Working Cattle Ranch

Forest Hill Farms is working together with some wonderful folks from Nebraska in rescuing newborn baby calves.

Forest Hill Farms is helping to rescue these newborn baby calves and bottle feed them to give them a new purpose in life. This is a great project for children of all ages to be involved in. The children learn cattle from the ground up with feeding the bottle calves to weaning them several weeks down the road. People are welcome to come out to Forest Hill Farms and feed, pet and groom the baby calves. This is a great education for all children to be a part of.

There is no other facilities that offer both professional horsemanship combined with working cattle. Some facilities may offer horse back riding while some schools may offer classes working with cattle, but Forest Hill Farms is the only place that puts it all together.

Beginner Classes

Here students learn how to move and work with cattle on foot before mounting up on horse back. Pushing cattle to hard or to fast may result in them going through fences, tearing up equipment or getting them injured.

Learning how to move cattle is the most important thing when working with cattle. There is a real art in knowing what cattle will do before they do it. If a person can’t read cattle the animal may turn on you or cut back on you. If they are pushed to fast they will run or not get through the gate, and the herder will be unable to get the job done. Students will learn how to separate and sort out cattle, move and pen cattle on foot.
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Penning Classes

Students will learn the art of working with other horsemen in sorting and penning cattle on horse back. One of the fastest growing sports in the horse world is one called “team penning.” This is where three riders move into a herd of cattle and bring out three calves with the correct number on them. Not only are you reading what the cattle will do but also reading what each rider must do. This can be a fast game with little to no time to think. This is a fun event that every horse person can do.

Roping Classes

Students may learn to rope the way horsemen, cattlemen and cowboys have for over a hundred years. Using the lariat is a tool much needed when working cattle. Students learn to handle the lariat in coiling it up and making the loop and throwing this loop takes a whole new meaning in the old saying, “It’s all in the wrist.” Students begin roping on a roping dummy and then move to the real thing. Roping a live calf can be difficult when it is running and moving. After being able to rope a live calf on foot the student then move to horse back and only there it all comes together.

Forest Hill Farms is now working on a program that will offer free calves for showing. Some youngsters in 4-H or FFA may not be able to afford a show calf and we at Forest Hill Farms believe that every youngster should have this opportunity if desired.

The Working Cattle Ranch Riding Program will take place in the Show Barn, complete with its own covered arena. Classes will hold Spring and Fall with winter classes held in the main indoor arena.