left unattended they can go lame.

It isn’t just the cold that causes it, but 30 below doesn't help.

This is more common when they are shod. The snow packs in under the lip of the shoe and keeps building. But bare feet can do it as well, though keeping them trimmed down seems to help.

If it’s gonna be awhile before they fall off naturally, I’ll often give them some help. The pick side of a pair of fencing pliers works well. The horses are happy to stand for you because they want their footing back.

Good for now.

With conditions not changing for awhile, I don’t doubt that they’ll build back up in time. If so, I’ll chip them off again. I hate to see them walk around like this, it’s hard on their tendons. It also makes them skidish because they don’t have the confidence of sure footing. The joys of Wyoming winters.

Friday, January 12, 2024

Feeder Wagon

With cow feeding season in full swing, different kinds of feeders are just on my mind. Remembering that Joe had an old feeder wagon stuck in the trees at his place I asked what his plans were for it. With no future need for it, he happily contributed it to our ranching cause.

This Apache Feeder Wagon is a work of art. Made in Norfolk NE, a guy is able place several round bales at a time in them and let cows feed right through the bars. They also have a trough that serves to catch the hay that falls out of their mouths.

Last week when Ernie and I went to bring her home from Hulett, Joe had already dug it out of the tall grass. The tires were shot, so we jerked them off and ran them to Belle for new rubber.

Then Ernie and I tied onto it and drug in back to Gillette.

Once back, we stuck it in Dave's shop to give it a once over.

About the only maintenance on it is the wheel bearings. Planning to drag it over to Worland, we wanted to make sure there was good grease in the hubs.

Not wanting to do a full pack job, we just pulled the hubs off and packed grease into the inside bearing from the seal side.

The outside bearings we were able to actually pack. This old school way is to continually mash the bearing into the grease on your hand until it starts to protrude the other side.

Then reassemble. Tightening wheel bearings is a trick. I always mash them down hard and give the wheel a turn or two. Then back the crown nut off and ram it in until it dead heads, but don't tighten. Then back it off to the nearest hole and place your cotter pin through. You are always better to run wheel bearings too loose than too tight.

Once serviced up, Ernie and I baled out early this morning to putts over the hill to Worland.

Pretty cold out. But with a good heater and plenty coffee, we were in no hurry.

Once back home, Mom had chilly and cinnamon rolls ready for us. That in itself was worth the trip.

Good stuff. In ranch world a guy always has to be thinking ahead. Though this feeder is plenty big for our purposes now, it should serve well any future needs. Special thanks to Joe Ortner for wanting to see this ole girl be put to good use. Thanks especially to my side kick Ernie. In expeditions such as these it's best to never roll alone. At 40 mph for 200 miles, one runs the risk of falling asleep. With Ernie riding shotgun the conversation never wanes. Keep up the Good work, pal. There's many more miles ahead of us. Let's ranch.