The Rocking RD ranch Blog

& nbsp;          In my years of training horses one thing I have seen time and time again is horses with people problems, especially when it comes to their people asking them in all the wrong ways to get into a cramped, dark cave. We have to remember some simple principles when it comes to training horses. First and foremost, horses are prey animals. That, simply put, means that they eat grass, and other things eat them. They have only two defence strategies, fight or flight. And most of the time they are going to choose flight over fight every single time.          They are also a lot like me in the sense that we are both very big very claustrophobic creatures. We do not like tight enclosed spaces. They would much rather be out in the wide open. We have to understand that and understand why. To be able to know how to get them to willingly go into a space that they don't want to go into in the first place.       ...

           Good Morning All, as I mentioned in and earlier post, we here at the Rocking RD ranch are Children of God , and try to live a strong Christian faith. So after careful prayer God has told me to share my daily devotions with you good folks out there that read this blog. I pray that everyone of you has a blessed day and glory filled weekend. May God bless each and everyone of you who come here daily and read this Cowboys Blog. I certainly and sincerely do appreciate all the kindness and loving support. Happy trails and keep checking in for more training articles and off grid articles about the off grid cattle and horse ranch . 

click here to get private lessons for you and your horse            If you want more personalized attention when it comes to learning how to train your own horse come on over and check out my Patreon page.      click here to help out the ranch.

click here for more training tips  Good Morning Everyone, I thought that since we're in the middle of fall here in the Ozarks of SW Missouri , headed to winter, I would go over some tips and tricks for horse care for this time of the year.  First of all lets talk about whether or not to blanket your horses or not. I am not a huge fan of blanketing horses myself. Horses in my opinion can survive just fine with the fluffy , natural fur coat that the good Lord gave them. Of course that being said, if you and your horse just moved from somewhere like Arizona to somewhere like say Missouri or Maine, yea a blanket in that situation may be a necessity. So the general rule of thumb is if your horse is standing out in its stall or pasture and has snow on its back , then it has an adequate winter coat to sufficiently keep itself warm. If the snow on your horses back is melting, that simply means its coat isnt thick enough to retain the body heat and its escaping. At which time I would...

      As I have mentioned in previous blog posts this is raw land. So one of the very first orders of business is to put in a well. Thanks to the internet I have been able to get ideas and learn what it takes and I hope to pass along some of that new found knowledge to you good folks.      The one I have decided on installing is something called a sandpoint well . And the gist of it is that you drive a series of pipe in the ground by whatever means you have at your disposal, either a sledge hammer or t post driver. I myself am going to choose the t post driver seeing how I own both a manual and gas powered post driver.      Once you drive all the pipe necessary to reach the water table you then install either a hand pump ( pitcher pump ) . click here for more info on pitcher pump.  The other option is to use an electric pump and build a solar system in which to power the pump.  a.co/d/4MJtR76">click here for ideas on an elect...

  Ok I may not be an expert in this field, just being honest here. However I do believe we can all learn from each other. So please feel free to leave a comment on anything and everything I may have missed.          So as I have previously said before, after years and years of searching for what we believe to be the perfect piece of land. And a lot of prayers, we finally have found ten acres in the Missouri Ozarks. Now it is completely RAW untouched land. Meaning it has no utilities what so ever . No water , no power , no septic. No fencing for animals.           So here we will discuss where do we go from here. As you must be thinking , it all seems a bit overwhelming at times. So the first thing we must do is to start cutting a road into the property. Clearing the land and cleaning the land: When we first stepped foot on this land we discovered that it had previously had attempted...

  Here at the ranch we are Christians, and fully believe in out hearts that this ten acres of land is NOT our ground. This is God's ground , and we are just to called to be good stewards of the land. So I am going to try and posts Bible studies and verses on here from time to time to , I want this ranch to not only feed my family but others as well. Not just feed people in the literal sense but feed them from the word as well. Have a great day and be blessed. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:9-21 (NIV) . “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e] Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.   Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.   Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithfu...

      So you just bought some land and are finally starting your ranch. And you are wanting to get it fenced off so you can start adding some critters. But where do you start . Let's find out together. In this article, we will go over the different types of ranch fencing and how they can help you protect your ranch. There are many different types of ranch fencing that you can use to protect your property. Some are better than others depending on what you need them for. We will go over the most popular types of ranch fencing and how they can help you keep your property safe. — Ranch fencing is a type of fencing that is used to enclose a ranch. It can be made from various materials, but the most common type of ranch fencing is made from wood. There are many different types of ranch fencing and each has its own benefits and drawbacks. The best type of ranch fence for you will depend on your needs, the size of your property, and what you want to do with it. Ranch fen...

Join Amazon Prime - Watch Thousands of Movies & TV Shows Anytime - Start Free Trial Now Mini cows are a great option for people who want to start a small homestead. They are easy to care for and they produce high quality milk. There are many breeds of mini cows that you can choose from. Some of the most popular ones are the Mini Highland, Mini Hereford, Lowline Angus, Irish Dexter Cattle and the Mini Longhorn. — click here to learn more about mini texas longhorns Mini cows are smaller versions of the traditional cattle breeds. They are perfect for small homesteads and farms. There are many breeds to choose from, but some of the most popular ones include: - Mini Highland Cattle: These cows have a long history in Scotland and Ireland. They are known for their hardiness and ability to thrive in harsh climates. - Mini Hereford Cattle: These cattle were originally bred in England, but they now exist all over the world. They are known for their docile temperament and good milk pro...

  Dexter cattle are a breed of small beef cows that have been bred to have all the wonderful traits of a standard cow, but in a smaller package. They are an excellent choice for homesteaders who want to raise their own beef cattle. Dexter cattle are small but they have a lot to offer. They are easy to handle, have a low maintenance cost, and produce high-quality beef. Dexter cows can be used for many purposes such as on small homesteads or for petting zoos. — Dexter cattle are a small breed of beef cows, originating from Ireland. They are the perfect choice for someone who wants to keep a small homestead cow. They grow to be around 4ft tall and weigh around 800 pounds. The Dexter cow is known for being very docile and easy to handle, which is why they make great pets as well as working animals. — https://dextercattle.org/ Cattle are an important part of the homestead, and if you are looking for a smaller type of cow, then Dexter Cattle is the perfect option. Dexter cattle were ori...

Welcome to the Rocking RD ranch Blog. HOWDY Y'ALL! Welcome to the Rocking RD ranch Blog. This blog will be all about what goes on from day to day here on the ranch. My name is Ryan Kelly and I am a professional horse trainer and farrier, so it goes without saying that there will be lots and lots of horse and cattle related content on this blog. We are also in the process of getting ourselves a herd of Dexter cattle to provide our family and others with sustainable grass fed beef . There will be a more detailed article regarding dexters in a future article as well. There will also be articles with anything and everything to do with off grid living , as this ranch is an off grid place. So welcome to the 1800s, ok so not really. We will have some modern things on the ranch , just to make life easy. So if you have ever wanted to learn about ranching and horsemanship. Come on in , sit on back and enjoy the ranch and learn how grass fed / grass finished beef is raised. Also how and why w...