Greetings everyone, Well, here at McGinnis, we traded in our chaps and hats for old jeans and baseball caps to get down and dirty

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Linette Bond
6 years ago
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Greetings everyone, It is quite easy to get swept away by Hollywood renditions of ranch life- the phenomenal scenery of cowboys and cowgirls galloping through a lush green meadow or pushing cows with

Since one is often up before daybreak, one witnesses stunning sunrises and feels the goodness of doing an honest day s work all from the back of a trusted steed.

washing the barn walls, cleaning all the tack, repairing farm equipment and even treating horses that have various conditions in the dense snowfall. A new addition to the indoor arena!

1 Greetings everyone, It is quite easy to get swept away by Hollywood renditions of ranch life- the phenomenal scenery of cowboys and cowgirls galloping through a lush green meadow or pushing cows with grandiose mountain vistas. And of course the music, we cannot forget the emotionally moving music. There is definitely a romantic side to ranching. How could it not be? Since one is often up before daybreak, one witnesses stunning sunrises and feels the goodness of doing an honest day s work all from the back of a trusted steed. Yet, what some people do not realize is that there are moments, days, even weeks when ranching is getting dusty and dirty and grimy not because one has just wrangled a bunch of cows, but instead been washing the barn walls, cleaning all the tack, repairing farm equipment and even treating horses that have various conditions in the dense snowfall. A new addition to the indoor arena! Well, here at McGinnis, we traded in our chaps and hats for old jeans and baseball caps to get down and dirty this week scrubbing walls and corral poles, cleaning out corners of the warming hut (a place behind our indoor arena where cows used to come in with their new born calves) that had a summer s worth of dust piled on it. Cleaning the indoor arena took two full days with the use of a Gradall to reach the high ceilings and all the staff and interns, as well as some energetic stay-over guests were in the mix. You should have seen the piles of rags used when we were finished. That was on Tuesday late afternoon. On Wednesday we turned our attention to the saddling barn and supply room. Boy was that a lot of fun well, not really. But when you have a bunch of laughing interns, it Roby, Sue & Janice cleaning walls!

makes it a jolly good-time nonetheless. And, just so you don t think that out here at McGinnis it is all work and no play, Jenna, Sydney and Ali made a snowman out in front of the lodge.

Thursday the snow was falling at a fairly good rate, but work still had to be done This time with the herd. Ah yes, back to horses, back to our friends.

Meanwhile, in the not so glamorous world of fungus and bacteria (although I would care to differ with you on that- I think parasites are incredible creatures), As wrangler who does much of the vet

2 makes it a jolly good-time nonetheless. And, just so you don t think that out here at McGinnis it is all work and no play, Jenna, Sydney and Ali made a snowman out in front of the lodge. Her name is Ilene (see if you can get the pun in that one). Bandit- before & after his primping and Sydney s TLC! Thursday the snow was falling at a fairly good rate, but work still had to be done This time with the herd. Ah yes, back to horses, back to our friends. Equipped with brushes and de-tangler in hand, everyone partnered up and brushed out the manes and tails of the entire herd. Now that is quite an accomplishment. Especially in the snow! Meanwhile, in the not so glamorous world of fungus and bacteria (although I would care to differ with you on that- I think parasites are incredible creatures), As wrangler who does much of the vet work around here- I went around to the herd horses that have been showing signs of rain rot. I have a list of horses that over the course of the past few weeks have shown even the smallest signs of rain rot infection. Rain rot, or sometimes knows as rain scald, is actually caused by a bacteria but expresses itself much like a fungus. The bacterium, Dermatophilus congolensis, actually lives dormant within the horse s skin. When rain or snowy wet days, as we have been having out here at McGinnis occur, the Congolensis is quite tricky. It can express itself like a tiny scab the size of a pinpoint or as large as a few centimeters square. Once the bacteria get to a hyphae stage, it can spread in all kinds of directions and cause a serious and even painful skin Malone is looking for more attention from Jennacondition. That is something that we wish one brushing is apparently not enough! our ponies not to get around here. I ve spent many an hour picking crusty scabs. Yuck! But to me this is fascinating in strange way. When I clean these off I am able to treat the exposed skin with a solution that our local vets have recommended every 3-4 days. So far, every horse in the herd with D. congolensis infection is on the mend. Let s hope it continues. Until next time, keep dreaming of long days in the saddle. ~Brenda

Brenda is a wrangler and horse care-taker extraordinaire, and this was her first Highline submission. She is also a talented writer in her spare time.

We technically have no guests here riding this week due to the Whitefish clinic that had been on the schedule. However, we did have the company of three who were here waiting out the storm.

But staff is diligent about catching all of it. In addition to helping with chores and reorganizing his shoeing area, Nathan has also been pulling shoes off of the herd this week.

3 Brenda is a wrangler and horse care-taker extraordinaire, and this was her first Highline submission. She is also a talented writer in her spare time. There were other happenings around the ranch, and on Friday the interns climbed in the saddle again and spent the day riding in the indoor arena with Roby. We technically have no guests here riding this week due to the Whitefish clinic that had been on the schedule. However, we did have the company of three who were here waiting out the storm. As Brenda mentioned, they all pitched in with the chores while they were here and it was really good company for us! Treating rain rot is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack! But staff is diligent about catching all of it. In addition to helping with chores and reorganizing his shoeing area, Nathan has also been pulling shoes off of the herd this week. In total, that s about 100 head of horses! Nathan s friend Marianne is visiting this week from across the pond this week and she has been helping quite a bit as well. I have been working steady in the office the past three weeks getting caught up on projects that were on the back burner due to the hectic pace during the season. I am thrilled to have company this week with Sue and Dori also working in the office! Sue will be helping going forward and Dori is working on Gift Shop goodies and catching up on all she does with the keeping the grazing allotment contracts and maps in order. I m enjoying Sue and Dori s company in the office Omar and Kevin Photo bomb! Nathan pulling shoes with Marianne s help

Our intern Kevin arrived back here this week and will be spending a few weeks continuing his horsemanship journey.

The temperatures have warmed a bit as I write this and some of the snow is melting a bit off the trees.

In the meantime, here is some food for thought: Do you know a rider who wants to improve their horsemanship?

4 Our intern Kevin arrived back here this week and will be spending a few weeks continuing his horsemanship journey. He s also getting pretty handy with a rope and was showing me some tricks he learned at the Pro Am! The temperatures have warmed a bit as I write this and some of the snow is melting a bit off the trees. It sure was pretty while it lasted, and there is still plenty on the ground, so maybe there will be some xc skiing through the meadows to be had this weekend! In the meantime, here is some food for thought: Do you know a rider who wants to improve their horsemanship? McGinnis Meadows guests will receive a 10% discount off of their lodging on their next reservation for referring an intern that reserves a slot! Contact me for more info: (406) or to Janice@mmgranch.net Happy trails, ~Janice Lion cat! Charlotte in her full winter coat Kevin is back! Roby with Britches, one of the client horses here at the ranch

5 Ilene J Snow art Intern day- Scott, Jenna (L) and Ali (R)

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