A Bar T Ranch

05/31/2026

Couldn’t be more proud of these two girls and their horses!

Today, we attended the El Dorado County FFA show as the culmination of the year’s efforts. This was the first time our school had any students showing horses as part of the FFA, and it was the first show ever for Jocelynn and her horse, Maverick. This was also my first year as an FFA leader. We all learned a lot, and the girls were well recognized for their efforts.

Thank you, especially, to Susan and David Hartje of Saddles That Fit for their generous support. If you are ever in need of an independent saddle fitter, for both English and Western, they are fantastic!

Well done, ladies!

05/26/2026

Horses are so stoic. As stewards, we must put their well being above our emotions. I found this to be very eye opening.

What can happen as horses age

What we are looking at in the below photo is the femoral head ligament(accessory) this very important structure connects the hind leg into the hip socket. I observe it forms a sling that innervates onto the pelvis to the p***s symphysis which also forms the pre p***c tendon. This incredibly strong structure that supports the pelvis is prone to wear and tear particularly in sport horses, race horses and through geriatric degeneration.

The photo on the right was from a 28 year old horse that looked a picture of health from the outside but his movement had become stiff and guarded. Showing struggles to have his feet done and not wanting to give the hinds. The fermoral head ligament had been fully replaced by scar tissue and only a few tiny shreds remained attached to the head of the femur. The labrum(capsule) of the joint was thickened and full of synovitis. Unfortunately for this guy he had problems over many of his legs due to old age and so showed no notable lameness that would conclude the seriousness of what was going on inside. The comparison ligament is from a 4 year old standardbred.

Please be considerate with your oldies, better a week too early than a moment too late.

05/08/2026

“My horse is fine, I had X-rays done”

How often do we hear people defending their unhappy horse because they had X-rays done?

X-rays show bone, only bone and there can be so much more happening in a horses leg. There are limitations to any diagnostics done and X-rays are firmly limited to bone or any calcified/mineralised soft tissues present if dense enough. The X-ray beam must also be at 90 degrees of the issue to show clearly. You can also see the break down of the cartilage in the area, he was an 8 year old TB gelding. He was only grade 1 out of 5 lame but he lacked a good suspension phase in the stride and his movement was choppy.

The problem below was a tiny bone fragment that had been covered in cartilage and scar tissue to protect the joint. There was localised inflammation around the capsule of the joint as well as a break down of cartilage in the fetlock joint. It did not show in the X-rays aswell as a few other issues. The full findings are available on my patreon page.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/comparing-vet-106702710?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

05/03/2026

SOLD

✨ Mooney (Just Got Mooned) ✨

17 year old AQHA gelding. Just about 15/15.1 hh.

If you want one that’s fun and handy broke, here he is.

✔️ One-hand broke, spins, BIG stop
✔️ Light off your seat
✔️ Smooth, quick-footed, and covers ground easily
✔️ Trail solid
✔️ can throw a rope off him (I have not roped live cattle on him) open gates, has done day work and ranching

He’s more go than woah, but not hot or pushy. Will look at things, but not spooky. Gets fresh on cows - like in a sorting or herd work environment. Best suited for a tactful, confident rider who enjoys a responsive horse.

Maintenance is age appropriate for his experience: shod with front pads, we did his hocks + one stifle this month, that’s the first time we’ve injected him. On Equioxx as needed. Handles moderate work well; can get a little stiff with heavy work on hard ground.

Easy keeper, friendly, middle of the herd, and always meets you at the gate.

Has pulled back once – ties fine in most situations, but we don’t hard tie out of an abundance of caution.

X,### starting with a four. Very open to offers.

Located in Cool, CA.
💬 PM for details

04/15/2026

Gastrobim contains the same active ingredient (omeprazole) as the brand-name product approved in 1999 to treat gastric ulcers.

03/30/2026

Mooney was dropped off Saturday, and we wasted no time starting our adventures. We visited our friends at A3 Quarter Horses and ended up at a schooling show at Triple Crown in Lincoln.

I have some raw footage of him from today. We also went on a short trail ride, but I didn’t get any video.

This is him fresh off the trailer at a new place. He looked at a few things, but never spooked. If a horse looking at stuff isn’t something you enjoy, you won’t enjoy him. He fidgeted while standing, but his feet didn’t move much. If fidgeting bothers you, he will bother you. I just ignored it (except for the pawing. I put weight over the shoulder on the side they are pawing with and it usually shuts it down pretty quickly). He was soft and stayed with me.

As you’ll see, he is very handy. He’s also very smooth and easy to sit. He got along with all the horses we met and hauled with (all strangers to him).

He’s officially available. We have all of his vet records from the current owners and X-rays of his fronts on file for interested parties. He’s in shoes with pads on the front. If you are going to use him a lot, he will feel his best with equioxx. I didn’t give him any yesterday or today as I wanted to have video of him au natural. This is pretty hard ground we are on.

He is a really fun trail horse with his ground covering walk. And, he loves it. He would clean up as a Western Dressage and ranch rider if a person is ok with him not being a “dead head” type.

Video on the comments. More video will be available after I get rides on him in the coming days.

03/28/2026

We are so lucky to have this boy in our barn. He is the best teacher and takes great care of her. 💙

03/27/2026

Turned the two & three year olds out in the meadow today. We sure are blessed!

03/25/2026

Coming available:

Just Got Mooned (barn name Mooney). 15.1 hh, thick built, 17 yr old, AQHA gelding. Foundation in reined cow horse, been used for ranch work, rides in the arena, and on the trail.

He’s a forward thinking horse and athletic enough he can move. Spins, rides one handed, has a solid stop. Can be more forward if sitting for a while between works. That being said, the first time I met him, he’d been sitting for like, a year, and I let him cruise around the round pen for a few minutes, jumped on him, and he was great. Rides verrrrry quiet when in fairly regular work (couple of rides a week). He gets fresh on cattle. He’s aware of his surroundings, but usually his feet don’t do too much. A confident hand will do just fine with him.

Carly put some time on him last summer and he really blossomed. She rode him in the orchards in the valley. He came up to my place near Cool where she hauled him to a show and he was good, but does seem to have some anxiety in the pen (he was forward). Hauled out to the hills regularly, took a trip to the beach, and he was a dream. Really seems to love being outside. He’s a cool horse and fun to ride. We both have said if we could have one more, we’d take him in a heart beat.

Age appropriate maintenance for a cow horse and in full shoes when in heavy work.

Super friendly and likes to be with people. He was always the first to the barn when he heard me. Has lived in a herd, and settled in without much fanfare. Easy keeper.

He will be available next week - in the mid-high four figures.

Pics are from summer of 2025. I’ll have current pics and video available next week.