Ranch Chores, Guss’s Comeback & a Surprise Trip to the Fort Worth Stockyards

There are some days around the ranchette when you have a plan…and then there are days when you just see where ranch life takes you.

This was a little bit of both.

We started the day doing what has become our normal routine: heading to the stables, feeding horses, mucking stalls, checking on everyone and trying to get a few things accomplished without getting sidetracked.

Of course, when animals are involved, getting sidetracked is pretty much guaranteed.

And somehow, by the end of the day, we had gone from mucking stalls and braiding a horse's mane to shopping, eating lunch and enjoying a couple of ice-cold beers at the Fort Worth Stockyards.

That's a pretty good day in our book.

Guss Continues His Comeback 🐴

One of the biggest things we're celebrating right now is the progress Guss continues to make.

Guss has been recovering from laminitis associated with his ongoing Cushing's disease, and it has been a journey. When you're caring for an animal going through something like this, progress doesn't always happen as quickly as you'd like.

So you learn to appreciate the little victories.

And lately, Guss has been giving us quite a few of them.

His feet continue to heal, he's getting more comfortable, and we're getting closer to the day we've been waiting for — turnout with the girls!

That will be a big moment.

For now, though, Guss seems perfectly happy with his current routine.

Karine gives him attention.

Karine braids his hair.

And Guss takes a nap.

Apparently, he's got us trained pretty well. 😂

Watching him relaxed enough to lie down and sleep is especially rewarding considering everything he's been through. Seeing him comfortable and acting like himself again reminds us just how far he's come.

Pearl Is Learning to Trust Us

Then there's Pearl.

Pearl joined our little crew in December, and she's steadily figuring out how things work around here.

We've been spending time working with her on haltering, handling and building trust, and she's making really nice progress.

With animals like Pearl, we've learned that sometimes the best training tool is simply patience. You can't rush trust. You work with them, give them time, celebrate the good moments and try again tomorrow.

Little by little, she's settling into her routine and becoming part of the family.

And we're having a lot of fun watching her personality come out along the way.

Meanwhile, the Girls Are Still in Charge 👑

While we're working with Guss and Pearl, Lilly, Ellie Mae and Olive continue doing what they do best:

Running the paddock.

At least that's what they think they're doing.

Every barn seems to have its own hierarchy, personalities and drama, and ours certainly isn't any different. These three have no problem reminding everyone that they're the queens of their little world.

We just live in it. 😂

That's one of our favorite parts about having all these animals. They each have completely different personalities, habits and quirks.

You can spend hours around them and never really know what's going to happen next.

Which probably explains why we always seem to have a camera nearby.

From Mucking Stalls to the Fort Worth Stockyards 🤠

After taking care of everyone at the barn, I had something a little different planned.

I surprised Karine with lunch at the Fort Worth Stockyards.

For those who haven't been, the Stockyards are one of our favorite places to enjoy a little bit of Texas. There's history, horses, restaurants, shops, people watching and plenty of Western atmosphere.

And apparently there are also a LOT of things Karine needs to buy.

Who knew? 😂

We walked around, checked out the stores and enjoyed having a little time away from the chores.

Karine shopped.

I found a couple of ice-cold beers.

Everybody wins. 🍺

Sometimes those spontaneous little breaks make the best memories. We weren't taking some elaborate vacation or going anywhere far from home.

We simply took a few hours, had lunch, laughed, wandered around the Stockyards and enjoyed being together.

That's really what this lifestyle is supposed to be about.

Then It's Back Home — Because Animals Don't Care That You Went to Lunch

Eventually, ranch reality calls.

No matter how much fun you're having, there are still horses and goats waiting at home wondering one very important thing:

Where's dinner?

So we headed back to finish feeding everyone and wrapped up the day with some quiet time around the animals.

And honestly, there's something pretty special about ending a busy day that way.

The chores never completely stop. Something always needs feeding, cleaning, fixing, training or checking.

But mixed in between all that work are moments that make it worthwhile — watching Guss recover, seeing Pearl learn to trust us, laughing at our animals, spending an afternoon together at the Stockyards and coming home to the life we've built.

This Is Our Ranchette Dream ❤️

When we started Ranchette Dreams, we wanted to share more than just pretty pictures of horses and sunsets.

We wanted to show the real lifestyle behind it.

Sometimes it's beautiful.

Sometimes it's messy.

Sometimes it's expensive.

Sometimes it's exhausting.

And sometimes you're standing in a stall mucking manure in the morning and drinking a cold beer at the Fort Worth Stockyards that afternoon.

We wouldn't have it any other way.

Our Ranchette Dream isn't about having the perfect ranch.

It's about enjoying the animals, the work, the adventures and the people we get to share it all with.

And we're just getting started.

Watch the full episode above and come spend the day with us!

Until the next adventure,Tim & KarineRanchette Dreams 🐴❤️🤠