Potomac horse fever (PHF) is a serious disease of horses. Most cases occur during summer and fall.

Ranch horses are sometimes used only twice a year, during spring and fall roundups, and allowed to loaf during the rest of the year.

When a calf enters the world, it has no protection from pathogens. Unfortunately, calves are not born into sanitary environments, so the need to fight off these pathogens starts almost immediately.

For the past few years, drought conditions have affected producers and cattle across several regions. Typically, cattle can survive a year-long drought, and the environmental and nutritional stress, and have enough reserve to bounce back. However, when the stress continues during multiple seasons, their reserves are drained.

Looking over your replacement heifers each spring makes you feel proud of what a fine job you did selecting and growing them since weaning.

There are very few items more valuable to a rancher than his horse. A constant companion, the ranch horse is utilized nearly every day and in a variety of situations on the ranch.

The drought in the U.S. over the past couple years has exacerbated a situation that has been developing for much longer.

Amino acids are nitrogen-containing molecules required for protein synthesis, or in simpler terms, for building lean muscle. In high-forage cattle diets, methionine has been identified as the first limiting amino acid.

The key to a successful auction is speed, which builds the auctioneer’s best friend: momentum. Never give buyers the opportunity to think rationally; that’s the theory. But there are people who act as auction speedbumps. Here are a few. Two Bits – This bidder always wants to cut the bid. If the auctioneer is taking $100 bids he’ll offer $50; if it’s 10 cents he’ll offer a nickel, all of which makes the auctioneer chant tongue-twisting numbers he wouldn’t ordinarily use.

Some horses are as good as gold. They take care of kids just learning, old cowgirls with osteoporosis, cowboys of any age who should have a designated driver and homeward-bound riders lost in a blizzard. I classify these gold horses in the same category as those equidae who performed routinely heroic duties in the Pony Express, pulling cannons in the Civil War, Seabiscuit and Trigger, who could always save Roy in times of distress. There’s a heroic picture of Cannonball hanging on the wall at Cheryl and Howard’s ranch house on the Wasatch front.