Farm & Ranch
Horse Trainer Mike Major
By Dani Blackburn
Horse trainer Mike Major cannot remember a time he was not horseback. At the tender age of seven, he broke his first colt and quickly fell in love with the challenge training presented. With a deep understanding of a horse’s mind, the patience to teach and a strong attention to detail in the show pen, success has followed Major throughout his career.
“It has been great,” Major said of his accomplished career. “I have met a lot of neat people. It has been fun, of course, success makes it fun. I think you learn how to win, but it’s not about beating anybody because I don’t think I have ever competed against anybody other than myself. You just have to be very diligent on everything you do in a show pen.”
His list of accomplishments includes the 2009 and 2010 American Quarter Horse Association Open World Championship Versatility Ranch Horse title on his 1999 bay stallion, Smart Whiskey Doc. Major also claimed the 2010 Battle in the Saddle Ranch Remuda Challenge and the 2012 AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse Open World Championship on Whiskey’s daughter, Black Hope Stik. Most recently, he was named this year’s Road to the Horse winner, but it all began on his father’s ranch north of Magdalena, NM.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH
With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.
If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.
Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Tony Dean
There are a handful of grasses on North Texas grazing lands ranchers need to know, not because they are highly desirable, but rather because they are not of much value. I call them “decom” plants, which is am acronym for “Don’t Ever Count On Me.” Silver bluestem is a “decom” grass.
Silver bluestem is a perennial which grows in all areas of Texas. It can survive in almost all soil types, and in full sun conditions or in semi shade. It grows up to three feet tall and is easily recognized with the presence of the white fuzzy seed head. Also, one of the identifying characteristics of Silver bluestem is a bend in the stems at each node, causing the plants to take on a rounded shape as they mature.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Rayford Pullen
Fall is here which means winter is closing in on us and before we officially get into winter, we need to make sure our factories are either producing or will be producing in a few months.
We have been pregnancy testing our cows this fall and if they are not bred or nursing a calf, we are bidding them adios. With annual costs somewhere between $900.00 and $1,000.00 per cow, those cows not producing a live weaned calf are costing us quite a bit.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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